Chapter 6

By the time Si Yuming returned, Lin Ke was already lying down.

He turned off the main light, then went to switch off the bathroom light before climbing into bed.

Facing away from him, Lin Ke asked, “She asleep?”

“Mhm.”

His low, pleasant voice came through the darkness.

“Coaxing her like this forever isn’t a solution. Next time, she should sleep on her own.”

“It’s okay.”

“…”

Lin Ke pressed down the corners of her lips and replied lightly, “What do you mean it’s okay? Can you come home every day to put her to sleep?”

After a long silence without an answer, she turned over to see what was happening.

But the moment she rolled over, she coincidentally rolled directly into his arms.

His hands wrapped around her shoulders.

“I have to go to Moscow this weekend.”

The cooperation contract had already been finalized. Lin Ke knew he would probably need to make the trip, but she still gave a quiet hum.

“See? Another business trip.”

Si Yuming kissed the top of her hair, his voice softening.

“Tired… sleep.”

But just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard him speak again.

“The past few years were too busy. You had to raise Xiaotie alone. You worked hard. Now that things in Shencheng have stabilized, I’ll have more time to spend with her.”

Lin Ke’s feelings became complicated.

She answered quietly, “Mm.”

Strictly speaking, raising a child in a family like theirs wasn’t difficult.

Back when Si Xiaotie was still little, there was practically a family doctor living in the house full-time. They could hire as many maternity nurses and childcare specialists as they wanted. If Lin Ke had been willing to let go, she could’ve returned to work immediately after confinement.

But she couldn’t let go.

Gradually, she came to understand the meaning of the phrase postpartum depression.

Whenever she couldn’t see Si Xiaotie, her heart would become anxious for no reason. At its worst, she would silently cry, unable to eat or sleep.

The family doctor treated her, and she herself endured the hardest, most uncontrollable period little by little.

She could understand his busyness and responsibilities.

But during that time, perhaps what she needed more was a husband who could stay beside her constantly, someone who could wipe away her tears and accept her emotions.

He had a powerful background.

He had a massive corporation in his hands.

He had a broad and ambitious world waiting for him.

But all she wanted was the ordinary life of an ordinary person.

To live in a small but warm home, where sunlight would pass through the balcony and shine upon the flowers she had just bought, shine upon the toys their daughter loved.

Where Daddy would come home early from work to play games and watch television with his daughter. Where the family would go out for evening walks after dinner. Where, in the quiet of night, husband and wife could share the troubles of work and life, supporting each other.

This was the dream she hadn’t told Si Xiaotie about.

Soon, the breathing above her head grew even and calm.

The man, exhausted after an entire day, fell asleep.

Lin Ke gently wrapped her arm around his waist and closed her eyes too.

…

The next day, he took Si Xiaotie to kindergarten while Lin Ke headed straight to work.

At nine o’clock, Shen Wan sent her a message on WeChat.

【Manager Lin, do you have a Russian visa?】

Lin Ke replied: 【Yes.】

【That’s great. You’ll be departing with us on Sunday. About four days. Is that okay?】

Lin Ke was startled.

【President Si’s request?】

【Sort of. They originally prepared translators over there, but President Si wasn’t comfortable with it and wants to bring our own people.】

After reading the message, she switched out and typed another one.

【What about Xiaotie if both you and I are away on business?】

Si Yuming replied quickly, though simply:

【She’s already three and a half.】

Lin Ke froze in her chair.

In the past three and a half years, the longest mother and daughter had ever been apart was ten hours—from work until coming home.

Back when searching for jobs, she had made it clear to employers that because her child was still young, she might not be able to accept long-distance or long-term business trips.

Because of that, she had hit countless walls.

Lin Ke understood.

But with her daughter’s father already absent so often, she didn’t want Si Xiaotie to be alone too—not even for one day.

But…

She was already three and a half years old.

She needed to start getting used to separation.

Another message arrived on her phone.

【Send her back to the old residence. Si Yun is there.】

Lin Ke thought for two minutes before replying:

【Okay.】

Although Si Xiaotie often bothered Qin Mancheng and annoyed Si Yun, the little girl’s sweet mouth could smooth things over in the very next second, leaving Si Yun helpless against her.

To be fair, although Si Yun’s relationship with Lin Ke was poor, she genuinely liked Si Xiaotie. Gifts were never lacking. Anything Qin Mancheng had, Si Xiaotie had too.

If both she and Si Yuming were away, the old residence truly was the best choice.

That evening while bathing her daughter, Lin Ke brought up the topic.

The naked little girl splashed happily in the bathtub.

“Is it a business trip like Daddy’s?”

“Mhm. Daddy and Mommy are going together for four days. On Wednesday night, Daddy and Mommy can pick baby up from Auntie’s house.”

Si Xiaotie became incredibly excited, slapping the water.

“Then I can play with Brother!”

Originally, Lin Ke had worried her daughter would feel sad. But she suddenly remembered how broad-minded the little girl had been on her very first day of kindergarten and couldn’t help smiling.

“When Brother is doing homework, practicing calligraphy, or playing piano, Xiaotie can’t disturb him, okay?”

The tiny girl immediately furrowed her brows.

“Brother is so busy too. Are all grown-ups this busy?”

Lin Ke laughed again. “Yes. Grown-ups are all very busy.”

“Then I don’t want to grow up.”

Lin Ke picked up the towel from the side and spread it over her knees before lifting the sweet-smelling little girl out of the bathtub and wrapping her up.

As she gently dried her soft little head of hair, she spoke tenderly.

“Okay. Xiaotie will never grow up. You’ll always be Mommy’s little baby.”

“Mhm~ Xiaotie will always be a little baby~”

…

On Sunday morning, after dropping Si Xiaotie off at the old residence, the little girl completely forgot about her parents the moment she saw Qin Mancheng.

She waved happily.

“Bye-bye Daddy! Bye-bye Mommy!”

Then she grabbed Qin Mancheng’s hand and ran off without looking back.

Si Yuming spoke toward the elegant woman standing at the doorway in a shawl.

“Sis, sorry for troubling you and brother-in-law.”

Lin Ke added softly, “Thank you, Sister.”

Si Yun merely nodded.

“Go on.”

After getting into the car, Lin Ke lowered the window and stared at the now-empty doorway.

Si Yuming followed her gaze, then looked at the woman’s tense jawline and tightly pressed lips before comforting her gently.

“It’s only four days. It’ll pass quickly.”

Lin Ke sniffed once and raised the window again.

Inside the house, the moment Si Xiaotie entered, she completely unleashed herself. After running around once, she shouted loudly:

“Brother, let’s play games!”

Qin Mancheng shook his head seriously.

“No. I still need to practice piano.”

“Then I’ll practice with you!”

The little boy immediately recalled the last time his little cousin “practiced piano” with him and frowned deeply.

Si Xiaotie was curious about everything. Whenever she saw him playing piano, she wanted to play too. Then she would climb onto the bench and smash random keys with both hands, creating unbearable noise.

Once she got tired of that, she’d sit on the carpet and play with Legos by herself while talking nonstop to herself, occasionally humming strange songs she’d learned somewhere.

There was no way he could concentrate at all.

And by the time he finally turned around in frustration, the little girl had already fallen asleep in the middle of the Legos, sprawled out in all directions, smacking her lips while still clutching some bizarre Lego creation in her hand.

At that point, how could he continue practicing piano?

He could only quietly fetch a blanket to cover her before leaving softly.

So now Qin Mancheng looked toward the mother who had followed them inside.

Every Sunday he had to practice piano for two hours, otherwise his mother would become unhappy.

His mother seemed to understand his silent plea. She patted Si Xiaotie gently.

“Xiaotie can play by herself first. Brother needs to practice piano now.”

Only then did Si Xiaotie remember her own mother’s instructions. She obediently nodded.

“Okay then~ Xiaotie will play by herself~”

Qin Mancheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried into the piano room.

The piano room was soundproof. Normally, when he practiced, the house remained completely quiet.

But today Si Xiaotie was there.

Every so often, her bright laughter drifted in from outside the door.

Qin Mancheng thought she was probably watching Animal World again.

Or maybe playing games by herself.

A while later, the rich smell of egg tarts floated into the room.

The nanny had probably baked them specially for her.

Normally, his mother never allowed him to eat things like that. Only when Si Xiaotie visited would the nanny bake egg tarts and fry french fries.

Qin Mancheng pulled his eyes away from the door and silently encouraged himself.

Just a little longer.

A little more practice, then he could go out and play with his little sister.

When the two hours were finally over, Qin Mancheng jumped down from the piano bench and ran out.

But his little sister was no longer in the living room.

The nanny told him she was in the backyard, so he hurried through the kitchen toward the back garden.

Their backyard was huge, with a garden, swimming pool, and large lawn.

Qin Mancheng searched around before finally finding his little sister crouched among the flowerbeds.

The little girl was squatting there doing something unknown, her tiny bottom wiggling in the air.

He approached carefully.

“Xiaotie?”

She didn’t hear him.

Qin Mancheng stepped closer.

Then the moment he saw what she was holding, he immediately jumped backward three or four steps in fright.

Only then did Si Xiaotie notice her brother’s voice. She turned around and proudly raised the wriggling earthworm in her hand, grinning so hard her eyes disappeared.

“Brother, look! It’s an earthworm!”

Qin Mancheng backed away again, eyes wide, his voice trembling.

“Throw it away quickly.”

“Why?” The little girl tilted her head while looking at the earthworm in her hand. “The TV sister said earthworm babies are good helpers for the earth. With them, farmer uncles can grow tastier vegetables and rice.”

“…”

Qin Mancheng turned around and fled instantly.

Si Xiaotie didn’t understand. Pouting slightly, she spoke seriously to the earthworm.

“Earthworm baby, you’re a little dirty, so I can’t raise you, okay? Mommy doesn’t like dirty things.”

She gently placed the earthworm back onto the ground and patted it.

“Stay at Brother’s house and help out well. I’ll come visit you again, okay?”

The earthworm crawled away.

The little girl stood up and glanced at her now-dirty hands before running over to the nearby sink to wash them.

But the sink was too high.

She stretched onto her tiptoes and reached as far as possible, but still couldn’t reach.

Finally, she shouted loudly for help.

“Brother!”

Qin Mancheng, who had been hiding behind the back door, heard her voice. Afraid something had happened to her, he cautiously poked his head out despite his fear.

When he saw she was only struggling to reach the faucet and no longer holding the earthworm, he finally relaxed.

Walking over, he turned on the water for her and spoke seriously.

“Xiaotie, you can’t play with earthworms.”

“Oh~”

Si Xiaotie rubbed her little hands together until they were clean, then turned around and grinned.

“Brother, are you scared of earthworm babies?”

Qin Mancheng’s face instantly flushed red. He shut off the faucet and hurried back inside.

“I’m not!”

“Brother, wait for me!” the little girl shouted as she wobbled after him.

Qin Mancheng thought his little sister was the most magical little sister in the entire world.

She feared nothing.

She had no worries.

Every single day, she could discover some new thing to play with.

Even during bath time with Grandma Chen, nobody knew what exactly she found so entertaining in there. She would chatter endlessly to herself.

At nine o’clock that night, the house finally quieted down.

Qin Mancheng had also finished bathing and was lying in bed. His mother said he had to sleep before nine-thirty, so he turned off the lights and prepared to sleep.

But even after lying there for a long time, he still couldn’t fall asleep.

Tomorrow was Monday. He had to go to school.

He didn’t like school.

If only he could be like his little sister…

After a while longer, knocking suddenly sounded at the door.

“Brother…”

The voice was muffled and extremely soft.

It was his little sister!

Qin Mancheng immediately climbed out of bed and opened the door.

Standing outside was the tiny figure clutching a pillow.

Her white lace princess nightdress made her look unbelievably adorable, but at this moment she was pouting pitifully as she looked at him.

“Brother, can Xiaotie sleep with you?”

Qin Mancheng answered instinctively.

“No. You’re a girl and I’m a boy.”

Si Xiaotie sniffled, looking as though she was about to cry.

“But I can’t sleep.”

Qin Mancheng quickly understood.

“Xiaotie… do you miss Mommy?”

The moment she heard the word Mommy, huge tears instantly filled her grape-like eyes, wetting her long eyelashes.

“Waaah Brother…”

Her tiny shoulders shook nonstop. She used her chubby little hand to wipe away the tears, but no matter how hard she wiped, they wouldn’t stop. Tears and snot smeared across her face, sparkling under the lights.

Without hesitation, Qin Mancheng took his little sister’s hand and brought her inside.

He found his smartwatch phone, dialed his aunt’s number, then ran out to find his mother.

…

It was already 9:30 p.m. Beijing time.

Meanwhile, Moscow was still glowing beneath a sunset-filled sky.

The project team had just gotten off the plane and boarded the shuttle bus to the hotel.

Lin Ke sat two rows from the back. Once the vehicle started moving steadily, she took out her phone to check the time, hesitating over whether she should call Si Yun.

At this hour, Si Xiaotie was usually already asleep.

Aunt Chen had gone along too. Before kindergarten started, Aunt Chen had always been the one taking care of her, so bedtime probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

But this was still the little girl’s first night away from her mother.

Not only the child—even Lin Ke herself felt awful right now.

She glanced at the coworkers around her, some excitedly reading travel guides while others dozed tiredly. Then she looked toward the man in the first row resting with his eyes closed.

Forget it.

They would probably arrive at the hotel in another twenty minutes anyway. There was no rush.

But not long after, her phone rang first.

Caller ID: Qin Mancheng.

If Qin Mancheng was calling from his smartwatch, then it definitely meant the person on the other side was Si Xiaotie.

Lin Ke didn’t have time to think further and hurriedly answered.

The moment the phone touched her ear, the heartbreaking sound of crying from the other side made her chest tighten painfully.

Covering her mouth, Lin Ke lowered her voice.

“Baby, Mommy’s here.”

The moment Si Xiaotie heard the familiar voice, she completely broke down.

While sobbing loudly, she spoke in broken fragments:

“Waaah Mommy, I miss you so much… come back quickly… don’t go on business trips… hic… come back quickly…”

Lin Ke’s heart ached terribly.

“Mommy will come back very soon. Xiaotie, don’t be scared.”

“No, no! I want Mommy…”

“Be good. Mommy will sing baby to sleep, okay?”

“Waaah no…”

The little girl cried while refusing, throwing her first real tantrum.

Some coworkers nearby looked over.

Lin Ke lifted her eyes and met the gaze of the man turning back from the front row.

Their eyes met for three or four seconds before she lowered her head again and continued soothing her daughter.

“Mommy came to a really beautiful place. Does baby want to see it?”

“No, no! I just want Mommy!”

She was about to continue speaking when the phone was suddenly taken away by Si Yun.

“Alright. I’ll handle her. You two focus on your work. It’s fine.”

Only then did Lin Ke finally feel slightly calmer.

“Thank you, Sister. You can give her some warm milk.”

“I know.”

The call ended.

Lin Ke gripped her phone tightly, her daughter’s cries echoing endlessly in her ears, making breathing difficult.

Si Xiaotie was only three and a half years old.

Now she had to sleep alone.

When she woke up and couldn’t see Mommy, how could she possibly not be afraid?

Regret flooded Lin Ke’s heart.

Why had she made a three-and-a-half-year-old child endure something she shouldn’t have to endure?

Beside her, Shen Wan asked curiously,

“Manager Lin, so you already have a child?”

A coworker from the front row turned around too.

“I honestly couldn’t tell at all. I always thought you were unmarried.”

Lin Ke suppressed the worry and anxiety in her heart and forced a smile.

“That was my daughter just now.”

Shen Wan said, “She’s still little, right? Missing her mom?”

“She’s a little over three.”

“That’s normal. Don’t worry too much.”

“Mm.”

Another girl by the aisle asked curiously,

“Manager Lin, you’re so outstanding. What does your husband do?”

“…”

Lin Ke secretly glanced toward the front before awkwardly replying,

“He’s just an ordinary person.”

The shuttle bus wasn’t large. There was no way their conversation could be hidden.

The man’s shoulders shifted slightly, though he didn’t appear to react.

The girl didn’t believe her.

“Really just an ordinary person?”

Lin Ke helplessly nodded again.

“Really. He’s…”

She casually made something up.

“He’s just a teacher.”

When he was serious, he really could be terrifying like one.

Especially when they were younger.

The girl continued chatting.

“Manager Lin, you probably don’t know this, but a lot of guys in our company have crushes on you. If they find out you already have a child, their hearts will probably shatter everywhere.”

A male coworker followed up jokingly,

“Manager Lin, how’s your relationship with your husband? If you’re planning to divorce, can I line up early for a love registration number?”

Shen Wan smacked him lightly.

“Are you asking for death?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Lin Ke didn’t dare shift her gaze elsewhere and could only smile awkwardly again.