{"id":3613,"date":"2026-05-28T03:54:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T03:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/daily-life-of-a-secret-marriage-with-a-child-11\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T03:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T03:54:31","slug":"daily-life-of-a-secret-marriage-with-a-child-11","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/chapter\/daily-life-of-a-secret-marriage-with-a-child-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Life of a Secret Marriage with a Child 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 11

After dinner, Si Xiaotie went to watch her animal documentary, Si Yuming showered and prepared to put their daughter to sleep, while Lin Ke cleaned up the kitchen before heading into the study to work.

The family of three each busied themselves with their own things.

Past ten o\u2019clock, Lin Ke returned to the bedroom.

The man was already lying on the bed scrolling through his phone, expression focused, though she had no idea what he was looking at.

She took a quick shower, climbed onto the bed, wrapped her arms around him, tilted her face upward, and kissed his lips.

Si Yuming looked surprised.

He put his phone aside and circled an arm around her waist, asking softly,

\u201cYour period\u2019s over?\u201d

\u201cMhm. It ended yesterday.\u201d

She kissed him again, taking the initiative to pry open his lips and slip inside, while her hand reached toward his waist to undo his shirt buttons.

Si Yuming became even more surprised.

Lin Ke had never been particularly passionate during intimacy.

Even when she initiated things herself, it usually stopped at kissing, leaving everything else to him.

Today was extremely abnormal.

Thinking back to how quiet and emotionless she\u2019d seemed all evening, he gently pulled away and looked down at the moist, hazy eyes already clouded with feeling in his arms.

\u201cWhere did you go this afternoon?\u201d

Lin Ke\u2019s hand slid over his abdominal muscles as she murmured softly,

\u201cSi Yuming\u2026 I want you\u2026\u2026\u201d

Her voice was soft and delicate, her eyes brimming with affection.

Si Yuming\u2019s gaze darkened, but he still insisted on asking,

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?\u201d

She didn\u2019t answer.

Instead, she kissed his Adam\u2019s apple and lightly bit it with her teeth.

The little restraint he still possessed finally disappeared.

He pulled her closer and claimed her sweetness.

Dizzy and half-lost in sensation, Lin Ke suddenly remembered their first time on their wedding night.

Old Master Si had been ill then, so the wedding hadn\u2019t been lavish.

Only close family and friends were invited, and the ceremony had been simplified as much as possible.

By the end of it, the newlyweds weren\u2019t too exhausted.

A single marriage certificate had bound together a man and woman who barely knew each other.

The bedroom decorated in festive red made her heart race wildly.

When the freshly showered man finally lay beside her, her heartbeat nearly jumped into her throat.

She clutched the blanket so tightly it almost tore.

Si Yuming had probably sensed her nervousness.

After turning off the lights, he politely asked for her consent in the darkness.

She shyly nodded.

But he couldn\u2019t see her nodding, so he remained still.

Growing even more nervous, she had no choice but to answer out loud.

Only then did the man lean closer, gently hugging and kissing her, soothing away her stiffness and anxiety bit by bit.

At the moment it hurt the most, he stopped.

He comforted her with kisses and whispered soft, coaxing words.

Afterward, he even cleaned her up personally.

At the time, her face had probably been red enough to burn.

That night, when he held her while sleeping after showering, twenty-three-year-old Lin Ke\u2019s heart had been filled entirely with expectations for the future.

And afterward, during every single time they\u2019d shared a bed, he had never neglected her.

Using Zhang Man\u2019s words\u2014

He wasn\u2019t just \u201ccapable.\u201d

He could score full marks.

So Lin Ke thought that no matter what else happened, at least their married life physically had always been harmonious.

As for everything else\u2026

Aside from rarely seeing each other and never discussing love, he had given her everything a husband should give.

And within this brief marriage, she herself had also received the greatest gift of her life.

Lin Ke kissed him back.

\u2026\u2026

Monday morning, she took half a day off from Shen Wan to attend an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The interview went smoothly.

That very afternoon, the results were released, and Lin Ke\u2019s name was on the list.

The conference would take place during the final week of next month.

It was a formal and important event requiring extensive preparation far in advance.

From now on, she likely wouldn\u2019t have much free time anymore.

Si Yuming was busy too.

There was still plenty of follow-up work for the Russian project.

Every time she saw him at the company, his face remained stern, his aura distant and untouchable.

Lin Ke had accompanied them to several meetings and clearly understood the difficulties surrounding each stage of the project\u2014

Funding.

Technology.

Policies.

Every single issue was headache-inducing.

After being married so many years, the two of them had never once discussed each other\u2019s work.

Only now did she gain a deeper understanding of the pressure and responsibility he carried.

Supporting such a massive corporate empire truly wasn\u2019t easy.

He frequently worked overtime.

Usually, by the time Si Xiaotie had fallen asleep, he still hadn\u2019t returned home.

Late at night, around eleven or midnight, he would shower in the outside bathroom before climbing into bed and pulling her into his arms to sleep.

Holding her while sleeping felt almost routine.

There was no obvious passion in it\u2014

Just a habitual action.

Lin Ke actually found it somewhat surprising.

He had already been back for several weeks, and he\u2019d truly stayed with them in this new home the entire time.

Sometimes, when she saw the male belongings around the house that were constantly being used, she felt oddly unfamiliar.

As if this family of three had genuinely begun living an ordinary, peaceful life.

Although such a life had arrived too late\u2014

It still wasn\u2019t too late.

She adjusted her mindset and treated every single day as though it were the last.

This afternoon, when she returned home from work, she noticed while changing shoes that a pair of men\u2019s leather shoes had already been neatly placed beside the little girl\u2019s pink shoes.

He came home early today?

She looked inside and called out,

\u201cBaby?\u201d

A moment later, hearing her voice, Si Xiaotie came running out barefoot from the living room, eyes red and face full of grievance, lips tightly pursed.

Lin Ke immediately became alarmed.

She quickly scooped the little girl into her arms and sat her on her lap, rubbing warmth into her tiny cold feet.

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with Xiaotie?\u201d

The little girl buried herself into her shoulder, sniffled, and refused to speak.

Lin Ke looked toward the man following behind and silently asked what happened.

The corners of Si Yuming\u2019s lips held a smile.

\u201cLet her explain herself.\u201d

Hearing that, Si Xiaotie buried her face even deeper and muttered pitifully,

\u201cMommy\u2026 can you change dads? I don\u2019t want this daddy anymore.\u201d

\u201c?\u201d

Si Yuming laughed again.

\u201cWow, Si Xiaotie, now you want a new dad?\u201d

\u201cHmph. Stinky daddy\u2026\u2026\u201d

\u201cWho wasn\u2019t behaving?\u201d

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t Xiaotie!\u201d the little girl shouted.

\u201cYou promised after buying the dinosaur you wouldn\u2019t buy a toy car. So why did you start insisting on buying one again after we got there?\u201d

Si Xiaotie knew she was in the wrong.

But she was stubborn.

Turning around, she stared directly at the man towering two or three heads taller than her and yelled through tears and snot,

\u201cBut I just want a toy car! I want a motorcycle! I also want bumper cars!\u201d

\u201cNo. Not today.\u201d

\u201cI want them! I want them!\u201d

Father and daughter instantly began arguing again.

Lin Ke roughly understood what had happened and was just about to comfort her daughter when Si Xiaotie suddenly threw herself back into her arms and burst into loud sobbing.

\u201cWaaaah Mommy, Daddy bullied me!\u201d

Lin Ke exchanged a glance with the utterly helpless man before the corners of her eyes curved upward.

Patting Si Xiaotie\u2019s shoulder, she coaxed,

\u201cAlright, alright. Mommy will immediately get Baby a new daddy.\u201d

\u201cReally?\u201d

Si Xiaotie actually believed her.

She pulled herself out of Lin Ke\u2019s embrace, wiped her tears, and seriously declared,

\u201cThen can we change him into Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy? Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy can make cakes, and every day he rides a super cool motorcycle to take him to school. I want Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy too.\u201d

Si Yuming: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Pretending to think seriously, Lin Ke replied,

\u201cThen we\u2019ll have to ask whether Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy is willing.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019ll ask Gu Yiyi tomorrow!\u201d

The mother and daughter completely ignored the increasingly dark expression on the man\u2019s face as they held hands and walked inside, enthusiastically discussing the topic.

Lin Ke asked,

\u201cIs Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy a chef?\u201d

\u201cNope! Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy owns a cake shop.\u201d

\u201cBaby, but Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy already has Gu Yiyi\u2019s mommy. Shouldn\u2019t we pick someone else?\u201d

\u201cOkay then~ Mommy, can we switch to Uncle Xiao Li?\u201d

Lin Ke blinked.

\u201cUncle Xiao Li?\u201d

\u201cYep! Every time Uncle Xiao Li visits, he lets me fly airplanes in his arms. I like him!\u201d

At the entranceway, the man\u2019s brows furrowed more deeply.

Uncle Xiao Li?

Visits often?

Flies airplanes?

When Si Xiaotie got angry, she wasn\u2019t easy to coax.

Even after dinner, she still refused to say a single word to Daddy.

Lin Ke tried persuading her.

\u201cDoes Xiaotie want to watch Animal World with Daddy?\u201d

Si Xiaotie secretly glanced at the unresponsive Daddy across from her, then crossed her arms and lifted her chin proudly.

\u201cNope. I want to go downstairs and play.\u201d

So kitchen cleanup could only be handed over to Si Yuming while Lin Ke took their daughter downstairs.

One nice thing about living in an apartment complex was the sense of lively human warmth.

Unlike the isolated villas they\u2019d lived in before, where there were barely even neighbors.

The late-September sunset blazed brilliantly across the sky.

The children\u2019s playground inside the community was packed with noise and excitement, the slides overflowing with kids.

Lin Ke released the eager little girl.

\u201cGo ahead. Be careful.\u201d

\u201cOkayyy!\u201d

Si Xiaotie\u2019s short little legs carried her away at lightning speed.

Lin Ke sat down on a nearby bench, listening to the children\u2019s laughter and feeling the refreshing breeze of the most beautiful season of the year.

Usually Aunt Chen brought Xiaotie downstairs, so Lin Ke wasn\u2019t familiar with the neighbors.

At that moment, a woman in her fifties sitting nearby noticed how unfamiliar she looked and cautiously asked,

\u201cAre you Xiaotie\u2019s mother?\u201d

Lin Ke answered politely,

\u201cYes.\u201d

\u201cOh my, I thought you two looked alike.\u201d The auntie smiled brightly. \u201cYour Xiaotie is really something. She\u2019ll definitely become leadership material in the future.\u201d

Originally, Lin Ke had been puzzled by the comment.

But when she looked over again, she realized the previously chaotic slide area had somehow become perfectly orderly.

The children were lining up one by one in neat turns.

And standing at the front directing everyone\u2014

Who else could it be but Si Xiaotie?

Lin Ke burst into helpless laughter and nodded softly.

\u201cShe takes after her father.\u201d

The auntie asked curiously,

\u201cWhat does Xiaotie\u2019s father do? I\u2019ve never seen him before.\u201d

\u201cHe\u2019s usually very busy with work.\u201d

\u201cI see.\u201d

While they chatted here, over there the little girl finally finished organizing the other children and sat down on the slide herself.

Sliding down, she burst into cheerful giggles.

A smaller girl tugged on her clothes shyly.

\u201cBig sis\u2026 I wanna play too.\u201d

So Si Xiaotie held her hand and led her up the stairs.

After the girl slid down, Si Xiaotie quickly glanced toward Building 2 where their apartment was.

People came and went\u2014

But Daddy still hadn\u2019t appeared.

She muttered quietly to herself.

If Daddy didn\u2019t come downstairs to find her soon, she was really going to stay angry!

After going down the slide two more times, she noticed a little boy and another little girl arguing loudly over the swings.

Si Xiaotie frowned immediately.

She disliked noisy, badly behaved children.

The little girl looked close to tears.

Unable to tolerate it anymore, Si Xiaotie marched over.

\u201cI wanna play too.\u201d

The boy refused.

\u201cI was here first!\u201d

\u201cThe little sister was obviously here first. I saw it. You\u2019re lying.\u201d

The boy\u2019s face turned red.

\u201cI wasn\u2019t\u2026\u2026\u201d

Si Xiaotie pulled his hand away from the swing rope and ordered firmly,

\u201cEveryone gets a turn. Little sister goes first.\u201d

The boy immediately accepted the compromise.

\u201cFine then. She can swing first, then it\u2019s my turn.\u201d

The little girl climbed onto the swing and began gently swaying back and forth.

Si Xiaotie glanced toward Building 2 again.

Daddy still wasn\u2019t downstairs.

Hmph.

Now she was genuinely angry.

By the time it finally became her turn, Daddy still hadn\u2019t come.

Fuming, Si Xiaotie sat onto the swing, pushed off with her feet\u2014

And took flight.

Her tiny body swayed through the air.

At first she felt a little scared.

But the thrill quickly outweighed the fear.

\u201cAhhhh Mommy, I\u2019m flying!\u201d

But somehow, the swing kept going higher and higher.

She suddenly realized she couldn\u2019t control it anymore.

Now Si Xiaotie truly became frightened.

Her voice turned tearful as she cried for Mommy.

She was going to fall off and get hurt!

The next second, the swing gradually slowed until it finally came to a steady stop.

Turning around, Si Xiaotie saw Daddy standing behind her holding the swing.

Instantly, she grinned and threw herself into his arms.

But after hugging him, she suddenly remembered she was still supposed to be angry.

Embarrassed, her little face flushed red.

Feeling the change in his daughter\u2019s expression, Si Yuming smiled as he picked her up and tapped her nose lightly.

\u201cYou\u2019re covered in sweat. Smelly girl. We\u2019re going home for a bath.\u201d

\u201cI am not!\u201d

Father and daughter walked back toward the bench.

Lin Ke stood up and introduced him.

\u201cAuntie Song, this is my husband.\u201d

The newly acquainted Auntie Song carefully sized up Xiaotie\u2019s father and praised sincerely,

\u201cOh my, he\u2019s so handsome. Xiaotie\u2019s mother is truly blessed.\u201d

Lin Ke smiled faintly, said goodbye, and the family of three headed upstairs together.

The final traces of sunset disappeared from the western sky, replaced by deepening blue twilight.

One by one, warm yellow streetlights lit up throughout the residential complex.

The aroma of dinner drifted from nearby homes, while children\u2019s laughter still echoed endlessly through the night.

Walking at the very back, Lin Ke watched the father and daughter ahead of her, already fully reconciled and playing together again.

In a daze, she suddenly wondered\u2014

In novels, wasn\u2019t this usually where the story ended?

\u2026\u2026

That night, Si Yuming handled bedtime duties.

But before putting her to sleep, he still had to reason things through.

\u201cDo you still want the toy car?\u201d

The little girl\u2019s eyes shifted guiltily as she stayed silent.

So she still wanted it.

Patiently, Si Yuming continued,

\u201cDo you know why Daddy wouldn\u2019t let you buy it today?\u201d

\u201cBecause\u2026 Xiaotie already bought a dinosaur.\u201d

He pulled his daughter into his arms.

\u201cThen why did you still want it?\u201d

Si Xiaotie pouted and answered softly,

\u201cBecause Gu Yiyi has lots of cars, and his daddy bought them all for him. His daddy also takes him to amusement parks to ride bumper cars and slides. I want to play too\u2026\u2026\u201d

Si Yuming froze.

Once she started talking, the little girl continued nonstop.

\u201cGu Yiyi\u2019s daddy takes him out every week! His daddy is super amazing. He can make hugeeeee kites that fly all the way into the sky! Gu Yiyi can\u2019t even catch them. Gu Yiyi\u2019s daddy also takes him boxing because he says he needs to lose weight, but Gu Yiyi doesn\u2019t wanna go. Daddy, is boxing fun? I wanna try too!\u201d

Looking down into his daughter\u2019s eager eyes, Si Yuming suddenly felt an indescribable bitterness in his chest.

He had spent too little time with her.

So little that she envied other fathers.

So little that she wanted a different dad.

He kissed her forehead gently and spoke softly,

\u201cTomorrow we\u2019ll go buy the toy car. We\u2019ll buy bumper cars too, then go back to Brother\u2019s house and play.\u201d

The little girl immediately lit up.

\u201cReally?!\u201d

\u201cReally.\u201d

Si Yuming hugged her tighter and reached for a storybook from the nearby table, preparing to read bedtime stories.

But before beginning, he suddenly thought of something.

Setting the book back down, he hesitated briefly before asking quietly,

\u201cBaby, who\u2019s Uncle Xiao Li?\u201d

Si Xiaotie looked confused.

\u201cUncle Xiao Li is just Uncle Xiao Li.\u201d

\u201cHe\u2019s Mommy\u2019s friend?\u201d

\u201cNope. Uncle Xiao Li is the security guard uncle. Before, when the lights at home broke, Uncle Xiao Li would come fix them. When Mommy couldn\u2019t carry heavy things, Uncle Xiao Li helped carry them. And when Mommy and Grandma Chen were both busy, Uncle Xiao Li would play with Xiaotie.\u201d

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Listening quietly, Si Yuming felt his heart sink little by little.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3613","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3614,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3613\/revisions\/3614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}