Nobody could have imagined how badly Zong Jinghao wanted to sweep Lin Xinyan into his arms and tell her how much he missed her; but sadly, he couldn’t bring himself to do it because he was too afraid.
He had rushed over to their place without making any plan. Realizing that it would be stupid to show up when he wasn’t ready, he hid himself at a corner just as he was about to be discovered by Lin Xinyan and the kids.
It was the first time in his life that he acted so cowardly in front of his kids and the woman he loved.
“Mommy, can I help you with the dumplings tonight?” Zong Yanxi tugged at Lin Xinyan’s arm.
Lin Xinyan lowered her head and asked the little girl, “Do you know how to do it?”
“No, but I can learn!”
“Just make sure that you eat all the dumplings you make,” Zong Yanchen said in an ironic tone.
“Hmmph! I won’t give any of mine to you even if you beg me!” Zong Yanxi lifted her head proudly and retorted.
Zong Yanchen feigned a frown. “What if there’s no meat in all the dumplings you make?”
“No, that won’t happen! You have to believe me. I have made dumplings before!” Zong Yanxi reached out for her brother’s hand.
Then, acting like an adult, Yanxi patted her brother’s shoulder to reassure him. “Don’t worry.”
“I remember clearly that what you made could hardly be considered as dumplings. They were doughs! Be careful, Daddy’s not around to finish the doughs for you this time.”
Hurt, Zong Yanxi let go of Zong Yanchen’s hand and held Lin Xinyan’s instead. “Mommy, look at him! He keeps laughing at me! My teacher tells us that children will improve when people praise them. I am going to become stupid because of him.”
Lin Xinyan had to stifle an urge to laugh at the notion that praises can improve performances.
Nevertheless, she acted according to her daughter’s wishes. “I believe you can do well and you make the best dumplings in the world.”
Not wanting to be left out, Zong Yanchen said, “Mommy, I’ll help with the dumplings too.”
Lin Xinyan laughed, feeling a little helpless. “Alright! You can do whatever you want!”
The children giggled as they were pleased with their cheeky behavior.
Zong Jinghao waited until their laughing voices faded as they entered the neighborhood.
He was still standing at the corner. The conversation about dumplings reminded him of the past when Lin Xinyan forced him to finish the doughs made by the kids, which definitely looked and tasted nothing like dumplings.
He could still remember the stuffy feeling that made him sleepless that night. He smiled subconsciously at the precious memory.
He didn’t realize how happy he was until then. It turned out that he didn’t need anything luxurious or soul-stirring to feel happy. All he needed was their time together as a family.
He just looked at Lin Xinyan’s apartment until the sky was dark enough for the lights to be turned on.
He found a spot to sit and threw his suit absently beside him. There he kept looking up at the apartment, imagining the fun Lin Xinyan and the kids were having, and there was a wide idiotic smile spreading across his face.
When Shao Yun came over in his car, he thought he saw a man sitting by the roadside who was grinning like an idiot. After parking his car, he got off and squinted in the direction to make sure that he wasn’t seeing things. There was indeed a man.
He thought it was a shame that the handsome man appeared to be dim-witted.
Shao Yun was back from a flight that took off at noon, which was a few hours later than Zong Jinghao’s flight. Estimating that Qin Ya would be back by tomorrow morning because she would be taking off at night, he picked up his pace into the neighborhood.
When Shao Yun went into the apartment, Lin Xinyan and the kids were making dumplings. “Looks like I’m just in time for a delicious dinner!”
However, he noticed the sharp contrast of the dumplings set aside. Half of the dumplings looked tasty, but the other half didn’t look edible at all. Frowning, he pointed at the dough-like mixture made by Zong Yanchen and Zong Yanxi, “What are these? Can they be eaten?”
“I didn’t say you can eat them.” Offended, Zong Yanxi retorted sulkily.
“What’s the matter with you, Yanxi? Did you swallow a granite? Because you’re behaving like one. I can just snatch those even if you don’t let me eat them.” Zong Yanxi tried to remain a straight face but failed. Glaring at him, she asked, “Are you a bandit?”
“No,” He patted her head gently, “but I was, a long time ago,” he murmured.
Zong Yanxi widened her eyes in shock. Bandits were usually bad guys in television shows. Could he be evil too?
“Bandits are bad guys! Are you saying that you are a bad guy?”
“No, I’m not!” Shao Yun denied it immediately.
“Then why did you say you were a bandit? Bandits are nasty!” Zong Yanxi started getting on his case.
Shao Yun sighed and sat down on a chair. “Whatever you say, Yanxi.” The image of the dim-witted man he saw just now suddenly popped into his mind. “Xinyan, you should be more careful around the neighborhood,” he advised.
“Why? Is there something wrong?” Lin Xinyan looked up and asked.
“There’s a mad man in front of the guardhouse. I’m worried that he might hurt you and the kids,” Shao Yun said in a serious tone.
“Is there? I didn’t notice anything wrong when we came home just now.” Lin Xinyan replied indifferently as she reached out for another dumpling skin.
“I’m serious! He’s not normal! I mean, who would sit by the road and laughs to himself? From the way he’s dressed, he must be distressed over a recent business failure. Haven’t you watched the news? A director of a large corporation in C City almost committed suicide when his company was bought over a few days ago! That mad man out there might just do anything crazy!”
By the time he finished, Lin Xinyan had already started to cook the dumplings.
Not receiving any reply from her, Shao Yun nagged again, “Do you hear me? You must be careful. If you can’t take the kids to school personally, just give me a call. It will be too late for you to regret if they are abducted one day.”
Knowing that Shao Yun was acting out of concern, she replied smilingly, “Alright, I will.”
When Shao Yun saw Zong Yanchen heading towards the toilet to wash the dough off his hands, his eyes widened. Laughing, he choked, “Yanchen, you look like that idiot!”
Zong Yanchen’s expression froze as he spatted, “You’re the idiot!”
Shao Yun didn’t expect the kid to get angry, but he soon realized that nobody was going to feel happy about looking like an idiot. He didn’t mean to insult the boy, but he could swear for one moment that Yanchen looked almost identical to the dim-witted man sitting by the roadside. He explained hastily, “Well, you might look like him, but I know that you are far from being an idiot. You are the smartest kid I know and you are going to be a CEO in the future.”
Since Lin Xinyan didn’t want JK Group, she might as well leave the company for Zong Yanchen.
When the kid finished washing his hands, he glared at Shao Yun and demanded, “Where is that idiot? I want to see how stupid he is.”
Shao Yun pointed to the balcony and said, “Look across the road and you’ll see him.”
