We’ve officially hit the 200-chapter milestone!Â
To celebrate, I’m dropping a double update today! Thank you all so much for reading and sticking around for this journey. Enjoy the extra chapter! <3
The two little ones were still chatting, reluctant to hang up. Pei Yi called Hua Zhao to watch Pei Qiqi and went with the property manager to inspect the house. A nearly 400-square-meter large flat, very spacious. Every space had been carefully planned by Pei Ye. The children’s play area had all of Pei Qiqi’s favorite toys from before.
The study had two desks, one large, one small. The bookshelves were crammed with books. Among the dull colors, children’s books were occasionally stuffed in. By the time Pei Qiqi hung up, Pei Yi had finished inspecting the whole house. Although the house had been empty for almost a year, it was well maintained by the property management.
“Thank you, Mr. Luo.” Thanks to this community manager surnamed Luo, his brother’s carefully arranged house had been preserved so well.
Luo Xiang waved his hand and smiled. “It’s my duty. Mr. Pei even referred a few clients to me back then. I should be the one thanking him.”
At this point, Luo Xiang couldn’t help but sigh, feeling regret. He tilted his head and saw Qiqi sitting on the small slide in the living room. Qiqi had grown a lot. This slide was a bit small for him now. Pei Qiqi grabbed the handrail and climbed up. Standing at the highest point, he saw his dad again.
The man in grey loungewear bent down, arms open, bathed in golden sunlight. “Qiqi, come down. Don’t be scared. Dad will catch you.”
Pei Qiqi’s lips moved. He slid down without hesitation. He fell into a warm embrace. The man holding him had curved eyes and sparkling pupils.
“…Uncle.”
Pei Yi said, “Heave ho,” and tossed the little guy in his arms into the air. “Qiqi, is it fun?”
Pei Qiqi’s limbs were in the air. He looked down at his uncle. Uncle loved to smile. When he smiled, two faint dimples appeared on his face. When he poked them with his finger, Uncle wouldn’t get angry. But Uncle also loved to cry. Uncle would cry behind his back. Several times, he pretended to be asleep, and Uncle sat by his bed, crying and touching his face.
Uncle wasn’t Dad, but he loved him like Dad. Pei Qiqi smiled, but somehow tears overflowed from his eyes. Two glistening trails ran down, soaking the clothes in front of him. But he was indeed smiling.
“Uncle, I miss Dad. I miss him so much.”
This was the first time. Since bringing Qiqi back, Pei Yi had heard Qiqi proactively express his longing for his dad for the first time. Pei Yi held Qiqi in his arms and strode into the bedroom, then closed the door with a thud. The smell in the room was familiar to Pei Qiqi. This was his and Dad’s room. Pei Yi wrung a towel and came to wipe his face, taking one for himself too. The uncle and nephew sat on the edge of the bed, silently wiping their faces clean, then touching the blanket beneath them.
“Qiqi, Uncle wants to ask your opinion on some things.”
Pei Qiqi nodded, waiting for what his uncle would say next.
“This time back in P City, Uncle came to resolve some remaining issues with your dad’s company. While checking the inheritance, I found he bought this house for you.”
“The other properties were sold by your mom. The company was sold too… Uncle isn’t deliberately saying bad things about your mom,” Pei Yi observed Qiqi’s expression, and only after seeing no rejection on his face did he dare continue.
“Your mom took all of your dad’s assets, leaving only this house and a savings account. Your dad deposited a sum every year since you were born…”
Pei Qiqi tried hard to understand what his uncle was saying. Four-year-old Pei Xu had been held by his dad at the office since he was a month old, watching his dad manage the company and handle work. To make it easier for him to understand, Pei Yi kept his language as straightforward and simple as possible. Pei Qiqi roughly understood. Mom took all of Dad’s money and abandoned him. This house wasn’t taken by Mom because it was in his name.
“Qiqi, Uncle never asked you. Are you willing to live with Uncle and Auntie?”
“I mean living together for a very, very long time.”
Pei Yi swallowed nervously. He’d laid so much groundwork. Qiqi couldn’t keep thinking about his biological mother, or he’d really cry. Pei Qiqi looked at him in confusion. Why would Uncle ask such a question?
“Of course I’m willing.” Pei Qiqi’s expression was quite cool.
Pei Yi felt like he was seeing a mini version of his brother, just short of pointing at him and saying that if he didn’t work hard and only thought about playing, his brother would take a whip out to whip him. Pei Yi smirked proudly and picked up Pei Qiqi’s face, kissing him several times. The uncle and nephew talked a lot. Feeling that Qiqi no longer avoided talking about Dad, Pei Yi asked him some things. The child was still young. He didn’t expect Qiqi to remember much. But Qiqi was a smart child. His memories of Dad were even more unforgettable.
“Dad celebrated my birthday last year. Here. Without Mom.”
“Mom didn’t like me. She rarely came back to see me. Dad said it was because she had to hold art exhibitions and go far away to sketch, not because she didn’t like me.”
Pei Qiqi burrowed into the blanket, pulling it up to his chin, and said muffled: “I know Dad was lying to me. He was afraid I’d be sad.”
Pei Yi looked at the child’s tearful eyes, his heart aching.
“Qiqi, do you want to live here, or go back to Shenyuan?”
Shenyuan was the name of the villa area he bought in Beicheng. P City had the house Pei Ye bought for Qiqi. His memories with Dad were in this city. But Qiqi wanted to be with Uncle, and also wanted to go to school and play with Youyou.
Pei Yi saw all the conflict in his eyes and said softly, “Wherever you want to go, Uncle will be with you.”
Pei Qiqi looked up at him and blinked. “Uncle, if we don’t live here, can we still come back?”
Pei Yi had originally planned to sell the house, but after seeing it, he changed his mind. Whether Qiqi went abroad or chose to develop in Beicheng, he wouldn’t sell this house. When Pei Qiqi learned the house wouldn’t be sold, he reached out and hugged Pei Yi. Perhaps from the emotional ups and downs and talking for so long, Pei Qiqi fell asleep while talking.
Pei Yi sat by the bed, turning his head to look around. The room was decorated warmly, completely at odds with Pei Ye’s cold exterior. Pei Yi suddenly smiled. The child on the bed had his eyes closed, little hands in fists by his face. Perhaps having returned to the bed he shared with Dad, Pei Qiqi slept very sweetly, the corners of his mouth upturned. The lost, dazed look from when he first entered was completely gone.
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