Zhao Wuyan stood there, a little embarrassed, and glanced helplessly at everyone sitting in the living room. They were either looking down at their phones or looking away, unwilling to acknowledge her.
The feeling of isolation was like a slap in the face, stinging her cheeks with a burning pain.
As the beloved daughter of the Zhao family, when had Zhao Wuyan ever suffered such humiliation?
After enduring it for a while, she looked up towards the second floor, and finally forced a smile. "Then I'll wait for Si Bing to come down later. Mu Ye gege, can I stay here for dinner?"
For Tang Si, she lowered herself and sacrificed her pride.
"Okay."
Qing Muye nodded in agreement, then lowered his head to coax the little Yi Yi in his arms.
"Mom..."
Suddenly, Little Yi Yi called out "Mom." Even if it was just a murmured sound that sounded like "Mom," it made him beam with joy. "My baby can already call Mommy?"
Meng Jingwei, standing beside him, couldn't help but chuckle. "A baby only half a year old, how could he call Mommy? Really!"
"I heard him."
The man, usually so cool and aloof, now looked like a super dad. This warmth surrounded Meng Jingwei, making her feel a peace and happiness.
This was the kind of life she wanted.
*Riiing riiing—*
Suddenly, Qing Muye's phone rang.
Holding the child in one arm and his phone in the other, he answered the call. Seeing the unfamiliar number, he hesitated for a moment and said to Meng Jingwei, "Awei, I need to take a call."
"Mm." Meng Jingwei responded, then leaned down to look at Little Yi Yi in his arms. "Here, baby, Mommy will hold you."
She dotingly held her child and soothed him.
Qing Muye took his phone, stood up, and walked out of the living room to answer the call outside. "Who is it?"
"Muye, long time no see."
A robust voice came from the other end of the phone.
Hearing the voice, Qing Muye found it very unfamiliar. He pondered for a few seconds, unable to recall who it was.
But he had a strong intuition that the person on the other end knew him and was familiar.
"Who are you?"
Qing Muye retorted.
The man, usually unflustered, felt an inexplicable tightening in his heart, a vague sense of foreboding.
"I am..." the other person said, then suddenly let out a long sigh. "We father and son haven't seen each other for over ten years. It's normal that you can't recognize my voice."
Father and son?
Qing Muye's expression suddenly turned stern. The hand holding the phone tightened slightly. He subconsciously glanced back at the living room, then walked down the steps and towards a long bench on the distant lawn.
"Qing Kangyu?"
Qing Muye called him by name directly.
"Dad wants to see you," Qing Kangyu said with a heavy tone from the other end of the phone.
It should be natural for a father to want to see his son, but Qing Kangyu's words carried a hint of pleading and longing.
"My father is already 'dead'," Qing Muye said, then hung up the phone.
He then stood there stunned for a long while before walking to the bench and sitting down, pulling out a cigarette, lighting it, and smoking in silence.
Qing Kangyu?!
With a cigarette between his lips, Qing Muye let the evening breeze ruffle his hair. His handsome face was exceptionally solemn and cold.
Qing Kangyu was someone he had always refused to mention.
In the eyes of outsiders, Qing Kangyu had 'died' shortly after his wife's passing. However, Qing Muye knew that Qing Kangyu hadn't 'died'; instead, after angering his original wife to death, he intended to marry his 'mistress'.
At that time, Old Madam Qing also knew that Old Master Qing had a woman outside and had an illegitimate son, Qing Si Huai, and therefore deeply loathed the 'mistress'.