Lili hugged him, calling him "Master" several more times.
Jiaxi truly found the satisfaction he desired with her. When she called him that, he imagined her to be Mengyao.
Seeing his dazed expression, Lili let go and said, "I'm going to take a bath and change. Wait for me, and we can go out right away."
At the amusement park, Lili was as happy as a child, pulling Jiaxi along, wanting to try everything.
Jiaxi had long outgrown his interest in amusement parks and didn't find anything particularly fun. However, seeing Lili so happy, he accompanied her around.
He watched her eat a colorful cotton candy, her smile so bright, and couldn't help but ask, "Did you never come to an amusement park when you were a child?"
"Yes, this is my first time playing in a place like this," Lili said, biting into the cotton candy, feeling that even its sweetness couldn't mask the bitterness in her throat. "When I was little, my biggest wish was for my parents to take me to an amusement park for a whole day. When I was in second grade, my teacher assigned an essay titled 'A Happy Day.' I begged my dad for a long time, and he finally agreed to take me and my mom to the amusement park. But he was being chased for debts and hid, breaking his promise."
Jiaxi couldn't imagine a childhood without amusement parks and asked, "Why was your dad being chased for debts? Did he owe money from business?"
"He knew how to do business?" Lili said with a laugh. "He loved to gamble, and owing money and being chased for debts was common."
Jiaxi's heart ached as he held Lili's hand and said, "It's okay, we'll come to amusement parks often in the future. By the way, where is your dad now? Why have I never met him?"
"He hasn't come home since I was in middle school. Who knows where he died?" Lili smiled indifferently. "I'm used to it. I just consider myself fatherless."
Jiaxi didn't want to dwell on unhappy things. He pulled her towards the Ferris wheel and said, "We haven't ridden this yet, have we? Let's go for a couple of rides. The view from the top is especially beautiful."
Lili hummed in response, her happy laughter tinged with tears.
They took quite a few photos on the Ferris wheel.
When Lili insisted on taking selfies with him, he remembered the time he was in school and rode the Ferris wheel with Mengyao.
Back then, he had also taken selfies with Mengyao and even made them into photo booth strips.
After getting off the Ferris wheel, Jiaxi became distracted.
Lili saw staff members handing out flyers for the evening fireworks show and took one to show Jiaxi with interest.
Jiaxi barely looked at it and said, "I can't stay with you until the evening. I have to leave after we eat something. If you want to watch, you can stay here by yourself until then."
Lili said "Oh," knowing he had to go pick up his wife from work again. She didn't say anything more.
Jiaxi found a themed restaurant in the amusement park and ordered a set meal for Lili, but he himself had no appetite.
When the set meal was served, Lili found a cup of ice cream in it. She tasted it and found it delicious, so she fed some to Jiaxi.
They ate like this, taking turns, and in a daze, Jiaxi thought he saw a flash of light.
He sensed something was wrong and immediately looked around, but he didn't see anyone taking pictures of them.
"Jiaxi, what's wrong?" Lili also looked around, following his gaze.
Jiaxi thought it was his imagination and said, "Nothing, I thought I saw someone I knew."
Lili said "Ah," and then, "Then let's go."
Jiaxi stood up and said, "Yes, we'll come again another time. I'll leave first. You can stay a bit longer, and then go back after I've left. Can you take a taxi home yourself?"
Lili nodded obediently and said, "Okay, I know how to get back. You don't need to worry about me."
Jiaxi left in a hurry.
Lili watched his receding figure and sat alone in the restaurant, preparing to stay until the evening fireworks show.
Watching the crowds at the amusement park was livelier than being alone in the apartment.
She had basically figured out Jiaxi's schedule for accompanying her: it could only be during the daytime on weekdays.
He definitely couldn't see her on weekends, and he had to pick up his wife from work around four or five in the afternoon, so he couldn't stay overnight at her place anymore.
Looking at it this way, the time he could spend with her each week was very limited. Now, she truly envied his wife.
Luo Hang, who had been hiding in a corner, sat back down at his original seat in the restaurant after seeing Jiaxi leave.
The girl who had been waiting for him complained, "Isn't the restroom right next to this restaurant? Why did you take so long?"
"Oh, I took a wrong turn and went somewhere else," Luo Hang replied to the girl beside him, but his eyes were fixed on Lili.
He was very curious about the background of the woman Hong Jiaxi was seeing outside. Now he had made a big discovery.
He had thought Jiaxi was devoted to the Huangfu family's daughter he had just married, but it turned out Jiaxi was also looking for greener pastures.
If the Huangfu family found out about this, would Hong Jiaxi still be able to flaunt his power in front of her?
Luo Hang was overjoyed. He secretly took another photo of Tong Xiaoli's profile and decided to have someone investigate further. Once he had irrefutable evidence against Jiaxi, he would expose him in front of the whole family, especially in front of Mengyao.
He imagined that scene now and felt exhilarated and satisfied.
...
Mengyao sat in Jiaxi's car and smelled a sweet, fragrant scent on him. She asked curiously, "Where did you go today? The scent on you is so strange, like you've been somewhere with a lot of children."
Jiaxi smiled naturally and said, "You can even smell that? Your nose is really sharp. Today, some young people from the company insisted I treat them, so we went to a children's restaurant that kids love. It was so noisy and chaotic, unbearable."
Mengyao laughed and said, "You say that as if you're ancient. Aren't you still like a child?"
"I'm about to become a father, how can I be a child?"
"It wasn't me who said that, it was your mother. She said you're a child who will never grow up," Mengyao giggled.
Jiaxi put on a look of despair and said, "What do you and your mom talk about all day? Can't you say something good about me?"
Mengyao deliberately teased him, "Then you tell me, what are your good points? We haven't seen any."
"I'm driving, so I won't argue with you. I'll punish you when we get home," Jiaxi said, pretending to be angry.
Mengyao laughed, "My mother-in-law and your mom are here to protect me. I don't think you'd dare."
Jiaxi stopped the car by the roadside, reached out, and tickled her waist, saying, "Are you scared now? See if you still dare to laugh at me."
Mengyao blocked his hand, laughing uncontrollably, "I'll laugh at you, okay? Stop tickling me, you know I'm very ticklish."
Jiaxi didn't tickle her. Instead, he hugged her, looking at her charming smile. The thought of retaliating and making her suffer disappeared. At this moment, he felt she was the woman he loved most, and he was afraid she would find out about him and Lili.