Daddy, Mommy Ran Away

On the way back to the Leng Family’s old mansion, An Ruoxi called Ouyang Pei to inform him, “Dad, the kids and I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”

“My dear daughter, are you abandoning your father too? That rascal Chuan ran off early this morning, leaving me all alone like an old man,” came Ouyang Pei’s plaintive voice over the phone.

An Ruoxi felt a bit embarrassed, as if she were coaxing Xiaobao and Xiaobei. “Dad, it’s like this: Haoyin said he has something to discuss with uncle, so we’ll come back tomorrow to have dinner with you, okay? Tonight, you can have Mr. Yuchi keep you company.”

“Alright, but tomorrow you must bring the three kids back for me to play with.”

“Okay, I will.”

Meanwhile, Ouyang Pei sat on the sofa, blowing his beard and glaring.

Yuchi Gong asked in confusion, “Master, shouldn’t you be happy that Ruoxi has found her happiness?”

Ouyang Pei snorted, “What’s there to be happy about when my daughter and grandson have been taken away?”

Yuchi Gong was speechless, realizing that the master was actually jealous of his own son-in-law.

The extended business van cruised along at a leisurely pace.

“Hey, isn’t that Zhan-Ge? Looks like his car broke down.” Through the window, An Ruoxi saw someone crouched by the roadside inspecting a tire. She lowered the window and called out, “Zhan-Ge, did your car break down?”

Zhan Tianxiang stood up and saw the car stopped in front of him, smiling gently. “Yeah, seems like a flat tire, no air, can’t move.”

“We’re heading back too, we can give you a lift. Leave the car here for someone to fix.”

“It’s not on the way, not on the way. You go ahead, don’t worry about me.” Zhan Tianxiang’s face showed a hint of awkwardness, but he got in the car anyway.

“Uncle, there’s only grandfather’s villa up ahead. If you’re not going to his place, where else could you be going?” An Xiaobao leaned out, furrowing his brows in confusion, looking adorably puzzled.

Zhan Tianxiang scratched his head, feeling caught in the act.

“Zhan-Ge, hop in. I heard from uncle that Qiuling is home today too. Join us for a casual dinner,” An Ruoxi said with a meaningful smile.

“Alright,” Zhan Tianxiang said with a wry smile, getting into the car. He had originally planned to sneak a glance at her without appearing in front of her.

As the car drove into the old mansion and stopped in the courtyard, Leng Qiuling immediately came out to greet them. She hadn’t seen her little nephews for days and was eager to see them. But as soon as she saw Zhan Tianxiang stepping out of the car, she froze.

“Elder Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re back,” she said with a smile to Leng Haoyin and An Ruoxi, crouching down to warmly kiss the three kids on the cheeks, picking up Xiaobei and heading inside, without sparing Zhan Tianxiang a glance.

Zhan Tianxiang’s gaze remained fixed on her smiling face, feeling a bit sad that she wouldn’t even spare him a glance.

Zhan Tianxiang entered the Leng mansion and greeted Leng Chuyan, “Dad, hello.”

Leng Chuyan maintained his usual cold demeanor, glancing at him and merely nodding, not objecting to his form of address.

In the living room, the atmosphere suddenly became quite peculiar. Three children were bouncing around on the sofa, seemingly lost in their own world of play.

Suddenly, Xiaobei accidentally sat on the remote control, and a melodious song echoed from the television: “…We have become the world’s most familiar strangers, each facing our own twists and turns, our own sorrows. It’s just that our love was so fierce, so deep, that when the dream ended, it stranded us in silence, waving goodbye but unable to return to our senses…”

Qiuling’s gaze instinctively fell on the TV, her nose tingling with emotion as a thin mist of tears quietly clouded her eyes.

The most familiar strangers.

This was not an unfamiliar song, yet at this moment, every word, every line felt like a stone striking her heart, making her feel exceptionally uncomfortable.

Now, she and he were in such a situation.

Her heart twisted painfully, almost suffocating with sadness. She furrowed her brows in anguish, her eyes shimmering with a watery glow as she lowered her head, tears suddenly falling. He had never loved her, it was as simple as that.

She hadn’t expected him to come here today. She truly didn’t want any interaction with him now, didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to think about him.

After five years of numbing herself, she didn’t want to hurt anymore. Because if she continued to hurt, she didn’t know if she could survive.

At the moment of turning away, both their expressions were filled with such pain.

Just then, Aunt Zhang emerged from the kitchen with a platter of fruit, her eyes lighting up upon seeing Zhan Tianxiang standing beside Leng Chuyan. “You’re back? That’s wonderful, the whole family is finally here. I’ll go and tell the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes.”

“No need, Aunt Zhang. I’ve already made plans with friends to dine together tonight, so I won’t be eating at home.” He turned to head upstairs.

“Qiuling, have something to eat at home before you go out. It’s rare that Zhan-Ge is here, and the children are all here too,” An Ruoxi stepped forward, pulling her gently, and glanced towards the children. “Xiaobao, Xiaobei, Xuanhan, weren’t you all clamoring to have dinner with your aunt?”

The three children, hearing mommy’s call, immediately rushed over, each grabbing Leng Qiuling’s hand, employing a charmingly persuasive tactic. “Auntie, Xiaobei wants to have dinner with you, please join us.”

“Auntie, Xuanhan just found mommy and wants the whole family to eat together.”

“Auntie, are you in such a hurry to meet a handsome guy that you won’t eat with Xiaobao?”

Their words, filled with anticipation, made it impossible for even a stone-hearted Leng Qiuling to refuse the children, so she let them lead her to the table.

“Have a seat,” Leng Haoyin patted Zhan Tianxiang on the back, sighing with a touch of sentiment.

“Ah,” Leng Chuyan looked at his daughter, then at the despondent Zhan Tianxiang, his usually cold face showing a hint of emotion, and he sighed deeply. Clearly, they had feelings for each other, so how did it come to this? He also noticed that five years later, when Zhan Tianxiang looked at Ling’er, his gaze had changed; his eyes were filled only with Ling’er. But… ah…

Perhaps he shouldn’t have stubbornly meddled back then, causing them harm.

Everything should follow its natural course. If they were truly destined, he still hoped they could be together.

With the three lively children at the table, the atmosphere wasn’t too stiff.

Xiaobao kept curiously staring at Zhan Tianxiang’s profile, furrowing his brow, a flash of concern crossing his face. He turned to look at his aunt across the table, blinking his innocent eyes, and asked with genuine concern, “Uncle Zhan, doesn’t your eye hurt?”

“Did uncle’s eyes go bad? Otherwise, why would they hurt?” Xiaobei asked, puzzled.

“Uncle keeps staring at aunt without blinking, doesn’t it hurt?” Xiaobao blinked his adorable eyelids.

Instantly, the atmosphere turned awkward.