Wei Yutang picked out everything Xiaxia mentioned, and by the time he had served this little darling her enough to eat, the food had already gotten a bit cold.
I ate a couple of bites of whatever I could find, and when I got back to the office, I saw my phone screen flash twice on my desk.
He picked it up and saw it was a voice message from Chu Qing.
"Have you eaten? Has Xiaxia been good? Has she been fussy?"
Xiaxia, who had just climbed onto the sofa and sat down, heard a familiar voice and immediately got up again, running all the way to snatch the phone from Wei Yutang's hand.
"I ate it, Daddy, I'm a good girl."
After shouting that, tears started welling up again. She sniffed and then looked at her phone to see the voice message that had been sent.
"Call Dad, video call him."
"good."
Wei Yutang had Xiaxia sit on his lap, walked to his office chair, and sent a video call invitation.
Chu Qing, who was taking a lunch break at the company, saw a voice message from Wei Yutang and opened it without hesitation. He could clearly hear the sobbing in Xia Xia's voice, and his heart tightened.
Just as he was pondering how to press the issue without offending anyone, Wei Yutang invited him to a video call.
"Xiaxia".
"Dad, I miss you so much, so much, so much."
Xiaxia held her phone in both hands, staring at her father on the screen. Her curled eyelashes trembled, and when she blinked again, her eyes began to mist over.
"Dad misses you too. Have you been upset with your father?"
"No, Dad, when are you coming to pick me up? He doesn't know how to take care of children at all."
Wei Yutang was standing to the side at this moment, and he could sense that the little darling seemed a little dissatisfied with the current position, shifting his bottom to adjust to a more comfortable position before leaning against him.
Even knowing that she was right behind him, Xia Xia had no sense of humility in speaking ill of him, especially the last sentence, which sounded like she was saying it through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong?"
Chu Qing walked into the company's fire escape corridor. It was usually quiet and not many people came here. Every word she spoke could be heard echoing.
"She's so stupid, she doesn't know how to take care of kids at all."
Wei Yutang couldn't deny that Xia Xia had indeed suffered grievances while staying by his side.
"I'll come pick you up after get off work."
"Okay, get off work early."
Xiaxia still wanted to talk to her father a little longer. Clutching her phone tightly, she lowered her head and whispered:
"Remember to come pick me up, Dad, you go to work."
He had heard that his boss was ruthless and liked to cause trouble for his father. He didn't want to cause trouble for his father and get scolded again because of him.
"Okay, I'll remember to miss Xiaxia."
"Xiaxia misses her dad too, Mu."
The phone, which Xiaxia cherished during her phone call with her father, was tossed aside by Xiaxia after the call ended.
He lay on the desk where Wei Yutang usually read documents, continuing to think about his father.
Wei Yutang assumed Xiaxia was sleepy while lying there, so he took the initiative to ask:
Would you like to take a nap?
"Take a nap...you should wear pajamas to sleep."
"I'll have the driver deliver one over."
Wei Yutang manually adjusted Xia Xia's posture, letting him lean against him, and gently patted his back.
I remember the last time I visited Xiaxia, he accidentally fell and Chu Qing held him in her arms and comforted him like this.
Xiaxia closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as her father patted her head a few times.
After a while, Xiaxia noticed that her father was still filming, and unable to bear it any longer, she suddenly sat up.
Why do you keep hitting me?!
"Um?"
"If you hit me again, I'll go find the police for help. Domestic violence will get you arrested."
Summer afternoons make people lazy. Xiaxia's voice was soft and lacked any intimidation, but the content of her words did make Wei Yutang feel sad for a moment.
"Did your father used to beat you?"
“Dad hit me because I was naughty. How can you call it hitting me? He’s teaching me.”
Wei Yutang watched as Xia Xia lied with a straight face. Clearly, Chu Qing had gone too far back then, and Xia Xia still had a scar on her body.
“You’re not as disobedient in front of your father as you are in front of me.”
Xiaxia snorted softly, somewhat annoyed that her father was too stupid to realize it so late.
The people from the villa brought over pajamas. Wei Yutang helped Xia Xia change into them before throwing him onto the bed in the lounge. As he was about to turn around and leave, he saw Xia Xia sitting there with his hands on his hips, not showing any intention of sleeping.
"Aren't you sleepy anymore?"
Don't you soothe your child to sleep?
Xia Xia lay down only after seeing her father turn back to her side. Wei Yutang first covered her with the blanket, and then sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"
Xiaxia's face was full of confusion. She wasn't afraid to sleep alone and needed someone to accompany her, so what was the point of just standing here?
"Okay, I'll coax you."
Wei Yutang told Xiaxia a story, drawing on a parenting manual he had once read.
As time went by, drowsiness crept in, and before she was completely asleep, Xiaxia mumbled something in her sleep.
"I've heard this story before, I can recite it by heart..."
Wei Yutang usually takes a lunch break, but today he wanted to take advantage of Xiaxia's nap to finish some work, so he asked his secretary to pour him a cup of coffee to perk him up.
As I sat down in my office chair, I subconsciously picked up my phone and glanced at it. The screen was still showing the chat interface with Chu Qing from before.
Wei Yutang inexplicably opened his homepage and looked at his WeChat Moments. Unlike before, he wasn't showing off his various luxury goods in a flashy way. The latest post was from the day before yesterday.
The two photos show Xia Xia in front of the turtle tank and the goldfish tank, respectively. Subconsciously zooming in on the photos, you can see a bit of Chu Qing's shadow in the reflection.
During the hour or so that Xiaxia slept, Wei Yutang finally had some space to work on his own, and his fingers typed on the keyboard at a speed that was almost blurry.
He stood up instinctively when he heard Xiaxia calling for her father from the lounge.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm awake now, I'll get dressed and get up."
Xiaxia stretched out her hands to her father, and Wei Yutang understood and hugged her. He changed out of his pajamas and put on overalls. As he was about to leave, Xiaxia grabbed his clothes.
She lifted her leg and held it out where her father could see it, saying disdainfully:
"I want a bow; yours is so ugly."
"OK."
In the afternoon, a business partner came to the company to finalize contract details with Wei Yutang, and he brought Xiaxia along to the meeting room.
Xiaxia sat next to her father, listening to them talk about a project worth hundreds of millions, and picked up a pastry from the table and took a bite.
The outside is crispy, and the filling inside is sweet but not cloying, becoming more fragrant the more you chew.
Xiaxia's eyes lit up when she found the taste was good. She took another piece, wrapped it in a tissue, and stuffed it into her pocket, intending to save it for her father when he came to pick her up.
Chu Qing got off work early, and when he arrived at the company building, the receptionist, who was asked by Wei Zong's secretary, offered to show him the way.
The elevator is made of transparent glass, and as it ascends, you can take in almost the entire city's prosperity.
The little one, nestled in her father's arms in the office, heard a familiar voice calling "Xiaxia," stood up, patted her bottom, and ran off quickly.
"Dad, Xiaxia is here."
As soon as the door opened, the little girl darted out and jumped into her father's arms. Before she could even express how much she missed him, she heard the sound of something being crushed.
"Ouch!"
Author's Note:
A sweet little darling in front of her father, a spoiled brat in front of her father
Goodnight, everyone~ I'll try my best to post two updates this weekend, mua~
Chapter 12
Chu Qing had already reached out to take Xia Xia into his arms, but the little one suddenly burrowed out of his arms and started taking things out of his pockets.
The crispy pastry crumbled easily after being opened, and broke into many pieces after being pressed.
Xiaxia saw that the best-looking pastry she had carefully selected had turned into this state, and her lips were so pouting that they could almost hang an oil bottle on them.
"Dad, it's broken..."
Chu Qing squatted down to be at Xia Xia's eye level, glanced at the snacks, then looked at Xia Xia's disappointed eyes, and asked gently:
"Did Xiaxia save this for Daddy?"
Xiaxia nodded gently, and Chu Qing picked up the most intact piece and ate it clean.
"Thank you, Xiaxia, it's delicious."
Wei Yutang stood there watching the father and son interact. Strangely, he wasn't dissatisfied with Xia Xia's double standards. Instead, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.
In a daze, they even felt as if Chu Qing had come to pick them up from get off work, and then the three of them would go home together.
After finishing his meal, Chu Qing hugged Xia Xia in his arms. The little girl, who hadn't seen her father all day, clung tightly to his neck and nuzzled his face against his father's cheek, acting all cute.
"Dad, why are you up so early today?"
"I plan to quit this job first."