"From when?"
Chu Qing's question made Wei Yutang carefully recall the specific time. After clarifying the date, he thought Chu Qing would be unhappy, but unexpectedly, he smiled.
Her smile was genuine, even revealing shallow dimples on her cheeks, and her eyes seemed to hold brilliant stars.
"You...are you happy?"
Wei Yutang's tentative answer resulted in Chu Qing placing her hand in his palm.
"A little bit."
"So, you agree?"
Wei Yutang seemed a little nervous when asked this question.
No matter how shrewd he is in the business world, he is always timid and cautious in front of the person he likes, afraid that the person will deny it.
Now that things had come to this, Chu Qing felt there was no point in being sentimental any longer, and replied with a faint smile in her eyes:
“I really want to agree, but I think it should be after Xiaxia accepts it.”
Wei Yutang, who was overjoyed upon hearing the first sentence, was brought back to reality by this last sentence.
That's right. Given Xiaxia's level of resistance towards him, this is actually the thing we should be most worried about.
Although he was anxious to figure out how to get Xiaxia to accept this, Wei Yutang's heart was already filled with joy at Chu Qing's agreement.
In a daze, he thought of the first time he confessed to Chu Qing, and how happy he was when he saw Chu Qing nod in agreement.
"I've looked into Xiaxia's kindergarten situation... Will you move in with us? It will be much more convenient for both your company and taking Xiaxia to school."
After Wei Yutang had barely settled down his relationship with the two of them, he couldn't wait to bring them both home and live a happy life as a family of three.
Is the kindergarten far from where we live now?
Chu Qing didn't want to move again right away after all the effort she put into the last move, and living together so soon after confirming their relationship seemed a bit too fast.
"The kindergarten has a great environment and teachers. Apart from being a little far away, there are no other problems."
“If you find it troublesome, I can move in with you. I’ll take Xiaxia to work every morning.”
Wei Yutang had already chosen a house when he visited last time; the location was good and it was spacious enough.
As long as Xiaxia doesn't disobey and hug his pillow to rub against the bed, adding one more person will be no problem at all.
"I... I'll think about it some more."
"Okay, take your time thinking about it. There's no need to rush."
After saying this, Wei Yutang glanced at the time. Based on his understanding of the little darling, he figured he should be waking up soon.
Before Xiaxia woke up, Wei Yutang stood up first, looked down at Chu Qing and asked:
Can I hug you?
"Do you even need to ask that?"
Chu Qing had never seen how normal couples interacted, so he didn't really understand, but he was indeed very curious whether it was like Wei Yutang's way.
Wei Yutang bent down and gave him a hug, tilting his head to whisper in his ear:
"We just started talking, we're not very familiar with each other, so I'm a little nervous."
The two had barely separated when Xiaxia's slippers slapped against the floor as she banged on the door and called out:
"Dad, Father, it's me, Xiaxia. Please open the door for me, I can't reach the doorknob."
Xia Xia's voice could clearly reach Chu Qing's ears. He glanced at Wei Yutang and subconsciously said:
"The soundproofing in the study doesn't seem very good?"
"Ah...yes, the other villa has much better soundproofing than this one."
Wei Yutang's original intention was to explain to Chu Qing, fearing that he might leave a bad impression, but after he finished speaking, he felt that there was ambiguity in his words.
Chu Qing was also an adult, and after understanding the meaning behind his words, her ears instantly started to burn.
I opened the door and, unsurprisingly, picked up the little guy who was wearing a onesie and whose hair was all messed up from sleeping.
Xiaxia rubbed her eyes and said in a drawn-out tone in her grandmother's voice:
"Daddy~ I miss you so much~ I dreamt about you~"
"Hmm? What did you dream about me about?"
"Hmm, I haven't decided yet."
After greeting her father, Xiaxia turned around and greeted her father again, but her attitude was noticeably less affectionate than when she greeted her father.
Chu Qing did not agree to move in, nor did she ask Wei Yutang to move in, saying only that she felt it was too fast.
He originally thought it was just a relationship and wouldn't have a big impact on his life, but he found out after it actually started that it wasn't like he thought.
Wei Yutang said that they could take their time, but in reality, he didn't give Chu Qing any room to take her time.
Every evening, Chu Qing could see Wei Yutang coming to pick her up with Xia Xia downstairs at the company. The stark contrast between his past and present made Chu Qing realize just how gentlemanly Wei Yutang had been before.
When colleagues occasionally brought up the topic at work, Chu Qing didn't deliberately avoid it and openly admitted it.
After they got together, many things that were hard to understand became clear. The reason Chu Qing deliberately avoided it was because he didn't want to figure out whether Wei Yutang liked the original owner or himself.
I don't want to waste too much of my energy and time on such a small matter, making myself look like a petty and stingy person.
That day, Wei Yutang's meeting lasted too long, and seeing that it was almost time for Chu Qing to get off work, he asked his driver to take Xia Xia to pick her up first.
Xiaxia, finally free from her annoying father, happily ran downstairs with her little schoolbag on her back.
The security guard at the entrance already recognized his face and let his secretary lead him into the elevator.
Chu Qing wasn't in the office at that moment; instead, several colleagues were sitting there discussing whether they should get together after get off work.
Several people in the office liked Xiaxia, and when they saw him, they took out some snacks from their desks.
"Xiaxia, didn't your dad's boyfriend come with you today?"
Apart from Qi Yuan'an and Song Shi, the other colleagues did not know that Wei Yutang was Xia Xia's other father, and only regarded him as Chu Qing's boyfriend.
The atmosphere at this company is much better than the previous one. Even though Wei Yutang clearly comes from a good family, no one thinks that Chu Qing is deliberately trying to climb the social ladder.
On the contrary, they felt that given Chu Qing's excellence, it was perfectly normal for outstanding people to like him.
Xiaxia, who was tearing open a small bag of snacks after saying thank you and stuffing them into her mouth, perked up her little ears to listen to gossip as soon as she heard this.
Dad has a boyfriend?! How come he didn't know?!
"My dad's boyfriend? Have I ever met him?"
One of the aunties, seeing his shrewd appearance, laughed and teased him:
"Isn't that the one who comes to pick up your dad every day? Your dad told us about it."
Chu Qing, who had just returned from his work, overheard the last sentence. Looking at his son's wide-eyed stare, he was at a loss for words to explain the situation to him.
Xiaxia's eyes gradually welled up with tears. After sniffing, she said in a nasal voice:
"Dad, let's talk about it when we get home."
Although Xiaxia felt angry and a little wronged, he still considered that he should save face for his father in public.
"good."
Chu Qing packed her things, took him with her, said goodbye to her colleagues, and left first. Once they got to the car downstairs, Xia Xia finally let out the tears she had been holding back.
With teary eyes, she stared at Chu Qing and asked, with a wronged expression:
"Dad, is it your father who forced you? Don't be afraid, Xiaxia will protect you."
Chu Qing had always known that this child loved him more than Wei Yutang, and no matter what happened, he would always be convinced that it was not his fault.
But I never imagined that the same thing would happen in this kind of situation.
"Xiaxia, no."
"Huh? What happened?"
Xiaxia rubbed her eyes, still clinging to a last glimmer of hope. What if it was someone from her father's company trying to trick her? What if they just thought he was cute and wanted to tease him?
"Your father and I have indeed considered getting back together, but I think we should ask for your opinion first."
Xiaxia threw himself into his father's arms and cried pitifully. If his father hadn't even spoken to him before going to be with his father, he would have cried and acted like a spoiled child.
But now that her father clearly wants her to agree, Xiaxia is a little reluctant to make a fuss anymore.
"Dad, is Father really that good? How about you find me a younger one when I grow up?"
Chu Qing was amused by Xia Xia's words and smiled, wiping away his tears before replying:
"But by then, Dad will be old, and what will he do with all these thoughts in his little head?"
"Xiaxia, you're still young. You should be thinking about toys and cartoons, and what you'll do with your friends tomorrow."
"I will try my best to live my life well, and I will do my best to live it well with Xiaxia."
Thinking so much at such a young age is bad for his health. It's a pity that no matter how much Chu Qing emphasized this to him, he couldn't change Xia Xia's mind.
Occasionally, he would even reflect on whether the anxiety brought about by being from a single-parent family was what made him so delicate and sensitive.
“When Xiaxia thinks so much about me, it breaks my heart.”
"Dad, please don't agree to Father's proposal yet. Let me see if he's a good partner first, okay?"
Xiaxia felt that she couldn't protect her father back then simply because she was too young. Now that she's grown up, things are different.
Whenever his father dared to bully his father, he would beat him up with the martial arts that his father had been taught by someone.
"Okay, but Xiaxia, promise me you'll only think about this one last thing."
"Then let's make a pinky promise."
"Um."
After Wei Yutang finished the meeting, he saw a child doing homework on his desk with a long face. The child even gave a noticeable snort when he came in.
Wei Yutang glanced at Chu Qing, who was sitting to the side reading a book. The setting sun shone on his profile, and he looked down as he turned the pages with a gentle, serene expression.
What used to be a cold, impersonal workplace for him has become much warmer with the arrival of these two people.
"What's wrong? Are you upset? Were you unhappy at kindergarten today?"