When Shi Niange heard Leleâs name, the calm and cold glint in her eyes moved slightly. She turned back. âItâs been many days since I went back to accompany Lele?â
âThatâs right. Youâve been so busy every day that you canât even remember how much time has passed. Often, even the sky and the night have been turned upside down. But fortunately, this project is going smoothly. You didnât work for nothing. Finally, you can rest for a day. After returning to the company to put down the things, go back early. Rest at home tomorrow and accompany the child well,â Wen Ke said as he took an umbrella from the car and handed it to her.
âAll right.â Shi Niange took the umbrella, opened the door, and got out of the car.
There were still some documents in her bag that were important and she could not bring them home. Otherwise, if the little rascal at home accidentally spilled water or tore them up, the project that the company had been working on for more than half a year would be ruined. After putting the things back into the drawer of the office, she sat for a while, looked at the time, and listened to the rain outside. The rain did not show any intention of decreasing, so she did not continue waiting. She went downstairs and took the elevator to the companyâs basement floor. She went to the underground parking lot to find her car and drove back.
Shi Niangeâs current place was a high-rise condominium in downtown Los Angeles that was relatively close to the company. It was not large and was only about a hundred square meters, but it was enough for her and Lele to live here. Auntie Xiang would also stay here when she came to help her take care of her children. It was not very crowded. In comparison, such a warm environment was quite good.
It was already ten in the evening. The moment she entered the house, a small figure suddenly pounced on her. âMommy!â
After being pounced on, Shi Niange drove back in the heavy rain. When she got out of the car, she felt that the rain in the parking lot downstairs was very cold. However, her heart instantly warmed and softened. She picked up the little thing in her arms. âItâs already ten oâclock. Why arenât you sleeping?â
âGrandma Xiang said Mommy would be back tonight. I want to wait for Mommy to sleep with me!â The little girl in her arms had big eyes like grapes. She raised her head and kissed Shi Niangeâs chin and cheeks several times. âMommy, Lele hasnât seen Mommy for many days. I miss Mommy!â
âMommy misses you too. Sorry, baby. Mommy has been too busy recently.â Shi Niange carried Little Lele as she walked in. She raised her eyes to see Auntie Xiang walking out.
Auntie Xiang smiled and said, âI made soup for you. You definitely didnât have a good meal when you were discussing a project tonight. All you cared about was chatting with someone. Drink some soup to warm your stomach. Then, you can shower with Lele later. When she heard that you were coming back today, she did not allow me to shower her. She said that she wanted to wait for you and play in the bathtub with you.â
âAll right.â Shi Niange smiled at Auntie Xiang and nodded. Then, she carried Lele and walked to the sofa. âLele, your mommy said that even if you know Iâm coming back in the future, donât wait until so late to sleep. Little children need to grow up when eating and sleeping. If you donât sleep like this, you wonât grow up. Youâll become a shortie. In the future, you canât grow up to be tall and wear beautiful dresses, understand?â
Lele hugged Shi Niangeâs neck and shrunk in her arms. She pouted and whispered, âI just want Mommy...â
Shi Niange touched her little head. âMommy will accompany you to shower first?â
Xiao Lele nodded and raised her big eyes to look at her. âMommy, Uncle Xiao came yesterday and gave me a big Barbie doll. Itâs so beautiful. Do you want to see it ~â
When Shi Niange heard this, she looked up. Auntie Xiang poked her head out of the kitchen and said, âCEO Xiao did come here yesterday, but he didnât come up. He hasnât been to the US for a long time, right? Yesterday, I heard from his secretary that he came to Los Angeles to sign a contract and left in two days. Itâs only for two days. He specially came to visit Lele. Donât blame me for being nosy. Lele is almost four years old. For so many years, youâre the only one by his side. Even now, we donât know who the childâs father is. CEO Xiao has been so concerned about you and the child all these years. Why canât you consider him...â
Shi Niange acted as though she did not hear anything and carried Lele back to the bedroom to shower.
Auntie Xiang sighed. âYouâre blaming me for being nosy again, arenât you? Iâve also watched you take care of the child alone for the past few years. Back then, from the time you were pregnant to the time you gave birth, you kept it from Chairman Shi. He only found out after the child was born. Seeing that the child was too cute and was his biological granddaughter, he didnât pursue the matter any further. In fact, he had mentioned something about you and that person from the Qin family... We could guess it, but you were unwilling to say more...â
âAuntie Xiang.â Shi Niange held Lele in her arms and stopped in front of the bedroom door. She turned back and said, âXiao Luye is indeed very good, but thereâs no possibility between us. I wonât want anyone to be the childâs father just because someone is good to the child. Itâs not that Lele doesnât have a father, so thereâs no need for anyone to be her father. From the time I was pregnant until now, for the past four years, Iâve been willing to bear everything on my own. Until today, I havenât regretted anything, so thereâs really no need to investigate further. Itâs quite good for me to live with Lele like this, isnât it? My parents are gone, and at least Lele is still by my side. Iâm not living alone in this world. I also have a family.â
Auntie Xiangâs lips moved, but she suddenly stopped speaking. Her eyes reddened as she turned to return to the kitchen.
Indeed, right now, only Lele was Shi Niangeâs blood relative.
Not long later, Auntie Xiang went to call them after cooking the soup. She pushed open the door and saw that Shi Niange had already showered. She sat by the bathtub to chat with Lele. Lele sat in the bathtub, and various cute little toys floated on the water. The little girl who was less than four years old was white, and her face and eyes were round. She was also very cute.
âLele really resembles you when you were young. I watched you grow up like this.â Auntie Xiang smiled and said, âThis child will also be a beauty when he grows up.â
Shi Niange held her chin with one hand and looked at the little thing playing happily in the bathtub. She smiled and suddenly turned to look at Auntie Xiang. âThe Shi family doesnât have anything left in Hai City, right? Has the Shi familyâs villa been sold?â
Auntie Xiang nodded. âThatâs right. Everything you asked me to sell back then was sold.â Speaking up to this point, she suddenly remembered. âBy the way, thereâs also that set... the one you used to live in, Li Shui Villa. That set wasnât moved because it wasnât under your parentsâ name. It was under your own name, so when you went to sell the Shi familyâs fixed assets, you forgot.â
Shi Niangeâs hand was in the water. Her fingers stopped above the water.
Was the Li Shui Villa still there?