Pei Ge built the swan castle with her children, with Ji Chi being the most active.

  “Little brother, is the one I made nice?” The girl looked up at him expectantly.

  “En.” He nodded after he eyed the castle his sister had built.

  As she watched her three children interact, their mother’s heart felt full.

  “What are you all doing?”


  Ji Ziming stood at the side, watching his woman and three kids, the emotions in his eyes unreadable.

  “Daddy, we’re building swan castles!” His daughter got up and brought the castle to him. He squatted, and she ran into his embrace.

  “Daddy, look!” Her eyes were shining.

  “It’s nice.” He smiled.

  “Mine is nicer.”


  Seeing that the man had squatted to hug his sister, Ji Chi brought his castle to his father, too, almost falling over.

  “Slow down.” His father grabbed him. “Be careful when you walk.”


  “Daddy, mine looks better, right?” The boy eagerly brought his castle to show to his father.

  The man looked at his son tenderly, and the smile on his face widened.

  “Is mine nice-looking? Is it nice?” The boy pressed him for an answer.

  “It’s……” He pretended to hesitate.

  “It’s not nice?” The little lad pushed his castle closer toward his father.

  “Great!” The latter blurted out in the next second.

  Ji Chi looked up at his father in shock. “Daddy, you……”


  “I didn’t say that you didn’t do well.” The man let go of his daughter and told his son this. “You’re the one who said it.”


  “You……” The boy looked at his father in surprise as he held his castle. Was this the cold dad that he knew?

  “Why did you mess with him?” Pei Ge asked as she watched the man walk toward her.

  “I’m not messing with him.” He looked at her seriously. “You’ve been building castles with them all afternoon?”


  “Yeah.” She nodded as she looked at the man walking toward her. His chiseled features tugged at her heartstrings.

  “What are you doing?” She asked as he inched closer, his lips about to touch hers.

  “I’m watching you.” He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “Why, am I not allowed?”


  “You’re allowed, but don’t you think you’re too close?” she asked.

  “Nope.” Ji Ziming observed the woman before him carefully. From her expression, she was in a good mood. Even though Qu Jingwan was staying in this house, too, given this woman’s feisty temperament, he was not worried that she would get bullied.

  “.……” Pei Ge got up and walked away from him before going to the three children.

  “Are you all hungry? After so long, we should go eat.”


  “Okay, mommy; I want to eat the porridge you make.” Her daughter had a coy smile. “Mommy makes the best porridge!”


  “If my girl wants more, I’ll make more for you.” She nodded, comforted by her daughter’s thoughtfulness.

  “Ping An, you want some?” She asked with a smile.

  Ji Chi looked at her without saying anything, but his expectant expression said everything.

  “Okay, let’s go make some porridge.”


  She then brought the children to the kitchen. She was about two steps inside when a strong force gripped her arm. She turned to see a cold face staring back at her.

  “You’re going?”


  “Yeah.”


  “To make porridge?”


  “Yeah.”


  She frowned, unsure of what Ji Ziming was getting at.

  The man let go of her wrist, his dark eyes staring at her. “Make a plate of picked cucumbers, too.”


  When she heard his request, she burst out laughing, unable to react to his request.

  The man stared at her, his eyes getting colder. “You’re not leaving yet?”


  “Okay, okay, okay; I’ll go now.”


  She chucked as she brought the kids with her. The man watched her, hesitant, as if he had recalled something.

  The man tugged at his striped tie as he watched her descend the stairs. His eyes darkened and his lips curled into a smile.

  In the kitchen, Pei Ge watched the two kids play around with the flour and get it all over their faces. “Look at you guys; the flour is all over your faces.”


  She cleaned her daughter’s face gently with a towel. “Look at your brother’s face; there’s nothing there, and it’s all clean.”


  “My face is clean, too.” The girl pouted as she cozied up to her mother. “Mommy, see; there’s nothing. Isn’t it clean?”


  The woman poked her freshly cleaned face, the cheekiness in her eyes not lost on her.

  “Okay, okay. My daughter is the cleanest.”


  “An An, go get daddy and grandma to come down for dinner.” She told her oldest son this after she cleaned her daughter’s face and cooked the porridge.

  “Okay.”


  The boy nodded obediently before going to get his father.

  At the dinner table, Pei Ge scooped a full bowl of porridge for Ji Chi. The latter hesitated before he lifted a small scoop. Before long, his bowl was empty, and he was staring at the pot of porridge on the dining table.

  “Come, Ping An; I’ll get you another bowl.” She picked up his bowl and scooped him more porridge when she saw his expression.

  Seeing that the lad was only eating porridge, she put a piece of cucumber in his bowl. Ji Chi hesitated for a few moments before he secretly ate the cucumber in his bowl.

  She inwardly rejoiced. The lad seemed to remember the taste of her food. At least, he did not reject it. As long as he did not reject it, she believed that he would one day remember her.

  She just had to wait patiently.

  Ji Ziming looked at his woman, who was focused on his son, and his eyes hardened; a hint of dismay appeared on his chiseled features thereafter.