Ye Zhen looked up at Mother Lu before she rubbed Zhouzhou on his back. She carried him back into his bedroom, wiped away the tears on his little face, and asked with immense patience, “Zhouzhou, tell Mommy what have you done wrong that upset Daddy.”


  His voice choking, Zhouzhou sniffled and looked at Ye Zhen through his teary eyes. “Daddy took Zhouzhou with him to the banquet in the afternoon. Zhouzhou’s feet were aching and tired, so Daddy had Zhouzhou sit on the couch and rest. And then… then Uncle came and said to play a game with Daddy and see how long it will take Daddy to find me. Daddy found me right away but Daddy looks so angry.”


  Grabbing onto Ye Zhen’s sleeve, he asked in a low voice. “Mom, Zhouzhou knew that he was wrong now. I should have listened to Daddy and not run away with Uncle. But Zhouzhou had already apologized! Why did Daddy still get so angry and not talk to me?”


  “You played a game with Daddy? With an uncle? Which uncle?”


  “The… the one that gave Zhouzhou a ball over at Great-grandpa’s.”


  Ye Zhen thought about it a little bit and was able to piece together most of what had happened from the broken words from Zhouzhou. Stroking Zhouzhou on his little head, she smiled and said, “It’s alright. If Zhouzhou already knew that he was wrong and had apologized, I am sure Daddy will forgive you. You be a good boy and stay here while Mommy goes check on Daddy, right?”


  Zhouzhou wiped away his tears with his sleeve and nodded.

  Ye Zhen got on her feet and said, “Mom, can you please help Zhouzhou change out of his clothes and take him downstairs for some food? I’ll go and check on Beichuan.”


  “Okay. You go.”


  Ye Zhen walked out of the room and went to knock on the door of Lu Beichuan’s study.

  “Beichuan, it’s me.”


  After a little while, she heard “come in” from inside the study.

  Ye Zhen pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  The lights in the study were not on. There was only dim light from the computer screen by the floor-to-ceiling window. Lu Beichuan was sitting in front of the desk and the computer. The light was so dim that Ye Zhen could not see the expression on him.

  Ye Zhen turned on the light of the study and walked over to him.

  “Why didn’t you turn the light on?”


  Lu Beichuan put his palm over his forehead tiredly. Leaning against the back of his seat, he did not say anything.

  “You ran into Lu Shaoyan at the banquet today?”


  “Zhouzhou told you?”


  Ye Zhen nodded. “You know that Zhouzhou is always worried that you will be disappointed in him and not like him. Why did you hide in the study?”


  Ye Zhen was finally able to see the deep furrow between his brows and the tired look on him when she walked closer.

  “What is going on?”


  “I’m sorry. It was my problem today. I failed to protect Zhouzhou.” Pausing a little, Lu Beichuan continued, “The fact that Lu Shaoyan was able to walk away with Zhouzhou, that was my fault.”


  He was able to summarize what had happened in just a few words, but the thick guilt on him remained.

  Ye Zhen understood the kind of pressure that this man had to face all the time. From the moment that he was born, he had never relaxed for a day. Ye Zhen understood him and felt bad for him.

  She held his shaking hand tightly, smiled, and said gently, “It’s alright. Look, Zhouzhou is fine, right? Nothing bad happened. You can stop beating yourself up now. Lesson learned. Now that we know what Lu Shaoyan is after, we can prepare ourselves. We don’t have to be afraid of dangers and losses in the future.”


  “You are not mad at me?” asked Lu Beichuan, his voice hoarse.

  “Why would I blame you? Lu Shaoyan was the one who committed the crime. I couldn’t believe he would do such a thing. But, now that we know where his mind is, we shall not allow him to get close to Zhouzhou again.”


  Having said that, Ye Zhen looked at him and said in a low voice. “And don’t be too tough on Zhouzhou. You should coax him a little now that he knows he was wrong. You had no idea how long he stood outside your study. He’s your son, and he is only three years old. As his father, you should forgive him for anything that he had done.”