Song Fengyan had no idea that his daughter was harboring these kinds of thoughts about him. If he knew, it would only make him feel guiltier than he already was. He had no idea that Lan Xiyan never talked about him with their daughter.

  "Ah, Yun'er! Your mommy is finally here! She's come to pick you up!" The homeroom teacher called out, taking everyone's attention. It was already past school time and only the school staff, along with Song Fengyan and the three children were left.

  Lan Yunru, who was still sitting with her back on Song Fengyan, jolted up from her seat and ran towards the door to see her mommy. Song Fengyan followed the girl with his eyes and it landed on the familiar woman he'd been waiting for.

  "Mommy, you are here! I thought you forgot about me!" Lan Yunru wrapped her arms around her mother's t.h.i.g.h and smiled brightly at Lan Xiyan.

  Lan Xiyan laughed at her daughter's words and patted her head lovingly, oblivious to the stunned expression Song Fengyan had at that moment. The pink comb on his hand stopped midair while his other hand held onto nothing.

  "I'm sorry my little dumpling. My appointment took longer than expected. Ready to go home?" Lan Xiyan asked. She had a warm smile on her face as she talked with her daughter. Something Song Fengyan had been missing for years.

  Song Fengyan hadn't heard that familiar voice for a long time and held his breath. There, at the doorway, was the woman he fell in love with years ago and their daughter. He could feel his heart beating fast as his palm felt sweaty suddenly.

  "En!" The little girl nodded her head. "By the way, Mommy. Little Star and Feiyu accompanied me here with their uncle!" She announced proudly.

  "Really? Then we should thank them for accompanying you today." Lan Xiyan lifted her face, but her smile fell the instant she saw Song Fengyan together with the empress's twins.

  What was he doing here? Didn't he promise he would stay away from her and never show himself in front of her ever again? He turned away last time, but what about this time? Did he find out about Yunyun?

  Lan Xiyan recovered from her shock and gave Song Fengyan a polite nod. She cannot allow him to get involved with her and Yunru's life this time.

  "Mr. Song, it's been a while. Thank you for looking after Yun'er today." She tried to keep her panic and nervousness at bay. This wasn't the right time for her to be weak. Not when Yunru needed her.

  Song Fengyan rose to his feet and looked at her blankly. A part of him wanted to rush towards her and wrap her in a tight embrace, while the other part wanted to scream at how heartless she was for forcing him out of Yunru's life.

  "Yes, it's been a while." He agreed with her and said nothing. The little buns appeared next to him and held unto his hands.

  "Uncle, let's go home. Mommy and Daddy must be home by now." Xiao Bao reminded him. Only then Song Fengyan realized that he'd been staring for too long, making the atmosphere awkward between the a.d.u.l.ts.

  "Okay!" He muttered. "Ready when you are." He told them and watched as they hurriedly took their bags, ready to leave.

  Even Lan Xiyan looked away and bent down to pick her daughter up. They needed to leave as soon as possible, before Song Fengyan got a chance to corner her about Yunru. She wasn't quite ready yet to face the past and didn't want to hurt him or lie to her daughter anymore.

  She thanked the homeroom teacher and scampered away with her daughter in her arms.

  They left the kindergarten so fast that Song Fengyan didn't have a chance to stop both mother and daughter. He stood at the parking space with the little buns on each side, watching as Lan Xiyan drove away.

  "Uncle, is there something wrong?" Little Star asked when she noticed that her favorite uncle was unusually silent again.

  Of course she and Yu Gege had been wondering why Uncle Yan wasn't himself lately. He was far from the overly energetic and affectionate Uncle Yan they were accustomed to. There were times that they caught him staring at nothing, but they didn't dare to question why.

  Little Star was starting to get worried that she'd asked her daddy about it. Her daddy only said that Uncle Yan was just sad because he was missing someone terribly.

  "How bad is it, Daddy?" She questioned her father. Was it as bad as when she misses her mommy whenever she had to leave for a long business trip?

  "Like what Daddy would feel if Little Star went away somewhere where he wouldn't be able to see or talk to her." Feng Tianyi held Little Star close to him.

  He couldn't imagine the pain his cousin was going through right now. Just the thought of not being able to hold or see Little Star and Xiao Bao already caused pain in his heart. He was glad that Moyu hadn't taken them away when she found out the truth.

  "Little Star would also miss Daddy too! But that would never happen. I won't go anywhere without my daddy!" Little Star proclaimed, giving the devil two kisses on both sides on his face.

  "Don't worry, little one. I'm sure your Uncle Yan will be okay soon." Feng Tianyi assured his daughter. He hadn't thought that his children would be able to notice the difference in their Uncle Yan.

  So long as he would be able to wrap up what had happened and come to the same page with Lan Xiyan about Lan Yunru's custody, it wouldn't be easy for his cousin to have them back in his life.

  Going back to the present, Song Fengyan could only shake his head and help the twins to buckle up before driving back to Peach Blossom Garden, where their parents were probably waiting.