He Lingchuan squinted at the man hiding behind Shen Yanxi, his attitude icy: "Do I need to say it? With his looks, which elder would want him?"

"He Lingchuan, don't think that just because you have my mother backing you up, I won't dare to scold you."

Shen Yanxi trembled with anger. She blocked He Lingchuan's path, forcing him to give her an explanation.

"I have nothing to say."

Seeing her daughter's hysterical outburst over another man and her husband, Chen's mother angrily scolded her, "Xixi, stop making a scene."

"I didn't make a scene."

Shen Yanxi had completely lost her mind. She boldly retorted to her mother, looking at He Lingchuan as if he were her enemy: "I don't care what you said, you have to apologize now."

Before He Lingchuan could respond, Chen's mother spoke first: "Xixi, stop being so willful. You're arguing with your husband over an outsider. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

The word "outsider" felt like a sharp blade piercing Zhou Mingyan's heart. He pried Shen Yanxi's hand away, his eyes filled with disappointment: "Xixi, it seems I really am not suited to stay here. I'll be leaving now. I wish you happiness."

He left without any hesitation. Shen Yanxi stomped her foot and turned to chase after Zhou Mingyan.

"Xixi, Xixi..."

Mother Shen chased after her for a couple of steps, but still couldn't catch up with Shen Yanxi.

She turned her head to look at He Lingchuan, and in that instant, He Lingchuan saw shame on her face.

He very considerately comforted Chen's mother: "Don't worry, I'm used to it."

He Lingchuan glanced at the time; it was exactly nine o'clock.

"Aunt Chen, I should take the children back to bed now; they have school tomorrow."

Mother Shen originally wanted He Lingchuan to stay, but considering the two children, she had no choice but to give up.

Before leaving, He Lingchuan had the housekeeper take a lot of things and money: "I've spoiled Xixi, so you should be more tolerant of her."

Chen's mother spoke naturally, just as she had always instructed him, as if they had never divorced.

"Don't worry."

He Lingchuan couldn't bear to disappoint Shen's mother, so he readily agreed.

The two children ate a bit too much for dinner, but fortunately the journey wasn't far, so He Lingchuan planned to take them for a walk to help them digest.

This also gives him time to clear his mind.

As they passed an intersection, Nan Chen suddenly stopped. He Lingchuan looked in the direction he was looking and was dazzled by the wide array of candied hawthorns.

"Dad, I want to eat candied hawthorn."

"Can't."

He Lingchuan refused the two children without hesitation. He knew they would make a fuss, so he squatted down and reasoned with them before they started crying: "Have you forgotten that you were hospitalized for eating snacks? You've already eaten dinner, so you can't eat anything else unless you want to stay in the hospital again."

He Lingchuan deliberately tried to scare them, but Nan Chen also lost his temper.

He was fine with anything when he was feeling unwell, but now that he's better, he's long forgotten how uncomfortable he was when he was sick.

Nan Chen rolled around on the ground, yelling, "I want to eat candied hawthorns! I want to eat them! If you don't buy them for me, you're not a good dad!"

He Lingchuan was smiling, but he immediately stopped smiling when he heard the last three words.

He cared a lot about what the children thought of him, and upon hearing the last sentence, he immediately fell into a state of disappointment.

"Yes, I'm not a good father. Does that mean I should just ignore your lives?"

He Lingchuan looked disappointed, and the corners of his mouth drooped.

He walked to the chair next to him and sat down, hunched over, looking very haggard.

His appearance terrified Nan Che. As he grew up, he learned to read people's expressions, and the grievance and disappointment on He Lingchuan's face made him feel inexplicably guilty.

He stepped forward and said, "I won't eat it then, don't be upset."

Bei Chen chimed in, "We didn't actually want to eat candied hawthorns that much; we were just teasing you."

The two children awkwardly comforted He Lingchuan. He planned to spend time with them after he calmed down, but they came to him on their own initiative.

He had to admit that the moment Nan Chen spoke, he felt that all the grievances he had suffered were worth it.

He Lingchuan held the two children in his arms and immediately told the driver to bring the car over.

To avoid passing by other food stalls later.

The driver stopped the car in less than ten minutes.

The two children ran in excitedly, only to meet Shen Yanxi's gaze.

Her expression was cold, her eyes were sinister, and the two children immediately became obedient, standing at the door, not daring to go in.

"Nanchen and Beichen, go back to sleep. Mom and Dad have something to say."

The two children glanced back worriedly. He Lingchuan was explaining tomorrow's work to the driver and took a moment to wave to them.

They didn't return to their room until Shen Yanxi repeated what she had just said.

When Shen Yanxi saw He Lingchuan, her first words were an angry question: "What exactly did you say to my mother? How could she say such hurtful things to Mingyan?"

"Zhou Mingyan complained to you?"

He Lingchuan changed his shoes and went upstairs, with no intention of confronting Shen Yanxi.

"Does he even need to say that? Besides you, who else could sow discord between my mother and Mingyan? You're the happiest person to see Mingyan kicked out, aren't you?"

He Lingchuan paused as he climbed the stairs, then turned to look at Shen Yanxi: "You're really overthinking it. Zhou Mingyan isn't worth me doing this for."

He didn't want to explain too much; whether Shen Yanxi believed him or not didn't matter. He just wanted to end this topic quickly and go see the child.

Shen Yanxi raised her head and snorted coldly at him: "Anyone can say nice things."

He Lingchuan shrugged, didn't respond, and walked straight to the two children's room.

Having just attended a banquet, the two children were very excited. After putting them to sleep, He Lingchuan was too lazy to go back to his room and fell asleep directly on the sofa.

He slept with his legs curled up in that position all night.

I was jolted awake by the pain the next day.

In a daze, He Lingchuan glanced at his phone. It was still early, and he had originally planned to let the two children sleep a little longer, but he didn't expect them to have already woken up.

When did you wake up?

He slept very soundly last night because he went to bed too late and the wound on his forehead was still throbbing.

"Mom doesn't want me to wake you up."

Nan Chen, carrying his little schoolbag, went to open the door. Before leaving, he told He Lingchuan, "Dad, Mom said we're going to stay with Grandma for a while. If you miss us, go visit us at Grandma's."

Before He Lingchuan could react, Nan Chen and Bei Chen had already been called out by Shen Yanxi.

By the time he fully regained his senses, the two children had already been taken away by the driver.

He Lingchuan staggered out of the room and shouted downstairs, "Are you going to send the child away?"

Upon hearing his words, Shen Yanxi admitted without hesitation: "I don't think you're in a good position to take care of the children, so I sent them to my mother's place."