leave

The sunlight lazily crept in from outside, casting shimmering light on the glass decorations on the wall, which in turn enhanced the tranquility of the living room.

Qiqi lay on the mat to the side, his belly rising and falling gently with the rhythm of his breathing, looking very comfortable, as if the dog that had been howling here earlier was not him.

Yun Jin remained in the same position, with Shen Yi'an's head resting on her lap, seemingly asleep...

However, Yun Jin could see Shen Yi'an's gaze shift away as soon as she looked down: "Are you a child? Playing hide-and-seek with me."

"I'm asleep." Shen Yi'an immediately closed his eyes.

"Knock knock".

A few hesitant knocks sounded on the door, and Qiqi immediately perked up her ears, though she kept her eyes closed.

Yun Jin also looked towards the doorway. The wind chimes beside the door didn't sway despite the door's vibration, indicating that the knocking wasn't forceful or the knocking position was too low...

"Knock—knock"

After a while, there were two more knocks on the door, louder than before, as if the person at the door had made up their mind.

Qi Qi suddenly stood up, facing the door, making a low "woo-woo" sound in his throat, and then he exchanged a glance with Yun Jin.

Yun Jin understood immediately. Qi Qi could tell from the smell that the person at the door posed no threat; it must be a child.

As soon as this judgment was made, a certain figure flashed through Yun Jin's mind.

Little Flower?

What is she doing here?

Is Shen Yi'an capable of handling her now?

Thinking of this, Yun Jin frowned and lowered her head: "Shen Yi'an, someone is knocking on the door, it sounds like Xiao Hua."

Shen Yi'an lazily twirled a strand of Yun Jin's long hair with his index finger, saying casually, "How could that be? What would a little kid like her be doing here? You must have misheard..."

Yun Jin didn't say anything or move, but just stared at him with an annoyed expression that seemed to say, "Are you questioning me?"

Even with his eyes closed, Shen Yi'an could feel the constant killing intent. Without any hesitation, he almost instantly released Yun Jin's hair and stood up abruptly.

"I'll go take a look."

"Shen Yi'an, are you able to handle your current situation?" Yun Jin tugged at his sleeve, looking at him with some concern.

“It’s alright, I’m much better now,” Shen Yi’an smiled and took Yun Jin’s hand. “Your lap pillow is really effective, even more so than those medications.”

"Why don't you let me do it?" Yun Jin was startled by his nauseatingly muscular body and quickly pulled her hand away.

"Hmm... in what form?" Shen Yi'an raised an eyebrow. "She probably hasn't seen you like this before."

No, actually I have seen it before.

As Yun Jin thought about it, her figure suddenly shrank, and a calico cat with its head tilted appeared on the sofa.

"Yun Jin, you're so cute." Shen Yi'an smiled, opened his arms, hugged her tightly, and leaned down to kiss her.

Yun Jin had already developed a conditioned reflex to this, and soon, Yun Jin's paws pressed against his face.

"Go open the door, don't make me say it twice."

Yun Jin's claws were very forceful, even pressing a plum blossom pattern onto Shen Yi'an's face.

"OK."

When I opened the door, it was indeed Xiaohua.

She was wearing an ill-fitting hoodie, a large mask that almost completely covered her face, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her hands were awkwardly placed in front of her chest.

"uncle……"

Her voice was as soft as her knocking.

Shen Yi'an didn't respond, but simply turned to gesture for Xiao Hua to come in, but Yun Jin still heard a soft "tsk".

Xiao Hua followed behind Shen Yi'an. Yun Jin saw her sigh softly and come to the living room.

The bright sunlight in the living room seemed to make her even more uncomfortable. She stood timidly to one side with her head down, not daring to sit down.

Shen Yi'an poured her a glass of water, his eyes indifferent.

"Have a seat," Shen Yi'an pushed the water glass towards him. "Xie Xinrou sent you to find me."

Xiaohua didn't move or say anything.

Yun Jin jumped down and used her paws to pull off Xiao Hua's mask. Her cheeks were flushed, clearly from the heat.

Xiaohua haphazardly stuffed the mask into her pocket, wiped the sweat from her face, and sat down.

Yun Jin touched her sleeve with her paw again. The thick, fluffy texture startled Yun Jin. She wondered what Xie Xinrou was thinking, wearing clothes made of such material in this weather.

"Beep".

Shen Yi'an turned on the air conditioner, which made a "buzzing" sound that was particularly noticeable in the quiet living room.

“No, I ran away here secretly,” Xiaohua said to Shen Yi’an. “I’m sorry about what happened last time.”

"If there's nothing else, I'll just ask you to take it back." Shen Yi'an picked up his phone and started swiping.

Seeing that Shen Yi'an was being so direct, Xiao Hua quickly stood up, took a USB drive out of her pocket, and placed it on the coffee table.

“Wait a minute, I know a verbal apology isn’t enough, so I brought this.”

"What is this?" Shen Yi'an put down his phone and looked at Xiao Hua.

"Uncle, let me finish what I have to say before you send me away, okay?" Xiaohua clenched her hands tightly around the hem of her clothes, and her breathing was heavy.

Yun Jin lifted the sofa armrest, rubbed her head against her hand, and then gave Shen Yi'an a look, signaling him to calm down.

"Alright, sit down and tell me slowly." Shen Yi'an nodded helplessly.

“Dad… Zhang Shuo lied to me. He said that as long as he could get that role, he would be a good father, he would stop hitting Mom, he would announce my identity to the outside world, and then we would become a family.”

“I know he might not be telling the truth, but I really want a home, and my mom… she believes me…”

Qiqi suddenly came over and crouched down at Xiaohua's feet, startling Xiaohua.

"Uncle, did you get another dog? What's its name?" Xiaohua patted Qiqi's head.

She clearly ran away just now, but came back after hearing some gossip? Yun Jin looked at Qi Qi, whose eyes were shining, speechless.

“Its name is Qiqi,” Shen Yian paused, “you can continue.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” Xiaohua withdrew her hand, “So, I’m very sorry for all the help you’ve given me all this time. I’m a very selfish person.”

Shen Yi'an looked outside, picked up a glass of water and drank it slowly, seemingly lost in thought.

"This USB drive contains some videos. I think your uncle might need them in the future. If Zhang Shuo tries to harm you, your uncle will have something on him."

"Cough cough...wait, what...what do you mean by cough cough?"

Shen Yi'an choked on the water, and his face turned red at a visible speed, making it difficult for him to speak properly.

Yun Jin, standing to the side, gaped wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.

Is this the kind of thinking a child should have? Is this the kind of talk a child of this age should be saying?

Even Qiqi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly perked up her ears and looked up at Xiaohua.

An eerie silence fell over the living room, broken only by Shen Yi'an's disheveled coughing. It seemed everyone was stunned by what he had just said.

"Uncle, please don't get excited." Little Flower was at a loss, her little hands waving frantically in the air.

After a while, Shen Yi'an finally calmed down. He patted his chest to catch his breath and asked, "Do you mean the literal meaning?"

“Yes,” Xiaohua looked at the person, cat, and dog present with confusion, “Mom installed a camera in the living room to see if Zhang Shuo would bring other women home, and accidentally filmed it.”

“Although I don’t know what the point of doing this is, every time my mother shows me the video, Zhang Shuo coaxes her with a few words and buys her some clothes and bags, and my mother forgives him.”

An irresponsible father and a love-struck mother—well, it's not surprising that a precocious child would come from such a family. Yun Jin silently wiped away a cold sweat.

“When I went to look through these videos, I found that Zhang Shuo had done something shameful,” Xiao Hua said with a blank expression. “I thought that this was a handle on him, and maybe if I gave it to my uncle, I could atone for my sins.”

Shen Yi'an coughed twice and picked up the USB drive: "Even now, I don't know whether I should trust you or not."

“Uncle, you can trust me,” Xiaohua said slowly, taking a deep breath.

“In another week, I will be going to live abroad. I don’t have any feelings for this family right now. I just feel sorry for hurting my uncle, so I thought of this method.”

"You're going abroad? Why?" Shen Yi'an was taken aback and put down the USB drive.

"Because I wanted to start my life anew, and Zhang Shuo was also eager for me to disappear, we hit it off immediately." Xiao Hua smiled bitterly.

“Alright, I appreciate your kindness,” Shen Yi’an sighed, “but I don’t want this USB drive.”

"Okay, actually I uploaded the video to this private account. Uncle will use it, because Zhang Shuo is really not a person."

Xiao Hua angrily pulled out a crumpled note and placed it on the coffee table.

Time passed as Xiaohua angrily berated Zhang Shuo. The little girl had been holding back so much grievance and anger, and now she poured it all out at once.

Only then could Yun Jin see that she was like a little girl rather than a mature adult.

After venting her emotions, Xiaohua seemed tired and calmed down a lot. Shen Yi'an looked at his phone and called the driver.

The car pulled up at the door, and Xiaohua reluctantly got in. Before leaving, Shen Yi'an said to her earnestly, "Xiaohua... I wish you a new life and a new beginning from now on."

Xiao Hua rolled down the car window and burst into tears of grievance. Yun Jin jumped onto Shen Yi'an's shoulder, nuzzled Xiao Hua's face, and let her tears and snot get smeared onto her fur.

She's just a child; her precociousness is merely a disguise for survival. The mistakes of adults shouldn't be paid for by children.

The car carrying Xiaohua drove away and eventually disappeared from sight. Shen Yi'an and Yun Jin turned around and returned to the living room, where the wind chimes by the door tinkled softly.

Shen Yi'an looked a little tired, but his emotions were still stable. He took out a few tissues and wiped Yun Jin's fur, which had been soiled by Xiao Hua.

Yun Jin was enjoying herself when Qi Qi started whimpering wildly on the side, as if she was about to scream at any moment.

Yun Jin understood immediately, but she wasn't sure if now was the right time to speak, since Shen Yi'an seemed rather calm at the moment.

"Shen Yi'an, is it possible for Qiqi to avoid the sterilization surgery?"