Chapter 13 The Strange Man
Last night, after taking a shower, Lin Ke read a book for a while. When she returned to her room around midnight, Si Yuming was already asleep, and everything seemed normal. However, she noticed that the man was acting strangely when she woke up this morning. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she felt as if a gaze was constantly following her.
She put the dumplings Aunt Chen had wrapped into the steamer, then went to heat up milk for Si Xiaotie. When she turned around, she was sure enough met with that piercing gaze again. The other person didn't look away and went into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
The man had faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating he hadn't slept well last night. Lin Ke couldn't help but ask, "Are you in a bad mood?"
"No."
"Is it a pimple? Or is there a hole in my shirt?"
"No." The milk doesn't need to be heated for too long. Si Yuming took out Si Xiaotie's special dinosaur milk cup, poured in the heated milk, opened the cupboard, found the egg-frying pan, and skillfully added oil to fry the eggs.
Lin Ke watched the man intently cooking for a while, but couldn't figure out what was going on. She then took the milk out to give to Si Xiaotie.
A little girl wearing green dinosaur pajamas rubbed her eyes as she came out of her room. Her soft, fine hair was all frizzy from the dry weather, and she asked sleepily, "Mommy, do I have to go to school today?"
"Yes, I want to." Lin Ke lifted her onto his knees, smoothed her hair with his hands, and then took off his own hair tie to simply tie her hair into a small ponytail. "Go brush your teeth, Daddy will be frying the eggs soon."
"Hmm." Si Xiaotie jumped down, his little body swaying as he went to the bathroom, where he stood on his special stool to brush his teeth.
Lin Ke raised her voice to remind her, "You need to swipe for a full five minutes."
"Okay." The little girl squeezed toothpaste onto her children's toothbrush, opened her mouth to reveal her two small rows of teeth, and began brushing from side to side while counting, "One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes..."
"Si Lezhen!"
The little girl pouted, gave up counting, and obediently brushed her teeth for the full five minutes.
Si Xiaotie brushed his teeth and couldn't wait to sit at the table. After taking a bite of his fried egg, he held up his chopsticks and started talking, "Mom, Gu Yiyi said he and his mom are going on a trip during the National Day holiday. Should we go too?"
Lin Ke was in a dilemma. Next week was National Day, but she had to prepare for exams this year and hadn't made any plans.
The man next to him spoke up: "Where does Xiao Tie want to go?"
"I don't know, Mom, where are we going?" The little girl looked at her mother with her round, almond-shaped eyes full of anticipation.
Lin Ke looked at Si Yuming, asking him with her eyes what he meant by asking that. He then said, "I'll go with you. It's Xiao Tie's first time going out, so he can drive himself."
Si Xiaotie quickly corrected, "This isn't Xiaotie's first time going out!"
Si Yuming didn't quite understand, but Si Xiaotie excitedly said, "My mom and I went to Disneyland! There were so many fun things to do there, and all sorts of big and small animals!"
The man frowned slightly upon hearing this, glanced at the woman who was drinking water with her head down, and after a few seconds, asked softly, "Which Disneyland?"
Lin Ke answered calmly: "Shanghai Disneyland."
The silence on the other end lasted a while this time. She explained, "During the summer vacation, the company went on a team building trip to the southern coast. We had a layover in Shanghai, so we stopped there for a bit."
It wasn't a connecting flight, nor was it on my way; I specifically bought a ticket to Shanghai to stay overnight.
However, I didn't tell him in advance, so I couldn't contact him the night before and after he landed the next day. Later, I received a reply saying that he was abroad, so there was no need to inform him.
Lin Ke thought to herself that it was a good thing she hadn't told Si Xiaotie beforehand that she was going to find her father, otherwise she didn't know how disappointed she would be if she couldn't see him.
Silence returned to the dinner table, broken only by Si Xiaotie's panting as he struggled to finish his steamed dumplings.
Lin Ke pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth and continued casually, "If you're free, let's go together."
After Si Xiaotie turned two, she took her to many places, some with Zhang Man, some with colleagues, and some just the two of them alone, both near and far, but Si Xiaotie never traveled with her father.
Sure enough, the little girl's eyes lit up when she heard that, "Daddy, together!"
Looking at the calm and composed woman opposite him, and then at his overjoyed daughter, Si Yuming felt a pang of sadness welling up inside him.
......
For their road trip, Lin Ke spent an entire night choosing a destination: a city more than 400 kilometers northwest of Beicheng, a place with grasslands, yellow leaves, and the animals that Si Xiaotie loved.
On Friday morning, all employees of Entropy Domain received a holiday notice in their emails. There was no need to make up for the National Day holiday; they could start their holiday two days early, and the holiday would begin right after get off work.
The entire office erupted in cheers, "Thank you, boss!" "Thank you, President Si!" "May President Si live a long and healthy life!"
Lin Ke found the notice amusing; they should thank Si Xiaotie.
The next day they were to depart, and the night before, as soon as they finished dinner, Si Xiaotie couldn't wait to start packing his luggage.
She has her own little suitcase and has plenty of experience, so she knows what to bring. Now she's directing, "Daddy, where's my water bottle?"
Si Yuming took out her water bottle from her kindergarten backpack, washed it, and then gave it to her.
The little girl knelt in front of her suitcase, rummaging through the already packed clothes, and asked uncertainly, "Mommy, what else do I need to bring?"
A woman's voice came from the next room: "Did you bring that smooth pink dress?"
Si Xiaotie let out an "Ah-oh" and ran to open the wardrobe with her short legs, but she couldn't reach the top even on tiptoe. Si Yuming walked over and, guided by her, found a pink and smooth sun-protective shirt.
After packing, the little girl raised her voice again, as if afraid no one would hear her, and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Mommy, what else do I need to bring?"
"hat."
Si Yuming took a foldable hat from the desk and gave it to her; the little girl put it in her suitcase.
"Mom, what else do I need to bring?"
"Your storybook."
Si Yuming walked to the bedside and found two of her favorite picture books. "Which one should I bring?"
Without a second thought, the little girl replied, "I want them all." Then she asked, "Mommy, what else do I need?"
Did you bring your underwear?
"I brought it."
"That's fine then."
The mother and daughter's conversation ended there. Si Xiaotie pushed down all the clothes and toys in the suitcase, which were not very neat, and then ran to the other side, trying with all her might to lift it up and close it.
Si Yuming smiled as he watched, then stepped forward to help her fasten the inner straps, and finally closed the zipper.
"Thank you, Dad!"
After packing her luggage, the little girl was so tired that she fell asleep almost immediately.
Si Yuming returned to his room.
Lin Ke was also packing clothes; her suitcase was twice the size of her daughter's.
The woman raised her eyes upon hearing the noise. "You don't need me to take your money, do you?"
"No need." Si Yuming shook his head, then asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Lin Ke looked around and didn't stand on ceremony with him: "Go to the bathroom outside and get three new sets of toiletries. There are some travel-sized bottles that I've cleaned under the bathroom cabinet. Pack some of the shower gel, shampoo, and body cream in them. Si Xiaotie isn't used to the ones from outside."
He turned to leave, but was stopped after a few steps: "While you're at it, get some medicine from the first-aid kit under the coffee table in the living room, um... fever reducer, iodine, band-aids, and two bottles of oral diarrhea medicine too, she might get diarrhea from eating outside food."
Si Yuming didn't leave this time; he remained rooted to the spot, his deep gaze fixed on the woman's busy back.
He is proficient in everything, big or small.
She has always been a good mother. From the time Si Xiaotie was born until now, she has done everything herself. Over the years, she has raised her daughter to be well-behaved and sensible, but also has her own personality.
But it was he who failed in his duty, an unfit husband and an unfit father, leaving her to bear so much alone.
After a minute or two, she glanced back, probably thinking he had returned, and then said, "There are tissues under the sideboard, take a few packs, take more wet wipes, and also take a set of her cutlery."
The woman waited a while and, seeing that he was still in the same spot, stopped what she was doing. "What's wrong?"
Si Yuming shook his head and smiled, but his voice was somewhat deep when he spoke: "It's nothing."
He left the room and prepared the necessary items as she instructed.
After tidying everything up, Si Yuming took a quick shower and went to bed.
Lin Ke turned off the light and asked in the darkness, "What time do we leave tomorrow?"
What time would you like?
"Let's go early, we'll leave after breakfast."
"Um."
Are you driving or is a chauffeur driving?
"I'll drive."
After a moment of silence, the woman said, "Okay, then remember to put the baby chair in your car tomorrow morning."
"Okay." He asked, "Is there anything else?"
"That's about it. We can buy anything else we need on the way."
"Um."
Si Yuming stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and said nothing more.
......
The journey to the destination takes a total of six hours, but given the large number of people and vehicles on the eve of the holiday, and considering the traffic congestion, it will probably be evening by the time we arrive.
They drove an SUV with spacious seating. Lin Ke and Si Xiaotie sat in the back. The little girl was very happy after setting off, chattering with her father about her dinosaur and spider world, determined to tell him everything she knew about dinosaurs and spiders.
When she got tired of talking, she started eating snacks again. After finishing her snacks, she watched cartoons. When the car pulled into the first service area, Lin Ke looked over and saw that the little one was already fast asleep, hugging a bag of cookies.
Although it was hard to do, I still had to wake her up. "Baby, get up and go to the bathroom."
"Hmm..."
Si Yuming got out of the car, opened the back door, and carried the little girl out. Si Xiaotie leaned softly against his shoulder.
Lin Ke picked up her bag and followed her inside.
After using the toilet and washing his face, Si Xiaotie regained his energy. One moment he was leaning against the window looking at the scenery, the next he was trying to untie his high chair and stand in the middle, sticking his head out to the center of the seat in front of him, softly calling out, "Daddy~"
"Hey." Si Yuming quickly turned his head to look at her.
The little girl was in a good mood. She leaned forward and gave the man a quick kiss on the cheek, then immediately returned to her mother's arms, giggling, "Mommy, I'm hungry."
Lin Ke pretended to be serious, "You've already eaten two packets of cookies and a small cake. We'll eat more later."
Si Xiaotie compromised very quickly, "Alright then."
A moment later, the little one, who had nothing better to do, cupped his mother's face in his hands and asked curiously, "Mommy, are you a fairy?"
Lin Ke: "?"
Si Yuming glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the woman's surprised smile.
Lin Ke: "What does the baby think?"
"Mom is a fairy, the most beautiful fairy, and she smells so good!" Si Xiaotie looked ahead. "What does Dad think?"
Si Yuming glanced in the rearview mirror again and met the eyes of the elegant woman in the mirror, whose simple yet sophisticated demeanor was undeniable.
She moved away first, her expression a little unnatural.
He smiled and echoed his daughter's words, "Yes, Mommy is a fairy."
"And what about the baby?"
"Baby is a little fairy."
"hey-hey."
There weren't many cars on the road, but there were still quite a few. Sure enough, the navigation system showed the driving time as eight hours.
Halfway through the journey, we exited the highway to eat and rest as planned.
The local food culture is different from that of the northern part of the city, so they chose a noodle shop for lunch.
Perhaps it wasn't to their taste; Si Xiaotie only ate a few bites before losing their appetite, and Lin Ke also found it unpalatable, managing to eat only half of it.
The child's father took care of the rest of the meal for the mother and daughter.
After a short rest, we set off again.
But after driving for only about twenty minutes, Si Xiaotie started clutching his stomach and saying he was in pain.
Si Yuming looked back anxiously, "Xiao Tie?"
"Waaah, Mommy." The girl threw herself into her mother's arms, her voice, which had been so excited not long ago, now barely audible. "It hurts."
The car was still moving, but the speed gradually decreased, and Si Yuming turned on his signal and moved to the slow lane.
Presumably it was the bowl of noodles that was the problem. Lin Ke lifted the girl onto his lap and calmly asked, "How long until the next service area?"
"Half an hour."
The woman frowned. Si Xiaotie always needed to go to the toilet when he had an upset stomach. It was easy to deal with before, but now that they were on the highway, what could they do?
"What about the nearest exit?"
Si Yuming checked the navigation, "Estimated to be fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes, that's about right.
Lin Ke found the oral liquid she had prepared in advance and fed it to her. Then she pinched the tiger's mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger) and talked to her to distract her, "Where did Gu Yiyi and his mother go?"
"They went to the beach... Ugh... Mom, I need to poop."
"Can you hold on a little longer?"
"Hmm..."
If all else fails, there are solutions. Compared to the discomfort of holding it in, nothing else matters.
Lin Ke pulled a plastic bag out of her bag.
Si Xiaotie understood what his mother was about to do, and his little face panicked, his eyes clearly showing his refusal: "No! Yuanyuan and Gu Yiyi will laugh at me if they find out!"
"Sure?"
The girl insisted, "No, no, no."
Hearing her refusal with such a strong voice, Lin Ke guessed that the medicine was slowly taking effect, and felt a little relieved. She joked with her, "Your parents will pretend they don't know and won't tell your best friend either."
"Ahhh, no, I don't want to!"
Si Yuming could still only see the mother and daughter in the rearview mirror. He first glanced at the woman who remained calm and still had a smile in her eyes, then looked at his daughter who was both upset and shy and anxious, and chuckled softly.
Hearing this, Si Xiaotie quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth with his hand, saying, "Dad, you're not allowed to laugh!"
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Author's Note: I'm now a paid seller! [cheering emojis]
Sorry everyone, this chapter is a bit short [poor][poor][poor], I'll compensate you with random small red envelopes~
Regarding the plot, don't worry, what's meant to happen will happen. Let President Si reflect on his feelings and feel bad for a while first.
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