Ye Zhimu could only look at the uncle who had helped her retrieve the ball and say, "My mother is here, goodbye uncle."
Shen Lin simply nodded, then realized that such a response was somewhat cold to a child.
So he added, "Goodbye."
Ye Zhimu turned and left. Shen Lin watched the girl's departing figure. He didn't know why, but with just a few words, this girl made him feel a different kind of closeness.
When the word came to mind, Shen Lin subconsciously frowned.
A self-deprecating smile played on her lips. "What's wrong with him? Is a child making him overthink things like this?"
Without thinking any further, Chen Lin turned around.
It was precisely because of that moment when he turned around that he failed to see Ye Xinning slowly appearing in the distance behind him.
Ye Zhimu was overjoyed to see Ye Xinning.
"Mother."
Ye Xinning held Ye Zhimu's small hand and looked into the distance. "Just now, were you talking to someone?"
She thought she saw a man's back.
"Yes, an uncle, the uncle who helped me pick up the ball."
Ye Xinning asked in surprise, "You're just a child. Aren't you afraid that strangers might have ulterior motives towards you?"
"I'm inside, and he's outside." Little Ye Zhimu rolled her eyes at her mother's vivid imagination.
"I'm just afraid you'll be coaxed by others and go with them."
"Mom, do you think your daughter is an idiot?"
Ye Xinning lowered his head seriously, and after a long while, nodded solemnly, "It's really hard to say."
Ye Zhimu, "..."
Ye Xinning chuckled, then stopped teasing and got down to business, "Didn't we invite experts to give a talk on infectious diseases? Why did you come out alone?"
“I’m not interested, and my mother already told me about those things.”
Ye Zhimu answered in a soft, sweet voice. Ye Xinning didn't really care whether she went to listen to those popular science lectures or not.
"Alright, let's go home then." Let's take advantage of the fact that the promotion inside hasn't ended yet, otherwise there will be a lot of people and we'll get stuck in traffic for a while.
Ye Xinning then told Ye Zhimu to say goodbye to the kindergarten teacher.
Goodbye, teacher.
"goodbye."
Ye Xinning held Ye Zhimu's hand, and the mother and daughter walked towards the door.
As Ye Zhimu reached the door, her shoelaces came undone.
Ye Xinning bent down to tie her shoelaces, asking as she did so, "Do the shoelaces on these shoes often come undone?"
No, this is the first time.
"Oh, I see. If you keep slipping on these shoes, we'll stop wearing them the next day, in case you trip over them..."
Before Ye Xinning could finish speaking, Ye Zhimu's surprised voice suddenly came from above.
"uncle."
Uncle? The one who helped Ye Zhimu retrieve the ball just now?
Ye Xinning was about to look up to see who it was when the male voice she heard made her freeze in place.
"It's you? Are you going home?"
Ye Xinning froze. Upon hearing the voice, her blood seemed to freeze, and her heartbeat slowed down.
A deep voice, a familiar tone...
Ye Xinning had considered hundreds of possibilities for reuniting with Shen Lin, but she never expected it to be like this.
She kept her head down, her back to Shen Lin, silently praying that he wouldn't come closer.
Once they arrive, Ye Zhimu's background, her peaceful life in Jiangcheng, and everything else will develop in a completely different direction.
She didn't want that possibility to come.
"Yes, my mom came to pick me up, and we're getting ready to go back."
Shen Lin looked at the figure squatting in front of Ye Zhimu. The woman had her back to him, so he couldn't see her face. During the time he was talking to Ye Zhimu, the woman didn't make any movements. Her long hair was draped behind her, and she was slightly bent over, seemingly with no intention of turning her head.
Shen Lin withdrew his gaze from the woman and looked at Ye Zhimu. "Okay, goodbye."
Goodbye, Uncle.
Shen Lin turned around and headed into the kindergarten to find Chi Zhao.
The footsteps behind me grew fainter and fainter until I could hear nothing at all.
Ye Xinning was in a state of confusion. She quickly tied Ye Zhimu's shoelaces, took her hand, and said, "Let's go."
Ye Zhimu looked at her mother and asked curiously, "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly so nervous?"
"without."
"That uncle was a really nice guy, why didn't Mom say a word to him?"
"There's nothing to say, just a stranger."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the car. Ye Xinning helped Ye Zhimu into the car, then returned to the driver's seat and quickly drove away.
"Mumu, are you sleepy? If you are, take a nap. Mom will wake you up when we get home."
"good."
Ye Zhimu was in the back and fell asleep soon after.
After confirming that Ye Zhimu was asleep, Ye Xinning took out her phone and called Su Wan.
The call was answered quickly, and Su Wan's voice came through, "Ningning, what's wrong?"
"I encountered Shen Lin." Ye Xinning paused for a moment before speaking again, trying her best to remain calm.
"What? You ran into Shen Lin?"
"Yes, at the entrance of Mumu's kindergarten. I don't know why he was there, but Mumu has already seen him."
"He knows everything?"
"He probably doesn't know yet. I had my back to him at the time, so he didn't recognize me."
"So... what are you thinking now?"
Ye Xinning was in a state of confusion, but the only thing she was certain of was that she did not want to reunite with Shen Lin at this moment.
“I think my life in Jiangcheng was pretty good before. I don’t want to live as hard and tired as I used to.”
Having known her for so many years, Su Wan understood upon hearing this. "I understand. I'll try to cover it up for you, but since you've already met, Shen Lin will probably find out everything after a little investigation."
"So, I'm thinking, should I take Mumu... and leave?"
"Are you just thinking about it, or have you already made the decision?"
"To be honest, I'm hesitant. I don't care how much trouble I go through, but not Mu Mu. I don't want her to have to adapt to a new place again because of me, after she has finally adapted to life in Jiangcheng."
"Is that so? You already know it yourself, so don't think about it anymore. Besides, didn't you tell me before that you would meet Shen Lin again someday? You can't go back to Nancheng forever, and Mu Mu can't stay unaware of who her father is forever."
Ye Xinning gripped the steering wheel with both hands, listening to Su Wan's voice coming from the phone.
Sometimes, thinking about something is one thing, but actually encountering it is quite another.
"Alright, I won't force you. Take Mumu home first. I'll make arrangements for Chen Lin. I just hope he doesn't know anything yet."
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