“On the way, Zhao Tingxing took the initiative to arrange: “After you send Han Zhaoyi to school in the morning, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. I will pick him up after school. When you are busy in the evening, call me and I will take him there; On weekends, I can take him with me all the time. If you have time, just let me know your arrangements.”
Hàn Lì sat quietly in the back row, tacitly accepting it. After all, as his father, picking up his child every day and spending a few more hours with them was only natural.
“If you don’t speak up, I’ll take it as your agreement.” Zhao Tingxing declared domineeringly.
After Han Zhao Yi recovered from his injuries, he returned to school as normal, and Han Li’s life finally got back on track. Apart from her work, she enrolled in an in-service master’s program, which was a joint venture between a renowned foreign architecture college and the domestic Senzhou University. It had campuses in both Senzhou and Beijing, boasting high academic credibility. However, Han Li prioritized the teaching aspects of the foreign architecture college, allowing her to systematically learn the latest global architectural concepts.
With Han Zhao’s work and study, every day is busy and fulfilling, with life passing by in a flash.
But she regretted a little that she hadn’t objected to Zhao Tingxing’s arrangement when they were in the car that day, because with the time she spent sending Han Zhaoyi back every night, the two of them inevitably saw each other every day.
Especially, every time Han Zhaoyi came back, he would pull Zhao Tingxing into the house and even ask him to stay for dinner. One day, Han Li simply couldn’t refuse Han Zhaoyi’s enthusiasm, so she made an excuse: “Mom didn’t cook today.”
Han Zhao’yi waved his hand dismissively: “Let Zhao Tingxing do it, he cooks really well.”
When those words left her mouth, not only did Han Li laugh, but even Zhao Tingxing was stunned. As a rough man, he had eaten lunch boxes on construction sites before and later had someone cook three meals a day for him. Where would he know how to cook?
But his son had created so many opportunities for him, he couldn’t let him down. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Alright, I’ll do it.”
Just squeezed into the kitchen.
“Won’t you come in and lend a hand?” he called to Han Li.
Han Li pretended not to hear and played outside with Han Zhao Yi.
Zhaotingxing wasn’t completely incapable of cooking. After all, he came from a poor family, so while his dishes might be rough around the edges, he could manage. Just as he finished preparing everything and carried the food out of the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Hanli, wearing slippers, went to answer the door, carrying a box of takeout with her.
Zhao Tingxing’s stir-fried dishes were placed on the table, and Han Li’s takeout was also placed on the table.
Han Zhao stood in the middle, his bright eyes looking left and right. One plate was pitch black, the other glazed and shiny. He was torn between the two.
Zhao Tingxing put a plate of stir-fried vegetables, which he had cooked very well, into Han Zhaoyi’s bowl: “Didn’t you say I cook delicious food? Eat more.”
Han Zhaoyi held the spoon, unable to bring himself to eat. He decided to just give in and sat beside his mother, eating her takeout.
He is a traitor.
Han Li’s takeout order was enough for her and Han Zhao Yi to eat. That small portion wasn’t nearly enough for Zhao Tingxing to fill his teeth, so he didn’t want to grab any and could only eat what he had cooked himself.
“Step down for yourself: ‘Don’t mind the color, it tastes salty and just right, at least it’s healthier than takeout.'”
“Would you like to try some?” he asked Han Li again.
He treated him like he was air.
Taking just two bites, I found it difficult to swallow. Suddenly, I put down my chopsticks and, before Han Li and Han Zhaoyi could react, I took the takeout in front of them, as if to say, “I didn’t eat well, so you don’t get to enjoy yours either.”
Han Li held his breath, wanting to get angry but controlling himself. “Did you finish? You can leave after you finish.”
Zhaotingxing asked, “Would you like to go out for a nice meal?”
As he asked, he glanced at Han Zhaoyi. Hearing this, Han Zhaoyi immediately agreed with both hands raised. He got up quickly, grabbed Zhao Tingxing’s hand and walked out, not forgetting to shout back to his mother to follow.
Han Li leisurely followed behind them, helping Han Zhao Yi put on his shoes. When they reached the door and saw that both father and son were already outside, she didn’t say a word and slammed the door shut. She went back to eating her takeout.
Actually, she knew Zhao Tingxing was childish, and so was she. But she really didn’t want to have too much contact with Zhao Tingxing. She thought that when Han Zhaoyi came back, she would have a good talk with him.
After about two hours, Zhao Tingxing sent Han Zhaoyi back. Han Zhaoyi was still holding a sweet treat and said happily, “Mom, this is what Zhao Tingxing bought for you to eat.”
Zhao Tingxing stood at the door this time, with no intention of going in, but said: “Sugar-free, eat with confidence.”
It was completely out of character for him, so when he said it, he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.
“The clerk said it wouldn’t make you fat, anyway. If you don’t want to eat it, just throw it away.”
And with that, he turned and walked away.
Han Li used to love these sweets when she was a child, but now she steers clear of them. To maintain good health, self-discipline is paramount, so she puts the desserts in the refrigerator and will give them to Han Zhao Yi tomorrow morning.
That night, before going to sleep, she also had a good talk with Han Zhaoyi about Zhao Tingxing’s issue, although she didn’t know if he could understand.
She asked Han Zhao Yi, “Do you think you are happy now?”
He opened his clear eyes and asked, “What is happiness?”
“Are you happy?”
“Happy.”
So, you see, even though Daddy and Mommy aren’t together, it doesn’t mean we love you any less, right? It doesn’t mean you can’t be happy and joyful.
Han Zhao Yi felt it made some sense and nodded.
And from now on, whether it’s Mom’s place or Dad’s place, they are both your homes, and you can choose where to live.
“But I would be happier if we lived together.”
But that would make Mom unhappy,” Han Li also said truthfully.
“Don’t you like Zhao Tingxing?”
“It doesn’t matter about liking or disliking, it’s that Mom just wants to be alone more.” Life free from the shackles of love is too beautiful, her heart has wandered far, and it’s difficult to pull it back.
Han Zhaoyi nodded as if she understood, but Han Li realized the next day that their conversation the previous night had been in vain. He was still Zhao Tingxing’s most loyal follower. Everything she said, he relayed to Zhao Tingxing, leaving her with no privacy at all.
Her car was due for its first maintenance service. When she arrived at the 4S shop, she discovered that Zhao Tingxing had gotten there before her and was also having his car serviced.
She took her car for maintenance to avoid running into Jiang Mu, so she purposely chose a branch. Since they could run into each other here, it’s obvious that Han Zhao Yi tipped him off.
But what she didn’t expect was that Jiang Mu happened to be at the branch store at that time. After they broke up, they rarely contacted each other. She would occasionally forward articles from the agency’s official account, and he would just like them, that was all.
At that time, in order to avoid Zhao Tingxing, she deliberately went upstairs to find a quiet place to wait. As a result, the door next to her suddenly opened, and she saw Jiang Mu just like that. Both of them were taken aback because they hadn’t expected to see each other again. This city is so big, without deliberate arrangements, it’s hard to run into each other by chance. So they were stunned for a moment, then both smiled.
Many things that have passed have passed. Goodbye wasn’t as awkward as I imagined.