Five years after my wife's death, she came back!

"Niannian, are you hungry?"

Shi Ying suppressed the strange emotions in her heart, smiled, and sat down next to her: "What would you like to eat?"

She regretted it as soon as she said it; she didn't know how to cook what Shang Nian wanted to eat.

She only knows how to cook noodles, and if she orders takeout, she's afraid the children might eat something unclean.

"Would you like some noodles?" Shi Ying asked tentatively.

Shang Nian sat on the sofa, holding her coat, and nodded.

Shi Ying patted her head and turned on the TV to play cartoons for her, but as soon as Shang Nian saw her enter the kitchen, she jumped off the sofa and followed her in.

"Be careful when you go out to play, or I'll boil water and scald you."

Shang Nian silently refused and tried to stay by her side.

Shi Ying had no choice but to move a small stool for her to sit on.

Staring at Shang Nian's expectant gaze, Shi Ying looked at the meager bundle of noodles and a few greens in the pot and felt a little guilty.

If Shang Chenyan knew that her daughter was eating such simple food, she would probably be furious.

Before long, two steaming bowls of noodles were ready. Shang Nian sat opposite her and buried herself in her food.

"Is it good?" Shi Ying looked at her expectantly.

Shang Nian swallowed the noodles with difficulty and nodded vigorously.

Everything my mom cooks tastes delicious.

Shi Ying smiled, took a bite herself, and hummed...

It's not even comparable to what Zhang Ma makes, let alone what Shang Chenyan makes.

She glanced at Shang Nian, who was happily eating noodles, with a puzzled look.

Perhaps after getting used to delicacies, one needs to try something simple like congee and side dishes occasionally.

After a quick dinner, Shi Ying played with Shang Nian for a while. It was almost nine o'clock, and Shang Chenyan still hadn't arrived.

It takes about three hours to drive from the neighboring city to Jiangcheng. Today is Friday, so the roads may be quite congested.

Seeing that Shang Nian was a little sleepy, Shi Ying carried her to the bathroom to take a shower.

Shang Nian sat obediently in the bathtub, curiously looking around. When Shi Ying used a bath sponge to dry her body, she suddenly shivered.

"What's wrong?" Shi Ying stopped abruptly. "Was I too strong?"

Shang Nian stared blankly at her, then suddenly threw herself into her arms.

"Oh dear, you've gotten my clothes all dirty." Shi Ying was both amused and exasperated, as the foam from her clothes had rubbed all over her.

Shang Nian grabbed her sleeve and tugged at it, gesturing for her to come in and wash with her.

"Okay, okay." Shi Ying thought she was a clingy little thing and couldn't help but pinch her nose.

Just after taking a shower, Shi Ying was blow-drying Shang Nian's hair when she heard a knock on the door.

"They're here!"

She guessed that Shang Chenyan had arrived, and sure enough, as soon as she opened the door, she was met with his travel-worn face.

He had clearly rushed over; he was sweating despite the cold weather.

"Niannian is with me, she's fine." Shi Ying stepped aside to let him in and explained, "Her teacher called to say she wasn't feeling well, so I went and picked her up to bring her home."

"But she shouldn't be feeling unwell; she's probably just being a little temperamental."

Shang Chenyan breathed a slight sigh of relief: "That's good."

He saw the girl's still-wet hair, the damp strands hanging down to her chest, wetting a small patch of fabric and vaguely revealing...

Shang Chenyan coughed lightly and looked away, not daring to look again.

"Go and dry your hair first."

Shi Ying said "Oh," and then said, "Then you can sit by yourself."

Anyway, it wasn't his first time here.

Shang Nian dried her hair and ran out. When she saw the man sitting on the sofa, she was excited and wanted to run over, but she stopped abruptly when she got close to him.

Shang Chenyan's voice was cold: "Come here."

Shang Nian pouted and slowly moved over, her head hanging low.

"You've even learned to lie?" Shang Chenyan heard that she wasn't feeling well and assumed she was sick again, so he handed over his work there to Jiang Wen and drove back himself.

It turns out she just wanted to trick Shi Ying into going to see her.

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Shang Chenyan didn't want to speak too harshly, but he still wanted to teach her a lesson.

He softened his voice as much as possible: "If you want to do something, just say what you're thinking. Don't try to lie to people on purpose."

"If you get sick, your mom and dad will be very worried, you know?"

Shang Nian nodded.

Shang Chenyan took a deep breath, knowing that he had made a mistake was enough.

He wanted to say something more, but then he saw Shi Ying come out of the bathroom.

Upon seeing her, Shang Nian immediately ran over and hugged her leg, her small shoulders trembling as she cried silently in her arms.

"What's wrong, Niannian?" Shiying quickly squatted down and saw that her eyes were red and tears were welling up in them, making her look extremely pitiful.

Shi Ying looked at the man sitting on the sofa like a king with some anger: "Why are you yelling at her?"

Shang Chenyan: "?"

"She's so young. You went on a business trip and left her home alone, and then you came back and yelled at her." Shi Ying hugged Shang Nian with heartache. "We're not going to talk to him anymore."

Shang Chenyan stood up abruptly, pointed at Shang Nian, then at himself: "I was mean to her?"

Shang Nian nestled in Shi Ying's arms, showing him only the back of her head.

Shi Ying glared at him: "You stay here by yourself."

She carried Shang Nian into the bedroom, leaving Shang Chenyan standing alone in the living room, bewildered.

He laughed in anger and tried to follow him into the bedroom, but the door slammed shut in front of him.

Shang Chenyan: "..."

She's such a drama queen, absolutely a drama queen!

Who did they learn this from?

He sat dejectedly on the sofa, gazing wistfully at the closed bedroom door.

After half an hour.

Shi Ying coaxed Shang Nian to sleep, then tiptoed out, intending to go to the bathroom.

But as soon as she closed the bedroom door, she saw the figure still sitting on the sofa. Shi Ying asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Shang Chenyan laughed angrily: "Niannian is still here, are you trying to kick me out?"

Shi Ying gave him a nonchalant look: "Let Niannian sleep here tonight. Didn't you promise to take her to the amusement park last week? It's the weekend tomorrow anyway..."

"Then I'll sleep here too."

Shi Ying: "There is only one bedroom here."

Shang Chenyan stood up and slowly approached her: "I can sleep on the sofa, or if you feel sorry for me, you can let me sleep inside."

Shi Ying kicked him irritably: "Go back by yourself, come back tomorrow."

"No." Shang Chenyan braced his hands against the wall, as if pulling her into his arms. "I drove three hours back alone, and I'm exhausted. It's so late, and you're making me drive back while I'm tired. What if something happens on the way..."

"Pah, pah, pah!" Before he could finish speaking, Shi Ying covered his mouth and said irritably, "How can you curse yourself like that?"

Shang Chenyan's eyes curved slightly, and he kissed her palm.

Shi Ying withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted. This scoundrel always took advantage of her whenever he had the chance.

"You can squeeze onto the sofa yourself."

Shi Ying turned around and went back to the bedroom, took a small blanket and threw it into his arms, then closed the bedroom door again.

She also locked it.

Shang Chenyan stood outside, holding her blanket, his smile deepening.

The small blanket in his arms had a faint fragrance. He couldn't bear to cover himself with it, but instead held it in his arms, smelling its scent, just like he was holding Shi Ying in his arms.