Hard work after winning the lottery

After the children went back to their room and prepared to sleep, Hua Yun tucked them in while whispering:

"Uncle Zhou knows so much about stars, that's amazing!"

"Yes! Uncle Zhou is so amazing!" Sile immediately chimed in, her little face full of admiration.

Even the usually composed Si'an nodded heavily.

Hua Yun's heart beat gently.

She could feel that the invisible ice wall between the children and Zhou Yanjin was melting little by little.

The term "Uncle Zhou" is appearing more and more frequently.

In the children's little minds, the vague image of their father and Uncle Zhou, who could fix swings, talk about stars, and buy them candy and toy cars, two figures that originally had no connection began to overlap unintentionally, slowly, and subtly.

Hua Yun felt that the time was about right.

That evening, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the room in a warm orange hue.

Hua Yun played with the triplets on the soft floor mat, building blocks together.

Si'an was focused on building a tall castle, while Si'le and Si'tao were on the sidelines, responsible for causing damage and delivering "building materials".

The room was filled with the carefree laughter of children and the crisp sound of building blocks colliding.

Looking at them, Hua Yun felt a surge of warmth in her heart and mustered up unprecedented courage.

She picked up a blue building block and handed it to Si'an, speaking casually, but her voice still betrayed a slight tremor of nervousness.

"Babies, Mommy has a question for you."

"If...if Uncle Zhou could play with building blocks with you more often, like today, would you be happy?"

Without even thinking, Sile and Sitao clapped their hands and shouted, "Happy! We want Uncle Zhou to come with us!"

Hua Yun's heart calmed down a little.

Her gaze fell on her eldest son, who had remained silent throughout.

Si'an stopped what she was doing.

Unlike his brothers, he didn't answer immediately; instead, he put down the building blocks he was holding.

He slowly raised his head, and his eyes, which were much deeper and clearer than those of children his age, looked straight at Hua Yun without any warning.

That look in his eyes carried a seriousness and precocious wisdom beyond his years.

It was as if he could see through all her pretenses and tests.

Amidst Hua Yun's slightly disordered heartbeat, Si An asked, clearly and surprisingly, word by word:

"Mom, do you want Uncle Zhou to be our dad?"

boom!

This statement was like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake.

No, it was more like a thunderclap that exploded in Hua Yun's mind.

She froze instantly.

The building blocks in my hand fell onto the floor mat with a "thud".

My cheeks felt like they were on fire; a burning heat spread uncontrollably from my neck all the way to my ears.

She opened her mouth, but it felt like something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't utter a single syllable.

How could this be...?

Why would Si'an ask such a question?

She thought she had laid a flawless plan, but she never expected that her 5-year-old son would so easily see through her secret.

recognition?

No, it's too fast. She herself wasn't ready yet.

deny?

But how could she lie to a child with such clear and innocent eyes?

Panic.

An unprecedented panic overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

Her mind went blank for a moment, as if a buzz had gone off.

And just then...

Outside the door, which was only slightly ajar and not fully closed.

A tall, imposing figure quietly stopped in his tracks.

Zhou Yanjin originally wanted to come over and ask them what they wanted to eat for dinner.

His hand was already raised, ready to knock on the door.

The knuckles were only a few centimeters away from the warm, smooth wooden door panel.

Then he heard that tentative question, and a soul-searching rhetorical question that he had never heard before, belonging to Si'an.

"Mom, do you want Uncle Zhou to be our dad?"

In that instant, Zhou Yanjin felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly.

Breathing suddenly stopped.

All the sounds in the world seemed to fade away at that moment.

All that remained in his ears was that question, uttered in a childish voice, echoing endlessly.

His gaze, peering through the crack in the door, was fixed on the woman in the room, her face flushed and her hands trembling with fear.

His entire body was as stiff as a sculpture.

Waiting for her.

Waiting for her answer.

Outside the door, Zhou Yanjin's breathing froze for a moment.

The knuckles turned slightly white from the force, hovering in mid-air, but ultimately did not fall.

Si'an's shocking question was like the finest needle, precisely piercing through all his composure and pretense, reaching the softest part of his heart.

He heard a heavy, violent drumbeat from within his own chest.

It turned out that his son had already seen through everything.

It turns out that his self-righteous attempt to slowly boil the frog in water was exposed under the clear gaze of the child.

He no longer hesitated.

He took a deep breath, but the air, filled with the fresh scent of the mountains and the smoke of evening cooking fires, could not calm the turbulent emotions in his heart.

He gently pushed open the slightly ajar door.

"Squeak—"

The slight sound of a wooden door turning was particularly abrupt in the extremely quiet room, like a pebble being thrown into a calm lake.

The three people in the room, one adult and two children, all looked towards the door.

Hua Yun's cheeks, already flushed from her son's question, turned even redder when she saw Zhou Yanjin's handsome and deep face.

Embarrassment, panic, and a hint of being caught red-handed.

Her eyes instinctively darted away, like a startled fawn hastily shifting elsewhere, unable to meet his gaze.

Her fingertips unconsciously dug into the texture of the floor mat, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

Zhou Yanjin's gaze lingered on her burning earlobe for only a moment before slowly moving away.

He ignored Hua Yun's unease and walked straight in.

The expensive custom-made leather shoes made no sound as they stepped on the soft floor mat, yet they brought an invisible sense of oppression to the small space.

He walked up to the children and then did something that Hua Yun never expected.

He straightened the crease of his trousers, then slowly knelt down on one knee.

He performed the movement with extreme naturalness and fluidity, without the slightest strain.

This man, who usually stands at the top of the pyramid and issues orders, now lowers his towering figure to the same height as the three children on the mat.

His gaze was no longer one of condescending scrutiny, but rather a level gaze, imbued with an unprecedented solemnity and tenderness.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window, casting a soft golden light on his sharply defined profile, melting away some of the innate aloofness and coldness about him.

"Si'an, Si'le, Si'tao".

He spoke, his voice lower and softer than usual, like the last note of a cello, gently resonating in the room.

He called out their names one by one, clearly.

The little ones whose names were called all stared at him with their big, round eyes.

Sile and Sitao were simply curious, but Si'an's eyes held a hint of inquiry and wariness.

Zhou Yanjin's gaze swept over the three small faces that resembled her own one by one, and finally settled on her eldest son, Si'an, who had asked the fatal question.

He met his son's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and his thin lips parted slightly.

"Mom doesn't want Uncle Zhou to be your dad."