Liu Changqing drove back to his place.
Checking his phone as he got out of the car, he noticed it was almost midnight. It was the first ti he truly realized how exhausting working in the gaming industry could be. No wonder Feng Qian used to stay out so late—otherwise, Feng Shuyan might not have gone through those tough tis.
After parking the car, Liu Changqing picked up the shoes he had bought for his daughter from the passenger seat and headed toward his apartnt.
Climbing the stairs at night felt entirely different from the dayti, especially in an old building like this, where many hallway lights were broken and nobody cared enough to repair them.
Carrying the shoes, Liu Changqing felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Step by step, the sound of his footsteps echoed in the dim stairwell until he reached his door.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his keys, inserted them into the lock, and turned twice before opening the door.
As he stepped inside, he was montarily stunned—the living room lights were still on.
Carefully closing the door, Liu Changqing tried to minimize any noise, knowing that the kids should already be asleep at this hour. Even as he removed his shoes, his movents were deliberately quiet.
After changing into slippers, he took a few steps and stopped in his tracks.
On the sofa, Lan Yixian was leaning against a cushion, her face turned to the side and her eyes closed. She was wearing the loose-fitting clothes Liu Changqing had recently bought for her, this ti without any mishaps.
Feeling a bit puzzled, Liu Changqing first headed toward his daughter’s room. Gently pushing the door open, he peeked inside.
This ti, she wasn’t playing on her handheld console.
Entering the room, Liu Changqing saw his daughter curled up in bed, lying on her side.
He walked to her bedside and placed the new shoes on the floor next to it. Then he crouched down, looking at her small face.
Since Ye Rong's last visit, he’d noticed a significant change in her behavior. She was more obedient, less prone to tantrums.
That day, despite lowering their voices, Liu Changqing felt his daughter must have overheard parts of their conversation.
Still, he didn’t want to tell her the whole truth.
The current era was different from the one he had lived in before. With limited access to the internet and fewer entertainnt options, even a simple handheld ga could captivate his daughter.
For children like her, their entire world consisted of observing their parents’ actions and unconsciously imitating them.
In the past, Li Wanran had doted on their daughter more, and naturally, the child gravitated toward her.
Liu Changqing still rembered the first ti he saw Liu Xiazhi after arriving in this world—she had been crying and wailing, and his mind had been in chaos. He had wanted to yell at the troubleso little girl. But he didn’t.
A child under ten could discern right from wrong but was still just a child. The future would provide her with the answers she needed.
As he looked at his daughter, her face seed troubled. She mumbled softly in her sleep, though her words were unclear.
"Math… I can’t solve it…"
Hearing this, Liu Changqing couldn’t help but smile wryly. He reached out and gently patted her back. The rhythmic motion gradually cald her down, easing her from what seed to be a nightmare.
After a while, he stopped and tucked the blanket snugly around her before standing up and leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Back in the living room, Liu Changqing hesitated for a mont before walking toward the sofa.
He gently shook Lan Yixian’s shoulder and softly called her na.
"Lan Yixian… Lan Yixian…"
"Hmm…"
It took a while, but she stirred. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked at him in a daze for about five seconds before fully waking up.
"Why are you sleeping on the sofa?" Liu Changqing asked, his tone laced with curiosity.
Still groggy, Lan Yixian blinked at him before murmuring, "You’re back…"
"Yeah. Why aren’t you sleeping in your room?"
"I left so food for you. I thought you’d be back around the sa ti as yesterday… Have you eaten yet?"
Liu Changqing was montarily stunned before shaking his head.
"Not yet."
"Alright, I’ll heat it up for you," she said, getting up from the sofa and slipping on her slippers as she walked toward the kitchen.
Liu Changqing watched her back as she moved away, a complicated expression crossing his face.
She was waiting for …
He had always felt a certain sympathy for Lan Yixian. As a mother raising a child on her own, she wasn’t particularly strong-willed—she had fears and grew weary, but her determination for her child’s sake was admirable.
That was why Liu Changqing had felt compelled to help her when she faced difficulties.
And… she was kind. Her gentle deanor made it impossible for Liu Changqing to get angry with her, even if he wanted to.
Walking to the kitchen, he watched as she added water to the pot to reheat the dishes.
"Do we still have noodles at ho?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Lan Yixian, startled, turned to glance at him. After a mont, she nodded.
"Yes, we do."
"Then don’t bother reheating the dishes. Just make so noodles and add an egg."
"It’s no trouble. I don’t mind heating the food."
"But I’m worried that eating too much at night will make gain weight…"
Lan Yixian froze.
She looked at Liu Changqing’s serious expression, and suddenly, she couldn’t hold back her laughter. Covering her mouth, she chuckled softly.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked, puzzled.
"You’re so funny. At your age, worrying about gaining weight…"
"What’s wrong with my age? Can’t I try to lose weight? Clothes don’t fit well anymore!"
"I think…" she said, pausing to look him over. "You’re fine as you are. n should be judged by their character, not their looks."
"…" Liu Changqing was silent for a mont before replying, "I used to be really handso…"
"That was in the past," Lan Yixian teased, smiling as she added water to the pot and turned up the gas stove.
The fla burned brightly as she turned back to face him.
"Do you want soup noodles or dry noodles?"
"Either is fine."
"Then soup noodles it is," she said, turning back to her task.
"Work must be exhausting. A bowl of soup noodles will help you relax."
With that, she busied herself in the kitchen.
Liu Changqing stood there, watching her, his expression softening. His thoughts wandered as he observed her quiet movents, though he couldn’t quite put them into words.
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