October 15th.
An Yuanyao carried the groceries she had just bought from the supermarket, step by step climbing the stairs until she reached Liu Changqing’s apartnt door.
Taking out the spare key Liu Changqing had given her, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. She picked up the pink indoor slippers from the shoe rack and put them on.
Right now, she was the only one at ho.
Liu Changqing was at work, and both kids were in school.
As for why An Yuanyao was here…
Three days ago, she had officially moved in with Liu Changqing.
They now lived under the sa roof, and she had formally announced their relationship to the two other mbers of the household.
In fact, when Liu Changqing decided to tell the kids, An Yuanyao had tried to stop him.
She was, of course, happy that he was willing to take this step, but at the sa ti, she couldn't help feeling anxious deep down.
She was afraid the two children wouldn’t accept her.
Her mind drifted back to that evening when they broke the news.
Liu Changqing had prepared a full table of food. As the two kids ate, he suddenly put down his chopsticks and clapped his hands.
The siblings, who had been quietly eating, paused and looked up at their father’s serious expression, unsure of what was going on.
Their gazes made An Yuanyao feel a bit pressured.
Under the table, Liu Changqing gently held her hand. That small gesture eased so of her worries, calming her down.
She recalled what Liu Changqing had told her at the amusent park…
"Don’t worry. No matter what happens in the future, you can always trust completely."
She lifted her head and glanced at Liu Changqing beside her.
What she saw was his firm and determined gaze.
As if he was silently telling her…
"Trust ."
An Yuanyao took a deep breath.
The nervousness and anxiety that had been causing her heart to race gradually settled.
She exhaled, turned to face the children alongside Liu Changqing, and let him speak first.
"Dad has sothing to tell you."
He paused, briefly turning to look at An Yuanyao before facing his children again.
With a serious expression, he said,
"I… am with her now."
"…"
The two kids fell silent.
An Yuanyao, who had just managed to gather her courage, started feeling nervous again.
Until…
Liu Xiazhi picked up her chopsticks, took a chicken wing—her favorite—and placed it in An Yuanyao’s bowl.
This action stunned An Yuanyao. She opened her mouth slightly and murmured,
"Xiazhi…"
"I like Aunt An, and I like Dad. I like both of you!"
A bright smile spread across Liu Xiazhi’s face as she responded cheerfully.
"Dad once told that good things should be shared with the people closest to us. So… this chicken wing is for you!"
An Yuanyao was a sentintal person.
Looking at the little girl in front of her saying those words, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat. Her nose tingled, and her eyes threatened to well up.
She quickly raised a hand, wiping the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.
Even so, the smile on her lips couldn’t be hidden no matter how hard she tried.
Liu Zhiyue, on the other hand, simply watched.
After seeing his little sister give away her favorite chicken wing, he silently picked up so food, placed it in his bowl, and continued eating.
But before lowering his head, he said sothing that reached both Liu Changqing and An Yuanyao’s ears.
"I don’t mind."
With the children’s acceptance, their relationship was officially confird—no longer a secretive, underground romance.
Life continued as usual.
Nothing drastic changed.
For An Yuanyao, the only difference was that she could now spend more ti with Liu Changqing each day…
—End of recollection.
Standing on tiptoe, An Yuanyao stretched her arms to open the storage cabinet beside the bathroom mirror, neatly arranging the household supplies she had bought.
After finishing up, she stepped out of the bathroom and walked into Liu Changqing’s bedroom.
The bed that once had only one pillow now had two.
Looking at the neatly folded blankets, a smile spread across An Yuanyao’s face.
She didn’t know what she was thinking about, but soon, her eyes landed on a photo fra on the bedside table.
She hesitated for a mont before walking over and picking it up.
It was a picture taken at the amusent park.
On the far left was Liu Zhiyue, next to him was Liu Changqing, then herself, and finally, Liu Xiazhi.
All four of them were smiling.
Just like… a family of four.
An Yuanyao stared at the photo, lost in thought.
She didn’t know how long she had been looking at it before she finally snapped out of it. Carefully, she placed the photo back in its original position, then turned toward the wardrobe.
Today, An Yuanyao had decided to do a deep clean.
Starting… with their bedroom.
The phone rang.
The ringing made the eting room fall silent.
The employee who had been giving a report imdiately stopped speaking, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
Liu Changqing pulled out his phone and saw the caller ID.
An Yuanyao.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he stood up, walked out of the eting room, and closed the door behind him before picking up the call.
Placing the phone to his ear, he spoke.
"I’m in a eting… I’ll be ho in about an hour."
Liu Changqing said this with a helpless smile.
He assud An Yuanyao was calling to check on him.
But this ti, he was wrong.
Right after he spoke, he heard her voice on the other end.
There was a trace of pain in it, as if she was trying to endure it.
"I… I twisted my ankle at ho…"
"What?"
Liu Changqing’s tone imdiately rose, his casual expression vanishing.
After a brief mont of shock, he quickly reacted, urgently responding,
"Don’t move! Stay where you are—I’m coming ho right now!"
"Mm…"
After giving a few more instructions, he quickly hung up.
Grabbing his phone, he pushed open the eting room door and strode toward his desk.
Without hesitation, he snatched up his car keys and announced to the waiting employees,
"That’s it for today’s eting!"
Then, without another word, he rushed toward the door.
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