Su Mu’s premonition was confird that evening. After spending the whole day shooting in the studio, she got ho near 8 PM. Qiqi had eaten plenty of snacks at the studio, so she wasn’t hungry, but Su Mu still bought a lot of ingredients at the supermarket near the residential community’s entrance, planning to cook a al for Qiqi.
When she parked the car at the parking lot downstairs, Su Mu instinctively looked up at her floor and felt a sudden pang in her heart. The apartnt across from hers was now occupied, lights shining through. Rembering her prediction that morning, she inexplicably panicked, until Qiqi’s voice snapped her out of it:
"Mu, what’s wrong?"
Su Mu shook her head and, holding Qiqi’s hand, walked upstairs, comforting herself that it was all her imagination.
They entered the apartnt, chatting and laughing. Su Mu let Qiqi play in the living room while she went straight to the kitchen to get busy. During the cooking, she thought she heard Qiqi’s phone ring but didn’t pay much attention to it. It was only after she ca out with dinner prepared and placed it on the table that she noticed the couch in the living room was empty, though the TV was still on.
Assuming Qiqi had gone to the restroom, Su Mu wasn’t overly concerned and called out; however, she received no reply. Taking off her apron and walking towards the restroom, she noticed that the light there was off. Knowing Qiqi was timid, she definitely wouldn’t be inside.
After calling out a couple more tis and checking Qiqi’s room without finding her, Su Mu began to worry. She found her phone and dialed Qiqi’s number, which was promptly answered, but the response left her shocked:
"Mu, are you looking for ? Don’t worry, I’m at Shinian’s place."
Su Mu: "..."
A few minutes later, Qiqi opened the door with her key. Su Mu stood at the door, watching her co in, and noticed the tall man following her. He shared a slight smile upon seeing Su Mu:
"Qiqi told I hadn’t had dinner yet, so she invited over to your place. I hope you don’t mind."
Su Mu forced a slight smile:
"So the person who moved in across, it’s really you."
"Yes, if not , who else?"
Su Mu turned to Qiqi:
"Qiqi, go back to your room."
Qiqi didn’t move, her gaze shifting between Su Mu and Fu Shinian: "Mu, Shinian is my guest, and we should be polite to guests."
"I told you to go to your room."
It was the first ti Su Mu had raised her voice at Qiqi, causing her to shrink back, startled, and she obediently went to her room, leaving Shinian looking pained but he said nothing, as he had no place to criticize Su Mu’s parenting.
The mont Qiqi’s room door closed, Su Mu felt a stab in her heart. From Qiqi’s birth till now, she had never scolded her because she was always sensible and usually listened to reason. However, since interacting with Fu Shinian, Su Mu’s emotions had beco uncontrollable, and even Qiqi had learned to jest with her.
This displeasure filled Su Mu, leading her to unexpectedly snap at Qiqi, but she knew none of this was Qiqi’s fault; the real problem was the person in front of her.
Shinian’s gaze shifted from Qiqi’s room back to Su Mu, and he sighed slightly:
"If you have issues, take them up with , not Qiqi. She’s just a kid."
"You know she’s a kid?" Su Mu scoffed, "She’s been my daughter for over two years, well-mannered and polite to everyone. Nobody has ever had to scold her. But since you’ve been around, she’s changed. I don’t know what you’ve done to make her depend on you, but Fu Shinian, you have no right to be close to her. Whatever you’re planning, keep it away from and Qiqi."
Shinian frowned slightly:
"I don’t think I did anything? Qiqi still seems the sa disciplined and understanding girl to . She just wants to spend more ti with her father."
"It’s too late."
Shinian took a mont before calmly responding:
"It’s too early to conclude that it’s too late."
"I told you, no matter what you do, I will never co back to you. If you want to preserve any sort of relationship, stop doing things that annoy . This is my ho, and whether you’ve rented or bought the apartnt across, I want you to leave. I don’t want you disturbing my life here."
"What if I don’t leave?"
Su Mu gave a faint smile:
"I know you have great influence, maybe even enough to obscure the truth, but Fu Shinian, the things you’ve done are real too. If you don’t want your daughter to hate you, you better do as I say."
Shinian let out a light laugh and then walked over, settling on the living room couch:
"You wouldn’t, you wouldn’t teach your daughter to hate . On that, I’m quite confident."
"That’s because you haven’t pushed to my limits. If you leave no options, I will ensure you never see Qiqi again."
"I want to see Qiqi, and it’s not up to you."
His eyes slightly chilled, he continued staring at Su Mu: "You know the reason behind my actions three years ago. Even if you can’t forgive, you shouldn’t hate. Despite how badly I hurt you, my intentions were always to ensure your and your daughter’s safety. I don’t need your understanding, just let see Qiqi whenever I want. Let her know I love her."
Su Mu stayed quiet for a few seconds as Shinian’s tone softened:
"Su Mu, before you were kidnapped three years ago, every word I told you at Gui Ning Residence was true. I still rember. If not for Shi Lihua, if not for the accident, we could have been happy. Can’t we go back to how it was?"
Love was real when it was there. No matter how deep the hurt, she had chosen to forgive. But once a bottom line was crossed, causing complete despair, things could never revert. How deeply she had loved then, now matched how dispassionate she had beco.
"You said it yourself, it’s just a ’what if.’ The truth is, we can’t go back to how we were."
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