The cake was placed on the table, and Wen Shulin inserted the candles.
Although today wasn’t anyone’s birthday, it was still a day worth commemorating.
She lit the candles and said with a smile, "Li Ya, make a wish quickly."
Su Liya nodded repeatedly, clasped her hands together, "I wish..."
A rapid ringing interrupted this warm moment.
Wen Shulin glanced at the cellphone on the table, "Mommy will take a call."
Saying so, she grabbed the mobile phone and walked to the side.
Chen Cheng watched as the smile on her face gradually solidified, a hint of worry also colored her brows, making him feel somewhat uneasy.
He vaguely sensed that this call was probably out of the ordinary.
Chen Cheng didn’t intentionally eavesdrop, but he could still guess the urgency of the situation from Wen Shulin’s sporadic key words.
"Okay, I’ll come over right away."
Wen Shulin hung up the phone and quickly walked back.
"Mommy, what’s wrong?"
Su Liya was always independent, but seeing Wen Shulin’s worry-stricken face, she grew anxious too.
Never in her memory had Wen Shulin ever lost composure due to a phone call.
Wen Shulin took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, brushed Su Liya’s head softly and said,
"Li Ya, Mommy has to go back to the office."
"The office? But isn’t it almost time to get off work?" Su Liya checked the time.
Wen Shulin was truly in a dire situation, she didn’t elaborate further but instead asked Chen Cheng, "Can you take Li Ya home for me?"
Chen Cheng, seeing Wen Shulin’s anxious look, immediately nodded, "Okay, you go ahead."
The three of them left the private room, leaving behind the cake with candles still lit on the table.
At the parking lot, Wen Shulin got into her Maserati.
"Mommy, are you really okay?" Su Liya, standing by the car, had her face full of worry.
Wen Shulin stuck her hand out of the window, forced a smile, and grasped Su Liya’s hand, "I’m fine, can you go home like a good girl?"
Wen Shulin then looked towards Chen Cheng, "Thanks for your help."
Wen Shulin nodded slightly, closed the car window, and the taillights of the Maserati gradually faded into the distance.
Chen Cheng, watching the direction Wen Shulin left, also felt an inexplicable unease.
He understood Wen Shulin’s character.
Even when such a big incident occurred with Su Liya last time, she remained calm in critical situations, if it wasn’t something serious, she wouldn’t be so flustered.
"What in the world happened?" Chen Cheng muttered to himself.
Just as his mind was filled with question marks, a pair of delicate little hands cleverly slid into Chen Cheng’s palm.
Chen Cheng suddenly looked down, and a sweet, attractive smile from Su Liya appeared before him.
With a hint of flirtation, as though saying, we can now play some more interesting games.
Chen Cheng was caught off guard by her sudden movement, he instinctively tried to withdraw his hand, but Su Liya instead clung tightly to Chen Cheng’s arm.
The fabric of her dress was very silky, and Chen Cheng felt a softness, but what he heard was, "Uncle! It’s just us now!"
Chen Cheng coughed lightly and tugged at his embraced arm.
He helplessly smiled, "Let go first."
However, Su Liya showed no intention of letting go, instead, she gripped even tighter, lifted her little face, and even wiggled a bit, "No way~"
Chen Cheng internally sighed: This is really tiresome.
"If you don’t let go, how can we walk?" Chen Cheng counter-questioned, "Just stay here?"
Su Liya looked around; the empty parking lot only had a few dim lights, indeed not very interesting.
She blinked her eyes, released Chen Cheng’s arm, switched to clasping her hands behind her back, and cheerfully said, "Then Uncle, where do you want to go play? I can accompany you anywhere~"
Chen Cheng hands on his hips, "Where else do you want to go? You need to go home."
Su Liya pouted her lips, "But, mommy isn’t home, and I don’t want to see Mrs. Shen. It’s boring going back alone."
Chen Cheng knew she was being coquettish, "But I promised your mom."
"She said you should get me home, she didn’t specify a time." Su Liya turned her eyes, grabbing Chen Cheng’s arm,
"Uncle, please! I’ve been controlled all this time, just accompany me today, please please~"
Faced with this fiery charm’s onslaught, Chen Cheng held up a finger, "First, set some ground rules."
"First, we can only go to public places."
"Second, no actions like those at Da Lao."
"Third, we can only play once, and you must go home obediently after that."
Su Liya, without thinking, immediately stood straight, holding her hand to her ear in a perfect salute, crisply shouted:
Chen Cheng looked at her serious demeanor, really filling up the emotional tank, could not help but smile, lightly flicked her forehead.
Su Liya covered her head, smiling, "Then let me think."
"Three minutes for you."
Su Liya was silent for a little while, then suddenly her eyes lit up, "Uncle, I know!"
"Let’s go watch a movie? I know a new cinema, I heard their popcorn is super tasty!"
Su Liya smiled looking at him, "Cinema, fits your terms right?"
Chen Cheng, recalling the scene of watching a movie with Xia Yubing, also saw through those little tricks in her blue eyes, "Fine, but it has to be a session with lots of people."
Unexpectedly, Su Liya immediately agreed, "Uh-huh! I want to see Happy Twist!"