After dinner, Song Lili picked up her phone again, her screen full of missed calls.
Wen Nian probably had it in for her, thinking that if she turned off her phone, he could feel untold what he might do.
Tang Xiaocao blinked and watched Song Lili, who was deep in thought and motionless, staring at her phone...
Her phone rang again. Song Lili had a headache. As she hesitated whether to answer or not, she heard the sound of dishes clinking and quickly snapped back to reality, only to see Tang Xiaocao rolling up her sleeves and standing on a chair!
"Xiaocao, what are you doing?"
"Cleaning up...washing dishes..."
"My little ancestor, you’re so young, I never asked you to do the dishes. Come down right now, you’re not allowed to stand so high by yourself. What if you fall?"
Song Lili was truly startled by Tang Xiaocao, tossed her phone aside, and hurriedly lifted Tang Xiaocao down, only to be told by her,
"At home, I would do the dishes..."
Tang Xiaocao scratched her head while Song Lili held her hand, which was indeed very rough.
Looking at her and then thinking about her own half-brother, who had been the apple of everyone’s eye since childhood, who at ten years old had never even touched a speck of dirty water, let alone wash dishes.
"Wait until you’re two heads taller than the sink; then it’ll be your turn to do the dishes, okay?"
Tang Xiaocao nodded earnestly and then asked, "What about now?"
It seemed he’d be restless unless he helped with something.
Song Lili patted his head, "You can go play with the toy we bought this morning."
Happiness came so suddenly that Tang Xiaocao’s face of uncertainty genuinely tugged at Song Lili’s heartstrings.
After coaxing Tang Xiaocao to go play with his toys, she tidied up the kitchen, bathroom, and dining room.
It occurred to her that she was someone whose fingers were unaccustomed to spring water, as the actual cleaning took quite an effort.
Just as she settled down, the phone rang again. Song Lili, as if making a resolution, picked it up,
"Wen Xiaonian, you really do make relentless, life-snatching calls."
Who knew that on the other end of the line, there would be a long silence...
After a while, it seemed a breath held in for a long time was finally exhaled...
Even the sound of the exhalation, Song Lili could tell, was Wen Nian’s.
"Why aren’t you speaking?"
At this moment, Wen Nian was seated in a chair in the large study, a broken pencil in the palm of his left hand.
Listening to the familiar voice speaking by his ear with an almost heartless tone...
Why wasn’t he talking?
What was he supposed to say?
He hadn’t heard her voice for a month, and his calls for two hours hadn’t gotten through...
The President himself had been close to calling the police out of fear! The more he thought, the scarier it became; the chill on his back hadn’t even subsided, and her question was so nonchalant!
Under the weighty silence, his anger simmered, Song Lili knew.
If he really wanted to lash out at her, then let him; it would be better that way. A few times more, and he’d be annoyed; it would be a natural end to their relationship.
"You weren’t answering your phone, I thought something happened to you, I was worried," he said.
There was no expected rage, only a sentence suffused with reluctant concern... Song Lili’s hand involuntarily clenched tight.
"It’s good to hear your voice now. How is it? Having fun in Venice? How many days do you plan to stay in Venice?"
Yes, she had replied to his message yesterday saying she was in Venice.
"Why aren’t you speaking?"
"... It’s quite nice, Venice really is the ’Water City.’ I took a long boat ride today."
"Have you forgotten all your worries, then?"
For some reason, Song Lili couldn’t continue the fabrication and promptly changed the subject, "You’re so busy on regular days; stop worrying about me. I can take good care of myself."