Jun was amazed to see Ai and her whole family in sync with two things. First, they liked to call him cute despite his resistance and secondly, all three of them loved his eyes the most.
Jun thought about Nana and warmly smiled. They were his mother's eyes, and she was the prettiest.
He faced him and bowed. "Thank you for accepting me. Please forgive me for my behavior before. I sincerely apologize. I didn't realize you were Ai's father, or I would have never raised my hand against you."
Zhou Yichen chuckled. "Raise your head, Jun-cute. I was never angry at you for that. In fact, I was happy to see you so protective of her."
He gazed at the park, reminiscing the times he played with Ai here. "Ai-chan is very important to me. I might have disappointed her with the way I live, but she always unconditionally loved me. Nuying took Ai-chan's custody after our divorce. I had no problems with that because I feel a mother's presence in a child's life is more important. But she refused to take her surname.
When I asked why, she said,
'I am already living with Mom, so why should I take her last name? That will be unfair to you. I want to be Zhou Ai, or I will feel that there is no father in my life. If I am living with Mom, then I want something to connect me to Dad too.'"
Zhou Yichen burst into tears. "My Ai-chan's heart is so beautiful…I still cry whenever I remember her words."
Jun let out an affectionate smile.
He said, "Ai is not disappointed in you, and she isn't pretending either. You live your life in your pace and on your conditions, and I feel Ai appreciates that freedom you enjoy. As long as you are happy, she is happy too."
Zhou Yichen sighed. "But we still hurt her with our separation. It aches my heart to remember her childhood."
Jun smiled. "I won't say it wasn't hard on her. But it also gave her perspective and made her more mature as a person. I think she appreciates whatever she learned from you two and about relationships. She tries to look positive in all situations, and it's a good quality."
He grinned. "Naturally, my Ai-chan is the best! Nobody can match up to her."
Jun smirked and nodded.
"Sooo…" he then put his arms around his shoulders, "how far have your relationship progressed~"
Why did the conversation take this turn?
Zhou Yichen widened his eyes and gasped. "Your silence says that you have done the deed!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire.net
"Well…" Jun was close to getting a heart attack again.
"So can I expect my grandchild soon?" His eyes looked starry with expectation.
His jaw dropped in shock.
"How can you both be so lax about this? Aunt asked me the same thing. Are you sure you two should have gotten divorced?" Jun asked suspiciously.
Zhou Yichen's gaze darkened. "Let's not talk about her. We have set the hotpot mood, so let's get to it!!"
Jin opened the door to his car and stepped out to walk towards a restaurant where Shui was waiting for him. He had received a message from her that she wanted to talk to him. Heading into a private room they booked, he saw Shui already seated and fiddling with her mobile. Jin narrowed his eyes.
Shui looked up and straightened up. "Jin."
Jin sat opposite her and lazily propped his arm on the table. "What is it? Let it be quick, otherwise I will be late to the office."
Shui blinked twice. His voice as he spoke to her strangely felt cold and detached for some reason.
Must be my imagination…
"What did you call me here for?" He sharply asked, making her jolt.
Shui awkwardly smiled. "I am so-sorry. If you are busy, we can meet later-"
"Nah. Let's get done with it right now," he shrugged.
She felt slightly more uneasy and guilty for bothering Jin. But she quickly chucked out that uncomfortable feeling. She saw the trace of the faint bruises still visible on his cheek. "Jin. Did you talk to Jun after that day?"
He raised his brow. "What is there to talk about?"
"I mean…" she clasped her hands together, "After the whole confrontation that day, I thought about it a lot and came to the conclusion that I should meet Jun once and apologize to him. Even though we broke up because we might be incompatible, I have still hurt him a lot," her gaze lowered that was beginning to turn wet.
"I lied to him to stay away from him, and my indecisiveness has hurt him the most. That's why I want to properly talk to him."
"So?" He asked, bored.
Shui felt her heart thud in anxiety. "I-I am feeling a little nervous. I don't know how to face him. So…"
Jin smiled. "So you want me to tag along with you?"
"Not like that! I thought that you would want to apologize to him-"
"Why should I apologize to him?"
Shui blankly stared at him. "Why? Jin, did you forget how you talked to him?"
Jin tilted his head. "What do you mean? I didn't say anything wrong."
Her lips slightly parted in shock and bewilderment. "Jin. You insulted Jun. You implied that he cheated on me when you knew that Jun would never do that to me. You certainly realize how much your words must have hurt him, right? Just like…" her gaze dimmed, "how my actions hurt him.
How can you say you weren't wrong?"
"I don't want to get into this discussion with you. But I am not apologizing to Bro. Go alone if you want to."
"Jin!" She raised her voice. "Why are you being ? Are you really so angry at him because you…" he eyelashes trembled, "you like Zhou Ai, and he is dating her?"
Jin remained quiet. Then he got up from his seat and walking around the table, he leaned his tall figure over her, placing his palms on either side of the walls.
Her eyes widened, and she stiffened with the sudden proximity. "W-what…"
Jin smiled and ever so slightly grazed a lock of her hair. "Say, Shui. Would you not like it if I like Zhou Ai?"