NOVPUBIt was Saturday, the next day.
Liu Changqing opened his eyes and spaced out for a while, staring at the familiar ceiling above him. Only when his mind gradually cleared did he start to move.
He gently lifted An Yuanyao’s arm that was draped over him, quietly slipped out of bed, then turned and tucked the blanket around her. Seeing that she was still fast asleep, Liu Changqing picked up his phone from the bedside table.
He tiptoed softly toward the door.
A new day began. After finishing his morning run with his son, Liu Changqing came back home, took a quick shower, and started preparing breakfast.
Except for the steamed buns and steamed dumplings, which were bought outside, the congee and boiled eggs were made fresh after he got back.
His son didn’t look too good.
Liu Changqing noticed it the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered.
Yesterday’s scene replayed in his head—
Zhang Yunjing had kissed his son on the cheek, and the boy reacted like he’d touched something dirty, rushing into the bathroom to wash his face several times.
Who knows what kind of dream the kid had last night. Whatever it was, Liu Changqing could clearly tell during the morning workout that his son was totally out of it.
Looked like he hadn’t slept well—kept yawning and seemed completely out of energy. As the boy was walking past him to head into the bathroom, Liu Changqing asked,
“Didn’t you say the day before yesterday that Zhao Xuanwen was coming over today?”
“Yeah.”
With a towel hanging over his shoulder, Liu Zhiyue paused and answered.
Liu Changqing nodded slightly and said,
“Then I’ll need to cook a bit more rice for lunch.”
With that, he turned and headed to the kitchen. Before long, the sounds of cooking came from inside, while Liu Zhiyue closed the bathroom door and started showering.
As time passed, the rest of the family began to wake up too. An Yuanyao and Liu Xiazhi, mother and daughter, came out of their rooms one after the other.
After brushing their teeth and washing their faces in harmony, An Yuanyao started applying her hydrating skincare products.
Under her influence, Liu Xiazhi had also started asking for skincare after washing her face.
The two of them—one tall, one short—followed the routine in perfect rhythm. They poured toner into their hands, rubbed it evenly between their palms, and then started patting it onto their faces.
“Pa pa pa pa pa!”
Their rhythm was perfectly in sync, and the slapping sounds weren’t exactly quiet. At the very least, Liu Changqing, who was peeling boiled eggs in the kitchen, could hear it loud and clear.
He never really got this whole skincare thing women did.
Back when An Yuanyao hadn’t moved in yet, the entire family—with the exception of his daughter, who had her own face wash—relied on soap to do everything. One bar handled it all.
Sure, sometimes their faces felt a bit dry, but Liu Changqing never paid much attention to it—until An Yuanyao came along and strictly banned him from washing his face with soap.
She bought a full set of men’s skincare products and even gave Liu Changqing a full-face treatment herself. That included moisturizing.
Liu Changqing remembered very clearly—he was lying in bed while An Yuanyao worked her magic on his face… and he wasn’t even allowed to move. Every time he twitched, she’d scold him.
It actually felt kinda nice, but Liu Changqing found it all a bit too troublesome. So usually, after using a bit of facial cleanser, he’d slap on some toner, then finish it off with his go-to:
Little Treasure SOD Lotion.
When it came to moisturizing, he only trusted Little Treasure!
After An Yuanyao and Liu Xiazhi wrapped up their skincare session, they sat down at the dining table. Soon, Liu Changqing came out of the kitchen carrying a pot of congee, serving it up bowl by bowl.
Since An Yuanyao’s appetite had changed during her pregnancy, Liu Changqing had made some adjustments to the meals. The congee was made lighter than usual.
Tea eggs were also swapped out for boiled eggs.
During breakfast, Liu Changqing took the half-eaten boiled egg from An Yuanyao, who had lost her appetite, and popped it into his mouth. His eyes, however, stayed fixed on the daughter sitting across from him.
Even though Zhou Shiyan’s tutoring had been effective, having her come over every week to help out felt a little inconvenient.
So, when Lan Yixian and her mom left yesterday, Liu Changqing mentioned that he was planning to sign his daughter up for a dance class—that way, Zhou Shiyan wouldn’t need to come anymore.
Zhou Shiyan had no objections. She just nodded in response.
Watching his daughter take a big bite of the boiled egg, then stuff a steamed dumpling into her mouth right after, Liu Changqing fell into deep thought.
Since she didn’t have much academic talent, maybe they could focus on developing her artistic side. Besides, she had a natural gift for dancing. It would be a shame not to nurture that properly…
Staring at his daughter, Liu Changqing paused mid-meal.
An Yuanyao noticed and reached over with her chopsticks, feeding him a steamed dumpling. After he ate it, she followed up with a soup dumpling.
Liu Changqing, deep in thought, didn’t resist the food being fed to him. He just chewed and chewed, until he finally snapped out of it.
He turned to look at An Yuanyao.
“Stop feeding me already, eat more yourself. How much have you eaten?”
“I… don’t really have an appetite…”
“Still gotta eat!”
Hearing Liu Changqing’s stern tone, An Yuanyao reluctantly picked up a soup dumpling and started chewing.
Her appetite had never been great, but lately she’d been eating even less. Yesterday she’d said she was gaining weight—but in reality, since finding out she was pregnant, she hadn’t gained any at all. Nothing seemed to taste good anymore. Even pig trotters, which she used to love, didn’t hit the same. Last time she only ate half, and Liu Changqing had to finish the rest.
Even though she wasn’t hungry now, An Yuanyao still obeyed and numbly shoveled food into her stomach.
Seeing her eat obediently, Liu Changqing paused for a second, then turned to his daughter—her mouth still full—and said,
“Xiazhi… later you’re coming with us. We’re signing you up for a dance class.”
“Huh?”
Both An Yuanyao and Liu Xiazhi paused mid-bite, staring at Liu Changqing.
Liu Xiazhi was the first to react. Her brain spun into overdrive, and she quickly made the connection—this meant no more tutoring from Zhou Shiyan.
Her face lit up with joy.
“Daddy, I love dancing the most!”
She beamed as she said it, setting down her chopsticks, looking absolutely thrilled. To her, anything that didn’t involve studying was pure happiness.
An Yuanyao thought for a moment, then asked,
“Do you already have a place in mind? If not, I actually know one…”
“Let’s go with yours. It’s perfect—gives you a chance to get out, stretch your legs a bit.”
“Mm, sounds good!”
