Although Xixi was reluctant and Yang Yi remained silent with a dark expression, Mofei ultimately hardened her heart and took the little one back.
"Mommy, can Daddy come live at our house? He can cook yummy food for you!" As they went downstairs, Xixi was still acting spoiled in her mother's arms.
Mofei, already irritated by Yang Yi's attitude, patted Xixi's bottom in annoyance and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense. Girls shouldn't be so cheeky!"
"Your daddy has his own life. He won't want to come," Mofei finally said softly, patting the little one's head.
Today, to avoid being followed by paparazzi, Mofei had switched to an inconspicuous private car.
After getting in the car, Mo Xiaojuan, acting as the driver, turned around anxiously with her phone in hand and reported, "Sis, we have a problem!"
"Teacher Liu's office got back to us. He's very unhappy about our last-minute schedule change and has unilaterally canceled the arrangements," Mo Xiaojuan said with a frown.
This Teacher Liu was Liu Shifang, a professor in the composition department at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He had created many popular works in the last century and now, in his older age, was more active in the entertainment industry as a music critic.
Mofei wanted to visit Liu Shifang, hoping he would review her comeback album. Of course, this was also arranged by the company's PR department—slip some money, get a good review, and maybe boost sales!
But Mofei wasn't interested. Though she was a woman in her early thirties, a mother, and had spent years in the entertainment industry, she was still naive in her own way. She wanted to reclaim her honor through her own strength!
So, to pick up her daughter, Mofei had no qualms about canceling this itinerary, which felt like cheating.
Hearing Mo Xiaojuan's report, Mofei just frowned and snorted, "Let him do what he wants!"
It was truly a case of the emperor not worrying while the eunuch frets. Mo Xiaojuan helplessly rolled her eyes at her cousin. She vaguely felt something was off but couldn't sway Mofei, so she sighed, turned the key, and started the car to leave.
"I love Daddy's cooking. This morning he made sandwiches, and at noon he made super tasty chicken wings!" Xixi pouted, looking dejected. "Tonight Daddy was going to make something delicious, but Xixi won't get to eat it..."
Her delicate little face wore a melancholic expression that was both pitiful and amusing.
"Your dad can cook? No way!" Mofei shook her head in disbelief. She knew Yang Yi's cooking skills from before—she'd seen them long ago, and they weren't even as good as Mo Xiaojuan's!
But Xixi was serious, earnestly "selling" her dad: "Daddy is amazing! He even tells stories, like the story of Sister Elsa, who can do magic!"
Though Mofei was a bit surprised by what Xixi said, she stubbornly believed Yang Yi was still the same blockhead as before. And more than questioning Yang Yi's abilities, she was concerned about Xixi's attitude.
She'd only been at her dad's place for a few days, and now she was already won over? Didn't she love her dearest mommy anymore?
Mofei was actually a bit jealous of Yang Yi, feeling like her daughter was about to be taken away by a big bad wolf.
"Your dad isn't that amazing. He must be sweet-talking you!" Mofei said, a little huffily.
Only in front of her daughter did Mofei show such an adorable side. Her usually ethereal face now had puffed cheeks, like a bun, looking very cute!
"No, no, Daddy didn't lie to Xixi!" Xixi protested, unwilling to back down, defending her dad. "Daddy said next time he'll take Xixi on the Ferris wheel."
Hearing this, Mofei froze, then fell into deep self-blame.
She loved Xixi very much, but Mofei knew she wasn't a qualified mother. She was busy with work and always eager to make a comeback, so she spent very little time with Xixi.
Plus, her identity made it hard for her to take Xixi to public places like ordinary people.
"No wonder you like being with your dad..." Mofei gently pulled her daughter into her arms, resting her chin on Xixi's hair, thinking guiltily, "Did I make the wrong choice?"
But the thought was fleeting. Mofei was a strong, determined person. After returning, she had dinner with Xixi at a restaurant, then took the little one to her recording studio to continue working.
She was busy again until late at night...
...
"No..." In the middle of the night, Mofei, who had just fallen asleep, suddenly woke from a dream. Disheveled, she crawled up and went to Xixi's room. Seeing Xixi still sleeping in bed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
The dream had been too strange. Mofei seemed to have returned to the first time she met Yang Yi.
In the dream, Yang Yi pushed her away and said cruelly, "Wouldn't it have been better if we never started? Then you and I wouldn't have this entanglement and connection through Xixi."
After that, Mofei was swallowed by darkness, unable to see her beloved daughter anymore...
Thankfully, it was just a dream!
But Mofei couldn't sleep anymore. She poured herself a glass of red wine, draped a silk robe over herself, and curled up on the bay window in her bedroom.
Outside the window was the bustling scene of Binhai District, still brightly lit even in the middle of the night, with cars flowing endlessly.
But Mofei had no mind to appreciate it. Her mind was full of memories from over four years ago.
Back then, Mofei was the "Ice Queen of Song" at the peak of her career. Six years in the industry, four albums had pushed her to the top of the music world, with countless fans lost in her cold, ethereal voice.
And at that time, Yang Yi, who had been kicked out of the military, was just starting his new life in the capital.
Perhaps it was fate's arrangement—two people with no connection at all came to a crossroads of destiny.
At a sponsor-organized cocktail party, Mofei was drugged by a scheming boss, and Yang Yi happened to be that boss's driver...
Seeing the boss carrying a drugged beauty down, Yang Yi, bursting with a sense of justice, knocked out his boss with one punch, then drove the boss's stretch Lincoln and fled with Mofei.
At the time, he didn't know he had saved the famous star Mofei—Yang Yi didn't know any celebrities anyway.
If it had just been a heroic rescue, there might not have been a follow-up.
The problem was that the drug's effect wasn't strong, and Mofei woke up quickly.
After waking up, she kindly opened a bottle of water in the car for the thirsty Yang Yi. Neither of them expected that the water was originally meant for the boss's own use—it was laced with a strong aphrodisiac!
By a twist of fate, Yang Yi was unluckily drugged.
He was still a gentleman. Sensing something was wrong, he parked the car in a maple grove on the outskirts, red-eyed, and desperately tried to push Mofei away.
But Mofei, in that situation, inexplicably refused to leave, crying like a mess and insisting on barging in.
What followed was an indescribable event involving parking in the maple grove.
The past was like the wind, yet it hadn't blown away. Picking it up again after so many years, it was still as fresh as ever!
"About that time, do you regret it?" Mofei gently swirled the wine glass, the red wine as crimson as blood. This question, she didn't know if she was asking herself or Yang Yi from afar.
But she knew her own answer.