After they finally had a falling out, letting Fang Shiqing go in to find Su Banxia now would just give them a chance to reconcile. Besides, Fang Shiqing would definitely help Su Banxia work overtime. Thinking about all this, she felt quite pleased with herself.
"Mhm, with such a good friend worrying about her, she's really lucky." She deliberately put on an envious look toward Fang Shiqing.
Hearing her jealous tone, Fang Shiqing laughed. "Aren't you lucky? I care about you just as much!" She said this while tapping her on the forehead, acting very affectionately.
"Lucky! Lucky!" She grinned foolishly, and the two of them headed downstairs together.
Seeing that it was almost time for the kids to get out of school, Su Banxia was still buried in work. The first person she thought of when she picked up the phone was Fang Shiqing. She almost dialed her number, but then suddenly thought of something and quickly switched to another one.
"Hey, Tongze." She thought it over—Lin Tongze was the most suitable person to pick up the kids now. "Can you pick up the kids for me?" After getting a response on the other end, she continued.
Lin Tongze was happy to oblige, but he was curious about what she was so busy with. "No problem. Where are you?"
"I'm still at the company working overtime. There's a batch of documents I haven't finished reviewing." She felt helpless, but what could she do? She had offended the boss.
"Alright, I'll come pick you up later."
"No need, I'll just take a taxi back." Having him pick up the kids was already enough trouble; she couldn't let him go out of his way to get her too. She quickly and firmly refused.
Lin Tongze was a bit unhappy. "Banxia, don't be stubborn with me." He really disliked how distant Su Banxia was being with him.
Hearing his serious tone, Su Banxia had no choice but to agree. "Okay, thank you."
As dusk fell, the only light on in the entire company was from Su Banxia's office. Lin Tongze came up with the two kids.
"Mommy!" Guoguo ran toward Su Banxia with her arms outstretched.
Su Banxia immediately scooped her up. "Guoguo! Did you miss Mommy?"
"Yes! Mommy worked hard!" Guoguo said, then cupped Su Banxia's face and gave her a big kiss, which filled Su Banxia with contentment.
She then looked at Haohao, who wore a serious expression like a little adult. He knew his mom was busy with work, but he hadn't expected that only his mom would be working overtime in the whole company! Right now, he was silently fuming at whoever had made his mom work late.
"Are you done?" After watching the mother and daughter cuddle for a while, Lin Tongze finally spoke up to interrupt.
Su Banxia nodded. Luckily, the documents weren't too troublesome; she had just finished organizing them when they came upstairs.
"Let's go home." He took Guoguo from Su Banxia's arms to carry her. She had been busy all day, and holding the child would only tire her out more.
"Yeah," she agreed. She had been sitting at her desk all day, and her shoulders were aching. She wanted to get home and rest soon.
On the way, Su Banxia was drowsy. When she woke up and looked out the window, she was stunned. "Tongze, why are we at your place?" She was supposed to go back to Fang Shiqing's, but this road clearly led to Lin Tongze's house.
"Stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we're going back to France." Lin Tongze said this calmly, as if it were no big deal.
"What!" Su Banxia was shocked. She hadn't even made up her mind yet—how could he decide for her!
The car slowly came to a stop, and Lin Tongze turned to look at her. "Banxia, I'm serious." His face was stern and earnest, making Su Banxia think deeply.
Seeing that Su Banxia wasn't speaking, Lin Tongze looked at the two kids. "Guoguo, Haohao, do you want to go back to France?"
Guoguo immediately raised her little hand. "Yes! Mommy doesn't have time to be with us here."
Lin Tongze then looked at Haohao. Haohao glanced at him coolly. "If going back to France means Mommy can spend more time with us, then I want to go." All the kids wanted was for Su Banxia to have more time for them.
Su Banxia knew that Guoguo and Haohao wished she could be with them more, but her job made it hard to achieve.
"But, Tongze, this is all too rushed. Not to mention I haven't packed my luggage, there's also Guoguo and Haohao's school, and Pei Shaoze's situation... There are too many things. If you want me to go back, we need to sort these out first, right?" Just the huge debt she owed Pei Shaoze was already a big problem for Su Banxia.
Lin Tongze nodded. He had considered all her concerns. "Yeah, I've already handled the school. Banxia, forgive me for not discussing it with you. As for Pei Shaoze, leave that to me. Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to Shiqing's to pack your things. The flight is at noon."
"..." Su Banxia said nothing. She hadn't expected everything to be arranged so quickly.
Seeing her like that, Lin Tongze's eyes dimmed a little. "Can't bear to leave Pei Shaoze?"
Su Banxia was surprised he would ask that and quickly shook her head. "No, I'll follow your plan. And thank you."
"You know I do all this for you..."
"Let's go. I'm really tired today." Su Banxia cut him off, opened the car door, and got out. Lin Tongze's house was not far ahead.
Haohao and Guoguo slowly jumped out of the car, each taking one of Su Banxia's hands as they walked forward.
Going back to France so suddenly would indeed let her escape a lot. Lin Tongze could help handle things here, but she still felt a bit reluctant. Saying it was too rushed was just an excuse.
She didn't sleep all night. Even though she was exhausted, thinking about what Lin Tongze had said kept her awake. As soon as dawn broke, she quickly got up to get ready, planning to take the kids back to pack.
She had made up her mind—she would go back with Lin Tongze. He had arranged everything; she couldn't let his good intentions go to waste.
Lin Tongze seemed to have woken up even earlier than her. He was already dressed and waiting for her downstairs. She quickly woke the kids, helped them pack a few things, and brought them downstairs.
After breakfast, Lin Tongze drove toward Fang Shiqing's place.
As soon as Su Banxia entered the house, she saw Fang Shiqing with dark circles under her eyes, staring at her. "Banxia, you... where did you go yesterday..." This was the first time they had spoken in days.
Su Banxia was very calm. "Tongze's place." She said this and pushed the two kids into the room, then headed to her own room.
Fang Shiqing followed, wanting to clear things up. She had been worried all night because Su Banxia and the kids hadn't come home, and her phone was off. "I..."
"Tongze bought tickets for today. I have to go back to France. Thank you for taking care of us during this time. This card has some money in it—consider it rent and thanks for looking after Guoguo and Haohao." Su Banxia cut her off directly, pulling a thick envelope from her bag and pressing it into Fang Shiqing's hand.
Fang Shiqing caught a glimpse of the red inside and immediately knew what it was. "Banxia, you... what do you mean?"
"What do I mean? You know." With that, she opened her suitcase and started packing her things.