Su Hao lowered his eyes. "Mom, are you going to marry your boss?"
Su Banxia's mind went blank for a moment, stunned. "Why would you ask that?"
"You don't have a job in Thailand. You went there to date!"
Su Hao spoke, his little face full of displeasure.
Su Banxia felt a pang of guilt. This was her fault.
In a daze, her clothes were tugged. She looked down to see the little one looking up at her. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"
Su Hao looked at her, showing a rare hint of childishness. "Mom, will you ever abandon me?"
Su Banxia was taken aback and quickly shook her head. "How could I? You and Guoguo are Mom's treasures. How could I ever abandon you?"
Su Hao lowered his head. "What if one day you meet someone you like and send us away? You'll have your own kids with someone else, and Guoguo and I won't have a home anymore."
Su Banxia's heart ached. She hugged him, her eyes moist. "Silly child, how could Mom do that? Mom only has you and Guoguo in this life. I would never leave you!"
"Then will you get married?"
Su Hao looked up at her, his face unusually free of seriousness, filled with childlike innocence.
Su Banxia shook her head. "No. Mom will always be with you. I won't get married."
Su Hao thought for a moment. "So you won't marry Uncle Lin either?"
Uncle Lin? Lin Tongze?
Su Banxia was startled and shook her head. "Sweetie, no matter how long it takes, you and Guoguo are the most important to Mom. There's no one else, understand?"
Back in France, the kids had never been like this.
Su Banxia suddenly regretted joining Dingsheng. In less than a month, she had neglected them too much. She had been too busy dealing with Pei Shaozé, forgetting about her children's emotions and lives.
"Mom was wrong. Mom will change."
Su Banxia made a promise.
---
Su Banxia was always quick to admit her mistakes and correct them. After promising her son, she started making time to take the kids out for some fun.
Guoguo and Su Hao had washed up and were standing in the living room. The TV was on, and Guoguo was staring at it, distracted. Her hair was still messy. Su Hao went to the bedroom to change.
Seeing Guoguo's messy hair, Su Banxia said, "Guoguo, fix your hair. We're going out soon!"
Guoguo nodded vaguely and went to get a comb.
Su Banxia watched her fumble with her hair, planning to help her later. Then she went into the bathroom to wash up.
Guoguo struggled for a while, but her hair only got messier. Mom was washing her face, and Aunt Fang was putting on makeup. It seemed only her brother was free.
The little one ran into the bedroom with the comb, finding Su Hao already changed into clean clothes.
"Brother, comb my hair."
She handed the comb to Su Hao, speaking softly.
Su Hao frowned slightly. "Guoguo, you're five now. You should comb your own hair."
When she was little, someone always helped her—either Mom or him. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he wanted her to learn.
Guoguo didn't care about that. She couldn't do it herself, so she needed her brother's help. She blinked her big, pitiful eyes at Su Hao. "I can't."
Seeing her like that, Su Hao was a bit speechless. He took the comb from her and pointed to the bed. "Sit up straight."
Knowing her brother had given in, Guoguo grinned, hopped onto the bed, and looked up at him sweetly. "Thanks, brother!"
Su Hao snorted but gently began combing her hair. He had done this countless times since she was little, so his movements were smooth.
When Su Banxia came out of the bathroom, she saw Guoguo's once messy hair was now neatly done.
"Mom, brother combed my hair. Does it look good?"
Guoguo was excited, as every little girl would be.
Su Banxia hugged the little one, kissing her repeatedly, then looked at Su Hao. "Sweetie, your future wife must have saved the galaxy."
"You two mother-daughter pair must have saved the galaxy too."
Fang Shiqing came out of the room, all ready, looking like she was about to head out.
Su Banxia smiled, not denying it, and asked, "Got a date tonight?"
Fang Shiqing shook her head. "No idea."
After everyone got ready, Fang Shiqing left. Not long after, Lin Tongze arrived, bringing lots of good food.
Guoguo and Su Hao hadn't eaten much in the morning, so they thanked him before digging in.
Su Banxia watched her two little ones devour the food and looked helplessly at the smiling Lin Tongze. "We didn't have breakfast, so..."
Lin Tongze chuckled. "Don't skip meals in the future. It's bad for your stomach. Don't mistreat yourself."
Afraid he'd start nagging, Su Banxia quickly asked, "Where are we going today?"
"There's a resort south of the city. Since you don't have work tomorrow, we can head over today and stay the night. It'll be a good chance for the kids to have fun outside."
Lin Tongze was a meticulous planner, whether for big or small matters. So Su Banxia didn't argue.
Besides, it really was time to take the kids out.
After breakfast, Guoguo and Su Hao started playing with Lin Tongze.
Watching the three of them having a blast on the couch, Su Banxia suddenly remembered Fang Shiqing's words: "Guoguo and Su Hao look a lot like Lin Tongze in the face."
At first, she hadn't noticed, but now looking closely, it was true. Lin Tongze and the kids shared similar features. Come to think of it, Pei Shaozé also resembled him.
Shaking off the thought, Su Banxia felt she was overthinking. She had met Lin Tongze in France, while Pei Shaozé was in China. If not for their work rivalry, they probably wouldn't even know each other.
"What are you spacing out for? It's getting late. We need to get ready to go."
Lin Tongze noticed her staring at him and smiled lightly.
Snapping out of it, Su Banxia nodded. "Right, right!"
Then she asked, "Do we need to bring anything? Since we're staying overnight."
"No, they have everything there."
So they all headed downstairs. Guoguo, who had always loved clinging to Lin Tongze, refused to walk even the short flight of stairs. She wanted him to carry her. Lin Tongze indulged her, and Su Banxia didn't say anything.