Finding their seats, a waiter came over to take their order.
Guoguo said she didn't want to eat, but Su Banxia worried she might get hungry and ordered for her anyway.
Lin Tongze asked Su Hao what he wanted to eat. The little guy was slouched sideways in his chair, his gaze fixed on the golf course outside the C restaurant.
Hearing Lin Tongze's voice, Su Hao snapped back to attention and said, "Whatever, anything's fine!"
Su Banxia couldn't help but frown slightly, looking at Su Hao. "Xiao Hao, Mom has told you before, when someone asks you something, you can't use a dismissive attitude!"
Hearing the hint of anger in Su Banxia's tone, Su Hao finally pulled his gaze completely away from the golf course.
He glanced at Su Banxia, then at Lin Tongze, and said, "Sorry!"
Su Banxia nodded and looked at him. "What do you want to eat?"
Su Hao ordered a steak, then immediately turned back to stare out the window at the golf course.
Once everyone had ordered, Su Banxia got up to go to the restroom. Lin Tongze picked up Guoguo and set her next to Su Hao, telling him to watch her while he also headed to the restroom.
Guoguo sat beside Su Hao, tugged at his sleeve, and leaned in mysteriously to whisper in his ear, "Brother, guess what Mom and Uncle Lin are talking about?"
Su Hao shot her a look. "Gossip queen!"
Seeing her about to slide off the sofa, Su Hao scooped her up and sat her back down. "Sit still!"
Guoguo pouted but followed his gaze toward the golf course.
In the restroom, Su Banxia was washing her hands with her head down. Lin Tongze followed her in, stood beside her, and also washed his hands with his head down.
Sensing someone nearby, Su Banxia looked up. Seeing it was Lin Tongze, she couldn't help but smile. "Following me in?"
"Yeah!"
He replied briefly and continued washing his hands.
Su Banxia had only been joking, but he answered so seriously.
She looked at him, curious. "What's wrong?"
After washing his hands, Lin Tongze grabbed a paper towel to dry them and turned to her. "Are you being too strict with Su Hao?"
Su Banxia was taken aback, looking at him in confusion.
Drying his hands, Lin Tongze tossed the trash away and faced her. "Su Hao is smart and sensible, and you trust him with everything he does. But have you ever thought that the smarter and more mature he is, the harder it is for him to enjoy the normal things other kids have?"
Su Banxia pulled out a paper towel to dry her hands, listening quietly.
Lin Tongze looked at her and continued, "You spoil Guoguo too much, but you're way too strict with Su Hao."
With that, he walked straight into the restroom stall.
Su Banxia stood frozen for a moment before finally leaving the restroom.
Back in the restaurant, she saw from a distance Su Hao holding Guoguo's hand, both quietly watching the golf course outside.
She stood there for a while, letting out a soft sigh inwardly.
Approaching the two kids, they were so absorbed that neither noticed her until Su Banxia spoke. "Xiao Hao, do you want to play golf?"
Su Hao and Guoguo turned to look at her at the same time. Su Hao hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Just had nothing to do, so I was watching."
Su Banxia smiled, suddenly realizing she might have been neglecting her son. Because Su Hao had always been so mature.
Sometimes, subconsciously, she treated Su Hao like an adult.
It was precisely because he was smart and grew up early that she unconsciously saw him as an adult, overlooking many things.
For instance, Su Hao was only a five-year-old child.
Thinking about it, she felt a pang of guilt toward him.
Lin Tongze came back shortly after. The waiter served the food. Guoguo was always restless during meals, especially since she wasn't hungry.
So while everyone else ate with their heads down, she played with her knife and fork. Su Banxia glanced at her and said, "Guoguo, eat properly."
Guoguo mumbled an "okay," then leaned close to Su Hao's ear and whispered, "Brother, I can't eat."
Su Hao replied, "If you can't eat, then don't for now."
Hearing that, Guoguo cheered up, put down her utensils, and slid off the sofa. She had been eyeing a child not far away for a while.
It was a baby. Kids are always curious about babies and can't help but want to get a closer look.
That's what Guoguo was thinking.
So she hopped off the sofa and ran toward the woman holding the baby, but before she reached her, she bumped into someone.
"Ah..."
She collided head-on with a woman wearing high heels. Caught off guard by Guoguo's sudden dash, the woman stumbled.
Startled by the collision, Guoguo froze, standing still in front of the woman.
The woman was in a bad mood that day. Seeing the little brat who had run into her standing there, she lost her temper.
She yelled at Guoguo, "You little bastard, are you blind? Don't you watch where you're going?"
Guoguo didn't understand what "little bastard" meant, but she knew the woman was cursing. Still, since she had bumped into her, she figured she deserved the scolding.
Looking at the woman getting up from the ground, Guoguo politely apologized, "Auntie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"If sorry were enough, what would the law be for?"
The woman glared at Guoguo, then grabbed a glass of water from a nearby table and threw it at her.
Su Banxia saw Guoguo knock the woman over and was about to rush over.
But she was too far away. When she saw the woman pick up the water and aim it at Guoguo, she panicked and sprinted over to shield Guoguo in her arms.
Luckily, the water never came down. Su Banxia looked up and saw a man behind the woman, grabbing her hand.
She squinted and realized it was Ye Hengtian, the man she had met earlier.
The woman about to throw the water was the one who had called Ye Hengtian "darling."
"Throwing hot water at a kid?"
Ye Hengtian snatched the glass from the woman's hand, glaring at her coldly.
Seeing him, the woman's face shifted from anger to tears. "Darling, this mother and daughter are bullying me!"
Su Banxia: "..."
She had nothing to say.
Ye Hengtian said nothing, just poured the glass of water onto the woman's face and spat out, "Get lost!"
The water wasn't scalding anymore, but it still had some warmth. Caught off guard, the woman yelped.
She wanted to say more but met Ye Hengtian's murderous glare.
Terrified, she dared not speak another word, only shot Su Banxia a venomous look.
Once the woman left, Ye Hengtian's face broke into a smile. He looked apologetically at Su Banxia. "Miss Su, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"
Su Banxia shook her head. "Thank you for stepping in, President Ye."
Then she led Guoguo back to their seats.
Ye Hengtian naturally noticed Lin Tongze sitting beside Su Banxia. He glanced at the twin children and furrowed his brow slightly.
He walked over to greet Lin Tongze, his smile flawless. "Hello, President Lin."
Lin Tongze recognized him. At industry networking events, he had memorized many influential figures and business talents from Yanshi.
Ye Hengtian was a minor player, known for his silver tongue and perpetual smile.
As the saying goes, you don't slap a smiling face. Since Ye Hengtian had taken the initiative to greet him, Lin Tongze stood up and shook his hand in return.
He invited him to join them for a meal.
But Ye Hengtian was perceptive. He smiled and declined, saying he had other matters to attend to.
Before leaving, he shot Su Banxia a meaningful glance.
Su Banxia knew exactly what he meant. Seeing a man and woman with two kids would naturally lead to assumptions.
Besides, Ye Hengtian knew she was involved with Pei Shaozhe.