He threw mud at Tri Miao, and she chased him down to beat him up.
Bùi Minh had never been beaten up before.
They had a strange fight, then became friends.
I had a bit of a headache. I hadn’t expected to meet the male lead so soon.
But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since at least I could observe the situation and adjust my plan accordingly.
In the original story, Từ Tri Miểu had been secretly in love with Bùi Minh since she was little, while Bùi Minh saw her only as a friend.
But now, seeing the way Bùi Minh couldn’t take his eyes off Từ Tri Miểu…
Oho.
Looks like this little boy is the one who’s fallen first.
When Từ Sâm found out, he coldly tossed Bùi Minh out, using Tri Miao’s need to prepare for the city’s best elementary school entrance exam as an excuse to put a stop to Bùi Minh’s frequent visits.
18
Before long, the break would be over, and Miểu Miểu would start elementary school.
Từ Sâm and I planned to take Miểu Miểu shopping. First, I took her to play for a while in the kids’ area.
After that, we bought school supplies and a few books.
Seeing that it was still early, Từ Sâm suggested buying some clothes, too.
The sales associates (SAs) at the boutiques spotted Từ Sâm and quietly ushered us into VIP rooms.
At first, I only meant to buy a few spring outfits, but with Miểu Miểu, Từ Sâm, and the SAs showering me with compliments, I gradually lost control.
It wasn’t until Từ Sâm went to pay that I realized we’d bought enough clothes for an entire season.
The SAs were also thoughtful enough to help us pick out a few matching family outfits.
After trying on her outfit, Miểu Miểu refused to take it off. She happily ran around Từ Sâm and me, twirling in front of the mirror.
One of the SAs eagerly asked, “Would you like to take a picture?”
In the photo, a handsome husband and beautiful wife wore matching outfits, with an adorable, chubby little girl between them, holding her hands up to her head to make bunny ears.
Từ Sâm posted the picture on social media.
He had no idea that this unexpected family photo would cause such a stir among his friends.
Miểu Miểu waved and conspiratorially said that she had a gift for me, too, and told me to wait a moment.
Then she turned and walked into the neighboring Hermès boutique. Pointing at a Birkin bag in the display case, she told the SA, “I want to buy this one.”
The SA thought she’d misheard, but seeing the little girl dressed in designer clothes from head to toe, she didn’t dare dismiss her. “Sweetie, where are your parents? Are you lost?”
“I’m not lost. Miểu Miểu just wants to buy this bag.”
The SA looked troubled.
Aside from the fact that she was a minor, the bags in the display case were only for display and weren’t for sale.
Just as the SA was about to lead her to the customer service desk, a well-dressed man in an outfit matching the little girl’s approached.
His finely tailored suit made him look even more elegant and tall.
The store manager hurried out to greet him in her high heels. When she saw me standing beside Từ Sâm, surprise flashed in her eyes. “Mr. Từ, you came without an appointment this time? Is this your wife and daughter? They’re beautiful.”
He pointed to the bag Miểu Miểu had chosen earlier. “Do you have this one in stock?”
The manager understood at once and discreetly brought out an identical bag from the stockroom.
When it was time to pay, Miểu Miểu insisted that Từ Sâm not pay.
“This is a gift for Mom. I’ll pay for it.”
Miểu Miểu took out the bank card I’d given her earlier.
One swipe sent 180,000 yuan flying, and Miểu Miểu didn’t look the least bit reluctant.
Instead, she happily handed me the bag. “That mean lady ruined your bag last time, so I bought you a new one!”
“I think this color is prettier than that mean lady’s. Next time, I’ll make her so mad she’ll die!”
Tears welled in my eyes.
What had I done to deserve this?
In that moment, the value of this luxury item no longer lay in its steep price, but in the innocent, pure heart of the child I loved with all my heart, which she had poured into this gift for me.
Seeing me cry, Miểu Miểu hurried to wipe away my tears.
“Why are you crying, Mom?”
“Did Miểu Miểu do something wrong? You taught me to spend wisely, but I think buying you a gift to make you happy is something meaningful to me.”
“Right, Dad?”
“Yeah.” Từ Sâm looked at me tenderly. “Making Mom happy is what matters.”
As he said this, he stared straight at me, completely serious.
My heart fluttered.
I leaned down and kissed Miểu Miểu’s cheek. “I know. I’m crying because I’m touched.”
After we finished shopping, Từ Sâm asked the mall to send everything we’d bought home so we could take a stroll through the nearby park.
In the sunset, Miểu Miểu’s eyes sparkled as she tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “Do you really like Miểu Miểu’s present, Mom?”
“I love it.”
“That’s wonderful! Miểu Miểu is happy, too!”
I bent down and smoothed her hair, which the wind had tousled.
She swung my hand, acting coy, and pointed with her other hand at a stand near the park entrance. “Miểu Miểu’s been good today. Can I have some cotton candy?”
“Of course.”
Miểu Miểu: ^＞///＜^
The system was so smitten by her cuteness that it begged me to buy two.
And so Miểu Miểu: o(*////▽////*)q
She hugged the two cotton candies in her arms and skipped happily in the breeze.
Từ Sâm and I walked slowly behind her, our shadows stretching long and twining together in the sunset.
19
On the day of elementary school registration, Bùi Minh’s name appeared plainly on the class assignment list.
Từ Sâm’s face darkened until it could not have been any darker.
That night, he silently drained a bottle of tequila by the floor-to-ceiling window.
When I found Từ Sâm, he was sitting on the third-floor staircase, clutching the railing and crying like a broken man.
Me: “……”
I seemed to have just witnessed something I shouldn’t have.
I turned to leave.
“Quý Tư Nhiên!” Từ Sâm’s loud call made me stop in my tracks.
My heart pounded wildly. Now that he’d caught me seeing him cry like this, things would be awkward between us next time we met.
Thinking fast, I rubbed my eyes with my hand. “Ah, Uncle Lưu forgot to close the window today. Sand blew into my eyes and it hurts so much—I didn’t see a thing.”
When Từ Sâm didn’t react, I tried to sneak away.
“Quý Tư Nhiên, you’re a terrible actress.”
“Come sit here. I’m not drunk.”
I accepted my fate, sat down beside him, picked up the half-full bottle of liquor, and took a sip.
Từ Sâm glanced at the bottle in my hand, then silently turned away, his ears turning bright red.
When I looked back at him, he had returned to his forlorn expression.
I patted his shoulder and offered some heartfelt words of comfort.
Feelings are so beautiful and innocent at this age.
They might have a little crush on each other now, but there’s no telling if they’ll still feel the same when they’re older.
Those handsome little boys grow up to be “heartbreakers,” and Miểu Miểu won’t give that kid a second glance.
Từ Sâm looked at me and let out a sigh.
He didn’t seem this sad over Miểu Miểu, and I hadn’t heard anything about Từ Sâm’s company going bankrupt. So what was making him so sad?
Why was he trying to drown his sorrows?
“Did you… get your heart broken?”
A flash passed through Từ Sâm’s eyes. Curiosity welled up in me. “Who could possibly break your heart?”
“You.”
I choked on my drink and nearly suffocated.
The system squealed excitedly: [Yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh yoh.]
My voice trembled. “You like me?”
Từ Sâm produced a box of Oreos from who-knows-where.
At family events, we often played this game.
We’d randomly put mustard in some of the Oreos. Whoever got one with mustard lost points, while anyone lucky enough to avoid it earned points.
“If neither of us gets an Oreo with mustard, I’ll tell you.”
In other words, if we both got one with mustard, or either of us got one, he’d keep it a secret.
I smiled and reached for a cookie from the plate in front of me without hesitation, then ate it.
“No mustard.”
Từ Sâm picked one too. He chewed slowly, his gaze softening as he looked at me.
“No mustard.”
Từ Sâm slowly moved closer, until our pupils reflected each other’s faces.
He’d drunk half a bottle of liquor, and the fresh, fragrant scent of tequila drifted to my nose now and then, reminding me:
Perhaps I was about to enter the romance arc.
“Actually, when I first met you, you didn’t make much of an impression on me.”
“But later, I don’t know when things changed. I realized the connection between us was no longer just a cold contractual relationship.”
“Our agreement wasn’t supposed to involve personal feelings. But I know that when you meet someone you like, you should pursue them.”
“I’ve kept this answer buried in my heart, and I can’t help wanting to tell you.”
He turned back, a spark of fire in his eyes:
“I like you.”
“This is a moment that transcends my whole life. You’re the one deal I never tried to calculate.”
I looked into his bottomless eyes, his outer corners reddened by the alcohol.
The sound of breathing, the wind outside the window, the beating of our hearts…
A minute stretched into a century.
I said, “Từ Sâm, are you sober?”
His eyes suddenly overflowed with emotion, and then he moved closer to me.
A gentle, irresistible kiss answered me.
His kiss carried not only the rich fragrance of tequila, but also a hint of mustard.
I remembered there was one more rule to the game.
If the person who got the mustard could hide it so no one found out, they still counted as the winner.
I didn’t call him out. Instead, I returned his kiss.
Because I had no reason to hate Từ Sâm, and no reason not to be moved in that moment.
20
That night, as it turned out, Từ Sâm wasn’t sober.
The next morning, he had forgotten almost everything.
He blushed and looked at me all morning. He’d once called Bùi Minh an immature child, but now he laughed at himself for being outdone by a seven-year-old.
“Did I really kiss you?”
“But you forgot.”
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Tư Nhiên, where are you going?”
Từ Sâm followed me, insisting on taking me somewhere.
He formally opened the front passenger door for me. “From now on, this will be Quý Tư Nhiên’s seat.”
Từ Sâm leaned over and opened the glove compartment in front of me. “I’ve prepared a few things for you in here. Sunscreen, sunglasses, and a few lipsticks. I picked the lipstick shades on Xiaohongshu. See if you like them. If they don’t suit you, we can go buy something else.”
I looked at him in surprise. The compartment held more than just those things; it was stocked with everything from hair ties and clips to sanitary pads—the sort of things girls usually keep in their purses.
His sincerity and thoughtfulness brought out a meticulous side even in someone as cold as Từ Sâm.
I smiled and quickly kissed Từ Sâm on the cheek.
The car rolled along slowly. Wind blew in through the window, from the ends of my hair toward his reddened ears.
While we waited at a red light, I couldn’t help asking, “Where are we going, anyway?”
Từ Sâm leaned close. “The civil affairs bureau. To get married.”
Me: “???????”
I took a deep breath and calmly said, “Turn around and go home.”
Từ Sâm’s hand on the steering wheel froze.
I could almost hear his heart shattering into eighteen thousand pieces.
I sighed helplessly. “I mean, go home and get the household registration booklet!!!”
Từ Sâm pulled over to the side of the road.
He gazed intently at me, unable to hide the joy on his face. “You really agree?”
“Can I say no?”
“No.”
He leaned in and kissed me.
The wind picked up, fragrance wafting all around us. He didn’t say, “I love you.” He only kissed from the corner of my mouth to my ear and whispered, “The wind’s picked up.”