Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
I took the caramel macchiato.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yanzhou said, “Wen Tang, swap drinks with Wanning.”
“Hm?” She looked confused.
“It's fine. I can drink this.”
I took a sip of the macchiato.
He said nothing more. Wen Tang treated it as a trivial matter and sipped the cappuccino.
The viewers watched through a magnifying glass, discussing every small detail of the undercurrents between us.
“Did he buy that cappuccino for Ning Wanning?”
“I remember her saying on Weibo she only drinks half-sweet cappuccinos.”
“Doesn't Wen Tang like caramel macchiatos? Why the sudden change?”
…
The children sat to one side with their milk teas. After a couple of sips, their attention shifted to Wen Tang.
Qi'an leaned close to Ningning's ear.
“I don't like Auntie Wen. I only like your mommy.”
I was near enough to hear.
Wen Tang stood farther away. With the noise of the play park, she didn't hear him.
Ningning whispered back, “Is she here to steal Daddy from Mommy?”
He nodded. “Eighty percent sure!”
Alarmed, Ningning said, “We can't let her take our daddy away.”
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat, interrupting them.
“Go and play. Come back for your milk tea when you're thirsty.”
They obediently put down their drinks and exchanged a knowing look.
Ningning took Fu Yanzhou's hand. Qi'an took mine.
“Mommy, Daddy, come on the merry-go-round with us!”
They pulled us toward the carousel.
Behind us, Wen Tang lowered her head in embarrassment.
The comments were full of sympathy for her—and anger at me.
“Does she think she's being clever? Using two children to embarrass Wen Tang?”
“This show lasts seven days. Once things go back to normal, Qi'an will be calling Wen Tang Mommy.”
“Exactly. Ning Wanning won't have much longer to act so smug.”
08
The four of us rode the carousel as a family.
I'd once dreamed of this. Even if it was only temporary, it still left me warm and content.
Both children beamed. So did I.
As the carousel turned, my eyes met Fu Yanzhou's.
Perhaps I imagined it, but there seemed to be a glimmer in his gaze.
I looked away as though nothing had happened and saw Wen Tang standing to the side, photographing him and Qi'an.
She deliberately chose an angle that excluded Ningning and me.
The commenters applauded her.
“She's so gracious. Anyone else would have walked away.”
“So patient. She'll make a good stepmother when they marry.”
“Of course. Our Wen Tang is so kind. She'll treat Qi'an well.”
When we got off, she approached Fu Yanzhou with a smile.
“Yanzhou, I have an advertisement to shoot later. I need to leave now. Will you walk me out?”
He glanced at the camera.
“Yes.”
Before leaving, she called Qi'an over and spoke gently.
“I have to go. I'll visit you and your daddy at home another time.
“I bought you a toy. I'll ask Daddy to put it in the car.”
Qi'an resisted her.
“I don't want your toys. I only want toys from my mommy. Don't come to our house again. Daddy and I don't like you.”
She looked embarrassed. Fu Yanzhou's face darkened.
“Qi'an, don't say that. Be polite.”
“Hmph.”
He came to take my hand and comforted me.
“Don't be angry, Mommy. I only like you.”
“Go and play with your little sister.”
I stroked his head and watched Fu Yanzhou and Wen Tang leave.
“Okay.”
He ran back to Ningning.
09
Fu Yanzhou returned five minutes later, without the toy Wen Tang had mentioned.
Five minutes wasn't enough to walk to the underground garage. He couldn't have taken her there.
The children played for two hours. At lunchtime, we ate at a Western restaurant in the mall.
That afternoon, we wandered around with them and bought plenty of toys.
We also visited the supermarket for dinner ingredients, then drove back to my home.
The children took turns bathing, then went to their room to play with their new toys.
I began dinner in the kitchen. Fu Yanzhou helped beside me.
The atmosphere between us was fairly harmonious.
That unspoken coordination had been ingrained through our former daily life together. This was, after all, the home we'd bought when we married.
He knew where to find everything I needed.
Turning to fetch something, I glanced at the screen and noticed the comments had begun to change.
“Why does this look so cozy?”
“They look like a couple.”
“They suit each other.”
“It feels like they've known each other for ages.”
“But there's still a distance between them. Like strangers who once knew each other best.”
That last comment was right.
That was all we were now: strangers who had once known each other best.
We cooked two dishes each and made a soup, five dishes for dinner in all.
It was a cheerful meal. The children competed to eat faster, praising us extravagantly between mouthfuls.
“My mommy is a master chef! I love her cooking.”
“My daddy is a super chef too. Everything he makes is yummy.”
“I'm eating two bowls of rice today!”
“Then I'll eat two and a half!”
Usually, Ningning ate very slowly on her own. I had to coax her in every way I could.
With Qi'an here, everything was much easier. I didn't have to worry at all.
He was normally the same at his father's home, needing coaxing before he would eat. Today, he was inexplicably well behaved.
A thought came to me: if they grew up together, would their childhoods be more complete?
I quickly dismissed it. Fu Yanzhou would never give me custody of Qi'an, and I couldn't give him custody of Ningning.
As in so many families, when the parents' marriage broke down, the children suffered most.
10
After dinner, I put the dishes in the dishwasher.
I cut up fruit for the children to eat on the sofa while watching television.
Fu Yanzhou put on the period drama we'd starred in together.
As the opening theme began, memories came flooding back.
The children were thrilled. They pointed at us on the screen.
“Look! That's Mommy, and that's Daddy!”
“Mommy's so pretty. Daddy's handsome too!”
I sat on the sofa and watched with them.
They were happy enough, but Fu Yanzhou and I were both full of mixed feelings.
The tone of the comments continued to change.
“She really seems like a good wife and mother.”
“Are actresses this down-to-earth at home?”
“Let's revisit this drama with them.”
“Her vicious supporting character made such an impression I wanted to tear my hair out.”
“Now I understand why the haters dislike her. She's so good at acting that the role affected how people see her in real life. She comes across as so unlikable.”
…
After two episodes, the children had fallen asleep on the sofa.
Fu Yanzhou and I exchanged a look, then carried them into their bedroom.
“I'm going to shower.”
He turned into the bedroom to get a bathrobe.
I was too late to signal him with a look.
Sure enough, the viewers noticed something odd about the sequence of his actions.
“Is he staying over? Won't her boyfriend be jealous?”
“Does no one else think he's unusually at ease going in and out of her room? Can you just help yourself to a bathrobe like that?”
“He seems very familiar with the room. Is this scripted?”
He went into the master bathroom.
Before showering, he took out the razor and began shaving.
“Why do I keep feeling he's the man of the house? Am I overthinking?”
“Why isn't he using the shared bathroom? Why shower in hers?”
“Is that razor really his?”
After his shower, he said, “Wanning, let's talk.”
The livestream cut off there. Filming wouldn't resume until eight the next morning.
We both climbed the trending searches that night.
Viewers were busily discussing our relationship.
More than anything, they wanted to know what he was going to say.
11
Once the cameras were off, I felt far more at ease.
We sat opposite each other on the sofa. Our period drama was still playing on the television, and I reached over to lower the volume.
He lit a cigarette and smoked in silence. I couldn't remember ever seeing him smoke when we were together.
I broke the silence.
“When did you start smoking?”
“After our divorce.”
He tapped off the ash and looked up, his eyes fixed on me.
He was beautiful. Even divorced, I couldn't help sighing inwardly whenever I saw his face. How could anyone be so handsome?
Qi'an had inherited those looks. He was the image of his father.
Feigning calm, I turned my attention to the television.
The scene was rather funny. His character was ill and had mistaken mine for the heroine.
We embraced. As soon as he came to his senses, he pushed me away.
We had been deeply caught up in filming that scene. Afterward, we'd even sat in the car playing games together. It had been sweet.
He interrupted my thoughts.
“Wanning, let's get married again.”
I stared, then quickly thought of why he might be saying it.
“So Ningning and Qi'an can live together?”
“The children are only part of the reason.”
He paused, then spoke seriously.
“My love for you has never changed.”
I looked at him. He was sincere, the feelings long held back in his eyes almost spilling over.
I sighed.
“But my heart has gone cold. We can't go back.”
“Do you still blame me?”
His words brought back our past.
We had been very happy when we fell in love.
Later, when I was five months pregnant, his agency found out.
They used his contract to pressure him to leave me.
He refused.
So they deliberately packed his schedule. Throughout my pregnancy, we rarely saw each other. Video calls were almost our only contact.