Lu Xinyi waited for the right time to talk with her husband. Her tears p.r.i.c.ked her eyes as her lithe body pressed against Shen Yi’s strong form. There were so many questions in her mind that needed answers from him, but she decided to wait. With the twins bouncing on their feet as if they were on a sugar rush, it would take another two or three hours until they would tire themselves out and get ready for bed.
“How was your trip?” she asked once she parted with her husband. There was no hint of tears when she faced the twins.
“Too long.” Shen Yi grumbled as Lu Xinyi helped him remove his coat and tap off the snow from his hair and shoulders.
“Thanks.” He kissed her cheek before picking up Shen Yuyan who’d been pulling his arm to get his attention.
Before marrying Shen Yi, Lu Xinyi would’ve a.s.sumed that he spent more of his time on his office than at home, probably hating the fact that once at home, he’d only bury himself with more paperwork just to forget his loneliness.
Now that she’d moved back from Lunar Residence and was living with the twins once again, Shen Yi seemed more at ease being at home, almost excited when the office hours were about to come so he could spend more time with his growing family.
Just remembering Shen Yi’s face the other day, when Qiao He set a business trip on his schedule, was enough to make Lu Xinyi laugh. Poor Qiao He got scolded by his boss for just doing his job. That business trip that was supposed to be three days was cut short to a one-day visit instead. Shen Yi reasoned out that he loathed wasting time with more work and deserved to slack off once in a while.
After hanging up his coat, Lu Xinyi followed her husband and found him with Zhichen on his lap, continuing the lesson where they left off the other day while Little Yuyan’s face scrunched up, not understanding what was written in the book Shen Yi was holding.
Little Yuyan wasn’t interested in books without ill.u.s.trations so when she saw her adoptive mother going to the kitchen, she ran towards her excitedly.
“Aren’t you going to join them?” Lu Xinyi asked as she took out the ingredients she needed for their dinner.
Little Yuyan slumped herself at the seat next to the kitchen counter as she watched Lu Xinyi wash her hands on the sink.
“It’s boring. I don’t know why Zhichen likes to read it with Daddy,” she muttered, annoyed that she was somehow kicked out by the boys.
Lu Xinyi giggled at her daughter’s irritation. She really liked Yuyan’s bubbly att.i.tude.
“Ah, let them be. Why don’t you help Mommy bake a cake instead?” She winked, and—in a low voice—she continued, “If there’s an excess batter, you can make your own cupcakes.”
“Really?” Shen Yuyan’s round eyes lit up.
“Yes, now, why don’t you wash your hands first; and I’ll get you a cute ap.r.o.n?”
“Yay! Mommy is the best!” Joy bubbled in Shen Yuyan’s laugh and shone in her eyes.
The little girl jumped from her seat, her feet pattered on the floor, and she wrapped her chubby arms around Lu Xinyi’s leg.
—
As Lu Xinyi tucked the twins to bed, Shen Yi leaned at the door frame, watching his wife with the twins. He felt a bottomless peace and satisfaction as he looked at them. However, it didn’t last long as he remembered how Feng Zexian was threatening to ruin this peace he had with his family.
“Daddy? You will be here in the morning?” Shen Yuyan asked. That day, the twins woke up and didn’t find Shen Yi at home; for he left early for his business trip. With the harsh weather outside, they were worried that he wouldn’t be able to come home safely.
“The weather is bad. There would be no work tomorrow,” Shen Yi a.s.sured her. “Come on, bedtime. I’m sure Mommy has something delicious for you to eat tomorrow morning. If you don’t sleep, I’ll eat it all by myself,” he teased.
“No! We’re going to sleep now!” Little Yuyan buried herself on her thick blanket and stuck out her tongue at Shen Yi.
Shen Yi shook his head and left his wife to finish some work he took home in his study. An hour later, Lu Xinyi waltzed into his study with a tray in her hands.
“Are you going to stay working late?” she asked.
“No, just finis.h.i.+ng this paper works so Xue wouldn’t have a hard time when he takes over the control of Shen Group.” Shen Yi continued his work while his wife sat across him, checking her email.
There was no need for words to describe how the two mixed. If one had seen the two at the moment, they could tell that they’d worked together a lot. Shen Yi flicked through the pages of the doc.u.ments in his hand as his wife busied herself. Her scowl then grew even more p.r.o.nounced.
“What’s up?” said Shen Yi.
Lu Xinyi turned off her phone and leaned her back against her seat.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing to be bothered about.”
Shen Yi wasn’t buying it, he knew Lu Xinyi too well. However, saying these things too directly rarely helped.
“Sure, dear. Say, have you lost weight? You’re looking good, you know.” Shen Yi grinned back at her. There was a hint of laughter in his voice.
Lu Xinyi raised her eyes off the floor to meet Shen Yi’s. Her mouth twitched like she wanted to smile.
“Me, losing weight? Wow, that’s new.”
“I can think of an awesome workout we can do together. Of course, if you’d rather eat more, you’ll need to burn those extra calories. What do you say about a special workout?” he mused mischievously.
“A workout?” Lu Xinyi gave up hiding her smile and grinned in a way that melted Shen Yi’s heart every time. “I want to hear more… too bad my body is still aching.”
“Ahh, what a b.u.mmer.” Shen Yi sighed in feigned exasperation. “How’s your meeting with your aunt?” He decided not to ignore the topic anymore. He knew his wife was eager to know about his uncle and the accident.
Lu Xinyi’s expression instantly changed. The confession of her aunt had made her suspicions clear: her parents didn’t die from the accident. It was all because of Sun Mingai’s greed and jealousy.
“Sun Mingai, I swear as long as I’m breathing, you’ll never be happy in this lifetime.” Her fists balled on her lap while her eyes started to brim with tears. “But there’s something I don’t understand… why did my aunt say Sun Mingai blamed my mother for your uncle’s death? Is she obsessed with your uncle, or she’s just making things up to spite my mom? She also said you were involved in an accident.”
Shen Yi’s jaws hardened. It seemed it was time for Lu Xinyi to know what happened in the past and why the Shen family distanced themselves from the Sun family. He brought down the papers on his hands and turned his seat to face his wife.
“Your mother… she wasn’t the one to blame. Indeed, it was an accident that neither party had expected; and yes, I was with my uncle when the car crash happened twenty-two years ago.”