Chapter 5
Even on school days, Xiangxiang never left me idle for a moment.
Whenever I had a break and picked up my phone, I found a long string of voice messages from him.
In his sweet little voice, he shared the details of his kindergarten life with me.
“Mommy, kindergarten gave us shrimp noodles for breakfast today. Xiangxiang didn’t like them. The noodles Big Sister Zhouzhou makes are much better.”
“Xiaomei brought me a little strawberry cake her mommy made today. It was sweet. Xiaomei said she’ll give you one next time too.”
“That assistant uncle came to pick me up after school again today. Everyone else gets picked up by their mommies and daddies. Xiangxiang is a little jealous of them.”
“Mommy, I wish you could come pick Xiangxiang up from school too.”
My heart ached when I heard that.
I replied to every message in turn.
“Big Sister Zhouzhou says she misses you very much. Next time you visit, she’ll make little dumplings for you.”
“Thank Xiaomei for Mommy.”
“When Mommy finishes this film, I’ll come to Shanghai and pick you up from school. Don’t be sad, Xiangxiang. Mommy really wants to pick you up too.”
…
Whenever Xiangxiang came to visit, He Jinnan personally drove him both ways.
This went on for nearly half a month.
Even when he had no reason to be there, He Jinnan often wandered around the set.
He seemed so idle that even Xiangxiang sensed something was wrong.
He secretly tugged at him and asked, “Daddy, is your company going bankrupt?”
He Jinnan was speechless. Before he could answer,
Xiangxiang continued on his own. “Daddy, I think you really might not have a chance anymore. If you go bankrupt, you’ll be old and poor and bad-tempered. You definitely won’t be a match for Uncle Ji.”
He Jinnan was rendered speechless again and gave an angry huff.
But after a moment’s thought, he asked Xiangxiang, “Do you want Daddy and Mommy to be together?”
Xiangxiang fell silent. After a while, he nodded, then shook his head.
“Mommy isn’t happy when she’s with you. Maybe you shouldn’t.”
“Then do you want Ji Chen to be your new dad?”
Xiangxiang thought again, then crouched dejectedly to one side and shook his head. “I don’t want that either.”
“Xiaomei says that if I get a new daddy and Mommy has a new baby, she won’t like me as much anymore.”
“I don’t want Mommy to stop liking me.”
“But I don’t want Mommy to be unhappy either.”
…
The film wrapped in late December. As soon as filming ended, I went to Shanghai.
He Jinnan washed his hands of childcare and simply dropped Xiangxiang off with me.
The moment he stepped inside, Xiangxiang’s eyes lit up. “Mommy, is this our home?”
After his bath that night, Xiangxiang scampered into my bed. “Mommy, Xiangxiang is so happy.”
I stroked his head. “Mommy is very happy too.”
The moment I finished speaking, the doorbell rang.
I got up and checked the security camera. He Jinnan was leaning lazily outside my door.
After a moment’s thought, I opened it.