After having their dinner together, Fan Xiao Yao collected the dishes with the help of Huang Li. Meanwhile, Lu Mello accompanied the kids in the living room, watching them play.

    In the kitchen...

    "I''ll be going out with Mello after this." Huang Li said while helping his lover with the dishes. He was the one in charge of drying the plates with a towel while Fan Xiao Yao was the one washing it clean.

    "Where are you going?" She asked, glancing at him before she returned her gaze to the cup she was rinsing.

    "We''re going for a walk... And a drink."

    Ah yes, she remembered him telling her that earlier. "Just don''t stay up late."

    "Don''t worry."

    ...

    Fan Xiao Yao was left alone with the kids after the two men left. While she was trying to put the kids to sleep in their room, her phone began ringing.

    Once again, Shi Enxi was calling her and Fan Xiao Yao knew why... It was all because of the kids. She wasn''t able to see the little boys earlier.

    She answered the call and pressed the phone against her ear, "Xiao Xi..."

    "Can I see them now?" Shi Enxi''s smooth and yet cold voice was heard on the other side.

    Fan Xiao Yao pursed her lips. No matter what she says now, she knew that Shi Enxi would just ignore her. She sighed and tapped the phone''s screen, turning the voice call into a video call.

    On the screen, she saw Shi Enxi''s blank gaze and expressionless face. It was as if she had turned into a different person that way. Fan Xiao Yao couldn''t read or see through her at all.

    She heaved out another sigh again before she turned the phone, making it face the boys who were inside their crib.

    "Xiao Yu, Xiao Xue, look, it''s your mommy." Fan Xiao Yao said, trying to put on a smile for the kids.

    "Mwoma?" Lu Xueren lifted his head just to look at the phone screen. When she saw the woman on the screen, he smiled widely and reached out his hands, "Mwoma!"

    On the other hand, Lu Mingyu crawled closer towards the phone and smiled cutely, "Mimi!"

    Shi Enxi''s blank front broke, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Yu''er, Xue''er..."

    While watching the scene unfold before her, Fan Xiao Yao couldn''t help but think how Shi Enxi could tolerate being away from her kids like this. If she was worried about them, if she wanted to see them, shouldn''t she just come back for them? If she was in her shoes, she couldn''t tolerate being away from her children this way.

    As usual, Shi Enxi didn''t say much to the kids, she just watched the two boys easily get distracted by the plushies beside them, completely ignoring her again. She would just quietly watch them for a few minutes before ending the call but this time, instead of ending the call, she spoke, "Xiao Yao, can I talk with you for a second?"

    Fan Xiao Yao blinked a few times, pulling back her phone, making it face her. When she looked, Shi Enxi had already turned the video call back to a voice call.

    She pressed the phone against her ear, "Yes?"

    "Is Mello still there?" Shi Enxi asked. Since the kids were still there, she could tell that he was still either at the house or he left, leaving their sons there.

    "Yes and uh no? I mean, he went out with Huang Li." She walked and stood beside the window, looking at the scenery outside. The lamp posts lightened the empty streets. Since it was still early at night, a few people were seen walking.

    Shi Enxi was quiet for a short moment after hearing Fan Xiao Yao''s reply.

    "Oh yeah... He also found out..." She trailed off and was hesitant to continue.

    "He found out about?"

    "You... Haven''t you read my message? He heard me talking to you..."

    Once again, the line on the other side became quiet which worried Fan Xiao Yao. This was what she wanted but why did she feel nervous?

    After a few seconds, Shi Enxi finally asked her, "What did he say?"

    "He said nothing." Although Fan Xiao Yao could tell that Lu Mello was angry about it. "Xiao Xi... I really think that you should think about what you''re doing."

    "If you have nothing else to say, then I''ll be ending this call." With that, she ended the call, not waiting for the other woman to speak.

    The side of Fan Xiao Yao''s lips were stretched into a straight line after hearing the mechanical beep from her phone.

    She sighed heavily and shook her head. If Shi Enxi thought that she could keep on running away, on avoiding this then she was wrong. Fan Xiao Yao had the urge to fly to where she was but he couldn''t do that right now since she didn''t know where her exact location was.

    ...

    "Are you sure that you''re not going to let him know that you''re here?" A man asked. He has messy hair and dark circles were seen under his eyes. He was wearing a comfortable hooded shirt and baggy pants.

    "How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Shi Enxi asked with an irritated tone in her voice. She even raised a brow, looking at the man who was sitting comfortably on the sofa.

    "Why are you here anyway?" She crossed her arms, looking coldly at him. "I don''t need you to babysit me, Liqin."

    Xie Liqin pouted, "You''re so grumpy." He laid down on the sofa just so he could irritate her more. "I''m out of food. Also, I don''t have money for food... I was wondering if I can borrow some money from you?"

    "..." Shi Enxi looked at the shameless man in disbelief. How could this man even become poor when he was the infamous streamer in Vtube and CEO of Xie Company? What was he even doing with his money?

    "Don''t you have a credit card?"

    "It got frozen." He replied.

    "And your other one?" She raised a brow.

    "Frozen too..."

    How in the world was that even possible? "I don''t believe you. You need to do better than that."

    "It''s true! I was rolling up some characters in a game and the bank thought my credit card was used by a child so they froze it."

    "..."