CHAPTER 376: CHAPTER 366: THE HUMAN WORLD

October.

Anya let out the first "ba" sound of her life.

Although it was unintentional, and she had no idea what it meant, it made Qin Guanglin’s heart skip a beat as he held his breath and leaned in close to look at his daughter.

"Call Daddy."

"Ah oh."

"No, it’s Dad-dy."

"Ya ya."

"No, no, it’s Dad-dy."

"Ba, ba."

"Ah, that’s right!"

Qin Guanglin was overjoyed, picked up his daughter and spun around twice on the spot, making the baby giggle.

She didn’t understand anything yet, but she could feel the emotions transmitted by Qin Guanglin.

He Fang came home from work, went to the bedroom first to kiss her daughter, checked the diaper and clothes for thickness, and then looked up to see Qin Guanglin sitting beside her with a secretive smile on his face.

"Decorum, the weather is getting cooler now, so keep a close eye on the child."

She left her orders, put down her bag, turned around, and went out to the fridge to see what vegetables were left, getting ready to prepare dinner.

"Hey."

Qin Guanglin came out holding his daughter and leaned against the kitchen door, still smiling, and gestured to He Fang, "Guess what happened today?"

"What?"

"Guess."

"Did someone comment that your painting is good? Or did someone give a tip?"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with work."

"Then what is it?" He Fang wondered.

"She can talk," Qin Guanglin said proudly, with an expression that screamed "Surprised or not?" "Unexpected, right?" "Jealous, huh?" he whispered to He Fang, "She called me Daddy."

"...Huh?"

"How about that? They always say the child’s first word is ’mama,’ but our daughter said ’daddy’!" He kissed Anya affectionately, "Daddy’s little jacket... I’m making you so jealous! That’s what you get for going to work every day, isn’t it, little Ya?"

"Yiyi ya."

He Fang only came back at noon for lunch break, went to class in the afternoon, and had to wait until evening after work. During the day, most of the time, it was Qin Guanglin who stayed at home with the daughter. Plus, with his tireless teaching, he finally earned the first address.

"Tch." He Fang glanced at him, not knowing what there was to be proud of.

She looked at the daughter in Qin Guanglin’s arms, hesitated a moment, then came over with her hands wiped on her apron, "Ya, say Mama."

"Yiyi ya."

"Heh, you can’t do it, can you?" Qin Guanglin gloated, "Watch me, say Daddy, Dad..."

"Shut up." He Fang placed a hand over his mouth and turned to the daughter, "Say Mama, Ma-ma."

"Ma, mu."

"Hahaha, how about that?" He Fang raised her eyebrows, "You shout hundreds of times a day, I taught her twice and she learned it."

"...Cook your dinner!"

Qin Guanglin’s moment of pride instantly vanished. "It’s smokey here, we need to hide, don’t we, little Ya?"

"After dinner, we’re going to the gym to exercise. Look at you now, getting so fat... You even have stretch marks, like you gave birth to a child." He Fang shouted from the kitchen as she cooked.

"What’s the point of losing weight, I like it this way. Our daughter loves to play on my belly, it’s nice and soft."

"Stop using our daughter as an excuse. If you don’t lose weight, you’ll go sleep in the guest room."

...

...

In just three short months, Sun Wen had already lost a considerable amount of weight, his beard was unkempt, and his hair was no longer slick like before, as if his spirit had been taken away that afternoon in July by Xu Wei.

After sitting in his car and watching at the entrance of the community for half a month, he finally remembered there was a back door to the community. After sneaking in and looking around, he still hadn’t seen Xu Wei again, so he had no choice but to stake out Datong Temple, a place she frequented—she was so devout, and now pregnant, she was bound to come and pray for her child, right?

For two long months, he kept watch.

He never saw that ostentatious Maserati parked there again, nor the woman carrying his two children.

Just like she had disappeared suddenly a few months before, after revealing to him the news of her pregnancy, Xu Wei vanished without a trace again, leaving his world without leaving a single mark, as if she had never existed.

Bang!

The deep and lingering sound of the temple bell rang out once more, echoing through the expanse of sky and earth. Sun Wen reached into his pocket—his cigarette case was already empty. He stared vacantly out of the car window toward the corner of the temple from where tendrils of cooking smoke were rising.

He was wrong. Everything was wrong.

If only he could start over...

With a heavy punch to the steering wheel, blood seeped from the back of his hand, gathering drop by drop and trickling down his fingers.

Twins... A boy and a girl...

Every time he thought of these words, his heart would clench, as if torn open and bleeding out drop by drop.

With bloodshot eyes, Sun Wen started the car and drove away, while the temple bell continued to resonate, striking his heart with each toll.

The night grew darker.

Neon lights on the streets blinked incessantly. Although the autumn weather had turned cool, many people still strolled outside, their day’s work done; the night was just the beginning of life for the young.

Although he had made some money, Sun Wen still liked to sit down at a roadside noodle shop, order a steaming bowl of pulled noodles with a couple of scoops of chili mixed in, slurping them up contentedly. Then he’d down the half bottle of beer left on the table, pat his belly after paying the bill, and head directly into the hotel after turning left out the door.

Half an hour later, a young girl stylishly dressed walked in, her purse slung over her shoulder, and made her way to the room number given by Sun Wen.

"Ah! Don’t... don’t rush."

Suddenly scooped up and tossed onto the bed, the girl started to laugh, but when she looked up at the person above her, a shock went through her, "Wen, Brother Wen, what happened to you?"

Sun Wen said nothing.

"You haven’t started using..."

"Shut up!"

He silenced her irritably. For some reason, seeing this woman stirred an inexplicable irritation in him.

"Wait... the... the..."

"If you get pregnant, I’ll give you two hundred thousand," Sun Wen firmly held her wrists, staring intently at her face. "If not, I’ll double what I usually give you."

The girl instinctively wanted to refuse; she was still in school and couldn’t possibly agree to get pregnant for this man whose demeanor had suddenly changed. But the look in his eyes scared her.

Terrified of setting him off, she gave an almost imperceptible nod, resolving to secretly take emergency contraception afterward.

Sun Wen laughed.

His laughter lasted less than five minutes.

"Wen, Brother Wen, have you been too tired lately?" she ventured tentatively, letting out a silent sigh of relief.

"Come here!"

Ten minutes later.

"Get out!"

"Sure, sure, Brother Wen, don’t rush. I’m leaving right now."

As the girl hurried down the stairs, she frantically blocked Sun Wen’s contact on her phone.

So what if he’s rich?

A man who can hardly be called a man, pah.

Inside the room, the lights were bright.

Sun Wen lay sprawled on his back on the bed, his eyes wide open, staring at the chandelier above.

It was a long time before he turned his head slightly, a strange look on his face.

Finally, he understood why Xu Wei hadn’t simply left and never came back, why she hadn’t lashed out in anger at him, but instead had told him everything before quietly disappearing.

She was the most skilled swordsman.

"Xu Wei!!"

Sun Wen began to tremble, a low growl emanating from his mouth.