CHAPTER 586: CHAPTER 579: THE MAN IN THE PHOTO

For the past few days, Sisi and Shangguan, together with several kids, have explored every nook and cranny of G city, and sampled all of its delicacies. There’s a saying that all the world’s best food is in G province, and truth be told, there is some sense in that - at least they haven’t eaten the same thing twice in these past days, there’s always something new every day.

Shangguan Qing still maintains that cool demeanor, his aura tougher than before, but he becomes quite gentle in the presence of his sister and friends, and very amiable with the kids. The children also adore him a lot, their favorite thing is to cling to Shangguan Qing’s arm, asking him to swing them on the swings, delighting them immensely.

However, Shangguan Qing doesn’t have much time to play with the children, as he is really busy, genuinely out early and back late, wrapped in stars and dawning moons, and he barely had meals at home.

This worried Zhong Anmei greatly. She tried to make soup for her husband every day to nourish him, which incidentally benefited Sisi and Shangguan, as they have all been drinking and grown fair and rosy-cheeked. Even the kids started protesting about going back, wanting to stay here every day to drink the soup.

Therefore, Sisi had no choice but to leave the little ones with Zhong Anmei, driving back to F city every evening to accompany her husband, and also took some nourishing soup back for him, patting her husband on the back, right?

Tian Xinhua was also extremely satisfied with the situation. Without the disturbance of those clingy little ones in the evening, he could do whatever he wanted. It was just beautiful.

During this period, Sisi met Lu Yunfei a few times, mostly by chance on the street while she and Shangguan were leading the children on a culinary exploration of G city. Several times they encountered Lu Yunfei strolling along the streets; it was obvious that this woman enjoyed shopping a lot.

That day, Sisi ran into Lu Yunfei again because the kids were clamoring for ice cream, so Sisi and Shangguan took the kids to an ice room, while Zhong Anmei stayed home to make soup, not wanting to go out because of the hot weather.

This ice room had been discovered by Sisi these past few days. The flavors were authentic, and the place was very clean. Although the prices were a bit higher, it was still worth it. Sisi and Shangguan ordered red bean shaved ice, but the kids preferred colorful shaved ice - those multi-colored snowballs - yellow for pineapple flavor, green for apple flavor. Not only did they look nice, they tasted good too, and even Sisi and Shangguan couldn’t resist buying two to eat.

The four kids bought four snowballs, each taking a bite out of the others’, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Because Sisi set a rule that each child could only have one, they each bought one of a different flavor, and then shared with each other, so they could taste more flavors.

Lu Yunfei was also eating ice in the ice room, seated at the table to the left and behind Sisi’s table. She was accompanied by a middle-aged, glasses-wearing man with a tall figure and an intense scholarly aura, a very charismatic man - only Sisi felt she had seen this man somewhere before and found him vaguely familiar.

Sisi frowned and thought for a while, but really couldn’t remember, so she stopped thinking about it and concentrated on her red bean shaved ice in front of her. The icy sweetness of the red beans mixed with the shaved ice slid down her throat, feeling cool and refreshing; the effect, combined with the cool breeze overhead, was more comfortable than sitting in air conditioning in her previous life.

Lu Yunfei also noticed Sisi and her group. She appeared a bit flustered, but she soon regained her composure and started to chat and laugh with the man opposite her.

"Does Yunfei know the people over there?" The man seemed very perceptive and asked with a slight smile.

"Uh, they’re relatives of households in our compound; they’ve been to the compound a few times, not very familiar," Lu Yunfei said casually.

The man tilted his head and glanced over at Sisi’s table a few times. Right then, Sisi was teasingly biting off a whole snowball from Du Du’s mouth, making him frantic as he climbed on Sisi trying to snatch the snowball back from her mouth. Mother and child were having a grand time.

The clear laughter of the woman and children filled the ice room. Everyone looked on with smiles at this beautiful mother-son pair. The corners of the man’s mouth also curved into a smile, admiring the young and beautiful mother and her lively, adorable son - truly a lovely sight.

Seeing the man frequently look over at Sisi’s table, Lu Yunfei initially thought the man was attracted by Sisi’s beauty, and she felt a surge of jealousy.

"Is that woman very pretty?"

The man simply smiled and said, "Is there a woman there? I just saw a few cute kids."

Lu Yunfei’s heart suddenly felt at ease, more comforting than consuming two bowls of shaved ice, while also feeling she had overreacted a bit.

She knew very well that the man in front of her really liked children, often buying lots of snacks and toys to visit the orphanage and look after the kids there, capable of playing with them all day long. Yet, he was indifferent to beautiful women.

It’s really a shame that such a man who likes children doesn’t have one of his own!

Sisi felt someone’s gaze upon her and turned to look, their eyes meeting; the man seemed a bit embarrassed and gave her a small smile before turning back to his shaved ice and no longer looked her way.

The more she looked, the more familiar his face seemed. Sisi turned her head and lost interest in frolicking with Du Du, her brow furrowed as she wondered who this man could be?

"What are you thinking about?" Shangguan asked.

"I’m wondering who that man eating ice with Lu Yunfei is. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere, but I just can’t remember," Sisi said.

"Eating ice with Lu Yunfei? Must be her husband, right?" Shangguan said without much thought.

Sisi firmly denied, "No, didn’t Aunt Mo say that Political Commissioner Rong is not good-looking? The man with her looks pretty handsome."

"A lover, then," Shangguan concluded, devouring her ice without much interest in the matter. Usually, in the presence of good food, Shangguan couldn’t care less about other people or things.

Sisi couldn’t help but give a wry smile, scooping a big spoonful of shaved ice from Shangguan’s bowl. Shangguan quickly grabbed the bowl back, disapprovingly saying, "Sisi, you have a weak stomach, eat less ice."

Sisi rolled her eyes at her, sounding so righteous, as if nobody knew she just wanted it all to herself!

"You should eat less too, Brother Yang specifically reminded me several times to keep a close eye on you and not let you eat too much ice," Sisi teased Shangguan.

Shangguan was quite obedient, nodding and saying, "Mmm, I’ll stop after one more bowl."

Sisi rolled her eyes again, one more bowl? You’ve already had three, okay?

But she didn’t stop Shangguan. Although it’s said that women shouldn’t eat too much ice, she had brewed a special nourishing wine for women that regulated menstruation and activated blood circulation, so eating more ice shouldn’t be a problem.

Lu Yunfei and the man finished their ice and stood up. As they passed Sisi’s table, Lu Yunfei nodded and smiled at Shangguan without speaking, her steps quite hasty, probably feeling guilty?

Sneaking out to meet another man while keeping it from her husband, how could she not feel guilty!

The man seemed to really like children, patting Du Du’s head and nodding to greet Sisi and the others, to which Sisi also responded with a smile.

Sisi had no ill feelings towards this genteel man. Although it wasn’t right to interact with a married woman, the man’s demeanor was so pleasant that people couldn’t bring themselves to dislike him.

"I’ve seen this man before too," Shangguan suddenly said.

Sisi had nearly forgotten the matter, but at this reminder, her interest was piqued again.

"You’ve seen him too? Could it be that this man is from the Capital City?"

Shangguan shook her head, furrowed her brows in thought for a long time, and finally relaxed, saying, "I know who he is now, he’s the man from the photo my mother showed me a few days ago."