"I'll definitely make them compensate you well, okay?"
Xu An'an rubbed her eyes and pouted. "But I want to see Mom and Dad right now."
"An'an, isn't big brother here with you?"
Xu Yiyi said very sensibly as he coaxed his sister with a bunny doll.
"You go to auditions with Uncle Amy every day. You don't have any time to accompany me at all."
Xu An'an retorted angrily, her voice on the verge of tears.
These days, as soon as kindergarten was over, Amy would show up at the school gate on time to pick up Xu Yiyi for auditions.
Xu An'an had to go home with Grandma Xu and play alone, bored.
As time went by, Xu An'an couldn't stand being alone anymore.
Ding-dong.
Just as Grandma Xu didn't know how to cheer Xu An'an up, the doorbell rang. Grandma Xu frowned and went to open the door.
"Who could it be this late?"
Grandma Xu looked through the peephole and immediately beamed when she saw that it was Lu Chuanbai standing outside.
Grandma Xu turned around and called out to Xu An'an. "An'an, come quickly. Your daddy's here!"
"Daddy's here!" Hearing this, Xu An'an quickly jumped up from the sofa and rushed to the door.
Grandma Xu waited until Xu An'an ran over, then bent down to pick her up and opened the door.
"Daddy!" Seeing Lu Chuanbai, who looked tired from his journey, Xu An'an reached out her hands excitedly, asking to be hugged.
"Daddy, I missed you so much!"
Receiving his daughter's enthusiastic response, Lu Chuanbai's previously gloomy mood instantly brightened. He reached out to hug Xu An'an.
Seeing that the corners of Xu An'an's eyes were a bit red, Lu Chuanbai's eyes were filled with pity. He stroked Xu An'an's face. "Have you been crying? Why are your eyes so red?"
"An'an misses Mom and Dad so much."
Grandma Xu stepped aside to let Lu Chuanbai in and sighed. "You two are busier than each other. No one's taking care of the kids."
"Auntie, I've been negligent." Lu Chuanbai's eyes were full of guilt. He lowered his head and kissed Xu An'an on the face.
"An'an, it's Daddy's fault. Daddy didn't consider your and big brother's feelings in time. Daddy will try to spend more time with you from now on."
"Um..." Xu An'an's voice was tinged with sobs. She turned and wrapped her arms around Lu Chuanbai's neck, feeling extremely aggrieved.
She had been ignored too much these days and felt really sad.
Lu Chuanbai then bent down to pick up Xu Yiyi, who was standing quietly on the ground with bright eyes. He held Xu Yiyi in his arms.
"Auntie, thank you for taking care of the kids for me. I'll take them home now."
"Okay." Seeing the kids reunite with Lu Chuanbai, Grandma Xu wiped her eyes sentimentally, feeling like she was about to cry.
"Lu Chuanbai, have you eaten? If you don't mind, I'll heat up some leftovers for you."
Lu Chuanbai wanted to decline at first, but his stomach was really growling, so he nodded shyly.
"Thank you, Auntie. Auntie, could you please bring the leftovers to me? I'll heat them up at home."
"Okay." Grandma Xu also wanted to give them some time to bond, so she turned around and went to the kitchen to get the leftovers.
Seeing that Lu Chuanbai had no hands free to carry the food, Xu Yiyi struggled out of Lu Chuanbai's arms very sensibly and offered to carry the food for him.
"Daddy, let's go."
"Okay." Seeing how caring the child was, Lu Chuanbai's eyes welled up with tears again because of his mother's passing.
"Okay."
Lu Chuanbai took the two kids out. He looked up at the moon in the sky for a while before swallowing back his tears.
Lu Chuanbai laughed at himself in his heart. It was so embarrassing for a grown man to cry in front of the kids.
When they got home, Xu Yiyi thoughtfully put the leftovers in the microwave to heat up. After it was done, he even remembered to wear gloves and bring the food out for Lu Chuanbai.
Xu Yiyi's self-care ability was almost perfect. Lu Chuanbai, on the other hand, carried Xu An'an in his arms and followed behind him.
When Xu Yiyi put the food on the table, he tugged at Xu An'an's foot, who was still lying on Lu Chuanbai.
"An'an, come down quickly. Daddy's going to eat."
"Um." Xu An'an's mood had stabilized. She sniffed and got off Lu Chuanbai. She lay on the table and watched Lu Chuanbai eat.
"Have Yiyi and An'an eaten?"
Lu Chuanbai peeled two shrimps and brought them to the kids' mouths. Both kids shook their heads and refused.
"I've eaten. I had a big bowl of rice at Grandma's house."
Xu Yiyi spread his hands wide and carefully observed Lu Chuanbai's expression. He sensed that Lu Chuanbai was in a bad mood and wanted to cheer him up.
"That's good. Eating more will help you grow taller."
Lu Chuanbai smiled slightly, feeling that his broken heart was being filled little by little by the two kids.
Xu An'an even lifted her clothes to show her bulging belly. She tapped on her stomach with her little hand. "An'an also ate a big bowl of rice. I had a race with big brother to see who could eat faster, and I won."
"Great job." Lu Chuanbai gave Xu An'an a thumbs up. Then he turned to Xu Yiyi and whispered, "Did you let your sister win?"
Xu Yiyi covered his mouth and snickered, nodding secretly.
Xu An'an, who was still talking seriously, didn't see their interaction. Otherwise, she would have gotten angry again.
After Lu Chuanbai finished eating, he saw that the two kids were already dozing off. He threw the bowls into the sink and carried them upstairs to bed.
Just as Lu Chuanbai was about to put Xu An'an on the children's bed, Xu An'an clung to his neck and refused to let go.
"Daddy, can big brother and I sleep with you tonight?"
Xu An'an blinked her big eyes at Lu Chuanbai. Her eyes were as big and bright as the disproportionate eyes of the characters in cartoons.
Lu Chuanbai naturally couldn't bear to refuse. He simply carried Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an back to his bedroom and threw them on the soft big bed.
"Is this okay?" Lu Chuanbai looked at the two kids rolling on his bed lovingly.
Xu An'an's little plan had succeeded. She proudly showed her little pointed teeth and rolled around on the bed.
"Daddy, since Mom isn't here today, we'll warm the bed for you."
"Okay." Lu Chuanbai drawled. He covered the two kids, who were only wearing thin pajamas, with the quilt.
"Don't come out again. If you catch a cold, your mom will definitely scold me for spoiling you."
Lu Chuanbai took off his coat and went to change into his pajamas. The two kids only showed their fluffy little heads and lay in the quilt, watching him.
With the two little cuties warming the bed, Lu Chuanbai changed his clothes faster. His mood had completely recovered, and he even had the mood to joke with them.
"Here comes the big bad wolf!" Lu Chuanbai threw his dirty clothes into the laundry basket, spread his arms, and made a ferocious face, imitating the voice of the big bad wolf in the cartoon.
"Let me see which kid is still awake. I'm going to catch him and eat him!"
After saying that, Lu Chuanbai pounced on the bed. The two kids giggled and shrank their heads into the quilt.
"I'm going to sleep. You can't eat me!"