She really couldn't bear to leave Nannan alone. Her father's tone was so aggressive, she had every reason to suspect he might resort to domestic violence.
After listening, Nannan happily hugged Peng Fei's neck again as they were allowed to leave.
The nanny saw that her job was secure and that she would be serving a young person, whose temper was so much better than the male master's, and felt relieved.
"Alright then. I'll tell them the truth when the master gets back. The job was lost because of you, miss, so don't go back on your word."
The nanny found them some clothes. Upon returning home, Zhan Jingchun took Nannan to take a bath and dry her hair. Peng Fei played with Nannan on the sofa while Zhan Jingchun went to wash.
It was getting late, and Peng Fei told her a story. As he was telling it, she fell asleep.
Peng Fei carefully held her, covered her with a blanket, and as he looked at her cute little face, waves of tenderness surged in his heart.
He even uncontrollably thought of the child they once had, him and Zhan Jingchun.
If it had been born, it would be over a year old now and should be calling them Mama and Papa.
Even if he had to starve to death or work himself to death, he would absolutely never yell at his daughter like that.
Zhan Jingchun came out after drying her hair, tiptoeing to Peng Fei's side.
"Asleep?"
Peng Fei nodded.
Like thieves, they gently held her and stood up, carrying her to the room.
Zhan Jingchun crawled into the covers and lifted them. Peng Fei gently placed the child down.
Thinking they could sleep like this, Nannan opened her eyes the moment she touched the bed.
Feeling Peng Fei's arm loosen, she cried out.
"Woo... Papa, don't go. Nannan is scared alone, woo, Papa..."
The little girl, perhaps still groggy from sleep, mistook Peng Fei for her father.
It wasn't a good time to reason with her, so Peng Fei went along with it, holding her tighter and patting her gently.
"Hush, hush, hush, Nannan, don't cry. I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving."
"Papa, don't leave me, don't scold me. Nannan is good. Nannan won't look for Mama anymore, woo, Papa..."
Peng Fei's heart felt even more uneasy.
What had such a cute and well-behaved child been through to not even sleep soundly?
He held her tightly, gently patting her back, and Nannan finally calmed down again.
Thus, with one lying down and the other half-prone, Peng Fei held on for over ten minutes, his arm starting to go numb.
Zhan Jingchun, watching from the side, couldn't bear it any longer. "Are you tired? Want to try letting go?"
Peng Fei attempted to loosen his arm, but as soon as he released it slightly, Nannan's whole body began to tremble. Startled, he quickly held her tighter.
After another ten minutes, even an iron man's waist would give out.
Peng Fei said with discomfort, "I can't. My back hurts a bit. Can I lie down?"
Unable to bear seeing the child cry, but also unwilling to let him stay the night, Zhan Jingchun immediately said.
"No, your clothes are dirty. You can't come up. Let her go, I'll hold her."
"What if she cries again?"
"I'll coax her."
Zhan Jingchun leaned over gently. Peng Fei tried to let go, and they transferred the child.
As a result, Nannan woke up again. She opened her eyes, looked at Peng Fei, then at Zhan Jingchun, and cried out.
"Papa, don't go, Papa, don't leave me! I don't want to be with the auntie, don't abandon me, Papa!"
Who did he mistake Zhan Jingchun for?
She had been so close to him during the day, but in her sleep, she could mistake her for an evil person?
Nannan clung to Peng Fei, refusing to let go. Fearing they might frighten her, both of them held her tighter.
"Nannan, be good, don't cry. Papa isn't leaving, isn't leaving. Sleep, sleep."
It took the little girl a long time to calm down again, and Peng Fei was exhausted.
"Then come help me take off these dirty pants. I'll lie down. I can't hold on anymore, my back really hurts."
Zhan Jingchun looked at the time. It had been almost an hour, and Peng Fei was only human.
She walked over and grabbed the waist of his pants.
Although they hadn't been intimate before, it was always Peng Fei who initiated it, and it had been a long time since they had been close. It felt strange to handle his clothes like this.
Zhan Jingchun had wanted to pull them down in one go, but there was a floor lamp in the room, and she couldn't imagine the scene.
"Forget it, maybe you should just sleep in them."
Peng Fei: "Didn't you say my clothes were dirty?"
Zhan Jingchun found it hard to say directly, "I do think they're dirty, but I think it's more troublesome. Forget it, forget it, let's just sleep like this."
Peng Fei knew she was a clean freak. Before, when he came back after working in the village, she wouldn't let him sleep without changing into clean clothes. It had become a habit, and he didn't dare to go up like that.
"If you think it's troublesome, just tear them off casually to my legs, and I'll do it myself."
"Hurry up, Chun Chun, my back hurts so much I feel like it's breaking."
Whether Peng Fei was being deliberate or genuinely pure-hearted, he sounded so innocent.
Zhan Jingchun had no choice. Gritting her teeth, she turned her head and quickly pulled them off.
However, he was a grown man, and it wasn't appropriate for him to hold a little girl like that.
Looking at him like that, Zhan Jingchun felt very awkward.
"What does it look like for you two to sleep like this? We need to avoid suspicion. I'll find something to cover you."
Peng Fei also felt it wasn't right. Although they were both open and honest adults, the child wasn't theirs by blood, so it was a bit strange.
Zhan Jingchun didn't have any men's clothes at home, so she searched and searched until she found a pair of her own pajama pants.
They were very stretchy, and Peng Fei wasn't fat. Even though they were pink, it was late at night, and they would be covered by the blanket, so who would see him?
They would just have to make do.
Peng Fei's back really hurt, and he begged Zhan Jingchun to help him put them on.
The two were awkward, and Zhan Jingchun helped him put on the pink pants.
Finally, he could lie down. Peng Fei held the child and breathed a sigh of relief.
The light wasn't turned off to allow her to observe the little girl's movements. Zhan Jingchun could see the two faces, one big and one small, beside her whenever she turned her head.
Indeed, they looked so loving, it really gave them the feeling of a father and daughter.
What's more, they looked alike, making it completely natural.
Then, looking at herself lying beside them, with a man and a child, it inexplicably gave her a sense of a family of three.
It wasn't just her who thought so; Peng Fei felt the same way.
From Peng Fei's perspective, Zhan Jingchun and the little girl's eyebrows and eyes were also very similar.
They lay side by side, both fair and tender, a pleasing sight.
To be able to stay by their side like this for a lifetime would be the greatest victory in life.
But it was just a thought; Peng Fei dared not say it.
Zhan Jingchun had never taken a liking to him and was unwilling to have children with him, so it would never happen in this life.
As he thought about it, thinking that Zhan Jingchun would eventually marry someone else and have children with another man, his heart felt heavy, and he couldn't help but sigh.
Zhan Jingchun was also lost in thought. Hearing his sigh, she turned her head.
"What's wrong? Does your back still hurt? Or are your arms numb?"
Peng Fei lay on his side, clearly seeing her eyebrows and eyes.
It was good enough to see her like this again; he dared not speak his true thoughts.
"No, it doesn't hurt. I'm fine. You should sleep too."