Ye Ziyu emerged from the bathroom after washing up, surveying the empty room.
He wasn't here? Her gaze fell upon the balcony.
She walked to the balcony and pulled aside the curtain hanging down. What she had glimpsed was not Di Mingjue, but a potted plant. She turned towards the door, then hesitated before deciding to sit on a chair on the balcony.
"Mommy~" Qianqian pushed open the bedroom door and called out sweetly.
"I'm here," Ye Ziyu sat up from her reclining position. "Come here."
Qianqian stood obediently before Ye Ziyu, saying nothing, simply smiling at her.
Having not seen her children for several days, Ye Ziyu missed them dearly. She brought Qianqian onto her lap and stroked her cheek. "What is it? You look like you have something to tell me."
"Mommy will know soon," Qianqian kept it a mystery, then closed her mouth tightly.
"Oh? What is it that you can't tell me?" Ye Ziyu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Qianqian nodded proudly, her eyes momentarily glancing towards the doorway.
Following her gaze, Ye Ziyu said gently, "Then let me try to guess."
"Okay!" Xiao Ran rushed in and shouted at them.
The signal was given. Qianqian hopped off Ye Ziyu's lap, taking her arms and tugging her along out of the room. As if afraid Ye Ziyu might refuse, they each grabbed an arm and led her downstairs.
The living room was empty. Just as Ye Ziyu was about to look towards the kitchen, her eyes were suddenly covered with a cloth.
"Don't take it off yet."
"Di Mingjue, what are you doing?"
Hearing Di Mingjue's voice, Ye Ziyu guessed that the children's mysterious behavior stemmed from him.
Her body was guided by their arms as Ye Ziyu slowly walked forward.
"Alright, you can open your eyes now."
The cloth was removed, and Ye Ziyu opened her eyes to look at the food on the dining table.
Noodles?
"I made this myself, try it." Di Mingjue pulled out a chair and placed a pair of chopsticks, already prepared, into Ye Ziyu's hand.
She had a small habit: when she was unhappy or encountered difficulties, she would eat a bowl of noodles. After finishing the noodles, she would be fully recharged, and her troubles would vanish.
Ye Ziyu looked at Xiao Ran beside her.
"Mommy, hurry up and sit down to eat," the children urged.
The noodles were handmade, each strand as thick as a finger, not visually appealing.
Ye Ziyu noticed Di Mingjue's nervousness. It seemed he had put a lot of effort into this bowl of noodles.
She inserted her chopsticks into the bowl and lifted, but the noodles slipped off. She repeated the action, with the same result.
Di Mingjue awkwardly picked up a fork. "Use this."
The noodles were too thick, and each strand was so long that the entire bowl of noodles was tangled together.
Switching to the fork, the noodles became more manageable. Ye Ziyu picked up a strand and put it in her mouth. As she bit down, she looked at the noodles remaining on the fork.
They were translucent on the outside, still pale within.
Not cooked!
Di Mingjue scratched his head and reached out to take the bowl. "Let me cook them again."
"Never mind, I'm not very hungry, and I don't really want to eat it." Ye Ziyu refused.
He had gone to such lengths to do this, no doubt to compensate for the hurt he had caused her that night. But causing harm was easy; forgetting the wound was difficult.
Ye Ziyu dropped the fork and stood up from the chair, giving Di Mingjue no chance to stop her, and turned to leave.
The children looked back at Di Mingjue and shook their heads.
Looking at the noodles in his hand, Di Mingjue helplessly poured them into the kitchen trash can. His plan had failed from the start.
"Daddy, proceed with the second plan."
"Okay."
As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success. As long as he persisted, he didn't believe Ye Ziyu's attitude towards him wouldn't return to what it was before.