They all said so, so that's how it had to be.
Di Mingjue squatted by the coffee table, clutching a pen, diligently recalling everything that had happened that evening and the words he had spoken.
The three children surrounded him, watching what he wrote down and occasionally offering their suggestions for revisions.
"No, no, you should say it like this. My dear wife, I was wrong."
"Right, Daddy isn't romantic at all."
"Mommy was angry because you were distracted while driving because she's afraid you'll make the same mistake again and get hurt. You should write that sentence down too."
With each child chiming in, Di Mingjue became confused.
As he finished writing, he looked at the disorganized content and felt a deep doubt.
Would Ye Ziyu truly be appeased by this?
Xingxing, who had returned from the courtyard, heard their noisy discussion in the living room and knew that Ye Ziyu was upset with Di Mingjue.
Though he resented Di Mingjue, he liked Ye Ziyu.
Seeing that they were still discussing without going to comfort her, Xingxing quietly passed behind them.
He went upstairs and stood at Ye Ziyu's bedroom door, feeling unprecedentedly nervous. As he was contemplating whether to knock, the door opened from the inside.
Ye Ziyu was worried about Xiaoran's forehead, fearing he might move in his sleep and bump it again.
"Xingxing?" he asked, surprised.
Facing him, Xingxing became nervous and stammered, "I... you..."
After fumbling for a long time, Ye Ziyu squatted down to encourage him to speak slowly.
There had been no intimate exchanges between them, and with the mixture of nervousness and shyness, Xingxing felt a desire to retreat.
In a flash, he disappeared from in front of her.
Ye Ziyu looked towards where he had gone, completely bewildered.
"Wife!" Di Mingjue stretched out his words and walked towards Ye Ziyu ambiguously. He tilted his body to bump her shoulder, awkwardly thrusting the envelope in his hand into hers.
What was going on!
Ye Ziyu's skin crawled.
"I wrote this myself, my dear wife, please take a look!"
Ye Ziyu lowered her head to look at the envelope in her hand and opened it under Di Mingjue's expectant gaze.
Two full pages, at least a thousand characters. He had actually written a self-criticism. Ye Ziyu felt surprised. But thinking of Xiaoran and Yuze, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
She read the contents of the self-criticism carefully. Besides the saccharine salutations at the beginning, he had indeed addressed every point that had made her angry.
"Can you forgive me?" Di Mingjue asked after she finished reading.
The paper in her hand was folded into a small square. Ye Ziyu snorted, "Will you do it again next time?"
"Things that anger my dear wife should only happen once; I wouldn't dare do it a second time."
"Stop your sweet talk!"
"You don't like it?"
Few people would likely enjoy it.
Di Mingjue found it quite tiring to put on such an act, mainly because the children had said it would make Ye Ziyu happy. Seeing that she didn't like it, he immediately returned to his usual self.
"Honestly, this is the last time. Next time I drive, I will be focused and won't let my mind wander." Di Mingjue said sincerely.
He was an adult, unlike Xiaoran, who was a child and needed gradual, correct guidance from adults.
"It's good that you know," Ye Ziyu said. "I'm going to sleep with Xiaoran tonight. He tosses and turns in his sleep, and I'm afraid he might bump his wound again."
Was he going to sleep alone tonight?
Di Mingjue immediately felt wronged.
Having too many children wasn't good either; he hadn't properly enjoyed Ye Ziyu's exclusive affection yet. He always had to come after the children.
"Let's go together!"
As Ye Ziyu was already heading downstairs, Di Mingjue suddenly said.
Their bed was big enough; they could just call Xiaoran to sleep in their room.
"No need," Ye Ziyu refused.
Forget it; if she insisted on doing so, she would only get angry again later.