Jin Ye held the person in his arms and closed his eyes.
Su Ding's heart was in turmoil. On one hand, she felt an extreme urge to push him away, yet on the other, she felt an indescribable longing…
Amidst these conflicting emotions, she fell asleep.
The next morning, around six o'clock, her phone's alarm rang.
Su Ding, still groggy, grabbed her phone to check. She hadn't set an alarm.
Then, the man beside her sat up and turned off the alarm.
He also seemed a bit dazed, but quickly came to his senses, looked out the window, and saw that it was still dark.
Su Ding didn't know what to say, so she simply pulled the quilt over her head.
Pretending to know nothing.
Jin Ye rubbed his eyes, lifted the covers, and got out of bed, putting on his clothes.
Su Ding heard the commotion outside and was wondering what was happening when the quilt was suddenly pulled away. The man's slightly cool breath pressed down, kissing her forehead.
"I'm leaving."
After speaking, the man opened the door and went out.
Su Ding watched his receding figure, stunned, with an indescribable feeling.
Disappointment?
As Jin Ye walked downstairs, the living room was quiet.
Xiao Xi and Zhang Sao weren't awake yet. He walked directly out the main door.
After he drove away, A Xiao, who had been hiding in the shadows, nudged the sleeping A Da next to him. "Wake up, A Da!"
A Da mumbled groggily, "What's up?"
A Xiao frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. "A man came out of Miss Su's house."
A Da grunted and continued to sleep.
A Xiao felt something was amiss. "Should we tell the young master?"
A Da slapped him away. "If there's no danger, why bother?"
"Oh, right."
A Xiao nodded blankly, musing that the young master had no right to interfere if Miss Su was having a tryst with a man.
After Jin Ye left, Su Ding went back to sleep.
She didn't finally wake up until past nine in the morning. Thinking about what had happened earlier, it felt like a dream.
However, she still remembered to take Jin Ye off the blacklist.
After she finished washing up, Jin Xiao Xi came to call her.
"Mommy, time to eat~"
"Okay, coming right away." Su Ding, dressed neatly, walked into the living room.
After breakfast, the mother and son went for a walk in the vicinity to stretch their legs.
In the afternoon, Su Ding drove with Xiao Xi to the commercial center of the Northern District of the Southern Territory.
"Xiao Xi, have you been here before?"
"No, I've only been to the Southern Territory twice. This is the third time."
Jin Xiao Xi answered honestly, "Daddy and Grandpa don't come back very often either."
"Is that so," Su Ding was a little puzzled.
They were a family, so why did Old Master Jin live so far away from his family?
And Jin Ye and his father didn't come back often.
This family was truly strange.
"But my grandpa and daddy are still very filial to my great-grandpa."
Jin Xiao Xi quickly explained, afraid Su Ding would have a bad impression of their Jin family.
Su Ding chuckled, "Yes, I know."
The two arrived at a cake shop by the street. Jin Xiao Xi ran ahead.
"Auntie, please get me that blueberry cream cake," he said, pointing to a cake in the glass display case.
The shop assistant smiled and packed it for him.
Su Ding parked the car and walked over. After paying, she stroked Xiao Xi's head.
The shop assistant handed the boxed cake to Jin Xiao Xi. He opened it and took a bite, his eyes closing in happiness.
"Mommy, you eat too." Jin Xiao Xi offered Su Ding a bite.
After Su Ding ate, she was about to pull Xiao Xi back to the car when she saw a little girl squatting nearby, looking at them eagerly.
The girl was about seven or eight years old. Her dress was a designer brand.
But she was covered in dirt. Her large, clear black and white eyes flickered with hunger. She was beautiful, just a little dirty.
"Mommy, that sister is looking at us." Jin Xiao Xi also noticed.
Su Ding stopped and looked again.
Could this be someone's lost child? If she were a child from nearby, she wouldn't be this dirty.
She pulled Xiao Xi over. The girl, seeing them approach, glared at them warily.
"Hello, have you gotten lost from your family?" Su Ding asked softly.
A flicker of confusion crossed the girl's eyes. She took a few steps back and weakly said, "I don't know..."
Su Ding frowned. Didn't know?
She tried to appear as gentle and harmless as possible. "Where is your family?"
The girl's face once again showed a look of innocence. She shook her head.
"They, they say I'm an idiot."
The girl's lips moved slightly, and she whispered the words.
Seeing the girl's pitiful and timid appearance, Su Ding felt a surge of compassion.
"Sister, do you want to try my blueberry cake?"
Jin Xiao Xi stepped forward voluntarily and offered the blueberry cake in his hand.
The girl looked at the younger boy, who was much shorter than her. Her guard dropped, she swallowed, and nodded quickly.
Then she took the blueberry cake, opened the box, and devoured it. xxs壹贰
Soon, she finished the entire small cake.
Then, she even licked the bottom of the tray clean.
Jin Xiao Xi watched, dumbfounded. "Sister, haven't you eaten in a long time?"
The girl burped and patted her full belly.
She giggled and counted on her fingers, "Four days."
"Ah?" Jin Xiao Xi looked at the girl with sympathy, then turned to Su Ding and said, "Mommy, this sister hasn't eaten in a long time."
Su Ding walked forward. "Do you remember where your home is?"
Hearing the word "home," the girl shook her head blankly.
Jin Xiao Xi grew more worried and tugged at Su Ding's sleeve, silently conveying his desire to help.
Su Ding nodded. "Where have you been staying these past few days?"
"On the bench over there," the girl pointed forward.
Su Ding looked. The bench was very worn and dirty, clearly not cleaned.
She sighed and gently said, "Auntie will take you to find a police uncle to see if we can find your family, okay?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't want to go home, I don't..."
As she spoke, her mouth turned down, and her eyes welled up with tears.
Su Ding felt a little flustered. "Don't cry. How about this, Auntie will give you some money to buy things to eat these past few days."
The child raised her tear-filled eyes and looked at her with bewilderment.
Su Ding wondered why this girl seemed so clueless.
"Mommy, can we take the sister home?"
Jin Xiao Xi's sympathy was overwhelming. He pleaded softly, feeling sorry for the sister who looked so pitiable.
Su Ding was a little hesitant. It wasn't appropriate to bring someone whose background was completely unknown into their home.
"Mommy, please, the sister is so pitiful."
Jin Xiao Xi had always lived in a family where he lacked nothing and had never seen a child who didn't have enough to eat.
He had seen it on TV, but this was the first time he was seeing it in person.
The girl didn't make a fuss. She squatted down and started playing with leaves, as if she couldn't understand their discussion about her.
Su Ding frowned and said, "Alright."
After all, she was a little girl. If she were taken away by a bad person, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jin Xiao Xi's face lit up. He pulled the girl up from the ground. "Sister, come home with us. You won't have to sleep on the street anymore, and you'll be able to eat your fill."
The girl also looked happy, smiling foolishly and clapping her hands. "Yay, yay!"
Jin Xiao Xi didn't mind at all and took her hand.
Su Ding smiled and shook her head. "What's your name?"
"Tang Sha, they call me Tang Sha, hehe." The girl said with a simple smile.
Seeing her like this, Su Ding sighed inwardly. "Then how about we call you Tang Tang from now on?"
The girl nodded. "Tang Tang, Tang Tang..."
Jin Xiao Xi also called her, "Sister Tang Tang, let's get in the car."
Su Ding took the two children into the car, reminded them to buckle their seatbelts, and they set off.
On the way, she saw through the rearview mirror that Xiao Xi was using a wet wipe to clean Tang Tang's face. A warm current flowed through her heart.
Fortunately, Xiao Xi wasn't as vicious as Shao Lin or Wen Min.