Duoduo

“Dad, do you also think divorce is better?” Yezi asked.

“I don’t know. After all, your dad’s marriage never had any problems—I was lucky enough to meet wonderful women,” Ye Shuang said.

Lao Yao excluded.

Because of that, he couldn’t truly empathize with Chen Hai either. He believed Chen Hai’s actions were wrong, but if he looked at it from the other man’s perspective, Ye Shuang’s own behavior wasn’t exactly right either—he had simply been shown tolerance.

Still, he could see Chen Hai’s suffering. If being together caused that much pain, then a clean break was better for both Feng Shan and Chen Hai.

But when he heard Yezi mention that Chen Hai might come to regret it, Ye Shuang couldn’t help but ask, “Why would your Uncle Chen Hai regret it?”

“I don’t remember,” Yezi said with a shake of her head.

“Alright…” Ye Shuang didn’t push further.

After dinner, Ye Shuang had intended to wash the dishes, but Yu You told him to go rest properly instead, while she cleared the table and headed into the kitchen.

“Yezi, take a shower first. Have you written any summer homework?” Ye Shuang asked.

“Ah, we have to do homework as soon as summer vacation starts?” Yezi asked.

“Of course.”

“Sister Little Yu said you can just do it on the last day—one pen, one lamp, one miracle,” Yezi said.

“Don’t pick up your Fish Sister’s bad habits.” Ye Shuang grabbed Yezi’s cheeks and pulled them apart.

“Daddy I’m sowwy.”

After sending Yezi upstairs to shower, Ye Shuang was just wondering whether he should take a shower himself and then take his medicine and rest early, when the doorbell rang from the entrance. Ye Shuang froze for a moment—who could it be at this hour?

He quickly walked over and opened the door, only to find several people standing outside. Before he even saw their faces, a mass of hair barged in front of him—“Big bro, we’re back!”

“Oh oh, we’re back!” Another voice chimed in.

Ye Shuang looked and saw that it was Tang Keke, and—

“Duoduo, long time no see.”

“Grandma, long time no see.”

Besides Keke, there was his cousin Tang Duoduo and the grandmother from the countryside. Seeing Ye Shuang, the old woman smiled warmly. “Hehehe, long time no see. Dropping by in the evening isn’t too much of a bother, is it? Hehehehe.”

The old woman was as cheerful and hearty as ever, laughing merrily. Ye Shuang shook his head. “No bother at all, no bother. I just have a bit of a cold, so I’m still wearing a mask.”

“Duoduo, looks like you got tanned?” Ye Shuang’s gaze then fell on the mushroom-haired girl. She was about the same age as Yezi, wearing a tank top and shorts, pretty much the same outfit as last time he saw her.

But her shoulders and collarbone showed white patches of skin, contrasting sharply with her wheat-colored complexion—like a chocolate bar that was half brown, half white.

“Duoduo went way too wild back home, that’s why she’s so dark,” Keke said, not missing the chance to give her little sister’s butt a smack.

“Come on in,” Ye Shuang said with a smile, ushering them inside.

“The floor’s so clean—do you have any slippers to change into?” the old woman asked as soon as she stepped in, already pulling off her own shoes. “Hehe, this old lady doesn’t want to dirty your beautiful home.”

“No need, no need—no need to change shoes,” Ye Shuang said directly. “Just come right in, we’re not that particular.”

Meanwhile, Tang Duoduo hopped in barefoot with lively little steps. Looking around at the interior, she turned to Keke and said, “Sis, this place is way bigger than yours.”

“What’s so surprising about that? It’s a top-floor duplex—two levels,” Keke said. Just then, Bai Yuyou walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands, wearing a Pikachu-patterned apron. Her expressionless face made her look somewhat adorably clueless.

“Ah.” Bai Yuyou saw the old woman and Tang Duoduo and said politely, “Long time no see. Welcome.”

“Long time no see, Bai Yuyou sister!” Tang Duoduo replied cheerfully.

She even bounced in place and threw in a radio gymnastics move.

“Have a seat. I’ll make you some tea.”

Ye Shuang boiled some water and also grabbed snacks from the snack cabinet, setting them out on the table.

“Duoduo, sit still and don’t bounce around,” Keke said, making her sister settle down.

“Okay.”

Duoduo obediently sat down. After Ye Shuang poured tea for everyone, he glanced at Duoduo. “Duoduo, do you want tea or a drink?”

“I want something cold,” Duoduo said, though she seemed to feel that making requests at someone else’s house wasn’t ideal, so she just chuckled nervously. “Tea is fine too.”

“Keke, go grab a drink for your sister,” Ye Shuang said.

“Alright, I’ll get some juice.” Keke flicked Duoduo’s forehead before getting up to fetch the drink.

At that point, Ye Shuang asked, “So Duoduo’s coming out here this time to go to school in the city, right?”

The old woman said, “Yes, city schools are better.”

“Also, I’m getting old, so it’s good to move out too.”

“Grandma, you still prefer being back in the countryside, don’t you?” Ye Shuang saw through it with a smile. After all, few elderly people enjoy moving to the city—especially when there’s not even another old person around to chat with.

“That’s fine, my mom’s about to retire,” Keke chimed in.

“Sometimes it’s not just about retirement,” Ye Shuang said with a shake of his head. The old woman just smiled without saying much, because she indeed wouldn’t be as comfortable out here as back home. But Duoduo needed to attend school, and she couldn’t bear to leave her alone, so she’d come out to take care of her.

“Wow, is it just big bro and Bai Yuyou sister living in such a big house?” Duoduo asked curiously.

“I live here too,” Tang Keke said, pointing at herself.

“Sis, why do you live at someone else’s place?” Duoduo asked, confused. “Don’t you have a home?”

“How dare you talk like that!” Keke grabbed Duoduo’s cheeks and squeezed them.

“I didn’t know, alright? Isn’t your home downstairs?”

Tang Duoduo genuinely couldn’t understand. Her own home was literally right downstairs—just a few minutes in the elevator. What was the point?

“Heh, Keke usually stays home alone, and since I have plenty of extra rooms here and it’s a bit empty, I invited Keke to stay over so we can take care of each other,” Ye Shuang said with a smile.

“Eww, sis, you’re so useless. You’re a grown adult and still need someone to take care of you.” Duoduo made a disgusted face. “You live here like a free-loader.”

“Looks like you’ve got a death wish.”

The two sisters started wrestling right there on the sofa.

Ye Shuang chuckled at the scene, then as if reminded of something, he said, “Oh right, Duoduo, there’s actually one more person here you haven’t met. She’s about your age, also a girl. I hope you two can become friends.”

“About my age?”

“Yeah.”

Just then, a voice came from the stairs—“Daddy—”