Two Radishes

Just at that moment, Yezi also came downstairs, her slippers going tap-tap-tap on the steps. Perhaps noticing there were a lot of people in the house, she blinked, glanced down at the tank top she was wearing, and bent forward slightly like a little grown-up.

"My apologies, I'll go change."

A few minutes later, Yezi came back down in a pair of pink pajamas. The serious little look on her face just now had Ye Shuang and the others struggling not to laugh. Perhaps spotting someone her own age, Yezi's gaze lingered on Duoduo for a couple of seconds before she said, "Hello, my name is Yezi."

"Hi, I'm Tang Duoduo." Tang Duoduo immediately spoke up after Yezi introduced herself.

Seeing the two little munchkins greet each other, Ye Shuang smiled and introduced Tang Duoduo. When she heard that the girl was Tang Keke's cousin, Yezi's eyes unconsciously drifted toward the other's chest area. "Hmm?"

"What's the matter, Yezi?"

"Oh, nothing."

At that moment, Ye Shuang also said to Tang Duoduo, "Yezi here is my daughter."

"Daughter? Daughter?!" Tang Duoduo looked utterly stunned. Such a big daughter?

Was she born with Sister Bai Yuyou?

"Adopted daughter," Yezi added at that point. Even though she was biologically his child, under the current circumstances she had chosen to stay in the household under the identity of an adopted daughter.

"Oh, I see?" Tang Duoduo nodded in sudden understanding.

After all, Sister Bai Yuyou didn't really look like someone who would have a child that big.

For the rest of the time, Tang Duoduo and her grandmother sat around at Ye Shuang's place for a bit before heading back. After all, they were just neighbors living upstairs and downstairs from each other—this was basically just a quick hello.

"Brother, I should head back too. I'll come over and play tomorrow." Tang Keke also said at that point. Since her grandmother had come over, it would seem a little rude to keep staying at Ye Shuang's place—after all, her usual excuse was that she was home alone.

"No worries, spend some quality time with your grandmother." Ye Shuang gave a slight smile.

As they got on the elevator, they could faintly hear Duoduo's voice: "Sister Keke, you've got some nerve..."

Most likely her butt was about to get a good smacking.

"Dad, are they all gone?" Yezi walked over to behind Ye Shuang and asked.

"Yeah. Duoduo will be attending your school from now on. Think you two can become good friends?" Ye Shuang turned around and asked.

"If that's what Dad wishes, I can."

"It's not about that. If you think she's someone worth getting along with, then it's fine to develop a friendship." Ye Shuang smiled. "A few true friends are better than many casual ones. And friends you make when you're young, if you can grow up together, that's a rare and precious bond."

That was exactly how it had been between him and Chen Hai and the others—close friends since childhood, their ties and feelings beyond what ordinary acquaintances could compare to.

"Yeah, Dad, I understand."

...

That night, Ye Shuang got into bed early, but he wasn't asleep. He was leaning against the headboard, his fingers tapping away on the laptop in front of him—after all, he wrote novels for a living, so he still had to get his updates done.

"Already at 1.5 million words. A few hundred thousand more and I can wrap this up, right?" Ye Shuang glanced at his word count. Over the past year, he'd written that much without even realizing it. He didn't know how he'd managed to keep going.

It must be the readers' support along the way.

"Yeah..." After spending an hour finishing his update, Ye Shuang put the laptop on the side table. Perhaps because of his cold, his head was feeling heavy and foggy.

"Cough, I need to get some sleep."

After turning up the air conditioning a bit, he slowly lay down and pulled the covers over himself.

His body grew heavier, and his consciousness gradually began to drift—

Vaguely, he felt like he was having a dream. He dreamed he was sleeping inside a cramped jar, with pounding sounds coming from outside, as if someone was knocking. Ye Shuang tried with all his might to open his eyes, but he couldn't no matter what. His consciousness slowly sank into chaos.

His awareness gradually faded away.

...

...

Early morning, when Ye Shuang opened his eyes, he realized it was already nine o'clock. He rarely slept in this late—perhaps because he was sick and hadn't set an alarm, so he'd slept more deeply than usual.

"Hm." Ye Shuang stretched his arms and found that his cold had improved considerably. At least the heavy, dizzy feeling in his head was gone.

After washing up and getting ready, he came down to the first floor and found only Bai Yuyou there, wearing an apron and preparing breakfast.

"Where's Yezi?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Yezi went downstairs to walk the dog." As Bai Yuyou spoke, she walked over to Ye Shuang.

Her jet-black, jewel-like eyes lingered on his face for a few seconds before she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her forehead against his.

After confirming he didn't have a fever, Bai Yuyou even stole a kiss on his cheek before pulling away.

Having done all that, her expression remained completely blank, as if nothing at all had just happened.

"Getting that close, you might catch what I have." Ye Shuang reached out and pinched Bai Yuyou's cheek.

"It's fine. I have a strong body."

Bai Yuyou struck a little bodybuilder pose, though her fair, delicate arms didn't exactly sell it.

Ye Shuang sat down to eat breakfast. What Bai Yuyou had prepared was a simple egg toast with milk and cereal, but it tasted pretty great.

"Huh... I feel like something's missing around the house." Ye Shuang said while chewing on his toast, a vague sense of something off making him lift his head slightly.

Sitting beside him, Bai Yuyou tilted her head. She had five slices of toast stacked on her plate, piled up like a little cake.

"It's nothing." Ye Shuang smiled, but quickly figured out what it was.

Keke wasn't there. They were short the little livewire who livened up the atmosphere.

Whenever he and Bai Yuyou lived together, the house was always peaceful and quiet—cozy in its own way. It was only after Keke joined them that things got more lively. Even the cat around the house was a lazy little lump.

"Keke didn't come over today?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Mmm, no..." Bai Yuyou said with her cheeks puffed out, mid-bite. "She's taking Duoduo to the park for a walk."

"I see." Ye Shuang nodded. Maybe from now on, Keke would be staying at her own place, since she'd be living with her grandmother.

After breakfast was over, Ye Shuang received a phone call from Chen Hai.

"Hello?"

"I got kicked out." One sentence from Chen Hai left Ye Shuang stunned for a few seconds.

"Kicked out by who?"

"My dad, that's who." Chen Hai sounded gloomy on the other end of the line. "Because of the divorce, I've got no money, no place to stay. The money is with Feng Shan, and the apartment we had is being occupied by Feng Shan. I don't have keys to any of the other properties."

"What a mess."