It should be dark outside. Actually, she did not even know what time it was.
“Gao Yi…” Her lips quivered, her voice lost in her breath. She lowered her head and put the Dolly carefully in her daughter’s arms. Instinctively, Rainy hugged it; she was still unable to leave the dolly.
At that time, Xia Ruoxin still had a gentle smile on her face. Just that, there was a flash of pain in her eyes. When one was smilingactually, she was also hurting. For example, she was such a person.
Chu Lui checked the watch on his wrist. It was six o’clock and was time for him to knock off. After clearing his table, he picked up his suit and walked out. His secretary had already left on the dot. As a CEO, he had always arrived earlier than the rest and knocked off later than them; he was already used to this habit. It was always him leaving alone, alone inside the elevator, and home alone here.
Down the lift, he walked towards his own car and drove towards his villa. After Li Manni left, he had not stayed there for a long time. Other than someone occasionally going up to clean, no one had stayed there for a long time.
The car stopped, and he looked up to see a very small house—the dullest amongst the normal houses. His exquisite, branded car looked especially jarring there as if he should not appear there and would never be there. The people who lived there were on a different level as him. He took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and opened the door. Even though the house was small and the interior was simple, it was spick and span. One could imagine that he had cleared everything himself.
A man used to sign checks, used to sit at the meeting table seriously, would have business dealings easily over a million, who always had his clothes given prepared for him… would have a day where he had to do chores. Luckily, no one was there to see, or he-as the CEO of Chu Enterprise—would shock the world.
He took off his suit, put down his office bag, and placed his hand on his stomach. His stomach growled cooperatively; he was hungry. Except for some snacks he ate for lunch, he did not eat anything else.
He walked into the kitchen and rolled up his sleeve before he boiled water and prepared ingredients routinely. When he came out, he was already holding a bowl of noodles. He tasted it, and it was slightly salty; but to him, it was already sufficient. The first time he cooked was really inedible. After so long, he had already learned the ways of what he was not willing to see and do in the past.
He learned how to make his bed, wash his clothes, and cook his own food. Even though up till now, the noodles he cooked were still not nice. His life seemed bitter, but he still felt that it was sufficient. He was satisfied.
He finished the noodles in a few mouthfuls and drank the soup cleanly before touching his belly. Yes, he was full. He looked up at everything in the house as if he could imagine their life living here.
They kept their own clothes, washed them… the daughter dumbly pulled on her own clothes while the mother patted her daughter’s head. The daughter would smile at her sweetly and continue to wash the clothes seriously. One adult and one child-living was tough for them, but no one knew that they were very satisfied.
Yes, this was the flat that Xia Ruoxin and Rainy had lived in for two years. After they had left, Chu Lui had bought the flat and gave up on his luxurious mansion. He lived alone in the shabby house and did all his chores on his own. He only did this to be closer to them.
He really did feel it because their shadows were everywhere.
Hers and his daughter’s.
He picked up his document bag and continued working on his unfinished work. He was not afraid of working overtime as when he was living here, he had no other place to go. Work became his past-time.
Under the dim light, the man sat in front of the table and flipped open his documents with much focus before holding a pen and writing from time to time. Occasionally, he would look at his laptop and record his important information.
After some time, he rubbed his brows and checked the watch on his wrist. It was close to twelve. He lay on the small bed, but his lips were turning upwards.
Goodnight, Ruoxin… and you too, Rainy, my daughter.
He pulled his blanket though sleeping on this bed was uncomfortable for him. However, if he were to choose again, he would rather sleep here and suffer a backache than sleep in the comfortable bed back home.
He wanted to know how their life was like and wanted to experience it for himself.
Only through this could he be closer to them.
When the morning light shone into the room, the sleeping man opened his eyes. His habitual body clock had allowed him to wake up. He sat up straight and stretched his legs at the side of the bed. The bed was really too small for him to the point where he had to shrink his body to sleep. He also had to be extra careful; if not, he would fall off of the bed. However, he was still unwilling to change it; he could not bear to change or throw anything in the house-a table, a thread, or even a speck of dust-as everything had their shadows with them.
He had already lost them so he would cherish these things with extra care. He did not do it in the past, but he would definitely do it in the future.
He stood up from his bed and walked into the small bathroom. When he came out, he was holding a bucket of water. Then, he held a cloth and wiped everything in the room to make it extra clean; he had even mopped the floor a few times.
After he was done, he straightened his back and smiled. It was tiring, but he felt really satisfied. He picked up his office bag and walked out, but he still remembered that he had to buy groceries today. There was no more food at him, and he would have to starve tonight. Even if it was a disgusting bowl of noodles, it was still something that would allow him to have a good night’s sleep.
