reignition

Lu Chaochi didn't understand the deeper meaning behind his parents' words; he simply felt sorry for his father.

But seeing Lu Bozhou pick them up and drop them off every day, even when they were scolded, complained about, or given the cold shoulder, they seemed to enjoy it all.

The child seemed to vaguely sense something, but couldn't quite grasp it. He couldn't describe it specifically, but Lu Chaochi was always happy to see his father pick him up from kindergarten every day.

Moreover, Lu Chaochi gradually realized that even though his father would pick him up from school every day, his mother would still come home the same way.

In this way, he became a child whose parents picked him up from school every day.

Even if Lu Chaochi couldn't describe it in detail, he could clearly sense it...

"Mom, are you happy?" Lu Chaochi asked.

"Huh?" Jiang Mian glanced at him sideways. "What?"

"Are you happy?" the child asked again.

Jiang Mian smiled. "Why do you ask that?"

“I always see happiness in your eyes,” Lu Chaochi said. “I originally thought that having my parents pick me up from school together meant I was the only one who was happy, but it seems…”

"What do you mean?" Jiang Mian asked with a smile.

Lu Chaochi thought for a moment and added, "...It seems like Dad is in a good mood too, and you seem to be in a good mood as well, right? Or is it just my imagination?"

When asked the last question, Lu Chaochi's voice carried a hint of cautious probing.

Jiang Mian didn't try to hide anything and smiled, "I think..." Her eyes crinkled, "it's not your imagination."

Lu Chaochi's eyes lit up instantly!

"really?"

"Mm." Jiang Mian nodded. "You're happy every day, and if you're happy, I'm happy too."

That's certainly a reasonable explanation.

But Lu Chaochi still felt... perhaps it wasn't just that. He blinked his playful big eyes, "Is that really all, Mianmian? Is it really just because I'm happy that you're happy?"

He asked more directly, "Does your mood have absolutely nothing to do with your father?"

Jiang Mian laughed, "How could that be? He's so nice, and the flowers he sends every day are always so beautiful."

Upon hearing Jiang Mian's words, Lu Chaochi was finally overjoyed. He jumped up on the spot, his face beaming with excitement.

"Let's go." Jiang Mian held his little hand in one hand and carried his little schoolbag in the other.

Lu Bozhou's car was parked not far away, waiting for them.

He stood by the driver's side door waiting. He had been rarely calling a driver lately, and usually drove himself to pick up Jiang Mian and Lu Chaochi.

Seeing them approach, Lu Bozhou took two steps forward to greet them, wanting to reach out and take the small schoolbag she was carrying.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chaochi quickened his pace and jogged up, tightly grasping Lu Bozhou's hand.

In a barely audible voice, Jiang Mian whispered mysteriously to Lu Bozhou, "Daddy, Daddy!"

"Hmm?" Lu Bozhou had just shown a puzzled look.

Then I heard my son say in a very fast, soft voice, "Mom just said you're so nice! The flowers you send every day are so beautiful! She's very happy!"

The son asked earnestly, "Did you bring flowers today?!"

Lu Chaochi only had time to ask that question before Jiang Mian walked up to him, before Lu Bozhou could answer.

Lu Bozhou took the small schoolbag from her hand and casually opened the passenger door.

On the seats, a large bunch of lovely ping-pong chrysanthemums exuded a sweet fragrance. Each flower was bright yellow and round, just like a ping-pong ball.

"The store manager said today that the ping-pong chrysanthemums are very fresh and that the flower shape is very cute, and that girls will like them." Lu Bozhou took out the bouquet and stuffed it into Jiang Mian's arms.

Although he didn't understand what was so cute about it, or why girls would like it...

But Jiang Mian's eyes clearly showed she really liked it.

"They are quite cute, round and chubby..." Jiang Mian took the bouquet from his hand, her eyes crinkling.

Lu Bozhou blocked the car door with his hand, letting her get in.

Then, before getting into the car, Jiang Mian glanced at him and said in a low voice, "But I still prefer roses."

She added, "Red roses."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bozhou's expression didn't change much, but his pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had quickly understood something.

He nodded blankly at first, then his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

On the way back with Jiang Mian and Lu Chaochi, Lu Bozhou's mood improved more and more.

Even when he was taking them home, Lu Bozhou, who usually didn't seem to care much about Jiang Yu's mockery, basically didn't respond.

But today, probably because she was in such a good mood, she even put one hand on Jiang Yu's shoulder and pulled Jiang Yu's cheek with the other.

Jiang Yu's eyes widened, and before he could even react and get angry, Lu Bozhou had already taken his leave.

Jiang Yu belatedly realized what was happening and turned to say incredulously, "Wait, is he crazy? Has his brain collapsed?"

Jiang Yu told his girlfriend about it during a long phone conversation that evening.

Gong Yan sighed softly after hearing what Jiang Yu said, "Silly boy, Lu Bozhou is used to being steady. The fact that he is so presumptuous must mean that someone has given him the confidence to be so presumptuous."

"???" Jiang Yu was puzzled. Who gave Lu Bozhou the audacity to act so recklessly?

But Jiang Yu realized almost immediately, who else could have given him the audacity to act so recklessly?

Whom does Lu Bozhou truly care about?

"You mean... my sister?" Jiang Yu asked incredulously.

But Gong Yan felt it was only natural, "Jiang Mian would keep getting entangled with him like this, it can't just be for the sake of the child."

They've been entangled for two lifetimes, how could they possibly have no feelings for each other at all?

Jiang Yu wasn't entirely unprepared for this, but even so, hearing these words still left him feeling somewhat stifled.

I feel like... it's too cheap for Lu Bozhou.

But Gong Yan told him that matters of the heart between two people are not something that can be settled by saying that you owe me more and I'll take revenge on you after I've done enough.

In matters of the heart between two people, absolute fairness is impossible, and sometimes even relative fairness is difficult to ascertain.

Everyone has their own scale and measuring stick in their heart.

"If Jiang Mian thinks it's enough, then that's fine," Gong Yan said to Jiang Yu.

But when it came to actually facing Jiang Mian, Gong Yan was a little unsure. "Do you think that's enough?"

She asked Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian was wearing Bluetooth earphones, talking to Gong Yan while painting a picture in the studio, which was bathed in warm sunlight.

The painting in front of her was almost finished, and it was clear that the scene in the painting was even warmer than the sunlight in the studio at that moment.

The man in the painting is handsome and tall, kneeling on one knee on the deck, carefully making the motion of threading a fish with bait. The child beside him is cute and adorable, peeking out and watching the man's movements.

In the distance, a woman with a gentle smile is taking their picture...

This is a picture of them on the yacht.

“I don’t know if I’ve had enough,” Jiang Mian said, applying the last stroke of paint to the canvas. “I just feel like I miss him a lot, and I want to see him smile.”