Four years ago, not long after Zhou Yang returned to China, he called Shen Mo and asked him to meet at the old place, saying that he wanted to elope with him.

　　Shen Mo naturally did not go to the appointment.

　　But he didn’t go to work either. He even turned off his cell phone and stayed at home to do some cleaning.

　　Ji Mingxuan came back that day reeking of alcohol. He was drunk and fell on the road, making himself look very embarrassed. He almost didn’t recognize Shen Mo when they met. Later, he recognized him, but he acted very strangely, pressing Shen Mo on the sofa and doing it hard. When Shen Mo was bitten on the neck by him, he felt like he was his prey.

　　The next day, they slept until noon. Ji Mingxuan used Shen Mo’s phone to call for leave. After the phone was turned on, a series of text message alerts rang. Shen Mo thought it was from Zhou Yang, so Ji Mingxuan smiled at him and deleted the text messages in front of him.

　　In the afternoon, he took Ji Mingxuan’s car to buy medicine, and learned from the driver that Ji Mingxuan was originally going to Jinxiu Villa that night.

　　Shen Mo couldn’t guess what Mr. Ji was thinking at the time, but now he understands everything. He thought he had left with Zhou Yang, so he got drunk. He sent a text message to keep him, and then deleted it himself.

　　Although Shen Mo had recovered his memory a long time ago, memories were just memories after all. There had never been a moment like this one when he truly understood that he had been loved deeply by someone.

　　Ji Mingxuan had been waiting for him at Jinxiu Villa.

　　But I never knew.

　　”Uncle,” Ji Ning shook Shen Mo’s arm and asked softly, “Are you crying?”

　　”No.” Shen Mo came back to his senses, wiped the water marks on the phone screen, and said, “Uncle didn’t cry.”

　　Although Ji Ning was young, he was not so easy to fool. He pointed at the corner of Shen Mo’s eyes and said, “Uncle’s eyes are red.”

　　Then he asked, “Why is uncle crying?”

　　Shen Mo turned his head and looked at him, and said, “Xiao Ning, can uncle hug you for a while?”

　　”Okay.” Ji Ning stretched out his arms and asked for a hug, and said happily, “Uncle, hug me.”

　　Shen Mo gently hugged him in the afterglow of the setting sun.

　　Children’s body temperature is higher than that of adults, so it is especially warm to be held in one’s arms. Shen Mo touched his soft head and couldn’t help thinking that this was someone who was related to Ji Mingxuan by blood.

　　He couldn’t help but hug Ji Ning tighter and asked him, “Xiao Ning, does your father love you?”

　　Ji Ning didn’t seem to understand the meaning of love. After thinking for a while, he said loudly: “Love!”

　　Shen Mo smiled, and after a while asked again: “Then…does Dad love Mom too?”

　　Ji Ning was confused for a moment, and answered even louder: “Love!”

　　Shen Mo said, “That’s great.”

　　Really, really good.

　　He took a deep breath, released Ji Ning from his arms, patted his shoulder and said, “Okay, let’s go play in the living room.”

　　He put the old phone back under the pillow and left the room with Ji Ning. They sat in the living room for a while before Ji Mingxuan came back.

　　He had been busy all day and had taken off his suit and was folding it around his arm. He was only wearing a light-colored shirt that just highlighted his graceful waistline.

　　As soon as Ji Ning saw him, he stopped being silent and rushed over to him, shouting, “Dad!”

　　Ji Mingxuan stretched out his arms, picked him up, and asked, “Were you good today? Did you listen to your uncle?”

　　Ji Ning said proudly: “Of course.”

　　Then he turned to Shen Mo for confirmation: “Uncle, is that right?”

　　Ji Mingxuan’s gaze then fell on Shen Mo.

　　Shen Mo responded with a “yes” and looked at him quietly, as if they were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

　　No, it’s not that they are not near, but they are indeed so far away from each other.

　　They had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Because Ji Ning was there, they didn’t open the wine and just ordered a few dishes. Ji Mingxuan was very elegant. He had to take care of Ji Ning and greet Shen Mo at the same time, and he did it perfectly.

　　Shen Mo is usually a quiet person, and he was even quieter today, with only his eyes following Ji Mingxuan.

　　Ji Mingxuan said: “I wanted to invite you to a restaurant outside for dinner, but with Ji Ning here, it’s not convenient to go anywhere.”

　　Shen Mo said: “It’s like this when you have children. They are the most important in everything.”

　　Ji Mingxuan smiled and wiped the corner of Ji Ning’s mouth.

　　Shen Mo looked at them tenderly, as if looking at a peaceful and beautiful dream.

　　But his soul had already flown away.

　　It was back to that rainy night four years ago, or even longer, seven years ago, when he had just grasped the key, opened the door of Jinxiu Villa without hesitation, and walked into another person’s heart…

　　Someone at the next table knocked over the cutlery, making a “ding” sound. Shen Mo was startled, as if someone had broken his dream, and stood up suddenly from the table.

　　Ji Mingxuan looked at him in surprise.

　　Shen Mo’s palms were full of sweat. He knew he had lost his composure, so he slowly sat back down, picked up the cup and drank a sip of water.

　　Ji Mingxuan glanced at him and said, “Tomorrow…”

　　Shen Mo interrupted him first: “Mr. Ji.”

　　No, no, no, he couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Who knew if the sky would fall apart and the earth would break apart in the next second?

　　He asked anxiously: “Is Mr. Ji free tonight?”

　　Ji Mingxuan raised his eyebrows and said, “Isn’t it empty now?”

　　”After dinner, I mean.”

　　”It’s nothing. My biggest task is just to coax Ji Ning to sleep.”

　　Shen Mo looked at Ji Ning, who was poking his rice bowl with a spoon and didn’t listen to the conversation. Shen Mo then said, “After Xiao Ning falls asleep, can Mr. Ji give me an hour… No, half an hour will be enough.”

　　”What’s up?”

　　”I want to draw a picture for Mr. Ji.” Shen Mo looked at Ji Mingxuan steadily, his voice a little hoarse, “This is what we agreed on a long time ago, isn’t it?”

　　

　　Ji Mingxuan’s eyes moved slightly. He didn’t say anything for a while, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down, and then he said, “Yes, it is true.”