Of course, she remembered; every moment they had together was like an old photograph, treasured in the album of her heart. Love or hate, she had never forgotten.

But why was he bringing it up? She shot him a suspicious glance.

“Back then, you were much heavier than you are now; you pressed down on me so hard it hurt!” he exclaimed loudly.

Her face suddenly flushed red, and she glared at him furiously. What did he want?

“Yuan Yuan, please let me stay! I really have nowhere else to go.” Despite being words of pleading, he spoke with a hint of a smile.

She caught on and coldly snorted. “How is that possible? Don’t tell me you’ve lost your house in Taipei!”

He nodded without hesitation. “Yes, I’ve lost my house, my wealth. Yuan Yuan, the man standing before you now is completely destitute, and I can only rely on you.”

She seemed unable to believe that her usually proud ex-husband would so generously show weakness. Her eyes widened in shock, resembling a choking rabbit.

He stared at her, his dark eyes sparkling in the night.

After some back-and-forth, Zhong Xintian finally agreed to let Lu Zongyue stay for one night, but only one night.

She solemnly declared that he had to pack up and leave early the next morning.

But Lu Zongyue would not simply obey.

It wasn’t until then that he realized he actually had the potential to be a rogue. Not only did he shamelessly stay, but he even dug out a new blanket for himself, boldly laying it out on the sofa in the living room.

This old house, dating back to the Japanese occupation, wasn’t small, but half of it had been converted into a restaurant, leaving limited space. Besides the kitchen, bathroom, and living room, there were only two bedrooms.

One was Zhong Xintian’s bedroom, and the other was occupied by Dongdong. Lu Zongyue didn’t want to wake the child in the middle of the night and would rather suffer on the sofa for a night.

Though he called it suffering, it was far better than lying on the hard benches at the train station. That night, he slept deeply, even snoring lightly, making Zhong Xintian both amused and exasperated.

He slept in until after ten in the morning. Sunlight streamed in through the back yard’s large windows, and he groggily woke up. After a hurried wash, he went to the kitchen to greet the woman who was busy kneading dough.

She didn’t even glance at him, nor did she give him any food, as if he didn’t exist at all.

In stark contrast to yesterday, the restaurant had no customers today. By noon, it was still empty inside, so quiet that it felt a bit overwhelming.

Seeing that he had no way to be useful, Lu Zongyue wisely settled in the backyard. Dongdong, seeing him in a pitiable state, quietly snuck out two buns from the rice cooker.

“Uncle, are you hungry? Here, take this.” 

He looked at the plump, soft buns and wanted to be polite, but his stomach grumbled in protest.

Dongdong giggled. “Hurry and eat, Uncle!”

Feeling embarrassed, he took the buns and sat down on a stone next to Dongdong, munching on them heartily.

“Uncle, did you upset my mommy? Why is she not even giving you food?” After spending half a day with him yesterday, Dongdong had already determined that this handsome uncle wasn’t a bad person and curiously continued asking, “Aren’t you and my mommy friends? Why is she ignoring you?”

“Sigh!” Lu Zongyue sighed, feeling it was a long story, and he wasn’t good at talking to children.

He continued to munch on the buns gloomily but suddenly choked as he swallowed too quickly.

Dongdong was startled and hurried to the restaurant to pour him a cup of cold water. “Uncle, drink this!”

He took the cup and gulped it down, finally swallowing the bun and catching his breath.

Seeing him in such a helpless state made Dongdong unable to hold back his laughter. “Uncle, you’re so pathetic!”

Yes, it was indeed pathetic.

He had gone to great lengths to find his ex-wife, shamelessly insisting on staying with her, only to be ignored and not even given a meal.

Lu Zongyue never imagined he would find himself in such a situation. He finally understood that this little woman had quite the personality when she was angry; she used to spoil him without reservation.

He could only blame himself for not cherishing her at the time…

He felt a sudden wave of melancholy.

“What’s wrong, Uncle?” Dongdong squatted in front of him, propping his chin in his small hands and curiously observing his gloomy expression, his round, grape-like black eyes spinning innocently and adorably.

Lu Zongyue had an urge to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Uncle just remembered that he did some very bad things to your mommy in the past.”

“What things?” Dongdong jumped up, gesturing with his small fists as if he wanted to punish the bad guy on behalf of his mommy.

Lu Zongyue smiled, finally unable to resist patting the child’s head, not even realizing how affectionate the gesture was. “Uncle knows he was wrong, and now he wants to make amends.”

“Make amends?”

“It means I want to compensate her, to do some good things for your mommy.”

“I know what ‘make amends’ means; don’t treat me like a fool.” Dongdong pouted.

Lu Zongyue smiled again. “Alright, you’re not a fool.”

“I’m very clever!” Little Dongdong boasted without modesty. “Mommy told me that when I go to elementary school, I’ll definitely be able to score a hundred on every test.”

“Good, you’re clever.” Lu Zongyue thought about how to talk to the child; maybe he should just communicate with him as if he were an adult? “Since you’re so clever, can you help Uncle with a favor?”

“What favor?”

“I want to stay here for a while. Can you help me persuade your mommy to let me stay?”

“That’s not possible.” Little Dongdong shook his head like an adult. “Who knows if you’re trying to hit on my mommy?”

“What!” Lu Zongyue coughed. “Hit on?”

“Don’t think I don’t understand. Hmph, a man who keeps sticking to a woman just wants to hit on her, right?”

“Who taught you to use such words? That’s really unpleasant.”

Dongdong made a face, ignoring the stern admonition from this old-fashioned uncle. He crossed his small arms in front of his chest, striking a pose that made Lu Zongyue both amused and exasperated.

Are kids nowadays this sharp?

“Uncle, tell me the truth. Do you like my mommy?” he asked straightforwardly.

At this question, Lu Zongyue choked.

Does he like her?

He asked himself, his dark eyes gradually becoming deep. “Yes.”

“Do you swear you’ll treat my mommy well from now on?”

“I swear.”

“I don’t believe you.” Dongdong squinted at him. “Unless you make a pinky promise; liars are little dogs.”

Lu Zongyue suppressed a laugh. Children are indeed still children.

“Okay, a pinky promise.” He extended his right pinky.

Dongdong puffed out his cheeks, biting his lip, his expression quite serious. Lu Zongyue couldn’t help but become serious too as their fingers linked together, shaking up and down, establishing a sacred contract.