Qin Qiaoer didn't trust ordering takeout, so she simply cooked the dumplings the aunt had left at home for the two kids. After this simple lunch, noon passed.
While the kids were taking their naps, Qin Qiaoer kept watching cooking tutorials, trying to figure out where she'd gone wrong and why her cakes always turned out badly.
She spent the whole noon diligently watching the videos, feeling that after watching them, she'd surely be able to make a perfect cake next time.
When the two kids woke up in the afternoon, they found Qin Qiaoer had been busy in the kitchen for a while. There were several failed cakes beside her.
These were all the failures from the morning. Each cake looked either floppy and mushy or had exploded into a mess.
Qin Chenchen looked at the cakes and said to Qin Qiaoer with some pity, "Mom, why don't we go out and buy a cake? There's still time to pick one."
Qin Qiaoer glanced at Qin Chenchen and then at the cakes she'd made. Although they were a bit ugly, they were full of her love.
At this time, Qin Wanwan said, "Mom, don't listen to him. I think we should make it ourselves. When Brother Fanjin has his birthday later, I'll make a cake for him too."
Hearing Qin Wanwan's support, Qin Qiaoer felt motivated again. Just imagining the happy smile on Zhao Youting's face when he saw the cake she'd made tonight gave her the drive to keep going.
Listening to the two kids bickering behind her, Qin Qiaoer calmed down and continued to study the dough in front of her.
"Don't call him Brother Fanjin. You should call Li Fanjin uncle. He's much older than you," Qin Chenchen couldn't help but complain.
"I don't care. I'm going to call him brother. Are you just jealous because he's handsomer than you?"
"Humph, I'm not. You should find someone younger." Although Qin Chenchen said this, he still cared about Qin Wanwan a lot.
"Are you afraid that I'll stop playing with you after I have Brother Fanjin? Don't worry, I won't. You're the most important person to me," Qin Wanwan said seriously.
Qin Chenchen stammered a bit, "I... I don't care about you. I don't need you to play with me!"
Although Qin Chenchen said so, Qin Wanwan still dragged him to the living room. "Okay, it's not me playing with you. It's you playing with me. Is that okay?"
Only then did Qin Chenchen nod reluctantly.
The two kids were happily playing by themselves, while Qin Qiaoer was busy in the kitchen alone.
"Qin Chenchen! Qin Wanwan! Come here quickly!" Hearing Qin Qiaoer's urgent call, the two kids immediately rushed to the kitchen, wondering what had happened.
When they got there, they saw Qin Qiaoer holding a cake base just taken out of the oven, looking at them expectantly.
Looking at the cake base, although it didn't look very good, it was much better than the failures in the morning.
"Quick, I'll cut a small piece for you to taste. I think this time it'll surely be a success!"
With that, Qin Qiaoer cut a small piece of the cake and handed it to Qin Chenchen and Qin Wanwan. The two kids took it with anticipation. They'd been looking forward to eating cake for a long time.
After happily putting the cake into their mouths, their movements suddenly stopped. Qin Qiaoer looked at their expressions expectantly, hoping they'd say the cake was delicious.
The two kids chewed the cake in their mouths and then looked at each other. It seemed they could see something they both understood in each other's eyes.
"Mom, don't be sad when I say this. Why don't you taste it yourself? Did you put too much sugar? Even we think it's a bit too sweet."
Qin Qiaoer was puzzled. She also took a piece of the cake and tasted it seriously. "I think it's okay. It's not that sweet. I followed the recipe."
"Mom, have you lost your sense of taste from making cakes? It's really too sweet. Dad Youting doesn't seem to like such sweet things."
Hearing Qin Chenchen's words, Qin Qiaoer calmed down. She took a slow and careful taste. It seemed it was really a bit too sweet. Her mood suddenly became very low.
Qin Chenchen reached out and patted Qin Qiaoer's arm to comfort her. "It's okay. It's still early. If we make another cake now, it'll surely be in time. The next one will definitely be delicious."
Qin Qiaoer adjusted her mood in her heart and then said to the two kids cheerfully, "Yes! The next one will surely be a success. You go and play first. I'll call you to taste it when the next one is done."
After the two kids left, Qin Qiaoer kept encouraging herself, telling herself that she could do it.
Soon, it got dark. Zhao Youting looked at the setting sun outside the window. He couldn't help but look forward to getting off work and going home to see Qin Qiaoer.
Before he met Qin Qiaoer, he'd never hoped that time would pass so quickly. He used to be the last one to leave the company, always working overtime.
But today, looking at the busy traffic outside the window, he just wanted to get off work and go home immediately.
When it was time to get off work today, Zhao Youting was the first one to leave the company. Everyone was very surprised to see the president leaving in such a hurry. They'd never seen Zhao Youting like this before.
Since the president had left, the others also left work one after another. On his way home, Zhao Youting looked at the lights in the windows of thousands of families. Thinking that there was one light waiting for him in this vast world made him feel very at ease.
But when he got home, his heart turned cold. He saw that the lights at home were off. It was pitch - black inside and he couldn't see anything.