It was the time when school was over, and there were a lot of people at the school gate.
Xu Tingyu was more nervous than when she first participated in a competition many years ago.
When she left, she wasn't even allowed to keep the photos of Youyou on her phone.
Later, she printed out the photo from the email and put it in the interlayer of her wallet.
Now, standing here, she felt the kind of nervousness described as "feeling timid as one nears home".
She wasn't even sure if she could recognize the child at first sight.
Just as she craned her neck, looking longingly, someone beside her struck up a conversation.
"Ma'am, you look quite unfamiliar. Are you here to pick up a child? I don't think I've seen you before."
She was startled by the sudden voice. Turning her head, she saw a woman in her thirties in casual clothes.
The woman looked kind - hearted and didn't seem like someone looking for trouble.
She remembered that the security level of this kindergarten was high, and parents were probably vigilant. They would be wary of strange faces.
So she quickly explained, "No, a friend of mine has a child studying here. I'm here to check out the environment as a reference."
She came up with a lame lie on the spot.
But the other woman didn't seem to suspect her.
"This place is really good."
The woman didn't pester her further and even gave her a suggestion, "If you want to know more, you can stand over there. You'll be able to see more clearly."
Actually, anyone could tell that Xu Tingyu's words were just an excuse.
After all, if one wanted to learn about the school, why would they stand so far away, just looking at the kids leaving school? What could one learn from that?
This school also had a special open - day every year, which was the best time to learn about the school.
But the other woman didn't expose her, and Xu Tingyu could only continue to play dumb.
"No, I'm just looking around. I'll leave soon. You go ahead and don't mind me."
After politely saying this to the woman, she took two more steps into the corner.
Soon, there were hardly any people left at the school gate.
She still hadn't seen the person she was looking for, and couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed.
She thought that she should have just kept quiet. Maybe she missed Youyou while she was talking.
Feeling dejected, her disappointment showed on her face.
Seeing that the school gate was about to close, it was no use for her to stand there any longer, so she turned around and left.
What she didn't know was that across the street, a black business car was parked quietly.
A cute and handsome little boy, looking at his dad who was staring out of the window in a daze, asked, "Dad, what are you looking at?"
He also leaned forward to look out.
It was rare for his dad to pick him up from school today. He was so excited that he ran all the way into the car.
But now his dad wasn't looking at him, just looking outside.
Qi Shifeng hooked the corner of his mouth and intentionally or unintentionally blocked his son's view, "Nothing. Let's go."
Youyou didn't know what his father was hiding, but he could feel that his dad was in a good mood today.
So he excitedly talked about his performance at school. As he was talking, his voice couldn't help but drop.
"Our school is having a parent - child day next week. Dad, can Mom come this year?"
The little boy couldn't help but lie in Qi Shifeng's arms, looking up with a small face full of expectation.
Qi Shifeng's heart tightened.
Three years ago, after Youyou could speak complete sentences, his first words to him were, "Dad, where's my mom?"
Two years ago, when Youyou saw a family of three and was asked about his mom, he came back and cried all night.
One year ago, when Youyou first participated in the school's parent - child day, although his dad won a lot of prizes for him, he still felt depressed for a long time after he came back.
He didn't mention his mom very often, but at certain times, he still couldn't help but look forward to it.
"She will this year."
Qi Shifeng stroked his head and gave a definite answer.
The little boy, who hadn't held much hope, suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of surprise, and the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.
"Really? Mom has finally finished her work and is coming back to see me, right?"
Youyou's personality was very much like Qi Shifeng's. He was more mature than his peers and rarely showed such extreme emotions.
Qi Shifeng hugged him. His expression was a bit complicated. He didn't know what to say for a moment and just gave a soft "hmm" as a reply.
But this simple reply made the little guy extremely excited.
Until he went to sleep, he kept pestering Qi Shifeng with questions, all about Xu Tingyu.
"When will Mom come back? Should we go and pick her up?"
"After she comes back, she'll live with us, right?"
"I'll prepare soft quilts for Mom. No, I'll give her my quilt. I want to sleep with Mom."
...
"Mom, does she still remember me? Will she like me?"
After asking a bunch of questions, the little guy still couldn't help but worry.
He once secretly wondered if Mom didn't come to see him for so long because he was too naughty when he was a kid, so Mom didn't like him?
"She will. She loves you the most."
Qi Shifeng was very gentle with Youyou and almost always responded to every question.
Even when he was very busy and the questions the child asked were very childish, he would always give the most positive response.
At this moment, seeing him worried, he hugged his son into his arms.
"Okay, but why hasn't she come back to see me for so long?"
"Does she have another baby?"
This last question made Qi Shifeng feel even more uncomfortable.
But in front of the child, he couldn't show it at all. He just smiled faintly, "Of course not. She's just very busy."
In the past four years, he hadn't received much information. So he didn't even know if she had remarried.
He only vaguely heard that there were many excellent men chasing her.
If, and he was just saying if, she had remarried and had a child abroad...
To be honest, he didn't know how to face it, nor how to explain it to the child.
"Okay. Dad is also very busy at work, but he still accompanies me every day. Mom's work must be even busier, so she doesn't have time to accompany me."
"But it's okay. I'll understand Mom. Mom is the best mom in the world. I love her so much."
The little guy curled up in Qi Shifeng's arms and finally fell asleep contentedly.
But that night, Qi Shifeng hardly slept.
He kept recalling what he saw at the school gate.
After four years, that woman was still as beautiful as before. Standing in the crowd, she always caught people's attention at a glance.
Time seemed to have left no trace on her.
Her temperament was still pure, yet fatally attractive.
The way she looked longingly at the school gate made him find it a bit funny.
Wasn't she the one who left so resolutely?
She even abandoned her child and left him, who was on the verge of death, to fly away.
When he woke up from the coma, what greeted him was a broken body, a hungry child, a signed divorce agreement.
And a "big gift" she left for him, which almost sent him to prison.
Of course, this wasn't the most ridiculous part. The most ridiculous thing was that he found that he shamefully had a reaction when he saw this woman for the first time.