After finishing breakfast, Xu Miaotong slumped lifelessly into Wen Ning's arms, her lips poked out almost to the sky.
She looked as angry as a puffed-up pufferfish.
Though nobody knew exactly what she was mad about.
Wen Ning felt somewhat awkward. The little girl's misanthropic morning mood was truly no different from her biological mother's.
Especially right after waking up.
Characterized by restlessness, irritability, emotional instability, and other unfavorable emotional states.
She looked ready to unleash a full set of military calisthenics on the Pleasant Goat playing on the television.
"Tongtong, aren't you happy to see Mommy?"
Wen Ning still wanted to coax her. "With your lips poked out so high, you're not pretty at all."
"Not happy."
Xu Miaotong forcefully buried her head in Wen Ning's embrace. "Mommy disturbed my sleep."
Wen Ning pursed her lips, her mood inexplicably feeling a bit stifled.
The back of her neck suddenly burned, as if reacting a beat too late.
Tongtong's current state was an exact replica of how she herself felt when woken up by an alarm clock.
And Xu Yan saw all of this.
"I told you, this little girl has a huge temper in the morning."
Xu Yan gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "No idea who she learned it from."
Wen Ning's expression froze for a moment.
After a long while, she tightened her voice and said coolly, "Then make a note of it. When you look for a wife in the future, make sure you never find one with morning sickness."
"Deal."
Xu Yan lowered his head to organize his schoolbag. "From now on, I'll set a family rule: whoever dares to take their morning temper out on me gets spanked."
Wen Ning let out a cold snort. "Tongtong, Daddy says he's going to spank you."
Xu Yan immediately denied it. "I wouldn't dare spank Tongtong."
"..."
Then who were you planning to hit?
Wen Ning found this guy's lazy demeanor exceptionally punchable.
About half an hour later, Xu Miaotong finally recovered from her waking state.
Her temper came quickly and went just as fast. Lying in her mother's arms, she giggled and laughed endlessly.
When the little girl smiled, two deep dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look even more adorable and making Wen Ning's hands itch.
Unable to resist, she reached out to poke her cheek, teasing Tongtong.
Xu Yan squatted beside the coffee table, packing up the video game console and scattered discs and putting them into his schoolbag.
"You two play for a bit longer. I'm heading out for a while, I'll be right back."
With his backpack on, he explained, "I arranged to meet my aunt this afternoon. Take Tongtong out to buy some clothes this morning; you're a girl so you should be better at picking them out."
Wen Ning was slightly stunned. "Where are you going?"
"To sell the console and discs."
As Xu Yan put on his shoes by the doorway, he replied casually, "The college entrance exam is coming up soon, I don't have time to play. Better cash in while they're still worth something."
Wen Ning didn't know much about boys' electronic products and rarely had contact with video games.
So hearing his words, she didn't think much of it.
Soon, the sound of the door closing echoed through the room.
Only the mother and daughter were left in the living room.
And it wasn't until this moment that Wen Ning belatedly realized something.
"Tongtong... does Daddy really like playing games?"
"He likes it so much."
Tongtong gave a milky nod and answered innocently, "There are so many game consoles at home, and Daddy uses a towel to wipe them down several times every day! Tongtong loves sitting in Daddy's lap watching him play games!"
Wen Ning looked at the empty coffee table and said nothing.
Sure enough, it was for Tongtong.
Even though it was something he clearly loved, he deliberately put on a casual front right in front of her.
Wen Ning had never truly understood him.
She had never understood this boy she had met years ahead of time—the boy she might fall in love with in the future.
Because of her mother's early death and an unhappy new household, Wen Ning had always maintained a rather detached attitude toward relationships.
She never felt she could passionately like anyone.
Because of her stepmother and stepsister, she didn't expect anyone to love her deeply either.
But right now, Wen Ning suddenly felt...
Regardless of her current attitude toward Xu Yan.
At least in Tongtong's world, Wen Ning must have truly, deeply loved Xu Yan.
She deeply loved a boy who was sensitive yet slightly awkward due to a touch of machismo.
Thinking of this, she gently pinched her daughter's little cheek. "Tongtong, in the future when you wake up in the morning, don't be mad at Daddy anymore, okay?"
Hearing her mother's words, Tongtong's little face scrunched up.
She didn't want to be mad at Daddy either; Daddy was the best daddy in the world.
But waking up in the morning was just so annoying, so annoying.
Especially when Daddy had to go out early and had to wake her up for breakfast.
"Then, Mommy and Tongtong can pinky promise."
Xu Miaotong extended her little pinky. "From now on, even if waking up in the morning is super super annoying, neither Tongtong nor Mommy will be mad at Daddy."
Wen Ning was taken aback.
Her mood suddenly turned somewhat subtly complex.
Hearing Tongtong put it this way, her future self must have frequently taken her morning temper out on Xu Yan as well.
After a long moment, she finally extended her finger and hooked it with her daughter's.
Xu Yan's trip out really didn't take long; in less than half an hour, he was back.
He hung the now-empty backpack on the rack and looked at the mother and daughter sitting on the sofa watching TV. "What were you two talking about?"
Hearing his voice, Wen Ning and Xu Miaotong turned their heads at the same time.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Xu Yan suspiciously touched his cheek. "Is there something on my face?"
"It's a secret, Daddy!"
Xu Miaotong jumped down from the sofa and threw herself into his arms.
The little girl's watery, bright eyes blinked rapidly. "Tongtong and Mommy just made a pinky promise—not to change for a hundred years!"
Xu Yan looked at Wen Ning.
"Yeah, a secret."
Wen Ning averted her gaze, the back of her neck inexplicably burning hot again. "Can't tell you."
For some reason, Xu Yan felt that this campus belle Wen seemed a bit unnatural.
"You need to keep track of all the money spent on Tongtong."
"Fine."
Xu Yan paused, deciding not to pry further. "Let's go. We'll buy Tongtong some clothes first, then go see my aunt this afternoon."
Wen Ning knew how to braid hair, and it took her about ten minutes to style Tongtong's hair into two pretty little braids.
After that, the three of them finally headed out together.
Xu Yan picked the nearest shopping mall, walking ahead with his phone in hand, checking the balance on Alipay.
The console and game discs were in excellent condition, fetching a total of over three thousand yuan.
That should be plenty for living expenses; even after buying clothes for Tongtong, a lot would be left over.
Still, Tongtong would definitely need to start school later on.
Calculating things in his mind, he remained somewhat silent.
Meanwhile, Wen Ning walked behind holding Xu Miaotong's hand, her expression unusually soft.
Seeing her daughter's happy appearance, her own mood lifted inexplicably.
This pair of tall and short beauties walking down the street naturally drew a lot of attention.
Wen Ning had put some effort into her outfit today; her legs in jeans were straight and slender, making her look much more youthful and vibrant than usual.
That clunky blue-and-white school uniform had truly sealed away her looks to a certain extent.
However, what Wen Ning never expected was to run into an acquaintance early on a weekend morning.
And worse, it was the exact person she least wanted to run into right now.
As she held Tongtong's hand, she heard a female voice call out from not far behind: "...Wen Ning?"
The voice was very familiar, carrying its habitual sweet coo.
Wen Ning stiffened slightly and turned around.
She saw a group of junior high school girls, dressed flashily, each holding a cup of milk tea.
Wen Qiong stood right in the middle of them, wearing a light green pleated skirt.
Her looks were the striking, sweet kind, and far from low-key; she even wore a light layer of makeup, making her stand out brilliantly among the group of girls.
Only, her expression showed clear confusion.
Especially when she saw Tongtong holding Wen Ning's hand and Xu Yan standing beside them, her smile slowly faded.
"Qiongqiong, do you know them?"
The girl beside her asked in surprise.
Such a pretty girl—her pure looks belonged strictly in magazines.
Yet her eyes gave her an exotic, captivating allure, the kind of appearance that made other girls envious.
"..."
Wen Ning lowered her gaze and said nothing.
She only tightened her grip on Tongtong's hand slightly.
"My sister."
Wen Qiong frowned. "Though we don't have the same mom."
But didn't she tell Mom this morning that she was going to study at the library...