Coming outside, I headed straight for where I had parked, but I heard the sound of high heels behind me. It was clearly Pei Shiyu’s footsteps, because her pace had a rhythm to it, making it easy to distinguish.

Before opening the car door, I turned back and examined her face. She had clearly made an effort to dress up today. I realized that this woman was like a fine wine, the more you looked at her, the more captivating she became. If my first impression of her was stunning, her current appearance was a completely different kind of flavor, with an independence mixed with a rare feminine charm.

Perhaps it had been too long since I had been with a woman, but suddenly my body felt like it had been injected with hot blood, and I had a physiological reaction. I immediately shifted my gaze, feeling a little ashamed of my behavior.

At the same time, I changed my mind. Since she didn't agree, I realized that my presumptuous decision was inappropriate. I immediately crouched down and said to Xiaolong, "How about we go another day? You should go home early with your aunt today."

"Why?" Xiaolong looked at me with disappointed eyes.

"No reason. When your aunt is in a better mood, she'll take you out to play."

"No, I want to go today."

I raised my head and asked Pei Shiyu in a questioning tone, "Is it okay? Just be straightforward and give me a yes or no."

"Why didn't you ask me before making a decision on your own?"

I immediately stood up. "Just answer the question."

"Did I ask the wrong question?"

"Pei Shiyu, isn't your unpredictable personality a bit out of place?"

This was the first time I called her name directly, and extremely loudly.

"I'm not deaf!"

"You're not deaf, but you're blind, unable to distinguish between kindness and malice."

"Fine, then take him to play. No need to bring him back."

Suddenly, Pei Shiyu's attitude took a sharp turn, with a sense of throwing caution to the wind. She left a harsh sentence and turned to leave.

My eyes were fixed on her back, feeling like I was being played. This was a trick I hadn't anticipated. I didn't know her intention, whether she was using another way to provoke Xiaolong into giving up, thinking he would cry and fuss without her company.

But that wasn't the case. Watching Pei Shiyu leave, Xiaolong's mood suddenly became excited, and he said with a child's innocence, "Uncle, let's go."

I looked at him beside me in disbelief and asked, "Is your aunt abusing you?"

"What's abuse?"

"Like, does she hit you or scold you?"

"No, she just doesn't let me watch TV or play on my phone."

I asked curiously, "Then what do you do at home all day?"

"Boring. She sleeps in bed and doesn't care about me, and doesn't cook."

Xiaolong listed many of Pei Shiyu's crimes in one breath. I refocused my gaze on Pei Shiyu's departing figure, and a picture immediately popped into my head, a picture of someone who had lost their passion for life.

"Doesn't your family have a nanny?"

"My grandpa scolded her and she left."

Xiaolong's words reminded me of the scene of Old Man Pei being taken away that day. He must be feeling desperate inside these past few days. That's a hardship that ordinary people don't get to experience.

I opened the car door, put Xiaolong in the back seat, and told him not to move around, because my car wasn't equipped with a child seat.

I drove out of the parking lot and saw Pei Shiyu's domineering car at the intersection. I deliberately ignored it and accelerated, but kept an eye on the rearview mirror, wanting to see if she would follow. But the heavy traffic on the road quickly swallowed my car, and it was separated from Pei Shiyu's car. I simply headed straight for the nearby arcade.

The entrance was brightly lit and had a great atmosphere. Xiaolong got out of the car and immediately became energetic. While I was still locking the door, he had already walked inside on his own. I quickened my pace to catch up with him.

The first thing we saw was the claw crane machines. He stood there watching others try to grab the dolls. Actually, this was the most boring way to play, at least for me.

I took his hand and said, "Come on, there are better games inside."

He immediately shook off my hand and asked with great interest, "Can you get me one?"

I looked at the stuffed animals inside, one of which was very ugly. Suddenly, I became interested. I quickly walked to the cashier and bought a large bag of tokens.

Xiaolong looked at the tokens in my bag and said, "I want the biggest one."

This kind of game was too easy for me. I grabbed one with every try. In no time, I had grabbed several, even the ugliest one. Xiaolong disliked it very much. He held the other ones in his arms, but didn't want that one.

"This one is for your aunt."

Xiaolong asked, not understanding, "Why? It's so ugly."

"Just give it to her."

Because it was the Lunar New Year, there were quite a few people playing here, which made for a lively atmosphere. Especially the racing game area, which was basically full, and it also attracted Xiaolong's attention. He started to get anxious, insisting on playing. I quickly pulled him back.

"Wait a minute, you can only sit down when someone leaves."

"I can't wait."

"There's nothing you can do if you can't wait. You have to line up, understand?"

I kept an eye on the surroundings. Everyone was playing enthusiastically, and no one seemed to want to leave.

We waited for more than half an hour before a seat finally opened up. Seeing his impatient look, I quickly put in a few tokens. Although Xiaolong had never played before, he had a natural talent. He moved his body with the screen and made synchronized sounds from his mouth.

After playing several games, he began to grasp some of the techniques. I stood behind him watching him play. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice behind me: "Having a lot of fun, are we?"

It was Pei Shiyu. I didn't know when she had appeared here. It felt a bit eerie. Her eyes weren't on me, but on Xiaolong.

Xiaolong didn't hear her and was still excitedly shaking his body. I gently poked his back, but he didn't even turn his head, completely unaffected, oblivious to the fact that Pei Shiyu was looking at him unhappily.

It wasn't until the game crashed that he turned around and asked me, "Put in more tokens!"

"Get down!" Pei Shiyu said in a stern voice.

Xiaolong was startled, but he didn't leave his seat. He looked at Pei Shiyu and said, "Aunt, you go home first. Uncle will take me back."

"It's good that you've played. Now you can go home."

I started to speak up for Xiaolong at this time, "He's only played for a little while. There were a lot of people just now, and we couldn't get a turn."

Instantly, she turned her anger towards me, saying something a little harsh: "Letting him play this at such a young age, are you trying to make him as unproductive as you?"

I looked at the people around me, lowered my voice, and said sharply, "Shut up, don't be so judgmental. When have you ever seen me being unproductive? Since we're here, let him play for a while longer. Next time..."

"There won't be a next time!" She interrupted me.

I didn't back down either and said, "Take him away, and never see us again!"