Shy

Su Shen pursed his lips slightly and tried to act calm. "It seems like there's a problem with the water pipes in the bathroom on the first floor. Can I borrow your bathroom for now?"

Gu Zi suddenly snapped back to reality and found herself looking at the lower half of the man's body...

She quickly averted her gaze and looked up at Su Shen, nodding earnestly. "Sure."

After she spoke, she hurriedly lowered her head.

"Thank you," Su Shen replied and stepped aside to make way.

Gu Zi walked downstairs.

She had always thought that Su Shen was very busy and would come back late, so she didn't expect him to return so early.

It was mealtime, and Gu Zi went to the kitchen to prepare noodles for Su Shen. After all, he had given her a whopping 520 yuan.

Su Shen only took five minutes to finish his shower and came down from upstairs.

He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt that was still emitting steam. His hair was wet, making his clothes damp.

He had just noticed that the entire house looked different. It seemed much cleaner than usual, with far fewer flies and mosquitoes. The things that had been scattered around were nowhere to be found, and the white floor was so clean that it reflected light.

Aunt Chu had worked for him for so long, but he had never seen the room so clean. It was probably the work of that woman.

As he followed the scent of food, he walked to the dining room and saw a white glass vase on the dining table. Inside the vase were some common wildflowers, giving the whole house an added sense of warmth.

The glass door of the dining room was closed, and the lights inside were on. He could see Gu Zi's busy figure, and somewhere deep in his heart, he softened involuntarily.

He then glanced at the sofa not far away, where the three children were sitting quietly, watching TV.

Even Lele, who used to look unkempt and dirty, was now clean and looked like a cute doll.

He looked at Lele, who was holding a piece of candy and occasionally licking it.

His gaze shifted to the coffee table beside her, where there were egg cakes, candies, biscuits, and some fruits.

He remembered that Aunt Chu had never bought these things for the children.

He used to think things were simple – as long as the children weren't hungry, it was fine. He believed that ensuring they had regular meals was enough.

That's why he didn't hesitate to spend money on Aunt Chu to buy food for the children.

However, he was perplexed by the fact that no matter what he did, the three children couldn't seem to gain weight. He even began to wonder if they were naturally predisposed to being thin.

But now, he was starting to doubt his own thoughts. Perhaps children needed to have a more varied diet, including both snacks and proper meals, to grow well.

As a man, he hadn't considered such fine details before, and he wasn't experienced in child-rearing.

That's why he had married a wife before, but he hadn't imagined that she would turn out to be so wicked and even want to harm his children.

Without a wife to help take care of the children, he had to hire someone to look after them. However, despite his efforts, the children's health remained fragile and they couldn't seem to put on weight.

"Dad."

"Dad."

The voices of Su Bing and Su Li brought Su Shen back from his reverie. He smiled and sat down on the sofa, about to speak, when he heard a sweet, childish voice.

"Daddy!"

Su Shen was momentarily taken aback, his gaze landing on the youngest, Lele, and met her smiling eyes.

Lele smiled sweetly and called out again in a childish voice, "Daddy!"

Su Shen walked over to Lele and lifted her into his arms. "Is the candy tasty?"

Lele nodded, her eyes curved like crescent moons.

Su Shen then turned his attention to Su Bing and Su Li. Their facial features bore a resemblance to his sister. Thoughts of his elder sister tugged at his heart, and he let out a quiet sigh before asking, "How are your studies going?"

Hearing Su Shen's question, the two of them instantly sat up straight.

Su Bing replied calmly, "They're going well, same as before."

Su Li's voice trembled slightly as he said, "I'm... doing okay."

Su Shen listened to their responses and offered some encouragement, telling them to study hard. He didn't quite know what else to say; after all, he wasn't sure how to communicate with these two children.

"Brother!"

"Daddy!"

Lele's sweet voice once again captured Su Shen's attention. He looked at her and then back at the two boys. "When did Lele start speaking?"

Su Bing spoke up, saying, "We're not sure either. When we came back from school, we suddenly heard Lele speaking."

Just then, Gu Zi walked out from the kitchen.