The drunk man standing before me seemed to regain a sudden flash of clarity in his bleary eyes. He stared down at me, his voice rough and raspy, yet fiercely resolute.

“Say that again, Li Yao. I dare you.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but before a single word could slip out, Jiang Ran stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his shoulders as he dried his hair.

In that exact split second, the air shifted, and Chi You’s eyes turned lethal. A faint, bitter chuckle broke from his lips, dripping with self-deprecation.

“Two years, Li Yao. For the first two years after you left, I nearly went insane looking for you. But someone didn’t want me to find you, so no matter where I turned, every trail went cold. It wasn’t until I pretended to entertain a relationship with Song Li that my mother finally backed off, and I was finally able to track down a lead on where you were. I waited around to see how you’d come back to me… Only for you to show up with a whole—”

He broke off, taking a sharp, ragged breath, his eyes burning with a mix of raw heartbreak and pure fury.

“You made a complete fool out of me.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out. The door slammed shut behind him with a dry, heavy thud—sounding like a final gavel strike on our past.

I stood there frozen, my eyes glued to the closed door. My mind was a chaotic blur, his words echoing over and over in my head like a haunting refrain.

Jiang Ran stood in silence for a moment before stepping closer to break the tension. “Did I walk out at a bad time?”

I kept my head down, offering a faint, hollow smile. “It was just a conversation.”

Yet the way Jiang Ran was looking at me made me uncomfortable.

I turned around to head back to my bedroom, desperate to be alone with my spiraling thoughts. But before I could take two steps, he caught my wrist, his deep voice carrying a quiet warmth. “If you need to cry, just cry. He’s not here to see it.”

I gently pulled my wrist out of his grip, my voice flat and low. “I’m sorry. I just really need some peace and quiet right now.”

Stepping into the bedroom, I found Zuo Zuo sitting up in bed, rubbing his sleepy eyes with little fists. “Mommy,” he asked, his voice thick with sleep. “Who was that outside? Was it the mister who looks just like me?”

I stiffened, wanting to brush it off, but I couldn’t bring myself to lie to him.

The little guy scrambled over and wrapped his arms around me, lowering his voice as if he were afraid he’d say the wrong thing. “Mommy, was that him? Next time he comes over, can you wake me up? I like him. Mommy… my daddy isn’t really dead, is he? He’s my daddy, right?”

Looking into Zuo Zuo’s eyes—a heartbreaking mix of desperate hope and quiet fear—I was completely struck silent. As it turned out, children weren’t as naive or simple-minded as I had always assumed.

He craved a father. Every single time he watched other kids holding hands with their dads at the park, their bright, happy laughter had been a tiny thorn pressing into his heart. He had looked away and played pretend, acting like he didn’t care, but it was all just a fragile armor hiding his longing and envy.

I pulled Zuo Zuo into a tight hug, my heart heavy. I knew that what he said tonight wasn’t just a sudden whim.

After weighing my options for two full days, I asked Jiang Tian to arrange a meeting with Chi You. In the end, I laid down my terms: he could pick up Zuo Zuo and spend one day a week with him. As for whether Zuo Zuo would truly accept him as a father, that would be entirely up to my son.

When Chi You heard this, a sudden warmth lit up his eyes, and his tone instantly softened. “Thank you, Yao Yao.”

A second later, though, he paused, probing with cautious hesitation. “I know there’s nothing actually going on between you and Jiang Ran… So, what about us?”

I looked him dead in the eye, my voice firm and unwavering. “Chi You, you’re the one who said we were truly over.”

The man who had always prided himself on staying cool and collected suddenly turned flush around his ears, looking thoroughly flustered. “I only said that because I was angry!”

I didn’t offer a reply, simply turning on my heel and walking away.

From that day on, Chi You came by once a week to take Zuo Zuo out for the day. To my surprise, just two days later, Jiang Ran unexpectedly packed his bags and moved out to a new apartment, leaving Zuo Zuo and me in a home that felt more peaceful than ever.

As time ticked by, I settled into the quiet rhythm of our routine. But a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, I noticed Zuo Zuo becoming unusually quiet. He stopped his usual playful chatter, spending hours just staring absently at his pile of comic books.

I crouched down beside him, gently taking his tiny hands in mine. “Zuo Zuo, sweetheart, why the sad face?”

The little boy lowered his head, hesitating for a long moment before fat tears welled up in his big, round eyes. “Mommy, my teacher said Mid-Autumn Festival is supposed to be a family reunion…”

His words sent a sharp pang straight through my heart. I instantly understood the quiet sorrow hiding in his eyes. Smiling softy, I pulled him into my arms and rubbed his back. “As long as Mommy is here with Zuo Zuo, we’re a family reunion too.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around my neck and whispered into my shoulder, “Mommy, am I the baby you love the most in the whole world?”

I let out a soft laugh, giving a firm nod. “Of course you are. Mommy loves you the most.”

Zuo Zuo broke into a brilliant smile, a flash of cheekiness crossing his small face. From an angle where I couldn’t see, the little rascal slyly winked, as if he had just pulled off the cleverest trick in the world.