Luo Xianxian, five years old, casually swung her feet under the table while eyeing her beautiful mother by the kitchen counter. The sound of a knife slicing sausages against the chopping board filled the air, accompanied by Fang Ruoye's melodious hum.
Fang Ruoye was in the middle of preparing dinner for her small family. Her husband, Luo Yanming, the CEO of his small tech company, usually came back around six o'clock in the evening, just in time for dinner.
"Xianxian," Fang Ruoye turned her head and called out to her daughter sweetly. Luo Xianxian, who had one hand in the air to steal a cookie from the cooling rack, immediately retracted her hand and grinned at her mother.
"Yes, Mommy?"
Laughing heartily, Fang Ruoye picked a chocolate cookie and placed it in Luo Xianxian's small hand.
"It is close to dinner time so Xianxian can only have one cookie, alright?"
Luo Xianxian beamed at her mother.
"Yes, Mommy!" she cried out before biting into the delicious and warm chocolate cookie. The chips practically melted in her mouth.
Tonight, Fang Ruoye prepared a lavish feast consisting of fried crab meatballs, egg and clam soup, steamed grouper fish, and Yangzhou fried rice. All of them were her husband's favorite dishes.
At five o'clock sharp, the doorbell rang. Fang Ruoye wiped her hands clean and went to the door to take the cake delivery.
"Look at what just came," Fang Ruoye announced as she placed the cake box on the kitchen counter. The lid opened to reveal a lemon meringue cake, with lemon pieces artistically placed on top in a spiral pattern.
Luo Xianxian grinned as she looked at the beautifully decorated cake.
"It is Daddy's favorite cake."
"That's right. And do you know why?"
Fang Ruoye took out two birthday candles, one in the form of number 3 and the other in the form of number 0.
"Because today is Daddy's birthday!"
"Yayyyy~!"
Luo Xianxian threw her hands in the air gleefully.
One hour later, the man of the day returned from work.
Fang Ruoye took Luo Xianxian by her hand and stood in front of the kitchen counter, shielding the feast and the birthday cake behind them.
Luo Yanming walked through the door and entered the kitchen, but he was not alone. He was holding the hand of Fang Ruoye's best friend, Hong Yinling.
Luo Yanming's brows were pulled taut in tension when he looked at his wife and daughter.
"Xianxian, go to your room," he said before he even greeted his wife..
Luo Xianxian shot her mother a look. Fang Ruoye simply gave her a gentle push.
"Go now, sweetheart."
Luo Xianxian pressed her lips together and quietly left the kitchen. She walked up the staircase, but stopped at the highest step. From this angle, she could look at the adults but they could not see her.
Fang Ruoye's gaze fixed on the intertwined hands of her husband and her best friend.
She calmly took off her apron and tossed it aside.
"Welcome home, dear. You didn't mention that we were going to have a guest."
Luo Yanming's grip around Hong Yinling's hand tightened. He swallowed hard before he broke the news to his wife, "Ruoye, I want a divorce. You know that I have always wanted to have a son, and you can no longer carry a child for me. Yinling is pregnant with my child. We just came back from the hospital, and it turns out that she is carrying a son."
Fang Ruoye chuckled, a cold glint flashing through her eyes.
"A son as a birthday present. Aren't you the most considerate person in the world, Hong Yinling."
Atop the staircase, Luo Xianxian flipped open her phone and began recording a video.
"Is our marriage a joke to you, Luo Yanming? Not to mention that you cheat on me with my socalled best friend-" Luo Xianxian threw a venomous glance in Hong Yinling's direction before she continued, "you actually have the guts to show up here with your pregnant mistress. At our home."
Luo Yanming clenched his jaw.
"I know that I am wrong, but it's not like I have any other choice. You cannot give me what I want. And Yinling… Yinling just made me the happiest man in the world by carrying my son."
As if on cue, Hong Yinling began to sob like a victim she was not.
"Ruoye, please don't be angry at me. We have been friends for so many years... I didn't mean to fall for Brother Luo. He also didn't mean to cheat on you. It… It just happened."
Fang Ruoye scoffed, not bothering to hide her contempt.
Atop the staircase, Luo Xianxian rolled her eyes in disdain.
Yeah, right, as if a man and a woman could accidentally fall onto a bed and have sex with each other, as many times as needed to produce a baby. Of course it just happened.
Fang Ruoye flashed Hong Yinling a cold smile, one that sent a shiver down the other woman's spine.
"In that case, I am happy for the both of you. You two are truly a match made in heaven. One is a white snake and the other is a brown worm."
She simply did not care to point out which one of them was which slimy animal.
Fang Ruoye turned on her heels, intending to walk up the staircase to pack up her stuff and pick up her daughter, but Luo Yanming stopped her.
"Wait," he said. "Yinling's pregnancy is starting to show. I want to marry her before our son is born so no one will talk about him being an illegitimate child. Can we sign the divorce paper now? You can put anything you want in the addendum. I can give you whatever you want. This house, your car…"
Luo Yanming put down a stack of divorce papers on the kitchen counter, right next to the lemon meringue cake. Seething with anger, Fang Ruoye flipped through the pages and found the empty page for her to write down her requirements.
She grabbed a pen and began scribbling down her demands.
Afterward, she signed the last page and pushed the divorce papers toward the shameless couple.
"There you go. Happy birthday."
Luo Yanming flipped back to said page and saws that Fang Ruoye had only written a single line. All she wanted was sole custody of her daughter, nothing else.
"This… don't you want anything else?"
Fang Ruoye sneered at Luo Yanming.
"Xianxian is my everything."
Fang Ruoye's words were like a slap across Luo Yanming's face. On the other hand, Hong Yinling was secretly happy with the outcome.
Her lips curved into a smile as she sneaked furtive glances at the divorce papers. Fang Ruoye, oh Fang Ruoye, she mocked. Stupid Fang Ruoye. If she were Fang Ruoye, she would have asked for at least a house and a car. Then again, Fang Ruoye had always been emotional and impulsive. Thankfully, she decided to take away their daughter.
What a relief.
The little girl was going to be annoying otherwise.
Hong Yinling looked forward to living a comfortable life with Luo Yanming and their son. She did not want to be a stepmother to Luo Xianxian at all.
With everything said and done, Fang Ruoye left the room and headed upstairs.
When she arrived at the base of the staircase, she saw Luo Xianxian sitting at the topmost step. The little girl awkwardly waved at her.
Silently, Fang Ruoye walked up and scooped Luo Xianxian into her arms.
"Oh, Xianxian," she sighed as she planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Did you hear everything?"
Luo Xianxian nodded. "Yes, Mommy. Are we leaving?"
"Oh, yes. This house stinks like a snake lair. If we don't leave now, you and I will be eaten by snakes tonight."
Luo Xianxian giggled in her mother's arm.
Together, the mother and daughter packed up some belongings into two pieces of luggage. A big suitcase for Fang Ruoye and a small suitcase for Luo Xianxian. They deliberately left behind all the items that Luo Yanming bought for them, and only took the items that Fang Ruoye bought with her own money.
When Fang Ruoye and Luo Xianxian returned downstairs, they found the shameless couple nestling in an intimate embrace on the living room couch. They were whispering sweet nothings to each other, their faces bright like the sun.
They must be relieved to get Fang Ruoye's signature on the divorce papers this very night. Not to mention that Fang Ruoye only spouted some harsh comments and did not throw a tantrum. She probably did not want to scare Luo Xianxian.
The gentle facial expression on Luo Yanming's face drained away in an instant when he looked at his now ex-wife and daughter, both dragging their suitcases and walking toward the door.
"Ruoye, Xianxian…"
Fang Ruoye pushed the two suitcases out of the door, ignoring him completely. Luo Xianxian stopped in front of her father and gave him a distraught look that could melt even a frozen statue.
Luo Yanming left the couch and squatted in front of Luo Xianxian. He then extended his arms at his daughter, wanting to pull her into a hug.
"Xianxian, Daddy will explain everything to you later. Daddy will come to visit you soon."
Luo Xianxian, who had been staring at her father for some time, suddenly whipped up a beautiful smile. Elation spread on Luo Yanming's face, but then the little girl suddenly gave her father a vicious kick on the left shin!
Howling from pain, Luo Yanming toppled to the side, holding the spot that his daughter just kicked.
"Nooooo, Brother Luo!!!"
Hong Jinling jumped to her feet and knelt next to Luo Yanming, who was groaning from pain.
"Xian… Xianxian…" Luo Yanming winced from pain and looked at his daughter, his gaze brimming with disbelief. Did his daughter just kick him? But his daughter was usually so gentle, so nice!
"Happy birthday, Daddy!" Luo Xianxian cheerfully remarked before she bounced off the floor, following her mother outside.
"That's my girl," Fang Ruoye praised with a delighted smirk before she closed the door, thus ending a miserable chapter of her life.
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Author's note :
Hello, hello, beloved readers, welcome to another non-BL creation of mine. This novel is participating in May CQ so I hope to get your endless support so I can win, hehehe.
In accordance to the theme of the CQ, expect a lot of pampering in this novel, and a lot of faceslapping too. Enjoy!