Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

Mu Tongrui went after the angry Sweetheart who ran into her room on the second level.
She had climbed onto her little pink bed, and sobbing under her blanket while hugging her Peppa Pig stuffed toy.
Mu Tongrui went to sit beside her bed and consoled her, “Maybe, Daddy happened to have something on Xiao Han’s the day of
your last school parental session. Sweetheart, don't cry anymore okay?”
Sweetheart angrily emerged from her blanket and sat up with her eyes red from all the crying. She looked as pitiful as an
abandoned rabbit. “Daddy prefers Xiaohan over me! I do not love Daddy anymore!”
Children are always comparing against each other unintentionally and what was more, Fu Lingye was obviously too biased this
time round. He had hurt Sweetheart thoroughly.
Mu Tongrui stretched out her arms and embraced Sweetheart. She wiped the tears off her face gently and consoled her, “Don't
cry okay? You would not be pretty if your eyes are swollen from all the crying.”
“Mu'mu, why did Daddy favor Xiaohan? He is my Daddy, is it because I am naughty?”
She knitted her brows and looked up at Mu Tongrui with her wet and baffled face. Mu Tongrui was speechless, and her heart
ached even more.
How can she answer her question? Can she tell her that it is because Xiaohan is her Daddy's son?
Mu Tongrui had to change the subject, “Didn't Daddy say that he would attend your school parental session next time?”
“That was because I was angry hence Daddy agreed! Xiaohan needed only to ask once, and Daddy immediately agreed! I asked
him several times before but he rejected me!”
Looking at the jealous Sweetheart whose tears fell with every blink of her eyes, Mu Tongrui was at loss of what to do.
She sat there pitifully, sniffing as she said, “Xiaohan has Auntie and Daddy, I do not have Mummy or Daddy.”
With that, she burst into sobs again. Tears gushed down her cheeks.
Mu Tongrui embraced in her arm. She tousled her hair and bent down to plant a comforting kiss on her pale forehead, “Even if
they do not love you, I still love you.”

“Mu'mu... do you love me the most?”
“Yes, I love you the most. Don't cry anymore, okay?”
Fu Lingye came up to Sweetheart's room and furrowed his brows at the sight of her sobbing loudly.
“Sweetheart, Daddy do not mean it, Of course, Daddy loves you the most.”
Sweetheart pouted and further curled up to hide into Mu Tongrui's arms, “Humph, I do not love Daddy. Daddy, go away!”
Fu Lingye did not turn up for Sweetheart's school parental session all along was entirely because Old Master Fu wanted to go.
Old Master Fu preferred granddaughters all along and on top of that, Sweetheart was obedient and adorable right from the start,
thus Old Master Fu had doted on her the most. Furthermore, with his own busy schedule, Sweetheart was mostly taken care of
by old Master Fu.
Old Master Fu, ever since his retirement from his military career, was only preoccupied with 3 things now- keeping his fishes as
pets, playing chess, and taking care of his granddaughter. He often brought Sweetheart to visit his old veteran friends.
But never had Fu Lingye imagined that this would lead Sweetheart to think that he did not love her.
Fu Lingye sat down on her bed, and explained to her patiently, “Daddy did want to attend your school parental session last time,
but Grandpa wanted to go. Daddy could not reject Grandpa since he doted on you so much. As for your brother, he does not
have a father since young but he has been telling everyone in his class that I am his father. So, if I do not turn up, he will be very
embarrassed. You do not want to see your brother being sad right?”
Sweetheart rubbed her nose, and burst into fresh sobs again. Rubbing her eyes, she wailed, “I do not want to make my brother
sad.... but I do not want to share Daddy with him!”
Mu Tongrui frowned, and could not help but cut in, “Fu Lingye, Sweetheart is very sad already. Must you force her to make a
stand now?”
Coaxing kids was never Fu Lingye's forte. Sometimes, women understood kids better. Just like Mu Tongrui, she obviously was
better at coaxing kids better than he was.
“Sweetheart, what Daddy meant was he would very much like to attend your school parental session but Grandpa also would
like to go. So, Daddy had to give up his place to Grandpa. But Grandpa did not want to attend your brother's school parental
session, so Daddy had to attend.”

With Mu Tongrui's explanation, Sweetheart stopped crying indeed. She rubbed the tears off her cheeks and asked, “Then does
Daddy love me or brother the more?”
Fu Lingye assured her affectionately, “Of course it is you. Daddy loves you the most.”
Sweetheart was skeptical. He took a remote control and switched on the television on the wall. It played a video of how he took
care of Sweetheart in the past.
Mu Tongrui's and Sweetheart's gaze were fixed on the video. In it, Fu Lingye seemed to have just returned home from work, and
was still in his suit when he carried the baby in his hand. He was feeding her from the milk bottle patiently, oozing with fatherly
love.
The video was long, and contained the scenes when Sweetheart first greeted him Daddy; when she first learnt how to walk;
when she first attended school and all other important moments. The man behind the video recorder was none other than Fu
Lingye.
Mu Tongrui was surprised. I have always thought that Fu Lingye prefers boys to girls, but judging from the video, perhaps I have
misunderstood him?
The man in the video was totally different from the man she knew. Who would have thought that such a doting father in the video
can be so ruthless in business?
With a faint smile, Fu Lingye said, “When Sweetheart was before 2 years old, it was Daddy taking care of you almost every day.
After you attended kindergarten and learnt how to talk or walk, Grandpa then started to take care of you.”
Old Master Fu had gotten so accustomed to taking care of Sweetheart that he refused to let go, and Fu Lingye had gradually
shifted this responsibility to him.
Sweetheart pouted and threw herself into the arms of Fu Lingye, “Daddy, I love you! I was only trying to annoy you just now!”
Fu Lingye smiled and hugged Sweetheart gently. He lowered his head to kiss her forehead and mumbled, “I love you forever.”
Mu Tongrui's heart melted at the sight before her.
Sweetheart cupped Fu Lingye's cheeks with her little, dirty hands, and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek. She turned to Mu
Tongrui and planted another kiss on her face with her arms wrapped around Mu Tongrui's neck.

Looking at them with bright eyes, she declared, “Daddy, I do not want to sleep alone tonight, I want to sleep with you and Mu'mu!
I want to sleep between both of you!”
Fu Lingye was startled, “Sweetheart, my bed and quilt are not big enough.”
However, Sweetheart was a smart girl and immediately replied with glee, “I am very, very small and will not take up much space
on the bed nor the quilt!”
Mu Tongrui was delighted. With Sweetheart between them, this man would not have the chance to hug or touch her, and still
claimed that she was the one to seduce him. Seduce him!
“Sweetheart is so upset tonight, you should make it up to him!”
He stared at her with a long face, until Mu Tongrui felt guilty.