Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 57 I've been waiting for you

More than half an hour had passed by the time I got home after evening self-study.

Liu Songyan sat down at the dining table, his gaze returning to the clock.

The empty dining table in front of them was proof that the children who had returned home had not yet eaten.

The boy was lost in thought, while the bored girl lay sprawled on the table.

Every now and then, he would kick his calves high, and turn his face slightly to the side while lying on the table.

Speaking broke the tranquility of the home.

Why isn't Daddy back yet?

Liu Wanqiu asked her silent brother beside her.

Hearing the question, Liu Songyan turned around and looked at his sister, asking again.

Are you sure the bookstore will be closed when you go there at noon?

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."

"That's strange..."

At noon, after school let out, Liu Songyan, along with Chi Jinhe from the next class, prepared to go to the bookstore for lunch as usual.

Before the two of them even left the school gate, they ran into the younger sister who had just returned from outside the school.

I learned about the bookstore's closure from my younger sister, Liu Wanqiu.

Although he was not notified in advance, Liu Songyan still chose to have a meal at the school cafeteria.

When we passed the bookstore after school, it was still closed, so the siblings went home one after the other.

I thought my father was temporarily closing the shop for a break due to some reason.

Unexpectedly, they were still nowhere to be found after returning home.

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already 21:35 p.m.

After finishing his thoughts, Liu Songyan immediately got up.

I walked towards the door and changed out of my indoor slippers.

This action by her brother caused Liu Wanqiu, who was lying down, to immediately stand up.

"What are you going to do?"

"Go find someone."

"Where to find it?"

"Let's go check out the neighborhood first."

After a brief response, Liu Songyan, having changed his shoes, made as if to push open the door.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind his younger sister at home.

"I have the key with me. Don't open the door if someone knocks."

"it is good……"

"Wait at home."

As he turned to give his instructions, Liu Songyan suddenly pushed open the door.

The security door in front of him had just opened when he heard a familiar exclamation.

"I rely on!"

"..."

"dad?"

Hearing the noise, the boy quickly looked towards the stairwell.

Seeing her father carrying bags at the door, and realizing he had arrived home safely, she finally felt relieved.

"Don't open the door so hard next time, you almost hit me."

The father's words reached the boy's ears. Liu Songyan, who was still in the room, watched his father enter.

"I brought back lunch. Take it to the kitchen and put it in a bowl."

The hand holding the bag reached out, and Liu Songyan, bewildered, took it and looked at his father.

Seeing Liu Changcun change into slippers and about to go inside.

Why aren't you going yet?

"Go here."

Liu Songyan responded and changed his shoes again.

Although she was curious about where her father had gone after he left the bookstore during the day, it was clearly not the time to ask him.

Seeing his son head to the kitchen, Liu Changcun, who had just entered the house, also sat down at the dining table.

He haphazardly rubbed his daughter's head, and only stopped with a grin when she raised her hand to resist.

Looking at Liu Wanqiu, who was pouting and smoothing her hair, Liu Changcun, as her father, asked.

"How was the lunchbox at noon? I specially added braised chicken legs to make it a little more substantial for you guys."

"My brother, my crybaby sister, and I ate lunch at the school cafeteria."

"Eat in the cafeteria? Why not go to the bookstore?"

"It's because Dad, you weren't at the store."

Liu Wanqiu had just straightened her hair, which her father had messed up, when she heard that chicken legs had been prepared in the lunchbox for lunch. She couldn't help but complain a little, as she hadn't gotten any.

Liu Changcun, who was sitting at the table, was taken aback after hearing this, and then asked another question.

"Didn't you go next door to get the key?"

Which neighbor?

"It's the flower shop next door. I left the bookstore key in the flower shop."

"How would I know..."

Originally just feeling resentful, Liu Wanqiu suddenly felt a pang of regret upon hearing that the flower shop next door had a key.

After tasting the boxed lunches prepared by my father, I found the school cafeteria food utterly unpalatable.

As a result, she didn't eat much today.

They're still hungry.

Liu Songyan, who had gone to the kitchen, came out carrying two rice bowls. The rice bowls his father had brought home were still steaming hot.

Upon seeing dinner being served, Liu Wanqiu, who had just been complaining, suddenly had her eyes light up.

He took the rice bowl and immediately picked up his chopsticks to start eating heartily. Liu Songyan also sat back down at the table.

While he was in the kitchen, he overheard the conversation outside and learned that his father had left the store keys at the flower shop.

Unlike his sister, who seemed to have no brain, he, as the older brother, clearly considered things much more.

"Did you give the key to Ning Mengyao?"

"..."

"Aunt Ning."

Seeing that his father was not speaking but just staring at him, Liu Songyan wisely changed how he addressed him.

"We didn't know she had the key, and since the bookstore was closed after school, we went straight home."

Liu Changcun felt somewhat helpless at his son's explanation.

In the rush of the day, I forgot that the children didn't know the key was at the flower shop.

The problem lies with him as the father, so there's no reason to blame the children for not eating the boxed lunches.

Considering it's summer now, even if the boxed lunch is well-sealed, it would spoil after a whole day.

To avoid the bookstore smelling like rotten food tomorrow.

He had only been sitting down for a short while when he got up from his seat again.

He went to the coffee table drawer to retrieve the bookstore's spare key, then turned to his children who were having dinner and said...

"I'll go to the store and bring the boxed lunches home. You two eat first, then go wash up and go to bed."

"Dad, I'll go with you."

"You eat first. I'm not senile, I won't get lost."

Hearing his son's clearly concerned words, Liu Changcun was at a loss for words, feeling both amused and exasperated.

He waved to the brother and sister, changed his shoes, and left home again.

----------

22:04
As the hours approached midnight, almost all the shops near No. 16 Middle School were closed.

Only the flower shop was still lit up, illuminating the surrounding dimly lit streets.

In the store.

Ning Mengyao sat in the rest area in front of the stage, examining the keys in her hand.

She waited all day, but the children of the bookstore owner next door never came to pick it up.

When she got out of school in the evening, she, who was not supposed to leave the flower shop, deliberately ran out and stood there for a long time.

I didn't spot the brother and sister from the bookstore next door among the group of children leaving school.

It was long past time to leave work.

Normally, Ning Mengyao would prepare to close the store before nine o'clock.

But today, she remains steadfastly at her post.

It was simply to personally return the preserved key to its owner.

He looked away from the keys and gazed outside the store again.

Ning Mengyao had repeated this action countless times, but the owner of the key had never appeared.

The keychain in his hand had a small pendant.

It's probably a puppy character from some cartoon, with its tongue sticking out and big, bright, sparkling eyes.

The hand holding the keys remained still, while the free hand quietly moved closer to the pendant.

Gently wiggle it with your fingertips.

The puppy hanging on the key swayed as it went.

"hey-hey."

She chuckled softly; it was rare for Ning Mengyao to laugh out loud when she was alone.

Looking at the keychain, she suddenly felt for some reason that the cartoon dog looked a bit like the owner of the bookstore next door.

It looks a bit fierce, but it's actually very cute.

The little tongue sticking out, and those big cartoon eyes.

Someone who usually seems so serious would actually like a keychain that only kids would like.

My fingertips kept fiddling with it, watching the pendant sway in front of my eyes.

A smile appeared on Ning Mengyao's face.

Until... the flower shop door was pushed open from the outside.

"I see the lights are on in the shop... Why aren't you off work yet?"

The man's voice rang out as the glass door was pushed open.

This startled Ning Mengyao, who had been fiddling with the pendant, and she hurriedly took the key away.

Clutching it tightly, hidden in front of the stage.

But their gaze followed the sound.

It took her a while to come to her senses when she saw the figure stride into the store and walk to the front of the counter.

"You're here~"

"You're still at get off work? You haven't been waiting for me, have you?"

Upon hearing Ning Mengyao's response, Liu Changcun's expression suddenly changed.

He stood before the stage and looked at the figure sitting in front of him.

"He's really stubborn and doesn't know how to be flexible."

"..."

The smile that hadn't yet faded from Ning Mengyao's face froze, and she was about to speak when the other person interrupted her.

After realizing what had happened, he wasn't angry at all.

He raised his hand and handed over the keys.

“Mr. Liu… it’s not that I don’t know how to be flexible.”

Ning Mengyao gently placed the keychain on the table, a smile on her face, watching the figure who had rushed over late at night.

"Instead, you must keep your promises."

(End of this chapter)