As soon as the words came out of Ren Jia's mouth, Ren Ye's eyes dilated and he quickly turned to look at his daughter with frightened eyes.
Little girl, you surely don't want to add fuel to the fire…
Jing Xue tightly closed her eyes before slowly opening them and swiping them across Ren Ye's face, Ren Ye seemed to be in utter shock.
Ren Jia pulled her Papa's sleeves repeatedly as she raised her head and looked up to him with her glossy eyes, suddenly warming his cold exterior.
"Papa, be nice to Mama."
"…"
Her eyes seemed to have an effect on him as it made him completely helpless against her wishes, Ren Ye didn't speak as he grabbed the fork and knife.
He quickly sliced a delicate piece of meat and held it up awkwardly, Jing Xue's mouth pursed tightly. Her eyes seemed to be staring daggers at him.
"Mama, open your mouth! Ah!"
The little girl acted as she opened her mouth and asked her Mama to imitate her action, pulling her skirt gently and gesturing for her to watch her.
Jing Xue humphed quietly and thought to herself, "It's better if your Papa kneels before me and asks me for my apology."
Although she thought of it this way, it was merely to vent her anger and frustration at Ren Ye for his attitude.
Ren Ye still held up the fork awkwardly, waiting for her to respond. It would be alright if it was a rejection and it would also be alright if she accepted his offer, Ren Ye wanted this to be over with.
Jing Xue pursed her lips tightly and forcibly opened her mouth in a strange way, nibbling on the meat.
Ren Ye's meat was swiped away quickly by a twirl of her tongue, and much of the meat juices spilled on her lips, much to Ren Ye's pleasure.
Ren Ye sighed in relief.
"Mama, what do you think of the meat?" Ren Jia asked her Mama happily.
"Disgusting," Jing Xue replied with a deadpan expression as she chewed on the meat.
"…"
Ren Ye coughed awkwardly and was going to continue to eat by himself, Ren Jia suddenly came over and whispered into his ears.
"Papa should feed Mama more. Mama doesn't look happy and the only person who makes Mama happy is Papa."
Ren Ye raised his eyes and looked at Jing Xue, who was elegantly eating her meal before lowering his eyes casually.
Ren Ye cut up the meat into cubes and offered them to Ren Jia's mouth, who nibbled on them continuously. Ren Jia strolled playfully, leaving her Papa's embrace to go to her Mama.
"Mama, why don't you feed Papa as well? Papa already fed you, it is your time to feed him!"
"…"
Sometimes, Ren Ye wonders what goes on inside this little brain of hers, always managing to provoke the both of them.
Jing Xue elegantly nodded her head and cut a piece of broccoli on her plate. Her eyes dimmed significantly as she raised them in front of his face, and Ren Ye's face turned dark.
Inexplicably, an invisible smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Is she doing this to me on purpose?" Ren Ye thought bitterly as his gaze lowered, "She knows I hate broccolis!"
Old Yi chuckled inside his head as he remarked, "What a fierce woman, she isn't letting you off this time for insulting her."
"I didn't insult her, I was just expressing my honest thoughts," Ren Ye refuted calmly.
"It may seem like that but to her, she took it rather personally," Old Yi hummed meaningfully, "You know a woman is at her scariest when her beloved disregard her opinion."
"…"
"You did exactly just that. She took you here to a nice restaurant and everything, your 'truth' hurt her more than what action could," Old Yi commented.
"There are times you know what you should and shouldn't say. Being inside your body and listening to your thoughts everyday, I believe you are rather undeveloped in socializing as a human."
"…"
Old Yi was rather frank with him. His words were merely his thought and opinion, he didn't care if Ren Ye took offense to them anyway.
"Next time, be mindful of your words and actions."
Ren Ye sighed gloomily with dull eyes and nodded his head.
Jing Xue waited for Ren Ye to eat the broccoli she offered patiently, her eyes were glued to him.
"Papa, open your mouth! Ah!" Ren Jia was the most excited in this room while the tension inside room remained high.
Ren Ye forcibly opened his mouth and ate the broccoli with a dull expression, he frowned as he endured the taste of them.
Jing Xue patted her hands on the towel as though she was finished feeding her horses and cleaning the dirt off her hands.
"…"
If Ren Jia could read through their body language and the tension, she would be utterly speechless at her parent's attitude toward each other.
"I'm sorry," Ren Ye said after swallowing the last bits of broccoli.
"I know," Jing Xue replied gently.
"…"
Jing Xue didn't speak after a very long time, Ren Jia had to break the silence by coughing after choking on the glass of water. She had been chugging it too much.
Jing Xue immediately shot up from her seat and took a towel to help her, her face remained calm and steady.
Ren Jia coughed repeatedly as tears slipped out of the corner of her eyes, Jing Xue was extremely anxious and looked toward Ren Ye for help. Ren Ye rushed over and patted her on the back.
"Jia'er, don't drink too much at once," Ren Ye said gloomily.
Ren Jia nodded her head whilst coughing inside her Mama's arms, Jing Xue poked her against the temples and rubbed her head back and forth.
Ren Ye's eyebrows furrowed with pity as he gestured to Jing Xue, gesturing silently with his eyes to let him hold Ren Jia instead while she clean off the spilled liquid.
Jing Xue shook her head and held Ren Jia closer to her, glaring at Ren Ye fiercely.
"…"
I was only trying to help her…
Ren Ye thought helplessly and gradually got up, taking the spare towel and cleaning off the mess on the floor. After finishing, he came closer to Jing Xue's side and sat there for an extremely long time.
Ren Jia's eyes began to grow drowsy as she slept on her Mama's lap, accompanied by the gentle caress on her temple.
Ren Ye rubbed them comfortingly as he curled his lips into an indifferent smile.
"I'll pay for the meal," Ren Ye sat up and grabbed the receipt, taking out his loaded wallet. Jing Xue didn't speak as her eyes watched him. Instead of fighting to pay the bill, Jing Xue chose to bite her lower lips and allow this man to do whatever he want.
Since his words were always on her mind after they fought.
Ren Ye swiftly paid the bill and thought to himself with a smile, "Surely enough, I still have a lot left!"
Ren Ye raised his eyes and laid them on the haughty woman in front of him, "Let's go home."
-
In the car, it was rather quiet and peaceful.
Ren Ye nor Jing Xue spoke as they sat separate from each other, Ren Ye raised his eyes every once in a while to watch her but Jing Xue looked out the window desolately.
He sighed helplessly and drove to her house.
Ren Jia was drooling in her sleep on Jing Xue's lap, the little girl was gripping her hand tightly as she seemed to mumble something in her sleep.
"I…drew…Mama…and…Papa…a…picture…"
"…"
The quiet whisper caught Ren Ye's attention as he paid attention to what Jing Xue was doing, Jing Xue's eyelashes trembled slightly and loosened her fist to reveal a folded piece of paper.
Ren Ye's eyes gleamed with light.
Jing Xue unfolded the paper slowly and didn't wait to check Ren Ye's direction as her focus was on the picture she drew. She unfolded it with her heart out as she laid her eyes on the picture.
Although the picture wasn't like the ones she saw back at home in Paris, the artist still held a soft spot in her heart. Jing Xue visioned this picture deep inside her heart.
The picture wasn't impressive to her, who has met and was friends with many artists but for a child, it could only be said the child must have had years of training with drawing.
It was of them together, one happy family.
Jing Xue pursed her lips and looked at Ren Ye, meeting his hidden gaze in the open air.
Ren Ye was slightly embarrassed after getting caught staring, he didn't take his gaze off hers as he watched those eyes, eyes he loved to stare into and get lost in them, slowly becoming crimson.
Ren Ye pursed his lips and said in an uncomfortable tone, "That girl is an extremely talented artist."
His words were spoken in the least suitable mood but Jing Xue understood the meaning behind his words as she nodded her head and agreed.
"Yes."
She slowly folded the paper into a small fold before putting them inside her bag, keeping it to herself. While doing so, Jing Xue didn't want to show Ren Ye the picture.
Inside her head, she was already competing against him in who will get the most pictures of their daughter and who will treasure them the most.
Ren Ye curled his lips into a smile, noticing she was protectively keeping it to herself. He nodded his head and chuckled quietly, knowing too well what she was trying to do.
He arrived at her villa and got off while helping her carry Ren Jia, Jing Xue followed behind him as she suddenly stopped in her tracks and mumbled quietly.
"Are you going to stay here?"
Ren Ye stopped stiffly.
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