Chapter 72: Extra (Part Three)

In the early autumn, two years after moving to this secluded paradise, they had a child.

A boy.

Luo Shaoxuan’s tall figure stood at the bedroom door, quietly watching the mother and child playing happily in the courtyard.

The woman tossed the child, who was not even as tall as her thigh, up and down, the corners of her mouth curved into a brilliant smile he had never seen before. Her curved phoenix eyes gazed at the little boy with all her heart, her voice gentle as if afraid of startling him, “Qian’er, are you scared?”

“Hehehe, not scared!” The little boy waved his small hands in the air, his laughter ringing like silver bells in the morning, “Mother! Higher!”

“Alright.” Si Qingyu’s eyes were filled with indulgence and maternal love. With her words, she used more force to toss him higher, steadily catching him each time he fell.

The two were immersed in this morning’s little game, completely unaware of the extra person.

Luo Shaoxuan watched the little person being tossed up and down with an expressionless face, his hands clenched tightly under his wide sleeves, trembling slightly.

“Ziliang…”

It wasn’t until the man spoke that Si Qingyu in the courtyard turned her head to look at him, “You’re awake?” She smiled and put the child down, squatting to gently wipe the fine sweat from the child’s forehead.

She performed the series of actions naturally and skillfully.

However, Qian’er, who had been overjoyed just now, hid behind the woman with a timid look, not daring to look at his father.

Si Qingyu patted his little head with amusement, “He’s your father, what are you afraid of?” Qian’er looked up at his mother and, seeing the woman’s gentle and indulgent gaze, mustered up the courage to call out softly, “Good morning, Father.”

“Mm.” Luo Shaoxuan nodded indifferently, his demeanor not at all like what one should have when treating their own child, more like treating an insignificant person.

Si Qingyu couldn’t help but frown, “Shaoxuan, Qian’er will be scared if you act like this.” However, the man ignored her words and sat down at the stone table, his voice cold, “I’m hungry.”

Si Qingyu sighed. Every time she spoke to him, he wouldn’t listen and would change the subject.

She led Qian’er to the stone table, picked him up to sit on the stone bench, and gently stroked his little face, “Wait a moment, Mother will bring out the porridge right away.”

“Mm!” Qian’er sat on the stone bench, his short legs swinging, nodding obediently. However, as soon as he finished nodding, he saw his father sitting across from him, looking at him with a gloomy expression.

The little boy’s body trembled, and he lowered his small head.

Si Qingyu had just stood up and didn’t notice his abnormality. She turned around and gently rubbed Luo Shaoxuan’s head, “Get along well, don’t scare him.”

The man didn’t respond to her. It wasn’t until the woman’s figure entered the house that he shifted his gaze back to the little boy.

The boy’s face was like a miniature version of Luo Shaoxuan. At this moment, he was no longer as lively and cheerful as when he was in front of the woman, shrinking his head, afraid of making eye contact with the man.

“What? Do you want to show her how much you’re afraid of me with this appearance?” Luo Shaoxuan picked up a snack from the table and took a small bite, his gaze coldly glancing at him.

How could this be the way to look at one’s own child?

Qian’er timidly raised his head to look at him, his small hands nervously grasping the hem of his clothes, his voice childish and weak, “Qian’er didn’t…”

“If you didn’t, then don’t make such a disgusting appearance.” The man’s voice was bone-chillingly cold, not something a child could endure.

The little boy’s body trembled, his small head lowered, his delicate little hands wiping away tears one by one. His pitiful appearance of wanting to cry but not daring to make a sound was heart-wrenching.

The boy’s crying didn’t receive any pity from Luo Shaoxuan as his biological father. His brows furrowed slightly, revealing a sense of annoyance. His narrow, beautiful eyes glanced at the house where the woman was, and he warned coldly in a low voice, “Don’t cry!”

Qian’er’s crying was stuck in his throat, and he raised his head with teary eyes. In his delicate crying voice, there was a child’s confusion, “Why does Father hate Qian’er so much…”

Why?

Because you took away the love that should have belonged completely to him alone. Now, in addition to him, there was another person in her heart and eyes.

Even if this person was his child, he couldn’t help but feel intense jealousy in his heart.

For the past five years, Luo Shaoxuan had been regretting every moment. Why did he soften his heart and let the child be born? Now, he was even pushed out of her eyes, with all her attention focused on the child. She no longer cared about his feelings like before, and even their intimacy was perfunctory.

It shouldn’t be like this.

Luo Shaoxuan’s fingers lightly rubbed against each other as he looked at the little face that resembled him. His eyes seemed to be shrouded in a shadow, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

When Si Qingyu came out and saw the pitifully red-eyed Qian’er, her brows furrowed tightly. Without asking the reason, she blamed the man, “How did you scare him again?”

She put the porridge on the stone table and squatted down to wipe the boy’s tears with heartache, not sparing a glance at the man behind her.

Seeing someone backing him up, Qian’er’s tears fell even more, crying and whimpering.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Mother is here.” Si Qingyu hugged the boy in her arms, gently patting his back to comfort him.

At this moment, Luo Shaoxuan seemed to be a redundant figure, sitting there alone, watching this warm scene with a cold gaze. His heart was so painful that it was nearly numb, feeling empty.

He suppressed the sourness rising in his eyes and lowered his gaze, silently drinking the white porridge.

The woman never gave him another glance, giving all her tenderness and attention to the child in her arms.

“Shaoxuan?”

“Shaoxuan?”

As Luo Shaoxuan struggled to endure the sourness and pain in his heart, he was suddenly awakened by a concerned voice that seemed to come from the distant sky.

Si Qingyu looked at the man crying like a weeping willow in her arms with worry. She saw him biting his lower lip tightly, whimpering like an injured cub, curled up in her arms, shaking and crying.

Si Qingyu sat up from the bed and held the man tightly in her arms, wiping away the clear tears that kept falling from the corners of his eyes with heartache.

Her hand circled around to his back, gently patting it, whispering softly in his ear, “Shaoxuan, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

The gentle voice had a great effect. The man’s originally trembling body gradually calmed down. After his dense and long eyelashes quivered intensely, he slowly opened his narrow eyes.

Luo Shaoxuan raised his head and stared blankly at the woman’s gentle brows and eyes. His beautiful eyes were slightly red, still containing tears, and his exquisite and handsome face had a look of confusion that had not yet fully awakened.

The tenderness in Si Qingyu’s eyes deepened, and she held him even tighter. Her slender fingers gently stroked the corners of the man’s eyes, her voice so soft as if she was afraid of startling him, “Did you have a nightmare? Hmm?”

Such a gentle Si Qingyu made Luo Shaoxuan feel a sense of being in a different world. For a moment, he couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality. His fingers tightly grasped the woman’s collar, and his gaze warily swept across the bedroom.

His appearance was like a ferocious beast guarding its food.

Seeing this, Si Qingyu couldn’t help but laugh. She bent her fingers and lightly tapped the man’s clean forehead, “What’s wrong with you?”

The touch on his forehead felt so real that Luo Shaoxuan was in a daze. His jade-like hand gently stroked his forehead, and he asked the woman blankly, “Where’s Qian’er?”

Qian’er?

Si Qingyu rubbed his forehead and took his hand, kissing it to her lips, “Did you have a nightmare?”

She pulled the silk quilt higher to cover the man’s naked body and asked again, “Who is Qian’er?”

Looking at the dazed man, it seemed he had not yet awakened from the dream.

Luo Shaoxuan sat up from the woman’s embrace and lowered his head to look at the red marks on his body, which were the traces of their lovemaking.

So… Was it all just a dream?

The warmth on his face brought Luo Shaoxuan’s thoughts back. He stared fixedly at the woman who was close to him, her face full of tenderness.

Si Qingyu leaned against the bed, the back of her hand gently stroking the man’s fair and delicate face, “It was just a dream, don’t be afraid.”

Just a simple sentence of comfort made Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes turn red. The grievances in the dream seemed to materialize. He tightly clutched the woman’s inner garment with his jade-like fingers and buried his face in the crook of her neck, his nose gently nuzzling her neck.

Si Qingyu’s fingertips lightly stroked the man’s beautifully contoured back with a soothing intention, feeling his slight trembling before slowly speaking, “Were you wronged in the dream?”

It seemed so, otherwise, he wouldn’t be like this.

Sure enough, the man let out a muffled “Mm” in her neck.

“Who had the ability to wrong you like this?” Si Qingyu turned her head and planted a kiss on his forehead, continuing to ask.

“You.” Besides her, who else could influence his emotions?

“……” Si Qingyu’s face showed embarrassment. She lightly coughed and said, “Then… Then should I apologize to you?” Although she had no idea what she had done wrong.

Hearing her words, the man in her arms fell silent.

Just as Si Qingyu thought he had fallen asleep, the man’s voice gently rang out, carrying a hint of coquettishness and sweetness, “Don’t treat me like that again in the future.” Don’t ignore him like that again.

Although Si Qingyu had no idea what she had done to him in his dream, if she didn’t coax him properly now, there would definitely be no sleep tonight.

“Alright, I will definitely treat you well from now on.” The woman’s voice was filled with determination.

Having obtained her promise, Luo Shaoxuan’s mood finally calmed down completely. He leaned against her embrace, lazily yawning, and narrowed his beautiful, elongated eyes.

As Si Qingyu was about to lay him back on the bed, the man suddenly whispered in her ear, “Ziliang… Do you want a child?”

Si Qingyu, who had never thought about this question, was stunned. She looked down at him in confusion and asked in return, “Do you want a child?” She had never really considered this question before, always thinking that having a child was too distant for her.

After all, Si Qingyu had previously prepared herself for a life of solitary old age.

“If you want one…”

She wouldn’t refuse.

“I don’t want one!” Before the woman could finish speaking, Luo Shaoxuan quickly interjected.

The image of the little face similar to his in the dream flashed through Luo Shaoxuan’s mind, and a layer of gloom covered his eyes. The hand around the woman’s waist tightened.

Si Qingyu was somewhat surprised by his resistant reaction. She patted the man’s jade-like arm, signaling him to loosen his grip, “Since you don’t want one, then we won’t have one.”

Originally, coaxing him alone was enough for her to handle. The thought of having to coax two made her temples throb with pain.

“Mm!” Hearing that the woman had no particular insistence on having a child, the corners of Luo Shaoxuan’s mouth curved up sweetly. His arms loosened slightly before releasing her.

The man sat in front of her, his eyes shining as he gazed at her. His ink-black hair hung down in front, covering some of the red marks. His picturesque brows and eyes curved into a smile as he looked at her.

His beautiful eyes seemed to hold thousands of autumnal waters, and with a gentle smile, they could truly captivate one’s soul.

It made her heart tremble.

“……” Si Qingyu’s movement of pulling open the silk quilt halted. She pondered, “It’s too late. Let’s sleep soon.”

“Mm.” The man’s cheeks flushed red. He stretched out his long arms, hooked them around the woman, and leaned over to entangle with her.

Alas, she knew the night would be eventful.