Chapter 161: Does Mommy hate Daddy?

Chapter 161: Does Mom Hate Dad?

With Fu Cheng’s command, the entire Fu family mobilized.

Their destination this time was a seaside location, a two-hour drive from the capital.

“Dad, why the sudden urge to go to the beach?”

Fu Jingyi held Little Dumpling in his arms. It was the first time the family of five had gone out together, and even though it was past her bedtime, Little Dumpling was still wide awake.

Fu Cheng, driving in front, glanced at his daughter through the rearview mirror as she kept peering out the window. He chuckled, “There’s a meteor shower tonight.”

Fu Jingyi understood.

Feeling the squirming in his arms, he looked down at his sister and smiled, “Did you come with a meteor, Zhi Zhi?”

Zhi Zhi didn’t know what a meteor was—she only knew about stars.

There were no streetlights on the highway, and through the moonroof, the people inside the car could easily see the night sky above.

Without light pollution, the sky stretched dark and vast, with only a few bright stars occasionally visible. But as Fu Cheng accelerated, they quickly vanished from view.

“Stars!”

Zhi Zhi sat in her brother’s lap, pointing at the moonroof. “Brother, are we going to see the stars?”

Fu Jingyi gently pinched his sister’s little cheek. “Yes, let’s see if Mom will come down with the stars. That way, we won’t have to look for her.”

As he said this, his usually sharp, businesslike gaze revealed a hint of uncertainty.

Their father had adopted the three of them. Except for Si Yuan, who had seen his biological parents in early childhood, both he and Yu Chen had no memory of their birth parents.

He loved his sister and didn’t want to be separated from her.

But did that mean the three brothers would need to call that woman “Mom” too, like Zhi Zhi did?

The word “Mom” felt foreign to them.

When they were younger, they used to ask their father where their mother was.

But as they grew older, they stopped bringing it up entirely.

Thinking of the portrait of a woman he had seen in his father’s study yesterday, the tension in Fu Jingyi’s lips eased.

The woman in the portrait looked very gentle—she seemed easygoing, right?

Who would’ve thought that Fu Jingyi, the eldest son of the prestigious Fu family, could feel intimidated—and that the source of his fear would be a stranger, a woman at that.

A weight settled over the car for a moment.

Zhi Zhi quickly caught on to the meaning behind her brother’s words. She straightened her little body, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on the moonroof.

She still remembered sitting by the Milky Way with her Mom before being sent to the human world.

Her Mom had given her many instructions, and then—she had arrived in this world.

So would Mom really come with the meteors to find her?

Fu Siyuan sat nearby, propping his head up with one hand as he watched his sister gaze up tirelessly. He smirked.

He pulled her into his arms, slipped off her little shoes, and let her rest her head on his lap as she lay in the car. “Isn’t it less tiring to look at the stars like this?”

Lying on her third brother’s lap, Zhi Zhi blinked before breaking into a bright smile. “Third Brother, you’re the best!”

Fu Siyuan held his sister’s tiny hand, playing with her fingers, grinning smugly. Then he glanced up and met Fu Yuchen’s gaze from the front passenger seat.

With a teasing grin, Fu Siyuan’s triumphant expression drew a laugh from Fu Yuchen.

By the time they reached the beach, it was already past 11 p.m.

The father and sons were still full of energy, but the Little Dumpling in Fu Siyuan’s arms had long since closed her eyes, out like a light.

Glancing at his watch, Fu Cheng pointed at a beachfront villa not far away. “It’s still early. Set an alarm for 2 a.m. You’re on your own if you sleep in.”

Then he reached out toward his youngest son. “Let me hold Zhi Zhi while she sleeps. You’ve had classes all day—go rest.”

Fu Siyuan wanted to argue that he wasn’t tired and that holding his sister wouldn’t affect his rest.

But when he looked up, the warning in his father’s eyes made him freeze.

Handing his sister over, the three boys hurried off to the villa to find rooms and rest.

The sea breeze at night was strong. Fu Jingyi had the foresight to pack a knit sweater for his sister before they left, so the briny air didn’t rouse her.

This beach had once been commercial but was later purchased by a private buyer. Now it was privately maintained, off-limits to the public.

Waves crashed against the shore as Fu Cheng sat on the nearby steps, gently smoothing his daughter’s windblown hair.

“I dreamed of Mom again yesterday. She seemed to scold me for not looking after you properly.”

His voice was quickly lost to the wind, as if nothing had been said at all.

Fu Cheng lowered his gaze to his daughter’s tiny mouth and nose. Not a trace of him in her features.

His lips were thin—they say thin lips mean a cold heart. Over the years—apart from worrying about those three troublemakers at home—he truly hadn’t cared about much in this world.

But his daughter’s soft, plump lips were absolutely precious, especially when she licked them eagerly while eyeing snacks. Paired with the longing in her big eyes, you couldn’t help but melt.

Gently pinching her nose, Fu Cheng lifted his eyes to the star-strewn sky over the ocean. “Did I do something to make Mom hate me? Is that why she sent you to me instead of coming with you?”

Fu Cheng was usually a restless sleeper and rarely dreamed. Even when he did, they’d be gone by dawn.

Except for these two times.

The woman he had met in the desert when he was near death’s door—he couldn’t forget her. He had immediately had an artist draw her portrait based on his description.

The other time was last night.

In the dream, the woman said nothing. She just stared at him with reddened eyes, making his chest ache so badly he wanted to gather her close and comfort her.

But in the dream, the closer he got, the farther she drifted.

He froze, afraid to breathe, left staring helplessly.

That night was the most unbearable night in his over thirty years of life.

He didn’t even know why he had brought his daughter to see the meteor shower. As a staunch materialist, he had never believed in the concept of "realms beyond the heavens."

That morning, he had startled awake from his dream and come to the beach alone, gazing vacantly at the sea for the entire day.

He had originally planned to rest here overnight before heading back, but when he turned on the TV and saw the news about the meteor shower that evening, he acted on impulse. He mounted the only motorcycle stored in the villa and rode back to the Fu residence.

As though fate had ordained it.

The lights from the villa cast a faint glow on the sea’s surface. Fu Cheng narrowed his eyes at the glistening waves before picking up his daughter and heading back toward the villa.

‘According to meteorological forecasts, at 3:10 a.m. tonight, there will be a rare century-spanning spectacular Leonid meteor shower...’

On the first-floor TV, the early morning news was a muted broadcast of the day’s headlines.

Fu Siyuan was buzzing with excitement, rushing out of his room in a bathrobe, phone in hand, and pounding on every door down the hallway.

"Fu Yuchen, are you hibernating? Get up now! It’s three o’clock!"

"Big brother, it’s three! Wake up!"

"Dad! It’s three—the meteor shower’s coming! Get up, get up!"

In the quiet of the night, the excited voices of the young Fu brothers echoed through the only villa on the family’s private beach.

Awakened by the noise, Fu Jingyi and Fu Yuchen grabbed their phones to check the time.

2:35 a.m. There was still some time before three.

Tossing a pillow toward the open doorway, Fu Yuchen blinked his sore eyes and croaked, "Fu Siyuan, did you take speed or what?"

Despite his grumbling, he still got up, straightened up, changed clothes, and emerged scowling.

As the three brothers trooped downstairs, Fu Jingyi yawned and murmured, "Where’s Dad and Zhi Zhi?"

Fu Siyuan shook his head. "I knocked on their door. Maybe they’re still asleep. I’ll go up and rouse them again."

Just as he finished speaking, the familiar sound of gleeful giggles came from the entrance.

"Brothers! Zhi Zhi is here!"