LIAH 36. Forgot the Clothes

After an entire night of fooling around, if Pei Siyin hadn’t gotten a call from Pei Zhile at eight in the morning, he could have easily slept another twenty hours.

The call connected, but Pei Siyin lay there with his eyes closed, his lips moving faintly, unable to get any sound out.

“Where are you? Hello? Hello?!” Pei Zhile pulled the phone from her ear a few times, checking the screen to confirm the call was still active.

Pei Siyin’s whole body ached. He couldn’t even lift a finger. Song Shengyang was holding him from behind and gently nudged his chin. “Your sister’s calling.”

His voice was soft, but the room was so quiet that Pei Zhile still heard it. She immediately cupped her hand over the mic to keep from screaming out loud. Beside her, Haha tugged on the hem of her dress, looking up with wide, innocent eyes.

“Mom, is Uncle coming to pick me up or not?”

Pei Zhile snapped back. “Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he?”

Pei Siyin was finally shaken awake. He opened his eyes with great effort. “Sis.”

Last night had been so intense that his voice was completely shot. Pei Zhile had clearly heard it, but she let it slide for now. There was something more urgent to deal with.

“You’re helping watch Haha today. Your brother-in-law and I both have meetings late tonight, and Mom and Dad won’t be home until much later.”

Pei Siyin stirred, a bit more awake now. He shifted in Song Shengyang’s arms and draped one leg over his waist. “Okay. I’ll come pick Haha up now.”

“Hurry. I’m about to be late for work.”

Pei Zhile hung up and immediately opened her chat with Pei Siyin to transfer 9,999 yuan.

Pei Siyin’s body was still covered in marks from the night before. His nipples were red and swollen. Just a brush from the blanket made them sting.

Once he saw what Pei Zhile had sent, he accepted the transfer in a heartbeat.

[PSY]: What’s this for? [shocked]

Pei Zhile’s profile picture was a pink lotus. She replied.

[Calm and Collected]: He came to see you, you wined and dined him. Don’t be stingy. [clap][bounce]

[PSY]: Got it, dear sister. [kiss][love you]

“What are you smiling at?” Song Shengyang asked, noticing Pei Siyin grinning in his arms.

Pei Siyin squirmed under the covers and raised his phone. “I’ve got money to treat you to something nice today.”

Song Shengyang pulled him in closer. “Then I want the most expensive thing on the menu.”

“The most expensive?” Pei Siyin laughed. “I don’t think I could even afford one of your car tires.”

Actually, saying “tire” was being modest. He probably couldn’t even afford one of the little accessories inside that car.

“Doesn’t matter. Whatever my wife treats me to, I’ll eat.”

Pei Siyin paused, then smiled and leaned in to kiss his chin. “So well-behaved.”

The two of them got out of bed, dressed, and washed up at record speed. Pei Siyin’s waist was sore and numb. He limped the whole way, relying on Song Shengyang’s massage in the back of the taxi for a solid ten minutes just to regain a bit of mobility.

The early May morning was still cool. Haha wore a blue tulle dress and was bouncing around under the trees. Pei Zhile had one hand holding her little bunny backpack and the other hand free to hold hers.

When the car stopped in front of them, Song Shengyang followed Pei Siyin out under the heat of Pei Zhile’s intense stare.

There were very few things in life that left him at a loss, but this was definitely one of them.

When he borrowed the phone, Song Shengyang had already guessed that Pei Zhile was Pei Siyin’s sister. What he didn’t expect was that she hadn’t realized the man borrowing her phone was actually her brother’s boyfriend.

“So it was you!”

“Oh! It’s the handsome uncle!” Haha let go of the milk straw in her mouth and hopped over to Song Shengyang, looking up at him. “You’re even taller than Uncle!”

Song Shengyang nodded and greeted her. “Sorry about yesterday. Thanks for letting me borrow your phone.”

To be honest, when Song Shengyang acted proper, there wasn’t a single crack in the performance. He stood tall in the shade of the trees, sunlight filtering through the clouds and stretching his shadow across the ground. Gone were the loud floral shirts, the earrings, and the tongue piercing. Just a clean, simple outfit was enough to bring out all his natural strengths. In just a few sentences, he came off as calm, refined, and mature.

Pei Zhile had wanted to dig for more gossip, but her phone rang again from inside her bag. She rushed through the call, stuffed Haha’s backpack into Pei Siyin’s arms, and waved to them both. “She’s all yours. I have to run.”

Now the three of them stood at the roadside. Song Shengyang took the bunny backpack from Pei Siyin’s arms. “I’ll carry it.”

“It’s fine,” Pei Siyin said, reaching for his arm, but stopped himself when he remembered Haha was still standing right there. So instead, he crouched down to talk to her. “Come here. Uncle will carry you.”

The little carton of milk was gone in no time. Instead of throwing herself into Pei Siyin’s arms, Haha tugged on the hand dangling at Song Shengyang’s side. He looked down and crouched beside her. “What is it?”

Haha held up one side of her blue tulle skirt, her round cheeks flushed as she tilted her head and said seriously, “Uncle, I’m really pretty. Do you want to carry me?”

Both of them froze.

Pei Siyin was the first to laugh. He patted her little hand. “He’s my boyfriend.”

Haha nodded as if she understood, and immediately corrected herself. “Uncle-in-law, I’m really pretty. Do you want to carry me?”

Even Song Shengyang couldn’t help it. He lowered his head, laughing so hard his shoulders trembled. He turned to glance at Pei Siyin, slung the bunny backpack over his arm, and freed one hand to pick Haha up. “Pei Siyin, the way she gets all enthusiastic is exactly like you.”

Like uncle, like niece.

Pei Siyin actually looked a little embarrassed for once. Walking side by side with Song Shengyang, he poked Haha’s chubby little leg. “Who taught you to say that?”

Haha clung to Song Shengyang’s neck and answered earnestly, “Mom did.”

Taking care of a well-behaved little girl was easy, and surprisingly sweet. Haha spent the entire day glued to Song Shengyang without fussing or throwing tantrums. Wherever Pei Siyin took them, the two of them just followed along. The only exception was when they passed a shop with pretty dresses. Then Haha would perk up and start asking.

“Uncle, look, pretty dresses.” She pointed at yet another children’s clothing store. This was already the third one they had stopped at.

Pei Siyin looked down at the four oversized shopping bags in his hand and refused with righteous indignation. “No. We’ve already bought way too much. You can’t wear them all.”

There were probably seven or eight dresses already. Every time Haha pointed at one and said it was pretty, Song Shengyang paid for it immediately.

“That’s not that many,” Song Shengyang said casually, already heading into the store. Compared to the cars he usually bought, these dresses really were nothing. “She’s got a birthday coming up anyway. Just call them gifts.”

Pei Siyin stopped him. “That’s what you said at every other store.”

Song Shengyang gave a light cough and glanced at Haha. “How about we go eat something good instead?”

Haha was quick to pick up on the shift. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them, then she nodded sweetly. “Okay, Uncle. Okay, Uncle-in-law.”

They had been wandering around most of the day before they finally remembered to eat.

Haha got down from Song Shengyang’s arms and grabbed both of their hands, pulling them along at a half-run until they stopped in front of a cake shop. She pointed at a little bear-shaped ice cream cake in the display case, staring at it with wide, hopeful eyes.

“You want that one?” Pei Siyin bent down. “It’s an ice cream cake. Won’t it upset your stomach?”

Haha gulped as she stared, then whispered, “Uncle, I’ll just eat a little. A tiny bit. You and Uncle-in-law can have the rest.”

Maybe it was the look on her face, or maybe it was how hard she was trying to make the “tiny bit” gesture with her pudgy fingers. Either way, Song Shengyang caved. “We’ll get a small one, but you’re only eating a little.”

“Mhm mhm mhm!” Haha nodded.

Pei Siyin couldn’t win against either of them, so in the end, he still bought the small cake to go.

By noon, the sun was climbing and the temperature outside had begun to rise. Wandering around the mall all day wasn’t really sustainable. Once Haha finished her little cake, Song Shengyang nudged Pei Siyin’s calf under the table and said, “Let’s go back to the hotel for a bit. We can head out again in the evening.”

Pei Siyin was sitting across from him when that tingling numbness crept up his calf. Startled, he quickly pulled his leg back and shot Song Shengyang a mock glare.

Getting around without a car was still inconvenient. By the time they finally hailed a ride back to the hotel, Haha had already fallen asleep on Song Shengyang’s shoulder.

He gently laid her on the bed, then closed the door to the inner room. Afterward, he grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge in the living room and returned to the sofa.

Pei Siyin sat with him, so exhausted he ended up dozing off with his arms wrapped around Song Shengyang’s arm.

“You should lie down and get some sleep,” Song Shengyang said, brushing his fingers lightly against Pei Siyin’s face. “You got up really early this morning.”

His fingertips were chilled from the fridge, still slick with condensation from the water bottle.

Pei Siyin looked up at him and murmured a faint “mm.” Song Shengyang kissed the corner of his lips, then glanced at the shut bedroom door. “I want to take a shower.”

They’d been out for hours, and he was soaked with sweat. Luckily, when they were shopping for Haha’s dresses, he’d also picked up a few outfits for himself from a nearby store. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even had clean clothes to change into.

Pei Siyin rubbed his eyes. “Okay.”

The shower didn’t take long. Pei Siyin was lying on the bed playing on his phone when he noticed the water had stopped for a while, but Song Shengyang still hadn’t come out.

“I forgot to grab clothes. Bring me something?”

His voice was quiet, like he was afraid of waking Haha. He stuck his head out from behind the bathroom door, hair still dripping wet.

Pei Siyin put down his phone, randomly grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants from one of the shopping bags they’d brought back, and padded toward the bathroom in his slippers.

The bathroom door was half open. Just as Pei Siyin reached the doorway, there was a sharp click, and the lights went out.