That night, Feng Tianyi waited for Tang Moyu and her children to arrive, to discuss the clauses of their contract. However, as soon as he opened the front door of his apartment, two scowling little buns threw themselves on his lap and ignored their mother who had a deep frown on her beautiful face.
"What's up?" He asked. Did the twins give Tang Moyu a hard time again? He wondered. He looked at the twins who were sticking to both his sides, refusing to look at their mother.
Feng Tianyi welcomed them inside and let Tang Moyu take a seat on the couch. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave her children a pointed look, as if telling them to behave.
"Now, now. Can someone tell me what just happened?" Feng Tianyi asked. He couldn't understand why the mother and twins were against each other.
Tang Moyu took time to explain what had happened before they arrived. From the tantrums both the little buns had thrown as soon as she reached home, up to refusing to eat their dinner until she agreed to meet him tonight.
Feng Tianyi found it a little hard to believe that he was the reason for their tantrums. Wasn't Tang Moyu overestimating his influence over her children?
He glanced at Tang Moyu's face with a cold countenance, trying to see if she was joking, but clearly she wasn't. By the way she narrated what had happened, it made him feel that it was all his fault.
He rubbed his temple and regarded the twins who had already slipped down from his lap and stood stiffly on his side.
"Xiao Bao, Little Star, did you really break all of those things back at home just because you thought your mother wouldn't bring you back here?"
The twins nodded simultaneously in response, while Little Star gripped his shirt and Xiao Bao refused to meet his gaze.
Feng Tianyi frowned.
"Did you know that what you did to your mother isn't right?"
Xiao Bao and Little Star lowered their heads, ashamed of what they have done. Feng Tianyi then realized why Tang Moyu was so strict towards her children. Since she had no one to share the burden of raising them, these little devils were spoiled to death by their nannies and aunts.
"I'm telling you now, what you have done isn't good. I didn't think that the little buns who wanted to take care of me were this naughty to their own mother. You shouldn't do it again in the future, alright? Or else I wouldn't want to see you visiting me again."
"No!" Little Star whined as she lifted her head to look at her Uncle Ji. "Little Star will behave from now on. Please don't drive us away, Uncle Ji." She said and wailed beside her brother.
Xiao Bao's lips quivered and his fist clenched on his side.
"It's my fault. I'll listen to Mommy and Uncle Ji now. Please don't leave me and Little Star." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
Tang Moyu watched them, speechless on how easy it was for her children to listen to Qin Jiran when she was having a hard time to discipline them. Although her children tend to be naughty at times, when they promised something, they would try their best to keep their word.
It was hard for her to believe that her little buns would listen to and behave simply with a simple word from a stranger. She had tried to correct their bad habits on multiple occasions, but failed. And now, Little Star and Xiao Bao were so obedient, without effort! This… she couldn't understand anymore.
Qin Jiran's influence over her children was greater than what she'd assume it to be. Tang Moyu wasn't sure if she should be happy about it or not since it was her children who were involved this time.
They rarely throw tantrums, but when they do, they make a destructive scene. Tang Moyu pitied Auntie Lu and the three maids she'd left back home to clean the mess her children left, once they're awake in the morning.
"So you mean to tell me the three of you haven't had your dinner yet?" Feng Tianyi asked Tang Moyu, who shook her head in response. She was planning to order a takeout for dinner, since it was already past seven in the evening.
'Great.' Feng Tianyi could feel a headache coming his way. Had he known that this would happen, he would've cooked more for dinner earlier. He was expecting to meet Tang Moyu tonight, without the twins, to close their deal and hadn't expected that they would tag along with her.
"Give me an hour. I'm sure the twins are already starving by now." He said with his face full of disapproval of the twins' behavior earlier, but Tang Moyu refused his offer this time.
"Don't bother, Mr. Qin. We'll just have takeout for tonight." Tang Moyu said as she gave her children a glance, telling them to behave or they would leave.
She pulled out her phone from her coat and checked the food delivery app. With a few clicks, she was able to place her order while Qin Jiran continued to discipline her children.
She should feel bad and offended by Qin Jiran's interference, but lately, she'd been feeling restless and exhausted arguing with her twins.
There was rarely a peaceful moment back at home ever since Xiao Bao and Little Star met this man. Tang Moyu could only hope that she wouldn't lose her children's love to Qin Jiran because of the limited time she had to spend with them these days.
The dinner went on in silence with only a few words exchanged between Tang Moyu and Feng Tianyi. The Tang twins obediently ate and finished their meals in silence, not arguing with their mother when she put extra vegetables in their bowls to eat.
Before the Tangs left his home, Feng Tianyi and Tang Moyu signed the contract effectively, sealing their deal and, unexpectedly, their fates.