The joyful laughter of father and daughter echoed in the living room. It was the first time Cicc had nestled in her father's arms to play since she was three, feeling the unique warmth of her dad.
This was also Louis's first time taking care of a child, enjoying the pleasure of having a cute kid at home. For someone who had never looked after children before, this was undoubtedly a good start. Meanwhile, Anna leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching this beautiful scene before her, her eyes moist with tears.
She didn't dare to breathe too loudly, fearing she might disrupt this dreamlike scene. For the first time, her once firm heart wavered slightly.
If things could stay like this forever, perhaps... that would be nice?
The father and daughter didn't play for long. While Louis was guiding Cicc in decorating the princess house, he looked up and saw Anna daydreaming by the kitchen door.
The sunlight outside happened to shine through the curtains, casting a gentle glow on her slender figure. Her washed-out light blue shirt seemed glaringly bright at that moment, making Louis squint involuntarily.
The mother and daughter really looked alike, not only in their eyes but even in the obviously smaller-sized clothes they wore. Was this some kind of parent-child outfit?
Louis suddenly remembered that it indeed was a parent-child outfit. It was bought by Anna secretly when Cicc turned two, but was discovered by the original owner. Anna got punished, and the phone was sold by the original owner.
The original owner also had one, but it had long been treated as a cleaning rag and thrown away in some garbage heap.
Thinking of this, Louis fell silent. The next moment, he stumbled to his feet, covering his mouth, and rushed to the bathroom to vomit frantically.
Louis now understood that when a conscientious person looks back at such behavior from a first-person perspective, it generates a nauseating sense of anger.
Without experiencing others' hardships, how could one understand others' pain?
The sudden change frightened the mother and daughter outside. Anna, in particular, trembled, quickly walking to the sofa and hugging Cicc tightly.
Cicc tried to bury herself deeper into Anna's embrace, afraid that her dad, who had just finished vomiting, would suddenly appear and, like before, scold and hit them both.
Every time her dad made such a commotion before, he would be as frightening as a man-eating tiger.
After a while, Louis emerged from the bathroom in a sorry state. His eyes were bloodshot and red, looking at the startled Anna and Cicc, feeling even more uncomfortable, with his stomach churning uncontrollably.
But he still forced himself to suppress the discomfort and weakly apologized to them, "I'm sorry for scaring you. I just feel a bit unwell."
He was indeed unwell, exceptionally so. The memories in his mind made him feel nauseous uncontrollably, especially when he thought that he now occupied his body. Louis felt like there were millions of ants crawling all over him.
Seeing Anna and Cicc still looking at him warily, Louis sighed heavily, bypassed Anna holding the child, and silently walked into the kitchen, starting to wash the vegetables.
"Perhaps Cicc hasn't played enough yet. Could you play with her for a while longer? I'll prepare lunch," Louis said earnestly, with the sound of water flowing being barely audible.
Anna carefully glanced at Louis's profile. This face was so familiar yet so unfamiliar.
Finally, she nodded and sat down with Cicc where he had been sitting before.
Cicc cautiously poked her head out from her mother's embrace. When she saw that her dad was still the gentle father she knew, a smile finally appeared on her little face.
The father-daughter bonding unexpectedly turned into leisure time for the mother and daughter.
Inside the kitchen, there was a hustle and bustle, while outside, there were soft and gentle voices.
It wasn't until lunch was ready, and the aroma of the food wafted into the living room that Anna saw Louis placing the dishes on the table, then quietly retreating to the side to lie down. She twitched her lips slightly but couldn't bring herself to say a word.
As they ate, Cicc, holding a small spoon, suddenly turned to look at her mother with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Mommy, why isn't daddy eating with us?"
Anna was chewing on a piece of stir-fried meat, her favorite dish. Whether before or after marriage, she rarely ate it because Louis couldn't handle spicy food.
Hearing her daughter's question, Anna unconsciously turned to look in the direction of the bed, then turned back to her daughter with a puzzled expression on her face. Suddenly, she smiled.
This smile was like a blooming spring flower, incredibly beautiful.
"That's because... daddy and mommy aren't ready yet!"
The little one didn't understand, her eyebrows furrowing even more. Her little head simply couldn't comprehend her mother's words.
In the bedroom, Louis was lost in thought. He knew his sudden vomiting was due to his mental issues, but he couldn't change anything.
Even as he constantly reassured himself subconsciously, knowing it wasn't his fault, Louis couldn't shake the feeling that he was still himself.
Louis could only take out his phone, scrolling through tiktok videos to distract himself. His own videos still dominated the trending list, with many comments urging him to release new songs.
However, he had no intention of doing so at the moment. Making money was a means, not an end. Although his videos were still generating some income, it was gradually decreasing, and in a few days, there might be no income at all.
But the money he had now was more than enough for the family's daily expenses. He didn't need to release new videos just for the sake of money.
At that moment, the sound of washing dishes came from outside. Louis put down his phone, pushed open the bedroom door, and walked out.
The dining table still had food prepared for him. Anna was washing dishes in the kitchen, while Cicc was playing with her new toy on the sofa. The doll Louis had given her was now inside the princess house, lying next to the little princess on the small sofa inside.
Seeing her dad come out, Cicc wasn't as scared as before. She just blinked her big eyes, looking at Louis, her expectation evident in her gaze. It seemed she wanted her dad to continue playing with her toys.
Louis smiled and gently patted her little head, but instead of playing with her, he sat on the sofa and turned his head towards the kitchen.
Seeing that her dad didn't intend to play with her, Cicc pouted disappointedly. She sat on the sofa, leaning against Louis, and started playing by herself.
Anna had just come out of the kitchen and noticed Louis staring at her. Her heart couldn't help but race, and her hands didn't know where to go, so she could only helplessly clutch her clothes.
Seeing Anna's submissive appearance, Louis couldn't help but frown, sighing inwardly. It was because of her gentle and reserved nature that the old demon used to bully her without fear.
Thinking of this, Louis' furrowed brows relaxed. He took out the newly bought phone from the coffee table and placed it on the table, still looking at Anna with a gentle tone.
"I bought you a phone. Take a look and see if you like it. There are also some things I want to discuss with you. Can you come over?"
Anna had been lowering her head, but upon hearing Louis' words, she lifted her head to look at him. The first thing she saw was Louis' pair of clean and clear eyes, then she noticed the new phone box on the table.
Anna hesitated for a moment before softly saying "Um" and slowly walked over to sit on the sofa.
"Is... there something you want to discuss?"