Early the next morning, Cicc was still fast asleep, while Louis had already risen from bed.
He tiptoed out of the bedroom, made his way to the living room, and prepared to go for a morning run. The next moment, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The ointment on the living room table was nowhere to be found!
Louis's eyes gradually sparkled, and a knowing smile spread across his face. Today, he was leaving the house with a joyful heart.
After his morning run, shower, and cooking, Louis spent a total of over two hours. Once breakfast was ready, he had another task for the day: waking up his daughter.
Cicc was gently awakened by Louis's soothing voice. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she flashed a cute and innocent smile upon seeing Louis. Extending her soft arms, she gestured for a hug from her dad.
Louis immediately reached out and lifted her up, dressing her in the new clothes he had bought just the day before. Afterward, they headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
Having learned childcare tips from online videos, Louis realized that theory was one thing, but practice was another. He struggled, especially when attempting to style Cicc's hair. Despite his efforts, her hair ended up looking rather crooked.
"Daddy is a big dummy!"
Seeing her uneven hair in the mirror, Cicc teased Louis with a pout.
Louis pinched her little nose, causing Cicc to giggle uncontrollably and reach out to pinch his nose in return.
Anna emerged from the bedroom to witness this heartwarming scene between father and daughter. She said nothing but silently walked into the kitchen to serve breakfast.
Perhaps even she hadn't noticed, but a faint smile had already formed at the corners of her lips.
After a simple family breakfast, Louis didn't hand Cicc back to Anna but continued to play with her in front of the sofa, pretending to be in a princess castle. However, this time, Louis subtly introduced some simple numbers to Cicc during their playtime, from one to ten.
After noticing Cicc's educational gap, Louis secretly devised a plan to foster her independent learning through their usual play. Starting with basic numbers and gradually incorporating daily life knowledge, he intended to teach her step by step.
Success wouldn't come overnight, but fortunately, Cicc was very bright. It was just that nobody had taught her these things before. Now, with Louis's inadvertent guidance, she quickly grasped some of the concepts.
Louis also noticed a change in Anna since her return. Although she remained silent, there was a newfound radiance in her demeanor.
Instead of retreating to the bedroom, Anna sat on the other side of the sofa, playing with her phone while occasionally glancing at Louis and Cicc.
This was a positive sign that put Louis at ease.
Meanwhile, Anna downloaded Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other apps while observing the interaction between father and daughter.
She noticed Louis subtly teaching Cicc, and a sweet feeling welled up inside her.
Anna had long wanted to educate her child, but their previous family environment had been difficult, and she had never had the opportunity to be a proper mother to Cicc.
Returning her gaze to her phone screen, Anna marveled at its efficiency. The download speed of the latest phone was impressive; within seconds, several apps were downloaded.
As soon as she logged into her Instagram, she received an unread message from her former assistant, Freya.
Freya had been following her for two years and had been messaging her consistently, mostly inquiring about her well-being. However, Anna had never been able to reply.
Seeing this string of messages, Anna felt a warm sensation in her heart and immediately replied.
"I'm sorry, Freya. I haven't been able to respond to your messages before. I'm doing fine now, so please don't worry."
"Anna! You finally replied! I thought you wouldn't bother with me after you got married! Sob sob!"
"Anna, you have no idea. Ever since you disappeared, rumors have been flying around the company, especially that annoying Ada. She's been acting all high and mighty these past two years! Spreading gossip about you, saying you deserve it. It's infuriating!"
Seeing Freya's message, Anna pursed her lips slightly. Ada was right, she did deserve it. Back in the company, she always kept Ada in check, so it's no surprise Ada would act like this after Anna left.
But her assistant was still as lively as ever.
"Freya, how have you been lately? Is life treating you well?"
Anna didn't respond to Freya's words but instead asked about her well-being.
"I'm doing great! Don't worry, Anna, I'm like an indomitable cockroach!"
"But I miss you, Anna! Will you ever come back?"
Anna was taken aback for a moment, a hint of longing in her eyes.
Would she ever come back?
She glanced at Louis, then at Cicc, and after a moment, the longing in her eyes faded.
"I don't think so."
"But, Freya, if you want to see me, we can find time to meet up!"
Meanwhile, in an entertainment building in downtown Jiangcheng, a girl about one meter sixty tall set down the heavy object on her shoulders. Her slightly chubby face was flushed, and dimples adorned both sides of her cheeks.
She was so excited that she could hardly contain herself, her hands tapping away at her phone incessantly. But soon, a sharp female voice interrupted her joy.
"Freya! Are you slacking off? Hurry up and get to work! Do you think you're still the assistant to the former popular star? If you don't want to work, you better leave now!"
Freya looked up. The owner of the voice was a woman with a fox-like face, her mouth turned up in a disdainful smirk, her slender almond-shaped eyes full of contempt.
"What are you looking at? Pick up the equipment and take it to the recording studio. Can you afford to compensate me if you delay my recording?"
Freya rolled her eyes at the woman, muttered under her breath, but still picked up the equipment from the ground and headed towards the recording studio.
"Alright! Anna, I'm off this Saturday. Let's get in touch!"
Seeing this message, Anna finally smiled. She scrolled through WeChat again, finding no other messages, then switched to Weibo. Her last post on Weibo was two years ago, announcing her retirement from the entertainment industry.
What used to be tens of thousands of fans had now dwindled to just a few thousand. Apart from the zombie fans, there were still some old fans who often left comments expressing concern for her.
She casually browsed through the hot topics on Weibo, all of which were recent gossip news, but surprisingly, a few were about a recently popular song.
"'One Lifetime with You'! Divine song, mysterious singer gains over a million fans overnight with just one video!"
"'cic? Who is he really? In-depth analysis, taking you through the recent treasure of a song!"
"'A song that skyrocketed to the top of TikTok's trending list overnight! Listen now!'"
Anna was curious about the recent hit song, so she clicked on the title and entered the post. Inside, the blogger wrote a lengthy review, all praising the song with various terms. Below was a link.
Anna clicked on the link, and her phone screen automatically switched to a video interface on TikTok.
The familiar figure appeared on the screen, accompanied by the familiar guitar melody.
Then, the familiar voice echoed in the living room. She listened to this song with complex emotions, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.