The evening rush from the amusement park was overwhelming.
After waiting for what seemed like ages, Louis finally hailed a taxi, sparking his first thoughts of buying a car.
Worried that Anna might tire herself out holding Cicc, Louis had already taken Cicc into his arms. He sat cautiously in the back seat, with Cicc sleeping soundly in his embrace.
Anna sat in the back as well, and due to Louis holding Cicc, they were sitting closer than usual. Anna glanced at Louis beside her, thinking about what had happened that evening, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
At that moment, Louis yawned, startling her. She quickly turned her head to the other side, pretending to admire the scenery outside the window.
The scenery outside changed rapidly, and before they knew it, the car had left the city center and arrived in the old town.
Louis checked the time, it was half past nine in the evening.
Dinner hadn't been eaten yet, and seeing Cicc sleeping so peacefully, dinner was probably out of the question now.
Louis also felt a bit weary. If they were at home, they would have been asleep by now.
Thinking about this, Louis suddenly chuckled. Neither he nor Anna seemed like typical young people in their twenties. Nowadays, which young people didn't stay up late? They were more like middle-aged or elderly people, going to bed and getting up early.
The taxi stopped smoothly at the entrance of the residential area. Louis paid the fare and gently carried Cicc out of the car, returning home with Anna under the cover of night.
Under the warm orange light, the house was still as quiet as ever, but the silence now felt different from before.
Louis settled Cicc in his room before coming out. By then, Anna had finished freshening up in the bathroom. Louis didn't linger and went straight to the kitchen.
She hadn't eaten much at noon, and she must be hungry now.
Thinking this, Louis rummaged through the refrigerator haphazardly and decided to keep it simple, making noodles.
Anna was indeed very hungry. She had no appetite at noon, played for so long in the afternoon, cried in the evening, and now her stomach was grumbling. She just freshened up quickly and wanted to come out to make something to eat.
When she pushed open the bathroom door, Anna saw Louis already busy in the kitchen.
Anna's heart suddenly felt warm. She casually walked to the sofa and sat down, but her gaze always followed the slender figure in the kitchen.
Strangely attractive.
Anna suddenly thought so, then covered her face the next moment, afraid to look again.
What's wrong with her today?
Clearly, she was a mother now, why did she still act like a lovesick girl? Anna! You're becoming more and more embarrassing!
"Dinner's ready."
When Louis brought out the cooked noodles, he saw her sitting on the sofa, almost curled up into a ball.
Without much thought, he just gently called out to her.
Hearing Louis's voice, Anna visibly tensed for a moment, then she quietly removed her hand covering her face and nodded, walking to the dining table.
"Thank you."
Her cheeks were slightly red, but she lowered her head and ate her food as if nothing had happened.
Anna ate quickly. It was her first time realizing that simple noodles could be so delicious.
Half a bowl of noodles and two fried eggs were quickly consumed, and Louis, seeing this scene, smiled slightly and placed his own egg into her bowl.
Anna, who was busy eating, was momentarily stunned. She didn't dare to look up at him, but her cheeks became even redder.
Although she had thrown herself into Louis's arms earlier, now that she had reacted, she was still somewhat uncomfortable with such intimacy between them.
"I ate more at noon. You eat more."
Louis's voice came, and Anna barely nodded in response, her voice as soft as a mosquito.
In just a while, Anna finished her noodles, not even leaving behind a drop of soup. She put down her chopsticks and didn't get up, just quietly sitting on the chair.
It wasn't until Louis finished eating and stood up to clean the dishes that she became a little flustered, hurriedly getting up to grab the dishes from the table.
"I'll clean up," her voice was still soft but pleasant to hear. It turned out she had been waiting all along.
Louis didn't argue with her. They were family; he didn't feel the need to be so formal.
After enjoying a relaxing hot shower, Louis came out, only to find Anna had already returned to the bedroom. He turned off the living room lights and quickly made his way to the bedroom.
Today was the latest he had stayed up since coming into this world; all he wanted now was to sleep. Tomorrow, there was morning jogging to do, and that was essential!
Quietly slipping into bed, Louis soon drifted off into dreamland.
Contrastingly, Anna tossed and turned a bit. She lay in bed, and every time she closed her eyes, scenes from the amusement park involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
Anna pulled the blanket over her face in annoyance, trying to force herself to sleep. But her constantly fluttering eyelashes betrayed how restless she was feeling inside.
It wasn't until the sky started to lighten slightly that Anna finally succumbed to sleep, her eyelids heavy with fatigue.
6 a.m. in the morning.
Early risers embarked on a new day's journey. Louis woke up as usual, did his morning jog, freshened up, cooked breakfast, and woke Cicc up. But Anna was nowhere to be seen when he emerged from the bedroom.
Looking at the tightly shut bedroom door, Louis scratched his head. It seemed they had come back rather late last night; she was still asleep at this hour.
Louis didn't intend to wake her up. He would just leave her some breakfast.
After breakfast, Louis washed the used dishes and utensils, and when he came out of the kitchen, he saw Cicc singing nursery rhymes and playing educational games.
Seeing his father, Cicc's mouth stretched into a big smile, revealing a row of tiny white teeth. She smiled sweetly at Louis.
Louis immediately leaned over to her, ruffling her little head.
"Cicc, sing a song~"
"Yeah! Daddy, guess what? Mommy sings very well. Every night, she sings lullabies for me!"
As her head was being gently rubbed, Cicc suddenly lifted her little face and said to Louis with a mysterious air.
"Does Mommy sing better than Daddy?"
Louis smiled, posing a soul-searching question.
Cicc immediately became entangled, her little eyebrows furrowing tightly as she pursed her lips, seemingly considering whether to hit Daddy.
Louis saw the little one's dilemma and laughed, smoothing out her furrowed brows.
"Haha~ Daddy knows. Mommy's singing must be better than Daddy's!"
Cicc then smiled again, her face full of joy. She grabbed Louis's hand and shook it from side to side, encouraging him.
"Daddy's singing is also very good!"
Louis nodded, then suddenly asked, "Do you know if Mommy still wants to sing?"
The little one carefully thought with her small face raised, then said earnestly, "Mommy said she likes singing when she's asleep."
Louis nodded again, rubbing the little one's head and letting her play by herself.
With Anna's gentle personality, she would never actively tell him that she wanted to sing.