However, there was only Lou Xiangwen in the store.
When he saw Mother Qu, he was quite surprised and asked why she came at this hour. She couldn’t really say what her real purpose was, so when he asked if she had come to help pick up Qu Tantan, she just went along with it and said yes.
After chatting with Lou Xiangwen for a bit and seeing that the woman never showed up, Mother Qu felt too embarrassed to talk about the woman directly, so in the end, she held in her curiosity and went back home.
It was Father Qu who later swung by the shop in the afternoon. He subtly probed a few of the nearby store owners he was familiar with, and finally got to the bottom of the matter.
That woman was actually coming for Lou Xiangwen and had nothing to do with Father Qu. No one knew the full details, but it had started last week. A pretty woman would show up at the store now and then looking for Lou Xiangwen. He’d been too busy serving customers to pay her any attention, and she would just sit in the store and refuse to leave.
Lou Xiangwen really couldn’t do anything about her. He couldn’t get her to leave, so he eventually just pretended she didn’t exist.
Father Qu had recently been busy negotiating juice deals outside and hadn’t been to the store in a while, so he had no idea any of this was going on. That’s why when Mother Qu asked him about it, he was genuinely confused and innocent. He had no clue who she was referring to.
Now, holding a box of strawberries to win Mother Qu over, he pleaded with her to explain things to her colleague the next day, to make it clear he had really been wronged. Mother Qu, feeling quite guilty, fed him a strawberry and repeatedly promised she would explain everything.
After listening for a while, Qu Tantan finally understood. So it all started because of Lou Xiangwen.
She remembered how confused he looked when he came to pick her up that afternoon, worried that her parents had had a fight and urging her to go home and be good so she wouldn’t upset her Mom. Her expression turned a little odd, and she almost wanted to laugh.
If Lou Xiangwen knew the whole story, who knows what kind of face he’d make?
Now that it was clear that Lou Xiangwen’s work hadn’t been affected by this woman and his attitude remained as serious as ever, Father Qu decided not to interfere. Once the misunderstanding with Mother Qu was cleared up, he changed the subject.
But Qu Tantan remained full of curiosity about this beautiful woman who had come for Lou Xiangwen.
So on the weekend, she couldn’t wait any longer. Using ‘going to see Brother Lou’ as an excuse, she dragged Lin Zhenmo to the store. Father Qu didn’t quite trust the two kids going alone, so he secretly followed them and only left after seeing they had safely arrived and were with Lou Xiangwen.
Lou Xiangwen had no idea what Qu Tantan was planning. He was surprised but delighted to see the two of them.
It had been a long time since Qu Tantan last came to the store.
He missed those times when she would sit there reading picture books. When he was struggling to come up with script ideas, her innocent, imaginative thoughts always gave him endless inspiration.
Even when they didn’t talk, just having her sit next to him, flashing him a bright smile every now and then, was enough to lift his tired spirit as if it had been soothed.
But ever since Mother Qu stopped working overtime, Qu Tantan no longer came to the store after school to go home with him.
Now seeing the two kids come again, saying they missed him and wanted to play with him—although he still felt a bit awkward around Lin Zhenmo—Lou Xiangwen couldn’t help but smile and quickly invited them in to sit.
Qu Tantan sat in her usual seat, legs swinging, glancing around the store. She spotted the new juice flavors that had just been developed. After someone pointed out the business potential, Father Qu had been experimenting with new flavors, which had become quite popular.
Seeing that the pretty woman hadn’t appeared yet, Qu Tantan got a little bored. She pulled some money out of her pocket, put it on the counter, grabbed two bottles of the new juice, and handed one to Lin Zhenmo.
“This is my absolute favorite—grape flavor. Try it, Lin Zhenmo,” she said, lying on the table with her face half-covered by her hands, leaving only her bright eyes visible. “I’m really sharing it with you this time, no tricks!”
Lin Zhenmo paused. He didn’t plan to refuse and took the grape juice from her hand without changing expression.
A few days ago, after Qu Tantan left, Lin Wan had been flattered in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She had carefully washed that precious strawberry she received, ready to eat it, when she noticed Lin Zhenmo silently watching her.
For a moment, Lin Wan blushed, unsure whether to eat it or not.
She hesitated, then quietly asked her son if he wanted it. It wasn’t that she was being stingy—she just felt that since Qu Tantan had given it to her with such sincerity and innocence, she wanted to treasure the gift.
To her, giving it away—even to her son—felt disrespectful to Qu Tantan.
But she hadn’t expected her son to just stare at her like that, his dark phoenix eyes full of complex emotion, as if wanting to say something but holding back, making her feel conflicted and troubled.
Naturally, Lin Zhenmo refused. He wasn’t going to fight his Mom over a strawberry. But watching her happily praise Qu Tantan while unknowingly about to eat what he believed should have been his—it stirred up all kinds of emotions in him.
Suddenly, he understood why Father Qu had looked so exasperated and helpless back then, like he had a toothache and an itch in his hands at the same time.
Especially when Lin Wan mistakenly thought her son liked strawberries, she went out of her way to buy a whole bunch the next day. Coincidentally, she was seen by Qu Tantan, and happily shared how she had discovered her son’s preferences.
And when one person said it, the other actually believed it.
Faced with Qu Tantan’s look of sudden realization—surprised, and even a bit guilty and sheepish—Lin Zhenmo closed his eyes and forced himself to hold back his impulsive hand. If she hadn’t been wearing those little sunflower hair ties at the time, he might not have been able to resist tugging her pigtail.
After being ‘tormented’ by her multiple times, Lin Zhenmo no longer felt tense or stiff around Qu Tantan. In fact, he even felt a bit of camaraderie with Father Qu.
He didn’t resist her occasional attempts to win him over with cuteness, either—he would simply accept them calmly.
So, when he took the grape juice she offered and heard her emphasize that she was genuinely sharing it, Lin Zhenmo didn’t believe it at all, but he nodded anyway, pretending to trust her.
Still, the flavor of the juice was genuinely delicious.
Lin Zhenmo couldn’t help but take a few more sips. When he realized he was being greedy, he tried to set the bottle down. But just as he turned his head, he saw Qu Tantan had already chugged down half the bottle in one go.
It was actually a normal scene, not particularly funny, but he couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. Then, mimicking her, he also gulped down half a bottle.
“It’s really good.”
Seeing him sit so upright, seriously holding the juice bottle and giving it praise, Qu Tantan felt like laughing. It was as if she could see a future version of him, politely holding a wine glass at a business event, negotiating deals with others.
Help—she wasn’t going to get this image out of her head.
She reached out and poked his straight back. “Sitting like that, doesn’t it get tiring? Relax a bit. It’s just the two of us here anyway.”
Lin Zhenmo was caught off guard by the poke and instinctively stiffened. Then, realizing it was just Qu Tantan beside him, he hesitated for a moment but eventually followed her lead and relaxed his posture. As he adjusted himself to sit more comfortably, he still cautiously glanced around.
Qu Tantan really wanted to laugh. Unable to resist, she poked him again mischievously. Lin Zhenmo reacted like a hedgehog—flinching as if ready to bristle, but when he realized it was her, he softened again and just glared at her with his deep black phoenix eyes.
She used to think Lin Zhenmo’s eyes looked too cold and fierce. But now, they seemed more like those of a grumpy little dog—looking mean and ready to bite, but once familiar, very affectionate.
Hehe, Lin Zhenmo was actually really fun.
Why did Qu Tantan resemble a little puppy so much?
She would bite when angry, but otherwise, she was super clingy and impossible to drive away. Once she realized she wouldn’t get hurt, she completely let loose—mischievous to the extreme, making others grit their teeth in frustration. But even then, you just couldn’t bring yourself to hit her.
Disturbed by her teasing, Lin Zhenmo tried to glare her into submission. But Qu Tantan had already built up full immunity, she wasn’t afraid at all. In fact, she happily leaned her head closer to him.
She was just like a little stray puppy he had once met. At first, it barked at him fiercely, as if afraid he’d come close and bully it. But after several encounters, once it realized he meant no harm, it would even come over to beg for food and completely ignore his rejections.
After a few more times, it even chased after him, whimpering and biting his pant leg, clinging to his leg with its tongue lolling out. Lin Zhenmo tried to scare it away, but it no longer reacted like it did at first. Instead, it happily wagged its tail at him.
Unfortunately, just when he had finally decided to bring it home, it disappeared the next day.
Lin Zhenmo searched for a week but couldn’t find any trace of it. Later, he heard it had likely been adopted by someone else. He felt a little down but was happy that it had found someone who could take good care of it.
After all, he wasn’t confident he could do that himself, and he wasn’t sure if his Mom would even accept having a puppy at home.
Since it had found an owner, there was no need for him to struggle or feel conflicted anymore. It was a good thing.
But Lin Zhenmo never forgot that little puppy.
Now, seeing Qu Tantan’s sly, mischievous grin, Lin Zhenmo couldn’t help thinking of that puppy again, even while feeling exasperated.
They were just so alike—especially their personalities.
Realizing he had subconsciously likened Qu Tantan to a little puppy, he awkwardly rubbed his wrist. When his fingers brushed over a deep bite mark, he paused. Then rubbed it again, and suddenly looked her in the eye—calm and direct.
—That’s right. She was indeed a little puppy that bites!
Two little puppies, locked in an unyielding stare—you glare at me, I stare at you. That’s what Lou Xiangwen saw when he turned around after just finishing with a customer, and he couldn’t help but pause in surprise.
He smiled. For the first time, he felt that this kid Lin Zhenmo wasn’t as difficult to approach as he had once imagined.
Maybe it was because they had come too early. Qu Tantan stared at the customers coming and going for a long while but didn’t spot that beautiful woman. Bored out of her mind, she tugged at Lin Zhenmo—who had already started doing homework—and suggested they go browse the bookstore next door.
Lin Zhenmo had already planned to accompany her today, so when she said she was bored, he casually pushed his homework aside and followed her to the bookstore next door.
The bookstore owner recognized Qu Tantan and greeted her with a smile. He patted her head and pointed to a corner, telling her that a new batch of picture books had just arrived and that she could check them out if she was interested.
Qu Tantan sweetly thanked him and pulled Lin Zhenmo toward the corner, silently marveling at how warm and friendly people seemed to be these days.
She skillfully picked out an English picture book and was reading it for a while when she noticed Lin Zhenmo reaching for another book. Curious, she peeked over and saw that he was holding a French beginner’s picture book.
Qu Tantan’s eyes widened. “Can you even understand that?”
Lin Zhenmo nodded nonchalantly. “It’s explained in detail. Once you look at it, you get it. It’s pretty simple.”
Thinking she wanted to read it too, he opened the book and tilted his head toward her. “Want to read together?”
Qu Tantan : “…” Damn it, he totally showed off!
Seeing how natural he looked, as if there was nothing unusual about it, she stubbornly leaned over to read with him. But not long after, she quietly backed away, lifted her English picture book up in front of her face, and pretended none of that had happened.
…She couldn’t understand a thing! Not at all!