Chapter 146: Something on Your Mind?

The foreign woman led Yuan Ye to a guest room door, knocked gently, and without waiting for a reply, unlocked it with a room card.

Stepping inside, Yuan Ye could not help letting out a low whistle of amazement.

Why? Because the room was simply enormous. Three sets of floor-to-ceiling windows dominated the view, offering a sweeping panorama of the capital city below.

The interior was lavishly decorated, fully equipped with top-tier appliances and furniture of clearly exorbitant value.

Flanking the living room were four doors; one was slightly ajar, while the other three remained tightly shut.

Standing in the center of the living room, Yuan Ye surveyed his surroundings, marveling inwardly, "Only the super-rich can afford to stay in hotels this upscale. If it were me... tsk tsk, I'd never bear to spend this much money for a single night."

While he stood there full of envy, the foreign woman walked up to one of the doors, tapped lightly twice, and launched into a stream of fluent English, chattering away in a blur that Yuan Ye could not understand at all.

Yet, judging by the gestures, he could guess most of it. Without a doubt, that boss must be inside this room.

Sure enough, a moment later, some movement finally came from within.

As the door swung open, a woman whose appearance and poise could only be described as peerless stepped out with a gentle smile.

Yet, this time, Yuan Ye did not play the fool; the sight of her left him utterly stunned, his face frozen in disbelief.

"Years have passed, and you haven't changed a bit," the woman said with a faint smile. "Well, perhaps a little more handsome than before. It seems you've broken a few more young girls' hearts?"

"You... you're back?" It took Yuan Ye a long time to regain his wits. He kept his horrified gaze locked onto her, his tongue tripping over his words.

"Yes, I'm back." The woman nodded softly. In her tone lingered a trace of long-overdue longing, and...

At four-thirty in the afternoon, Lin Chuan tidied himself up, put on his sunglasses and a baseball cap, and stepped out.

This was the time to pick up Yangyang from school. By routine, he would head to a noodle shop not far from the kindergarten, waiting to rendezvous with Wang Yue and Yangyang.

There was no help for it; the paparazzi and the other parents were so utterly fanatical that Lin Chuan hardly dared to show his face in public anymore.

Yet, as he waited and waited, time ticked away, and soon it was approaching five-thirty, still with no sign of Wang Yue or his son.

"What's going on? School running late today?" Lin Chuan muttered to himself.

He pulled out his phone, preparing to call Wang Yue.

"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is powered off. Please try again later..." A completely emotionless voice chimed through the receiver.

Lin Chuan frowned. Wang Yue's phone was turned off?

Such a thing was rare—no, it had never happened before. Wang Yue's phone had always remained switched on twenty-four hours a day. Unless the battery was dead or there was no service, she was never out of reach.

Could something have happened? A wave of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart.

Unable to sit still any longer, Lin Chuan paid for his unfinished bowl of noodles, hurried out of the shop, and headed straight for the kindergarten.

Night had fallen, and lights flickered on in the windows of nearby residential buildings.

The same went for the kindergarten entrance, where a few streetlamps cast a bright glow. Even from a distance, a tiny figure could be seen standing there in a daze, clutching a small backpack and looking around helplessly.

"Yangyang?" Recognizing the silhouette of his son, Lin Chuan quickened his pace.

Arriving at the school gates, Lin Chuan asked anxiously, "Yangyang, why are you standing here all by yourself? Where is Teacher Xiaoyue?"

He glanced around, realizing that apart from his son, there was not a soul in sight.

Perhaps frightened by the long wait, Lin Yiyang's eyes turned red the moment he saw his father. Feeling deeply wronged, he said, "Daddy, I thought you weren't coming to pick me up. Sister Xiaoyue... she left with a man right after school."

"She left with a man?" Lin Chuan frowned.

At that moment, the night watchman stepped out of the security lodge. He approached the father and son and asked, "Who are you to this child?"

"Oh, I'm his father," Lin Chuan replied calmly, straightening up.

"You parents are something else. School let out nearly an hour ago, and neither of you came to fetch him. No matter how busy you are with work, you shouldn't just forget about your child! Sigh, it's a good thing this is right outside the kindergarten and I could keep an eye on him. I told him to come inside and wait in my room, but he wouldn't..." The old man shook his head, sighing repeatedly.

Lin Chuan smiled awkwardly and quickly apologized. "Yes, yes, it was my negligence. This won't happen again."

"Very well, I've noted your words. If I ever catch the child waiting here alone again, I'll—I'll..." The old man trailed off, suddenly unsure of what threat to make.

He knew he was only a night watchman. Though he was annoyed, did he really have any right to interfere in other people's family affairs?

Lin Chuan offered a placating smile and murmured a few more apologies before finally leaving with his son.

Along the way, Lin Chuan did not bring up Wang Yue again, nor did he feel any resentment toward her for leaving Yangyang behind at the kindergarten.

She wasn't their nanny; she had no obligation to care for a child. Doing this much was already going above and beyond.

Besides, his relationship with Wang Yue was merely that of a neighbor who happened to be slightly closer than ordinary friends.

"Daddy, our school is going on break in a few days," Lin Yiyang murmured, clinging to Lin Chuan's back.

"Break? Perfect. Daddy will take you back to Quancheng so we can celebrate the New Year there," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Yay! I'll finally get to see Grandpa, and my godfather too..." Lin Yiyang chirped happily, instantly banishing the earlier unpleasantness from his mind.

Lin Chuan smiled faintly. "You won't even have to wait until we get back to Quancheng. You'll see your godfather tonight."

"Huh? Really?" Lin Yiyang was instantly struck dumb with surprise.

When the father and son returned to their residential complex, they spotted a BMW parked downstairs.

Since Lin Chuan had gone down earlier to pick up Yuan Ye, he still had some impression of the car. Glancing through the window, he saw Yuan Ye sitting inside, looking somewhat dazed.

He gave the window a few sharp raps: *Tap, tap, tap.*

Yuan Ye jumped, his body jerking in fright. When he saw Lin Chuan and Lin Yiyang standing outside, he snapped irritably, "You scared the life out of me."

"Daydreaming? Got something on your mind?" Lin Chuan grinned.

"Nothing, just a bit hungry," Yuan Ye prevaricated. Shifting his gaze to Lin Yiyang, he climbed out of the car and asked, "Yangyang, did you miss your godfather?"

Lin Yiyang didn't answer right away; he just giggled and nodded.