Jiang Mo watched Li Daming stand up and nervously rose to her feet as well. "What noise? I didn't hear anything."
"I thought I heard the toilet flush just now," Li Daming said, starting to walk towards the bathroom.
"Nobody's in the bathroom, Dad. You must have heard wrong. Our toilet acts up sometimes," Jiang Mo said, thinking quickly on her feet. She thrust the durian in her hand towards him. "Dad, have some durian."
"I don't like that stuff," Li Daming said, his steps halted. He waved his hand and sat back down on the sofa.
Jiang Mo's heart was pounding. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good, he didn't find out.
Seeing Li Daming's attention return to the TV drama, she stole a glance towards the bathroom.
Her lips twitched. Keeping Gu Ye holed up in the bathroom wasn't a long-term solution.
She absentmindedly ate some durian while trying to think of a plan.
After slowly finishing a piece of durian and wiping her hands with a tissue, she rubbed her nose. "Dad, I'm feeling a bit peckish. I want some braised duck necks from the shop downstairs. Could you go down and buy some for me?"
"Didn't you already have dinner?" Li Daming asked. He had seen her clearing the table when he got back.
"That was dinner. Duck necks are a midnight snack, a treat," Jiang Mo wheedled, shaking Li Daming's arm. "Dad, please buy some for me."
Li Daming sighed in resignation. "You kid, you can't even be bothered to run downstairs for some food."
"I've been running around all day at work, I'm tired," Jiang Mo made an excuse, pretending to collapse onto the sofa.
Unable to resist Jiang Mo's pleading and acting cute, Li Daming finally got up, grabbed the trash, and prepared to go downstairs. "Just duck necks? Don't you want anything else?"
Jiang Mo shook her head: "Just the duck necks. Thanks, Dad."
She watched Li Daming's back as he changed his shoes at the door, noticing he was taking much longer than usual.
As soon as Li Daming went out and the door closed, Jiang Mo immediately sprang up and rushed to the bathroom.
She gently knocked on the door. "My dad went downstairs. You can come out now."
The door was pulled open from the inside. Gu Ye emerged with a look of grievance. "Uncle Li went down?"
"Yeah, I sent him down," Jiang Mo said, pulling Gu Ye. "Take this chance to leave quickly, before you run into him again."
Gu Ye didn't want to go yet, thinking the man had just gone down and wouldn't be back so soon. He tried to negotiate with Jiang Mo. "Then will you come to my place tomorrow night?"
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Who knows where I'll be sent to work tomorrow."
As the two of them were talking and pulling at each other, the front door opened.
Jiang Mo sensed something and turned her head. Seeing Li Daming, she stammered, "Dad, you... how are you back so soon?"
As for Li Daming, he didn't say a word. His eyes were fixed on the two of them pulling at each other.
"Good evening, Uncle Li," Gu Ye hurriedly greeted, seeing Li Daming's eyes wide open.
It's not good at all. Take your paws off her right now.
Li Daming strode over menacingly. "In just this short while, how did you get in, kid? Did you climb through the window or crawl up the drainpipe?"
Gu Ye: "..."
"Dad~" Jiang Mo spoke up, her tone carrying a hint of complaint. "Why are you being so sharp-tongued? Talk properly."
"And I haven't even gotten to you yet. Was it him in the bathroom just now?" Li Daming now understood everything. No wonder the girl had been acting a bit off tonight.
"...Gu Ye came to hang out with me. We were just afraid of being scolded," Jiang Mo offered a lame excuse.
Li Daming pointed at himself. "Sweetheart, do I look like a clueless idiot to you?"
Jiang Mo forced an awkward smile at the corner of her mouth. "Dad~"
Given the situation, if not now, then when? Gu Ye decided to lay his cards on the table.
He firmly held Jiang Mo's hand. "Uncle Li, Jiang Mo and I are dating. I hope you can agree and support us."
Li Daming looked at Jiang Mo. "Are you two really going out?"
Jiang Mo pursed her lips and nodded shyly.
"Aiyo, aiyo," Li Daming said, looking utterly pained as he gazed at the two of them.
Earlier, when he went out to buy things and was changing his shoes at the door, he noticed a pair of men's sneakers.
He thought it was Li Zheng's shoes that hadn't been put away in the shoe cabinet, but upon closer inspection, his son didn't seem to have shoes like that. He picked one up and saw the size was too big.
There was a man... in the house?
Recalling Jiang Mo's behavior, he kept a straight face, left the door, and then doubled back for a surprise return.
He had finally caught someone, but to his surprise, it was an old acquaintance.
Li Daming looked at the two of them again and shook his head. "You two... aiyo."
Jiang Mo scratched her head. Dad, stop sighing and say something. You're making us both nervous.
"Uncle Li, we've been together for a while now. We originally planned to find a suitable time to tell you and Aunt Wang," Gu Ye explained. "Please rest assured, we are serious about this relationship."
"I was the one who asked Gu Ye to keep it a secret for now," Jiang Mo chimed in.
Li Daming paced over and sat down on the sofa. "You two, come sit over here too."
The two exchanged a glance and sat down, pressing close together.
Li Daming scrutinized them, mainly Gu Ye, sweeping his gaze over him from head to toe. He said with a pained expression, "It's all your mother's and my fault. If we hadn't made you go work as a nanny, you wouldn't have caught the eye of that Blondie."
