"Mommy~! Look, this apple is so big and round. It must be sweet. Do you want some~?"
Shen Muyan glanced at Lu Xiyao and pinched her soft little cheek. "If you want me to peel an apple, just say so."
"Hehe~! We'll each have half."
Shen Muyan took the apple and picked up a fruit knife. Her long, fair fingers pressed against the blade as she gently turned the apple, her movements elegant.
When the apple was peeled, the skin came off in one long unbroken strip.
"Wow~! Mommy, you're amazing~! From now on, all the apples are yours to peel~!"
"..."
After mother and daughter finished the apple, Lu Qin had also washed the dishes and came out of the kitchen.
It seemed it was time to leave.
"Alright, I should head back. Yao Yao, go to bed early. See you at kindergarten tomorrow."
Shen Muyan stood up.
"The matching outfits will be done in over twenty minutes. It'll take fifteen minutes to wash them, then over an hour to dry them, so it'll be a while."
Lu Qin glanced toward the balcony. The drum washing machine's yellow indicator light was on as it spun round and round.
Shen Muyan thought about it. Lu Qin could take hers to kindergarten, and she could change there tomorrow.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard the little one's soft, sweet voice from below.
"Mommy~! Can you sleep with Yao Yao tonight~? We haven't slept together in so long~!"
The little one held Shen Muyan's hand and gently shook it. Her large black-and-white eyes were filled with longing and expectation.
Both Shen Muyan and Lu Qin froze slightly.
Before the divorce, Shen Muyan had slept with the little one so few times that she could count them on one hand.