Nian Jiezhen watched her husband buy cotton candy for their daughter. It has been a while since she was able to spend time with her family like this.

Ren s.h.i.+yuan was busy handling his company, HR Entertainment and there were times where he has to go to different places just to attend meetings.

She was left with her daughter, Ren Xiaozhi whenever he was gone. There were times where she had to deal with new cases in her work so their daughter would end up staying with Sun Lingzhi.

Maybe that was why her daughter was a bit rebellious?

"Mommy, can we buy that balloon?" Ren Xiaozhi pointed at the man who was selling different kinds of balloons. There were some kids and parents buying from the vendor.

"Xiaozhi, your father has already bought you that stuffed toy."

Her daughter pouted hugging the purple stuffed bear that was almost her size a bit tighter, "Daddy won this from the shooting booth, he didn't buy this."

"It's the same. He paid for the shots just to win it."

Ren Xiaozhi puffed out her cheeks, looking at her mother with a pout.

Nian Jiezhen didn't want to spoil her especially when Ren s.h.i.+yuan was already spoiling their daughter.

She patted her head, "You can't always have everything you want, Xiaozhi."

"But daddy said that I can have everything I want."

"..."

Ah... She can't believe it at all.

Ren s.h.i.+yuan came back, only to see Nian Jiezhen's glaring look at him. "What?"

"You're spoiling our daughter so much. It's too much, s.h.i.+yuan, too much." 

"No, I'm not spoiling her that much."

"Yes, you are." 

"I'm not."

"Daddy, can I have the cotton candy please?" Ren Xiaozhi interrupted them.

He turned to their daughter and smiled sweetly, "Of course! Here you go, baby."

He was about to give his daughter the cotton candy stick to her but it was suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed by his wife.

Ren Xiaozhi and her father turned to her in surprise.

"Mommy!"

"Have you forgotten what the doctor said? Too many sweets are bad for your health," scolded Nian Jiezhen.

The little girl pursed her lips, "But cotton candy is not 'too many sweets'!"

Ren s.h.i.+yuan turned to his wife, "You brought her to the doctor?"

"Xiaozhi had a fever a few weeks ago while you were in Liusen."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask."

Ren s.h.i.+yuan felt frustrated because of her reply, "I didn't ask? How can I even know if I was not at home in the first place?!"

He turned to his daughter in which she quickly shook her head, "Zhizhi is fine now, daddy! No more fever!"

"Even so. Sweets can lower one's immune system, you already had ice cream earlier so you can't have this now, " lectured her mother.

Ren Xiaozhi's eyes became teary and she ended up whimpering, "But mommy..." She turned her teary gaze to her father as if asking for help.

Ren s.h.i.+yuan felt bad since Nian Jiezhen kept their daughter's situation back then. How many times was she keeping something like this from him?

Ren Xiaozhi's tears ended up spilling as she looked at her parents. She could feel the heavy tension between the two.

"How many times did it happen?" He couldn't help but ask.

"What?"

"Xiaozhi having a fever while I was gone "

Nian Jiezhen averted her eyes from her husband's inquiring gaze, "Thrice..."

Thrice? Thrice?!

"And you never told me about it even once?" He asked through gritted teeth, he was clenching his fists in anger.

"I already handled it well."

"She's our daughter, Jiezhen! I have the right to know!"

She looked at him and frowned, "Why are you making this a big deal?"

"It is a big deal for me!"

For once, Ren s.h.i.+yuan felt so angry at his wife. How could she not tell him? If he knew about it, he could have fly back and stayed at home so that he could watch over their daughter.

"Xiaozhi, let's go-"

When Ren s.h.i.+yuan turned, their daughter was gone. She even left the teddy bear on the ground. 

"Xiaozhi?" Nian Jiezhen was surprised to see her gone as well.

Ren s.h.i.+yuan picked the teddy bear and looked around in the hope to see their daughter.

"Xiaozhi!" He called out again, this time louder.

Nian Jiezhen's face became pale and she was instantly filled with worry and so was her husband. She started panicking as she looked around with her husband. "Xiaozhi!"

The park didn't have many people walking around since it was a weekday. There were a few children and young couples walking around.

"It's better if we separate." Ren s.h.i.+yuan suggested. "We can cover more grounds."

...

A little girl stood quite alone on the sidewalk looking left and right, holding herself in a manner that suggested she'd like to disappear altogether, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears. The girl wasn't focusing, eyes scanning without locking onto any one thing, almost daydream-like. She s.h.i.+fted her weight from her left to her right and back again every few seconds as if thinking of moving and yet choosing to remain still. 

She ended up running away, leaving the amus.e.m.e.nt park while her parents were in the middle of their argument.

Ren Xiaozhi ended up sitting down, she hugged her knees and buried her face on them as she cried out.

Her parents were fighting because of her and she was hurt to see them that way. She only wanted to spend time together with them. She only wanted to have their attention to herself just like any other children.

"Mommy... Daddy..." The words came out fitfully, the sounds half-swallowed by a sobbing noise. Her body was trembling a bit as she sobbed.

She felt like it was her fault. She was the reason why her parents fought.

There were a few pa.s.sersby, some ignored her and were busy looking at their phones while some looked her way but didn't try to approach her.

Until one person did, "Excuse me?"