Chapter 128: New Day, New Morning
Shen told everything about what happened to Lin Lin in Aquas. Since he took Lin Lin with him, he felt responsible for that, and he could not protect the little girl. Even though she did not suffer any injury, the event could cause trauma to her.
"There's no need for you to apologize, Shen. It's not your fault, but that j*rk!" Uncle Hou came out from Lin Lin's room while shaking his head. "I have heard everything, and I never thought that such a person exists." He sat on the sofa next to his wife and smiled. "Also, Lin Lin is smiling in her sleep. You must have brought her to a good place, and that was enough."
Lin Lin's mother also smiled. "I also appreciate that you don't hide it from us, just like my husband said, Shen. You don't need to apologize when you are not at fault."
Shen let out a relieved sigh that Lin Lin's parents did not get angry at him. He was ready for anything that awaited him, and he did not mind if they scolded him for what happened to Lin Lin since it happened under his watch.
"You seem to want us to scold you, Shen?" Uncle Hou squinted his eyes weirdly as he looked at Shen. "You should not feel guilty about it, and it's not like Lin Lin is hurt. No, she looks so happy that she is smiling in her sleep." Then a wide grin formed on Uncle Hou's face. " This might be shameless, in fact, I want you to take my daughter to go out with Eunha more often since we can't take her anywhere. You know, we just opened the shop recently, and we can't just close the shop on a day when people start to get to know our shop."
"Oh, in that case, you should talk about it with Auntie Jun. Auntie Jun plans to make a weekly outing together with Eunha, and we can take Lin Lin with us." Shen nodded his head. He did not mind since Eunha would have a friend her age to play with. "However, you need to spare your time too, some time, Auntie and Uncle Hou. You know, Lin Lin also wants to spend her time with you two as well."
"Of course, Shen. We want to spend time together with our daughter too, but we will need to plan it ahead for that." Uncle Hou nodded his head. "I will talk about it with Wen then."
"I guess it's time for me to get back." Shen got up from the sofa while yawning. Uncle Wen also got up and sent him out while Lin Lin's mother stayed. When he arrived in front of the building, he saw the same black car parked across from the building. He glanced at the car for a moment before entering the building.
As soon as he returned to his apartment, Shen took a shower and threw himself on the bed. He was open about Lin Lin's incident, but he did not dare say anything about Tao Qiao to Sister Mei. He was afraid that there would be a conflict in Aquas between Sister Mei and Tao Qiao if he told her what happened.
Shen positioned himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Even though he just went out to eat, he felt so tired. Without realizing it, he fell asleep. It was a dreamless night for Shen, and when the clock ticked to six, he opened his eyes.
His hand moved to the nightstand next to him, reaching for his phone. He unlocked the phone and checked the time, and it was right six in the morning. Shen immediately got up from the bed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and changed into training clothes. He did not want to miss his morning routine, no matter how lazy he was right now.
When he got outside of his building, the last night black car was no longer there. Shen ignored the minor detail and went jogging. Following his usual route, he finished his morning jog within forty minutes before ending up in Uncle Wen's bun shop.
"Good morning, Uncle Wen." Shen raised his right hand as he greeted Uncle Wen, who was putting the basket of buns in the storefront. He got the plastic cup and took the soy milk by himself. He looked around, looking for Eunha.
"If you are looking for Eunha, she should be at the house, taking a shower." Uncle Wen brought the empty basket back to the kitchen and tapped Shen's shoulder. Shen nodded his head and headed to the storefront to pick up his breakfast. "Let's get two meat and one cabbage for today."
Bringing his breakfast with him, Shen looked for an empty seat, but he could not find any. As usual, Uncle Wen's bun shop was so crowded that all seats were taken. He was about to stand next to the soy milk stand until one of the customers called him out. "You can take my seat, Shen." A middle-aged man in a suit stood up from his chair while motioning to Shen.
"Thank you, Uncle Su." Shen smiled and headed toward the empty chair. He placed the plate on the table and started with the meat bun. The meaty juice mixed with the soft yet chewy bun, with the addition of the lower crispy bun, "I just can't never get bored with Auntie Jun's bun."
"Right? I have been eating this bun for ten years, yet I still come here up until now." The middle-aged man next to Shen responded with a smile. The uncle next to him was someone who lived in the neighborhood for over ten years, a regular of this shop.
Shen smiled and chatted with the uncle as they ate breakfast together harmoniously. The chatter of the other customers filled the shop, and it did not sound noisy or annoying. He might feel weird if he did not hear the chatter. When he was at the last bun, Eunha entered the shop with slightly wet hair, her kindergarten uniform, and a blue skirt.
The little girl paused at the entrance and scanned the shop carefully until she spotted Shen. The other customers greeted the girl cheerfully, and she nodded and smiled, greeting the adult back with her irresistible smile. Eunha walked toward Shen's table, putting her hands on the table, and tiptoeing to see Shen's plate.
"You have finished your breakfast, Brother Shen?" Eunha's cheerful expression dimmed, and she pouted slightly. "But I haven't had my breakfast yet."
The code was obvious to Shen, "I want to eat breakfast together with you." That was what she tried to say. Shen smiled and rubbed the little girl's hair. "Okay then, can you get me another three buns? Two cabbages and one meat."
Eunha's eyes brightened, and she immediately turned around. She was about to run, but Shen reminded her. "Don't run!" She did not run, but she walked very fast. The little girl picked five buns and walked back to Shen.
Shen raised the little girl and put her on his lap, and they enjoyed breakfast together. "If I don't know Yu Wen and you for years, I might think you are blood-related brother and sister." The Uncle next to them commented as he looked at how Shen and Eunha got along well.
Shen and Eunha smiled ear to ear as they took it as a compliment. After finishing their buns, Shen asked the little girl. "When does your kindergarten start? Do you want to go to the kindergarten with Brother Shen?"
Eunha immediately nodded her head repeatedly and almost threw up the soy milk in her mouth. "Yes, but you have to go to work. Is it okay to go with me?" The little girl was being considerate of him.
Shen pinched the girl's cheeks slightly. "Of course, absolutely no problem. I can go to work anytime, so it's okay. So, when does the class start?"
"The class starts at eight-thirty, but I usually go together with Eunha at eight." Eunha's smile got wider since this was the first time that Shen took her to the kindergarten. She was so happy that she could not stop smiling.
Shen took out his phone from his pocket, and it was seven in the morning now. He still got an hour. "Then Brother Shen will take a shower first. I am sweating and smelly."
"You should, but you don't smell bad, Brother Shen." Eunha hopped off on her own from Shen's lap. "I will help Daddy and Mommy with the shop, but you have to come back at eight." After saying that, Eunha brought the empty plate with her to the kitchen.
Shen got up and took out a ten Yuan bill from his pocket. He gave it to Uncle Wen, who was sitting at the cashier. "The change is a tip for Eunha for accompanying my breakfast."
Uncle Wen rolled his eyes. "My daughter is not that cheap. I will save the change into your tab instead." Shen often paid more than what he ate so that Uncle Wen would record the change into Shen's tab.
Shen waved his hand as he headed back to his apartment.