Madam, Please Behave
Chapter 364: A Mutual Understanding

Liu Changqing received a call from Feng Qian.

Because something had come up at the company that required overtime, the task of picking up their child fell to him.

"Got it," he replied.

After ending the call, Liu Changqing—who had been out walking with An Yuanyao downstairs—put his phone back into his pocket. He turned to look at An Yuanyao, who was sitting beside him.

"Let’s head back. I need to pick up Xiaozhi from school."

"Mm."

An Yuanyao nodded. She got up from the gazebo. Although her belly wasn’t showing yet, she instinctively straightened her back, and her steps were noticeably slower.

Liu Changqing noticed all of this. He didn’t rush her—he simply slowed down to match her pace. It took them nearly five minutes to walk back home.

After instructing their son, who was studying inside, to keep an eye on An Yuanyao, Liu Changqing changed into another jacket and left again.

He drove toward his daughter’s dance studio, mind preoccupied with thoughts about Chu Fang...

Liu Changqing had to admit—

Chu Fang was impressive… but also foolish.

Her ability to endure humiliation was something even he had to admire.

Though he had mentioned the fake pregnancy plan the very first time they met, it was clear that she had her own ideas.

From the start, Chu Fang’s goal had been somewhat aligned with Liu Changqing’s—but still different.

Back at the hospital, the first time Liu Changqing met Chu Fang face to face, he sensed her strange hostility toward Li Chongming. But at the time, she hadn’t explained why she harbored such resentment.

She didn’t reveal the reason until after Li Chongming and Li Wanran had divorced.

Initially, Liu Changqing just informed An Yancheng and asked what they should do about the situation...

Before they could finalize a plan, Chu Fang had unexpectedly gone ahead and put on quite the performance herself.

But what Liu Changqing didn’t quite understand was why she had to gloat about it afterward, showing off the recording pen like some kind of trophy.

To him, it felt like one of those cliché movie villains—who had the perfect chance to finish things cleanly but instead dragged things out until the protagonist turned the tables.

Kinda dumb.

And it messed up his original plan.

He had hoped that by setting things up, Li Chongming and Ye Rong would start turning on each other, exposing all the dirty secrets they’d been hiding.

Wishful thinking. Reality wasn’t a script. Life was live, unpredictable, and people’s thoughts constantly shifted...

You could never fully grasp someone else's real intentions.

Still...

It didn’t matter much to Liu Changqing anymore. With Li Chongming still unconscious in the hospital and that recording now in An Yancheng’s hands, there was no need for him to get further involved.

Justice might grind slowly, but it never lets anyone slip through.

Liu Changqing had already foreseen how things would unfold.

DUI, hit-and-run, finding someone to take the blame, one dead and two seriously injured...

With charges like that, the minimum sentence would be ten years.

Li Chongming was now thirty-five. If he’d still been married to Li Wanran, maybe he could’ve gotten a top-tier lawyer to reduce the sentence. But now, that path was closed.

What awaited him was prison.

The traffic light turned red.

Liu Changqing eased off the gas and pulled up behind a sedan.

The car stopped.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Liu Changqing’s expression was complicated.

By all logic, he should be happy that Li Chongming was going to jail.

But he wasn’t.

Emotionally, he felt nothing.

It was like hearing that some stranger was about to be imprisoned.

All day, ever since An Yancheng told him the news, his mind had been more focused on An Yuanyao and their baby that was due in just a few months...

Liu Changqing got lost in thought.

Even when the light turned green, he didn’t notice—until the car behind him honked.

Snapping out of it, he started driving again.

His hands gripped the steering wheel, but his heart was heavy.

He didn’t know...

What the future would hold.

---

“Sorry!”

After dance class let out, the three sisters approached Liu Xiaozhi downstairs and apologized in unison. Their tone was genuinely sincere.

Feng Shuyan quietly watched the scene unfold.

Liu Xiaozhi was a little startled. She looked up in confusion at the three triplet sisters, all slightly taller and well-fed.

Before she could figure out why they were apologizing, the middle sister spoke up.

"We misunderstood you before… We listened to someone who said you got cocky and rude just because you’d won talent contests in past years, that you acted all high and mighty, totally full of—"

"You mean 'shameless,'" Feng Shuyan corrected quietly from the side, hearing the string of derogatory idioms.

"Right, shameless. Anyway… the reason we bullied you back then was because someone told us you were awful. We were just standing up for her…”

The three exchanged glances.

Then apologized again.

"Sorry! We won’t bully you anymore!"

To adults, elementary school drama can seem comical.

But as they say—what comes fast, goes fast.

Seeing their sincere faces, Liu Xiaozhi, after a brief daze, gave it some thought… and then broke into a wide smile.

"It’s okay. It’s all just a misunderstanding!"

The triplets had officially been forgiven.

Their chubby little faces lit up with joy.

Off to the side, Feng Shuyan watched the four of them grinning like fools. Not wanting to feel left out, she forced herself to smile too.

But… it wasn’t easy.

As Feng Shuyan was still awkwardly trying to figure out how to smile, Liu Changqing’s car pulled up at the curb.

Through the window, he called to the two girls.

"Hop in… Shuyan, you’re coming to my place first. Your dad will pick you up after work."

"Okay, okay!"

Hearing this, Feng Shuyan dropped her fake smile and nodded at him.

The two kids instinctively opened the back door and climbed in.

As they left, Liu Xiaozhi waved goodbye to the triplets, now her reconciled friends.

The triplets waved back.

Liu Changqing observed all of this. Those three identical girls made quite the impression. Judging from the vibe, his daughter had made new friends.

That’s my girl—making friends fast!

He started the car.

The two girls sat in the backseat. Liu Xiaozhi glanced at him, clearly wanting to say something.

“Daddy…”

Hearing his daughter’s voice, Liu Changqing responded while keeping his eyes on the road.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry…”

The sudden apology puzzled him.

He instinctively looked into the rearview mirror and saw her serious little face.

Curious, he asked, “Why are you saying sorry to me?”

Liu Xiaozhi opened her mouth, about to say the real reason. But then no sound came out.

Her little hand gripped the seat cushion tightly.

Instead, she made something up.

“Because… I’ve been really naughty lately…”

Her eyes darted around nervously.

Liu Changqing didn’t say anything right away and waited for her to continue.

“I’ve been making you angry a lot… But I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I just felt I should apologize to you…”

……

Time passed slowly. Liu Changqing eventually broke into a warm smile.

He got it.

In that moment, he realized what truly mattered to him—

His family.

As long as they were safe and sound, everything would be okay.

Feeling touched by his daughter’s growth, Liu Changqing responded softly.

“It’s okay. Daddy accepts your apology. No matter what mistake you make, I won’t scold you.”

“Really?!”

“Really.”

Hearing his reassurance, Liu Xiaozhi beamed with joy and finally decided to tell the truth.

With an embarrassed smile, she giggled and said:

“Actually… last night when I was washing my feet, I accidentally grabbed the wrong towel and used your face towel to wipe my feet… hehe… but Daddy, you said you wouldn’t be mad!”

“…”

Liu Changqing was suddenly… not that touched anymore.