Stay Home Daddy: I Was Reborn After My Daughter Passed Away

What mother doesn't feel pain for her own child?

Seeing Tiantian so happy,

she, as a mother, was naturally joyful as well.

However, she did not know if Gu Chen was simply acting on impulse or if he had truly turned over a new leaf.

She didn't know if she would wake up to find that everything had returned to how it used to be.

With so many unknowns, all she could do was beg him.

"You can treat me however you want, but the child is innocent, don't hurt the child's heart."

Ji Pianran was fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, looking somewhat uneasy.

Gu Chen felt a tremor in his heart.

His daughter likes him?

The idea was both laughable and heart-wrenching to hear.

In the past two years, he had hardly been home at all, how could the child have any affection for him, and yet she liked him so much.

He knew very well.

It was this woman before him.

She had been quietly maintaining the image of a father for him.

It really hadn't been easy.

Now, just a few days before she was due to leave, he was determined to keep her there no matter what!

Gu Chen took a deep breath and quietly placed his bowl and chopsticks on the table.

His profound eyes earnestly settled on Ji Pianran's face.

"Could you give me five days' time? I promise I won't let you down. I know I've done many wrong things in the past, but still, I want to shamelessly ask for one more chance..."

"I will definitely try my best to be a good father, a good husband."

Gu Chen was a bit nervous as he spoke.

After all, he had indeed done too many wrong things.

And there were only five days left until the New Year.

It seemed that she must have already made her preparations to leave.

Talking about it now might be utterly useless.

Having finished speaking, he lowered his head, like a prisoner awaiting judgment, extremely anxious.

He was unaware that as his words reached Ji Pianran's ears, an expression of surprise appeared on her face.

Especially that phrase, "a good husband."

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, unsure of what to say.

She bowed her head and continued to eat.

Neither of them said anything further.

After finishing the meal, Ji Pianran got up to clear the table, but Gu Chen quickly stopped her.

"Leave it, I'll do it. You go and play with Tiantian."

Ji Pianran nodded her head.

By now it was completely dark outside, and it was time for Tiantian to come back and go to bed.

With that thought, Ji Pianran went out to Aunt Zhang's house next door.

No sooner did she enter the yard than she saw that the rabbit cage at Aunt Zhang's house was open, and not a single rabbit was inside.

Ji Pianran couldn't quite explain why, but the sight made her heart race with unease.

In a rush, she pushed through the door into the house.

"Aunt Zhang, where's Tiantian?"

Aunt Zhang was washing dishes inside at the time. Hearing the voice, she hurried out, wiping her hands with her apron.

She looked at Ji Pianran with a bewildered face.

"Tiantian came over?"

Seeing Aunt Zhang's puzzled expression, Ji Pianran felt a tightness in her chest.

It was over!

The child was missing!

She blurted out anxiously, "Yes, Tiantian said she wanted to come over to see the rabbits. I didn't think much of it and let her come by herself. Just now when I came in, I noticed that not a single rabbit was left."

Upon hearing that both the rabbits and Tiantian were gone,

Aunt Zhang didn't say a word and hurried outside.

Opening the door and looking out, the rabbit cage in the yard was indeed open.

There had been one little rabbit left inside, and she had been thinking that after the turn of the year, when it grew up a bit, she'd catch another one so they could have a litter of bunnies next year.

Now the rabbit and Tiantian were both gone.

She pondered for a moment, "Did Tiantian take the rabbit out to play?"

"Who knows."

Ji Pianran was frantic.

The two of them talked as they walked outside, ready to search for Tangtang.

At that moment, Gu Chen had just finished washing the dishes and was about to step into the yard to have a smoke when he heard the conversation and footsteps of the two people.

He immediately dropped his cigarette and ran out.

When he saw Ji Pianran, her eyes were red, and she was about to cry.

He hastily comforted her, "It's okay, our village isn't big, we'll definitely find her, don't worry, let's split up to search!"

Ji Pianran also knew that was the only option right now.

She touched the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, let's go, let's split up and search, we will definitely find her."

Aunt Zhang saw how pitiful Ji Pianran was and couldn't help but persuade her.

The three of them then went off in different directions to search.

Gu Chen hadn't gone far when he saw Tangtang walking back, hugging a rabbit.

He hurried over and scooped up the child along with the rabbit in her arms.

"What have you been up to?"

The little girl was smiling with joy.

"Granny Zhang's rabbit ran away, and I helped chase it back."

Gu Chen: "..."

Thankfully, the rabbit was still small and couldn't run fast. Otherwise, for a two-year-old child, it's hard to know how long it would take to catch it, if she could catch it at all.

She might even have gotten lost herself.

Gu He secretly broke out in a sweat, "Next time, you can't run off like that, understand?"

Tangtang smiled at Gu Chen, stretched out her right hand, and showed him.

It was a piece of withered broccoli that had turned yellow at the edges.

"Daddy, look, this flower is so pretty."

Gu He, holding Tangtang in his left arm, took the piece of broccoli with his right.

As he moved his hand, some seeds even fell off.

Gu Chen, afraid the seeds would fall to the ground, clenched his fist slightly, securing all of them in his palm.

Only then did he take a closer look.

It must have been snapped off by someone picking vegetables and left on the ground.

Tangtang thought it was a flower and picked it up.

It was winter now, when fresh vegetables were scarce, and just before the New Year.

Every family needed to buy some vegetables for the New Year.

Suddenly, Gu Chen thought of Spirit Field.

He wondered what would happen if he planted the broccoli there.

Gu Chen's house was close to the road, and after Ji Pianran had searched around and found nothing, she turned back.

Heading towards the east side, she hadn't gone far when she saw Gu Chen holding the child.

Her heart eased, and she hurried over, taking Tangtang into her arms.

"You child, it's getting dark. Where did you go?"

After speaking, her eyes turned red once more.

After all, Tangtang was just a little kid.

Right now, she didn't feel she had done anything wrong and was still pointing at the bag in Gu Chen's hand with a giggly smile.

"Mommy, look, I just picked a very pretty flower and gave it to daddy."

Hearing this, Ji Pianran glanced at the bag in Gu Chen's hand.

"Tangtang, be good, you can't run off like that anymore. What if you met a bad person, that would be terrible."

At this time, Ji Pianran walked ahead holding Tangtang, while Gu Chen followed alone behind.

After a few steps, Ji Pianran looked back at Gu Chen.

"You go back first, I'll call Aunt Zhang to come back with us."

Seeing Gu Chen nod, she then carried Tangtang and walked briskly ahead.

When Gu Chen got home, he took advantage of being alone and entered the space.

There was no sun here, but strangely, the weather seemed quite nice, neither cold nor hot.

Underfoot was a piece of land about an acre big, with deep brown soil no different from the ground outside.

There was also a pool of spring water not far away, bubbling up continuously.

It looked crystal clear.

Gu Chen bent down in Spirit Field and used his hands to dig a few times before burying the piece of broccoli and the few seeds that had fallen out into the soil. Then, worried they wouldn't take root, he watered them with some water from the Spiritual Spring.