9: later

The fashionable woman smiled, glanced at Wu Fan, took Sweetie's hand, and said, "Say goodbye to the uncle and your classmate."

Sweetie waved at Wu Fan and Yaoyao, said "Goodbye," and followed the woman away.

Wu Fan watched them get into an Audi SUV, and soon it disappeared at the end of the road.

"Dad, what are you looking at?"

Wu Fan retracted his gaze, picked up Yaoyao, and placed her on the back seat of the electric scooter.

"Dad was looking at that car. Do you think it was pretty?"

"No, I don't like its color."

"If Dad buys a car, what color car do you hope he buys?"

"Blue, of course."

Wu Fan felt a pang in his heart again. In her mind, her mother's color was blue; it seemed she wanted to choose blue for everything they bought.

But was it appropriate for a grown man to drive a blue car?

Wu Fan imagined it in his mind and felt awkward.

However, since Yaoyao chose blue, then blue it must be.

"Put your hands in Dad's jacket pocket, hold on tight, and we're heading home now."

"Okay! Let's go, whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

"Dad, can we go buy puzzles?"

"What kind of puzzles?"

"Puzzles are just puzzles! The stationery store has lots of them."

"Alright, no problem."

Only after entering the stationery store did Wu Fan realize that there were many types of puzzles, and the difficulty varied depending on the number of pieces.

Yaoyao looked at one, then another, feeling indecisive.

Wu Fan squatted down and said with a smile, "How about we buy all of them?"

Yaoyao looked at Wu Fan in surprise. In her memory, her father had never been so generous; she knew he didn't have much money.

Wu Fan took the puzzle from her hand, selected nine more puzzles with different designs, and went straight to the register to pay.

Yaoyao happily asked, "Dad, did you buy ten puzzles?"

"Yes. Is that enough?"

"More than enough! I can put them together for a long, long time!"

Looking at Yaoyao's happy little face, Wu Fan felt especially reassured inside.

After returning home, Wu Fan went to the kitchen to stir-fry dishes. Yaoyao played with the puzzles alone on the coffee table in the living room.

In the years since the divorce, Wu Fan's cooking skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

To cook every dish well and ensure Yaoyao was satisfied, he had watched countless videos on Xiaohongshu.

He learned the preparation methods and pairings for various dishes, imitating them desperately.

He ran into many pitfalls, but his culinary skills genuinely improved significantly. This might be the only practical skill he had acquired after the divorce.

After having dinner with Yaoyao and cleaning the kitchen, the two of them started playing with the puzzles together.

They played until 8:30 PM. When the alarm clock rang, Yaoyao went to wash up and then got into bed.

Wu Fan sat by the bed and read a bedtime story every night.

Then he watched her until she fell soundly asleep. Usually, she would drift off around 9 o'clock.

Wu Fan quietly left the room and closed the door.

He went to the bathroom to fix his hair and rinse his mouth, then headed out, rushing toward the One Foot Sea Bar.

Both the room and the living room were equipped with cameras, allowing him to clearly monitor the situation at home via his phone.

If Yaoyao woke up or anything happened, he could talk to her directly through the camera, so it wasn't a major issue.

The dim yellow streetlights looked so lonely.

Pedestrians were scarce on the street, and driving the electric scooter made him feel the bone-chilling cold wind of the island even more intensely.

The One Foot Sea Bar was located on the very edge of the city. As the name suggested, the distance from the bar to the sea was only one foot.

Although it was an exaggeration, it was indeed very apt.

Standing at the entrance of the bar, one could see the boundless ocean.

In the nearby safe harbor, fishing lights twinkled.

The lights on the boats swayed gently with the waves, carrying the fishermen's hopes of a bountiful return.

A large ship's rudder was installed at the entrance of the One Foot Sea Bar.

Every guest couldn't help but spin it a few times before entering, and Wu Fan was no exception.

The bar's decor was very retro; the tables were spliced together from discarded old ship wood, making them sturdy and full of vintage character.

An old diesel engine was placed in the corner of the performance area, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

Fei Wei saw Wu Fan and immediately came over, leading him to a table that had been reserved in the corner.

Business was good at the bar today; there were quite a few customers, many of whom were likely drawn by the third-rate singer.

Wu Fan looked at the stage and didn't see anyone, aside from a few guitars and a drum kit.

He immediately asked, "You're not messing with me, are you? Where is the beautiful female singer?"

Fei Wei put his arm around Wu Fan's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You arrived at the perfect time. The female singer just stepped out to answer nature's call."

Wu Fan looked back at him. Through the flickering lights, Fei Wei's face looked serious; he didn't seem to be lying.

Fei Wei continued, "Why don't you go up on stage and belt out a couple of songs later?"

Wu Fan repeatedly waved his hands and said, "I wouldn't dare make a fool of myself on such an important night."

Fei Wei said dismissively, "Do you think people come to the bar to drink just to listen to good music? They're only here to experience an atmosphere."

Wu Fan laughed, "So you mean my hysterical singing style is great at rousing the customers' emotions?"

Fei Wei patted Wu Fan's shoulder and nodded.

He brought Wu Fan two cases of beer and a bottle of red wine, joking, "It's free flow tonight, settle the bill at the end of the year."

Wu Fan picked up the ashtray on the table, pretending to smash his head, and said, "If you dare bring up settling the bill at the end of the year, I'll smash your head in."

Fei Wei burst into laughter and turned to get busy.

Wu Fan deliberately opened a beer and drank several gulps straight from the bottle without using a glass.

The ice-cold, biting sensation felt intensely satisfying to him.

Suddenly, a wave of commotion broke out.

Wu Fan looked up and saw a waist-length haired beauty, dressed in black leather jacket and pants, pick up a guitar on the stage and sit down.

She didn't say anything, but casually strummed the guitar, producing beautiful notes.

Fei Wei quickly went up on stage, adjusted the microphone height for her, and then the long-haired beauty began playing the prelude.

Wu Fan listened, finding it somewhat familiar, but still didn't know what song she was going to sing, until she opened her mouth: "Later I finally learned how to love, but sadly you were already far gone, lost in the crowd. Later, I finally understood through tears, that once some people are missed, they are gone..." It turned out to be René Liu's "Later."

It was an old song, but under the long-haired beauty's performance, it felt completely fresh.

Her vocal line and tone were completely different from René Liu's—a little husky, a little deep—but it sounded even more sorrowful and painful.

Wu Fan's heart was sharply pierced.

In that moment, he thought of Liu Yue once again, recalling every detail of their university days, the various arguments after marriage, and the scene where she decisively got into the BMW and drove away.

Alas, things change and people scatter, leaving behind endless sorrow and resentment.

Wu Fan seemed to see tears in the female singer's eyes, but maybe not; perhaps she was just singing with great dedication and genuine emotion.

Wu Fan picked up the beer and drained it in one gulp...!!