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Yibo reached out and placed his palm over Zhan’s flat belly, “Why haven’t you had any news after such a long time?”
Zhan’s ears were burning. He raised his hand to slap his husband, “What are you doing?”
“You’re still shy. That’s how Fei was born, isn’t it?” Yibo looked calm.
“You want to have another baby so much?” Zhan asked him calmly. “Or do you want a son? After all, the Wang family has so much property.”
“What are you thinking?” Yibo pinched his wife’s cheeks, “Whether it’s a boy or a girl, I just want to have another child. Fei is very lonely. Our family also likes to have more children. I’ve said this before. How can you suspect that I prefer boys to girls?”
“You know, my brother is still in a coma, My dad was really sad at first. But because he still had me and Jingyi with him, he slowly recovered from the sadness of my brother.”
Yibo held Zhan’s hand. “Do you not want to have another child? If you really don’t want to, I won’t force you.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just don’t feel like I’m ready.”
Zhan didn’t know what he was thinking, “Why don’t we just go with the flow?”
“Alright.” Yibo chose to respect his thoughts.
***
The next day, after breakfast, Yibo and Zhan took Fei back to the Wang family’s mansion.
It was also the first time they visited Yibo’s parents in the Wang family.
Qiren, Liying, and Jingyi, who was not in school, were all home.
“Grandpa, Grandma.” Fei called out to them cheerfully, “Uncle Jingyi.”
“Guys, good morning.” Qiren looked at them, especially Fei, and was very happy. “Fei, come here. Let Grandpa take a good look at you.”
Fei ran up and Qiren picked Fei up and let her sit on his lap, “Fei has grown taller and stronger.”
“Grandpa, is that all?” Fei asked.
“Thinner.”
“And?”
“Cuter.”
“Grandpa, don’t you notice that I’m prettier?” Fei lightly pouted.
“Yes, of course. Our little princess is even prettier.” Qiren laughed aloud.
Fei continued, “Grandpa, you are simply a straighter straight man than my Daddy.”
“Straight man? What’s a straight man?” Qiren became interested in the new words.
“A straight man is…” Fei didn’t dare to say it. So, she just got close to Qiren’ ear and whispered it to him alone.
“Fei, you can’t be so rude to Grandpa.” Zhan gently scolded Fei, afraid that Fei would say something wrong. After all, it was not praise in this case.
“Zhan, it’s okay.” After knowing that Fei was Yibo’s child, Qiren doted on his only granddaughter, “I should reflect on it. I am poor at seeing it.”
“The most beautiful girl in our family is Fei.” Jingyi praised Fei.
“Uncle Jingyi, I like you very much.” Fei burst with joy inside.
“Uncle Jingyi likes you too.”
Seeing this, Zhan said to Yibo helplessly, “I have thought you’ve spoiled her enough. Now, it seems she’s going to be spoiled by your family. What should we do?”
“It shows how cute and popular our daughter is. So don’t worry. A child with high EQ is more likely to win in the future than a child with high IQ. Let’s wait and see. The children of the Wang family will not be bad.” Yibo, however, had full confidence in Fei.
Yibo put on a proud smile when he spoke of his daughter.
“Well, your family has good genes.” Zhan knew that for Yibo, even if Fei became ordinary after growing up, she would still be his most precious daughter.
“Of course. But a wife as beautiful as you is vital.” Yibo praised Zhan, not forgetting his wife’s credit.
“Slick talker.” Zhan said, but felt sweet inside.
At noon, the family all came to the dining room, Liying said she would be there in a few minutes.
When everyone was seated, Liying came over, holding Zoe, who hadn’t appeared for a long time.
Yibo wasn’t surprised by Zoe’s appearance and didn’t look at her.
Zhan was surprised and didn’t expect Zoe to have returned to the Wang family.
But now, Zoe seemed to be more cowardly than she used to be. The fact that she had returned to the Wang family meant that Yibo had cooled down.
Liying smiled and said to Zoe, “Zoe, come on. Say hello to everyone, Yibo, Zhan, and your little niece Fei are home today.”
As Zoe turned to Yibo, she hid fearfully behind Liying and grabbed her arm tightly.
Her eyes were full of fear. She was trembling lightly, not daring to look up at Yibo.
“Zoe, Yibo is your brother. Don’t be afraid.” Liying reached out and gently patted the back of Zoe’s hand, “Come on, let’s sit down and eat.”
Liying pulled Zoe forward. But Zoe refused to move toward the table.
She became more and more frightened, “No… no. I don’t want to go there. I… I’m scared…”
Zoe was afraid of Yibo.
At the time, Yibo didn’t show any affection to his father and stepmother, and had driven Zoe out of the Wang family to suffer.
Zoe had suffered a lot and had been transformed from an arrogant and unreasonable young lady into a submissive person. Her drive was greatly lessened. It seemed to be really effective.
She was fearful as soon as she saw Yibo.
It could be said that how much she once liked Yibo, how much she feared him now.
“Don’t be afraid, Yibo won’t hurt you,” Liying comforted Zoe in a warm voice.
“No, no, no…” Zoe shook her head fiercely, “I’ll just eat in my room.”
Qiren was a little upset when he looked at Zoe like this.
When they found Zoe back then, they saw that she was just like the women in the refugee camps, with thin cheeks, yellow skin and a petite figure.
Liying didn’t recognize Zoe as her own daughter. Once she did, she hugged her and cried. Tears poured down her face and she felt heartbroken.
Zoe repulsed at first. But after recognizing Liying, she bit her lip and cried loudly.
Qiren didn’t say anything, just urged Liying to take Zoe home quickly.
After returning home, Liying cleaned Zoe and restored her to her beautiful appearance.
But she still lived carefully and did not speak for a long time. A short time ago, she began to communicate with Liying and could say a few words.
In fact, Liying must have hated Yibo for what he had done to Zoe, But she also knew that it was because Zoe crossed the line.
It was a punishment that Zoe deserved. But Liying still felt distressed for her daughter.
“You’re being too harsh on Zoe.” Qiren whispered to Yibo on his left, “She only spoke a while ago.”
“The price of growth is inevitable.” Yibo glanced lightly at Zoe, “I think it’s fine now.”
Zhan get up at this point and walked to Zoe, “Zoe, sit down here.”
“You… Don’t come over here.” Zoe turned pale as she saw Zhan walking towards her and backed away. “Please…
She dropped to the floor in fear, shrunk, and clenched her hands. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was as pitiful as an abandoned kitten.
“Zoe, we are a family. Don’t be afraid, I am your brother-in-law.” Zhan squatted in front of Zoe.
Zoe did not dare to look at Zhan. She just looked down at her toes and bit her lips, not daring to say a word.
“Zoe, the past is the past. Let’s forget it.” Zhan didn’t want to think too much about it after seeing that Zoe had gotten the punishment she deserved.
Zoe did not answer him.
Zhan reached out to help Zoe while Zoe instinctively avoided his touch.
Seeing Zhan’s hand frozen in mid-air, Yibo got up and stepped over.
Seeing Yibo approaching, Zoe turned paler and was so careful that she even held her breath.
Yibo took Zhan’s hand, helped him, and said to Zoe, “Get up. Sit in the dining room, and eat.”
Zoe didn’t dare to move or speak.
“Don’t you hear me?” Yibo saw that Zoe was still sitting on the floor, “Then I have plenty of ways for you to sit over. Do you want to try? Three seconds for you to think about it.”
“No, no!” Zoe begged, shaking her head.
“Then do as you’re told and sit down to eat.” With that, Yibo led Zhan back to his seat.
“You’ll scare her like that. She can’t stand fright in her condition right now.” Zhan felt Zoe was a little pitiful. But there must be something hateful about pitiful people.
“But it works quickly.” Yibo had caught a glimpse of Zoe immediately getting up and sitting obediently at the table, next to Jingyi.
She was still terrified of Yibo and resisted to be so close to him.
But she didn’t want to be thrown back to that place where she could only resign herself to her fate without food or warm clothes or good sleep.
She didn’t want to go through that again. It was her nightmare for the rest of her life.
“Let’s eat.” Qiren said, “Fei, try this.”
He took a piece of sweet and sour pork for Fei, golden in color and sprinkled with white sesame seeds, tempting and lovely.
Fei had a sweet tooth, and sweet and sour pork was her favorite.
“Thank you, Grandpa.” Fei happily ate.
“Help yourself.” Qiren looked at the sauce on the corners of Fei’ lips and said.
After eating, Yibo played chess with Qiren, while Jingyi watched the game from the side.
Liying talked with Zhan and Fei in the living room, Zoe went back to her room to rest.
“Fei, what would you like to eat for dinner later?” Liying was peeling a washed apple.
“Liying, don’t bother. Yibo intends to go to the hospital later to see Haikuan…”
Liying accidentally peeled her hand before Zhan finished speaking. Blood seeped out of the snow-white fingers, shocking.
“Liying, how are you doing?” Zhan picked up the paper towel on the table to cover Liying’s wound, “Press the wound first. I’ll go get the first aid kit.”
“Let them go get it.” Liying asked a servant to go.
“Grandma, are you all right?” Fei also came to care for Liying.
“It’s just a small injury, Grandma is fine.” Liying reached out and stroked Fei’s face. Seeing the concern in her eyes, Liying smiled lightly.
The servant took the first aid kit.
Zhan immediately opened it and took out the antiseptic alcohol and cotton swabs.
She helped Liying disinfect the wound on her finger and put on a band-aid for her.
“Grandma, does it still hurt?” Fei saw the thin red wound, “If it hurts, I’ll blow it for you.”
“Grandma’s not that weak. Thanks, honey.” Liying moved her finger to show she was okay.
Zhan picked up another apple and peeled it, “Liying, so we won’t have dinner here.”
“Okay then.” Liying nodded.
Yibo finished his game of chess with Qiren, and Jingyi continued to play chess with his father instead. So, Yibo came to Zhan.
“It’s about time. Let’s go.”
Liying dropped the family off in front of the mansion and watched them drive away. She stood there for a long time and did not enter the house.
***
Yibo drove to the hospital and arrived at Haikuan’s ward, only to see someone he hadn’t seen for a long time.
Noticing Yibo’s arrival, she stood up slowly from Haikuan’s ward.
“Chen Yihan.”
“Mr. Yibo.”
Yibo was very surprised to see Yihan. He thought she had gone abroad and hadn’t seen her for so many years.
“What are you doing here?” Yibo walked over and put the flowers down, “Are you back home?”
“I..” Yihan bit her lip and seemed a little hard to say it.
After a moment of hesitation, she picked up her bag and walked around the end of the bed, saying, “Sorry, I should go.”
Yibo, however, strode forward and blocked her way, “What are you afraid of?”
“I… I’m not.” Yihan gripped the strap of her bag and said calmly.
“Since you are not afraid, shouldn’t we catch up after so long?”
Yibo had no intention of letting Yihan leave. His eyes were stern.
“I have something to do today. Next time, I’ll treat you to dinner.” Yihan resisted.
“No time like the present. Just now.” Yibo asked Zhan to come to him, “Yihan, this is Zhan, my wife, and Fei, my daughter, Zhan, this is Yihan. She was a childhood friend of Haikuan. They used to be very close.”
“Yihan, nice to meet you.” Zhan extended his hand to Yihan.
Yihan shook Zhan’s hand, “Mrs. Wang, nice to meet you too.”
“Just call me Zhan.” Zhan corrected, “Please don’t mind. Yibo is so domineering. In fact, it’s just because that he hasn’t seen you for a long time and wants to get together with you, Yihan, why don’t you have a casual dinner with us?”
Seeing Zhan was so sincere, Yihan could not refuse and had to nod.
“How long have you been back? Did you visit him as soon as you came back?” Yibo asked Yihan, “Where have you been all these years?”
“I… I got married.” In Yihan’s eyes, they could not see the happiness after marriage.
“Really? Why don’t I know?” Yibo was serious. He did not know such an important thing that Yihan had gotten married at all, “Who did you marry?”
“I’m just the illegitimate daughter of the Chen family.” So, no one would care about who she married and how she married.
“If Haikuan had not had this accident, maybe you guys would have been together.” Yibo felt sorry. Some good things finally did not work out the way they should.
Yihan shook her head, “Haikuan actually had someone he liked, but that person was not me.”
“But before Haikuan’s accident, I heard him mention you. He even asked me to marry you.” What Haikuan once said to him flashed into Yibo’s mind, “He said you would be a good wife.”
When Yihan heard these words, she was deeply touched with soreness, pain and joy, and other mixed feelings. Her eyes were filled with tears.
Tears wetted the long eyelashes. She looked down, “These are all in the past. Let’s forget it.”
It would only make her sad while mentioning it again.
“So how are you doing now?” Yibo asked.
“I’m fine.” Yihan held back her tears and put on a light smile, “I heard about your marriage. You are lucky to have such a good life partner as Zhan, Cherish him and love him.”
“I will naturally do that.” Yibo took Zhan’s shoulder.
“Your husband must be more loving than Yibo. Yihan, you must be also happy.” Zhan wished her well.
Yihan smiled lightly and didn’t answer.
Yibo asked again, “Who is your husband?”
“You don’t know him even if I tell you, I’ll introduce him in person later when there is a chance.” Yihan changed the subject again.
“Go see your brother. He should miss you guys too.”
Yibo and Zhan then took Fei to Haikuan’s bedside.
They held Fei’ hands and said to Haikuan, “Haikuan, how are you? This is Fei, your niece. Fei, greet to Uncle Haikuan.”
“Uncle Haikuan, nice to meet you.” Fei said in a childish voice.
They stayed with Haikuan for a while and then left the hospital with Yihan, going to a restaurant for dinner.
While waiting for the food to be served, Yibo said as he spread the napkin cloth, “Yihan, did you meet Haikuan before his accident?”
“No. But we did call.” Yihan picked up her glass and recalled, “He said he was going to talk to his teacher.”
“Teacher?” Yibo felt this was an important message, “Did he say which teacher it was?”
“No.” Yihan shook her head.
“What do you think he was going to talk to his teacher about? Love? It shouldn’t be possible.”
“Then do you know who the woman he likes is?” Yibo’s long fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.
“I don’t know either.” Yihan gripped the glass, feeling that she couldn’t help in any way, “He just said she didn’t want too many people to know about them yet. He intended to say it when it was the right time.”
***
I hope the author will finish this story. It’s almost two years yet no update