Bao was scared by Li Heng’s aggressive attitude and buried his face into Pei Huan’s chest. “Mommy!”
“There, there… Don’t be scared, Bao.” Pei Huan gave him a few pats on the back before glaring at Li Heng. “Mr. Li, if this is what it takes to cut ties with you, then you can go to hell for all I care!”
She then turned towards Shi Nuan and said, “I’d like to see my parents at the hospital, please, before heading back to Wutong Residence.”
“Sure, my car is parked right outside. Let’s go!” Shi Nuan waited till Pei Huan wasn’t looking before motioning at Li Heng to not try anything funny. “I’ll help you with your suitcase so you can just carry Bao to my car.”
“Thanks, Shi Nuan!” Pei Huan’s attitude towards her naturally changed after finding out that she was Fu Chengyan’s wife, but she was still a little skeptical about Shi Nuan.
Shi Nuan placed her suitcase in the trunk before opening the car door for her. “Sorry… I didn’t know you were bringing Bao with you, so I didn’t prepare a car seat for him.”
“That’s fine, I can just carry him in my arms!” Pei Huan said as she got into the car. After seeing Shi Nuan put on her seatbelt and adjust the air conditioning settings, Pei Huan couldn’t help but apologize. “I’m sorry about my behavior earlier. I…”
“Don’t worry about it!” Shi Nuan smiled. “Is the temperature okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine!” Pei Huan nodded and waited till Bao fell asleep before asking, “I didn’t know about you dating my brother. In fact, I didn’t even know a single girl that liked him!”
“Really?” Shi Nuan chuckled. “Why wouldn’t anyone like Yan? He’s so amazing!” She opened up a bit to Pei Huan after noticing the change in the latter’s attitude. “Well… It was a little strange, the way our relationship started. He saved me many times and we just sort of developed feelings for each other over time.”
Pei Huan nodded. “I was just a little surprised. After all, my brother is…” She stopped her sentence there and didn’t say anything further.
Shi Nuan didn’t bother to inquire further, either. “Aunt Ning’s condition started to deteriorate a while back, so her husband quit his job at Shengyuan to look after her. She didn’t want to bother you like this, but… Her condition has worsened so much that she fears she won’t be able to wait any longer.”
“I know… It was unfilial of me…” Pei Huan hung her head low in guilt. “Is… Is my mother okay? I didn’t know her condition would get this bad. I remember her being…”
“Her body showed signs of rejection. According to the doctors, there was no way of predicting that.”
“She should’ve told me sooner! She…” Pei Huan was still blaming herself. “I’ve been sending them letters throughout the past few years, but they never replied. I thought they were worried about me and Li Heng…”
“Letters?” Shi Nuan paused. “What letters?”
“I gave them a letter with my address and phone number before I left. That way, they can contact me whenever they like.”
“What number? They told me they didn’t know where you were at all. Yan only managed to find out that you were in C Country a while back. You know Yan, so you know he’d definitely be looking for you.” Shi Nuan felt something wasn’t quite right. “Yan told me he’s been searching for you throughout the past three years but he’s never been able to find any clues to your whereabouts.”
“How is that possible?” Pei Huan went pale. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
“Do I look like I’d joke about this? In fact, Li Heng has also been looking for you for the past three years. He couldn’t find you, either! Considering both of their methods and resources in Jiang City, why is it that they couldn’t find you?”
Pei Huang seemed upset upon hearing that and kept her head low. “Don’t talk about Li Heng…”
Shi Nuan looked at Bao, who was sleeping soundly in Pei Huan’s arms. “And the father of this child…”
“Li Heng isn’t the father!” Pei Huan cut her off. “I got married in C Country.”
Shi Nuan was so shocked that she nearly lost control of the steering wheel. She gave Pei Huan a confused and awkward look. “But… Aren’t you and Li Heng…”
“Our relationship ended three years ago.” Pei Huan seemed unwilling to talk about him, and Shi Nuan knew better than to continue the conversation.
As the car stopped outside Su Shaoqing’s hospital, Pei Huan carefully carried Bao out of the car. Worried that she might be tired from the long flight, Shi Nuan offered to help carry the boy. “You must be tired from the trip. Here, let me help.”
“No…” Pei Huan was about to refuse her offer when a pair of hands took Bao out of her arms.
“What are you doing, Li Heng?” Pei Huan shouted in shock, “Give him back to me!” She reached out to snatch her child from him but he quickly avoided her by turning the other way. “Stop yelling! Can’t you see he’s asleep?”
“You…”
“Pei Huan!” Shi Nuan grabbed her by the arm. “Don’t worry, Aunt Ning is just upstairs so Li Heng won’t do anything to hurt Bao. You must be tired from carrying him in the car, so why not let Li Heng help you out for a bit? He’s been waiting for you all this while; you might as well make him do something for you!”
“But…”
Pei Huan looked at Bao worriedly and got upset when she saw him sleeping soundly in Li Heng’s arms.
Shi Nuan let out a sigh and said, “Li Heng, how about you let me carry Bao instead?”
“No way. Look at how skinny you are! What if you drop him?” Li Heng gave her a condescending look. “Come on, Mom and Dad are in the hospital.”
Shi Nuan took a closer look at her own arms after hearing what he said.
Pei Huan, on the other hand, became agitated. “The child isn’t yours, Li Heng! Also, I’m married now, so my parents are no longer your parents!”
Li Heng was about to say something when he noticed Shi Nuan motioning at him and suppressed his anger. “I know you’re still mad at me, but now isn’t the time to vent your anger. Let’s go see your parents, and then I’ll send you home.”
Shi Nuan shuddered when she saw him speaking softly despite being on the verge of losing his temper.
I’ve never seen Li Heng behave like this before!
“Y-Yeah… Li Heng is right. Aunt Ning and Uncle Heng are still waiting for you upstairs! I don’t know if Yan told them about you coming over today, but I bet they’d be happy to see you!” Shi Nuan said with a smile.
Pei Huan seemed to feel a little easier after hearing that; she nodded. “Alright… Lead the way, Shi Nuan.”
“No need to be so formal. Just call me Nuan!”
“Okay, Nuan!” Pei Huan smiled and went upstairs with Shi Nuan, but not before taking one more look at Bao. The look of worry in her eyes was obvious, much to Li Heng’s displeasure.
I should be the one who’s angry right now! She left me for 3 years and 7 months! Judging by how much her child has grown, she probably got pregnant and gave birth shortly after leaving Jiang City. Why is it that all my anger and hatred just seem to disappear in front of her? Why do I feel my heart racing when I’m carrying a child she had with another man? Am I that generous?
Li Heng thought to himself as he looked at Bao’s innocent face in his arms.
Pei Huan kept her eyes on him the entire time; she looked increasingly grim.
“Pei Huan?” Shi Nuan noticed something off about her facial expression and saw her eyeing Li Heng. “Relax, he won’t do anything to Bao. I may not have known him for long, but I know that he…he still likes you!”
“Stop. It’s impossible for us to be together, and I don’t want to talk about it.” Pei Huan looked away and clenched her fist. “I don’t plan on staying long. Once I’ve donated my bone marrow to Mom, I’ll go back to C Country with Bao. My husband is still waiting for me, you see.”
“You… You’re really married?”
Shi Nuan still found it hard to believe that Pei Huan was married, but Pei Huan didn’t seem to be lying.
Su Shaoqing was just coming out of the ward when they arrived. He freaked out when he saw Pei Huan standing there. “P-Pei Huan? You’re back?”
“Long time no see, Mr. Su.” Pei Huan gave him a friendly smile.
Su Shaoqing slowly regained his composure, but then freaked out again when he saw Li Heng with a child in his arms. “Li Heng, that child… Did you kidnap him?”
Li Heng shot him a fierce glare in response, warning him to shut up.
Su Shaoqing had an awkward smile on his face. “So, uh… That’s…”
“My child, Bao.” Pei Huan explained. “Your child? You and Li Heng have a child?” Su Shaoqing was shocked.
“No, that child belongs to me and my husband.”
“Your husband? But isn’t Li Heng your husband? So, this child…”
“We have divorced long ago.” Pei Huan cut him off. “Mr. Su, I’m here to see my parents, and you’re in my way.”
“Uh…” Su Shaoqing was about to say something but held his tongue when he saw the scary look on Li Heng’s face.
“Right, they’re both inside! Go on in!” Su Shaoqing opened the door to let Pei Huan and Shi Nuan in but stopped Li Heng from entering. “Pei Huan got married? And this child isn’t yours?”
