When Pei Huan was still Li Heng’s girlfriend, Aunt Zhang had always treated her as if she was her own daughter. Pei Huan had grown up without much motherly love. Even though she had returned to the Fu family, she still felt estranged from Ning Xin. After all, she had grown up and was married to Li Heng. It was not an easy feat to mend her relationship with Ning Xin.
However, it was a different story when it came to Aunt Zhang. For all these years, that woman was the one who took care of Li Heng and accompanied him when he was expelled from the Li Residence. She had always regarded Li Heng as her own son. As Li Heng’s wife, Pei Huan was greatly adored by her. Aunt Zhang was always there for her whenever she needed her assistance.
“I miss you too!” Aunt Zhang answered upon hearing her voice. For three years, Li Heng lived a miserable life since the day Pei Huan left. The man might seem to be a tough cookie in the eyes of outsiders, but as his long-serving guardian, Aunt Zhang could easily tell that he was actually in deep sorrow.
“Huan, come and visit me! I am old and feeble now, and I really hope to meet you. All I wish is for you and Li Heng’s happiness.”
Pei Huan was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond to Aunt Zhang. Subconsciously, she glanced at Li Heng, who was driving. It seemed like he hadn’t heard much of her conversation with Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhang let out a sigh over the phone. “Huan, I think that there’s a misunderstanding between you and Heng. For the past three years, there has not been a day that he didn’t think of you, and everything in the master bedroom has remained the same. Not only that, but he also wouldn’t let anyone enter the guest room that you stayed in before, except for giving the room a clean occasionally. Huan, since you’re back, you and Heng…”
“Aunt Zhang!” Pei Huan’s voice sounded cracked when she suddenly interrupted the person on the line. Li Heng pulled to the side on the road right away to look at her. With his voice full of concern, he asked, “Do you have a sore throat?”
Slightly bewildered, she answered, “No.”
Li Heng furrowed his brows. “Your voice sounded hoarse just now. You should tell me if you’re not feeling well.”
Pei Huan came to her senses and quickly reassured him, “I’m fine.”
Li Heng took a close look at her to make sure that she was in good condition. Then, he took the handphone from her. “Aunt Zhang, I’m going to send Huan back because she’s tired. I’ll bring her to see you next time, alright?”
Pei Huan blurted out, “Never mind; we can visit Aunt Zhang today!” However, she instantly regretted her words upon catching sight of mirth in his eyes.
Aunt Zhang didn’t afford her the time to change her mind, saying, “That’s great! Heng, you can bring Huan over right now. It’s rather late, so I’m going to cook now. Dinner should be ready by the time you arrive.” With that, Aunt Zhang ended the call.
Li Heng pursed his lips, looking at Pei Huan with a complicated expression on his face. Pei Huan tucked her hair behind her ears in an attempt to hide her awkwardness before speaking nonchalantly, “Don’t get me wrong! I’m doing this because I don’t wish to disappoint Aunt Zhang. After all, she has always been nice to me.” That’s right! That’s all it is!
Li Heng curled his lips into a smile as he looked at her with the mirth in his eyes barely veiled. Then, he nodded and said teasingly, “Okay, I got it. You simply miss Aunt Zhang.”
Pei Huan felt uneasy when Li Heng fixed his gaze on her; she could feel her cheeks burning. “Shouldn’t we get going? Isn’t Aunt Zhang waiting for us?”
Aunt Zhang was overjoyed when she heard that Pei Huan was coming back. Without loss of time, she busied herself in the kitchen while waiting for Pei Huan’s arrival.
Pei Huan almost thought something had gotten into Li Heng upon noticing that he was all smiles the entire journey. She knew he must have read too much into her intention, but she decided to let him be. After all, she didn’t want to bother her pretty little head about dealing with their relationship. Just take one day at a time, she told herself.
Soon, the car pulled up at Wuyun Residence. Pei Huan carried Bao as she got out of the car. After parking the car, Li Heng offered to carry Bao. “Give Bao to me!”
“There’s no need. Bao can walk on his own.” Pei Huan rejected his request and put Bao down. “Bao, you’re not a baby anymore. Mommy can’t always carry you around, understand?”
Bao nodded. “I know! If Mommy carries me all the time, Mommy will be tired.”
Feeling glad, Pei Huan curled her lips into a pleasant smile. Right then, she heard Bao saying, “But daddy isn’t tired. He said he likes to carry me around. Daddy, do you want to carry me now?” Bao wrapped his arms around Li Heng’s thigh as he spoke.
Li Heng lowered his eyes to look at the little one who was clinging to his thigh. With a gentle smile, he caressed Bao’s head affectionately. “Yes, let Daddy carry you.”
Li Heng had had a crappy childhood. From what he could remember, he was raised to become the heir of the Li family. Now that he had become a father himself, he would not let his son experience what he had been through in the past.
Li Heng picked Bao up and propped him in his arms. “Let’s go, Bao! Daddy is going to introduce an old lady to you.”
Bao asked innocently, “Is she Daddy’s mommy?”
Li Heng paused for a second and then nodded. “Yes, she’s my mother. She’s a very important person to me. You should call her Grandma when you see her later. Can you do that?”
“Sure.” Bao was happy as he nodded. “I don’t have a Grandma in C Country. Daddy, I promise I will treat Grandma nicely!” Then, he stroked his father’s face with his chubby little hand.
Li Heng’s facial expression softened at that instant. “Great! You’re such a good boy!” Noticing that Pei Huan was looking at them lovingly, he reached for her hand, holding it in his. Pei Huan, who was lost in her thought, didn’t realize that he was holding her hand. When she finally came back to her senses, it was already too late to retrieve her hand.
Standing in the yard, Aunt Zhang was waiting anticipatingly for their arrival. When she saw Li Heng carrying a kid and holding Pei Huan’s hand, she immediately rushed up to them. “Heng, you’re back! This must be Bao! He’s such a handsome little guy. He looks just like you when you were little.”
With a pleasant smile, she greeted Pei Huan, “Huan, it has been years since I last saw you. I see that you’ve lost some weight.”
Pei Huan tried to pull her hand out of Li Heng’s, but to no avail, as he was holding tightly to it. Aunt Zhang was looking at her, so she returned her greeting, “Aunt Zhang, long time no see.”
“It’s so nice to see you again!” Aunt Zhang was high-spirited when she saw Li Heng and Pei Huan together again.
Feeling slightly awkward, Pei Huan turned toward Bao and kindly reminded him, “Bao, have you forgotten what your Daddy told you just now?”
Bao’s eyes lit up upon hearing her words. “Hello, Grandma! My name is Bao, and I am Daddy and Mommy’s precious little baby!”
His cute and sweet voice melted Aunt Zhang’s heart. “You’re such a good boy. Grandma likes you so much!” Tears started welling up in her eyes as she gave Bao’s hand a light squeeze. For years, she had wished for Li Heng to build a happy family and have kids. Now that her dream had come true, she had no more regrets in life.
“Grandma, why are you crying? Please don’t cry!” Bao helped to wipe away her tears. “Mommy said we should smile when we’re happy. Grandma, are you crying because daddy bullied you? I will protect you! Daddy said you are his mother, but he is such a bad son to bully you. I will never bully Mommy!”
Pfft! Being amused by his naivety, both Aunt Zhang and Pei Huan chuckled.
Aunt Zhang wiped her tears away. “No. Your daddy has always been nice to me. Grandma is crying tears of joy because I finally get to meet you and your mommy.”
“That’s weird… Aren’t we supposed to smile when we’re happy?”
“You’re right! Grandma shouldn’t be crying.” Aunt Zhang showed a heartfelt smile as she led them in. “Heng, Huan, and Bao, come on in. All of you must be hungry. I’ve prepared a lot of delicious food for you.”
Li Heng put Bao down before removing his shoes. “Bao, bring your Grandma to the sofa and keep her company.”
Bao took Aunt Zhang’s hand, and the two walked into the living room, settling down on the sofa. The young boy’s eyes were darting around, scanning the surroundings, as it was his first time visiting this place.
While changing into house slippers, Li Heng looked at Pei Huan and said, “All of your shoes are in the shoe cupboard. Aunt Zhang will clean them once in a while, so they look as good as new. Tell me if there’s anything you’re not happy with, and I will make changes to suit your liking.”
Pei Huan, who was removing her shoes, cast her eyes downward. She had mixed feelings upon hearing his words.
Being born to the purple, Li Heng had always been a man superior to others. Back then, he was someone beyond her reach when she still had no idea that she was a child of the Fu family. Later, after falling out with Li Xufan, she met Li Heng by chance and had surely made some real gaffes.
She still remembered him being the center of attention, looking down at her as if she were nothing to him. Never had she ever seen him put up with someone to keep them sweet.
However, she had agreed to set foot in Wuyun Residence today only to visit Aunt Zhang. If it weren’t for Aunt Zhang, she couldn’t imagine what would have happened to her three years ago.
“Hmm? What do you think? Do you not like it? I can change the furniture and the style of the interior decoration if you don’t like it. Huan…”
“Li Heng…” Pei Huan parted her lips but trailed off. Looking at his eyes sparkling with anticipation, she wondered for a second if she was too cruel to him. However, once again, she hardened her heart. “There’s no point of you doing all this for me.”
It took Li Heng a while before he responded. This time, with his eyes full of determination and a smile on his face, he said, “I will wait for you.” I will wait for you to come back no matter how long it will take.
