Mo Nanfeng shook in fright. His eyes tightened and he quickly nodded, gulping.
Back home, Ji Weixi settled into the sofa, curling into a ball and stared blankly into the air.
The little one came to her, touching her cool cheeks with his small hand. "Mommy… are you okay? I'm worried."
Ji Weixi looked down at his grapelike eyes, smiling bitterly and patted his head.
Li Shaoling sat down beside her and held her slim waist with his arm, firmly and overbearingly.
She did not react at all. Instead, she looked frail and there were traces of tears on his face, her usually watery vibrant gaze having no focus at the moment.
It hurts for him to look.
"Smile, Ji Weixi." He said, frowning.
She would get sick if she continued like this.
Her eyes twitched a bit then, but she turned away.
Li Shaoling forced her to look at him, allowing no say on the matter. "Smile!"
"Stop fooling around, Li Shaoling." Ji Weixi said dully and feebly.
She was tired from the crying and did not want to play around with him.
She would have slapped him if it had been any other day.
Li Shaoling hugged her then, bringing their lips close to each as his eyes twinkled with danger. "I'll kiss you if you don't smile."
No way!
Unyielding, Ji Weixi curled her lips, but Li Shaoling scoffed. "So ugly."
'Wow, forcing me to smile and then scoffing at me for being ugly!'
His eyes red, Li Shaoling pressed down on her directly.
She felt a coolness on her lips and her entire body stiffened.
Struggling slipped her mind, and she simply stared blankly at him.
Afraid of hurting her again, Li Shaoling was very gentle.
Ji Weixi could not stop herself from holding his arms with both hands while her breathing became uneven.
'Wow, is my sister coming soon?! Oh yeah!'
The little one was happy just thinking about it.
Then, Li Shaoling pulled away reluctantly, and rubbed her lips with his fingertips.
"Good girl. Be happy, hmm?"
Ji Weixi nodded blankly.
He had never seen her so tame. He wanted to eat her so badly now.
However, that was when the little one broke their loving atmosphere, clutching his stomach. "Daddy, I'm hungry! Dinner!"
Li Shaoling threw him a sharp look. "Bear with it."
The little one was speechless, but Ji Weixi licked her dry lips as well. "I'm… hungry too…"
Li Shaoling quickly got to his feet. "I'll cook for you."
How sweet.
The little one made faces behind him, mumbling quietly, "Hateful man! Slave to your wife!"
There were still some ingredients in the fridge.
Li Shaoling entered the kitchen. His side profile appeared tender beneath the soft light, and as he rolled up his sleeves, he looked completely different from when he was at work.
Now, he was just a normal person cooking for his wife.
Still… Wouldn't lowering his head to cut vegetables spoil the scene a little?
Li Shaoling wrinkled his brow, glaring at the vegetables as if they were enemies.
Thud—
He chopped them all fiercely with his knife, and Ji Wei's mouth twitched at the sight.
His cold face and his pursed lips made him looked as if he was in a huge slaughterhouse.
It was so horrifying.
When he was finished, he presented three bows of… something.
Could he actually cook?
The little one promptly put down her chopsticks after a glance at the food that was black, yellow and green. "Mommy, let's order takeout."
Li Shaoling glared at him. "Eat!"
What he cooked must be eaten, or the fruits of his labor would go to waste.
The little one had one taste and ran to the rubbish bin to vomit it out.
Ji Weixi did not want to it either, but relented when she saw Li Shaoling's hopeful look that was asking for praise.
But after she pinched a whatnot and put it into her mouth, she wanted to die right then.
She spat it out and quickly ran to the kitchen, poured herself a cup of water and rinsed her mouth madly.
Li Shaoling's face turned very dark.
Not giving face at all?
He would eat it himself, then.Â
However, when he put the thing into his mouth, his expression froze for seconds before turning ugly.
He closed his eyes and held his hand on his forehead, doubting his very existence.
Yeah, he did not make that.
In the end, the little one ordered delivery and the trio had a simple dinner.
When it was time for bed, Li Shaoling snuggled up to Ji Weixi stubbornly.
Ji Weixi was tired inside. "You should be going home, Li Shaoling."
Li Shaoling lay down beside her. "I lost my keys."
"…Then make another set."
"Can't. Shop's closed at this hour."
"Go to a hotel, then."
"They have no rooms left."
Irritated, helpless and having no mood to argue, Ji Weixi said, "Go sleep at Jiang Cong's place."
Li Shaoling kept the blanket over him. His eyes were dark and his voice bored as he replied, "His house is not as warm as yours."
Was this the rumored shamelessness?
Ji Weixi turned off the lights, keeping her little one in her arms and her back at Li Shaoling.
He moved closer, taking her into his arms.
She felt very soft.
In the dark, she opened her eyes, her mind remembering Mo Bin's face.
She felt needles on her eyes, and tears flowed again.
It was going to be a sleepless night.
***
Three days later.
The skies in River Town were gloomy and it was drizzling, creating a suffocating pressure.
Mo Bin's funeral was rather discreet, and there was almost no one attending.
Ji Weixi was wearing a dark cotton skirt. Her long hair was tied into a bun and her pure face was calm.
The little one was there too, wearing a small black suit. His little features were as delicate as ever, and his tiny black eyes blinked as he stared at the tombstone before him.
Perhaps he did not understand death at his age.
The white roses placed on the tombstone was being beaten up by the raindrops.
An indescribably bleak and sorrowful sight.
It was rumored that Mo Nanfeng had used the rest of his savings for the funeral.
He said that Mo Bin was respected in life, which is why he did want his father's death to come unsightly.
He still had some conscience, at least.
It was therefore ironic Ji Weixi did not encounter Ji Xiangdong or Zhou Huijie at the funeral, since both had good ties with Mo Bin.
She smiled coldly inside.
What a cruel, unscrupulous couple they were.
Still, she was curious what Ji Xiangdong was doing after learning who Zhou Huijie really was.
Would he divorce her? Or would he choose to compromise?
***
Li Shaoling had left after bringing them to the funeral since he had something to handle in the company.
He told her to call him after the funeral, and he would come to fetch her.
"h.e.l.lo." His voice was as pleasant as ever.
Ji Weixi calmly said, "Come fetch me."
"Alright. Wait for me."
However, after she hung up, the little one asked sweetly, looking up at the rain, "Mommy, when is Daddy coming?"
She arched her back and pat her head. "Soon."
That was when she saw the pained looked on his face and panicked. "What is it? Are you sick?"
The little one held his stomach. "Uh, my tummy hurts a little. I need the toilet."
Ji Weixi hurriedly carried him to the toilet, afraid that he couldn't hold it in and let loose in his own pants.
At the toilet, the little one quickly rushed a cubicle and closed the door.
However, just when Ji Weixi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the little one exclaimed, "Mommy, there's no toilet paper…"
"…Hold on, I'll buy it for you."
The graveyard was located in a remote district, and it was too difficult to find a shop.
The rain was becoming heavier and the mist now blurred Ji Weixi's vision.
Holding her umbrella against the win, she complained inwardly why she gave birth.
As if she did not have enough trouble.
Then, just when she was about to cross the road, an urgently blaring horn pierced her eardrum.
She quickly turned to find a car cras.h.i.+ng towards her, its tires skidding and splas.h.i.+ng rainwater as if a beast out of its cage, charging viciously towards her.