《First Marriage Then Love 2》 CH 1 - April 05, 2021 While looking at the man standing in front of her, Lin Li felt a little weak, and even felt that the Cheng Xiang in front of her was less and less like the appearance she had first met in the past. When did he learn to stalk, and when did he lose his original indifference. She tightened the bag that she was holding, stepped forward, and then walked past him indifferently and expressionlessly, just like a stranger, without turning her head to look at him much. Her hand was suddenly grasped, and Lin Li was forced to stop. She still didn''t look back, and just said coldly, "Let go." The voice didn''t carry any temperature. "Lin Li, give me another chance, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong now!" Cheng Xiang looked at her with a pleading voice, "The one I love is you, I was not sure before, but I really love you, give me another chance, okay?" He always thought that Xiaoxiao was the person who was hidden in the deepest part of his heart, and no one could replace her (Xiaoxiao) in this life. But when he lost her (Lin Li), he then realized that for the past ten years, Lin Li had slowly seeped into his heart, replacing Xiaoxiao''s position. It turned out that he had fallen in love with her a long time ago, but he himself had not noticed it. "Hehe," Lin Li smiled, laughing very cold, the expression on her face was similar to her laugh, it was almost no temperature. Turning her head to look at him, she pulled her lips and spoke slowly, "If time could return back, I would have loved you again." Cheng Xiang''s face stiffened, he opened his mouth but didn''t know what to say. He still held her hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Lin Li looked at him and asked, "Do you think time can go back again?" "Lin Li..." Cheng Xiang called her with a painful expression. Lin Li shook her head and said, "It can''t go back; just like the day you ran away from the wedding, we can''t go back. Can''t return back to the time the child disappeared from my stomach. Can''t return back to who I was 10 years ago, the me who loved you unconditionally." Although Lin Li''s expression was very cold, it was hard to hide the pain in her heart. Her eyes were red with moist mist. "Lin Li, I really¡ª" Cheng Xiang was anxious to explain what he wanted to guarantee, but Lin Li didn''t give him a chance. Lin Li raised her hand and interrupted him, "It''s too late to say anything." She closed her eyes, stretched out her hand and pulled his gripped away, and turned to leave, but happened to meet Zhou Han''s slightly probing eyes. She felt a little startled, she didn''t know when he had walked in front of her. She clearly remembered that when she went out, he was still having breakfast while reading the newspaper at home. She was taken aback for a moment, and then she nodded at him faintly, walked past him, and entered the company door. Cheng Xiang wanted to catch up, but he stopped dejectedly. He knew that he had hurt Lin Li too deeply. Zhou Han stared at Cheng Xiang blankly for a while, frowning slightly, and finally turned his head and entered the company without saying anything. When Zhou Han came up while holding onto his briefcase, Lin Li was already seated in the position of the secretary to the president at the door of his office. The computer was already turned on. At this moment, she was checking Zhou Han¡¯s schedule for today to see if there was anything important that need to be prepared in advance. In fact, Lin Li has not fully adapted to her current job as the President''s Secretary. Originally, she was doing sales, but after she signed the marriage certificate with Zhou Han half a month ago, Zhou Han directly transferred her up to be his secretary. His former Secretary Li took a few days to hand over the work at hand to her (Lin Li) and officially started her (Secretary Li) half-year maternity leave two days ago. Zhou Han stood upright and carried a briefcase towards his office, but when he passed Lin Li''s desk, he stopped and said: "Enter my office, I have something to talk to you." after speaking, he walked directly into his office. Lin Li let go of the mouse, took a deep breath, adjusted the emotions that had just been disrupted by Cheng Xiang. She then pushed aside the chair and stood up directly, following his footsteps, and went straight into his office. The door was not closed, because there were only two of them on this floor, and most people wouldn''t come up if they have no issues. Zhou Han put aside the briefcase in his hand, took a look at her, then sat on his leather black swivel chair. He turned on the computer, and while turning on the computer, he took out the materials that he brought back last night from the briefcase; carefully sorting and checking them out. Lin Li has been waiting for him to speak, to give orders, or to say why she was asked to come in. Zhou Han re-scanned the work he took back last night, and then sorted them out. After taking the unprocessed documents on the table again, his face began to look serious, but he seemed to not plan on saying anything. After standing like this for nearly 10 minutes, Lin Li felt a sense of being tricked. She stared at him, and said, "President, may I ask for what reason did you ask me to come in?" Is it asking her to come in and stand in military posture in front of him? He can''t be such a bully right! Hearing this, Zhou Han put down the file in his hand, looked up at her, and said faintly, "I thought you would have something to tell me." "I have something to tell you?" Lin Li looked at him suspiciously, wondering when she gave him such a misunderstanding! Zhou Han placed both palms together in triangle shape in front of his chest and leaned back on his chair. He said, "Don''t you think it is necessary to explain what happened at the front door just now?" Lin Li then realized. It turned out that he was talking about what happened to her and Cheng Xiang at the door just now. After looking at him, she pulled the chair in front of him and sat down. She stood in high heels for ten minutes. Her feet hurt when she stood. It was not about work, so there was no need to be polite to him. After all, their relationship was only a partnership, and the relationship should be equal. There is no such a saying that his status is higher than herself! Seeing her sitting down in front of him, Zhou Han raised his eyebrows and didn''t say much. The indifferent expression on his face was still his most common expression. Lin Li raised her chin slightly, looked at him and asked, "What do you think I should explain to you?" The originally raised eyebrows wrinkled calmly, and after a while, he spoke coldly: "I just want you to remember your current identity. In addition to your original identity, don''t forget that you are Mrs. Zhou! I don''t want to see any news about you in the newspaper, especially ''that kind of news'' about you!" He dislike if his marriage was reported in the newspaper again. It did not feel good! The feeling of being questioned in this way is not very good. Looking back at his gaze, Lin Li asked him back: "I still keep the contract, and as a matter of fact, I just re-read it last night. I remember there is a clause not to interfere with the other party''s personal issues. We are just in a cooperative relationship. Now you are asking me like this, have you not overstepped it?" "I just want you to take care of your personal problems, and don''t let your personal problems to involve me at that time." Zhou Han said coldly, "I hate being asked those boring questions." Lin Li shrugged indifferently then stood up, and when she turned around to go out, she suddenly remembered that when she picked up Xiaobin last night, their teacher said that there will be a sports meeting in the kindergarten this Friday afternoon. She hoped the parents can come to the kindergarten to participate together with their children. Turning around again, she said: "By the way, there is a sports meeting in Xiaobin''s kindergarten on Friday. The teacher said that parents must participate. Do you need to re-arrange Friday schedule?" "I''m not free," Zhou Han said in a daze. He sat up again, reached out and took the half-read information on the table, took a pen, and made markings while reading. Lin Li frowned. In the past half month, she has seen his attitude towards the child very clearly. Although they''re father and son, there is no intimacy between father and son. Not feeling a little bit of care towards the child, she felt distressed on behalf of the kid, and said emphatically: "Teacher said that parents must be present!" Is the company''s affairs more important than his own son''s affairs? Even if the child''s mother had done some harm to him before, that child is his child after all. How can blood relationship be so ruthless! Zhou Han didn''t want to talk about this topic, and just said: "Then you can go for me." "I''m not his mother. You are his father!" Lin Li stared at him. This man was too indifferent, even to his own son! Not just being not caring, she even felt a little disgusting indifference from him. Hearing that, Zhou Han smiled, with the corners of his mouth half tilted, and then looked up at Lin Li, and said with a playful smile: "But you are my wife now." "I---" Lin Li was speechless, as she was watching him she was not able to squeeze out any word. Whether it was according to the contract they had signed before, or according to the two red books they had taken from the Civil Affairs Bureau half a month ago, there is no doubt she is indeed Mrs. Zhou! Zhou Han looked at her and continued with a smile but not a smile: "We are in a cooperative relationship, so this is what you should do within the scope of work." Lin Li looked at him angrily, and said in a small voice: "Is Xiaobin really your son? You are too cold!" She moved to his apartment for almost half a month already. If she hadn¡¯t known that they were father and son, she would have thought they don''t share any relationship at all. His treatment to the child was no different towards strangers! Hearing this, Zhou Han''s whole body stiffened, and the smile on his face that seemed to be not smiling disappeared in an instant. The pressure of his hands almost break the pen, and his voice dropped cold to tens of degrees below zero. "Get out!" Lin Li naturally felt the change in his attitude. Although she didn''t know why, she didn''t ask anything more. She turned around and closed the door behind her. Just the moment she closed the door, she suddenly heard a ''BANG--'' sound from inside. It sounded like a hand was hitting the desk hard. The whole body was shocked; a little frightened, she turned her head subconsciously, looking at the tightly closed door. Lin Li had some doubts whether she had said something wrong just now. CH 2.1 - April 05, 2021 When Lin Li drove to the school, Xiaobin was already led by the teacher and stood at the door. Lin Li opened the car door and got out. She apologized to the little guy¡¯s head teacher and said, "Sorry for being late, Teacher." Actually she was not supposed to be late. But she didn''t know what happened to Zhou Han today. He went into a furious rage during the meeting the afternoon. Even when she delivered his coffee afterwards, he nudged the coffee in his hand and spilled it directly on the important document. So she was trying to recover the document all afternoon. And when it was finally completed, she realized that it was already so late, so she quickly gave the teacher a call and asked her to wait along with the child. Teacher Chen let go of Xiaobin''s hand and let him go to Lin Li''s side. She then smiled and looked up at Lin Li and said, "It''s okay, but next time, if Mrs. Zhou can''t come over in time due to something, please call us in advance. Otherwise, when you have not pick him up, and the teacher is not aware of it, and if something happens to the child, then it is not good. "Of course! Of course!" Lin Li nodded hurriedly, reaching out to hold the little guy''s hand, but he turned around and avoided it. Lin Li smiled awkwardly at Teacher Chen. This little brat has never treated herself as his "cheap mom". Although she had come to pick him up from school these days, but he had never let her hold his hand. Upon seeing this, Teacher Chen just smiled. Towards her student''s house affairs, she was inconvenient to say a lot, but when she saw Lin Li was about to leave, she stopped and reminded her: "For this Friday afternoon sports meeting, I hope Mr. and Mrs. Zhou can come by then." While speaking, she turned his head and looked at Xiaobin, who was standing aside watching the traffic on the street. Thinking of Zhou Han''s attitude in the morning, Lin Li was embarrassed, she just wanted to refuse, but was interrupted by Teacher Chen. "Please consider more about the children, Xiaobin has always been unhappy," Teacher Chen looked at her and spoke very sincerely. Lin Li couldn''t say anything to refuse, so she just nodded, "I will try my best." After saying goodbye to Teacher Chen, Lin Li took Xiaobin into the car. They have not even reach the front of the car, the little guy opened the backseat door and sat in directly. He took out his Transformers robot from his schoolbag and started to play with it. Lin Li looked at him through the rearview mirror. She had been with him for nearly half a month and yet she seemed to have never seen a smile on the child''s face, not even once. She couldn''t help feeling a little distressed for this child. At his age, shouldn''t he be at the happiest and most joyful time? After a while, Lin Li sighed silently in her heart, she took her gaze back and started the car to leave. ----- Actually, the prenuptial agreement that she signed with Zhou Han also mentioned the matter of taking care of her children after marriage. Although her job is Zhou Han¡¯s secretary, for the sake of the convivence to taking care of the child, she can leave work one hour earlier every day to pickup the kid after school. In fact, speaking of this marriage of Lin Li and Zhou Han was actually very dramatic. The first time they met was not a pleasant one because Anran almost had a miscarriage. Lin Li directly berated Zhou Han and asked him how educated his child. When they met for the second time, she knew that Zhou Han was her employer. She thought that he will be prejudice against her because of the situation involving Anran last time, but she was obviously thinking too much about it. Although Zhou Han looked a little serious, and had the ability to make people feel indifferent and prestigious, but at least he was a gentleman. He was able to separate public and private stuff, and did not deliberately embarrassing her at work. And then there''s the third meeting. That was really the dramatic one. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s a bit absurd/ridiculous. She had not even understand the circumstances yet and all of a sudden, she became his fianc¨¦e. They even had a love affair, and he even kissed her directly in front of everyone! Later, she learned that it was because the Commission for Discipline Inspection had strictly grasped the issue of corruption during that time. They suspected that Zhou Han had contacted Su Yicheng through Anran and then used some illegal and shameful means to win a certain government case. And the reason Zhou Han has asked her to say that she was his fianc¨¦e, mainly because the ''stolen property'' that was accused of corruption and bribery was in her hands at that time. At that time, Lin Li then figured out that the wedding gift that she received from Anran was purchased from Zhou Han. But when she was going to take out the necklace and give it back to him, Zhou Han directly said no and even to threw it away. She could not bear to loose such precious things. Even though the necklace did not bring any good memory to her, she still put it in the corner of the drawer. --------------- * cheap mom - satirical words that depict a woman who has a step child but is fully dedicated to raising the child as her own. Usually, the context is similar to getting a mom for "cheap price" (To the outsiders, it is considered as easily obtaining a role of a mom for the child -- hence ''cheap''). CH 2.2 - April 06, 2021 Lin Li thought that the intersection between them was nothing more than that, and they would still live their own lives in the future. But she was a little surprised that one day she would encounter a middle-aged woman with a very good temperament at the door of the company after she got off work. The woman looked very kind, she took Lin Li by her hand and said that she wanted to talk to her. Just when Lin Li was still a little confused, Zhou Han while holding the briefcase had came out of the company, and called the lady "mother", and then he winked at Lin Li to signal her not to talk more. In the end, because of the difficulty of finding a job, Lin Li just went along and ate together without knowing why. During this period, Zhou Han¡¯s mother held her hands and said a lot of things. But from Zhou Han''s conversation with the old lady, Lin Li can also vaguely hear that Zhou Han seems to have a bad relationship with his father. The two father and son seem to have not been in contact for several years, and over the years, Zhou mother had been feeling uncomfortable being in between her own husband and son. And on the third day after that weird dinner, when Lin Li was introducing the house to a client (she was working as a Sales at Zhou Han''s company at the time), she received a call from Zhou Han. He wanted to invite Lin Li to dinner and waited for her at the restaurant that day after get off work. When Lin Li entered the dining booth, even before she had the time to drink some water, Zhou Han had directly handed over a document and motioned her to open it. She thought it was something related to work. But after reading it, she realized that it was a prenuptial agreement. And in fact, it was not actually a prenuptial agreement, it was more like a contract. The object of the transaction was not the house, but a marriage. Lin Li was stunned while holding onto the file, and she didn''t understand what he meant. Zhou Han didn''t beat around the bush, and he went straight to the point and said that he wanted to have a "marriage contract" with her. It was the kind of that ridiculous setup that Lin Li always saw on TV dramas before, ¡®Spouse Contract¡¯! Lin Li was puzzled, and even more, she could not accept it, she asked him why? Zhou Han didn''t say much, just asked her to carefully review the contract, and then consider whether to agree or disagree, and even more so, she could just treat this as a job offer. Lin Li felt completely inexplicable at the time, although she would never love again because of Cheng Xiang''s affairs, but she never thought that she would use her own marriage as a trade. So on the spot, she directly pushed back the contract in her hand to express her position. Zhou Han looked at the folder on the table. He was silent for a while, before he pushed the folder directly in front of her again. He looked at her and asked her to think about it first, and to not reply to him in a hurry. He asked her to think about it carefully and then give him an answer. Of course if she still did not accept it, then he certainly would not force it. ----- The atmosphere of the dinner that day was not too stiff, but it was not very harmonious. Lin Li thought he would say something to her, at least to persuade her to agree, but no. The two barely said a word during the entire meal. When Zhou Han came out of the restaurant after eating, at least he politely offered to send her home. He didn''t say anything on the road. He waited until she alighted from the car and then told her again to seriously consider it. If not for receiving a call from home the next day, Lin Li might not really think about it. She could hear her parents¡¯ worry about her during the call, and due to her father¡¯s illness recently, now her family owed a lot of money to the relatives and neighbors. Now, even some of them were in urgent need of them to payback the money because something happened at home. They asked her parents to pay some portion first. Although her parents did not want to disturb her, but there was really no other way, so they wanted to ask Lin Li if she could find someone to help. After hanging up the phone, Lin Li picked up the contract again. This time, she really read carefully, everything was just a cooperative relationship. This marriage was really a business contract for both of them. The terms in the contract were very clear and reasonable. It didn''t make people feel biased, the two would just be a simple cooperative relationship, and there is no difference in status. When she came to Zhou Han with the contract again, he did not feel surprised. In addition, other than agreeing to the terms, she had also asked him to lend her some money before getting married. He also made a request, hoping that she would be responsible for picking up his son from school. Of course, he allowed her to knock off work ahead of time. Lin Li didn''t feel his request was too much, so the two directly signed the contract under the witness of the lawyer, and then both of them went directly to the Civil Affairs Bureau the morning after. The car slowly stopped because of the traffic lights in front, and then she recovered from the previous memories. Lin Li couldn''t help but feeling a little crazy. At the time, she felt that An Ran''s flash marriage was a little unacceptable; she wouldn''t even thought that such a thing would ever happen to her. But when it really happened to herself, she felt a little helpless. Lin Li looked up from the rearview mirror. She wanted to see what the little guy was doing. The little guy wasn''t playing with his Transformers. Instead, he turned his head and looked outside. His eyes were fixed and there was an expression that matches his age -- a look of yearning. Lin Li was curious, she followed his gaze and saw that there was a KFC across the road. At this moment, a mother who had just picked up her child from school also led the child and opened the door. The child seemed to be younger than Xiao Bin, and looked so happy now running and jumping around. Lin Li glanced, her lips were half-curved. She turned her head to look at the little guy and said, "Xiaobin, Auntie will take you to eat KFC, okay?" Hearing that, the little brat turned his head and looked at her, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, looking at Lin Li with a look of expectation. CH 3.1 - April 07, 2021 Lin Li stopped the car on the side of the road, and the little guy Jia Bin had opened the door and directly headed towards KFC. Worried about the crowds on the road, Lin Li hurriedly locked the car, opened the door and ran forward to hold the little guy by his hand, "Come, Auntie will lead you over." The little guy frowned, as if a little disgusted with Lin Li''s touch, he reached out to shake Lin Li''s hand away. But Lin Li seemed to have seen through his thoughts a long time ago, and grabbed his hand tightly. She half-bending to look at him, and said threateningly: "If you don''t let me hold you, I won''t take you to eat KFC!" Upon hearing this, the little guy Zhou Jiabin widened his eyes and looked at her fixedly, seemingly accusing Lin Li of how she went back against her words! Seeing his reaction, Lin Li knew that this trick worked for him. She let go of his hand, and then straightened up, with a smile half-curved at the corner of her mouth, fixed her stare at him. The kid Zhou Jiabin looked at her, every now and then he turned his head to look at the KFC on the opposite street, as if he was calculating the final trade-off. Lin Li held back a smile, stretched out her hand and looked at him, "If you want to eat burger and French fries, give me your hand. If you don''t want to, then we will go home now." The little guy locked his stare at her for a while, and finally raised his hand reluctantly and put it directly inside the palm of her hand, and then seemed to turn his head a little angry and didn''t want to look at her. Lin Li struggled to hold back her laugh. She held his hand and they waited for the traffic light to pass before walking towards the KFC on the opposite of the road. There are a lot of people in the restaurant at the moment, but most of them were children from all ages starting from kindergarten to high school. In front of Lin Li were a pair of mother and daughter. The little girl looked about the same age as Jia Bin, but there was no gloom on her face. At this moment, the little girl looked very happy, holding her mother''s hand and looking up at his mother saying in her sweet childish voice: "Mommy, I want to eat that shrimp burger. There are so so many delicious shrimps in it. Tongtong likes that one the most." The mother bowed her head and looked lovingly at her daughter. She touched her hand to rub her little head, nodded and said, "Okay, Tongtong can eat whatever she wants." Lin Li looked down at the little guy who was standing next to her while holding her hands. True enough, she saw that he was staring at the mother and daughter. Although there was no expression on his face, Lin Li could see the envy that was reflected in his round black eyes. Lin Li didn''t speak, but she couldn''t help but feel distressed for the child. Not to mention that his mother was not by his side. Just by looking at Zhou Han''s attitude towards the child, Lin Li knew that the child had never been brought up in the middle of family warmth and happiness. He never received the care and love from his parents. Suddenly, Lin Li felt a little uncomfortable. Thinking of her child who had never had the chance to come to the world, Lin Li only felt her chest was so stuffy and painful, she subconsciously reached out her hand and covered her chest. Lin Li didn''t know how long the pain lasted, until the little guy by her side pulled her hand. Lin Li recovered from her thoughts, the pain in her chest also slowly subsided, and she stood still. The mother and daughter in front of them had already ordered a meal, and the mother who loved her daughter really obeyed her daughter¡¯s request and bought her daughter a fresh shrimp burger. In addition, she also especially bought a cup of hot milk for her child. After easing her own emotions, Lin Li and the little guy walked up. She was just about to ask him what he wanted to eat and saw he was staring straight at the menu placed on the countertop. His eyes looked straight, but could not seem to leave the shrimp burger, which was on a separate leaflet. The picture was very tempting. The fresh shrimp made people just want to take a bite. CH 3.2 - April 08, 2021 Lin Li knowingly looked at him with a faint smile and asked, "Do you want to eat shrimp burger?" The little guy turned his head and looked at her fixedly, as if asking, is it okay? Lin Li smiled and turned to the waiter, "Two fresh shrimp burgers, also, a large fries, please." While talking, she turned her head and looked at the little guy and asked, "Do you want grilled wings, or what else do you want to eat?" The little guy reacted quickly this time. Although he still didn''t speak, he couldn''t help but nodded hurriedly, and then pointed his finger at the popcorn chicken and Coke on the list. "Okay." Lin Li smiled and stroked his head and then turned to the waiter: "Then, let''s have a pair of grilled wings, plus a colonel''s chicken nuggets and chicken popcorn, a glass of milk and a glass of coke for drinks." "Okay." The waiter smiled and nodded, then rushed and took the items she ordered one by one. While carrying all the good things and walking to the seat, the kid Zhou Jiabin looked a little excited during the whole process. Of course, his excitement was not directly expressed on his face, but looking at his twinkling eyes, Lin Li believed that he must be very happy at the moment. Facts had proven that Lin Li''s guess was not wrong. The little guy was really excited. When he was eating the burger, he forgot to guard against Lin Li and smiled innocently. This is the first time Lin Li has seen this child so happy. She felt pity towards him before, so her natural maternal love in her heart was exposed. When he finished eating a big burger and stared at the untouched burger in front of her, Lin Li only smiled and pushed the burger to him, "If you can eat it, I will give it to you." Hearing that, the little brat directly reached out and took the burger in front of him and ate it. Lin Li just watched him eat, and didn''t move much. The corners of her mouth were always smiling. In fact, it was strange. Before, her stomach was always called "the invincible king of the universe" by An Ran, even if there was a table of things, she could eat everything with a good appetite, but ever since that incident, she seemed to have no appetite at all. Lin Li seemed to have no desire to eat anything, and even started to dislike it. She would not eat at all until she was really hungry and a little uncomfortable. She couldn''t help but wonder if she had some anorexia. ----- It was almost 6 o¡¯clock when they came out of KFC, and Lin Li* still took his hand to cross the road. Perhaps because of the KFC just now, this time, the kid Zhou Jiabin didn¡¯t feel awkward and did not refuse her. He even obediently let her lead him across the road. Lin Li glanced at him, with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, thinking that today she had narrowed the distance with this little guy a little bit, and this KFC was really not for nothing. Opening the back seat door, he sat in directly. Lin Li didn''t force him to accept her all at once, and knew that some things would take time to adjust slowly. She started the car to continue on the road. The car slowly drove into a villa complex on the outskirts and then stopped in front of a three-story villa. She turned off the engine, did not look back and just said: "Xiao Bin, we have arrived." While talking, Lin Li also grabbed the bag that was placed on the co-pilot seat at the side, and took the jacket that she had taken off because of the heat. When everything was sorted out, she still didn¡¯t hear anything from the back seat. When everything was sorted out, she still didn¡¯t hear the door opening from the back seat. She was slightly confused. Turning around, she saw the little guy was lying on the back seat while hugging his stomach in his arms, his small face was pale, his expression looked painful and uncomfortable. Lin Li was frightened by him, and hurriedly asked, "Xiaobin, what''s the matter with you? Are you unwell?" Xiaobin only hugged his stomach. Obviously, the pain in his stomach made him unable to speak, and his forehead started to sweat a little because of the pain. She dropped the things in her hands and opened the door to get out of the car. She opened the door of the back seat, leaned over and asked the little guy: "Xiao Bin, where do you feel unwell, tell auntie, is the stomach uncomfortable?" The little guy nodded with difficulty, the pain in his stomach made him clasped his stomach tightly. Lin Li was flustered, she was so anxious that she didn''t know what to do. She even froze for a while before returning to the car, and then drove directly to the hospital. ----- When Lin Li sent the child to the hospital and the doctor checked the little guy, Lin Li knew that the little guy¡¯s stomach pain was due to allergies, and only then did she know that the little guy had a serious allergy to all seafood. Even if you eat a little bit, you will see immediate results. If it is serious, if you don''t send it to the hospital in time, then the consequences will really be unimaginable. After the doctor''s examination, it was confirmed that there was no major problem, but due to the fact that the child was still young, the doctor arranged him to stay in the hospital for observation for one night. Looking at the child lying on the hospital bed, Lin Li felt her heart was painful and blamed herself more. If she hadn''t taken him to KFC, maybe he wouldn''t be like this now. The person on the bed obviously slept restlessly. He squeezed his eyes tightly, as if dreaming of something. When his eyelids moved, his hands would wave in the air in panic, and even whispered, "Daddy... Daddy, don''t... don''t don''t want me..."** Lin Li felt distressed. She stretched out her hand and gently touched his face, and gently said in his ear, "It''s okay, it''s okay, Auntie is here... Auntie is here." She didn''t know if he heard it, but he became much calmer. ----- After sitting in the ward for a while, she made sure that his mood has stabilized, then she quietly opened the door. She took out her mobile phone and called Zhou Han. Now that something had happened to the child, although it was not a major problem, as the child''s biological father, she still felt it is necessary to inform him of the matter. The phone rang for several times before being picked up by Zhou Han. There seemed to be a client by his side, as she heard a little noisy voice. "Any issues?" Zhou Han''s cold voice rang on the other side of the phone, and it didn''t carry any warmth in it. Lin Li hurriedly reply, "Xiao Bin has a seafood allergy and has to go to the hospital." There was a slight silence on the phone and asked, "What''s the condition now?" "There is nothing serious, but the doctor said that he will need to stay in the hospital for observation overnight." Lin Li said truthfully. "Oh." Zhou Han replied coldly on the other side of the phone, only saying: "I still have something to do. If there is nothing else, I will hang up first." He didn''t wait for Lin Li to respond and hung up the phone directly. Lin Li held the phone and looked at it for a long time, and couldn''t believe it. He just hung up the phone, as if the child in the hospital was not his at all! --------------- *in the raw, the author mistakenly put "An Ran", but I took the liberty to change it to Lin Li ** this line is pretty confusing to translate. Basically, Xiao Bin is asking his father to not reject him (double negative) TN: First few chapters will be frustrating as we learn the background for each of the characters But hang in there! It will get better over time CH 4.1 - April 09, 2021 Zhou Han slowly opened the door to the ward, he walked in quietly, and saw Lin Li on the edge of the bed, her upper body was laying on the edge of the bed and asleep while still holding the hand of the little guy on the bed. Ahead, the little guy on the bed was asleep with his eyes closed, but he seemed to not sleep peacefully. The expression on his entire face was uncomfortable, his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and his eyelids trembled, as if dreaming something terrible. There was a porridge by the bedside that had turned cold, still tied with a plastic bag. He took off his coat and covered the person who was asleep by the bed. He looked up and saw that the saline IV drip bag was almost empty. He stretched out his hand and directly pressed the bell on the bedside. Soon, the little nurse on duty with a mask and carrying another small bottle of saline opened the door and entered, she professionally changed the drip, and it did not wake the two big and small people on the bed. Zhou Han went out with the nurse to ask about the child''s condition. He confirmed that the child was not in a serious condition, and then turned back to the ward. Just when Zhou Han walked in from outside, Lin Li, who had fallen asleep on the edge of the bed, had already woken up. She looked sideways in the direction of the door, and collided with the sight of Zhou Han who had just entered. Lin Li stared at him for a long time without saying a word. She only raised her hand to glance at her watch. Her eyes no longer had the laziness of just waking up. She looked up at him again, and her eyes seemed to have condemnation and dissatisfaction towards him. She accidentally fell asleep just now. When she woke up to look at the drips, she found out that the drips had been changed. As Lin Li was wondering, she found out that she was wearing a suit jacket on her body. Before she had time to guess, she heard the door opened and she turned her head to meet Zhou Han who just opened the door. Zhou Han also slowed down, quietly closed the door and walked over to her. He looked at her slightly exhausted look, and ignored the condemnation and dissatisfaction in her eyes. He said in a low voice, "If you are tired, you can go home first." They are just in a cooperative relationship. To put it bluntly, she didn''t need to stay and take care of the child for him. Lin Li just stared at him, and neither agreeing nor refusing. Zhou Han stopped looking at her, he turned around and didn¡¯t look at both of them again. He sat on the sofa at the side, turned on the computer he brought with him, put it directly on his lap, and then started to work. It was his duty to ask her to leave. It was her right if she leave or stay. He did not mind her staying because he still has an important stuff to rush tonight. At this moment, Lin Li was inexplicably angry, feeling distressed for the child lying on the bed, felt he was not worth it, and angry at Zhou Han''s irresponsible indifference! She then heard the child Xiaobin who was lying on the hospital bed murmured in the middle of his dream: "Daddy..." as if he was afraid, the little hand that was holding Lin Li''s suddenly tightened. Lin Li raised her eyes, and saw that the man sitting on the sofa was also looking up at the child, but he did not stand up. Even his gaze was instantly taken away, he lowered his head and started typing on the keyboard again, continuing to work. CH 4.2 - April 10, 2021 The dissatisfaction in her heart became even worse, and she gently put the little guy''s hand back into the quilt. Lin Li then stood up, walked in front of Zhou Han, and directly reached out her hand to cover his laptop while looking at him. There seemed to be a small flame burning in her eyes. Zhou Han raised his head, frowned a little displeased, and said in a low voice, "What are you doing!" He could hear his dissatisfaction with her behavior. Looking at him, Lin Li also lowered her voice because she was afraid of causing noise to the child, and said, "Let''s go out and talk." Zhou Han only glanced at her, turned on the laptop again, lowered his head and returned to work, only saying: "What''s the matter?" Lin Li''s frowning brow tightened even more, and then raised her hand to cover his computer again, "Let''s go out and talk!" The low tone was more sharp than just now. Zhou Han''s frowning brows tightened, knowing that she wouldn¡¯t stop if he didn¡¯t go out to talk with her. He put the computer on his lap directly on the sofa with a serious face, and then raised his hand to look at his watch, saying coldly: "I only have 5 minutes." As he finished, he walked out of the ward directly. Lin Li followed him out and closed the door quietly, fearing that she might disturbed others. She looked at him and said, "Follow me." She then turned and walked towards the elevator. ----- There was a window right next to the elevator. The sky tonight was good. The night was full of stars, but neither Lin Li nor Zhou Han was in the mood to appreciate the good night. Following her to walk by the window, Zhou Han raised his hand to look at his watch, and said coldly and without any temperature, "There are still 4 minutes." He didn''t know what she insisted on coming out to say for, but he really didn''t have any time to spare for her. He must rush out a plan in the evening and send it to the American real estate tycoon, Meissen, tomorrow because Meissen will be flying back to the United States tomorrow afternoon. This time, his trip to China was very tight. He only stayed in Jiang city for two days. He spent a lot of effort to win the dinner tonight. However, he was obviously not the only one who wanted to cooperate with Meissen. Everyone was looking forward to it. At the end of the dinner, Mr. Meissen¡¯s secretary in particular, whispered to him alone that Mr. Meissen hoped to see his plan before boarding the plane tomorrow afternoon. He knows how difficult it was to come up with a proposal by tomorrow, but if he didn''t grasp this opportunity, it will be difficult to have such an opportunity if he misses it. Turning her head, Lin Li was a little agitated, looking at him accusingly and asking: "Whose person was lying on the bed inside the ward, how can you be so cold and ruthless? Towards your own son who is sick to the point that he has to be admitted to the hospital, there is no concern, no sympathy at all. Why don''t you take a look at what time is it right now? When the kid was calling for his daddy, where are you! Have you shown a little care for him? You can''t even reach out to the hospital bed and touch his face. Wouldn''t it be too much!" After a long series of words, Lin Li''s chest was heaving up and down because of being too agitated. ----- Facing his accusations, Zhou Han''s face suddenly became more gloomy. After looking at her for a long time, he only said coldly: "I remember that there is clearly a written clause in the contract, not to interfere with the other party''s affairs!" "Don''t tell me about the contract, I am not talking to you as a partner now!" Lin Li yelled at him. She just couldn''t see it. She couldn''t see how he can treat his own child so cruelly and ruthlessly, that was his own flesh and blood! How could he be so cruel, wouldn''t he want to give his children endless love as a parent? Did he not know that compared to others how blessed he was? Some people want to spoil or pamper their children yet they did not have a chance! Zhou Han didn''t want to argue with her, tightened the hands hanging on both sides, he took a deep breath, and said: "Recognize your own identity, you are not qualified to control me!" After that, he turned around with a stiff face and started to walk towards the ward. "You stop there!" Lin Li stretched out her hand to grab him, looked at him angrily, and said: "Even if you are resentful towards your ex-wife, but the child is innocent. What wrong did he make, why treat him like this! How old is he? A kid his age supposed to be at his happiest stage, why would you adult who made the mistakes but let a kid to bear the responsibility!" Clenching his hands tightly, he looked up at her, his eyes seemed to want to eat her, he said fiercely: "What do you know, and what do you understand, you don''t know anything at all, what rights do you have?" Pointing at the direction of the ward, he gritted his teeth and said: "He shouldn''t have come into this world at all! " "PLACK--!" A crisp hand-slap sounded when Zhou Han''s voice just fell. Time seemed to have stopped, and it was so quiet, there was no sound at all. Zhou Han''s face was turned aside, and a bright red palm print appeared on his face. After a while, he slowly recovered, turned his head to look at her abruptly, and wanted to speak angrily, but he saw that the person in front of him had already burst into tears. She was biting her lips with her teeth tightly, and the bite would cause a bleeding soon, the whole person trembled, and her hand was still trembling because of the slap just now. "You..." All the words that had just come to the mouth couldn''t be said at all, while staring at her, Zhou Han was a little surprised at why she was so emotionally agitated. "What the hell did he do wrong that you have to treat him like this? Even if you are separated from his mother, but he is innocent. How can you vent your resentment towards his mother on him!" Lin Li couldn''t control her tears at all, and said while crying, "What qualifications do you have to say that he shouldn''t come to this world? Does he want to come? It was you guys who forced him to come! You gave him life and let him come to this world. You must be responsible for his life, and only now feeling regret, isn''t it too late!" Lin Li kept crying. She squatted down on the ground with her two arms hugging herself tightly, "Do you know what it feels like to lose a child? Do you know the kind of powerlessness that watching his life disappear, but you can''t do anything? Do you know that every night, someone in your dreams will always ask you why you don¡¯t want him, why don¡¯t you bring him to this world, do you know that self-blame and guilt can erode you?" While speaking, Lin Li kept shaking her head, "You don''t know anything, you don''t know anything..." At the end of her speech, she no longer knew whether she was talking about him or herself... Zhou Han fixed his stare at her, the anger on his face had all disappeared, replaced by astonishment and shock. Looking at her like this, he didn''t know what he should do, so he could only step forward and squat in front of her and hugging her into his arms! --------------- TN: this chapter is very difficult to translate. I have to rack my brain to use the most appropriate words to express her pain sending air hugs for you, Lin Li! CH 5.1 - April 11, 2021 Zhou Han didn¡¯t know what he should do, so he could only hugged her into his arms like this. It was only just now that he remembered what Gu Anran had said to him, he remembered that her husband left her alone on the wedding day. He ran out of the wedding hall, and also on that day, after being pushed to the ground by her husband, she fell and lost her child in her tummy. He had no experience in comforting people. He looked at her and he didn¡¯t know what to say. He didn¡¯t care about the slap that she just gave him. He could only slowly raise his hand awkwardly, and then gently patting her back again and again. The elevator sound arrived, and the doctor on night shift came out of the elevator and saw the two people outside. He couldn''t help but was stunned. He was about to ask something, but saw the palm print on Zhou Han''s face and then he was stunned again. The doctor finally looked at him strangely; glanced at them and then left. Zhou Han didn''t know how long he held her in this way, until the crying in his arms slowly faded, and then he lowered his head, and saw that she actually fell asleep while leaning in his arms with traces of tears still lingering in the corners of her eyes. He lifted her up by the waist and directly returned to the ward. The little guy in the ward didn''t seem to be awaken and still lying quietly on the hospital bed. Zhou Han quietly holding Lin Li, put her on the sofa to lay down. He put his computer on the coffee table in front of him, and then took his coat to cover her. After finishing all this, he went out again to find a nurse and asked for a clean blanket. He took off the coat that was covering Lin Li and covered her with the quilt. After helping to cover her with a quilt, Zhou Han just wanted to turn around and leave, but he heard her muttering helplessly in between her dreams. Her small face wrinkled and her mouth kept saying, "I''m sorry... I''m sor... It''s Mommy''s not good..." After the words fell, there were tears falling from the corners of her eyes again. Zhou Han looked at her silently, not moving for a long time. After a while, he slowly squatted down and reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. When he got up and turned his head to look at the little guy on the hospital bed, he couldn''t help but letting out a bitter smile. She said that the child was innocent, but he really couldn''t bring himself to care about him at all. Raising his hand to check the time, it was right at midnight. If he didn''t start to make that proposal, afraid that he really would have no time. Zhou Han turned back to the bathroom and washed his face to make himself more awake. When he looked up to see his reflection in the mirror, he noticed the bright red palm print on his left face. He didn''t pay any attention just now. And now when he reached out to touch it, he felt a bit hot and painful. He pulled a paper towel to wipe off the water stains from his face. When he saw the slightly red and swollen left face, Zhou Han couldn''t help shaking his head and muttering softly, "Looking at her thin and small figure and she didn''t eat much, how come she has so much strength." ----- When she woke up, the night had passed. The morning light came in through the sheer curtains, and Lin Li was sleeping on the sofa by the window. The light made her a little dazzled, and she could only raise her hand to block her forehead for a while to adapt to the brightness of the room. She stretched out her hand and pressed the temple only to feel that the temple was a bit painful as if needles were poking through her side temples. But compared to her head, she felt that her eyes were more uncomfortable. She felt that the eyes were so dry, so sore, and so swollen. The memory rolled over like a tide. She remembered that she took Xiao Bin* to eat KFC last night, but when she arrived at home, she found that the child was holding his stomach and had a severe stomachache. Only when he was sent to the hospital did she find out that the child had a serious seafood allergy, and he couldn''t be touched at all. But luckily, it was not really serious this time, just needed to have some IV drips and took some medicine. Later after that, she called Zhou Han. After all, the child was his. She didn¡¯t expect Zhou Han to simply ask a few words and then just hung up. His attitude throughout the call was too cold, and Zhou Han only came after 11 o''clock in the evening. She remembered that he was too cold and indifferent in his attitude, and did not fulfill the responsibilities of a father at all. She was so angry and she remembered that she gave him a slap. And then she also remembered that she thought of her child and raised some emotions within. She remembered crying, but she didn''t remember anything after that. ----- She slowly sat up and looked around. The ward was still the same as yesterday, but she was the only one in the room now, even Xiao Bin was not on the bed. She lifted the quilt and got up. When she was wondering where Xiao Bin was going, the door of the ward was pushed in from the outside. She saw Zhou Han held the child''s hand and walked in. When Zhou Han saw her, he just glanced at her and didn''t say anything. The little guy who was led by him looked good, his face was slightly red, he was no longer as pale as last night. Moreover, because he was held in hand by his father, he seemed to be in a good mood. On his usually expressionless face, now there was a slight smile at the corners of the mouth. Not so obvious, but it was clearly visible. Lin Li was still worried about the child''s body, she stepped forward, squatted in front of the little guy, and asked, "Xiao Bin, is the stomach still feel uncomfortable?" The little guy looked at her, only shook his head. "Don''t just shake your head. Speak well." Zhou Han frowned slightly, letting go of his small hand, and said with a slightly serious expression: "If someone asks you a question, answer it carefully. It is called being polite, do you understand?" The little guy was still a little afraid of him, and he only nodded quietly. Zhou Han was displeased, his tone was heavier than before, and he looked at him and said: "I ask you to answer, not asking you to nod, are you mute!" "I ... I understand..." The little guy responded in a low voice. Lin Li on the side couldn''t stand it anymore, she pulled the little guy into her arms. She glared at Zhou Han with her big, round eyes and a little dissatisfied, she said: "What are you doing so fiercely, how can you teach children like this!" As she spoke, she turned her head and looked at the little guy, "Xiao Bin, don''t be afraid, tell Auntie, is your stomach still hurt, is there any discomfort?" The little guy stole a glance at Zhou Han, saw him staring back at him, then turned his eyes hurriedly, looked at Lin Li and said, "No, it doesn''t hurt anymore, and it doesn''t feel uncomfortable." His voice was so soft, and it was very pitiful to listen to. --------------- *I forgot to explain then you will see a lot of terms of endearment called "Xiao" here. Literally means "little", Chinese people instead of calling the full name of someone, when they have close relationship with younger person, they will simply address them as "Xiao + name" TN: For those who have read the first story, probably already knew the reason why Zhou Han was like this. But please be patience, as this novel explores how all of these main characters (Zhou Han, Lin Li and Xiao Bin) learn how to co-exist together. It will get bette CH 5.2 - April 12, 2021 "I just took him to see the doctor to check on him. There is nothing wrong with him. He can leave the hospital after he finished up the bag of IV drip." Zhou Han added. Lin Li nodded, then smiled and asked the child: "Is Xiao Bin hungry? Auntie will buy you porridge, okay?" The little guy shook his head habitually, then he suddenly remembered that he has to talk, hurriedly said: "I''m not hungry, Daddy just fed me porridge." After speaking, he turned his head cautiously and looked at Zhou Han. Hearing this, Lin Li was a little dazed, turned her head and looked at Zhou Han, unexpectedly he would feed the child to dinner. Zhou Han only glanced at her, a trace of uncomfortable flashes across her face, then turned his head directly, walked to the side and closed his computer and put it in his bag. He then turned his head and said to Lin Li, "You don¡¯t need to come to work today, just stay at home to take care of him." Lin Li fixed her stare at him, and noticed that his left cheek was still a little red and swollen. Knowing that it was from the slap she gave last night, she said embarrassedly, "You, your face..." Zhou Han subconsciously touched his face, glanced at her, and said unceremoniously: "Looking at your skinny like body that will easily be blown away by wind, didn''t expect the strength to be not small." Even up to now, there is still some faint pain. "Didn''t you bring that upon yourself...." Lin Li muttered quietly, not regretting the slap she delivered last night. Not sure if Zhou Han heard her, but he just muttered something softly. Lin Li couldn''t hear clearly. "What did you say?" Zhou Han only glanced at her, picked up the briefcase, and said, "It''s nothing." Then he walked out. After he left, Lin Li grumbled a few words, and then asked Xiao Bin to lie down on the bed first, and waited for the nurse to give him an injection, and then she went to the bathroom to wash her face. It was only after arriving in the bathroom that she realized that her eyes were so red and swollen because of the crying episode from last night. The redness and swelling were severe now, and the original double eyelids are now swollen up into single eyelids. Feeling uncomfortable, she put on hot towel over them for a while before she came out of the bathroom. ----- When she came out, she saw a nurse was giving the kid an injection. Not sure if the child¡¯s blood vessel was too thin, or the little nurse had just come out of the nursing school, she had been injecting a few times, but they were all missed. The nurse was so anxious, but the more anxious she was, the worse the poke was. But even with such a sting, the little guy did not cry, and just bit down his lip without saying a word. "Don''t poke anymore." Lin Li hurriedly stepped forward to pull the nurse who was still poking the needle. She took the little guy''s hand and looked at the back of his hand that was full of bloody dots because of the mis-injections. Feeling her heart hurt, she quickly embraced him into her arms. Lin Li turned her head and looked at the little nurse, her face was full of anger, and angrily reprimanded: "Are you really trying to do injections! Go and find your head nurse!" The voice was a little loud and must be heard by people passing by outside. The little nurse was so anxious and wanted to cry. She looked back at her and explained, "I... I... He.. His.. his blood vessels are too thin, I can''t find it!" "The blood vessel is too thin, then do you just keep poking? What is this? This is a human hand. This is human meat. Do you think it is a rag!" The more she talked, the angrier she felt, she felt even more distressed for the child, all those one poke after another, how could he not feel hurt! The little nurse shook her head anxiously and explained, "No, no, I¡ª" "What''s the matter? What''s going on?" The head nurse came in through the door, followed by a group of nurses. Lin Li looked at her and said, "Are all of you graduated from a professional nursing school? How can a single injection can caused people beaten black and blue like this!" Se took Xiao Bin''s hand and showed it to them. The little nurse shed tears when the head nurse came over, "Head nurse, I..." The head nurse glared at her, turned to look at Lin Li and said, "My apologies, this kid is a newcomer. She just graduated from the nursing school, so she is still lacking of experiences." "Lack of experience and yet you still allow her to take care of the patients. This is a hospital. If all newcomers are like this, and every time just say that they are lacking of experience, then who would dare to come to see the doctor anymore!" Lin Li scolded. "It''s our fault, it''s our fault. In a while, let me give the injection to this kid." As she said, she turned around and asked the others to bring over a new needle. Without waiting for them to bring the things over, Lin Li quickly interrupted them: "No need, we don''t want the injection anymore, let the doctor prescribe some medicine." She didn''t want the little guy to suffer like this any more, she felt pain when she looks at it. "That''s also okay, also okay." The head nurse nodded hurriedly, and then ordered the others to find a doctor to prescribe the medicine. She then turned to look at Lin Li a little guiltily and said, "My apologies, Madam." She stretched out her hand and rubbed the little guy in Lin Li''s arms, smiled and said to him: "Little kid, auntie apologizes to you, I am so sorry, but little kid, you are so brave, you hurt yet you didn''t cry. Later, I will tell the other children and let them know you as an example." The little guy just looked at her fixedly, without smiling, nodding or shaking his head. Lin Li grabbed his hand and looked at him. She held him tighter. Her emotions had eased compared to before. She said, "Actually, I don''t want to embarrass you. I just watched the child being poked like this. It¡¯s better to have more experienced nurses and doctors in the pediatric department." The head nurse nodded repeatedly and replied, "Yes, yes, will do." ----- When the rest of the people had finally dispersed, Lin Li looked down at Xiao Bin in her arms and asked anxiously: "Does it hurt?" The little guy shook his head and said in a low voice, "It hurts more when Mommy pricks." Looking down at the back of his hand innocently, he lowered his head and slid his little finger across the hand lightly. Upon hearing this, Lin Li couldn''t help but stared, and asked him, "Xiao Bin, what did you just say about your mother? Your mommy will prick you with a needle!" The little guy looked up at her, then lowered his head again without speaking. Lin Li just found it hard to believe, how could a mother prick her child with a needle! How could she has the heart to do so! Did Zhou Han know that? Did he just let his kid being pricked like that! Suddenly there was a sound of someone coming in, she then turned his head, only to see Zhou Han had come back, not sure when he had returned, he just looked at them steadily at this moment. Lin Li looked at him without saying a word, still thinking about what Xiao Bin said just now, and wondering whether Zhou Han knew that his ex-wife often abused their son with needles like this! As if seeing through her thoughts, Zhou Han said directly, "I don''t know!" In fact, Zhou Han came back just a few minutes earlier. It turned out that he had just drove out of the hospital, and suddenly remembered that there was a document that he left here, and that document happened to be used in the morning, so he turned back. And when he just arrived. he saw the noisy state at the door, and there were a lot of people standing there. After listening for a while, he realized that it was the little nurse who had injected the needle several times without success. Then Lin Li stopped arguing with them. He was a little surprise that she would be like this, and he could see that she really felt sorry for the child. Remembering back on how she got so emotional because the child last night, he was not surprised. When the nurses had left and he was about to go in, unexpectedly, he heard Xiao Bin say that Ling Ran had pricked him like this before. He had no idea about it! Lin Li returned to her senses, stared at him for a long time, and couldn''t help shaking her head, "I really don''t understand how there is this kind of parents like you guys." One did not ask about the child at all, the other abused the child with needles. This kid, what mistakes did he actually do! Zhou Han didn''t say a word, but squatted down and took the child''s hand and looked at it carefully. --------------- TN: I am not sure if I have to put any trigger warning? What do you prefer if there''s another chapter like this in the future? CH 6.1 - April 13, 2021 Because of the seafood allergies, Lin Li took some time off for the child. Originally, she had planned to take the time off to stay at home to take care of the child. However, she happened to receive a call from the child¡¯s grandmother in the morning saying that she hadn¡¯t seen the child for a while and wanted her to take the child back to the compound in the evening along with Zhou Han. She also added that although the child''s grandfather didn''t say anything, he still thought of the child immensely. Actually, after getting the marriage certificate with Zhou Han, Lin Li realized that Zhou Han¡¯s relationship with his father had always been tense because Zhou Han had robbed his best friend¡¯s girlfriend. Such behavior was unforgivable to Zhou¡¯s father, who had always put ''loyalty'' in his words, so Father Zhou was directly angry and cut off his relationship with Zhou Han After father and son had broken off their relationship and Zhou Han took the woman, Xiao Bin''s mother, to the United States directly, until he returned from the United States with the child at the beginning of this year. Although Father Zhou broke off his relationship with his son and indifferent to his life outside, as a mother, Mother Zhou still contacted Zhou Han privately behind her husband''s back. And all these seven years that Zhou Han had been away, the mother and son did not meet and the contact made was only by phone. So when Zhou Han returned with her 6-year-old son seven years later, Mother Zhou was excited at once, and felt distressed for her grandson, but Xiao Bin the child seemed to be affected by the his growing up environment. He looked a little withdrawn, was dull and didn''t like to talk. Therefore, he was not enthusiastic about his grandparents who he had never met. But after getting along for a while, he knew that his grandma was kind to him, and slowly became close with grandma. In addition, he was his own grandson after all. Although Father Zhou didn''t say anything about it, he didn''t comment much about Zhou Han''s return to the military compound with his child. In the past, when Lin Li accompanied these father and son back to the compound, Mother Zhou quietly took her hand and told her that because of the child, Father Zhou had a better attitude towards Zhou Han and asked her to persuade Zhou Han to take the child back more for a visit or a meal. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Lin Li told Mother Zhou about the child''s allergies. She only had this one grandson, Mother Zhou was anxious and hurriedly said, "Why so careless? Where are you now? Are you still in the hospital? I''ll come and have a look now." Lin Li hurriedly explained, "No, no, Mom, we are already home. We just asked for a leave from the kindergarten. I say he just recovered now, let''s let the child rest at home for a day, and then send him to class tomorrow. " "Yes, yes, you have the body recuperate first." After that, she was still a little worried, and said: "Why don''t you send the child to me? I''ll prepare some soup to help his recovery. " Lin Li thought for a while, that''s not a bad idea. The child just got better. so he should eat more nutritious food. As far as her cooking skills are concerned, it¡¯s still okay to cook some noodles for breakfast. If she (Mother Zhou) really wanted her (Lin Li) to make dinner, soup or something else, then maybe she (Lin Li) can come up with something. Thinking of this, she nodded and said: "Alright, I will send the child over." After hanging up the call, she turned to look at the little guy who was sitting on the sofa in the living room. He was holding the Transformers and playing with it. He played very seriously, his face was not smiling, his little face still had that sullen expression. The little hand was swaying mechanically, and she couldn''t help but feel reluctant. Suddenly there was a strong thought in her heart. Maybe she had a fate with this little guy to let them meet like this. Regardless of how her future with Zhou Han would be, she wanted that as long as she''s still around, she must made this little guy become happier, at least not like now, always hiding alone in the corner. After regaining her senses, Lin Li met the child¡¯s plain and innocent eyes, Lin Li smiled lightly at him, while walking towards him, squatted halfway in front of him, and asked: "Xiao Bin, auntie will take you to your grandparents¡¯ house. OK?" The little guy looked at her, his big eyes wandering around, before nodding after a while, then lowered his head again, and continued to play with the Transformers in his hand. Lin Li touched his head. It was October. The weather was getting colder and colder. She was worried that he would catch a cold when he went out later, so she went directly into the room and gave him a coat, and packed along the medicine that Doctor had prescribed in the hospital in the morning, and then took his hand and went out together. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ It was noon when they arrived at the military compound. Mother Zhou was already waiting at the door. Seeing her car stopped, she hurriedly stepped forward and opened the door of the back seat. When her grandson came down, she couldn¡¯t help but looked at him closely, and touched his face a little distressedly, and said, "You are thinner." "Grandma." The little guy called out softly. There was a faint smile at the corner of Mother Zhou''s mouth. "Good, good." Mother Zhou touched his head, and then walked into the house while holding his hand, and said as she walked: "Our Xiao Bin must be hungry already, grandma will take you to eat delicious food, and grandma cooked all of Xiao Bin''s favorite food." (TN: the "Good" here is usually to praise a good attitude of a kid) "Okay." The little guy nodded and replied softly. Unlike other children, he played very carefully, and would not jump up and yell excitedly because of joy. Lin Li smiled faintly at the corner of her mouth, and followed them in./ Father Zhou did not come back at noon. Speaking of, Zhou family was still an official family, Zhou Han was still a second-generation official, because Father Zhou was the secretary of the Jiang City Municipal Party Committee and usually worked in the city government. After having lunch at noon, Mother Zhou coaxed the little guy to nap and said that when he woke up, she would take him out to play. The little guy usually had no friends, and Zhou Han was also busy. In addition to his indifferent attitude towards him, he didn¡¯t take him out much to play. As he heard his grandma said that she would take him out to play, he was still a child after all, he happily pestered his grandma to say where to go and so on. --------------- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com TN: It''s a little frustrating to translate this story sometimes, as the author has the habit of putting so many sentences in one line so author used a lot of commas. If you read the original, you may found out that I split those sentences into 2 or 3 parts because they were just too long and crammed up together anyway, thanks for reading my rant. LOL CH 6.2 - April 14, 2021 Lin Li withdrew from the room with a smile, and was absentmindedly walking around at home. She came to the Zhou family once before, and Zhou Han took her back the day after signing the certificate last time. The two had dinner here, and because something happened in the company, and they went back after only sitting for a short while. Because she was bored, she casually opened a door of a room. It was purely a masculine design and layout, a single bed, and next to the bed there was a desk, and a simple wardrobe. The whole room looked a bit empty, and Lin Li was a little surprised. There were even posters of NBA and Slam Dunk on the wall. She could see that the posters had been a few years old. The edges of the paper were a bit yellowish, but the whole room was neat, even with a slight mint smell. The quilt on the bed was folded flat, and there was no dust on the floor and the table. Even by the window sill of the room, there was a pot of well-cared plants that Lin Li did not know the name of, but the plants were growing vigorously. "Knock, knock..." The door sounded when Lin Li was wondering whose room this was. Turning to look around, she saw Mother Zhou stood at the door with a faint smile, and seeing Lin Li turned around to see her, she stepped up, smiled and said to her: "I was still thinking where have you gone to, I didn''t expect you to be here." Lin Li was ashamed, a little embarrassed by her intrusion, and said awkwardly: "I see this room is empty, I was curious so I came inside." "I don''t mean to blame you. You are Zhou daughter-in-law. This is your home. It doesn''t matter where you want to go." Mother Zhou smiled faintly, took her hand to sit on the single bed beside her. She put her hand on her lap and patted gently, looked at her and said, "Do you know whose room this is?" "Is it Zhou Han''s previous room?" Lin Li guessed. In fact, it was not difficult to guess that, there was only this one son in Zhou family. And these NBA posters and Slam Dunk posters were obviously unlikely to be liked by Father Zhou. With that assumption, could only be Zhou Han''s, but she was a little surprised. Zhou Han would only watch news broadcasts and stock market analysis when watching TV, and only read the financial section of the newspaper, and he would always look at everything very seriously, but apparently he was no different from others when he was young, and he also liked the NBA and slam dunks! Mother Zhou nodded and smiled, "Yes, this is Ah Han''s previous room." ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Turning her head and looking around at the room, Mother Zhou¡¯s tone was full of emotion, ¡°This is Ah Han¡¯s room before he went to college. Although he went to the university in Jiang city, but because he didn¡¯t want others to know that he was an official¡¯s son, he insisted on living on campus. He came back only once a month, and he rarely stayed at home when he came back. He always came and went in a hurry. After graduating from college, he bought a small apartment outside with the money from stock trading during college. Then he found a job and started a company by himself, and didn¡¯t come back much. I forced him to come back for a quick dinner and then he said he was busy and hurried back." Mother Zhou said with a smile at the corners of her mouth. It seemed that everything was only yesterday. Looking back on it, it was still vivid. It didn''t take long, but if they really counting the time, more than ten years have passed since Zhou Han was now 32, and even his child was 6 years old. Lin Li just smiled, she turned her head to look around the room, thinking that the layout of this room was actually quite similar to Zhou Han''s character. The furnishings were all practical, except for useful things, without any extra decorations, of course, except for the posters. Pulling out from her own memories, Mother Zhou smiled and asked Lin Li again: "Has Xiao Li always stayed at home before?" Lin Li shook her head, "I am not Jiang city''s registered permanent resident. Came here for college, and after that also found a job here. Actually, I am almost like Zhou Han. After graduating from high school, I rarely stayed at home when I was in college. " "Oh, you are not from Jiang city!" Mother Zhou looked at her slightly surprised. Lin Li pursed her lips, slowly withdrew her hand. She shook her head and said, "No." She was afraid that she would mind. She had experienced this kind of reaction before. When Cheng Xiang took her to see his parents for the first time, his mother took her by the hand and asked about her enthusiastically, but when she knew she was not from Jiang city, the attitude changed 360 degrees, and immediately said in front of her that they would not agree with her and Cheng Xiang, because they did not want to find a girl with foreign registered permanent residence as their wife. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "It turned out to be like this," Without noticing the change in Lin Li''s attitude, Mother Zhou muttered to herself: "I was about to say that next time to ask your parents out and the two families will sit together and have a good meal." While saying that, she looked up at Lin Li, "Originally, when you got a marriage certificate without a wedding like this, Zhou Han''s father and I felt aggrieved for you. But you also know this is Ah Han''s second marriage, and the previous relationship was also unpleasant. This time, Ah Han told me to keep everything simple. I know that firstly, he had a bad relationship with his group of friends, and secondly, he considered Xiao Bin. But no matter who you consider, marriage without a wedding is our Zhou Han that has wronged you, so I still wanted to meet with my in-laws and apologize, but I didn''t expect that they were all outside. " Lin Li was taken aback for a moment, she (Lin Li) didn''t think that she (Mother Zhou) was even thinking about these things. She thought that Zhou family was minding her foreign registered permanent residence... Mother Zhou pulled her hand over again, held tightly, looked at her and said: "Xiao Li, I really wronged you. For our Ah Han, if you married so unfairly, and you also have to leave your home so far away, furthermore, your parents are also not by your side." "Mom, you..." Lin Li was stunned, unable to say a word. She patted her hand, and Mother Zhou said with a serious and assured expression: "Xiao Li, don''t worry, if Zhou Han wrong you in the future, you come to Mother. Mom will never favor her son, she will give the justice for you! Lin Li looked at her, only feeling a little moved inexplicably, her mouth raised slightly, and she nodded seriously, "Okay." Mother Zhou also laughed and nodded while holding her hand. After a while, she said: "You are Ah Han''s wife now, so I will ask you to help Mother to take care of Ah Han and Xiao Bin. Ah Han and Xiao Bin these two father and son''s lives are not easy. They have been harmed miserably by that woman." Speaking of this, Mother Zhou, who was originally gentle, became a little harsher and ruthless. "Zhou Han''s ex-wife?" Lin Li asked tentatively. Zhou Han had never told her about his ex-wife. Of course, there was no need to say this because of their fake relationship. But today Xiao Bin said that his mother often used the needle to prick him, and she was thinking how can a mother still landed her hand on her only child! Mother Zhou nodded, and sighed helplessly, and said: "Hhhh (sigh), let''s not talk about her. Can''t blame others, can only blame Zhou Han was too stupid at the time and was bewitched by that woman. For her, even friends and parents, he didn''t want anymore. But in the end, what did he get? Even got kicked away by her." Lin Li fixed her stare at her, and was inexplicably curious about that woman. She couldn''t imagine that Zhou Han could act like that, for a woman, to not care about friends and to not want parents anymore. Mother Zhou returned to her senses, raised her head just to meet Lin Li''s inquisitive eyes, secretly scolding herself for saying too much. Why she had to talk about Ling Ran in front of her, and talked about the ex in front of the current partner. As a woman, she couldn''t be so magnanimous for nothing. She then said with a smile: "Oh, it''s nothing, it''s nothing, it has been in the past for so long, let''s not talk about this, not talk about this." She was afraid that Lin Li would think too much, so she changed the subject and talked to her casually. Lin Li could see that she didn''t want to say much, she just nodded with a smile, and responded casually. In fact, she was purely curious. After all, with her situation with Zhou Han, she couldn''t care about all these. --------------- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ TN: Welp! As they said... Love is blind! and also... who else read Slam Dunk in the past? CH 7.1 - April 18, 2021 When Zhou Han called back in the evening, Lin Li was surprised that he was asking about Xiao Bin''s condition. No matter how surprised she was, Lin Li still told him truthfully that she had brought Xiao Bin back to the military compound. Zhou Han only responded casually, without any objection, and then casually asked her a few business matters. Just when Lin Li was about to hang up, Mother Zhou came in with a freshly homemade snack. She heard that she was calling her son and hurriedly asked Lin Li to ask him to come home for dinner at night. Zhou Han was quiet on the phone for a long time, before finally nodded in agreement, "Okay, I understand." Lin Li nodded, and just said: "Okay, then I''ll hang up first." After finishing her words, she hung up the call. Seeing her hung up, Mother Zhou hurriedly asked, "How is it, does Ah Han promise to go home for dinner?" Lin Li nodded at her with a smile, "En, he promised." (TN: you will see a lot of this phrase in Chinese novel "En", basically is like "Mm" or "Okay") She (Lin Li) knew that she (Mother Zhou) missed her son, just like her mother missed herself. Thinking of this, Lin Li suddenly really missed Daddy Lin and Mommy Lin. Mom and Dad had been back for more than a month, and she didn''t know if his health was better now. Perhaps, she should take some time to go back and have a look. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "Xiao Li, Xiao Li?" Mother Zhou whispered from the side, "What are you thinking about?" Lin Li came back to her senses, looked at her with a smile, shook her head and said, "It''s nothing." She didn''t want to say, Mother Zhou also didn''t want to ask too much. She suddenly remembered something, frowned and muttered in a low voice: "I just saw you on the phone with Ah Han. How did I feel it''s a little weird?" "How is it weird?" Lin Li was puzzled. At the same time, she recalled the phone call between her and Zhou Han just now. The voice was normal and the content was normal. There should be no strange things! Mother Zhou looked at her, thinking carefully. She knew it was a weird feeling, but to let her spell it out, she somehow didn''t know how to say it either. "Huh?" Lin Li eyed her suspiciously. It was really hard to tell. In the end, Mother Zhou shook her head and smiled: "Nothing... It''s nothing." Then she took the glutinous rice balls that had just been brought in, handed it to her, and said, "Come.. come.. This is what Mother cooked just now. It''s glutinous rice balls, eat them while they are hot. If it''s not enough, there are still more." Lin Li hurriedly reached out and took it from her. Looking down at the big bowl of glutinous rice balls, she looked at Mother Zhou embarrassedly and said, "Mom, I haven''t digested what I ate at noon." Since the last incident, her appetite had always been poor, and nothing tasted good when she eats. She used to like to eat, but now she felt disgusted and repelled. Eating had become a task for her, it was a torment. When she was hungry, then she would force herself to eat something. Otherwise, she would absolutely not eat. "Now you reminded me. In the afternoon you ate so little, even less than Xiao Bin," Mother Zhou sternly said, "No, you have to eat this bowl of glutinous rice balls." Lin Li smiled bitterly, "I..." She tried to explain, but she was stared back by Mother Zhou. "Xiao Li, don''t learn whatever those girls outside talking about dieting or whatever... You look at yourself now. Even if you want to lose weight, there''s nothing else to lose anymore. You are too thin." Zhou''s mother persuaded Lin Li. Everything was good with this girl. After meeting her for several times, her attitude and personality were good, except that she was too thin. The whole person was as thin as a piece of paper. It felt like she could be easily blown away by the wind. It¡¯s really heartbreaking to look at. In the future, she should get Zhou Han to bring her back more frequently. So she could get more nutritious food to replenish her body. "No... I... It''s just, no matter how much I eat, I can''t get fat." Lin Li smiled, but her heart was warm, and she could really feel her care for herself, and the feeling in her heart was very comfortable. "Just look at your mouse-like appetite, how much you can eat, of course you can''t get fat." Mother Zhou gave her an angry look, then stood up, "No can''t do, I have to go and see how Xiao Bin is eating. You eat this bowl of glutinous rice balls too, don''t leave anything behind." She said as she was walking out. Lin Li smiled bitterly at the glutinous rice balls, she must really finish this bowl~! ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ In order to not waste Mother Zhou''s kindness, Lin Li forced herself to finish the big bowl of glutinous rice balls, and when she went out with the empty bowl and chopsticks, there were already no figures of Mother Zhou or the little guy in the living room. The housekeeper auntie saw her came out, smiled and stretched out her hand to take the bowl and chopsticks in her hand, seeming to see her doubts, and proactively said: "Madam brought the young master to go out and play." Lin Li nodded, suddenly felt that her stomach tumbling, making her feel uncomfortable. She quickly covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom. --------------- TN: There are a lot of types of glutinous rice balls, this one in the picture is one of my favorite, the black sesame fillings. Yumm! Also, gomen I am still adjusting my schedule to do this translation and made a blunder for the release of these 2 chapters (Le Sigh...) Thank you for your support! CH 7.2 - April 19, 2021 Lin Li nodded, suddenly felt that her stomach tumbling, making her feel uncomfortable. She quickly covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom. Seeing this, the housekeeper put down the tableware and hurriedly chased up with some worry. Lin Li was kneeling in front of the toilet and vomited out all the glutinous rice balls that she had just eaten, and even the food that she ate at noon. "Oh no, what happened to you," The housekeeper stepped forward anxiously, patted her back with her hand. "Ughhhh..." Lin Li just vomited out everything. After she was done, Lin Li just slumped to the ground weakly, her chest heaving up and down, and her breath was slightly gasping. "Stomach flu?" The housekeeper asked guessingly. Lin Li''s whole body was so weak right now, she only shook her head, without any strength left to answer. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The housekeeper went up and helped her. She carried her to sit down in the living room, and then went to the kitchen, to give her a glass of water. After vomited, she would feel more comfortable to drink some water, but she couldn''t help but muttered in her heart, wondering if there was a problem with the glutinous rice balls that she made. Logically it shouldn''t be. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, her eyes widened, and exclaimed, "Could it be... pregnant!" She hurriedly brought the warm boiled water out to Lin Li, she looked at her ambiguously, wondering how to ask her to confirm. Lin Li took it and thanked her. Just when she wanted to bring it to her mouth to drink, she heard the housekeeper auntie asking in her ear: "Young Madam, do you often vomit like this?" "No... no... only occasionally." Lin Li shook her head, knowing her own situation. She had always been like this in the past few months. She didn''t like to eat, and nothing brought up her appetite. If she forced to eat it, she would always be like this. She vomited all out like this, and she wondered if she really had anorexia. "Was it just recently? Feeling nausea?" Housekeeper auntie asked somewhat eagerly. Lin Li gulped the water and nodded her head. She didn''t want to explain anything, she just responded in a perfunctory manner. "That''s it, it must be!" The housekeeper auntie said with certainty, nodding her head while she said. Lin Li was puzzled, looked up at her and asked, "What is it?" The housekeeper guessed that Lin Li might not even know it, so she wanted to wait until Madam came back and told her (Madam Zhou) to tell her (Lin Li), so she just smiled and shook her head ambiguously, and said, "Nothing, nothing..." Although Lin Li felt weird and a little confused, she only nodded her head without asking more questions and drank her own water. After vomiting, although she felt more comfortable, she was still a little tired after all. Housekeeper auntie saw her look a little tired, and she even believed more of her guess and said, "Are you tired, or why don''t you go to the room to take a rest?" Lin Li was indeed really tired. The whole person only felt no strength. She really wanted to go in and lie down, so she nodded, "Okay, I''m going to lie down for a while." Then she entered Zhou Han''s room, laid on the single bed, slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Lin Li woke up again, the outside sky was already dark, the sun had completely set, and the darkness fell. She raised her hand to check the time, it was almost 6 o''clock, and Lin Li did not expect that she would sleep for nearly three hours. She quickly turned over, opened the door and went out. She saw that Father Zhou was back and he was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading at the newspaper, but his eyes didn''t seem to be on the newspaper. His eyes always consciously or unconsciously glanced at the body of the little guy who was sitting on the side and playing with Transformers, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. At the moment, Mother Zhou and the housekeeper were in the kitchen fixing today''s dinner. The two seemed to be talking about something. They sounded very happy. From time to time, there were bursts of laughter coming out of the kitchen. Mother Zhou came out of the kitchen carrying some dishes. She happened to see Lin Li standing on the side. She hurriedly smiled and said to her, "Xiao Li is awake, it''s about to start dinner soon." Lin Li also smiled at her, and went forward to go to the kitchen to help bring out the dishes. After entering the kitchen, Lin Li volunteered and said: "Mom, let me take it." She said as she hurried forward to take over the food from Mother Zhou''s hand. Mother Zhou hurriedly avoided her, put the vegetables aside, and hurriedly pulled Lin Li to tell her to go out, "Aiyah, the cooking fume in the kitchen is so heavy, go out quickly." "Mom, I just want to help." Lin Li explained hurriedly, as she would feel a little embarrassed to just let her sit and wait for dinner. "No need, no need, just let me and auntie do it. No need for you to help," Mother Zhou insisted, muttering softly, "You are different now, you have to take care carefully." Lin Li frowned, feeling a little strange, "What do you mean?" Why did she think something was wrong! Mother Zhou behaved almost similar to housekeeper auntie, only smiled at her ambiguously, changing the subject, and said, "Come, why don''t you call to ask where Ah Han is now? Everyone is here, just waiting for him." She didn''t say anything so Lin Li didn''t ask again, she just took out her mobile phone, called Zhou Han, and asked, "Hello, where are you now?" "Already at the front door," Zhou Han only replied with short words, and then hung up the phone directly. As expected, Lin Li didn''t wait long before Zhou Han came in from outside. He walked in from outside with a briefcase. When he came in, Father Zhou didn''t speak, but gave him a faint glance, and then looked down at the newspaper in his hand. Mother Zhou hurriedly stepped forward, pulled Zhou Han in with a happy face, and smiled, then raised her voice to the housekeeper auntie that everyone was here and it was time for dinner. Zhou Han raised his eyes just to meet Lin Li, did not speak, only nodded faintly. --------------- TN: ML is back! Yayyy.. It''s so funny to see everyone was so excited with their own thoughts, yet FL doesn''t know anything LOL And sorry for all the confusion about the chapters. They are all fixed now. Thank you for your support! CH 8.1 - April 21, 2021 Father Zhou sat in the main seat, Mother Zhou sat on his right hand side, and Xiao Bin the child was sitting next to Mother Zhou, so that Mother Zhou can take care of him easily. Zhou Han occupied the seat on Father Zhou''s left hand, while Lin Li sat obediently next to Zhou Han. Tonight, Mother Zhou seemed to be particularly happy, and her face could never stop smiling. Looking at Lin Li and then at Zhou Han, the smile on her face seemed to deepen. Father Zhou still had that serious expression, just like Zhou Han''s usual expression. In fact, Lin Li couldn''t help but sigh in her heart when she met Father Zhou for the first time. No wonder Zhou Han''s usual expressions are always so stiff. It turns out that it''s genetic! When Father Zhou muttered in a slightly low voice with a little laziness and said ¡®eat¡¯, the people at the table began to move their chopsticks. Lin Li was holding the rice bowl with a wry smile in her heart. Mother Zhou seemed to have heard from the housekeeper that she had vomited all the glutinous rice balls before. She was afraid that she would be hungry. So tonight, Mother Zhou personally gave Lin Li a ''big'' bowl of rice. Stacked up looking like a pyramid, a little bit sharp. Holding the rice bowl, Lin Li somewhat helplessly took a bit of rice and put it in her mouth, thinking about how to finish this big bowl of rice afterwards, thinking that maybe after she''s done eating, she couldn''t avoid to throw up again later. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Mother Zhou sat opposite Lin Li, watching her with a smile on her mouth, giving her grandson a bite, then turned her head to stare at the son and daughter-in-law sitting in front of her, only seeing the two of them, Zhou Han and Lin Li eating and picking vegetables for herself. Mother Zhou secretly scolded her wooden-block son and kicked him under the table. Unexpectedly, the person who was kicked didn''t seem to have any reaction. They still ate their own meals and picked up their own dishes, but Lin Li looked up at her in confusion and doubt, and looked at Mother Zhou for unknown reasons. Mother Zhou realized that she had kicked the wrong person. She hurriedly laughed and shouted at Zhou Han: "Ah Han, why are you just eating by yourself? Lin Li stayed for dinner for the first time, she must be being polite, why don''t you pick more food for her, don''t be too polite." Zhou Han raised his head and glanced sideways at Lin Li, his eyes raised slightly, as if asking, ¡®Are you being polite?¡¯. Lin Li hurriedly waved her hand at Mother Zhou and explained: "I''m not, I''m not, I''ll just do it myself, I''m not polite, I''m not polite..." She was thinking, if Zhou Han really gave her some food, she really didn''t know if she could eat them all, she didn''t want to be where when everyone had finished their meal, and yet she was still struggling to eat hers. "In the future, everyone is your family, don''t be a stranger, okay, just treat it as your own home. Here! Eat more, eat more." Mother Zhou smiled and then winked at Zhou Han, and then she took a large piece of braised pork and put it in Lin Lin''s bowl. Braised pork ribs braised pork belly Lin Li could only accept it and nodded with a dry smile, "Thank... thank you, mom." Suddenly, another big chicken leg was picked up by the man next to her and was put in Lin Li''s bowl. Lin Li was surprised and turned her head to see Zhou Han only saying, "Eat more." Then he went back to care for himself and ate his meal. Lin Li stared at the rice bowl in her hand with an urge to cry. If it was the Lin Li in the past, it would not be a problem even if the food was increased several times. But now, for a person who is suspected of having anorexia, if she even could finish half of it, then it would be a miracle! And at this moment, Father Zhou, who had always been so serious, suddenly spoke, and said to Lin Li, "Don''t be cautious, treat it as your own home, eat more." Lin Li could only smile and nod her head. She couldn''t say no to their enthusiasm and kindness. five-spiced chicken drumsticks ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "By the way, Ah Han, when you have time, you should take Lin Li to the hospital." Mother Zhou said without looking at them, with a slightly ambiguous smile on the corner of her mouth. "What''s the matter?" Father Zhou looked up, looked at Lin Li and then at Mother Zhou. Lin Li and Zhou Han were also taken aback, they didn''t quite understand what Mother Zhou had meant. Mother Zhou fed Xiao Bin a bite of rice, looked at them giddily and said: "I heard auntie said that Lin Li vomited in the afternoon." Father Zhou and Zhou Han turned their heads at the same time to look at her. Both father and son had the same eyes, they seemed to be asking if there was such a thing. Lin Li can only nodded blankly. "Lin Li, tell mother, did you have it?" Mother Zhou said while laughing. "Have what?" Lin Li couldn''t react for a while. "Baby ah~!" Mother Zhou said it for certain, as if she was really sure of it. Lin Li was taken aback, but didn''t react for a while, she just stared back at her blankly. --------------- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ TN: In the first story, when I read about Lin Li the glutton, she always made me jealous, because all the food she was eating was really good! And then now, reading about Lin Li who''s sick really makes me sad but don''t worry! There''s sunshine after every rain CH 8.2 - April 23, 2021 When Father Zhou heard about a baby, his eyes widened. Compared to Lin Li''s astonishment, his eyes were obviously showing a little hint of joy, and the corners of his mouth also had a happy curve of smile. On the other hand, Zhou Han''s reaction was somewhat the same as Lin Li, but after a daze, he turned to look at Lin Li, frowning, and the look in his eyes seemed to be probing, asking her if it was true! Mother Zhou thought that this pregnancy was unplanned by the couple, but thinking that soon there will be new member coming from their family, she was in a very good mood. She turned her head and said to Xiao Bin who was aside: "Xiao Bin, you are going to be a brother. Are you happy?" The little guy didn''t know if he understand it, so he decided to look at his grandmother, and then at Lin Li and Zhou Han who were sitting across from him, without shaking his head or nodding. "Just now auntie told me that Lin Li was vomiting very badly, and her symptoms were similar, saying that she was 80%......." "I''m not pregnant!" Lin Li put down the bowl and said in panic, interrupting what Mother Zhou. Mother Zhou was taken aback, and then smiled, only treating that her over-reacting was her being shy, and said: "Haha, it''s okay, tomorrow let Ah Han take you to the hospital for an examination." That tone seemed to confirm Lin Li to be pregnant! "I really am not!" Lin Li hurriedly explained, "Zhou Han and I... Both of us...." "Lin Li." Zhou Han interrupted her explanation, turned to look at his mother again, and only said: "Mom, I know, I will take her to the hospital tomorrow." "Of course you know, I simply...." Lin Li turned to look at him, trying to say something, but was stopped by Zhou Han''s eyes, and finally could only swallow the unspoken words back into her stomach. Mother Zhou smiled and looked at the two of them, "Have a good check up tomorrow. By the way, Ah Han, should I ask Aunt Li, she is a Representative in the department." (TN: I''m guessing this Aunt Li is someone with a significant position in the hospital, perhaps?) Zhou Han declined and said: "Don''t bother, mom, I will just go for a check up tomorrow, and after confirming it, it will not be too late to ask Aunt Li." Mother Zhou thought about it, agreeing, she nodded, and just about she wanted to say something, Xiao Bin on the side seemed to be eating too quickly, and was choked. His whole face flushed and started coughing. Mother Zhou didn''t bother to finish her words anymore. She busily patted the child and scooped some soup for him to swallow the food that was stuck, which turned her attention away. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The atmosphere of the meal made Lin Li feel a little embarrassed and depressed. She just wanted to finish her food as soon as possible, and then hurried back to the room. So Lin Li immersed herself in eating, trying to eat all the dishes in the bowl, but the more she forced herself, the more she couldn''t eat any more. Her stomach felt nauseous. She just felt that her stomach rolled, just like in the afternoon. Then she realized that she wanted to vomit, so she quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks in her hands, hurriedly stood up. While holding her hand in front of her mount, she rushed in the direction of the bathroom. Upon seeing this, Mother Zhou hurriedly said to her son, "Go hurry and have a look." Zhou Han recovered his senses, and stood up. He walked towards the bathroom. While standing at the door of the bathroom, he saw Lin Li kneeling down in front of the toilet, vomiting very badly. Zhou Han gently closed the door and stood aside and frowned. Finally, after vomiting all the contents in her stomach, Lin Li leaned back on the ground somewhat feeling more relieved, her chest rising and falling with a little gasping. Zhou Han said coldly, "You won''t really be pregnant, are you?" Hearing this, Lin Li gave him an angry look, "This joke is very lame." Zhou Han shrugged his shoulders, "It''s hard for people not to misunderstand you like this." With her vomiting this badly, it''s no wonder that his mother misunderstood. Lin Li ignored him. She just sat for a while. And then she slowly stood up while leaning on the wall, and reached out to the sink to rinse her mouth. When she turned around and wanted to go out, she suddenly swayed and fell again. Her feet were numb from kneeling for a long time, her eyes watched her whole body leaning forward and about to fell. Just when Lin Li thought that her forehead was going to come into close contact with the solid wall, Zhou Han stretched out his hand behind her and pulled her into his arms, he put his arms around her waist, and looked at her condescendingly. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ His hands were on her waist, and their two bodies were close to each other. She could feel him breathing on the top on her head. For a moment, Lin Li blushed subconsciously and stretched out her hand uncomfortably to push him away, only to hear his slightly serious voice ringing above her head, "Are you sure if let you go now, you can stand by yourself?" The numbness on the leg caused Lin Li to stop the movement of her hand and slowly put her hand down. Then, before Lin Li could react, she felt that her body suddenly lightened, and when she reacted again, she was already carried by him. Lin Li reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck, staring wide-eyed at him, "You! What are you doing!" "I don''t think staying in the bathroom like this is a wise choice." Lin Li thought for a while, stared at his eyes and said, "Don''t go back to the dining room, I... I don''t want to eat anymore." She was afraid if she''s going to eat again, and she would come over to vomit later. And whatever she tried to explained after that, she would not be able to explain clearly. Zhou Han frowned and asked in his deep voice, "Why?" "Because... because I''m full!" Lin Li opened her eyes and lied. She really didn''t want to go back to eat those things. Faced with Father and Mother Zhou, she would feel sorry for them if she didn''t eat, but it''s really true that she really had no appetite. However, Zhou Han didn''t ask any more, he opened the bathroom door and carried her towards his previous room. He put her on the single bed that he had slept in, and looked around the room, thinking secretly, how long has it been since he came back! After a while, he recovered, turned his head to meet Lin Li''s inquiring eyes, a little embarrassed, and said, "I''m going to pour you a glass of water." After speaking, he turned around and went out. --------------- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ TN: It''s interesting to see two wooden-block people trying to interact. Each doesn''t care about their own being, and just live day by day like robots. As if their lives only have two colors, black and white. But little that they know that they each carry different colors within themselves, and soon will paint rainbows all around their tiny world. CH 9.1 - April 25, 2021 Lin Li was lying on her back weakly. After the two vomiting episodes; in the afternoon and just now; Lin Li threw up everything she had eaten, and she really had no strength now. After Zhou Han went out to pour some water for her, when he came back in again, this time there was Mother Zhou who came in behind him. Looking at Lin Li who was lying on the bed, Mother Zhou¡¯s expression was a bit tangled, and she looked a little distressed. But this corner of her mouth couldn''t help but smile. Lin Li was a little bitter in her heart, knowing that she just vomited, the misunderstanding was even greater, and whatever explanation she was planning to give was no longer clear. Zhou Han passed the water in his hand to her, his expression as serious as ever. (TN: LOL wooden block ML >.<) "Thank you." Lin Li took it and thanked him politely. Pulling Zhou Han away, Mother Zhou directly stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled Lin Li''s hand and placed it on her lap, patted lightly, and said with a little joy and a little distress: "Look at you, I feel so heartbroken," she reached out and touched her slightly sharp face, muttering on her mouth, "It''s too skinny, it''s really too skinny." Lin Li looked at her, the corner of her mouth painted with a faint smile, and could really feel the care and love of the woman in front of her. Although she knew that such care and love was just wrongly dedicated for her, Lin Li still cherished what had touched her heart at the moment. "You just vomited, now your stomach must be empty, mom will cook some noodles for you, okay?" Mother Zhou asked. "I don''t want it," Lin Li declined in a slight hurry. There was nothing in her stomach to throw up anymore! Mother Zhou was startled by her response and looked at her fixedly. Lin Li realized that her emotions had crossed the line, she hurriedly smiled and explained: "I... I really don''t have an appetite now." Looking into Mother Zhou''s eyes, she hardened her heart and said: "I... If I smell any food right now, I only feel like throwing up." It''s already like this anyway, and she didn''t care anymore if she get misunderstood more. Mother Zhou was so happy, she was sure of the fact that Lin Li was pregnant, and she took her hand and said, "When a woman got pregnant is exactly like this. She vomits at the beginning of her pregnancy. When you smell something, you will throw up. But... ah, wait until you see the child. No matter how hard you''ve suffered, you will feel it is worth it, because the child is a gift sent by the heaven!" The smile at the corner of Lin Li''s mouth slowly faded, and a certain part hidden in her heart seemed to be pricked. She thought of the child who had no destined fate with her, the embryo that hadn''t even formed yet, even if it was only more than two months old, she still had some feelings for the child that she could not give up, and she felt a kind of heart-piercing pain whenever she touched it. Zhou Han raised his eyes and saw her strangeness. He remembered the scene when she was crying in her arms that night. The kind of sadness that came from deep of the heart. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "This kid¡ª" Mother Zhou wanted to say something, but Zhou Han quickly interrupted her, "Mom, maybe you should ask Auntie cook some porridge. Maybe later in the night, Lin Li will have an appetite." Hearing this, Mother Zhou reacted and nodded repeatedly, and said: ¡°Oh yes, right, right... You can''t eat now, then let''s wait for it. You must keep up with nutrition when you''re pregnant. I''m going to cook it now, let it boil a little longer, add some glutinous rice, and boil it thicker." As she was speaking, she stood up, smiling in a good mood, "I will go now, I will go now." and as she was saying that, she walked out of the room. Zhou Han turned around to close the door, and then turned back to see Lin Li sitting on the bed in a daze, with a smile on her mouth, her hand on the quilt gripping tightly, as if restraining something. He frowned slightly, and only said coldly, "Don''t tell me that you''ll have this expression whenever there''s a mention about a child in the future?" Lin Li raised her head and looked at him, her eyes were like a knife, and she could pierce a person at a glance. Zhou Han was not afraid of her gaze, looked straight at her and said: "If you want to cry, just cry it out all at once. After crying, forget all the things that should be forgotten. Don''t think of it again. People cannot just live in the past blindly, life is about moving forward, and we must also look forward." Lin Li fixedly looked at him, her teeth clenched her lips tightly, her hands fisted tightly. Zhou Han stepped forward and brought the water that she had just put on the bedside table to her again, and said, "Drink some water, it will make you more comfortable." Without reaching out to take it, Lin Li just looked at him with determination, without turning her eyes away. Zhou Han also met her gaze and did not avoid it, he held the water glass in the same posture as before. After a while, Lin Li finally stretched out her hand slowly, took the water in his hand, turned her head, and did not look at him. Zhou Han didn''t miss the tears in her eyes, but he didn''t say anything more. He knew that, in fact, everyone already knew the truth. It was just that it needs time. Zhou Han stayed in the room for a while, and then went out. Lin Li drank the water and lay on the bed with her eyes closed. She pulled the quilt over and covered her head. In the darkness, she felt a flow of heat from the corner of her eyes slipped down. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When she came out of the room, Mother Zhou was still cooking the porridge in the kitchen, very carefully and attentively, using the big spoon to keep stirring in the pot to make sure the porridge was thick and smooth. While Father Zhou sat with Xiao Bin in the living room, holding the child in his arms, as if teaching him to read, but she did not see Zhou Han. Mother Zhou who was in the kitchen just now, came out and saw her smile and walked towards her, "Why are you already up? Must be hungry, huh? The porridge is almost done." Lin Li smiled back at her, and said apologetically: "It seems that I am really useless, only causing trouble for everyone." "Hey, it''s a special situation." The smile on Mother Zhou''s face was undiminished, and with the thoughts in her heart, even though she was made busy, yet she was happy. Lin Li knew that she had misunderstood, but she couldn''t explain it, and couldn''t bear to sweep her excitement away. Lin Li only smiled and turned her head slightly. Mother Zhou thought she was looking for Zhou Han, and said amusedly: "Looking for Ah Han? He is in the yard outside. You go lah~" Lin Li was taken aback, and then nodded following her words, "I''ll going to find him." That''s right, in their eyes, she and Zhou Han are now husband and wife, and it was normal to go find him. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The military compound was a bit like a small courtyard in the north. The house was surrounded by a garden. On the left side of the yard was a grape vine trellis with a stone chair underneath. In summer, it¡¯s perfect to enjoy the cool under the trellis. But sitting here on autumn and winter nights seemed a bit cold. At the moment Zhou Han was sitting on the stone chair. Compared to the bright hall in the room, it looked a little dim here and she could not see clearly. The reason why she was sure it was Zhou Han was because of the red light that flashed between his fingers. Moving towards his direction, Zhou Han seemed to hear the sound of footsteps and turned towards her. In the darkness, the two could not see each other''s faces clearly, and only looked vaguely at the outline. Gentleman Zhou Han squeezed out the cigarette in his hand, and Lin Li only smiled and said, "I really don''t mind." But it was the first time she saw him smoke since getting along with him. "I''m afraid that my mother will see and then she''ll nag at me." Zhou Han said lightly, with a faint smile in his tone, "After all, you are in a ''special situation'' now." Lin Li couldn''t help but roll her eyes, and muttered quietly, "And who''s fault is that." She could explain clearly, but he deliberately blurred the problem. Zhou Han chuckled lightly, and did not answer her words. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The two sat next to each other like this. The weather this year seemed to be a bit colder, and when the night breeze hit, making Lin Li stretched out her hands and rubbed both of her arms. Zhou Han glanced at her, he stood up and took off his suit jacket and covered her shoulders. All of a sudden, a faint light came out from the room. Lin Li stared at him fixedly. He was very close. She could even faintly smelled the tobacco that he had after smoking. He and Cheng Xiang were two different types. Cheng Xiang belonged to the kind of person with strong nerdy learning, while this guy, even though his appearance was not handsome, but he had his own masculine taste. "What are you looking at?" His dark eyes were shining brightly under the faint light. Lin Li returned to her senses, turned her head a little awkwardly, not looking at him, only shook her head, and said, "It''s nothing." Zhou Han sat down again and said, "Let''s go to the hospital tomorrow morning." Hearing this, Lin Li frowned, turned her head to look at him, and emphasized with great certainty: "I am not pregnant!" They were husband and wife, but they were only contracted husband and wife. If the child belongs to Cheng Xiang, it''s been more than 4 months since she separated from Cheng Xiang, how could it be possible to get pregnant! Zhou Han glanced at her lightly and said, "If you are not pregnant, you should figure out why you keep throwing up." "I...." Lin Li was speechless, she looked at him for a long time, and turned her head away. "You... what?" Zhou Han asked, his eyebrows raised slightly. "Hehe." Lin Li smiled bitterly, and then said softly after a while: "You must not believe that I used to be a big stomach king, I can eat everything on the table, and I won''t feel stomach ache or even any sort of uncomfortable." Zhou Han raised his eyebrows in surprise, he really didn''t believe it. Because according to his time with her, he can be sure that her stomach was as comparable as a child, and she was picky when she ate, and she even barely moved her chopsticks at all. When he was with Ling Ran in the past, she didn''t eat much, but she didn''t eat as little as hers. If it changed to other people, he would have thought that she was dieting, but she, she did not have anything to diet anymore! "I can''t believe it myself. The big stomach king in the past will vomit madly if she eats more," Lin Li looked up at the distant night sky. Tonight''s sky was a bit lonely, with only a crescent moon hanging high in the sky. There was not even a star by its side. Lin Li sighed for a long time. She laughed at herself, trying to relax her voice, and said: "Maybe I ate too much in the past, and now it''s time to pay it back." Zhou Han frowned slightly and wanted to speak, but she had stood up, looked at him and said seriously: "Tomorrow Friday, take some time tomorrow afternoon, and accompany Xiao Bin to the sports meeting." Zhou Han looked at her for a long time and wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips, the words suddenly changed, "Okay." (Maybe like this, but instead of sitting across from each other, imagine them sitting side by side on stone chairs) --------------- TN: Pretty long chapter this time. I like how they are able to converse normally now without being cold / sarcastic towards each other. Hey! Step by step, they''re finally building relationship :) CH 9.2 - April 27, 2021 Zhou Han looked at her for a long time and wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips, the words suddenly changed, "Okay." His answer caused Lin Li to be stunned for a moment. She didn''t expect that he would be so easy to agree. Then she laughed, nodded, and turned back into the house. When Lin Li was about to enter the house, she happened to meet Mother Zhou who was about to go out to call them, "I was about to call you. Come in quickly, the porridge is ready, let''s dig in while it''s hot." Lin Li nodded and responded with a chuckle: "Okay." In fact, she vomited twice and emptied everything in her stomach, she was indeed a bit hungry. But hoped she wouldn''t have to throw up again later, she really had nothing left in her stomach. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Mother Zhou pulled Lin Li in, and did not forget to raise her voice and shouted towards the outside, "Ah Han, you didn''t eat much just now, why don''t you come in and eat too." "Okay." A low voice sounded behind her, and Lin Li heard his footsteps approaching. When she entered, auntie had already put the porridge on the table. Together with the white porridge, were some non-greasy side dishes to complete the meal. Lin Li sat down and scooped the porridge with a spoon. The porridge was very sticky; perhaps because it''s mixed with glutinous rice. And the smell was also special, it was a strong rice fragrance. Zhou Han sat down opposite her, glanced at her, and then lifted the bowl in front of him. Mother Zhou originally wanted to chat with her for a while, but Father Zhou suddenly called her over. She then got up and went to the grandfather and grandson pair. Lin Li drank the porridge without moving her chopsticks to pick up the dish. She didn¡¯t know if she was really hungry or if Mother Zhou¡¯s porridge really fragrant and thick. Lin Li even had the desire to eat another bowl. So she got up again, went to the kitchen and scooped another small bowl, not daring to eat more that that. She was afraid if she was not able to finish it, her stomach would be making trouble again. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Mother Zhou came back, Lin Li was almost finished eating. Seeing that she had finished eating, Mother Zhou hurriedly reached out to serve her another bowl, and said, "Let me add more for you again. I cooked a lot." Lin Li hurriedly stopped her, "Mom, I''m full, I can''t eat anymore." It''s not bad to be able to eat this much now. If she ate more again, it''s probably going to be like just now again. "This is porridge, and it can''t be used as a meal." Mother Zhou said disapprovingly. Lin Li smiled helplessly, "I really can''t eat it anymore." Mother Zhou insisted and said: "You are too skinny, you need to eat more, be obedient, I¡ª" "Mom, if Lin Li can''t eat, don''t force her, let her eat more later when she''s hungry." Zhou Han put down the bowl and answered for Lin Li. "Yes, yes, I''ll eat later when I''m hungry." Lin Li agreed hurriedly. Mother Zhou thought about it, and it was not unreasonable. So she nodded and said, "Okay, I will keep the porridge into the rice cooker and keep it warm. When you are hungry, it will be hot when you want to eat." Lin Li had not yet spoken, but Zhou Han spoke first, "No need, Mom, it''s late, and the child will need to go to class tomorrow, so we should go back." Hearing that, Mother Zhou couldn''t accept it, and said with a calm face: "Going home for what? It''s rare for your whole family to come back. Just stay over for one night." Lin Li looked at Zhou Han, only to see Zhou Han looking at the direction of the living room. Mother Zhou seemed to have noticed too. She put the bowl on the table and said to Zhou Han, "I''ll talk to your dad." As she said, she turned and walked toward the living room. Lin Li took off the coat on her body and returned it to him. Zhou Han reached out and took it, and only said, "Pack your things away." In that tone, it seemed that he believed that Father Zhou would not agree for him to stay over. Lin Li didn''t say a word, just nodded, she was ready to go back to the room to get her bag and Xiao Bin''s coat. Before she took the first step, she heard Mother Zhou''s voice coming from over there, "Ah Han, your father has agreed." While speaking, they could hear her words were full of joy and happiness. Lin Li turned her head and saw Zhou Han''s stunned face. Although his face didn''t change much, she didn''t miss it. The strength of his hands that were holding the jacket was so tight, and it left creases on the jacket. Turning to look at Mother Zhou again, she was happily holding Xiao Bin and kissing his cheek as she asked: "Xiao Bin, staying here with grandma at night, are you happy!" The child just showed a big smile and nodded vigorously. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Zhou Han still had not back to his senses, Lin Li didn¡¯t know what to do. Father Zhou had already stood up from the sofa, turned his head towards them, and looked at Zhou Han for a while. He said blankly and indifferently: "Stay over." After finished speaking, without waiting for Zhou Han and Lin Li to answer, he turned and headed towards the study. Lin Li turned her head and wanted to ask him again if he wanted to go back, but when she saw his moved expression and the gleam in his eyes, she already knew the answer. With a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, and without saying anything, Lin Li turned around and walked towards the smiling Mother Zhou in the living room. At first, Lin Li felt that it didn''t matter if they stayed or not, but when it came for time to go to bed, the problem came, and Lin Li felt that she should have just insisted on going back! Looking at the single bed in the room, she felt like she wanted to cry but no tears came out. Turning her head to look at Zhou Han''s everlasting expressionless face, he raised his eyebrows slightly. Originally, Lin Li wanted to stay at night and she went to the guest room with Xiao Bin, letting him sleep in his previous room alone. But who would think that Zhou¡¯s mother insisted for Xiao Bin to sleep with her at night, saying that the child had grown so much and yet had never slept with his grandma not even once, and so he must sleep with her for one night after all. Mother Zhou had said so, what else can others say. So about ten minutes ago, Mother Zhou took the child back to the room happily to sleep, and didn''t forget to tell Zhou Han before leaving, that if Lin Li was hungry at night, to let him go to the kitchen to warm the porridge for Lin Li to eat. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "That..." At this point, Lin Li could only accept the reality, so she turned her head and looked at him and was about to discuss, "Well, you see there is only one bed in this room..." Zhou Han raised his eyebrows, closed the door behind him, and only said: "I won''t agree to sleep on the floor!" He directly cut off her thoughts. Lin Li couldn''t believe it, she glared at him, and said angrily, "You let me sleep on the floor?!" Could he be less mean? Let a girl to sleep on the floor, is he not afraid of being laughed by others! With a faint smile at the corner of Zhou Han¡¯s mouth, tricks flashed in his eyes. He approached her, cornered her back to the door, and slowly said by her ear: "I don¡¯t mind if you sleep on the bed with me...." He leaned too close. Although the two did not have any physical contact, Lin Li felt an invisible sense of oppression from such posture and distance. Her whole person began to panic a little, and her speech became choppy: "Wh... Who.. who wants to sleep with you!" The smile on Zhou Han''s mouth deepened, and then he got up and drew a distance from her, threw his jacket aside, pulled off the tie from his neck, and then began to unbutton his shirt. Lin Li stared at his series of actions, throbbing fiercely in her heart, and asked, "You... what are you doing!" Zhou Han turned his head and deliberately said: "Taking off clothes to take a bath." "At home... there are guest rooms at home... I... I will go to sleep in the guest room." After speaking, Lin Li reached out and was about to open the door. "Wait a minute." Zhou Han called from behind her and reminded her: "Don''t forget our current identities. Have you ever seen a newly married couple that sleep in separate rooms?" "But we are not husband and wife!" Lin Li emphasized: "We are just in a contractual relationship!" "It''s only you and I that cooperate, but not in the eyes of outsiders." Zhou Han looked at her fixedly, with a smile that seemed like nothing at the corner of his mouth. "....." Lin Li was speechless, unable to answer at all. Zhou Han chuckled and turned around to open the door of the cabinet. There was still his high school basketball jersey hanging inside. He stared for a while. The expression in his eyes was no longer the usual desertedness, and the gentleness he expressed that he himself might not even believe he had. He reached out and took the short-sleeved T-shirt and loose sports shorts that was hung on the side, and went directly into the bathroom. Lin Li was standing on the side, looked at the single bed and frowned, and still muttered in her mouth, "Why do you have to have only single bed!" ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Zhou Han came out again, he saw Lin Li was sitting nervously on the wicker chair where he usually sat when he came back from school to do his homework. She was holding the collection of essays he had read and looked at it casually. The corners of his mouth had a slight curve, that maybe even Zhou Han himself hadn''t noticed that the face on himself today had been smiling more than usual. (TN: Sometimes, the author has really bad grammar that made my head hurts... T_T) He took a dry towel and wiped his wet hair. The T-shirt on his body looked a little smaller than it was more than ten years ago, but it didn''t look too awkward. After his hair was half-dried, Lin Li still didn''t seem to have any plans to get up. Zhou Han put the towel aside, with a small smile he asked, "Are you going to sit there all night?" Lin Li didn''t turn her head, flipped the paper with her hand, just said, "I''ll look at it for a little while." With a lingering smile on his lips, Zhou Han nodded, went around the head of the bed and went to the other side of the bed, and said, "I looked at the weather forecast yesterday, and it seems that there will be cold air coming tonight." Without turning her head to look at him, Lin Li gritted her teeth and said, "Thank you for reminding!" "You''re welcome." Zhou Han answered naturally. Lin Li muttered a little bit angry, and didn''t read any of the words in the essay collections. With a little force while flipping the paper, she made a rustling sound, cursing him for not being a gentleman at all. "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything to you." Zhou Han said coolly behind her. When Lin Li turned around again, he was already lying down and sleeping under the quilt. Lin Li looked at his back, muttered a few words of dissatisfaction in her mouth, and continued to look at the essays in her hands. After a while, she didn''t know how long, sleepiness finally struck Lin Li¡¯s eyelids and she began to struggle to stay awake. The chill was deep in the night. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but hug herself with her arms around her. She thought to herself that she could be possibly cursed by Zhou Han. There was really cold air coming! There was no sound in the room, and only the breathing of two people. Lin Li started to tremble by the cold. Turning her head to look at the bed, Zhou Han was still in the same posture as before. He did not seem to have moved, breathing smoothly. Looked like he should be asleep. When she got up, Lin Li quietly stepped forward, saw his sleeping face, confirmed that he was really asleep, and then quietly walked around the head of the bed, whispering in her mouth, "Only sleeping on the same bed.... only sleeping on the same bed....." She took off her jacket and lay down gently beside him, leaning on her back, trying not to allow herself to occupy too much space. But she was really tired, and after lying down for a while, Lin Li fell asleep with her eyes closed. What she didn''t know was that when she laid down on the bed, Zhou Han had the corners of his mouth curved up to a nice arc. --------------- TN: Aww! I want to see that nice arc on his face CH 10.1 - April 29, 2021 In her sleep, Lin Li seemed to feel that there was a natural heater by her side, exuding a lively temperature, and that charming temperature made people unconsciously want to get closer, to hug, and to want more. Slowly moved her eyelids and opened them slowly. The light of the morning sun was projected through the glass without curtains, illuminating the entire room. This brightness for a person who had just woken up from the dark, was a little dazzling, and Lin Li subconsciously closed her eyes again, rubbed her head against the warm current around her, and hugged it tighter with her hands. How long has it been for her to sleep for a night until dawn? It seemed that it was a long time, and Lin Li almost forgot the comfortable feeling of sleeping until dawn. It seems that since An Ran told her that Cheng Xiang had cheated, she didn''t seem to have slept deeply. She would always have various dreams all night, and those dreams made her unable to sleep peacefully at all. At the beginning, she always dreamed that Cheng Xiang was smiling happily while holding the other woman while she was being ignored. To them, it seemed like she was air and they would never be able to notice her. She didn¡¯t wake up, but she would cry in her dreams, because when she woke up the next day, the pillow sheet was always wet with her tears. She wanted to lie to herself and said that she could continue, but the facts made her unable to lie to others, let alone lie to herself, and finally Cheng Xiang left her in front of everyone at their wedding. Later, after the wedding, she no longer dreamed of them, but a voice always appeared in her dreams every night, asking her why she didn''t want him, saying that he was so pitiful, so cold, and missed his mother so much. For a long time, she would wake up in the middle of the night, and then she would sit on the bedside and cry silently while holding the baby ultrasound picture and hugging her knees. Later, her father fell ill and consumed all of her strength and energy. Although she had less time to think about Cheng Xiang and the child, her whole person was worrying that her father would not sleep well every night because of his illness. And now, her father had had surgery and he was discharged from the hospital successfully. But for several nights, she still dreamed that her father''s operation was not successful. She saw her mother was crying in front of the hospital bed, and then she woke up from the dream and was drenched in cold sweat. She even called her parents several times, confirming that they were doing fine, and then she would feel relieved. But she seemed to sleep well last night, because she had not woken up all night, nor did those scenes appear in her dream. With her eyes closed, Lin Li''s mouth curled slightly because she slept well. "Aren''t you getting ready?" The voice came from the top of her head, her brows slightly furrowed. The tone was familiar to Lin Li, but the tone seemed to be a little different from the voice, because she actually heard a faint smile in that tone. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Zhou Han looked at this woman in his embrace who was holding his waist tightly at this moment. She just smiled at the corner of her mouth, but at this moment her brows were slightly frowned. The rapid changes in her expression made people feel a little funny. Enduring the laughter, Zhou Han tried his best to make his voice sounded as cold and indifferent as before, and said: "If you don''t get up, I have no objection, but can you please let me go first." Lin Li frowned and slowly opened her eyes. What caught her eye was a bronze-colored ''wall'', her brow furrowed deeper, she slowly raised her head, and then directly faced a pair of obsidian eyes. She froze for several seconds, even blinked a few times, trying to recall the scene last night. Zhou Han looked at her, restrained the smile that was about to curve on his lips, and said coldly: "Still not letting me go?" Lin Li sat up abruptly, pulled the quilt over her chest, and pointed at him, "Y...Yo....You...Youu! Why are you in my bed!" Because of tension, her anxious speech was a little unclear. All the quilts were pulled over by Lin Li, Zhou Han only wore a wide sports pants, his upper body was naked, and his whole body was exposed to the air. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The sudden coldness made Zhou Han''s heart tremble, but he didn''t show it on the surface, he didn''t speak, just looked at her fixedly, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Upon seeing this, Lin Li couldn''t help but stare, and the heat on her face immediately rose. After reacting, she turned her head back and said, "Rogue!" Zhou Han''s mouth was half-curved, and he slowly said, "Did you forget everything about last night?" Hearing that, Lin Li turned her head abruptly, clutching the quilt on her chest tightly, staring at him bitterly with her small face full of anger, and asked harshly, "What did you do?" Zhou Han only raised his eyebrows and asked instead, "What do you think I did?" "You!¡ª" Lin Li glared at him, unable to say a word, clutching the quilt firmly with her hand, staring at him for a long time, only to spit out three words, "You are shameless!" The tip of her nose began to feel sour. The eye sockets also began to turn red, and the mist in the eyes began to diffuse. Zhou Han finally couldn''t help but laugh in a low voice, and after a while he turned over and got up from the bed, "Before you want to cry, take a look at the quilt." As he spoke, he walked towards the bathroom. CH 10.2 - May 01, 2021 Lin Li was taken aback for a moment. After he entered the bathroom, she lowered her head and lifted the quilt that was covering her chest. She had all the clothes and pants on her body. The shirt was the same as she wore yesterday. She was a little confused, and tried to think about last night... When Zhou Han changed his clothes and came out, Lin Li was still sitting on the bed in the same posture as before. Seeing him coming out, she looked up at him, and asked with some uncertainty, "Yesterday.... Nothing happened to us yesterday?" After taking the tie that was hung on the closet yesterday, Zhou Han half curled his lips and asked, "What did you wish to happen to us yesterday?" Lin Li shook her head hurriedly, waved her hand and smiled, "No, no, how could I think of something to happen to us. Nothing happened, pretty sure nothing happened." She looked at him as if waiting for him to nod and confirm, so she could feel relieved. Zhou Han didn''t speak, just laughed, and worked on his tie. When everything was set, he checked the time, and when he turned and was about to go out, Lin Li stopped him again. "Wait, wait a minute!" Lin Li called him aloud, then jumped off the bed, looking at him as if she had more questions to ask, but she felt a little awkward, her fingers were clenched against each other, and she didn''t know how to start her words. Zhou Han turned his head and looked at her with a smile on his mouth, and asked: "What?" Lin Li struggled for a long time before asking, "Well, didn''t you wear clothes yesterday?" She just thought about it again. She remembered that she had planned to sit on a chair overnight, but she couldn''t bear it at night. It was cold, and she laid down on the bed after seeing him deeply asleep, and she also remembered that he seemed to be wearing clothes before going to bed, although the clothes looked a little small to him. "Oh, that shirt was too small, it made me feel uncomfortable. I woke up in the middle of the night and I took it off again." Zhou Han said as a matter of course, and didn''t tell her that it was actually because he was aware of her presence yesterday, so he got a t-shirt. In fact, he usually sleep naked. ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The corners of Lin Li''s mouth twitched unnaturally, and she secretly scolded him for being too fussy. The fake smile on her face remained, and she took a small step towards him, hand gestures back and forth between him and herself, tentatively again she asked, "That... that.... I... I rolled into your arms by myself? "She clearly remembered that she tried to lie down on the edge of the bed last night, and try not to occupy his bed as much as possible. There was no reason to get up in the morning and roll into his arms! Zhou Han raised his eyebrows and asked instead: "Do you think I pulled you in?" "No?" She remembered that her sleeping position was absolutely not bad! It makes no sense to roll into his arms! "Where do you think my hands were when you woke up in the morning?" Zhou Han looked at her funnily. Lin Li looked at him fixedly for a while, then suddenly widened her eyes inconceivably, her mouth twitched with a dry smile, shook her head, and said, "Hehe, no, nothing.. it''s nothing now..." Turning her head away while blushing, she scolded herself for being too careless, and she actually treated him as a heater all night, because she remembered it! She remembered that when she woke up in the morning, she was holding his waist tightly, and his hands did not get anywhere on her body! This kind of realization made her want to dig a pit and bury herself. There was no room for self-confidence, and she regretted that she had asked this question. Anyway, what shouldn¡¯t have happened last night didn¡¯t happen, and she was still struggling with what happened! ----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Zhou Han stepped towards her, lowered his head from behind her and leaned against her ear and said, "Did you think I took advantage of you and waited until you fell asleep and then brought you into my embrace?" The interrogative sentence was in a positive tone. There was no seriousness and coldness that he used to have, but more relaxed and smiling. Lin Li didn''t speak, the smile on her mouth was stiff, and he was too close, so close that she could clearly feel the warm breath in her ears when he breathed, subconsciously she shrank her neck. Seeing that his goal was achieved, and noticing that almost her entire face was about to burn, Zhou Han leaned away from behind her, moved a little further from her, and said, "You are not the type I am interested in, because... "The ending sound was prolonged, and he paused deliberately, waiting for her to look back. Everything was exactly as Zhou Han expected. After he paused, Lin Li subconsciously turned around and asked, "Because of what?" Looking at her, Zhou Han''s smile widened to the maximum, his eyebrows were half-squinted, and the whole person looked a little evil, then he slowly said, "Why? You really want me to be interested in you?" "I don''t!" Lin Li defended loudly, turning her head away from looking at him, and again in her heart scolded herself for being careless. Zhou Han¡¯s voice laced with a smile came from behind and said, ¡°Because you are too thin, really no meat, I don¡¯t want to hold a bone, it''ll be ridiculous!¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Lin Li to turn around and say anything. While smiling, he turned and opened the door to go out. Lin Li was stunned for a while before she was back to her senses, and then she turned around annoyed and said angrily to the door: "Too ridiculous, who wants to be held by you! Narcissistic!" Outside the door, Zhou Han did not look back, but since early this morning, he seemed to be in a good mood and relaxed both physically and mentally! --------------- TN: Unknowingly, did you also feel the grey skies slowly clearing out? They can banter like normal now, and Zhou Han also smile a lot more frequently now. CH 11.1 - May 03, 2021 Lin Li cleaned herself up in the bathroom in the room. Then she came out of the door and then out of the room. Only then did she find that Father Zhou and Mother Zhou had awaken, and the auntie had put today''s breakfast on the table, even Xiao Bin had showered and put on new clothes and sat on the chair. Seeing her came out, Mother Zhou smiled and waved to her, "Lin Li, you''re awake. Just in time for breakfast, come over." Lin Li was a little embarrassed to be the last one awaken, her face was slightly red, and the corners of her mouth curved awkwardly. She stepped forward and sat down beside Zhou Han and looked at Father Zhou and Mother Zhou and said: "Father, mother, good morning." Father Zhou didn''t say much, but nodded at her with a faint smile, while Mother Zhou was busy passing the chopsticks and spoon to Lin Li. Lin Li reached out to take it, and thanked her softly, "Thank you, mom." Mother Zhou looked at Lin Li with a smile and asked, "Did you sleep well last night?" Hearing this, Lin Li nodded in embarrassment, lowered her head and ate, took a mouthful of the porridge and put it in her mouth. She didn''t know if it was the steam from the hot porridge that made her blush or if it was because Mother Zhou''s question reminded her of the scene in the room when she just woke up this morning. Mother Zhou didn''t seem to notice anything, and said to herself: "The bed in Ah Han''s room should also be changed. It is too small. It was still the same bed from before Ah Han went to university." Lin Li didn''t speak, she just bowed her head to eat in reddened face. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "Hey, Xiao Li, don''t just drink the porridge." Seeing her only lowered her head and drank the porridge without moving her chopsticks, Mother Zhou frowned in disapproval, and put a big meat bun to her and said, "Eat more other dishes and steamed buns, too." Lin Li took it and just nodded and said okay, but the stomach seemed to be ill again. After taking a few mouthfuls of porridge, the stomach was already a little swollen. She was afraid that she would have to throw up again if she kept continue to eat. Looking down at the bun in the bowl, her brows frowned slightly in embarrassment. Zhou Han, who was sitting next to her, seemed to see something, as he was just about to speak, but was interrupted by his mother. Suddenly remembering something, she smiled and curled her eyebrows while looking at Zhou Han and said, "Ah Han, don''t go to the company in the morning, and accompany Lin Li to the hospital for a thorough checkup to make sure." Zhou Han raised his eyebrows and looked at the people around him, then smiled lightly at his mother and nodded, "Okay, I know." Lin Li just smiled, and when she looked down at the porridge and steamed buns in the bowl, she frowned again. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Suddenly a pair of chopsticks stretched out and took away the buns from Lin Li''s bowl. Lin Li looked up in surprised, and saw Zhou Han was looking at her and saying, "If you don''t like eating meat buns, just tell mother. Just stupidly accepting it even though you don''t like, here, just give it to me.¡± As he said, he opened his mouth and took a big bite of the meat bun. Lin Li hasn''t recovered yet, Mother Zhou asked in surprise: "Ah! Xiao Li, you don''t like to eat meat buns!" Looking back at her, Lin Li nodded in embarrassment, "I usually eat less." "I see," Mother Zhou muttered, "Are you used to eating sandwich? Or I will let Auntie make you a sandwich?" Lin Li hurriedly stopped her: "No need, I just drink porridge, just drink porridge is enough." Zhou Han also opened his mouth and said, "Mom, don''t trouble yourself anymore. Lin Li doesn''t eat much to begin with." Hearing that, Mother Zhou then gave up, but looking at Lin Li, she said seriously: "You are too skinny, you have to eat more in the future!" ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ After having breakfast, because the child had to go to school in the morning, they didn''t stay any longer. The few people then packed up and were about to leave. Father Zhou had a meeting in the morning, so the secretary came to pick him up. Mother Zhou sent them out and kissed her grandson''s cheeks reluctantly. She told him to come back to see his grandparents. She also did not forget to tell Lin Li to eat more in the future. Otherwise, she would have to come back home at least once a week, so Mother Zhou could cook her some soup or something to make up. Lin Li nodded, feeling very good that she (Mother Zhou) was kind to herself (Lin Li). It seemed that other than her own mother, no one cared about herself this much. She had been with Cheng Xiang for 10 years, and she had never received such love from his parents. Lin Li took the little guy into the car, but Zhou Han was stopped by Mother Zhou and pulled aside to say something. It took a while before he finally walked over. Felt troublesome, Zhou Han didn''t drive over with his car when he came last night. So after talking to his mother, he got into Lin Li''s car, then started the car and left the military compound. ----- Please read the translations from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The military compound was located in the suburbs, and there was quite a long distance from here to the city. In the car, Lin Li sat with the kid in the back seat, while Zhou Han drove the car intently. The atmosphere in the car seemed a little quiet, a little weird. After driving for a while, Lin Li looked at Zhou Han at the front and said hesitantly, "Um.. that... Thank you for just now... when we were eating..." She was referring to the fact that he helped her to eat that bun to relieve her awkwardness. With her current stomach, if she really ate that steamed bun, she would have thrown up a long time ago. Zhou Han raised his eyes, looked at her through the rearview mirror, and said, "I will go to the office after this, you should go to the hospital yourself and get a checkup." Lin Li didn''t turn her head to look at the little guy sitting on the side, and just said, "No need." She knew her own situation, it''s only eating less, no big deal. Hearing this, Zhou Han was silent for a long time, and only said: "Your body is your own. If you don''t cherish it yourself, it will be useless for others to say more." Lin Li did not answer, and just stayed silent. --------------- TN: Well.. nothing much to say except .... T_T translating this in the middle of the night, now I''m craving for porridge and steamed bun CH 11.2 - May 05, 2021 The atmosphere in the car was a lot more awkward and weird than before. Just as Lin Li was wondering if she wanted to say something to break the awkwardness, Zhou Han''s cell phone rang at this time. Putting on the Bluetooth earphone, Zhou Han picked up the phone. It was from the company''s special assistant, Zhou Han''s Assistant Xu. He informed him that the meeting that was originally scheduled for tomorrow, however the customer called and said that they''re going on a business trip tomorrow, and asked if they could change the meeting to this afternoon. Zhou Han agreed without even thinking about it, saying: "Okay, then change it to 2 pm, sort out the materials you need, and I will join later." "Got it." Assistant Xu answered. Just as Zhou Han hung up the phone, Lin Li immediately said: "You have agreed to come to Xiao Bin''s Kindergarten this afternoon." Zhou Han was taken aback, and then he remembered that he had promised to participate in the children¡¯s sports meeting in the yard last night. He took off the Bluetooth from his ears and didn¡¯t turn his head. He just looked at the road conditions ahead and said: ¡°Customers changed the meeting suddenly, this afternoon there''s you to attend." ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Xiao Bin, who was sitting next to Lin Li, had the Transformers in his hand suddenly dropped to the ground, and looked up at Zhou Han''s back in a daze. Lin Li was a little distressed by the child''s innocent eyes, and was a little angry at Zhou Han''s irresponsibility, and said with angrily: "You are his father!" "You are also his legal mother." Zhou Han said blankly. "You! You are simply unreasonable!" Lin Li glared angrily on the back of his head, and had an urge to move forward and knock open his head to see what was with his brain. Zhou Han did not answer, but his eyes saw her glaring at him and her bulging cheeks through the rearview mirror, and the corners of his mouth could not help but smile faintly. But when he realized he was smiling, he suddenly put that smile away, frowning slightly. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Xiao Bin arrived at school, the kindergarten had already started the class. Although it was a bit late, it was a kindergarten after all, so the teacher didn¡¯t say anything. She was happy to see Zhou Han and Lin Li sending the children over together and took Xiao Bin''s hand, half-bending over to ask him if his health was better. The little guy glanced at Zhou Han who was standing by his side, and said loudly, "Better." The teacher smiled and touched his head, then looked up at Zhou Han and Lin Li, and said, "It''s great to see you two send your child over together. The child is very lonely, also don''t like to play with the children around him too much, so it is best for parents to spend more time with their children to make him happier, so he will not become too withdrawn." Zhou Han nodded, his expression still a little serious, glanced at the little guy, but did not speak. Zhou Han''s indifference made the teacher a little embarrassed. She didn''t know what to say. Generally speaking, as a parent, you shouldn''t be so indifferent to your children. Lin Li naturally saw the embarrassment of the young teacher, she stepped forward, smiled and said, "Thank you teacher, we will." While talking, she took the little guy''s medicine out of the bag and passed it to the teacher, and said: " Teacher, this is Xiao Bin''s medicine. Could you give it to him after lunch before nap time." The teacher stretched out her hand to take it, smiled and nodded, "Okay, I know, I will give him after lunch." "Thank you." Lin Li thanked her, then looked at the child. She squatted and said to the little guy: "Xiao Bin, listen to the teacher in school. If you feel uncomfortable, tell the teacher, okay?" The little guy nodded and replied, "Okay." ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The young female teacher touched his head, then smiled and said to Lin Li, "Then I will take him in first." "Okay, sorry to trouble you." Lin Li said. The teacher smiled, holding the little guy¡¯s hand and preparing to go in. When she just turned around, she suddenly remembered something, then turned around again. She looked at Lin Li and Zhou Han, and said, ¡°I hope both of you can come for this afternoon sports meeting and accompany your child to participate." Just as Zhou Han wanted to refuse, Lin Li, who was beside him, had already agreed, "Okay, we will definitely come over this afternoon." "Really? That''s great." The teacher was obviously surprised by this result. She thought that at most one of them could come, but she didn''t expect both to come. "I don''t have time in the afternoon." Zhou Han glanced at Lin Li, turned his head and said directly to the teacher: "I still have work to do in the company this afternoon, so I won''t be able to make it." "Uh..." The teacher looked at him, then turned to look at Lin Li, her expression was a bit awkward. To be honest, she wanted the child''s father to come. After all, he was the child''s biological father, and according to her understanding of the child, this new mother was not his biological mother. She (teacher) was worried that the child will have a generation gap and rejection towards her (Lin Li). "Teacher, you can take Xiao Bin in, we will come in the afternoon." Lin Li promised. Zhou Han turned his head and looked at her, frowning tightly. Everyone with eyes could see it, the expression on his face was very unhappy! ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "This..." The female teacher looked at them and said with a compromising smile: "Or, it''s fine, it''s fine, it''s actually nothing. Next time we will notify one week earlier so that you can make time to come." She didn''t want to cause disharmony to other people''s family because of this matter. If she did, it would probably affect the child''s day to day living condition. "Teacher don''t have to worry so much. No matter how busy the work is, it is no more important than the child. We will definitely come over for the afternoon sports meeting." Lin Li said, as if she was afraid that the teacher would not believe it, she pulled Zhou Han over, pretending to be intimate with him. Holding his hand, she said: "He listens to me." Zhou Han glared at her, his anger seemed to be on the verge of exploding. Seeing that the situation was not right, the teacher just nodded and hurriedly took the child in. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Zhou Han looked at her and asked coldly: "What do you mean!" The voice was almost ten degrees below zero. "It doesn''t mean anything, is it too much to ask a father to participate in the activities organized by his son''s school?" Lin Li looked back at him, showing no intention of giving in! "What qualifications do you have to decide what to promise for me!" Staring at her fiercely, with his hands hanging on both sides, Zhou Han suppressed the anger in his heart. "Because I am your spouse, I am your wife!" Lin Li said provocatively, and this sentence was completely aimed at the phrase ¡®you are also his legal mother¡¯ that he just said on the way here just now. Zhou Han glared at her for a long time, and finally turned and left without saying a word. Lin Li stuck out her tongue playfully at his back, with a declaration of success. She turned her head and looked at the classroom behind her. Inside, Xiao Bin was looking at the window. She smiled at him and raised her hand. She waved and waved at him. Then she then turned around and walked quickly to follow in Zhou Han''s footsteps. Zhou Han didn''t seem to plan to wait for her at all, so he got in the car and started the car about to leave. Lin Li ran over and saw him, and hurriedly opened the door to sit in the passenger seat. As she was running a bit, she looked at him with a little breath and said, "Hey, are you wanting to leave me here!" Men are too narrow minded! Zhou Han didn''t even look at her, just started the car and drove out, regardless of whether she had worn her seat belt or not. "Be petty then." Lin Li muttered softly, stretched out her hand to fasten the seat belt, but before it was fastened, suddenly the car was suddenly stopped as Zhou Han hit the brakes. And Lin Li, due to the sudden movement, her whole person was thrown forward and hit ''BANG! ¡ª¡ª'' her forehead hit the glass in front of her, and she was hurt. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "Ouchhh!" Lin Li stretched out her hand and pressed her forehead, her small face tangled in pain from the hit, she got up and turned her head, looking at Zhou Han, and said with some grievances and dissatisfaction: "You are too much! Taking a revenge like this is attempt of murder!" Zhou Han turned his head and glanced at her, and only said: "Looking at you like this seems like no big deal." "Why don''t you try few more times, I''ll be dead by then." Lin Li said angrily, rubbing her forehead with her hand. (TN: haiz this couple....) Zhou Han didn''t look at her again. He turned his head and saw that someone had gotten off from the car in front of them. He unfastened his seat belt and opened the door to get out of the car. Lin Li noticed that something was wrong. Turning her head around, she realized that it was a car crash. The front of their car was facing the sideways tail of the black BMW. However, because Zhou Han braked in time, the collision between the two cars was not too severe. However, Lin Li couldn''t help but surprise because the person who got out of the car in front of them was the person that Cheng Xiang had kept on the cusp of his heart for more than ten years -Xiaoxiao! --------------- TN: Dun.. Dun.. Dun... here comes drama! Where''s my popcorn CH 12.1 - May 07, 2021 Sometimes, there are some people that the more you wanted to avoid, the more you would encounter them. Some things you wanted to forget, but there will always be people and stuff from the past that will remind you of the previous pain. This was Lin Li''s first thought when she saw Cheng Xiang got out of the car in the front and stood beside Xiaoxiao. Zhou Han stepped out and looked at the collision between the two cars. Fortunately, he braked in time, and the situation was not serious. Xiaoxiao marched forward angrily and glanced at the car. The fury on her face was even more obvious, she raised her head and shouted at Zhou Han, "Hey, can you really drive! Did you not see the car coming out and you just hit it like that! Are you blind!" Zhou Han frowned, raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was already late in the morning, and he had just sent his child to school. Now he really had no spare time to discuss the right or wrong and compensation issues with her. He raised his head and said harshly to the woman in front of him: "The situation is not serious. I can waive the spray paint, now I am in a hurry, so please move the car and don''t get in the way." After saying that, Zhou Han He turned around and walked back into the car. Seeing him about to leave, Xiaoxiao grabbed him and glared at him and said loudly: "Hey, what do you mean you can waive the spray paint! You were the one who hit my car, it became my fault?!" Zhou Han frowned, glanced at her hand that was grabbing him, then looked up at her, and only asked coldly: "Do you think this car accident is my fault?" Seeing him not leaving, Xiaoxiao let him go, and said naturally, "Of course it''s your fault. I was driving finely, you were the one who didn''t look far and hit me. If it''s not your fault, then who is!" Seeing Cheng Xiang got out of the car, she had a feeling of having someone backing her up. She turned around and held Cheng Xiang¡¯s hand, said a little coquettishly: "Brother Xiang~ this guy has hit the car and doesn¡¯t want to admit it. This is a new car, I just got the license plate few days back. I don''t care! We can¡¯t just leave it just like that." Zhou Han raised his eyes to look at Cheng Xiang, and at a glance he recognized that this man was the man who had been arguing with Lin Li at the company gate few days ago. Thinking about it, he turned his head and looked at Lin Li in the car. Even through the front windshield, he could still see how stiff Lin Li''s expression was at the moment. ----- If he guessed right, this man should be the man who left her alone at the wedding. If this was the case, then the woman in front of him was probably the woman who ruined her wedding. The guess in his heart caused Zhou Han to turn his head and look at the man and woman in front of him. When he looked at the man and woman in front of him, his eyes became a little harsh, and the corners of his mouth became even more disdainful. Pointing to the road that Xiaoxiao drove just now, and said: "If I''m not wrong, this road is a one-way street. Your car is originally illegal to drive from here, and also, you turned without signaling the turning light. This is your problem too!" "I..." Xiaoxiao was speechless, she was fuming and wanted to say some rebuttal. But after being exposed by him like this, she felt not happy so she turned around and took Cheng Xiang''s hand and said coquettishly: "Brother Xiang, I don¡¯t care, my car just got a license plate. It¡¯s only been a few days since I drove it. Now that it¡¯s like this, he has to pay me at least for the painting fee!" Cheng Xiang knew that this was their wrongdoing, but Xiaoxiao has been spoiled since she was a child, and there is no such word as apology in her dictionary. He glanced at her, then turned to look at the man in front of him, just about to speak. But he caught a glimpse of Lin Li sitting in the car, and then paused suddenly. He was staring at the person in the car with fixed eyes, and murmured unexpectedly, "Lin Li..." ----- Xiaoxiao, who was standing on the side, frowned. She followed his gaze, and met Lin Li''s eyes in the car. Such accidental, unexpectedly met this woman here. She glanced at Cheng Xiang from the corner of her eyes, and saw that he was staring at Lin Li intently. There was indescribable guilt on his face, and the expression in his eyes that were looking at her was with indescribable affection. And that kind of affectionate eyes used to be so familiar to her, but recently, she had never seen it in his eyes again. Even when she was hurt and sad, Brother Xiang would not hold her in his arms as he did in the past to comfort her and make her happy. Since when did the relationship between her and Brother Xiang become like this? It seemed that after his wedding. She thought if now the wedding was gone, the child was gone, and the woman left, he would go back to the United States with her. But no. Not only did he not go back to the United States with her, but he also seemed to avoid her intentionally or unintentionally during this period. She asked him out ten times, almost half of the time he said that he was busy, and there was no time to eat out with her. It was not like this before. As long as she was not happy, as long as she made a phone call, he would put everything aside, even if there are important things, and then fly to her side. But now, she made ten calls, there would be eleven excuses to reject her. Could it be that even he now had changed, he no longer loves her, and he no longer puts her in the most important and special place in his heart? Why do people always change? Luo Zhongyuan changed. The person who kept saying that he would love her for a lifetime but was dating another woman behind her back, and even built a home outside. Now Cheng Xiang was also going to change, becoming the Cheng Xiang that she no longer used to be, and she felt a little bit unable to adapt. Why do everyone have to change? Isn''t it better if they could stay as happy as as carefree like when they were still children and not grown up yet? --------------- TN: Well, news flash, Xiaoxiao - time always moves forward. No one and nothing is staying stagnant CH 12.2 - October 27, 2022 Thinking about it, the anger in Xiaoxiao''s heart became even more intense. She let go of Cheng Xiang''s hand and walked directly towards Lin Li. She knocked on the car door heavily with her hand, calling out, "Open the door, open the door for me!" Cheng Xiang came back to his senses and rushed forward, trying to hold Xiaoxiao to stop her, "Xiaoxiao, what are you doing!" Xiaoxiao totally ignored him, still slapping on the door with her hand, "Open the door for me, open it!" She slammed the door a few times, but it didn''t open, so she stretched out her legs and kicked the car in frustration while keep muttering, "Open it, open it for me..." The window glass slowly rolled down, Lin Li turned her head to look at the person outside the window, her eyes were cold and without a trace of emotion, she just said coldly, "Is something wrong?" Xiaoxiao looked at her angrily, pointed her finger at Lin Li, and asked fiercely, "Did you, did you deliberately hit the car!" "Xiaoxiao, what nonsense are you talking about!" Cheng Xiang pulled her over with a heavy tone, "Lin Li wouldn''t do such a thing!" Xiaoxiao turned to look at Cheng Xiang and said, "Xiang gege, it is her, she hates me and you, so she deliberately crashed the car to hit us!" After speaking, she turned her head and glared at Lin Li fiercely. ¡®She hates me and hates you too!¡¯ Hearing the words, Cheng Xiang seemed to be very shocked, his whole body was shaken, and he looked at Lin Li with a fixed expression, the expression on his face was very painful. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Lin Li sneered in her heart, she really thought it was ridiculous. How ridiculous that Xiaoxiao could open her eyes and talk nonsense, saying that she instigated Zhou Han to bump into it on purpose, could she even calculate this? The car was just bought by her, and they were just sitting in it, so she was not angry with the embarrassment they had given herself at the beginning, so she directly instructed Zhou Han, who was on the side, to crash into it! Don''t they think of her too much, how can they see her as so amazing! What''s even more ridiculous is Cheng Xiang''s expression. Does he believe her words? Hehe, it''s really ridiculous, such an illogical statement that he, a science student who is usually super logical, would believe that - Is this the man that she had been infatuated with for 10 years? Her eyes were so bad back then! Looking at them, Lin Li pursed her lips and said, "If you want to think so, then I have nothing to say." After speaking, she turned her head, raised the window glass, and didn''t spare any glances at them anymore. Xiaoxiao pulled Cheng Xiang, pointed to Lin Li in the car and said, "Xiang gege, look at that, she admitted it, she admitted it herself, it was her, she did it on purpose, this woman is too bad, too scheming. She wants to take revenge on us, she wants to harm us, why did you even still think about her!" Cheng Xiang fixed his eyes on Lin Li, as if he hadn''t heard a word of what Xiaoxiao said beside him. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Zhou Han watched this ''farce'' with a cold eye, remembering how Lin Li cried helplessly in the hospital the day before yesterday, how Lin Li threw up in front of the toilet yesterday, and how she was in the yard of the compound last night. With that lonely expression, he felt it was really not worth it. This man in front of him couldn''t bear her ten years of affection, and it really wasn''t worth it that she had to make herself so small for his sake, it wasn''t worth it at all! Seeing that Cheng Xiang didn''t respond, Xiaoxiao was still angry. The depression and disappointment during this period of time made her very depressed and angry. Today, she just took this opportunity to vent, and walked up to shout at the car door and scolded. "Lin Li, you come out, what are you doing by hiding inside, you dare not come out, do you think that you can be so unscrupulous just because there''s a bit of guilt inside Xiang gege''s heart for you, let me tell you I ----" "Xiaoxiao!" Cheng Xiang shouted behind her, his tone was cold and heavy, looked at her and said, "Enough!" Xiaoxiao was shocked, stopped abruptly, turned around, looked at Cheng Xiang, pursed her lips, her eyes were red, with a look of grievances on her face, and said with a crying voice: "Xiang gege, you are being fierce at me..." He has never spoken this harshly at her... For the first time, looking at Xiaoxiao''s tears, Cheng Xiang felt a little tired, some indescribable disgust and numbness in his heart. She seemed to be still the girl back then, she never seemed to grow up, but the girl back then doesn''t look as cute anymore but more tiring... Without looking at her again, Cheng Xiang turned around and walked towards the car in front. When he passed by Zhou Han, he only said, "I''m sorry, it''s our fault this time. Send me a bill for the repair fee of the car." He took out his business card and handed it to him. Zhou Han reached out to take it, the corners of his mouth was lifted with a hint of sarcasm, and he just said coldly, "Don''t worry, I will definitely send the bill there!" Cheng Xiang didn''t say anything else, and got into the car directly. Seeing that he was leaving, Xiaoxiao hurriedly wiped away the tears on her face, trotted and followed, "Xiang gege, wait for me." When their car drove away, Zhou Han turned around and went back to the car, only to see Lin Li looking out of the window with no emotion on her face, but the hand on her lap was tightly clenched, revealing her mood at the moment. Zhou Han didn''t say much, started the car and continued to drive in the direction of the company. --------------- TN: I''m back! Sorry for disappearing for so long. Life happens. I have been recovering from illness so I spent a lot of time reading a lot of books during the time. You may find my translation style change a little bit because of that. Hopefully for the better? Anyway, let me know in the comments below. gege = ¸ç¸ç = brother Do you prefer that I keep the pinyin style i.e. Xiang gege instead of Brother Xiang? Xiang gege will sound more intimate because for dating couple, it supposedly sounded more spoiled - imagine if you''re dating and you keep calling the other party "brother" sounds incest to me XD (I hope I make any sense) CH 13.1 Light changed to red and the car slowly stopped. Zhou Han turned his head, only to see Lin Li was staring outside, her expression was very serious, but her eyes were empty. She has been like this from the start, she has not even changed her posture, and the forehead that she accidentally bumped into is now red and slightly swollen, but she seems to be not affected at all. Zhou Han stared at her for a long time, until the red light turned green, and the car behind honked its horn in dissatisfaction, then he came back to his senses and started the car to leave. When Zhou Han parked the car in the garage downstairs of the company, Lin Li still had the same posture and expression, as if she didn''t even know that they had arrived. Zhou Han was silent and turned off the engine, but did not open the door and get off immediately. Lin Li''s thoughts were still stuck in that moment, and Cheng Xiang''s expression just now remained in her mind. Her heart was cold like the broken glass fragments, one by one scattered on the ground. Why does her heart still hurt, like being pricked by a needle? She thought that the most painful thing was when he turned to leave, the most painful thing was when the doctor told her that the child was not saved, the most painful thing was that she decided to end these ten years of relationship. But when she saw his questioning expression, she was still heartbroken. She felt that her feelings for the past ten years were given to a man who didn''t believe in her character at all, and she herself had paid more painful price for it. She felt it''s not worth it, it is not worth it. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "How long are you going to mourn for your unworthy relationship?" Zhou Han''s voice was cold and fierce, without many emotions and feelings. Hearing the sound, Lin Li slowly regained her senses and fixed her eyes on the outside, only to realize that somehow they had arrived at the company. She turned her head to meet Zhou Han''s slightly serious face. After getting along for more than half a month, Lin Li has gradually adapted to this face that doesn''t have too many expressions, and only said lightly, "We have arrived." Zhou Han raised his hand to looked at his watch, then stared at her, and said coldly, "It''s been 10 minutes!" Lin Li was taken aback for a moment, her expression was a little embarrassed and annoyed, and she whispered in a low voice, "Why didn''t you tell me sooner when we got there?" See, this will make her feel like she is being watched, which is awkward and uncomfortable. Zhou Han opened the door and said, "Are you sure you can hear me when I called?" Just now she was simply indulging in her own world, her thoughts occupied her, it probably made no difference whether he called out or not. Lin Li bit her lip, naturally she knew the answer, but it didn''t feel good to be unveiled by someone like this, she didn''t like it very much! Without turning her head or arguing, Lin Li just hurriedly walked towards the elevator with her bag in hand. Zhou Han walked over, his steps were steady and orderly, and he stood beside her, waiting for the numbers on the monitor on the wall to change. Lin Li didn''t look at him, just dropped her head slightly and kicked the floor lightly with her feet, making a small sound. Zhou Han said softly and indifferently, "That man was the one who left you at the wedding?" He should have said a question, but his tone was surprisingly affirmative, as if this was a fact, a fact that everyone knew. There is no controversy. Hearing this, Lin Li''s foot movement stopped, and the strength of holding the bag also became a little heavy. She didn''t raise her head, only replied softly, "En..." The voice was as low as a mosquito buzzing. If it wasn''t for Zhou Han''s good ears, he would have missed it, thinking she didn''t speak. "Ding!--" The elevator finally arrived with a ding sound while the two were waiting. There was no one inside. Zhou Han stepped in first, while Lin Li outside the elevator seemed to have not come out of what Zhou Han had just asked. Still stupidly standing there and not moving. Frowning slightly, Zhou Han asked coolly, "Aren''t you coming in?" Lin Li came back to her senses, looked up at him, and walked in. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Their office was on the twenty-sixth floor, and the atmosphere in the elevator was awkward and weird. Zhou Han stood upright, with a briefcase in his hand, his eyes were fixed on the front, and the expression on his face was still indifferent while Lin Li stared at the LCD screen and watched the numbers jumping up one by one, her heart gently followed silently. Because it was work time, no one pressed the elevator along the way. The elevator was almost going directly up to the twenty-sixth floor, so this awkward and somewhat weird atmosphere didn''t last too long. When the elevator door dinged open, Lin Li wanted to walk away, only to hear Zhou Han''s faint voice, saying, "It seems that you don''t see men very well." --------------- TN: If you are an avid Chinese novels reader, you may be familiar with the term "En". Usually, other translators will put this word as "Well" and I personally don''t like it. àÅ = en = confirmation of "yes" Just like how English speakers like to say "Yeah", "En" is similar to the affirmation of yes. I think in this chapter, we slowly can see Lin Li''s emotion slowly progressing to open up more to Zhou Han. Her inner feelings here recognized that she ''doesn''t like'' Zhou Han revealing her secret of not realizing that they have arrived in the office. She''s actually sulked a little in that paragraph CH 13.2 Lin Li was stunned for a moment, but it took a while to regain her senses. She looked up and Zhou Han was already far away, and his figure was about to disappear behind his office door. She got out of the elevator, strode forward, and before he opened the door to enter his office, she shouted at his back, "Your vision is not very good either!" Mother Zhou told her a lot about his affairs, about how he insisted on breaking up with his family and friends for the sake of Xiaobin''s mother, but in the end they still fell apart. And it seemed like when Xiaobin deliberately pushed An Ran the last time, it was under his mother''s order. Such a person who will use his own son to do bad things should not be much better either! Zhou Han heard the words, the hand holding the doorknob suddenly stopped, and his back looked a little stiff. After finished speaking, Lin Li felt a little regretful; regretting why she put salt on other people''s wounds, she clearly knew how painful and uncomfortable it was. She could see how much Zhou Han loved Xiaobin''s mother in his heart, and his indifference and ignorance to Xiaobin was probably because of how much he loved and how much he hated at the same time. Tightening the bag in her hand, Lin Li looked at his somewhat stiff back and opened her mouth to say something, but she didn''t know how to say it for a while. Just when Lin Li was struggling with what to say, Zhou Han suddenly spoke up, smiled lightly, and said, "It seems that we really have the same problem." Without turning around, he opened the door and entered the office. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ Lin Li stood there in a daze, watching the door of the office open and close. Obviously he just said it with a smile, but she could clearly feel the helplessness and sadness in the voice, and suddenly felt inexplicable in her heart. There is an indescribable feeling of distress, and she doesn''t know if it''s for him, or because of his words, or because they have the same experience and the same pain. Pitying each other with the same illness... Yes, it is just pity for the same illness, only with the same experience will lead to the same feelings. If you really think about it, he is even worse than herself. He and Xiaobin''s mother were childhood sweethearts. With his character, the reason why he would betray his relatives and be with her for the sake of love was probably long ago, his love was so deeply rooted that he couldn''t extricate himself from it, so he had the determination to take her abroad. Love and feelings all take time to settle and accumulate. It''s not groundless. It doesn''t mean that if today you decided to like, then you can speak deeply love tomorrow. If it took her ten years to love Cheng Xiang and regarded Cheng Xiang as her whole life, then he would have spent more than ten years to love a woman, at the expense of giving up all of himself for her. And if talking about hurt, it could be that he was hurt more deeply and more seriously than herself. Lin Li sighed silently in her heart, turned back to her seat, turned on the computer, and put her bag in the drawer under the desk, her thoughts still echoed on the topic just now. She wanted to check today''s work, and when she opened her calendar, she remembered that she didn''t come yesterday. As for today''s work, she really couldn''t keep up. Lin Li got up and went in to knock on the door to ask him about today''s schedule; if there are any important documents for her to work on. She just walked to the door of the office, and when she was about to push the door to go in, she suddenly stopped. Remembering his lonely back just now, shook her head, turned around and went to the tea room, made him a cup of coffee, and proceed to knock on his door with a cup of coffee. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ "Come in." Zhou Han''s voice thought inside, his voice was still low and indifferent. Lin Li pushed the door and went in, only to see Zhou Han was packing up the documents and putting them in his briefcase, looking like he was about to leave. She came forward with coffee and asked, "Are you going out?" Zhou Han looked up at her and replied softly, "Yeah." The movement of his hand continued, he packed up the documents and put them in his bag, and took the mobile phone to call Assistant Xu, "Assistant Xu, have you contacted the client?" "En, I have contacted them, they agreed to change it to the morning." Assistant Xu answered neatly over the phone. "Okay, wait for me in the parking lot, I''ll come down immediately." Hanging up the phone, Zhou Han picked up his bag and was ready to leave. Seeing that he was about to leave, Lin Li asked, "Then, do you have any documents to be sorted out in a hurry today?" Although she was a bit incompetent as a secretary and couldn''t help much, she just sorted it out in a normal way. She is still very competent when it comes to documents and emails. Zhou Han glanced at her, grabbed a document on the table, and threw it to her, saying, "Read this document for me and give me the brief summary of the content. In addition, print out the document in the mail and place it on my desk." Lin Li nodded, took the document and followed him out of the office with coffee, but when he was about to enter the elevator, she suddenly remembered the sports meeting in Xiaobin''s kindergarten in the afternoon, and hurriedly called out to him, "Wait a minute!" Zhou Han turned back, looked at her and frowned slightly, and asked, "What else?" Lin Li put down the coffee and documents on her desk, trotted to him, and said, "Well, when will you come back to the company?" She could see that although Xiaobin was afraid of him, he still liked him. Every time he came, the child''s eyes would always lit up. If he didn''t come in the afternoon, the child would probably be very disappointed. Zhou Han frowned and looked at her steadily. "Are you really not going to the afternoon sports meeting?" Lin Li looked at him and asked a little uncertainly. If he insisted on not going, then there was nothing she could do. After all, he didn''t really listen to her. Zhou Han looked at her for a while, and finally said nothing, turned around and entered the elevator. --------------- TN: Lin Li fights back LOL CH 14.1 Sitting in front of the computer, from time to time, Lin Li would look at the watch in her hand, and then raised her head to look in the direction of the door. Zhou Han had not come back. Sighing softly, she got up and went to the printer to sort out the materials and send them to Zhou Han''s office. When she came out again, she started to organize her things and prepare to leave. Teacher Chen from the kindergarten just called to confirm that she and Zhou Han would make up the meeting in the afternoon, and reminded her to arrive half an hour earlier. Because every child in the kindergarten has to participate in a sports event, the kindergarten hopes that parents can accompany the children to help them warm up before the game. Whether Zhou Han will go or not, Lin Li can no longer say with the same confidence as in the morning when he said he would go. So she only promised that she will go to the kindergarten half an hour earlier to reassure Teacher Chen. --------------- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ When Lin Li arrived at the kindergarten, Xiao Bin was sitting alone in the corner on the small bench, and staring at the other children in the class. The parents of the other children in the class have also come. Most of them came, however, there were also a few who only come with their father or mother. The children are coquettishly talking and gesturing in the arms of their parents, and their parents will always look at them dotingly, and their eyes are full of love. Lin Li stepped forward and stopped in front of the little guy, and called softly, "Xiao Bin." There was a smile on the corner of her mouth. The little guy turned his head blankly, looked at her silently before a moment of surprise and light flashed in his eyes. He then looked behind her. When he didn''t find the figure he was looking forward to, the sparkle in his eyes slowly dissipated, he lowered his head and grabbed his right hand with his left hand. Lin Li felt distressed because of the lonely expression on his face. She knew that he was lonely because he didn''t see his father. Although he didn''t say a word, she knew that he longed for Zhou Han''s love for him, even if Zhou Han was indifferent to him before. Lin Li reached out to touch the little guy''s head, but he turned sideways to avoid her. She withdrew her hand, squatted down in front of him patiently, smiled and said to him in a soft tone as much as possible: "Xiao Bin, what sports are you going to participate in later? Auntie, will you come to accompany you to warm up before the competition?" The little guy raised his head, looked at her for a while, and finally asked, "Where is Daddy?" Lin Li smiled and explained as much as she could: "Daddy is very busy with work. He was supposed to come, but he has something to do temporarily, so he can''t come." The little guy''s dark eyes were fixed on Lin Li''s eyes. Seeing that Lin Li felt a little guilty, she could only reach out and touch his head, and asked softly, "What''s wrong?" This time, the little guy didn''t avoid it. He stared at her for a while and said, "Daddy doesn''t like me." It wasn''t a question, it seemed that this was a fact that had already been confirmed. Hearing this, Lin Li''s heart trembled, and she couldn''t react to the child in front of her. She was stunned for a while before she regained her senses and tried her best to explain, "No, that''s not the case, your daddy doesn''t dislike you, he also loves you very much. He is just busy with work, because he wants to buy the best robot for Xiao Bin, live in a big house for Xiao Bin, and give you the best life, so he has to be busy with work, busy to earn money, so he doesn''t have a lot of time and energy to accompany Xiao Bin, but he doesn''t accompany you, it doesn''t mean he doesn''t love you or doesn''t like you! He just loves you in a different way than other dads!" Lin Li herself felt that what she said was too pretentious and too false, but looking at the child''s hurt expression, she really couldn''t bear to say that Zhou Han didn''t love him. ------------------------- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The little guy stared at him, not sure if he believed her, but just stared at him for a while, then lowered his head and looked at his fingers. The sensitivity of the child made Lin Li feel distressed, and she wanted to hold him in her arms and tell him that even if no one in the world loves him, she will love him well. Why does the love-hate entanglement between parents involve the child - obviously the child is the most innocent and the most hurt. With a sigh in her heart, she didn''t go up to hug him in the end, she just stood up slowly, ready to go out to make a phone call. She touched his head and said, "Xiao Bin, sit here, auntie will go out first." The child didn''t raise his head, looked down at his own little hand, and didn''t say OK or not OK. She sighed inwardly. When she turned around and was about to go out, she happened to meet Teacher Chen who was coming towards her, and greeted her with a light smile, "Teacher Chen." "Mrs. Zhou." Teacher Chen said with a smile, looked around, but didn''t see Zhou Han, and said, "Mr. Zhou didn''t come?" Lin Li nodded and explained, "Well, he was going out to talk to a client temporarily, so he couldn''t make it." Teacher Chen smiled and nodded. In fact, looking at the scene in the morning, she did not have too much hope. It was expected that the child''s father did not come. She said, "Mrs. Zhou, please sit here with Xiao Bin for a while. When the sports event starts, we will blow the trumpet to notify everyone to gather at the playground." Lin Li nodded, "Okay." After the explanation, Teacher Chen was ready to turn around to talk to the other parent about the children''s situation. Lin Li thought of something and stopped her, "Teacher Chen, has Xiao Bin taken his medicine?" After her question, Teacher Chen remembered that in the morning she explained that she had to give the medicine to the child after meal, but she was busy with the sports meeting, and she forgot it for a while, so she said a little embarrassedly: " I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I was too busy and has not given him the medicine, it''s still in my office, I''ll bring it to you." With that, she turned around and walked towards the office. Lin Li nodded, turned her head to look at the little guy still sitting down, then looked at the phone in her hand, and followed Teacher Chen''s footsteps out of the classroom. Standing on the aisle at the door of the classroom, she closed the door of the classroom, called Zhou Han''s phone number directly. She wanted to make a last effort to persuade Zhou Han to come over for the little guy. Even if he rushes over halfway, at least he can make the child believe that his father really loves him, and he doesn''t dislike him as much as he imagined. The call was connected quickly, but after several beeps, no one answered. --------------- TN: Not sure if I explained this in the previous chapters. "Xiao" literally means small. Chinese like to use "Xiao" in front of children''s name to show closeness. CH 14.2 She hung up, and dialed again. The phone was connected, but no one picked it up. Seeing that Teacher Chen came over with the medicine, Lin Li gave up and hung up the phone in her hand. "Mrs. Zhou, this is Xiao Bin''s medicine." Teacher Chen handed the small plastic bag in her hand to Lin Li. Before coming over, she also poured some water in the office and handed it over, "I have already adjusted the temperature of the water, so you can give it to the child right away." Lin Li took it, grateful for her care and sincerely thanked her, "Teacher Chen, thank you." "You''re welcome, I was negligent." Teacher Chen smiled. "Whose child is this!" At this moment, a roar suddenly came from the classroom, and the voice was thought to be from the parents, and the tone was very fierce. The two exchanged glances outside the door. Teacher Chen hurriedly pushed the door and went in, only to see that inside was already surrounded by people. Lin Li heard the cries of children and the scolding of women. "Whose child is so uneducated, where are his parents, where are their parents! How do they teach their children!" Teacher Chen pushed the crowd aside and said anxiously, "What''s the matter, what happened?" "Teacher Chen, you came just in time. This kid actually beat my son. This is WHAT matter. Where are the parents of this kid? Does no one care about him, does he usually beat my son like this?" The child''s mother asked in a sharp voice. Lin Li frowned, she had a bad feeling in her heart. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ She pushed the crowd aside and went in, only to see the little guy being held in his hands by a sturdy man, his face flushed red and his toes on tiptoe. Seeing this, she was shocked, and the medicine and cup in her hand fell to the ground. She hurriedly stepped forward and yelled anxiously: "What are you doing!" She hurriedly pulled the big man''s hand away, pulled the little guy out of his hands and hugged him into her arms, touched the little guy''s red face, and asked anxiously, "Xiao Bin, are you alright, are you alright...." "Cough...cough..." The little guy coughed and frowned uncomfortably. "What can be wrong with him, the one with problem is our son!" The sharp female voice next to her rang again, and it was not very nice to hear. Lin Li turned her head and saw the woman standing beside her, holding her son who was still crying all the time in her arms, coaxing her heartily, ""Oh, I''m so sorry, Little Treasure, don''t cry, don''t cry, Mommy and Daddy will vent your anger." Looking at Lin Li as if with that look she wanted to eat Lin Li. The big man beside the woman also stared at Lin Li fiercely, and asked in a rough voice, "Is this your child?" "Yes." Lin Li stood up, hid the little guy behind her, and asked the man, "Excuse me, sir, what''s the matter with you grabbing the child just now?" "What''s the matter!" The man snorted coldly, took a step forward and approached Lin Li, and said, "How do you teach your child to push and beat people when nothing happens!" Pointing at the crying son, he said: "See that, my son is still crying, what can you say now!" The man was too big, which inevitably gave a kind of invisible pressure to people. Lin Li suppressed the feeling of anxiety in her heart and said, "Xiao Bin is not the kind of child who will deliberately provoke others!" "What do you mean? What do you mean, you!" The woman who was holding the child also stood up and moved towards Lin Li. "It was Wang Jiaqiang who first said that Zhou Jiabin was a wild child, and no one wants. Zhou Jiabin then got angry and pushed him!" A little girl with pigtails beside her muttered. Hearing this, Lin Li looked at the couple in front of her and said, "Your child seems to be in the wrong this time, right!" Wang Jiaqiang, who was crying in his mother''s arms, still had tears on his face and yelled at Lin Li: "Zhou Jiabin is a wild child, you are not his mother, his parents don''t want him anymore, he is just a child who anyone doesn''t want. A stinky child who no one wants!" ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The little guy standing behind Lin Li stared at him hatefully, his eyes full of anger, he pushed Lin Li away and was about to step forward. Lin Li hurriedly grabbed him and hugged him in her arms. She felt the child''s whole body was shaking with anger and fury, like a fire in smoke. She hugged him even tighter. She turned to look at the non-married couple and asked: "Speaking on family teaching, your son is the one without any!" "What did you say!" The man stepped forward and reached out to grab Lin Li. The situation was too tense, Teacher Chen, who was standing beside him, worried that something might happen, and hurriedly grabbed the man''s hand, trying to ease the tension, and said, "It''s common for children to push around and make trouble, don''t take it seriously, don''t take it seriously." "Then my child would be beaten for nothing!" The child''s parents stared at Teacher Chen. "How did you become a teacher, my son was beaten but you were speaking for her!" The big man pushed Teacher Chen away with a murderous look on his face! Teacher Chen was pushed several steps away, and her feet were unstable and almost didn''t fall. Fortunately, someone behind her gave her a hand. Lin Li glanced at Teacher Chen, who was pushed away. She couldn''t care less about her fear now. She stood up angrily to confront the man, and said sharply, "I see it clearly now, what kind of parents can teach what kind of children, neither of you two parents have set a good example for your children, and it is no wonder that the children you educate do not understand even a little bit of manner or a bit of politeness!" "Who did you say is uneducated, who did you say..." The woman stepped forward and pointed her finger at Lin Li, yelling at Lin Li, her sharp voice piercing the ears. Lin Li opened her hand, looked straight at them, and said, "Is it an educated behavior for you to beat a six-year-old child like this!" "This woman really deserves a beating!" The big man said almost gritted his teeth, clenching his hands into fists and raising them to hit Lin Li. The onlookers around him gasped, and some even exclaimed. Lin Li squatted down subconsciously, pressed the little guy in her arms tightly to her chest, and hugged his whole body to prevent the child from being hurt! However, the expected fist did not come down, and the originally noisy environment suddenly became quiet, and there was no sound at all. After a while, Lin Li opened her eyes and slowly looked up, only to see that Zhou Han had come over at some point. He was standing beside her, his left hand was still carrying a briefcase, while his right hand was holding the wrist of the fist that was about to fall CH 14.3 Lin Li stared blankly at the man who was standing beside her. She didn''t know when he came, but his arrival made her feel relieved and she breathed a sigh of relief. Letting go of the child in her arms, she stroked his immature face, while saying softly, "Xiao Bin, daddy is here." Zhou Han''s arrival may not mean anything, but just to make the child believe that his father loves him and cares about him, even if this belief may be wrong. But at least it is a beautiful illusion, which can give the child a hope, isn''t it. The little guy seemed a little frightened by his father''s appearance, and was a little overwhelmed with astonishment. He just stared at Zhou Han in a daze, without blinking his eyes. Zhou Han glanced at Lin Li and the others, then turned his head to look at the big guy in front of him, his eyebrows were cold, and he said in a cold voice: "Beating women and children, are you still a man?" His voice was cold, but his tone was gentle. There are no fluctuations, but the innate aura makes people look a little daunting. "You..." The big guy''s wife stepped forward to say something, but she was caught by Zhou Han''s eyes, and was made speechless. The man struggled to break free from Zhou Han''s restraint, but he didn''t expect that he couldn''t resist Zhou Han''s strength. His whole face turned red, and he couldn''t free his hand from Zhou Han''s. Looking at Zhou Han, his tone became much weaker than before, "You... What do you want to do?" Zhou Han just looked at him fixedly, his hands seemed to have no force, but the other person was not able to break free, and said, "Please apologize to my wife and my son!" "Are you kidding me!" The big man roared subconsciously. He has always been known for being domineering. If he is asked to apologize to a woman and a child, then how can he mess around in the future! "Not going to apologize?" Zhou Han asked slowly, the voice was so calm that no emotion could be heard, and the expression on his face was still indifferent, showing no emotion. "Impossible!" The big guy said it very firmly, not willing to compromise! Seeing her husband being grabbed like this, his wife didn''t dare to yell at Zhou Han face to face, so she yelled at Teacher Chen, "Teacher Chen, what do you think this is? Why did this man hit my husband, is this bullying the weak and fearing the strong!" "I ¡ª" Teacher Chen looked at her and then at Lin Li in embarrassment. She was really in a dilemma. Fighting in the kindergarten, no matter who was right or who was wrong, the impact would not be good! Looking at Lin Li for help, "Mrs. Zhou, can you ¡ª" Lin Li interrupted her unfinished sentence, looked at her and said seriously: "Teacher Chen, this matter could have been very simple and there is no need to make it so messy. It is perfectly normal for two children to quarrel and fight. It is wrong for our family Xiao Bin to push others, but it is also wrong for their children to insult Xiao Bin. We can educate children when they make mistakes. It doesn¡¯t matter, but their parents, as adults, have the ability to think independently. How could he hold the child with one hand and stretch out his hand to beat and scold the child! We absolutely cannot accept this, we don''t want the child to have any trauma because of this matter in the future. So he has to apologize to our Xiao Bin. This point, is not negotiable" Lin Li has said it like this, and her attitude was so firm, Teacher Chen couldn''t say anything more. "Let me ask you one last time, apologize or not apologize?" Zhou Han looked at him and asked in a deep voice. The man looked at him, and the fear in his heart made him swallow his saliva, thinking that if he was asked to apologize to a woman and child in front of so many people, then his thirty years of life would be in vain! Gritting his teeth, he said, "Impossible!" Hearing this, Zhou Han nodded, "Very good." A sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he suddenly exerted force on his hand, and the force on the big guy''s wrist increased, and he said, "Not apologizing, huh?" "Ahhh.. Ahhhhhhh... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh......!" The big guy screamed again and again. In an instant, the only sound left in the classroom was the screams of the burly man, while Zhou Han was still calm and composed, with a faint smile on his lips Seeing his father yelling, the child who was pushed down by Xiao Bin burst into tears, "Waaaa!~" And his mother seemed to be a little frightened, as if she hadn''t expected her husband to be pinched and screamed like that, and she panicked all of a sudden, staring at them in a daze, without reacting for a long time. Lin Li was also a little surprised, looked down at the child, and pulled the little guy closer to her. The expression on the painful face of the big guy began to become distorted and hideous, and the pain from his wrist made him unable to hold back anymore, so he begged for mercy repeatedly: "Le.. Let go.. Let go... Let go...!!! I apologize, I apologize!" Hearing this, only then did Zhou Han shake off his hand, looked at him coldly, and said, "Apologize!" The big guy was holding his hands, and when he looked down, he saw that his wrist was red and swollen. He raised his eyes to look at Zhou Han. Although he was not convinced, he didn''t dare to challenge him anymore, because the difference in strength between himself and the man in front of him was too great. He had no choice but to grit his teeth, stepped forward to Lin Li and Xiao Bin and said bitterly, "I''m sorry!" With a tone that seemed to be able to eat people up, with a strong murderous look! Lin Li glanced at him, and knew that the matter should be brought to an end. After all, it was a kindergarten, and the matter shouldn''t get out of hand. She insisted on asking him to apologize to see his attitude. Without saying anything more, she nodded and accepted his apology. The man turned around, glared at Zhou Han bitterly, and then yelled at his somewhat frightened wife, "Why are you so dazed, It''s so embarrassing! Hurry up and leave!" As he said, he hugged the son who was sitting paralyzed on the ground and walked towards the door. While walking, he yelled at his son: "Why are you crying? You shut up! If you''re still crying, I''ll break your damn leg!" And his wife just came back to her senses, glanced at them, and ran out of the classroom in a hurry. ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ After the rude family left, the whole classroom was left with awkwardness and weirdness. Almost everyone present looked at Zhou Han intently. Teacher Chen on the side quickly came to her senses, smiled and said to the others: "Okay, okay, it''s okay, it''s all a misunderstanding. Everyone waits in the classroom first, and I will go to the principal to see if it is ready to start." With that, she left the classroom. And the others also dispersed, taking their children to do various warm-ups before the competition. Zhou Han then looked at Lin Li and asked, "Are you alright?" Lin Li just shook her head at him and said, "It''s okay." Zhou Han nodded, and looked down at the little guy standing beside him, only to see the little guy''s dark eyes looking at him, with an almost invisible smile on the corner of his mouth. There was an indescribable touch in his heart. In fact, he didn''t intend to come here, but Lin Li''s words kept echoing in his ears, ''No matter what mistakes you adults made, children are innocent!¡¯ Yes, the child is innocent, and he chose to keep the child in the first place! Just like what Lin Li said, since he is kept here, he has to be responsible for him, so he has an obligation to take care of the child''s life before the child becomes an adult. Although he doesn''t know how long he can hold on to this idea. Sighing silently, he slowly raised his hand to touch his head. The movements were a little stiff, he was not used to or familiar with such movements, but looking at the expectant eyes of this little guy, he still covered his head and gently rubbed his hair, but he didn''t speak. Lin Li stood aside, looking at the father and son, the corners of her mouth slightly raised. "Zhou Jiabin." A clear and loud voice sounded behind them, and the three of them turned their heads at the same time, only to see a little girl with pigtails like a doll behind them, looking at them with a smiling face. On the other hand, the little friend Zhou Jiabin just looked at her blankly. Lin Li crouched down, leaned into the little guy''s ear and said, "Xiao Bin, introduce your classmate to us." Little friend Zhou Jiabin just frowned, thinking about something. However, before little friend Zhou could think clearly about how to introduce, the doll girl in front had already said with a smile, "Auntie, my name is Yiyi. It''s not the Yi from ''Clothes'', but Yi from ''Reluctant to let go!''" The slightly exaggerated expression on the face is extremely cute. (TN: Clothes = Ò·þ = y¨©f¨²; Reluctant to let go = ÒÀÒÀ²»Éá = Y¨©y¨© b¨´ sh¨§) Behind them, the mother of the doll Yiyi also came towards them, nodded towards Lin Li and Zhou Han with a smile, patted the child''s head dotingly, and said with a smile: "Our Yiyi must have come to talk to Uncle Superman." And the uncle Superman she was talking about was none other than Zhou Han. Lin Li raised her eyebrows, and looked at Zhou Han amusedly, only to see that the tip of his eyebrows was raised slightly, and there was a not-so-obvious blush on his slightly dark face. Such a discovery made Lin Li laugh out loud. While several adults were talking together, the doll broke away from her mother''s hand, moved to little friend Zhou Jiabin, and whispered in his ear: "Zhou Jiabin, your father is really amazing! As powerful as Superman!" Although little friend Zhou Jiabin doesn''t like strangers approaching him very much, but in view of what she said, he didn''t push her away. Instead, the corner of his mouth raised a nice smile, looked up at his father, and said very proudly, "My daddy is the best daddy in the world" ----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/ The kindergarten sports meeting started on time at 1:30. All the students and parents went to the playground to listen to the principal''s speech. In fact, he didn''t say much. It was nothing more than the purpose and significance of holding this sports meeting. They were all just formality. At two o''clock, the competitions of various events began. After all, they were children. They said it was a sports meeting, but in fact they were just games in the name of sports. The children had a great time playing. Lin Li was sitting on the audience stand, watching a group of children running in the small playground, some of them would stop to see if the people behind them were running fast, and the little friend Zhou Jiabin was among them. His face with an overflowing smile was something Lin Li had never seen before. Looking at the playground, Lin Li said softly, "Look, how happy Xiao Bin is smiling." In fact, children are the easiest to be satisfied, because what they want is simple and not much, as long as they are satisfied, they will be happy, and Xiao Bin''s happiness today was because Zhou Han is here. Zhou Han beside her didn''t speak, but there was a smile on his mouth that he didn''t even realize.