Chapter 171 - 168: Li Xiu Has Returned
"Yingzi, you can absolutely let Wang Song handle those issues. See how he deals with them before you decide on the future of your relationship. Don’t rush to a conclusion. These things aren’t worth sacrificing your feelings for," Zhou Lian said softly.
Zhang Hongying thought for a long time before nodding gently. "Okay, I’ll listen to you. You were wronged today, and yet you still have to come comfort and console me. I’ve really embarrassed myself completely."
Zhou Lian smiled and gave her a sidelong glance. "Aren’t we friends? Saying things like that makes us sound like strangers!"
After seeing Wang Dongfang and the other two off, the sky had already darkened. Zhou Lian shook her head helplessly. ’What a chaotic day!’ In the afternoon, the entire Zhang family had come to offer a formal apology. Zhou Lian understood that a small part of it was because of her good relationship with Zhang Hongying, but the majority was because of Li Xiu, and probably because of those old gentlemen in the Imperial Palace.
"You must be hungry. Have something to eat first," Sister Fang said with a smile, looking at Zhou Lian. ’This day has been stressful enough. Once Li Xiu gets back and finds out, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll stir up!’
With matters weighing on her mind, Zhou Lian didn’t have much of an appetite. But now she was eating for two, so she forced herself to perk up. "Okay, Sister Fang. Let’s eat something together."
After dinner, Sister Fang cleaned up. Seeing Zhou Lian’s tired expression, she didn’t say much, only telling her not to overthink things and to get some rest. Then, she went to her own room to sleep. Sister Fang was now staying the night instead of going home; after all, with Zhou Lian pregnant, it was inconvenient if something happened, and she couldn’t be left alone.
Lying in bed, Zhou Lian closed her eyes but couldn’t fall asleep for the longest time. She finally sat up, leaning against the headboard. ’I miss Nuonuo and Li Xiu. I wonder if Nuonuo is being a handful. But Li Xiu has been raising her since she was little, so he should know how to take care of her. I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing. With only Xiao Si and Xiao Wu left at home unmarried, the burden on my parents’ shoulders isn’t so heavy anymore. I wonder if my three older brothers will come to the Capital City with Li Xiu. It’s a headache if they come, and a headache if they don’t. But I can’t just ignore them. It’s all so vexing!’
Gently caressing her belly, Zhou Lian smiled tenderly. ’My son is on his way, too. Once he’s born at the end of the year, I’ll finally be able to set my heart at ease. When I was first reborn, my only obsession was my daughter and son. I was indifferent toward Li Xiu. After all, I had spent the better part of my last life resenting and hating him. All that love and hate was left in the past life. In this life, I was very guarded against him. I just never expected him to be like a completely different person. Actually, I understand it now. In our last life, Li Xiu’s obsession with familial affection was too deep, which is why he ended up hurting others and himself. In this life, he saw through it all early on. Once you figure one thing out, everything else falls into place. For someone as smart as him, it’s really hard to keep anything from him!’
’I’ve also suspected that Li Xiu might have been reborn, too, but his behavior has always been self-consistent. Still, I have my doubts. His obsession with me seems to have carried over from our last life to this one. In our last life, we were together for so many years, and later he felt he had wronged me, so his obsession with me ran deep. But what about this life? Right after we got married, I caught a similar madness in the depths of his eyes several times. And now, he no longer hides his fixation on me. Although he explains it earnestly, even love at first sight couldn’t possibly be this profoundly unforgettable!’
’I do trust him, but that doesn’t stop me from suspecting him. I believe that even if Li Xiu wasn’t reborn, his extreme kindness toward me and his absolute doting are not fake. But I’m still curious: was this man reborn or not? If he was, then why go to such great lengths to hide it from me?’
’Li Xiu’s kindness toward me can’t be faked, so let’s set that aside for now. But his personality, his temperament, the way he does things... he keeps pushing the boundaries. A few years ago, he went to the scrapyard, went into Daqing Mountain, and built up a considerable fortune. After that, he had me take the college entrance exams, then came to the Capital City to buy a house. Last year, he started heading south, and now he has his own storefronts. How could an unworldly country boy possibly do—or even dare to do—any of that!’
’Even if he had a good mentor, a mentor only teaches you morals, imparts cultural knowledge, and shows you how to navigate the world. Even if Li Xiu were a heaven-sent genius, it would be impossible for him to be so calm, composed, and dignified when meeting those old gentlemen from the Imperial Palace. This is too different from the Li Xiu I remember. The Li Xiu from my past life—irritable, taciturn, blindly obedient to his parents, and heartlessly resolute in the end—was like a completely different person. But then again, this is just my speculation. Li Xiu is so meticulous that finding a flaw in his story is truly difficult!’
’It’s not that I’m trying to cause trouble. Since I chose to marry him again in this life and have slowly grown to like him, I have no intention of parting ways with him. I’m just curious. If Li Xiu was also reborn, and he went through so much trouble to hide it from me... at first, he might have been worried I’d get angry and refuse to marry him. But what about after that? After we had a child, he shouldn’t be worried anymore, right? So why is he still hiding it from me?’
Zhou Lian, who had unknowingly drifted off to sleep, had no idea that on a train at that very moment, Li Xiu was missing her like crazy. He carefully adjusted Nuonuo into a more comfortable sleeping position and watched her gently for a moment before sighing silently. ’I really don’t want to be separated from my wife. But it’s always one thing or another that forces me to leave. I wish I could just put her in my pocket and take her with me wherever I go.’
Thinking of the son still in his wife’s belly, Li Xiu smiled silently. ’That kid... he was clever and bright from a young age. He skipped grades all the way through his consecutive bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, graduating at just twenty-six. During his undergraduate studies, he caught the eye of my future daughter-in-law, who pursued him until he graduated. They got married right after graduation and gave us a pair of chubby grandsons the very next year. Our whole family was very satisfied with our daughter-in-law; we all loved her. At first, I thought my son didn’t really like her, but then I found out that wasn’t it at all. The little rascal had fallen for her the first time she appeared before him. He just had too many tricks up his sleeve, and he schemed until she was the one chasing him, even winning the favor of the Yue Family in the process!’
Thinking of his son, looking at his daughter, and yearning for his wife, Li Xiu finally made it through the long journey. The sky was bright, and the train was preparing to pull into the station. Li Xiu woke Li Bao up and told him to go wash his face to wake himself up. Seeing Nuonuo sleeping so soundly, Li Xiu didn’t have the heart to wake her. He used a long-sleeved shirt to tie his daughter securely to his chest. Watching the train slowly come to a stop, Li Xiu felt a surge of excitement. ’I’m finally back. Just a little longer, just a little while, and I’ll be home to see my wife!’
Li Bao was loaded down with bags of all sizes, but that didn’t stop him from privately laughing at his older brother. ’Just as I thought, Big Brother can’t live without Sister-in-Law. It’s only been a few days! Look how much he misses her. I should really let the elders at home see this—our calm, mature, wise, and powerful big brother’s clumsy desperation to get back to his wife. It would be hilarious. But I’d better just think about it. If I actually did that, my big brother would definitely make me the butt of the joke first!’