Lin Xinyan leaned over and saw the details on the paper. Her twins’ last names had been changed to Zong, and their names were now Zong Yanchen and Zong Yanxi.
She turned her head slightly to look at him. The man had thick lashes and a gentle profile.
Facing downward, Zong Jinghao gently kissed her cheek and said softly, “Do you like it? Now their names take after both of ours.”
“Yeah.” Lin Xinyan responded.
Hanging on the ceiling, a chandelier exuded a silent but warm atmosphere with its faint yellow light.
The two nestled against each other, saying nothing. Eventually, it was Lin Xinyan who broke the silence. “Are you busy tomorrow?”
“Hmm?” The man lowered his gaze.
Lin Xinyan’s nose brushed against his chin as she looked up. “I was hoping you’d keep me company.” She remarked coyly. “We haven’t been to any date, traveled as a couple or watched a movie together ever since I married you. What a tough life I have.”
A rare smile appeared on Zong Jinghao’s face. “You have me; is that not enough?” He asked softly.
“Well, if you don’t have time for me, I can always find another hunk to keep me com— Ahh!”
Before she could finish, Zong Jinghao bit into her shoulder so hard that teeth marks appeared on her skin. “I’d like to see you try.” He warned.
Lin Xinyan frowned in pain. She didn’t have to glance at her shoulder to know there were definitely marks on it. “That hurt! Are you trying to bite me to death?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Don’t worry. You won’t die before I do.” He answered dully. “If anything, I’d be the one who goes first. I’ll wander until it’s time to drag you down with me. It’d be lonely going to hell on my own anyway.”
Lin Xinyan was speechless.
“Can you really do that?”
Zong Jinghao wrapped his arms around her slender waist. “Of course. You’re my wife in this life and the next.”
Lin Xinyan fell silent again.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door to the study room at this time.
It was Aunt Yu. “Dinner time!”
Lin Xinyan looked up at Zong Jinghao. “I’m hungry.”
The man got up while cradling her waist. “Let’s go.”
With a smile, she walked out of the room while holding onto him. Meanwhile, their daughter were chasing Su Zhan around the house while Shen Peichuan plopped himself on the couch lazily with his arms splayed out, watching the scene. “Can you really outrun her?”
Su Zhan took the time to glance at him. “For a while.”
Lin Xichen sighed faintly while seated on the couch, wondering why his Uncle Su was as mischievous as a child.
Shen Peichuan caressed his hair. “Why are you sighing so much at this age? That might make you bald.”
The boy looked up at the man. “I’ll never be worse off than you, so don’t worry about me.”
Shen Peichuan was speechless.
How am I doing badly?
“Who says I’m doing bad?” Shen Peichuan sat up.
“I’d surely be married at your age, so it doesn’t matter if I turn bald then. Being bald is still better than not having a wife, right?”
Shen Peichuan was speechless again.
What have I done to deserve this?
Why does he have to attack me this way?
Life is hard.
“Daddy!”
Lin Ruixi pounced on Zong Jinghao and buried her head in his arms as the man walked out of the study room. “Uncle Su’s picking on me, Daddy.” She whined.
Lin Xinyan glanced at her daughter and shook her head helplessly. This child always acted so coquettishly with her father. While wondering if every daughter was more attached to their father, the woman headed into the kitchen to help Aunt Yu.
Zong Jinghao placed an arm around his daughter and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What did he do?” He asked softly.
Lin Ruixi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Uncle Su asked if I was smart.”
“Mhm? Then?” The man carried his daughter to the dining table, pulled out a chair and sat down.
The girl lowered her head and twiddled her thumbs, refusing to answer.
Lin Xichen walked over and climbed onto a chair before giving an account of how Su Zhan had teased his sister earlier. It was, “Are you smart, Ruixi?”
“Of course.” The twin sister proudly answered with a giggle.
“Let me ask you one question. You’re a smart girl if you can answer me.”
“Okay!” The innocent girl replied confidently. Su Zhan added, “You only need to answer with a yes or no.”
“Got it!”
Lin Ruixi seemed rather intrigued and looked forward to hearing Su Zhan’s question.
“Do your Mommy and Daddy know you’re dumb?”
“No… Y…es…”
No matter how the girl responded, she’d be admitting that she was dumb.
When it finally dawned on Lin Ruixi, she began to chase Su Zhan. That was what lead to the scene of the girl running after him in the living room.
The little girl pouted. “Uncle Su said I’m dumb, Daddy.”
Su Zhan pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’m just playing around.” He said with a sheepish grin.
Lin Ruixi left her father, ran toward Su Zhan and began to crawl into his arms. The man held her while gazing at her cautiously. “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to get back at me?”
The girl shook her head. “I’ll just tell Aunt Qin Ya that you’re out looking for other girlfriends while she isn’t around.”
Su Zhan fell silent.
I was wrong, okay?
I’ll apologize, okay?
Can you not do this to me?
Su Zhan was now starting to regret stirring up this hornet’s nest.
“I’m the one who’s dumb, Yanxi. It’s me. Don’t tell Aunt Qin Ya such things about me, or I’ll end up single like Uncle Shen. Look at how miserable he is! So you can’t go around spreading nonsense to Aunt Qin Ya, got it?”
Shen Peichuan was at a loss for words.
Why is he dragging me into this? I haven’t done anything!
He walked over and heavily placed a hand on Su Zhan’s shoulder. “You’re such a good friend.”
Then, he painfully glanced at the little girl in Su Zhan’s arms. This kid’s becoming more like her mother. He couldn’t help but lament, “These two kids are geniuses. You’d better not cross them.”
Su Zhan continued to repent. “I was wrong, Yanxi. I’m the dumb one. Promise me you won’t say anything to Aunt Qin Ya, okay?”
The girl pinched Su Zhan’s cheek. “Well, since you look so earnest, I’ll forgive you for now.”
A weight was finally lifted off Su Zhan’s shoulders. I’d better not piss this kid off again. She’s full of vengeance!
“Who would marry you when you’re older?”
“What?” Lin Ruixi didn’t quite catch that.
Zong Jinghao glanced over frostily, causing Su Zhan to shut up immediately. “I didn’t say anything! Let’s eat.” He responded while gently patting the little girl’s back.
Aunt Yu served all the dishes before presenting some soup.
After putting all the cutlery in place, Lin Xinyan sat next to her son.
“Let’s eat.” She said, stroking the boy’s head.
Su Zhan, who was sitting across her, hesitated for a moment before asking, “How’s Qin Ya doing, Xinyan?”
Qin Ya was recovering well, but her appearance had changed rather drastically. The woman had spoken to Lin Xinyan over the phone before Cheng Yuxiu’s passing and said she would come back soon, but she didn’t want Su Zhan to know.
Lin Xinyan turned to Su Zhan and answered honestly, “She’s doing well. Be patient, she probably needs time.”
After all, whatever that had happened previously was a huge blow to Qin Ya. Everyone knew how seriously a woman took her appearance. Besides, she even had a miscarriage.
I don’t know how I’d manage if I were in her shoes.
Su Zhan lowered his head in dejection. “Okay.”
The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly became rather tense. Except for the two children, no one else seemed to eat much.
In fact, Zong Jinghao didn’t even take one mouthful of food, or a sip of water. He left the dining hall with the excuse that he had work to do.
Lin Xinyan knew he still hadn’t gotten over the incident.
Of course, it wasn’t going to pass quickly, so she never tried to urge him. Only time would heal everything.
The woman didn’t have a great appetite herself, but she poured herself a bowl of soup for the sake of the child inside her belly. While feeding herself a mouthful, she said to Shen Peichuan, “I heard you guys talking about Wen Xian earlier at the study.”
“Yeah. Zong Qifeng’s not feeling well, so Jinghao went to visit him. He took the chance to ask for some details about back then.”
“What did they talk about?” Lin Xinyan tried asking. She was curious as to how much Zong Jinghao knew.
Shen Peichuan didn’t hide anything from her since he figured she wasn’t an outsider. She was Zong Jinghao’s wife, and more importantly, Cheng Yuxiu had willingly sacrificed her own life to protect this woman.
Simplifying things, Shen Peichuan said, “They talked about how Zong Qifeng’s and Wen Xian’s marriage was an arranged one. But Wen Xian was in love with someone else, so he asked for Cheng Yuxiu to remain by his side. You know all of this too.”
“The Wen family is full of weirdos.” Su Zhan couldn’t help but cut in.
Lin Xinyan lowered her gaze, eating her soup to conceal the mixed emotions in her eyes.
“Was there no mention of how Wen Xian died?” She asked while keeping her head low. When speaking with Cheng Yuxiu previously, the old woman didn’t explain the cause of Wen Xian’s death either.
Truthfully, she really wanted to know.
Shen Peichuan shook his head. “No.”
“Then was there any mention of Wen Xian having a child?” She probed.
