Chairman Li didn't mean to overhear his daughter's conversation with Tang Moyu. When he heard from his son that Meili had just been discharged from the hospital, he was plagued with worry about his daughter. He'd known that she wasn't feeling well for the past week and thought that she was just truly saddened by Tang Moyu's car accident.

  So when he came home early that day, he decided to check on Li Meili and have a short talk with her. He wanted her to know that she didn't need to worry about her marriage arrangement anymore as long as she would return home to their family.

  He knew that Tang Moyu had been a great influence on Li Meili's life and he cannot force his daughter to cut off her ties with the empress. Chairman Li owed a lot of things to Tang Moyu for taking care of Li Meili when she had chosen to leave them.

  He was about to knock on Li Meii's door when he heard her voice on the other side of the door, as if she was talking to someone. Li Meili's voice wasn't that loud, but it was enough for the old man to pick up some of the words from her conversation with Tang Moyu, whom he supposed she was talking to.

  'I'm pregnant…'

  The words shocked Chairman Li that he had to prop his hand against the wall to keep himself up. Just who was brave enough to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e his daughter out of wedlock? So many things and possibilities came into his mind, blocking out the words spoken between his daughter and the empress.

  Chairman Li forced himself to walk back to his study to sort things out. He closed the door behind him and slowly walked towards his desk. He placed a hand on the edge and clutched his c.h.e.s.t as he struggled to breath. His face turned pale as he lost colors from the shock of the news that his daughter being pregnant.

  He admitted that he was selfish, always arguing with Li Meili, not willing to compromise for her sake. They were never close to each other in the first place, but it didn't mean that Chairman Li didn't care for or love his only daughter.

  The arguments between them had worn out her affections for him as her father and she had chosen to turn her back on them. Their relationship as father and daughter had been estranged since then, caught up with arguments that still persisted to this day.

  Losing his strength, Chairman Li staggered and fell on the cold floor as he lost his consciousness. It was only after his wife came knocking on the door and entered the room that a piercing scream emanated from inside the study.

  —-

  Li Meili had to accompany her mother as they both rushed her father to the ER as soon as they found him unconscious inside his study. Her older brother had warned her about their father's health condition, but she had never thought that it was this serious.

  She heard from her mother that this wasn't the first time it had happened and they were warned that the next attack could be fatal. Li Meili had been silent through it all, but also worried about her estranged father.

  Li Yuanyi came rushing, striding fast through the hallway as he saw her and their mother.

  "How is he?" He immediately asked, allowing his mother to wrap her arms around him and weep on his c.h.e.s.t.

  Li Meili avoided his gaze and wrapped her arms around her middle section. When she heard that her father fainted in his study, her heart plummeted, fearing that her father wouldn't be able to survive this time. Even though they didn't get along very well, unlike other fathers and daughters, she still cared for her father, who had obviously aged tremendously since the last time she met him.

  "The doctors haven't come out yet. We are still waiting for them."

  Hours later, Chairman Li was moved to a private room where his whole family was waiting for him to wake up. Li Meili felt guilty and saddened seeing her father connected to several medical apparatus to keep him alive.

  Although she wanted to make up with him and mend their relationship, it would be pointless if the old man insisted for her to abandon her dream as a designer and marry a man she knew nothing about.

  "It will be alright. He will wake up." Li Yuanyi pulled her into an embrace and patted her back soothingly while their mother sat next to the hospital bed, holding their father's hand.

  It was the next morning when Chairman Li regained his consciousness seeing his wife dozed off next to him and their children seated on the leather couch inside the room with their eyes closed.

  Li Yuanyi was the first one to wake up, noticing that their father had finally woken up. He gave Li Meili a gentle shake on her shoulder to wake her up before going to check on their father.

  "Dad, you're awake. How do you feel now?"

  Chairman Li blinked sleepily and removed the oxygen mask that was helping him breath. He then recalled what he overheard before he passed out and gasped for breath.

  Li Yuanyi panicked and placed his face mask back in place and was about to call for a nurse when his wrist was held by Chairman Li to stop him.

  "Calm down, Dad. You'll be fine. It's not good for you to strain yourself any further." He told his father. Li Meili appeared next to him, looking awkward as she stood there with them.

  "I see that you're finally awake. I'll be leaving tonight to return to Shenzhen." She announced, shocking her parents and Li Yuanyi.

  Chairman Li's anger erupted and harshly pushed away the mask from his place.

  "Are you trying to run away again to hide your pregnancy?!" He yelled at his daughter, leaving them speechless from shock.