The sun was already out when Li Meili was moved from the delivery room to a private room where she could recover and spend some time with her new baby and family. As exhaustion finally caught up with her, she fell asleep and wasn't aware when they moved her to the new room.

  Once Feng Tianyi and Tang Moyu were assured that Li Meili and her daughter were well, they decided to leave the hospital to return to their waiting children back at home. While Li Meili slept, Zhang Jiren fed his stepdaughter and placed her back into the cot once she had fallen asleep like her mother.

  Little Leyan, who seemed to know that he was watching her, wiggled her arms and broke into a slight smile, warming Zhang Jiren's heart. He was delighted that his stepdaughter seemed to like him; a smile stretched his lips which eventually faltered and turned into a bitter one.

  He wasn't supposed to be here with them. The person who should be enjoying and marveling at all of these was Tang Beixuan, and not him. He stared at Leyan for a long time before finally stepping out of the room to inform Chairman Li and Li Yuanyi that Li Meili had already given birth.

  Since it had been raining the night before, he wasn't surprised when he saw that the concrete roads were wet as he went to the smoking area outside of the hospital. He reached for the pack of cigarettes he kept in his coat pocket and lit it up while leaning against the wall behind him. He looked heavenwards and wondered why he was torturing himself like this.

  Zhang Leyan was finally born, and now, everyone would congratulate him for being a father. He should be happy, but somehow, the happiness that he felt for having Leyan as his daughter was tainted with bitterness and guilt. Because, despite appearances, he was well aware that no matter how he wished it to be, he couldn't keep Leyan and her mother as his own.

  What was he even thinking? He reminded himself that Li Meili only wanted his company for only two years and he shouldn't ask or beg for more. Once the two years of contract ended, he would just become a stranger to the two of them.

  —


  When Chairman Li received Zhang Jiren's call early that morning, he and Madam Li arranged their flight to go to Shenzhen at once. Madam Li also made some soup her daughter liked to drink when Li Meili was younger before leaving, hoping that it would still be to her daughter's liking.

  That afternoon, they went straight to the hospital where Li Meili and her newborn daughter were. They were both excited and happy to see and hold Zhang Leyan in their arms after months and months of waiting. This was their first grandchild, after all.

  Chairman Li was brimming with pride and happiness as he held Zhang Leyan, watching as the young babe yawned as she slept. For an old man like him who'd thought that there was no hope for his children to give him a grandchild, holding Zhang Leyan now felt like a dream come true.

  "Adorable, isn't she?" Madam Li laughed behind her hand once she was done scooping the soup she made earlier for her daughter. "Yan'er looks like you when you were a baby. I can see now why your Dad fell in love with her the first time he saw her."

  "Is that so?" Li Meili arched a brow. She never thought that her father would act like this once she gave birth to her daughter. But her mother was right. She could see the gleam in her father's eyes as he held and murmured incoherent words towards his grandchild.

  She then turned to look at Zhang Jiren, who was unusually silent next to her. He was seated on a chair, peeling and slicing some fruits for her to eat while she was recovering.

  "Jiren, it seems you're not the only one who wants to spoil Leyan rotten," she commented. Her older brother hadn't come and paid a visit yet, but she expected Li Yuanyi and Meng Yanran to arrive soon.

  Zhang Jiren lifted his gaze and gave her a weak smile, forcing the bitterness down inside of him to not make Li Meili worry.

  "That's because Leyan is an adorable child. She could win the hearts of those who see her smile," he retorted. "She'll be a great beauty someday like her mother."

  'But you won't be there anymore to see her grow up,' his inner self mocked him. Zhang Jiren knew this, and yet, a traitorous and selfish part of him wanted to make the two years contract last longer.

  Perhaps, even forever.

  He didn't mind spending the rest of his life with Li Meili and raising Leyan as his own daughter.

  Li Meili's cheeks were dusted with a slight blush after hearing his words. She didn't know why. Although it wasn't the first time someone complimented her for her looks, hearing Zhang Jiren's praise somewhat made her feel shy.

  Madam Li, who was watching the interaction between the two, couldn't help but smile. Ah, it was so good to be young and in love, she thought.

  Initially, she was worried about her daughter getting married so fast with Zhang Jiren, but the previous months had made her cast her worries aside given how attentive and responsible a husband Zhang Jiren was towards their daughter.

  A few hours later, Li Meili's parents bid them goodbye. Chairman Li obviously didn't want to be apart yet from his grandchild but he also knew that his daughter also needed some time to rest.

  Just as they were about to leave, Li Yuanyi came in with Meng Yanran. The smile on Meng Yanran's face suddenly fell as her eyes lowered to the floor when Chairman Li saw her with his son.

  Li Meili and Zhang Jiren didn't fail to notice her reaction.

  Chairman Li narrowed his eyes towards them initially before glaring at his son. Why did he bring this woman along with him?

  "Jiren, you don't need to see us out," Chairman Li said without breaking gaze at Li Yuanyi. "My son would see us out, himself."

  With these words, he and his wife left the room, and Li Yuanyi swallowed back a curse as he followed their parents outside, leaving his girlfriend with his sister and brother-in-law.