Feet crunched along the side of the pavement as Zhang Jiren walked with one-year-old Little Leyan comfortable in his arms. The little girl turned and looked in every direction— at the trees behind their home as they were strolling in their vast garden.

  Leyan's eyes were wide with curiosity at the different colors that greeted her eyes. Only when Zhang Jiren brought her here would she calm down, leaving Li Meili to enjoy a moment of peace from her daughter's crying. It was evident that her work and taking care of her young daughter was starting to take a toll on her body.

  Ever since her win at the Golden Thread Awards, Li Meili's popularity shot up, and the sudden influx of new customers in her shops had greatly put her as well as her team under great pressure.

  Thankfully, after working for over a year now, Elaine Wu was proven a great help when it came to managing her shops. She was now promoted to a senior position, and was given more responsibilities to oversee the operations of the other stores. This position would allow her to be exposed and be hands-on with managerial tasks she would deem useful once she took over the management of her family's business in the future.

  The sudden cooing coming from his stepdaughter brought Zhang Jiren out from his trance. With only five months remaining before his second wedding anniversary with Li Meili, he couldn't help but be depressed as he was becoming more aware that his time was running out too fast.

  Little Leyan reached out her arms, trying to get a grasp on the leaves that fell after a cool breeze passed. The rich color of yellow with a hint of red caught her eye as it seemed to glow under the sun's rays.

  Zhang Jiren watched as his stepdaughter struggled to get what she wanted. When he lifted a hand and took one midair, Little Leyan made a pleased sound and took the leaf from his larger hand.

  "Is this what you want?" he asked the little girl softly. He would surely miss this girl once his divorce was finally settled with her mother.

  His eyes widened as Little Leyan attempted to put the leaf in her mouth. He should have believed Li Meili earlier when she told him that Leyan was at the age where she would put any object in her mouth without caution.

  "Now, now— I didn't give this for you only for you to eat it." Zhang Jiren took the leaf back from her hand. He didn't have the heart to scold the younger girl and could only remind her of the things she shouldn't do.

  "You would have a snack after your nap," Zhang Jiren continued, "And this leaf isn't appetizing as it looks, you know."

  The girl only whimpered in protest as she tried to retrieve the leaf from Zhang Jiren's hand.

  "You can't do this or your mom would be worried about you. In the future, try not to make your mom cry," he said before kissing her cheek, earning a giggle from the little girl. He chuckled lightly, threw away the leaf, and gently pushed her locks away from her face.

  At one year old, Zhang Jiren could see that Zhang Leyan had inherited most of her looks from her mother while her eyes and her infectious smile were something she got from Tang Beixuan. Zhang Jiren had no doubt that people would overlook the fact that the girl had gotten nothing from him at all.

  "Dada!" Little Leyan exclaimed which only made Zhang Jiren sad.

  "I'm not your daddy, Leyan," he said as if the girl could understand what he was saying.

  "Regardless of what people call me, I'm not your real daddy, Leyan," he repeated. "Your real daddy isn't with us anymore but I know he would love you the most."

  Little Leyan only blinked her round eyes towards him before resting her head on his broad c.h.e.s.t and yawned, indicating that she was ready for her afternoon nap. She then grasped his finger and pressed it onto her cheek. A small smile appearied on Zhang Jiren's lips as Leyan chose to bond with him.

  The villa was silent as he and Leyan came back from their short walk. Leyan was already dozing in his arms and he tucked her into her bed, adjusting the AC inside her room to make sure she wasn't feeling hot.

  Zhang Jiren then walked towards the workroom where he knew Li Meili was. The reason why he'd taken his stepdaughter for a walk was that he knew his wife was close to breaking down from stress.

  "Meili?" he called out before knocking on the door, but there was no response. He had lost track of time and hadn't realized that he and Leyan had been outside for over half an hour.

  Zhang Jiren pushed the door open only to find her sleeping softly on the couch, her arm over her stomach while her breath expelled through her parted lips. Her already slim form made her look defenseless as she continued to sleep.

  He stared at her sleeping face for a whole minute before closing the door silently, allowing her to catch some sleep.

  Zhang Jiren decided to take a shower before resuming the work he took home with him. However, the moment he entered the bathroom, his whole body trembled, his hand finding the edge of the sink to steady himself. The reflection on the mirror in the sink reflected his strangely pale complexion.

  As Zhang Jiren stared at his complexion, he was reminded that his time was running out……