When Zhang Jiren returned home that night, it was already past eleven in the evening. Zhang Xianzhe had called out an emergency meeting that morning and he had been scolded greatly for his long absence a month ago, crippling most of the ongoing projects the Zhang Corporation had.

  The old man had threatened him that if he were to disappear without a word again, he would lose his position as the head of the company— something that Zhang Liang was looking forward to. Too bad that Zhang Jiren had already anticipated it to happen and had sought Feng Tianyi's help to hinder the Zhang Corporation's growth by using underhanded tricks.

  Feng Tianyi was willing to cooperate to do the dirty job this time only because he didn't want Tang Moyu to know what was going on. With her delicate condition, he and Zhang Jiren agreed not to allow her to get involved in their plans this time.

  Most of the lights were already dimmed, and he was sure that his wife and Leyan were probably asleep by now. He checked the nursery and was pleased to see his stepdaughter peacefully sleeping in her crib before he decided to go to the master bedroom.

  Zhang Jiren was momentarily confused to see that Li Meili wasn't inside. She wasn't in the connecting bathroom either. This only gave him an idea that she might still be in her workroom again.

  When he opened the door of her workroom, he found his wife slumped on the floor next to the couch, clearly intoxicated with alcohol. They were married for almost two years now, but this was the first time Zhang Jiren saw her drunk.

  "Meili," he called out. Just what had happened for her to act like this? He wondered.

  Li Meili heard someone call her, but she didn't know who it was.

  "What happened to you?" Zhang Jiren asked, not knowing that his twin sister had dropped by and revealed his condition to his wife.

  "Nothing," Li Meili waved. "Let's drink?" She raised the bottle she was holding as if she was offering it to him, but Zhang Jiren only scowled in return.

  Being ignored by whoever it was, Li Meili continued drinking on her own. She would have invited Tang Moyu to drink with her if only the empress wasn't pregnant— or Gu Yuyao. But the Gu Heiress wasn't there in Shenzhen. She went to Beijing along with He Lianchen the other day.

  "Zhang Jiren, where are you?" Li Meili called out, much to her husband's surprise.

  "I'm here, Meili," he said in a gentle tone, still not able to get angry at her being drunk like this.

  Hearing his familiar voice, Li Meili nestled in his embrace and clung unto him, not letting him go.

  "Don't leave me… Don't leave me, Jiren. Just don't leave," she mumbled like a mantra.

  Zhang Jiren wasn't sure what she was talking about, but he didn't dare to give her an answer in fear that he might regret it later. Sighing to himself, he picked up his drunken wife from the floor, struggling a little as he felt pain on his side. He hissed but immediately balanced Li Meili in his arms before bringing her back to their bedroom.

  When he laid her on the bed, Li Meili started singing in her drunken state, leaving him speechless. He helped her remove her shoes and left her for a moment to get a clean wet washcloth to wipe her face. He only hoped that she wasn't like other drunks who would puke before sobering up.

  He also found her pajamas, but he felt at loss on how to convince his wife to change into them. Ah, he was her husband, and yet he was hesitating to touch her.

  "Zhang Jiren, you aren't allowed to leave me," Li Meili suddenly blurted out. "You can't leave me."

  His jaws hardened, thinking that Li Meili had probably been thinking over their impending divorce and that was why she was drunk tonight. The tears that escaped at the corner of her eyes made his heart ache.

  "I wouldn't if I could," he said in response which could barely be heard by his wife. If he was dying, he certainly didn't want to put Li Meili and Leyan in a traumatic situation. It hadn't been easy for him to sign that divorce paper. Thinking how it would spare her from the pain of his illness, Zhang Jiren eventually decided to give back her freedom.

  "Don't lie to me." Li Meili suddenly sat up and hit his c.h.e.s.t weakly, her tears streaming down her face.

  "I would never lie to you." His voice became hoarse and once again, yielded to her request.

  "Then promise me…"

  Zhang Jiren remained silent.

  "Zhang Jiren, say that you won't leave me."

  He clenched his fists on his side and shut his eyes. Why was Li Meili asking him such an impossible thing? If he wasn't sick and his health was at its peak, he would certainly do his best to fulfill her request, but sadly, it wasn't something he couldn't give her now.

  "It's not that I'm leaving you for good, Meili." He stroked her head and kissed the top of her crown. It pained him to see her like this. "If you need something, you can still look for me. I'll help you."

  Until he ran out of time in this world, as long as he could do it, he would do anything for her and Leyan.

  Li Meili continued to weep in his embrace, leaving him helpless. He had never been good with crying and emotional women. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he rarely dated in the past.

  "Say that you won't leave me…" she demanded him yet again but Zhang Jiren kept his silence.

  "In return, I'm willing to share with you the rest of my life."