Another week passed.

  Li Meili stood in front of a mirror, trying to pull up the zipper of her dress from behind and failed. She already did the finishing touches on her makeup and had put on her earrings but her dress was currently giving her a headache.

  She lowered her sight to her stomach and g.r.o.a.n.e.d once she realized that she had gained weight yet again. It hadn't been easy for her to shed off her post pregnancy weight after she gave birth to her daughter and had been paying attention to what she was eating since then.

  However, since Zhang Jiren decided to step down from his position as the CEO of Zhang Corporation, allowing Zhang Liang to ascend to replace him, he was spending more time with their little family these days. Since then, Li Meili has eaten various kinds of delicious dishes her husband prepared every day.

  It's been a week. How was it possible for her to gain so much weight too soon? She grumbled to herself. This was certainly a wrong time for her to gain weight.

  The dress she was wearing right now was something Zhi Ruo bought for her a few days ago. As her personal assistant, Zhi Ruo couldn't possibly not know her measurements. The little dress was unexpectedly a little tight on her midsection.

  Li Meili g.r.o.a.n.e.d and gave up before raising her voice to call the attention of her husband. Zhang Jiren, who was waiting outside for her, came to see what she wanted this time. Li Meili would always look for him whenever he was out of her sight.

  The moment Li Meili saw him, she immediately shot him a glare. If it wasn't for her husband's cooking, would she find herself in this situation?

  "This is all your fault!"

  "What did I do this time?" Zhang Jiren asked with a frown, his voice had a hint that he was being wronged by her again.

  He let his gaze travel down her body, a slight smirk tugging his lips. Her black chiffon dress reached her knees, and he couldn't help but trail his gaze on her slender legs to her dainty feet that were encased in a pair of high-heeled shoes that struck him as impossible to walk in.

  He never understood why women tortured themselves wearing such dangerous shoes, but he wouldn't dare to question his wife's choices.

  "Look! You purposely made me fat!" Li Meili pointed at the slight bump on her stomach.

  However, instead of looking at what she was trying to show him, Zhang Jiren's eyes caught her b.a.r.e back that revealed her smooth skin. He coughed awkwardly and looked away.

  "How can you be fat? I don't see any difference at all. You are imagining things, Meili," he vehemently denied her accusations.

  "That can't be! I'm sure I gained weight. Look! Even my arms had some fat in them too." She scowled at him. How dare he deny that he was responsible for it?

  "How is it my fault then? Do you want me to stop cooking?" Zhang Jiren asked her, feigning exasperation.

  Actually, he made sure that his wife was fed well along with Leyan. It was nice to see the little girl growing well, and he preferred to see Li Meili a little plump compared to other women. It was hard to convince his wife to eat more, so he had no other choice but to try another method to trick her into eating more than usual.

  Zhang Jiren knew that his wife would kill him before his tumor did if she knew what he was thinking. Sighing to himself, he moved forward and helped his wife zip up the back of her dress.

  "If I'm fat would you still want me?" Li Meili asked as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Before having Leyan, she wasn't worried about her weight but ever since she gave birth, her body had undergone a lot of changes, and now it was hard for her to control her weight.

  Unlike the empress who was able to stick with her routines, Li Meili had a hard time following it. It was already a miracle that she was able to shed most of the excess weight she had a year ago.

  Furthermore, it was also hard for her to ignore the food and dishes her husband was making. Who would be cruel enough to say no to good food anyway? Certainly not Li Meili.

  "Is this what you are worried about?" Zhang Jiren held her shoulder and glanced at their reflection in front of them. "There would never be a time that I wouldn't want you, Meili," he whispered next to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin.

  Li Meili's face turned beet red, and she avoided the gaze of her husband. She could feel his warmth behind her, and she didn't find it repulsive at all. Other than confirming their relationship as being husband and wife out of contract, other than kissing, they hadn't done anything further.

  Their behavior towards each other had changed since then. Zhang Jiren rarely initiated their kiss and even if he had, he always made sure first that she was willing to be touched by him. She wondered if the progress they had now was fine with her husband.

  In fact, this was the first time she'd seen his eyes look at her as if he wanted to devour her—? wolf her down, but Li Meili knew he wouldn't force himself on her. Zhang Jiren wasn't like that. He would never do something inappropriate towards her.

  Li Meili cleared her throat, dispelling the tension between them. If Zhang Jiren was upset by her, he never made any indication of it. Because if they decided to take this any further today, Li Meili was sure that they wouldn't be able to attend Song Huifen's birthday now.

  "Let's go or we would be late. Moyu and the rest must be waiting for us."