Qian Meng suddenly remembered her conversation with Li Li Hua so many months ago. How she had been when she told that Qingchen and she didn't plan on having children.

  She remembered the picture of Qingchen as a little boy. And just as it did back then, her heartbeat quickened when she imagined a little boy with their mixed features.

  "You mean they won't hound us for grandkids since they are getting one from Xiao Chen."

  "Exactly," Qingchen said flippantly as he pulled out the car from the parking space. "Better them than us."

  "You are talking about pregnancy like it is a disease."

  Qingchen shot her a confused look like he felt exactly that way and her statement was surprising.

  "Don't get me wrong. I am happy they are embracing the situation and seem to be happy." Qian Meng watched him carefully as he pulled out into the street and drove. "But I am not ignorant to what they are in for, and I don't envy them."

  Qian Meng swallowed. "Right."

  The conversation was making her uncomfortable, and the fact that she had no idea why only made the feeling worse.

  "Just imagining my dad breathing down my neck and my mom going along with everything makes me feel sad for Xiao Chen. They won't get to raise their kids. These older people will force them into everything they don't want for their child."

  Qian Meng sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sure there are good things that outweigh all the bad stuff. A baby isn't a curse, Qingchen."

  He turned to face her slowly, his eyes narrowing just slightly as if to ask what she was getting at. "That is not how you felt when we got married. You definitely didn't want your dad dictating what happened to your child."

  But that time seemed to be a long time ago. A glimmer of fear reflected from behind his black eyes and it made her nauseous. She backpedaled, knowing that he still feared the things from her past life happening again. Even though their circumstances were so different.

  "I am just saying that even though people might want to manipulate our circumstances and the life of any child we have, we can just not let them do it. Xiao Chen will enjoy being a parent," she said finally.

  "Yes, that is my point. I am happy for them. I am thrilled that they are so excited. That is why I said it would better be them than us. They are giving all the parents what she wants and seemingly they want it too."

  "Yeah." She cleared her throat.

  He suddenly turned to her when they were stopped at a red light. He touched the cheek with the back of her fingers. "What is it?" he asked.

  "Nothing." She didn't say that what sounded terrible to him didn't sound terrible to her. She wasn't scared of those people controlling her because she was confident, she could evade them. She liked the thought of her combined with a little piece of him.

  The thing was. She could see it for them in the future——

  Qian Meng knew she wanted to be a mother the moment she saw her husband hold their nephew. She had experienced an inkling of feeling the months prior but it wasn't until that moment that she knew.

  The feeling was slowly growing on her. At first, it was just a realization that the thought of it didn't scare her anymore. Her heart found the idea endearing, even though her brain mocked her. What about their busy schedule? What about the hounding parents who would want to use the child?

  All of those thoughts flew out the moment Xiao Chen handed her the wriggling baby over to the stoic Qingchen. A slow smile spread across his face and Qian Meng felt her heart melt. All logic dissipated.

  Shockingly, her husband was a natural at holding a baby. She would have expected him to be awkward and nervous, but just as expertly as he did everything else in life, he cradled and gently rocked the baby boy back and forth with perfection.

  Qian Meng was vaguely aware of the people in the room speaking but she couldn't tell anything they were saying. Her attention was solely on the sight before her as her husband nuzzled their nephew, placing a gentle kiss on the baby's wispy hair.

  The longer she watched him, the tighter and tighter her heartfelt. She never expected to be shaken by the experience, but in hindsight, it made sense. She was still bothered by the things from her past life and she knew her cold husband only felt gentle towards her.

  Now, she could see it from an outside perspective. It hit her hard. She could only imagine what she would feel if the baby in his arms was their own.

  A piece of him and she melded together.

  A physical manifestation of their non-negotiable love.

  "Qian Meng, did you hear me?"

  She was snapped out of her thoughts. "W-what?" she sputtered, attempting to blink away the daze.

  She stepped closer to him to peer down at the tiny person in his arms. "He looks like both of them," Qian Meng whispered.

  When his girlfriend needed something, Xiao Chen showed his true form. He was a doting father and a partner. He tried his best to make them comfortable.

  Amid their distraction, Mo Qingchen nudged her with his elbow and shot her an amused grin. "So, what do you think?"

  He didn't say any further. And she didn't respond either. She didn't know how to. She wondered if he knew. There had been a flicker in his eyes the last time they spoke about children. Maybe he remembered it. Maybe not. Maybe he saw it in her eyes at the hospital that way. If he did, he didn't give her any indication.

  She knew she had to be honest with him at some point. Honesty was part of the vows they had made to one another. And she was determined to follow. But it wasn't the right time to bring it up.

  A new family member had appeared. The day was about him. And Qian Meng was content to pour her love into him.