Chapter 69: It’s Time to Have Another Child

Li Zhenguan made a soft sound and snuggled closer into her embrace. He seemed to touch something that made Wang Zhao’s body, buried under the covers, stiffen slightly. With an invisible clap of thunder, the atmosphere in the entire hospital room was stirred up.

The clock hands moved slowly, tick by tick.

Agonizingly so.

Wang Zhao’s gaze remained fixed.

In the quiet night, a sound came from the bed as Li Zhenguan lifted his head, a pair of bright eyes looking at her in the darkness.

His knee moved once, then again, accompanied by the ticking of the clock.

His eyes kept looking at Wang Zhao, his breath falling on her neck and collarbone.

A man’s voice rose in the hospital room, like pearls large and small falling onto a jade plate, somewhat hurried, and seemingly coquettish.

The hospital curtains didn’t block out much light.

This was Wang Zhao’s first thought when she woke up the next day. The person in her arms was still asleep, and she would have to wake the sleeping man if she wanted to get up.

Wang Zhao didn’t really remember how yesterday’s indiscretion had happened. It seemed to have started chaotically and ended somewhat tenderly. After all, they were in a hospital, and she wasn’t in much of a mood. It was mainly Li Zhenguan’s alluring whimpers that had enticed her.

He was skilled at seducing one to commit crimes in bed with his sexy panting and breathing.

She looked down.

Li Zhenguan was extremely docile when asleep. Born with red lips and white teeth, a handsome face, lying in bed with his eyes closed, he was an obedient boy, inspiring sympathy.

Just sometimes he didn’t listen very well, but most of the time he was obedient.

In fact, Wang Zhao’s requirements for a partner were very low, possibly stemming from her past life’s cognition. Women generally didn’t trust men, or rather, most men weren’t very trustworthy. There were quite a few men with negative traits in Wang Zhao’s family, so her requirements for a future partner were very low – maintaining mental and physical fidelity was enough.

Moreover, due to her personality, she might have a stronger desire for control over her other half, so thinking about it now, this was also one of the reasons she had broken up with Chen Fangli before.

So rather than saying Wang Zhao liked Li Zhenguan, it would be more accurate to say Li Zhenguan suited Wang Zhao.

She wasn’t the unapproachable beauty from romance novels who would be pulled down from her pedestal by an ordinary person, suddenly falling into the whirlpool of love, realizing the incomparable nature of love after the male protagonist’s suicide, as if she loved someone to death. That would be too dramatic, only occurring in novels and TV dramas.

In reality, she was calm. Love was only food for survival for protagonists in novels and TV dramas.

In reality, people sought matches of equal status, or a bit more ambitiously, to climb higher. Men being kept by women, women comparing for better male resources, this was the worldly logic.

For Wang Zhao, Li Zhenguan was a suitable husband. They were very compatible, in every aspect.

So she hadn’t considered divorce, but only [censored]. However, saying it like this was too cold. She did like Li Zhenguan to some extent, it’s just that she would consider more things compared to Li Zhenguan, only that her love wasn’t as deep.

But, she did like him.

In this world, there probably wasn’t anyone more compatible with her than him. Li Zhenguan’s fondness for her was too humble, as if he could forgive anything she did.

Watching the light change on the ceiling, estimating the time, Wang Zhao still moved Li Zhenguan out of her embrace. But no matter how gentle her movements, they still woke him up.

He made a sound and woke up, instinctively wanting to reach out and hug Wang Zhao again.

“Sleep a bit more,” Li Zhenguan said, closing his eyes and wanting to bury his head in her embrace again. But his morning reaction also touched Wang Zhao, and his legs wrapped tighter around her, not wanting to let go.

Half of Wang Zhao’s body was off the bed, but her waist was still held by Li Zhenguan, his head resting on her abdomen.

He was really clingy now, just like a snake.

Wang Zhao had already gotten off the bed: “I have to go to work today.”

Li Zhenguan whimpered and wouldn’t let go.

After a night of intimacy, he was a bit clingy. Wang Zhao also noticed that Li Zhenguan was especially clingy at this time, particularly last night, more so than usual.

Wang Zhao stroked the back of Li Zhenguan’s neck, gently pinching once, and leaned down to whisper something in his ear, as if flirting, but her tone could be described as flat, and her expression didn’t change much. But it made Li Zhenguan shudder, his whole body moving, nearly causing the blanket to fall to the floor.

He let go, his entire body sinking into the blanket. The wound on his wrist seemed to hurt again, as if there was a caterpillar living there, occasionally stinging.

Wang Zhao went to the bathroom to freshen up. When she came out, she had changed into a different outfit – a black coat with a turtleneck sweater underneath, making her appear tall, slender, and graceful. With her hair tied up, she had a rare gentle beauty.

Perhaps it was because winter had come.

Even the coldest would become gentler compared to the winter wind.

Wang Zhao came out and felt Li Zhenguan’s forehead: “I called Dad and asked him to bring you breakfast and look after you. I’ll come back to see you in the evening.”

The hospital food wasn’t good. Li Zhenguan had tried it once and wouldn’t eat it again, sending it back untouched.

Li Zhenguan nodded tiredly. He was actually still very sleepy, but thinking that Wang Zhao was leaving, he kept looking at her with moist eyes, not wanting to close them.

Before eight o’clock, Wang Zhao left the hospital. She bought some breakfast outside her workplace and ate it in the car before hurriedly entering the office.

It was still a busy yet leisurely day. The current work had no technical content, all text organizing work. So in the afternoon, Wang Zhao found the leader and accepted a transfer. Going to the anti-corruption department might also be a good opportunity. She heard that the current deputy procurator was serving as the director of the anti-corruption bureau.

When it was time to get off work, Wang Zhao didn’t go to the hospital first, but went to the Li family. Before arriving, Wang Zhao made a phone call to Yang Jin, as even a son-in-law should give notice before visiting.

When she arrived, Yang Jin and Li’s mother were both at home. After politely talking with her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Wang Zhao went to see the child. Although it had only been two or three days since she last saw him, she found that Wang Wen seemed to have grown quite a bit. Children of this age change daily.

The fever and illness seemed like a long time ago. When Wang Zhao arrived, before she could even hold him, Wang Wen seemed to know that the person in front of him was his mother. He smiled with curved eyes and an open mouth, looking extremely happy.

Wang Zhao played with the child for a while, then held him and fed him a bottle of milk before handing him back to Yang uncle. The worry in her heart lessened a bit. When the child had a fever before and Li Zhenguan was in the hospital, she was worried but couldn’t take care of him and could only leave him with the Li family. Now seeing the child still so lively, she undoubtedly felt relieved.

When she was leaving, Yang Jin politely invited her to stay for dinner, but Wang Zhao declined, saying that Zhenguan was in the hospital and she planned to eat with him. So the parents here didn’t insist further.

By the time she reached the hospital, it was already dark. Winter is like this, it gets dark early. At five o’clock it’s already a bit dim, and by six o’clock night has fallen. She carried a takeout box, wrapped in the night, as she entered the hospital.

There was only Li Zhenguan in the ward, lying on the bed playing with his phone. The doctor had come to check on him today, and he no longer had any major issues. He could be discharged in a few days.

Hearing movement at the door, his eyes immediately brightened. He threw down his phone and got out of bed, pouncing towards Wang Zhao.

Suddenly embracing a body full of cold air, he shivered, which Wang Zhao noticed. She was holding a bag in her hand and pushed Li Zhenguan out of her embrace.

“I just came in from outside, my body is all cold. Don’t get too close, be careful not to catch a cold.” Li Zhenguan’s health wasn’t good now, even the slightest thing could cause him to fall ill.

She put the food containers on the nearby table, disinfected herself a bit, and also wiped the outside of the containers with alcohol before opening them and placing them on the table.

“Let’s eat first, the food will get cold soon.”

During this time, Li Zhenguan had to avoid many foods. The dishes she ordered were all very light, obviously the kind for someone without an appetite. So she had specially gone to a private kitchen restaurant in the Third Ring Road area. The chef there had good skills, making even ordinary dishes taste different.

Li Zhenguan obediently made a sound of agreement. In front of her, he was mostly very gentle, as if it was his nature, truly a good husband.

Wang Zhao took off her coat and hung it on the rack before sitting opposite Li Zhenguan. She had brought the packed meal directly here, so she hadn’t had dinner either.

This meal was eaten very quietly, but halfway through, the man opposite her began to cry silently again. Then in the next moment, he wiped it away with his hand, but still couldn’t help crying again.

“Why are you crying?” Wang Zhao sighed, put down her chopsticks, took out a tissue from the side and wiped the corners of the man’s eyes and cheeks.

Li Zhenguan raised a pair of wet eyes. The most striking part of his face was these clear, autumn-water-like almond eyes, bright and joyful when looking at people.

“Wang Zhao, I will never scare you like this again.”

“It’s not about not scaring me, it’s about being responsible for yourself,” Wang Zhao said gently. She naturally accepted Li Zhenguan’s sudden apology, wasn’t this what she wanted?

The initial coldness was just to get this sincere regret from Li Zhenguan.

She said, “The night you had the accident, Wen Wen was running a high fever in the next room. It was also because of him that you were discovered in time. Think about how terrible the consequences would have been if Uncle Yang hadn’t discovered something was wrong with you that night. That’s not just scaring me, it’s the sorrow of your parents, and also Wen Wen’s future sorrow.”

Li Zhenguan nodded.

Wang Zhao threw away the tissue in her hand and said, “Don’t cry anymore, let’s eat. In a few days when you’re discharged, we’ll go pick up Wen Wen. Uncle Yang said he’s been crying non-stop these past two nights, maybe he misses you.”

The tears in Li Zhenguan’s eyes finally subsided at this, and he quietly finished the meal.

Perhaps because he had cried, Li Zhenguan went to bed very early, almost falling asleep as soon as he lay down.

Wang Zhao cleaned up the trash before lying back down on the bed. Almost as soon as she got under the covers, Li Zhenguan moved closer, clinging tightly to her.

In the night, Wang Zhao looked at Li Zhenguan’s features for a long time before closing her eyes. One of her hands also rested on Li Zhenguan’s lower back, as if holding the man in her embrace.

However, after Wang Zhao fell asleep, Li Zhenguan opened his eyes in the darkness. It was as if he had never been asleep, his pair of dark eyes looking at Wang Zhao for a long time, bright and spirited, stubborn and obstinate. He buried his head back into the woman’s embrace.

In the future, no one would be able to separate them.

Li Zhenguan made such a decision in his heart.

Perhaps it was time to have another child.

—End of Main Text—