Chapter 8: Meeting Li Zhenguan’s Father

In the following days, Wang Zhao spent most of her time in the library, except for occasional contact with Li Zhenguan.

Although she no longer needed to understand this world, the civil service exam was only a few months away. Time was of the essence, and unlike the original owner who had already been reviewing for a long time, she had to start from scratch. This meant she needed to spend more time preparing.

Fortunately, she found a lot of materials on the original owner’s computer that she could use directly, which saved her a considerable amount of work.

The meeting with Li’s parents was scheduled for this weekend, coincidentally on a day when Wang’s mother was resting at home and didn’t have to work.

She knew that Li Zhenguan’s family was well-off, with parents in business. The timing was clearly arranged according to their schedule. Even Wang Zhao couldn’t help but inwardly admire Li Zhenguan’s thoughtfulness and consideration.

However, this thoughtfulness and consideration were obviously meant for the original owner and Wang’s parents. Thinking of this, Wang Zhao couldn’t help but press her brow. With her personality, she couldn’t possibly tell Li Zhenguan that she was no longer the original owner, but someone who had transmigrated into this body from another world.

Moreover, even if she did tell him, others would only take it as a joke. No one would believe her, and after a while, they might think she had mental issues.

From another perspective, telling Li Zhenguan about this would only make him think she was trying to shirk her responsibilities by telling such an unbelievable lie. It wouldn’t help and might even make the situation worse.

One could only say that the child in Li Zhenguan’s belly came at a very inopportune time.

This thought only flashed through her mind briefly. Wang Zhao didn’t dwell on it further. Regardless, the child was innocent, and she had to take on this responsibility.

If she had to get married, then so be it. Once a person makes a decision after considering all the pros and cons, their heart becomes more settled. From her few interactions with Li Zhenguan so far, she didn’t dislike his personality. So the decision to marry wasn’t so hard to accept. For her, marriage wouldn’t necessarily tie her down as a person.

It’s just that—

Wang Zhao thought of his age and felt a bit of a headache. Li Zhenguan should still be in school at this age.

Now that he was pregnant, his studies would definitely have to be put on hold. He would probably have to take a leave of absence. No matter which world, this kind of situation should be rare. She didn’t know where Wang’s father had found a child who was still in school to arrange a marriage for her, and what Li’s family thought about it was unknown.

She only knew that if she were Li Zhenguan’s parents and found out her child was pregnant at such a young age, she would probably want to kill the person who made her child pregnant.

And she didn’t know what the original owner was thinking, letting such a young child get pregnant. It could be said to be very irresponsible.

The pit dug by the original owner could only be filled by her, the newcomer.

Lost in thought about these matters, Wang Zhao left the library. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice her phone ringing in her pocket until after several rings. When she looked at the caller ID, it was Li Zhenguan calling.

She suddenly remembered that she had an appointment with him later. She answered the phone while walking towards the subway entrance.

“I’ll come pick you up later,” she said as she went down the elevator.

At this moment, the sound of the train entering the station also rang out, very noisy. The other side should have heard it.

Li Zhenguan’s voice came from the other end of the phone: “Are you outside?”

Wang Zhao got on the subway. Although it wasn’t rush hour, there were still many people, very crowded, with various noises constantly, very noisy.

She could only put on her earphones, so it took her a moment to respond: “Just left the library, I’m on the subway now. Need to go home first, I’ll come pick you up in an hour.”

She had left the library two hours early to avoid the traffic rush hour when going to meet Li Zhenguan later.

“Mm.” Li Zhenguan responded, then fell silent. He knew Wang Zhao’s daily schedule.

He actually didn’t know what to say. Listening to the harsh electric current noise from Wang Zhao’s side on the subway, after a moment of silence, as if he thought of something, he said, “I registered your license plate number with the security guard, you can drive straight in later.”

Wang Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment, indicating she understood.

Li Zhenguan didn’t seem to have any intention of hanging up the phone and continued talking. Since leaving her house that day, he had become somewhat clingy, perhaps due to pregnancy effects. He had to call her every day, and would definitely send messages in the morning and evening.

After a few days, Wang Zhao had gotten used to it. Later, she would make a video call every night. Usually, she would sit at her desk doing practice questions, while Li Zhenguan did other things on his end. It really felt a bit like dating.

Now his voice was very soft, as if afraid she would back away. This was the first time in several days that Wang Zhao had invited him out to meet.

“My mom and sister are working at the company, and my dad is at home today. You might meet him later.”

Perhaps fearing she would be too nervous or misunderstand, he quickly added, “My dad has a very good personality, gentle and easy to get along with.”

Wang Zhao heard these words and inwardly gave a bitter smile. What Li Zhenguan said might be true, but towards her, a future daughter-in-law who had gotten his son pregnant before marriage, his attitude might not be the same.

This was what she thought, but she couldn’t show it in front of Li Zhenguan.

Their arrangements for meeting the parents weren’t following the traditional process at all. Li’s family hadn’t met her many times, probably only hearing about her a few times from Li Zhenguan.

According to normal procedures, she should have visited Li’s family before the parents met, so both sets of parents could get to know each other.

However, their current situation didn’t allow for slow probing. Li Zhenguan’s belly wouldn’t allow it. They had to get things done quickly; this kind of matter couldn’t be delayed.

To prevent Li Zhenguan from worrying, her voice also softened a bit: “I understand. You stay at home and rest easy.”

She comforted him for a few more sentences. After all, these words cost nothing, and saying a few more wouldn’t hurt. However, because she wasn’t naturally a very enthusiastic person, when it came to saying such soft words, she just repeated the same few phrases over and over. Fortunately, Li Zhenguan was pure and gentle, and for now, she was able to appease him.

She didn’t know how the original owner had interacted with him. She had only met him a few times, but Li Zhenguan didn’t have any suspicions, and neither did his parents. They never questioned her changes, as if she had always been this way.

Ten minutes later, she arrived home. Only Wang’s father was at home, preparing dinner. He was a bit surprised to see Wang Zhao.

“Why are you home so early today?” Wang’s father asked, standing at the kitchen door, his hands still wet.

Wang Zhao walked towards her room, replying, “I have an appointment with Zhenguan later, so I won’t be having dinner at home.”

“You’re going out now?” Wang’s father inquired. After a moment, he seemed to remember something and said, “The family car is in the garage. Your mom went to work on her bicycle today. The car keys are in the usual place. It’ll be more convenient for you to drive out later.”

Wang’s mother was a teacher at a nearby school. It was very close, so most of the time she would ride a bicycle or walk there, which was also good exercise. She only occasionally drove there.

Wang Zhao nodded, indicating she understood. She had told her mother yesterday that she would need to use the family car today.

However, she thought she would still need to buy a car. Otherwise, transportation wouldn’t be very convenient, especially after she started working.

The idea of buying a vehicle for daily use only flashed through her mind briefly before Wang Zhao returned to her room, quickly took a shower, changed clothes, and left.

She said an hour, but actually, she arrived at Li Zhenguan’s neighborhood forty minutes later.

This was a high-end neighborhood, with house prices rarely seen even in Jiang City. She drove in, following the navigation, and only then realized that the final address was a villa, or rather, this area was a villa complex.

Almost as soon as her car approached, the door opened. It was clear that Li Zhenguan had been waiting for her.

Before her car had even come to a complete stop, Li Zhenguan ran out, wearing thin clothes.

His face was very fair, looking in good spirits, with red lips and white teeth. Although they hadn’t seen each other for almost a week, they had video called every day. For Wang Zhao, this meeting didn’t feel as unfamiliar as it did at first.

She smiled and got out of the car, saying, “It’s still a bit cold outside. You should have put on more clothes before coming out.”

It was autumn now, and even wearing a shirt would feel cold, let alone Li Zhenguan who was only wearing a thin knit top.