Chapter 52
Old Master Li tried his best to steady his emotions. "Zhen'er, is the person who freely donated genes to you reliable?"
"Very reliable!" Li Zhen nodded, wanting to reassure her grandfather. "So Grandpa, please help me hide this from my dad for a while longer. Once I'm pregnant, it won't matter if he knows."
Old Master Li rubbed his face, forcing himself to stay calm.
In the past, he had read many parenting books by experts saying that children should be encouraged and supported, not opposed harshly.
"This is a risky move, Zhen'er."
"Grandpa, high risks mean high rewards."
Old Master Li considered this and asked, "Can I meet the person who freely donated genes to you?"
Li Zhen had expected her grandfather's worries. "Okay, Grandpa. He's very reasonable. Let me ask him first. But..."
Li Zhen hesitated.
"What is it?" Old Master Li had a bad premonition.
"He's an uninformed gene donor. If you meet him, don't bring this up." Li Zhen's expression was unusually awkward, very rare for her.
"Cough, cough!" Old Master Li couldn't help coughing twice. He felt his heart turn cold.
An uninformed gene donor? That's a deceived party!
His granddaughter still had the same big ideas as when she was little.
-
In the early morning, Yu Sheng parked his car and arrived at the front yard of his home.
The lights in the villa were all on. He realized something was wrong.
In the past at the Yu family mansion, he had lived in a separate small building. When he got off work every day, the lights at home would definitely all be on, with the servants ready to wait on him anytime.
After marrying Li Zhen, she went to bed first. He had instructed Wu Ma to stop keeping the old habits from when he lived at the Yu house.
Once Li Zhen was asleep, all the lights in the villa had to be turned off.
"President Yu." The wrought iron gate in the front yard opened. Wu Ma was worried and anxious about the situation with the two of them, but she only bowed her head to greet Yu Sheng and walked with him into the villa, not daring to say another word.
"Where is madam?" Yu Sheng asked.
"Madam..." Wu Ma's head drooped even lower. "Madam has left."
Yu Sheng's figure froze for an instant.
"Where is Grandpa?"
"He left with Madam." Wu Ma took Yu Sheng's suit jacket.
Yu Sheng didn't say anything else. After changing his shoes, he went to sit on the sofa and leaned his head back, propping his feet up on the rosewood coffee table.
Wu Ma stood nervously to the side, not daring to speak.
In the past when his wife was home, the first thing he would do when he came back was go upstairs. He never sat in the living room like this.
Yu Sheng spoke heavily, "Bring me a bottle of wine."
"Yes, President Yu." Wu Ma nodded.
Wu Ma brought the wine, opened it, brought a decanter, and placed an empty wine glass nearby.
Yu Sheng got up and took just the wine and wine glass, then went to the backyard.
Wu Ma followed, worriedly saying, "President Yu, it's already very late, and you get up early every day. Drinking more wine now will make it hard to rest well."
Yu Sheng sat in a lounge chair by the lake. His tall figure cast a straight silhouette in the lake water.
"I need some quiet to think about some things..." He waved Wu Ma away.
-
After sending her grandfather back, Li Zhen returned to Sunny Garden.
Lu Yanming was sitting on the carpet in the living room, very quiet, only the sound of his typing on the keyboard.
Li Zhen put down her bag and walked over.
On the way today, she had already decided what to say about why she was with Yu Sheng. She had to make Lu Yanming believe that she and Yu Sheng were just ordinary friends, so this wouldn't become ammunition against her.
Lu Yanming seemed very focused on whatever he was working on.
Li Zhen sat on the sofa and looked down at him sitting on the floor. This angle was very strange. Usually she could only look up at him.
Now looking down at him, she strangely felt he was a little cute. What was going on?
"How much longer are you going to keep watching?" Lu Yanming suddenly spoke.
Li Zhen was startled. "You knew I came back, Chairman Lu?"
"I'm still young with sharp eyes and ears." Lu Yanming chuckled lightly.
Li Zhen relaxed a little. He didn't seem particularly unhappy, so she took the chance to explain about Yu Sheng. "Chairman Lu, Yu Sheng and I..."
"I know, you were college classmates." Lu Yanming cut her off, his voice clear and casual as he continued tapping on the keyboard.
Li Zhen was shocked for a moment. "Chairman Lu, won't you ask me why I seem close to him? Or why I went to the exhibit with him?"
Lu Yanming stopped and craned his neck to look up at her.
Under the lamplight, the edges of his gold wire-rimmed glasses glinted, making him look especially elegant. "Why would I ask?"
His response left Li Zhen at a loss for words.
After a long pause, she said, "Because we're cooperative spouses. You're a man. It's normal to be possessive of the woman you share a bed with. Seeing me with another man should make you unhappy, so you should want to know the reason, right?"
Lu Yanming gazed at her, his eyes tranquil. "You've already said it all yourself. Are you being so considerate of me?"
Li Zhen's ear tips reddened slightly. "It's not consideration either. I'm just very cooperative."
"Did you deliberately stay close to Yu Sheng to upset me?"
"I didn't..."
Lu Yanming cut her off. "So you must have your own reasons, a compelling circumstance that forced you to do this."
His words were far too unexpected.
Li Zhen suddenly felt her eyes grow damp.
She was caught between the Li family, Yu Sheng, the company, and Lu Yanming, often weighed down by a deep sense of fatigue. The slightest thing going wrong made her panic.
She knew her greed was to blame, wanting to hide her office marriage from the company, wanting the Li family shares, wanting a peaceful, affluent future with her grandfather and child.
But people always want better lives. That's not wrong or a sin.
She had chosen this path and had to bear the hardship.
Yet halfway down the road, someone suddenly told her: I understand your compelling circumstance.
Heavens, Li Zhen suddenly felt like crying a little. What to do!
"Seeing you together makes me unhappy, and it probably will next time too, maybe even make me lose my temper. But..." Lu Yanming's long, slender fingers gently clasped her hand in his palm.
"Even if it makes me unhappy, that doesn't stop me from understanding your compelling circumstance."
His rough fingertips stroked her jade-like palm, spreading warmth down Li Zhen's spine.
"Li Zhen, it's my fault for being unhappy, not yours."
"Chairman Lu," Li Zhen raised her head to look at the ceiling, afraid she might lose control and let tears fall which would be too awkward. "I advise you not to be so sentimental, or I might start crying a little."
But Lu Yanming gripped the back of her head and made her lower it from looking at the ceiling.
Her gaze fell from the ceiling into the depths of his eyes, as vast as the sea.
He slowly drew near, craning his head up. His Adam's apple rolled sexily and his lips pursed to gently kiss her eyes.
"I advise you not to cry, or I might start wanting to kiss you."