Chapter 780 - No Regrets (2)
When Li Meili returned to the nursery, she didn't hear any sound of crying from her daughter. Had Zhang Jiren managed to make Leyan calm down? As she pushed the door open, she spotted her husband seated on the couch with Leyan's head resting on his broad c.h.e.s.t.
Zhang Jiren lifted his head and gave her a smile before pressing his forefinger against his lips, telling her to keep her silence. The child was too exhausted and finally succ.u.mbed to sleep as soon as she was held by her stepfather.
"How did you do it?" Li Meili whispered as she took a seat next to him, baffled as to how he managed to make Leyan calm down. She'd only stayed downstairs for half an hour and hadn't expected Zhang Jiren to be able to make her daughter stop from her incessant crying.
"I think Leyan has outgrown her clothes. I asked Elder Lan to bring me another set of clothes. Perhaps she felt the one she had on was too restricting that she could barely move her legs," Zhang Jiren whispered back as his fingers c.a.r.e.s.sed the thin black hair on the baby's head gently.
He now believed Li Meili's claim that babies were able to develop preference as they grew. He understood that just like him, Leyan had grown fond of him and developed an attachment towards him. Since he'd been coming home later than usual, Leyan was starting to feel troubled not seeing him around.
The clothes were just an excuse he used so Li Meili wouldn't get upset over the fact that her daughter liked his company more than hers as Leyan's mother. Li Meili had been doing her best already, and he didn't want to make her feel upset than she already was.
"But Leyan's only three montshs old. How the hell did she manage to outgrow her clothes too soon?" Li Meili rested her head back against the couch, feeling a little tired from her long day. Thankfully, her daughter didn't start her crankiness when she was in a meeting with Luo Qingqing earlier.
"You must watch what you say in front of Leyan, Meili. I thought I already told you this before," he reminded her.
Li Meili huffed as if she was offended by his words, but he was right. She really needed to be careful of what she said in front of her daughter.
"Have you fixed your schedule?" she asked, attempting to divert the issue from her. "I'm sorry for giving you short notice. I just received the email last night."
"I already did, but I scheduled our flight two days before the event. Is that alright with you? There are commitments I can't reschedule and need my utmost attention so we can't travel sooner," Zhang Jiren answered her.
"It's alright. I understand," his wife replied. Li Meili reminded herself that she shouldn't monopolize Zhang Jiren's time as he also had a life to lead on his own. She was only his wife on paper, not an actual wife.
"Mom and Dad volunteered to look after Leyan for the night on that day," she sighed. "Can you believe it? I only gave them a call this morning and my Dad insisted that they need to have a nursery room ready even before we arrive."
Zhang Jiren chuckled, shifting his body to a more comfortable position. His stepdaughter was growing so fast, it was hard to believe that she was only three months old at the moment.
"They just want to pamper and spoil her a little. Since they rarely have a chance to see Leyan, it is understandable that your father wants to give her the best of everything he can," he said in defense.
His wife scoffed and rolled her eyes at that. Not only her father but also her elder brother was spoiling her daughter too much with gifts. At least she was able to convince Zhang Jiren not to splurge on baby toys and clothes like he used to do on Leyan's first month.
With all the toys and clothes her little daughter owned at the moment, Li Meili had no doubt that it was enough for her to open a toy store and a small boutique for little girls. Just thinking of the amount the men in her life spent to buy all of those was enough to give her a headache.
"So, do you have any plan on how to deal with Liu Ruoyan's cheating?" Zhang Jiren asked.? "I think the event is the perfect time to reveal what she had done for the past years."
"Zhi Ruo already has irrefutable evidence against Liu Ruoyan, but I don't want to be directly implicated if I decide to reveal it to the public," Li Meili admitted. "Zhi Ruo and I are still considering what to do next."
People might say that she was doing this because she was a participant of the competition and wanted to get rid of her rival. She wanted to win the award without any doubt on her win.
"I've already done my best with my entry. Whether I win or lose, I could proudly say that I regret nothing." Her eyes lowered as she remembered Tang Beixuan's excited face as he nagged her to see the sketch of her entry before he died.
Now, she wanted to win the award, not only to prove her worth as a designer, but also to fulfill Tang Beixuan's last wish.
"Why don't you leave the rest to me then? I will make sure that after this, Liu Ruoyan wouldn't have a chance to enter the competition ever again," Zhang Jiren suggested.
"But if you do that, the Liu family might come after you." She frowned. Li Meili was afraid that his name would be dragged to the mud. Even if their marriage was just a farce, she didn't want his name and future to be put in jeopardy because of her.
"What can they possibly do to a bastard like me? If anything, they should worry about themselves. They were lucky enough that Feng Tianyi let them off the hook back in Shenzen. But you must know, Meili, I'm Just like Feng Tianyi."
The meaning of his words was pretty clear. Just like the "Devil" to his wife, he was also someone who wouldn't mind crushing the people who dared to bully Li Meili with his own hands.