“I know. How could I not know? You would even abandon your mother for her.”
“Mom, that’s quite harsh.”
“‘Quite harsh’? Isn’t that how you’re treating Jingwan? You let her go home herself. You refused to say anything initially, but I forced it out of her. She had your best interest at heart. How could you do that to her?”
Ji Ziming’s eyes turned dark as he became more determined. “That’s the daughter-in-law you have in mind and not in mine.”
“I’m done talking with you; you’ll be the death of me.”
Madam Ji waved to her grandson. “Come on. Go home with grandma.”
Ji Chi ran over and looked at his father before hiding behind his grandmother.
“Don’t be afraid. Granny’s bringing you home. If you want to see your mommy, I’ll bring you over tomorrow, alright?”
“En.” The boy nodded and he looked at his mother, who was also looking at him.
“Son, mom won’t argue with you anymore. I’m bringing the boy home. Pei Ge’s a patient; take good care of her.” The older woman did not want to argue with her son further. She knew how stubborn he was. There was no changing his mind once he set onto something.
“Okay. Be careful on your way back.”
“I know. Baby, say goodbye to your daddy.”
The lad looked up at his father. He moved his mouth but did not say anything.
“I don’t know what’s up with Baby. Since Jingwan returned, she hasn’t had time for him. She leaves early in the morning and returns late at night, and I have no idea who she’s hanging out with.”
His mother’s passing remark made waves in Ji Ziming’s heart.
His woman said that Qu Jingwan was among those who would benefit if something untoward happened to her.
Doubt flashed across his eyes, which went unnoticed to his mother. As she brought the boy past his side, the man grabbed hold of him. “Ji Chi, are you coming tomorrow?”
The lad halted in his step before he nodded.
Pei Ge, who was now seated on the bed, had no idea what the others were talking because of this ward’s soundproofing. As she watched the grandmother-grandchild pair leave, her heart felt empty, and the disappointment in her eyes did not go unnoticed to the man.
Ji Ziming opened the door, walked inside, and said in his masculine voice, “Your son will be coming tomorrow; don’t think about this anymore.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up.
“Don’t you want me here?” He pinched his woman’s chin. “Do you know who I am?”
The latter slapped his hand away and rubbed her chin, feigning unhappiness. “You’re already a dad, yet you’re still fighting for favor with Ping An?”
“That’s ’cause his mother is too biased.” He sat next to her and untied the bandage on her leg gently. “Are you mad that we had to put up this pretense?”
“I’m not. I know that you have my best interest at heart. How could I get mad?” Pei Ge looked at the man intently, but there was no emotion to be found on his face. He appeared to be a different man from the one who had gotten jealous of his son earlier.
“You really think so?”
“Not only do I think so, I even know what your next step’s gonna be.”
Ji Ziming frowned as he looked at her.
“Oh, do tell me about it.”
“You’re planning to ask me what I intend to do with the person who turned himself in.”
He paused as he looked at the woman seriously, and in doing so, the coldness in his eyes seemed to intensify. “So what’s your intent?”
“I wanna meet him. He’s a father and a husband. I can tell that he really cares about his family.”
“You wanna go to the police station?”
“En.” Pei Ge nodded. “Let’s go.”
“I’m not going.” He disagreed with her while he continued his actions.
“Why not?” She could not fathom this. He even agreed with letting her waive off the medical fees of that person’s sick daughter. Why was he disagreeing with her now?
“One, though he’s not the one who ran you over, he’s still related to the person who did. Two, it’s a matter of principle.” The man used a slight force to press on her wound as he continued to unwrap the bandage on her leg.
“Ahh!” she cried in pain.
“Does it hurt?” The man relented a bit, but his voice was still cold and authoritative.
She kept quiet, not understanding him.
“That’s right. Your wound hurts, but it hurts more here—even more than your wound.” He looked up at her and put his hand on his chest. “Do you know? My world went dark when you got hit by that car. Thankfully, you’re still healthy and by my side.”
“Ziming…” She was touched by his words, never expecting him to be so affected by her getting run over.
Pei Ge smiled and hugged the man tightly as she leaned against him. “Believe me; I’ll never leave your side again. Never.” Tears streamed down her eyes.
“Just stay by my side, and I will protect you.”
As the two embraced, the woman planted hope on the man. The latter suddenly imagined the former smiling at him amid the flowers. It was a beautiful scene that he could not remove from his mind.
“Hey, let me do this. When I’m done with it, I’ll listen to whatever you say in the future, alright?” pleaded Pei Ge. Even though she knew that he was strongly against it, she still attempted to persuade him.
“You still want to go?” The man’s eyes turned cold as his aura got colder.
The woman knew that there was no turning back and that she had no other choice. “Yes, just let me do this, or else I’ll never let it go.”
Ji Ziming released the woman from his embrace and took in her determined expression. He knew what she was like—that she would work consistently toward achieving her goal.
“Fine, but I’m coming with you,” he said after a long pause.
“Mwah!” She kissed him on the cheek. The joy could not be hidden from her eyes as they turned into crescents.
As he saw the happiness on her face, Ji Ziming felt joy blossom from his chest. He was happy as long as she was.
