For weeks now, Long Huojin had been trying hard to adapt to the lifestyle of a parent.
He worked at home while Long Bolin represented him in the office.
He still attended relevant meetings and conferences, returning home, sometimes to find his wife soothing their child or sleeping on random spots of the house.
Xue Guangli took time off work, despite Long Huojin offering to take care of the baby alone if she ever felt like returning. But she said she wanted to spend most of the time with their child, especially how babies grew so quickly in comparison to the first few weeks.
And most days were good.
Xue Guangli clung to Long Jie, cradling and protecting him in her arms during most times. While on other days, she would be nervous or afraid about something she wasn"t sure of. She questioned herself and their parenting style, but Long Huojin a.s.sured her that everything would be all right, so long as they took their time.
Long Huojin was afraid that she was becoming unlike herself. But each day, they took their time together, learning more about Long Jie, how to take care of him, and how to overcome the anxieties of being a new parent.
On most days, he felt tired, but whenever he saw a sleeping Xue Guangli and Long Jie in the crib next to the bed, his exhaustion would ease.
He loved her—he loved them both.
It was late when Long Huojin snuck into bed next to Xue Guangli after a day of conferencing; he enveloped her in his arms. She stirred awake, opening her eyes to face him.
"I waited for you," she whispered.
"Why?" he asked. "You knew I was returning late."
Xue Guangli smiled and shrugged. "I don"t know what it is. But you"re my favourite person. I can"t help it if I want to see you, even though I see you every day. You left in the morning; how can I sleep without a h.e.l.lo again or goodnight?"
Long Huojin chuckled softly, squeezing her nose. He gazed at her and said nothing, but laid further down in comfortable silence.
She s.h.i.+fted and said, "I"m going to work tomorrow; I want to pay a visit. Can you take care of the baby?"
Long Huojin smiled. "Of course," he said.
But Xue Guangli wore a worried expression, so he took her hand in his and said, "Don"t worry. Jie and I will have a good time alone, just a bit of father-son bonding."
"I will only be gone for a few hours," she explained herself.
"Take your time," he responded. At that, his wife smiled genuinely, squeezing his fingers.
"Jin," she called to him, looking as she had more on her mind.
"Yes?" he answered quietly.
Her grip on him tightened. "I love you and Jie. But I can"t help but feel as I should be giving you more children."
Was she thinking about this since she gave birth?
Long Huojin shook his head. "I don"t want to take that chance again."
"I know you wanted a girl, a daughter," she said without looking at him.
Long Huojin released a breath. "And we will have a daughter. Perhaps a daughter-in-law someday."
Xue Guangli"s eyes widened as if she hadn"t thought of the possibility. She felt insecure at the fact that she didn"t want to have any more children, and was afraid that Long Huojin would resent her later on for it. But the a.s.surance he gave her made her feel better.
She glanced at the crib, watching their sleeping child. Long Jie"s eyelashes fluttered against his full cheeks, causing her to feel warm. There was the possibility of having a daughter-in-law.
"I hope for his sake," she began, "It"s someone who will take their time to understand him."
Long Huojin smiled, hugging her, breathing into her neck. "I hope so, too," he said.
Yin Shou took Xue Teegan to a short ferry ride over the lake that divided the city. The car ride around the lake would take an hour.
Yin Shou held her hand as they took a stroll by the sh.o.r.elines, walking towards the community, finding large, neighbouring houses that had a beautiful view of the water.
He was in real estate, so he told Xue Teegan about new properties that he wanted to stage and prepare for selling.
What he did not tell her was that he bought one of the houses for them, and it petrified him.
They weren"t married, so how can he ask Xue Teegan to live with him? Or how could he take her answer if she wasn"t ready for it?
He thought he should show her each house and took her to the one he bought last.
Inside, Xue Teegan locked arms with him as they walked down the full, vast halls. There was a piano room that he arranged, but she remained quiet. He explained every room"s significance and what appliances or materials used to build it. He behaved like a real estate agent, but Xue Teegan kept silent. She didn"t seem impressed by the property he had shown her.
At the end of the viewing, he descended the stairs of the front porch and said, "What do you think of the house?"
With a grim expression, Xue Teegan said nothing and walked pa.s.sed him; her hair flew behind her against the strong wind.
Yin Shou caught up to her. "What"s wrong?" he asked, stepping to her side. She kept walking, and he strode beside her.
She almost stormed away until he grasped her hand gently, and she stopped to face him with knitted brows.
"Why are you upset?" he asked.
Xue Teegan bit down on her lip. "Out of all the houses you have shown me; this one was the most impressive. It looks comfortable and inviting, made for large groups of people. And it breaks my heart that others will have it because I can"t afford it."
It was true. It was beautiful. It had enough guest rooms, a lively atmosphere, and if she were to have little nieces and nephews, she would want a place where they could visit her often.
And she wasn"t sure if Yin Shou would want them to go beyond a relations.h.i.+p. She had fallen for him, deeply. But where did his heart lie?
She refused to say anything more when she had noticed Yin Shou chuckling. She turned red instantly and was about to storm off when she pulled her in. He circled his arms tightly around her, reaching for his pocket. He took out a folded contract from his jacket pocket and placed it in her hand.
When Yin Shou pulled away, she held it up to read. The contract had a picture of the house, the address, and pages of details, but homeowners.h.i.+p belonged to Yin Shou and Xue Teegan. Her eyes gaped.
"All you need to do is sign it, and it"s ours," he said.
Xue Teegan faced him with an unbelievable expression. "I...Why?" she asked.
Yin Shou flushed. He took both of her hands in his, faced against the golden skies. The sun had arched at the horizon.
He loosed a breath, kneeling on one of his legs, pulling out a small black box from the other pocket.
Xue Teegan covered her mouth with her hands and the folded papers she held, unbelieving.
Yin Shou looked nervous, very nervous. He gulped; his hands shook. Xue Teegan"s heart pounded furiously; her nerves fluttered in her stomach.
He opened the box, revealing a princess-shaped white diamond ring.
"Teegan," he said, calling her name with a tone full of warmth. "As stubborn as you are, and you might say no, I want you to marry me. I can wait if you don"t give me an answer, but you must know how much I want you for more than the time we have already spent."
Xue Teegan smiled through teary eyes. She chuckled, mainly because she didn"t believe it was happening. Before her mother died, she was hopeless that her oldest daughter would ever get married, relying on Xue Guangli and Xue Liena to give her the sons-in-law she wanted. It was a shame that her mother wouldn"t know that her hopeless daughter had succeeded.
Yin Shou took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?" he asked.
Xue Teegan nodded and kept nodding. "Yes," she breathed.
Yin Shou"s eyes widened, his mouth hung open.
Xue Teegan laughed. "Why are you so surprised?"
"I..." Yin Shou trailed off. "I don"t know what I expected."
It made her laugh even more cheerfully. She held out her hand, waiting for the shocked Yin Shou to take the ring out of the box and carefully slipping it on her finger.
That was when he stood up, lifting her in his arms and twirling her around. She gave out a breathy, happy laugh. He kissed her pa.s.sionately as if it were their first time again.