After she left her father and kept her son, President Pei lost control and knelt down.

"Either I stay tonight, or I take you right now. The choice is yours."

The man's tone was domineering and unreasonable, and his hand had already slipped inside Qiao Wan's collar.

Qiao Wan shrugged, really wanting to leave, and mumbled an agreement to let him stay overnight.

Pei Hansheng chuckled, looking like a fool.

He released her hand, and Qiao Wan ran out of the bedroom as if her life depended on it.

The son touched his mouth with his little hands, looking curious: "Why are Mommy's lips swollen?"

Qiao Wan bit her lip, her face darkening.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, or I'll spank you."

"Uncle Pei." Pei Hansheng came out from inside. Xiao Bao ran over, tilted his head, and asked curiously, "Why did your mouth get hurt when Mommy changed your clothes? Did you bite it?"

Pei Hansheng's lips were also cracked, and he looked at Xiaobao expressionlessly: "I don't know."

Xiao Bao frowned. Why did Mommy and Uncle Pei seem so strange?

He took Pei Hansheng's hand and invited, "Uncle Pei, would you like to play with Lego with me? Look at what my uncle and I built, isn't it amazing?"

A Lego robot, about half the height of a person, stood in the middle of the living room; most of it was built by Fu Yuanzhou.

He couldn't help but recall his childhood, when, like all boys, he was playful and mischievous, and his parents were strict with him, forbidding him from touching these things.

The gifts that relatives and friends bought for him were thrown away by Rong Wenying, who replaced them with English books and finance textbooks.

His childhood was dull and uneventful. His relationship with his peers in the aristocratic family seemed to be merely a respectable one. Everyone assumed that they would all go down the same path in the future, inheriting the family business, marrying each other, and going far together.

Without Qiao Wan, his life would have been just like that, smooth sailing, predictable and predictable.

Fu Yuanzhou picked up a building block and threw it at Pei Hansheng: "What are you spacing out for? Aren't you going in to change clothes? Why are you acting like you've lost your soul?"

Pei Hansheng snapped out of his daze and glanced at Qiao Wan almost imperceptibly. Qiao Wan's face was still flushed, and she wasn't much better off than he was.

He chuckled and swaggered over to the playmat in the living room, sitting down: "Lost your soul? Someone else must be."

Qiao Wan hated him to death, but she couldn't do anything about his shamelessness. She turned around and went into the kitchen to wash her hands and continue preparing the dumpling filling.

Shen Yingtang glanced back at the living room, where two tall men, each over 1.9 meters, were sitting with their legs curled up. Xiao Bao was between them, his head round and his belly folded into three layers of wrinkles. The three of them were figuring out how to play together.

This scene is truly pleasing to the eye. Usually, there are only two women and a child in the house, but suddenly a man comes in, and the atmosphere of the house is filled with male hormones and full of yang energy.

Sometimes she thought that Qiao Wan was too independent, which was heartbreaking. She had carried so many things on her own, and she deserved a responsible and stable partner. Otherwise, it would be too unfair to her for all the hardships she had endured.

"Speaking of which, Xiao Bao really doesn't hold a grudge against Pei Hansheng. Even though he scared her to tears several times, she still clung to him in the end."

Qiao Wan started making dumplings, completely focused: "What does a kid know? He'll cling to whoever plays with him. Pei Hansheng is just a tool now."

Shen Yingtang finished preparing the dishes, walked over to roll out dumpling wrappers, and nudged Qiao Wan with her bottom: "Now that the divorce is over, your head is clear, huh?"

"I've been perfectly lucid the whole time, haven't I?"

"You used to be a hopeless romantic, always revolving around Pei Hansheng."

Qiao Wan smiled without saying a word.

From now on, her world will only be filled with people who love her.

Pei Hansheng played with the child in the living room for a while, glancing towards the kitchen from time to time.

Watching Qiao Wan circling around the stove, he clapped his hands, got up, and walked into the kitchen.

He stood silently behind Qiao Wan, oblivious to her as she chopped vegetables.

He took the knife from her hand and said coldly, "Get out."

Qiao Wan stood to the side, watching him chop vegetables with skillful and effortless knife work.

She tugged at Shen Yingtang: "Let's go out. If he wants to cook, let him. He's a free cook, might as well use him."

Shen Yingtang glanced between the two of them and smiled, "Alright, then thank you for your hard work, President Pei. You're in for a treat today."

Pei Hansheng glanced at Qiao Wan's indifferent face and said casually, "I don't want to tire her out too much."

Shen Yingtang was stunned.

It's amazing that a pampered young master could say such considerate things.

Qiao Wan was getting impatient and pulled Shen Yingtang out of the kitchen: "Why are you wasting your breath talking to him?"

The two went outside. Shen Yingtang, unable to stay still, prepared a fruit platter and candy, while Qiao Wan sat to the side, her thoughts drifting.

A cell phone vibrated in the bedroom and rang for a long time. Shen Yingtang reached out and waved it in front of her eyes.

"Is your phone ringing? Who is it? It keeps calling."

"My phone is right here, nobody's here." Qiao Wan followed the voice into the bedroom. The two of them had been playing around on the bed, and Pei Hansheng's phone had fallen out.

She picked it up and looked at it, Mom.

Ms. Rong called.

Qiao Wan secretly hoped that Rong Wenying would call Pei Hansheng away quickly, as his presence was really affecting her mood.

She took the phone to the kitchen, where the man was cooking fish. He turned around and quickly said, "You can answer it. Just tell him I'm not available."

Qiao Wan emphasized, "But this is Ms. Rong's phone number."

Pei Hansheng held a spatula in one hand and placed seasonings in the other: "Do you think I have any free hands?"

"Then I'll turn on speakerphone."

"OK."

Qiao Wan pressed the speakerphone button, and Rong Wenying's voice came through the phone.

Her tone was different from her usual arrogant manner; it carried a hint of caution.

"Son, when are you coming home? The New Year's Eve dinner and fireworks are all ready. Everyone is waiting for you."

"No, I'm not going back. My grandfather and I live outside."

"Is it with Qiao Wan?" Rong Wenying couldn't keep up the act any longer. "You two are already divorced. You're going to see that bitch again, as if she's some kind of big shot. She's getting all cocky now. I know you're angry with me, but we should resolve our family matters behind closed doors. You can't use this method to embolden outsiders..."

"I'm hanging up now, I'm cooking."

Pei Hansheng reached out and pressed the hang-up button.

After turning off the stove, he faced Qiao Wan, stared at her intently, and said, "It was my fault before. I didn't protect you, and you suffered at my mother's place."

Qiao Wan lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

I don't understand the point of him suddenly saying these things.

My phone vibrated again. The caller ID showed Chunzhi.

This time, she handed the phone to Pei Hansheng and turned to leave.

Pei Hansheng stared at her figure, his eyes darkening, and swiped to answer the call.

The caller was a servant from Chiang Kai-shek's residence, and she sounded very anxious.

"Mr. Pei? Something terrible has happened! Our young lady has been in an accident. Could you go to the hospital to see her?"

Pei Hansheng frowned: "What happened during the New Year holiday?"

Outside the door, Qiao Wan heard Pei Hansheng's tense tone and hurriedly walked out of the kitchen.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Qiao Wan made way for him, and as Pei Hansheng passed by, he explained to her, "Chunzhi committed suicide. She had severe depression, and I don't know what happened to her today; she suddenly had a relapse."

Qiao Wan didn't even look up, her expression indifferent: "What does her suicide have to do with me? It's the New Year, isn't that bad luck?"