Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Chu Lui’s hand was placed on his forehead while he massaged gently and constantly. His subordinates were going through the information. He wondered how many hours had passed. His head had seemed to hurt with the growing noise in the room.

“Alright.” He raised his hand. “All of you, go back and prepare these into proper data. I will look through them myself. That’s all for today. This meeting is over.” He stood up and walked towards his office. Instead of hearing it this way, it was faster to go through them himself.

It had been six months since he returned from abroad. Everything at the company had was on the right track. However, he realized that recently his mind and heart had not been coping in the way he had wanted.

Was it because he was getting old now that he was becoming a father? How could he not feel old?

He entered his office and tossed the folders aside before sitting in his leather chair and taking a rest. Recently, he had been exhausted. He was only gone for a short time, but it became busier when he returned.

So busy that he didn’t want to think of anything at all.

He closed his eyes and could vaguely see a woman’s face in his daze. First, it was Xia Yixuan. Then, it became more and more blurred until he could no longer recall how Yixuan had looked like. Li Manni’s face came next. Finally, it changed completely into another woman—one he was unwilling to think of.

She was laughing, crying, sad, and in despair. Suddenly, he went into shock, and his body started to go into an involuntary spasm. That cleared his head, and he became wide awake as he used every ounce of his mental power to think of a way to breathe. As he was trying to stabilize his breathing, his mind and soul went into a state of panic; and he encountered a terror he could never understand in his current condition. He seemed to have lost everything.

The door opened after a loud bang. The only person who could treat the door to the CEO’s office like this would be Du Jingtang. No one else in this world would dare to do this.

“Cousin, the contract.” He strode into the office and placed the contract on Chu Lui’s table.

“Cousin, we’ve had many big contracts lately. You are truly a gifted businessman.” Du Jingtang gave him a thumbs-up. This year, their performance would improve yet again. Six months later, they would know the extent of their improvements. Anyhow, the company was making a profit. No, it should be the Chu family who was making a profit.

“Mmm, I know. You can leave now.” Chu Lui put his hand on the contract. His eyebrows were knitted closely together there was not a hint of happiness on his face. It was as though he had made a loss, not a profit.

“Still the same old you with no sense of humor.” Du Jingtang puckered his lips. “Working with this kind of people is the toughest. They put on a face as though their facial expressions had collapsed. What good can they get out of it?”

He really wondered what it was that so many women saw in him. They liked him so much that might as well have liked a piece of rock instead.

The office door closed once again, and the silence resumed. It was so quiet that it was suffocating. Chu Lui did not move as he allowed himself to wallow deeper and deeper into an agony.

His hands on the office table clenched into balls of fists as though he was trying to suppress his bitterness or something else. It was this depressed emotion that he still could not understand even now.

At the moment, Li Manni’s constant objection could be heard throughout the Chu villa. “Mom, I don’t want it anymore. I have already drunk three bowls. If I continue drinking, it’s going to be too much.” She pushed the bowl away from her face. It was a tonic brewed from all kinds of herbs.

“This is not a tonic. It’s a supplement, and it is not for you. It’s for the baby. Drink some. It’s good for the baby. Will you?” Song Wan looked at her tummy. It was flat, yet to swell. She continued to persuade Li Manni to drink. “I spent a long time brewing this. You must finish it, or you will be letting my good intentions go to waste.”

Li Manni listened, and finally, she nodded her head rigidly. She picked the bowl up and drank half of its contents. It didn’t taste that bad. She just felt like puking after drinking so many bowls. However, it was like what Song Wan had said. Her mother-in-law had spent a long time brewing. If she didn’t drink it, Song Wan would not rest.

As long as it was beneficial for the baby, they would make her eat or drink it. The child was still an unborn baby, and it had already received so much attention. If it was born, it would truly be amazing to have such doting grandparents. It would be an extremely happy baby. On top of that, with Chu Lui’s status, the baby was practically born with a golden spoon in its mouth.

Li Manni set the bowl down, and Song Wan took it in mid-air. This was the first grandchild for the Chu family. Naturally, they saw it as something of utmost importance. Li Manni wasn’t allowed to do anything. Even when she walked a step more, they were worried that it would endanger the baby. If it was up to them, she would be lying on the bed while her baby grew.

Song Wan’s eyes were glued to Li Manni’s tummy as though something was on her mind. She carefully inspected Li Manni’s overly blushed face from drinking too many supplements.

“Manni, do you have morning sickness? Have you gone for your maternity checkup? Why does it seem that the baby hasn’t been growing?” she asked weirdly. Usually, by this time, a pregnant woman would be having some reaction to her pregnancy. Why hadn’t she changed in the slightest bit? Even her stomach was still flat. Song Wan remembered the time when she was pregnant with Chu Lui, her stomach was huge when she was in the third month of her pregnancy, and she had almost vomited herself to death.

Li Manni’s expression changed. She smiled promptly as she lay her hand on her tummy. “Mom, the doctor said my baby is slighter small. That’s why I’m still not showing. As for the morning sickness, the doctor said some babies are naturally well-behaved, and they won’t torture their mother.”

“Oh, I see.” Song Wan thought. That might be true, too. Was there any link between one’s physical constitution and a mild-mannered fetus?

Chu Jiang came in from the side and saw his wife in a daze. Was his grandchild alright? Nowadays, whenever he opened his mouth, it would always start and end with questions about his grandchild. After all, he had been waiting for this grandchild for a very long time.

“Dad, you’re here. I’ll fetch you some tea.” Li Manni stood up, seemingly unwilling to continue the discussion her mother-in-law had posed her. She walked hurriedly into the kitchen.

“There’s no need, Manni. Let the nanny do this sort of things. You must not tire yourself out.” Song Wan pulled and stopped her quickly. “It will be dangerous if you bang or knock yourself against something.”

“It’ll be alright, Mom. I’m just going to fetch a cup of tea. I will be careful.” Li Manni shook her head, insisting on going into the kitchen.

Song Wan retracted her hand. She could only watch as Li Manni’s silhouette disappeared through the kitchen doorway. She shifted closer to Chu Jiang, and both of them sat together.