After a brief silence, Tang Peili decided to ask clearly: “You also work at Aoxing?”

Zhang Lian nodded, his expression unchanging: “Yes, I’m currently the Managing Director of Aoxing.”

Tang Peili’s heart skipped a beat. She restrained herself for several seconds to avoid letting out a surprised gasp, merely saying: “I just found out too.”

Sun Fengzhi smiled kindly: “Perhaps the relationships were too complicated, and Zhou Mi was worried you might overthink it if she told you.”

“So when did you two meet?” Tang Peili’s gaze sharpened, pulling the topic back, refusing to be easily sidetracked: “You’ve ended up like this after just two months?”

Zhang Lian smiled lightly: “Zhou Mi and I met last year.”

“How did you meet?” Tang Peili pressed aggressively.

Zhang Lian spoke at a measured pace: “We met at a lounge bar. Afterward, we exchanged contact information, and only defined our relationship as dating half a year ago.”

Tang Peili snorted: “How old are you?”

Zhang Lian replied: “Thirty-three.”

Hearing his age, Tang Peili frowned with displeasure: “You should know how old Zhou Mi is, right?”

“I know.”

Tang Peili crossed her arms and spoke in a moderate tone: “No wonder she didn’t tell us, finding someone this old.”

Sun Fengzhi picked up her paper cup: “Mrs. Zhou, someone a bit older knows better how to take care of others.”

Tang Peili made no effort to hide her sarcasm: “Take care of her right into the hospital to suffer like this?”

“Ah,” Sun Fengzhi sighed lightly: “Young people sometimes don’t consider things as thoroughly and carefully as we experienced ones do, thinking of everything. When emotions run deep, they make mistakes. I just found out about this too and felt quite upset. I’ve already said what needed to be said on the way here, and just wanted to come meet you immediately to actively seek a solution.”

Tang Peili looked away, saying impatiently: “Hasn’t it already been resolved?”

She thought for a moment and her eyes grew moist: “When something like this happens, I don’t know what kind of days she’s had these past ten or so days, and I wasn’t by her side.”

“Please rest assured about that,” Sun Fengzhi glanced at her son, “I’ve already asked Zhang Lian, and he has been accompanying Zhou Mi as much as possible during this time.”

Tang Peili scoffed: “Sharing a bed makes up for everything? Making such a big mistake, and you speak so lightly about it. After all, it’s not your son who’s suffering. The fist didn’t hit his body, so you don’t feel the pain.”

Zhang Lian observed all of Zhou Mi’s mother’s subtle expressions, suddenly curving his lips slightly without changing his expression: “Auntie, you know I’m already in my thirties, and whether it’s marriage or having a child, both are appropriate and anticipated for me. I made this decision based on Zhou Mi’s choice. Your daughter is very outstanding and has always had her own opinions and thoughts. She hopes to fully devote herself to her studies and work at this point, and as her boyfriend, I naturally should put her thoughts first. I’m very sorry for the harm caused to her, but I believe that forcing her to become someone she doesn’t want to be in the short term would be disrespectful and irresponsible to her.”

After he finished speaking, Tang Peili fell silent. Only from this moment did she truly begin to examine this handsome, fair-skinned young man. He was also calmly looking at her, and from his demeanor to his tone, everything conveyed a sincere and appropriate comfort to both mind and body.

Sun Fengzhi, meanwhile, rolled her eyes at her son and unnaturally rubbed her earlobes twice.

Thinking of her daughter’s reaction in the hospital room just now, Tang Peili couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, unknowingly having already stepped one foot into the other camp: “I haven’t told Mi-Mi’s father about this yet, and I don’t know how to bring it up.”

Sun Fengzhi responded: “I’ve already told my husband. But he’s gone to Nanda for an academic exchange these two days, otherwise he would certainly have come along now.”

Seeing how seriously they were taking this, Tang Peili’s antipathy and wariness were reduced by more than half, and she naturally asked about the other parents’ occupations: “Is your husband also a teacher?”

Sun Fengzhi answered: “Yes, he’s also at F University.”

“I see,” Tang Peili’s expression softened considerably. “How about this, I’ll discuss it with her father tonight, and then both sets of parents can meet to clarify this matter.”

She glanced toward the hospital room: “Mi-Mi is still resting, so I won’t wake her up now. Let her sleep a bit longer.”

Sun Fengzhi showed a smile, indicating she had the same intention, taking out her phone from her bag: “Mrs. Zhou, shall we exchange phone numbers? So we can contact each other if needed.”

Tang Peili nodded.

After saving each other’s contact information, just as Tang Peili was about to put her phone away, Zhang Lian suddenly said from the side: “Auntie, please save my number too. You can contact me directly in the future if anything comes up.”

Tang Peili was slightly stunned but agreed.

—

When Zhou Mi woke up, her mind was foggy and confused. She rubbed her eyes a couple of times before opening them and taking in her surroundings.

When her eyes fell upon the three imposing figures on the sofa, she shot up like a crucian carp on a chopping board.

“You’re awake, Zhou Mi.” The first person to notice her getting up was her professor, Sun Fengzhi.

The other two looked over as well.

Zhou Mi’s face grew hot, and her voice inevitably stuttered: “W-why didn’t you wake me?”

“You need more rest.” Sun Fengzhi’s gentle tone was like a spring breeze. “Did you sleep well? Do you want to sleep a bit more?”

Her mother followed up: “That’s right, you just keep sleeping, don’t mind us.”

Zhou Mi clutched the bedcover tightly, blinking several times, and turned to look at Zhang Lian.

The man sat quietly, not making a sound, his expression difficult to discern in the half-light. After a moment, his beautiful lips curved into an arc, smoothly switching to smile mode. He pulled up his sleeve to check his watch: “Are you hungry? It’s time to eat something before resting more.”

“Right, right,” both mothers said in unison: “You’re so thoughtful.”

Zhou Mi drew in a sharp breath, utterly amazed.

How did he manage it, turning her predicted World War III into a harmonious family gathering?

Zhou Mi sat in bed, absentmindedly and without looking around, picking at the food on the small tray and stuffing it into her mouth, so nervous that it felt like chewing wax, barely tasting anything.

“Her appetite is pretty good.”

“Yes, this child has never been picky about food. Now that I think about it, many details made me realize it was because she was pregnant. I initially thought it was just work pressure.”

“My son is thoughtless, not telling his parents about such a major thing.”

“My daughter isn’t any better.”

…

The two mothers stood by the bed, chatting casually, gradually exchanging parenting experiences.

Like a raccoon frightened by too much attention, Zhou Mi finished her meal and took the wet wipe handed to her by Zhang Lian, carefully wiping her fingers countless times, trying to wash away all awkwardness and discomfort.

But it was useless.

When she handed the tissue back, she met Zhang Lian’s eyes. The man’s attitude was not friendly; on the contrary, his gaze was deep, with blatant accusation.

And, a warning—something like “Just wait and see how I’ll deal with you later.”

Zhou Mi’s scalp tingled slightly. She silently reached for her phone, wanting to communicate with him via WeChat, to secretly explain everything that had just happened.

But as soon as she touched her phone, her mother called out: “You’re in postpartum recovery, why are you always looking at your phone? It hurts your eyes—”

As she spoke, she belatedly lifted the blanket at the foot of the bed: “My goodness, you’re not wearing socks!”

“Oh my, how can you not wear socks? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?” Sun Fengzhi clicked her tongue, turning to instruct her son: “Zhang Lian, go get a pair of cotton socks for Zhou Mi to wear!”

“No need!” Zhou Mi exclaimed in alarm. After drawing the attention of all three, she softened her tone and slowly withdrew her feet back under the covers: “I can put them on myself…”

Zhang Lian calmly walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and scanned up and down: “Where are they?”

Zhou Mi’s heart was cracking, yet she had to pretend nothing was wrong, saying in a tiny voice: “In the suitcase…”

Without hesitation, Zhang Lian turned to the corner, bent down to open her small blue suitcase, and pulled out a pair of cream-colored cotton socks with little gray rabbit patterns from the inner pocket, then walked toward her.

Zhou Mi couldn’t look directly at him and stiffly moved her gaze elsewhere.

The two mothers had already made way, delighted to let Zhang Lian step in, eager to watch the young couple’s tender care for each other, their favorite type of scene.

Zhang Lian knelt with one knee on the edge of the bed, leaning his upper body slightly forward. Unexpectedly, Zhou Mi’s right foot was suddenly seized.

Whether deliberately or unintentionally, his knuckles applied some pressure, his thumb rubbing across her sensitive sole—mmm—Zhou Mi immediately felt her head heat up, her face and ears turning red. She nearly let out a strange nasal sound, her expression so unbearable that she looked like she was facing a doctor about to draw blood, not daring to look at all.

“I can put them on myself…” Zhou Mi’s breath weakened, as if pleading.

The man acted as if he hadn’t heard, his fingertips brushing across her smooth instep, methodically pulling the sock onto her foot bit by bit. Under the cold white light, his eyelids were slightly lowered, his profile indifferent. Even in this posture, he didn’t look like a submissive knight, but rather an unpredictable tyrant, maliciously carrying out a seemingly gentle torture.

Zhou Mi propped up her nose, not daring to move at all, goosebumps all over her body, her earlobes nearly dripping blood.

After finally getting the right foot covered, Zhou Mi’s left foot, like a desperate ermine, darted away from the hunter’s grasp.

“I’ll do the other foot myself!” She almost lunged forward to grab it.

“Just let him put it on for you.” Sun Fengzhi watched with a loving smile.

“There’s no need,” Zhou Mi immediately refused, fearing any delay. She grabbed the other sock lying nearby, slipped it onto her left foot in the blink of an eye, and muttered uncomfortably: “I’m not a two-year-old, and socks aren’t hard to put on…”

Zhang Lian gave her a mischievous glance, stepped back to the floor, and composed himself.

With this diversion, Tang Peili felt much more reassured. Her daughter’s current boyfriend, despite his high position, didn’t seem to have much of a male superiority complex.

Thinking this way, she let out a slight sigh, and the frustration that had been weighing on her chest gradually dissipated.

—

After the two mothers had a simple meal in the hospital room, they left together.

Zhang Lian escorted them downstairs, called taxis for them, and when he returned to the room, Zhou Mi was nowhere to be seen. He instinctively glanced at the bed and, sure enough, she was hiding under the covers again, shutting herself off from outside invasion.

He walked to the bedside without giving her face: “Zhou Mi.”

“Hmm?” She pretended to be oblivious.

“Come out and talk?”

“Oh.”

The pure white bedcover was thrown open, and Zhou Mi slowly sat up, no longer in a pancake position but sitting upright like a student in class.

Looking up to meet Zhang Lian’s gaze, she hurriedly squeezed out a smile worse than crying: “I was wrong.”

Zhang Lian looked down at her: “Wrong about what?”

“Wrong to arbitrarily claim you as my boyfriend, wrong to act first and report later,” she instinctively wrapped her arms around her neck, her posture like someone facing an armed criminal: “I had no choice in that situation. If my mom knew I was your friend with benefits and got pregnant, she would probably not only beat me to death, but before that, she would cut off our mother-daughter relationship and remove me from our family household register.”

“Who do you think should be blamed?” Zhang Lian’s tone was like dark clouds pressing down on a city.

“Blame me, blame me…” she softly took the blame, but suddenly her eyes paused, and she started to bite back: “Wait, that’s not right. I still think we’re both at fault, and from the beginning, we couldn’t accurately assign responsibility. Why did you have to listen to me, a heartbroken girl, complaining, and be so nice to me? I was bewitched for a moment. You could have refused back then, and you had two chances to refuse. The first time I suggested getting a room, you could have refused, and the second time I suggested continuing our casual relationship, you could have refused, too. But you didn’t refuse either time, which shows you were also blinded by lust. People always have to pay for their desires, more or less.”

She blurted all this out without even taking a breath.

“Pay?” Zhang Lian’s expression grew cold, not looking like he was joking: “Zhou Mi, how big a price do you think I should pay for this?”

Zhou Mi shrugged indifferently: “Oh, come on, it’s just being a ‘boyfriend’ for a bit? That’s not unacceptable, right? Anyway, we’ve fortunately gotten through today, we can just ‘break up peacefully’ later.”

Zhang Lian stared at her simple brain that had more hair than thoughts, and hooked his lips: “If nothing unexpected happens, Sun Fengzhi is probably already discussing marriage plans with your mother right now.”