Chapter 684 - Do You Hate Me This Much, Dad? (2)
Each member of the Li family present was equally shocked by Zhang Jiren's words. He was clearly implying that he was the man responsible for Li Meili's pregnancy. Li Yuanyi was surprised with the sudden turn of events and how much Zhang Jiren knew about his sister.
True, he was the one who suggested for Li Meili to consider marrying Zhang Jiren to please their parents, but he had realized how f.u.c.k up the plan was and the fact that he might be subjecting his sister and his future nephew or niece to unknown danger. However, he didn't expect Li Meili to entertain the plan and to seek CEO Zhang herself.
"CEO Zhang, what's the meaning of this?" Chairman Li's stern and loud voice boomed within the room.
Li Meili's heart thumped inside her c.h.e.s.t. Would she really allow Zhang Jiren to take the blame and responsibility for her and her baby's sake?
Zhang Jiren stared at her troubled face, then to the old man who was waiting for his explanation. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he should accept Li Meili's proposition to become her husband for two years just to give her child a proper name and identity. He also didn't want her to regret her impulsive decision of marrying him.
But seeing her in tears like this reminded him of what his twin sister had gone through for the past six years. Tang Moyu's pitiful figure as she cried in the rain was something he truly regretted in the past.
He surprised everyone once more as he fell on his knees and lowered his head as he spoke to Chairman Li. Li Meili was confused as to why he was doing this. Had he changed his mind somehow and decided to help her?
"Chairman Li, it's my fault. Please don't blame Meili for this. To be honest, I am seeing your daughter secretly back in Shenzhen and I didn't want to sway your decision when it comes to business because of her. Meili has no idea that we were in the middle of discussing a collaboration project as I've never mentioned it to her when we were together."
Li Yuanyi didn't know how to react to Zhang Jiren's performance today, but he was also feeling awkward for the man who was taking the fall to save his sister. Meanwhile, Chairman Li was feeling guilty of how he raised his voice towards his daughter, not giving her a chance to explain herself.
He had only said those words out of anger and he truly didn't mean to make her cry. But was his pride as a man, as a father more important than his daughter's happiness? If he had given Li Meili a chance to explain and found out that Zhang Jiren was involved with her, he wouldn't have to say those words to her.
"Before I was able to bring her home the other day, I had to bring Meili to the hospital as she didn't quite look good. Then I discovered that she's pregnant." Zhang Jiren continued.
"This isn't what I have in mind, but Chairman Li, please allow me to marry your daughter and take responsibility for our child."
Seeing that Chairman Li still hadn't said anything, Zhang Jiren persisted to convince him.
"Please grant my request, Chairman Li. I don't want to be separated from Meili anymore and continue keeping our relationship a secret. I want everyone to know how amazing my woman is. I want to be with her."
Chairman Li looked at his daughter and to the man kneeling next to her. For the longest time, he had protected his daughter from public scrutiny, making sure that her name wouldn't be dragged into the mud and her persona as the Black Nightingale wouldn't get tarnished by her competitors. However, her pregnancy wasn't something that could easily be blocked from everyone's eyes, not when she started showing later.
The only possible thing Li Meili could do was to escape the country and give birth to her child in secret, but that wasn't something Chairman Li would want to happen. He hoped to see his daughter marry and give birth to a child that they could pamper and spoil in the future.
"Are you also aware of this, Yuanyi?" He asked his eldest child. It wasn't lost to him how Li Yuanyi had been favoring Zhang Jiren during their business conversations.
Li Yuanyi glanced at his sister and then to Zhang Jiren, who remained silent after his explanation. He didn't expect that their father would interrogate him like this.
"Yes." He said without batting an eyelid. "But it is Meili's personal affair and I shouldn't get involved in it. This is why I didn't mention it before." Which was true. Li Yuanyi never dared to comment as to who his sister was dating or seeing until now.
Chairman Li fell silent as he pondered about what to do next. His daughter was already pregnant, wasn't it too late to disagree and not give his consent for Zhang Jiren to marry her? Since he was the one responsible for Meili's condition, it was only natural that he would take responsibility for it.
"Register your marriage tomorrow. The sooner you get married, the better." He said after a long silence. He then turned to his son. "Yuanyi, you better make sure they get their official certificate tomorrow. Accompany your sister to represent the family."
Li Meili released a breath she didn't know she was holding before offering a hand towards Zhang Jiren for him to stand up. Zhang Jiren gently held her hand and didn't release it even when he was already standing stiffly next to her.
"Are you okay with this, Meili?" Surprisingly, Chairman Li's tone towards his daughter had a hint of gentleness in it. It was as if he was willing to mend their relationship now.
"Yes." Li Meili responded and immediately understood her father. She felt like she was betraying Tang Beixuan by marrying Zhang Jiren, but she didn't have a lot of options to protect their child from his crazy mother.
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