Chapter 823 - Return to Happiness (1)
The days leading up to Friday moved exceedingly slowly in Zhang Jiren's opinion. When he asked his wife for a night out with him, he wasn't sure how Li Meili would react. He supposed it wasn't the right time for him to ask her out, but he wasn't certain on how his surgery would go.
Would it be selfish on his part to experience being a normal couple with Li Meili? He wanted to be with her even for just a moment.
If things didn't work out for him during the surgery, he wouldn't have any regrets as he already did what he needed to do for his loved ones. Soon, the truth and justice that was denied his and Tang Moyu's mother would be served as well, although he might not be able to witness it himself.
Li Meili's blushing face looked cute in his opinion. She pulled away from him and chose to look outside the window instead.
"Okay, okay. I get it. Can we go now?"
Zhang Jiren thought she was pleasing to the eye. She wasn't overly gorgeous. What struck him the most about her was the contrast between her smooth, fair skin and her dark hair, and the cheeky grin she always sported whenever she was surrounded with her friends.
She was so unlike the other women he'd met in the past. For starters, whenever she was at home and not working, he always found her reading in a corner. When she was still pregnant with Leyan, Li Meili would read several pregnancy books in preparation for the arrival of her child.
When she wasn't reading pregnancy books, Li Meili would be holding fiction books in her hands. Zhang Jiren once asked her about it, as if he'd been curious as to why she always read a book before going to bed.
"Moyu is the one who taught me to read at least one book a month when we were younger. She said it would not only help me improve my memory but also relieve some boredom," she said in response.
Li Meili was rather petite in comparison to his twin sister's tall stature. She didn't have the lanky build of his usual girlfriends in the past, nor was she dressed scantily like the women who tried to throw themselves at him. The Li Heiress had a beauty, remarkable on her own, that managed to catch his eye— something Zhang Jiren could never get tired of looking at no matter how long he stared at her.
"Are we going now, or are we waiting for something?" he heard her ask in a low voice, the slight blush on her cheeks still apparent.
Li Meili hadn't expected to know that she wasn't the only one who was nervous about this date. She hadn't gotten on a date since Tang Beixuan's death, and she'd been too focused on her business and daughter that she didn't have time to think of being with another man after him.
There were even times that she felt ashamed and jealous whenever she saw Tang Moyu and Feng Tianyi interact with each other. While her best friend could be said to be as cold as ice, whenever Tang Moyu looked at Feng Tianyi, she had this glow that told Li Meili that she was happy and content being with him.
When she lost Tang Beixuan, she never thought she would be able to experience a bond as strong as her best friend had with the devil. It wasn't until she realized that the man, who'd been standing next to her for the past two years, had loved her, cherished her in his own way.
Zhang Jiren started the engine of his car and drove away in silence while Li Meili took this time to calm her nerves.
"You all right?" Li Meili heard her husband ask.
"Just a little hungry," she admitted. All those hours spent trying to find the right dress to wear tonight had made her miss her lunch earlier.
She then realized that the direction they were going seemed familiar. Wasn't this way towards the penthouse her husband owned where they spent the early months of their marriage?
"We are going to your penthouse?"
"En. That's why I wasn't home the whole day. I made some preparations ahead. Don't worry, everything is ready."
"What will we be having tonight?"
"Italian— something home-cooked, I hope you don't mind," Zhang Jiren said as he pulled his car to a stop before helping her out, leading to the elevator that brought them straight towards his penthouse.
The instant the door to his penthouse opened, the aroma of newly cooked meals assaulted Li Meili's nose, making her mouth water from their delicious scent and her stomach growl in anticipation.
Li Meili looked around the penthouse and noticed that there weren't any changes done after they moved out. Zhang Jiren still kept this place because it was closer to Zhang Corporation compared to the villa where they currently resided.
"I wasn't sure what you like to eat, so I made some lasagna," she heard Zhang Jiren's voice coming from the kitchen.
"I'll eat whatever you have there. I trust your judgement, Jiren," she answered as she continued to check the impressive long, floor-to-ceiling glass wall that started from the kitchen and stretched into the dining room and living area, giving them a spectacular scene of the cityscape of Shenzhen.
The sun had long since set, so only the bright lights of the city could be seen from where Li Meili was standing. As she walked to the kitchen where her husband was, her high-heeled shoes clunked on the hardwood floor of the penthouse.
Her eyes caught the built-in shelves in the living area where several books about finance and pregnancy which she had left before moving out, were neatly stacked. Zhang Jiren had kept the small things she owned that she'd somehow forgotten to bring to their new home. Overall, her husband's penthouse was nothing like the bachelor pad her older brother had. It was warm, inviting and comforting.
"Did you cook all of that yourself?" Li Meili blinked at the amount of dishes Zhang Jiren served on the dining table. A bottle of Merlot was already opened, waiting for them. She had no doubt that she would be too stuffed tonight from all the mouthwatering dishes Zhang Jiren made.
Like Feng Tianyi, Zhang Jiren knew his way in the kitchen, and he exuded confidence that told Li Meili that she needed not to worry about what to eat whenever she was with him.
"Yes. Is there something you don't like? You don't have to force yourself to eat if you don't want to," Zhang Jiren said as he pulled out a bowl of salad from the fridge while Li Meili took a seat at the dining table where the elegant black dinnerware was already set for the two of them.
"Wait. I forgot something," Zhang Jiren suddenly said as if he remembered something very important. He disappeared into the master bedroom and came back with a small bouquet of lilies of the valleys in his hands.
"I know it's too early for me to greet you, Meili, but happy second wedding anniversary," he said sheepishly, a slight bush dusting his handsome face.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel