After My Rebirth, My Husband Pampers Me Everyday!

Chapter 232: HE LOVED HIS CHILDREN ENOUGH TO CHANGE

Bai Feng said nothing for a long moment. His gaze dropped to the folder, to the blank line still waiting to be filled, and he found himself turning the terms over in his mind, searching for a reason to refuse that didn’t sound like fear.

He couldn’t find one.

"Fine." The word came out quieter than he wanted, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "You’ll move into a different room after the wedding night."

"Same room." Yanchen’s correction was immediate, without hesitation, as though he had already anticipated Bai Feng trying to negotiate the terms back down the moment he agreed to them. "You said whatever I wanted. I’m not asking twice."

Bai Feng exhaled slowly through his nose.

"Fine."

Bai Feng closed the folder, straightening it against the table with both hands before sliding it back toward himself.

"I’ll edit the contract sometime today and send it to you by email so you can look it over before anything is final. I’ll bring the physical copy tomorrow when we meet at the civil affairs bureau. You can sign it there in front of the registrar, that way there’s no confusion about the terms later."

His tone had already shifted back into something more businesslike, the same voice he used when closing out a case, as if the last ten minutes hadn’t happened at all.

Yanchen stood, pulling his jacket back over his shoulders in one easy motion.

"No problem, babe. You have my number." He said it lightly, like it cost him nothing, already halfway to the door.

"Ugh, don’t be disgusting." Bai Feng’s nose wrinkled, though the corner of his mouth twitched despite himself.

Yanchen laughed, the sound easy and unbothered, the kind of laugh that came from someone who had already decided nothing Bai Feng said was going to ruin his mood.

"Don’t worry. I won’t make you sad during our time together. You’ll be my best patient."

-_-

"That’s such a weird thing to say." Bai Feng stood as well, gathering the folder under his arm. "Why would I be your patient? I’m not sick."

"Everyone’s my patient eventually." Yanchen shrugged, adjusting his cuffs. "Might as well get a head start on you while I still like you."

"While you still like me?" Bai Feng arched a brow. "That’s supposed to be reassuring?"

"Depends how well you behave over the next three months." Yanchen was already walking backward toward the door, grinning the entire way.

"I don’t answer to you."

"You will tomorrow. Legally, anyway."

Bai Feng shook his head, though he didn’t bother hiding the small huff of laughter that escaped him before he could stop it. Yanchen only smiled wider at the sound, clearly pleased with himself, and gave a small wave before disappearing through the door.

The two of them walked out together as far as the lobby, then split toward their separate cars parked on opposite ends of the building.

Bai Feng slid into the back seat of his car, setting the folder down beside him as the driver pulled out into traffic. He unlocked his phone, scrolling briefly through a backlog of unread messages before his thumb hovered over a familiar name.

Guiying.

It had been almost a month since Guiying last replied to anything, longer than Bai Feng liked to admit he’d noticed. He had sent a handful of messages over those weeks, nothing urgent, just small check-ins that went unanswered one after another.

Two days ago, the replies had finally started coming back, short and vague, nothing that actually explained where he’d been or why he’d gone quiet in the first place.

They weren’t close in the way Guiying was close with people like Liu Liuxian, but Bai Feng still considered him something more than an acquaintance.

Guiying had shown up for ORF more than once, had sat through meetings without complaint, had asked real questions instead of polite ones.

That earned more than silence, and it was reason enough to actually call instead of leaving him to another string of unanswered texts.

He pressed call.

It rang twice before Guiying picked up.

"Bai Feng?" Guiying’s voice carried a faint surprise, the kind that came from not expecting a call after so long.

"You’re alive." Bai Feng said it lightly, though there was something underneath it that wasn’t entirely a joke.

"Barely." A short pause followed, like Guiying was deciding how much to actually say. "Sorry. It’s been a lot lately."

"I noticed." There was no real bite in it, more concern than complaint. "You went quiet for a month, Guiying. I wasn’t sure if I should keep texting or just show up at your place."

"You didn’t have to worry." Guiying’s tone shifted, quick to smooth it over. "I’m fine. I just needed some time to myself."

Bai Feng didn’t push, though he made a mental note to ask again later, in person, where Guiying couldn’t hide behind a screen and short replies.

"I actually called because I wanted to update you on the ORF, since you haven’t heard much from me directly either. Song Rongquan’s case was closed properly last week. The children are fully clothed and fed, Yilin has started school and the little ones go to daycare while their father is away."

"Mr. Song seems to be taking this seriously as well, his employer boasts of his good communication and problem solving skills at work. All these happened because you had stepped in that day and we all did our best to keep that momentum going."

Really?

He had forgotten about that case for a moment.

"That’s good news." Guiying’s voice brightened, genuine warmth threading through it, the first real sound of him since he’d picked up. "They deserved that. I’m glad to see they’re living comfortably."

"They did." Bai Feng watched the buildings blur past outside the window, already thinking ahead to the firm, to the contract still waiting to be drafted, to the email he needed to send before the night was over. "There’s a few other things too, nothing urgent. I’ll send you the full update later tonight. I just wanted to hear your voice first, make sure you were actually doing alright."

There was a pause on the other end, longer than the last one.

"I’m alright." Guiying’s voice came out softer this time.

"You sure?"

Guiying smiled, hearing Song Rongquan had taken his children and his own well being into consideration really warmed his heart.

In the end he really did love his children enough to change.

"Yes, I’m sure."