After ten minutes, Han Tao stepped out of the bathroom in his pyjamas and with his hair slightly damp. He calmly walked over to his side of the bed and eyed his sleeping wife once more.
He Yuan's body turned corpse still from awkwardness and he discreetly opened one eye to take a peek.
Han Tao stood still for an entire minute before slowly getting under the covers. He usually slept with his wife in his arms but lately, he didn't feel the urge to. She looked deeply asleep anyways so it was best not to disturb her.
He turned his back to Xu Lifen's figure and closed his eyes.
Right before he was lulled into Dreamland, his mind drifted to Chen Meili in the hospital. For some reason, hospitals always seemed so cold to him. Was she cold right now? He stiffened when he realized he was thinking about her again.
But then again.... she was carrying his children so he had the right to be worried.
When Han Tao's breathing finally steadied out, He Yuan's body loosened. It felt uncomfortable with a stranger on the bed so it would be difficult for him to get back to sleep. With nothing else to do, he sat up on the bed and crossed his legs.
He hadn't been able to practice the [Strongest Martial Arts] at all in the last task realm due to the lack of qi and the fact that his strength had only risen by 100 points was all he needed to know.
As soon as the first wave of qi travelled through Xu Lifen's meridians, He Yuan sighed in comfort. The qi was not as rich as the ones in the Cultivation and Ancient realms but after not getting anything for a while, the little qi in the atmosphere felt so good.
He was just like a parched man who had come in contact with unclean water. It wasn't clean but he was incredibly thirsty so it was good enough.
In He Yuan's mindspace, 888's soul body suddenly felt warm. He looked down at him arms and did not notice anything different but he felt really relaxed for some reason.
In the dark room, He Yuan greedily absorbed as much qi as he could. Until,
RIIINNNGGG!!!
He quickly got under the covers a second faster than Han Tao opened his eyes in alert to reach for his phone.
"Hello?"
...
"Be there soon."
The call turned out to be an emergency from the police station. Han Tao went into the bathroom to wash his face, get dressed and leave the room without a single glance at his wife.
The minute the door closed shut, He Yuan look at the ticking wall clock. 3:42am. So much time had passed without him realizing. His qi session had already been disrupted and since there was no Han Tao in the room, he decided to get some sleep.
---------------------
The next morning, He Yuan took his sweet time getting ready. After hours of absorbing qi the night before, he felt very energetic and lively. Breakfast in the Han home was usually served by 9:00am since there were no children and everyone had to be present at that time.
By 8:52am, He Yuan was out of the room dressed in a yellow floral print dress. In his hands were Xu Lifen's phone and car key. It did not cross his mind to grab a purse.
The Han family mansion was gigantic. It spanned for thousands of square feet and was divided into different sections. The living room, entertainment hall, dining hall and kitchen were all located on the ground floor.
On the first floor were just rows upon rows of staircases. These staircases led to the family wings. As per the Han family tradition, each family had a private wing containing a total of two floors.
The first floor of these wings contained seven bedrooms and an entertainment room. These bedrooms were for the children of the resident family. From this, it could be seen how proactive the Hans were about offsprings.
As for the second floor, it had the master's bedroom, a gym, an office and a few entertainment facilities.
When He Yuan arrived on the ground floor, he nodded in appreciation. The corners weree tastefully decorated with flourishing plants in antique vases and on the walls were strategically placed art pieces. Not only were the Hans stinky rich, they also had good taste.
....If only their personalities were as good as their taste.
Some minutes later, He Yuan finally reached the dining hall. Like the rest of the mansion, the dining hall was tastefully decorated with two large tables in the centre. Since the Han family's population had dwindled over the years, just one of those tables contained the current family members.
And every single one of those family members turned to watch in dissatisfaction the moment He Yuan walked in.
Gu Longwei snorted. "Took you long enough. Did you plan on coming down when the rest of us have already starved to death?"
He Yuan lowered his eyes to the phone in his hand. 9:02am. 2 minutes late. He was in too good a mood to have it ruined by the Han family's resident bootlicker so he looked to the Han Madam seated at the head of the table and Min Yanyu on her right.
"Good morning grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law." To the other elders, he just nodded and dropped, "Everyone." Before taking a seat.
Han Rong sneered. "Do you not put the rest of us elders in your eyes? What do you mean by 'Everyone'?"
He Yuan raised a brow. There were six elders at the table and there was no such thing as individual greeting in Xu Lifen's memories. He nudged his head in Gu Longwei's direction. "Uncle Gu is clearly starving to death. If I start greeting each of you individually, do you think he would make it?"
Gu Longwei's face changed and Han Yi was the first to speak through gritted teeth, "Keep my father's name out of your mouth!"
Han Jiao was also glaring daggers at He Yuan whilst the third triplet, Han Wen, had her head lowered.
Han Rong was just about to speak up when Han Yuanjun knocked on the table three times and eyed his sister. "That's enough Rong'er.
Han Rong glared at her elder brother. "What's enough? She's an orphan so I'm merely teaching her! She entered a room full of elders but didn't bother to offer any greeting. What does that say about her manners? What if she does something similar outside and disgraces us?"
The Han madam's eyes narrowed then and He Yuan resisted the urge to roll his own eyes. He smiled at Han Rong sweetly. "Aunt Rong, neither one of your children greeted me when I walked in and I am older than them. They're not orphans so what's their excuse for bad manners?"
Everyone around the table did a double take but before Han Rong and her daughters could explode, the Han Madam knocked her walking stick against the ground. "Enough!"
Silence ensued and her aging eyes looked to Min Hanyu by her side. "Yanyu, A'Tao could have made a much better choice."
The uncouth manners of that Xu Lifen annoyed her everyday. The young woman was just so unlikeable. Never thinking before speaking, never patient, always throwing tantrums, outright disrespectful! If that Xu Lifen was born during her own time, she would have never found a husband. Much less a husband of her grandson's calibre.
Sigh~
Min Yanyu sent a quick glare at He Yuan before obediently lowering her head at her mother-in-law.
After that, what followed was the sound of chopsticks softly hitting the bowls accompanied by gentle chewing sounds.
As soon as everything was over, Han Yuanjun's wife, Fu Lan, looked to the Han Madam with bright eyes. "Mother, a pregnant Chen Meili would be returning to the mansion in two days!
-The Han family hadn't had a moment like this in so many years, how about throwing a little congratulatory party to celebrate the successful insemination of the babies?"
Sounds of approval rang out then.
"Such a great idea!" Han Rong called out.
"It really is," Gu Longwei backed up.
"Cousin Meili would be so happy!" Han Jiao added.
'...' He Yuan looked around in dumbfoundment. He'd never felt so invisible in his entire life. Xu Lifen really had it tough didn't she?
[Pfft!] In He Yuan's mindspace, 888 could barely contain his laughter.
Everyone else continued like Han Jiao had said the most normal thing ever. Min Yanyu was already bought and the Han Madam looked like she was seriously considering the idea.
Han Yi dropped the tip of the iceberg then. "Grandma, I read somewhere that it's good karma to do so. If the babies see how much they're appreciated, they would want to stay and meet the people who love them so much!"
The Han Madam smiled. It... wasn't a bad idea. They could throw a banquet and invite the elites. This way, all those brown nosed people that had been talking behind the Han family's back would die from speechlessness.
What were they saying about the Han family extinction? BAH! In Meili's stomach were twin heirs! Male twin heirs! She deserved to be shown off.
Looking at the excitement around the table, the Han Madam raised a hand to quite them down. "Fine, fine. We'll throw a congratulatory banquet."
Han Jiao clapped happily. "Even better, we could do it as a form of surprise for cousin Meili!"
"Yes, yes."
"She deserves this much."
"She's going through a lot for us afterall."
As sounds of agreement rang out in the dining hall once more, He Yuan and 888: '...'
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only