Chapter 14
Receiving her mother's approval, Chen Zui smiled even more happily, "Mom, please put it away for me, I want to take it home."
“Okay.” Li Chi’an reached out and let her son place the broken seashell in her hand. “Every seashell on this beach has its own story.”
She raised her other hand and pointed to the scattered seashells near the tide line in the distance. "Sweetie, do you want to go and see where their 'windows' are?"
Under her guidance, Chen Zui, the youngest child, skipped and hopped towards the beach, his shorts pockets soon filled with seashells of all shapes and sizes.
Li Chi'an followed behind, maintaining a distance that was both protective and undisturbed by his exploration.
"Ah!" Chen Zuizui suddenly screamed and jumped back a big step.
Li Chi'an rushed over and found a small sand crab that had been startled by his son and was frantically crawling sideways toward the tide.
"It...it's going to bite me!" Chen Zui gripped Li Chi'an's hand tightly.
Knowing that his son was scared, Li Chi'an squatted down and looked at him. "Look how small it is. It's not even as big as your palm. It's even more scared than you are."
Chen Zuizui's breathing gradually calmed down, but her little hands remained clenched. "Really?"
"Of course." Li Chi'an felt his son's tense body slowly relax. He turned his head and saw a small sand crab hiding under the sand and gravel at his feet. He quickly picked it up and handed it to his son. "If you don't believe me, touch it and see if it moves. If it moves, it means it's scared and wants to run home to find its mother."
Chen, the youngest child, clenched his little fists and looked serious. "It has feet, it will scratch me, I'm scared."
Li Chi'an stretched out his other hand and gently touched the little sand crab's legs with his fingers. "Its legs are a little scratchy, but they don't hurt."
After observing for a while and seeing that Li Chi'an was not bitten by the little sand crab, Chen Zui slowly reached out his finger to touch it. As soon as he touched it, it was as if he had discovered a new world. Sure enough, the little sand crab could not bite it and was even kicking its legs. Chen Zui immediately felt a surge of love and said anxiously, "Mom, put it down. It wants to go home to find its mother."
Li Chi'an smiled and put the little sand crab in the water. Soon it disappeared into the crevices of the rocks.
The two had lunch at a small wooden cabin restaurant by the sea.
Chen insisted on sitting in a spot by the window where he could see the waves, even though he kept moving around in his seat.
As Li Chi'an followed him, he placed the menu in front of him. "Honey, what do you want to eat?"
"Mom, I'm here to see."
Chen, the youngest child, already knows more than a thousand characters, so reading the menu is no problem for him, especially since there are pictures on the menu.
"I want pineapple fried rice and this shrimp."
When Li Chi'an saw it, she realized it was Tom Yum seafood soup, but there were shrimp in the soup, which her son mistook for shrimp. She didn't correct him and just placed the order for him. She also ordered a seafood salad, which also had a lot of shrimp in it, enough for her and her son to eat.
After ordering, the waiter started serving the food shortly afterward.
"Mom, can we go swimming this afternoon?" Chen Zui asked, his interest piqued as he looked through the glass window at people swimming on the beach in the distance.
“Of course,” Li Chi’an said, wiping the rice grains from his son’s mouth with a napkin. “But we’ll have to wait until the sun isn’t so strong.”
"I'm going to swim to that big rock!" Chen Zui pointed to a reef in the distance, at least fifty meters from the shore.
Li Chi'an did not directly dismiss this unrealistic idea, "How about we practice in a nearby place first? Let's see how far you can swim."
"Ah!" Chen Zuizui covered her face with her hands and howled as if she had received some insurmountable task. "I still have to practice. If Dad were here, he could take me with him. We would definitely be able to swim there."
The thought that her son might be without Chen Li's company in the future caused Li Chi'an a dull pain in her heart. "Mom can keep you company this afternoon too."
She no longer has any feelings for Chen Li.
However, the son will always miss his father and long for his father's love.
This may become an unspeakable pain and regret in her heart in the future.
Thinking this, a deeper chill flashed in Li Chi'an's eyes.
"Alright." The little guy pulled down his hand and sighed deeply.
Clearly, he still regrets not having his father's company.
……………………
After dinner, Li Chi'an took his son back to the guesthouse for a nap. When they woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon.
She opened her eyes and looked tenderly at her son's sleeping face beside her. His fair and tender face looked like hers and also like Chen Li. His long eyelashes curled like wings, his pink lips parted slightly with his breathing, and his small chest rose and fell evenly. He was extremely cute.
She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her son's smooth forehead, feeling a wave of tenderness wash over her, and she couldn't get enough of looking at him.
She was incredibly fortunate to have such an adorable little angel come into her life and become her son. Not to mention the fierce competition between mother and son, at least for their future, she had no choice but to fight and strive with all her might.
If she were even slightly cowardly, she would be failing to take responsibility for the future of her and her child.
Chen Li is despicable and morally corrupt.
Such a person was destined not to be a good father from the moment he cheated on his wife.
Since she already knew that the other party was not a good father, and she still watched her son suffer with him, it wasn't because she had no choice, it was because she was selfish.
It's difficult to compete.
But not fighting is even harder.
Evil people will never become easy to talk to just because someone is kind and weak. They will only give up on someone who is too tough for them to handle.
In this world, who could love her son more than she does?
Chen Li wouldn't, and neither would anyone else.
Thinking of those online who said her revenge against Chen Li and Lin Ying was too much, Li Chi'an gave a silent, cold laugh:
Ha! It's so easy to be a keyboard warrior, but have they ever seen how many men only want money and mistresses, and not their children, when they get divorced?
How many people have children simply for their own dignity and face, without actually loving the children?
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Chi'an picked up his phone and turned it on.
A flood of information rushed into my eyes in an instant.
She first replied to the messages in her family group chat, then opened the "Mutual Praise Fairy Dress" section:
In the group chat, Gao Yinxi and her cousin Xu Zhuwen shared many screenshots, most of which were online feedback regarding Li Chi'an's real-name report.
Audrey: Respect!
Artist Xu: Chen Li contacted me, and I gave him a good scolding.
Artist Xu: He said their system has its own rules. Those who break the rules will not have a good ending.
"Audrey: That idiot, he's threatening you @QiAnYiChi"
"He won't be able to keep this up for long."
Audrey: You're here. How are you?
"Qi An Yi Chi: It's great. I just woke up. I'll take my son swimming later."
Artist Xu: Now that you're super famous, no one will recognize you, right?
"Qi An Yi Chi: There are hardly any people on the island."
Li Chi'an wasn't really sure if he would be recognized that afternoon, but he had to do what he had promised his son.
After chatting with the two, Chen Zuizui next to me woke up, rolling over with her little body.
"Mom, do you still remember our promise?" The little guy, still half asleep, propped himself up on his hands and looked at Li Chi'an while lying on the pillow.
“I remember, we went swimming, right?” Li Chi’an smiled and ruffled his son’s slightly stiff hair. “It’s past five o’clock. If you want to go swimming, hurry up and brush your teeth.”
"Is it so late? Mom, how long have I been asleep?" Chen Zuizui rolled over and sat up in bed, squinting at the bright sunlight outside the window, still confused.
"You went to sleep around 2 a.m. and slept for almost three hours."
Chen, the youngest child, has a good sense of time. Without saying a word, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. "Mom, have you brushed your teeth yet?"
"No, you go ahead and swipe, I'll come over when you're done."
“Okay,” Chen the youngest child said obediently, “I’ll squeeze the toothpaste for you.”
Li Chi'an's heart immediately melted.
...
Meanwhile, far away in the United States, Chen Li looked at the seemingly deranged Lin Ying with eyes full of anger, "You want to abort the child?"
"Yes, I'm not having children anymore." Lin Ying cried and made a scene. "It's all your fault. I told you to get a divorce sooner. If you had, none of this would have happened."
Chen Li gritted her teeth, her heart bleeding with hatred, but on the surface she still patiently coaxed the other person, "Baby, our baby is already more than seven months old, how can we just not have the baby?"
His career and reputation were completely ruined by that woman, Li Chi'an.
It is foreseeable that there will be no place for him to develop in China, and the child in Lin Ying's belly is his only bargaining chip to climb up to the Lin family.
The first thing he did upon arriving here was take Lin Ying for a checkup; it turned out to be a boy.
He still remembered how happy the Lin family elders were when he told them the news. It was clear that the Lin family valued the child he and Lin Ying were carrying.
He absolutely, positively will not allow Lin Ying to abort the child, nor can he separate from Lin Ying.
His career path in China was completely cut off by Li Chi'an's report, and the only way out for him in the second half of his life is abroad.
"I don't care, I don't care, I don't want to have this child." Lin Ying put her hands on her hips, her eyes red with anger. "This child will be a problem once it's born."
Ever since the news of Li Chi'an's real-name report came out, she started making a scene, smashing things and crying for almost a day, refusing to eat or drink. Any normal person would be exhausted, let alone a pregnant woman who needs professional assistance to protect her pregnancy.
At this moment, not only was his face flushed with anger, but his back also ached.
Chen Li clenched his fists, his heart and eyes filled with resentment and anger that he had nowhere to vent.
He was angry at Lin Ying's unreasonable demands and Li Chi'an's cold-heartedness, but he was even more worried that this matter would strain his relationship with the Lin family.
He stared intently at Lin Ying, watching her make a fuss for a while, then suddenly smiled, a gentle and considerate smile, as if he weren't the one who had been so cold and stern just moments before. "Baby, didn't the doctor say that your uterus isn't in good condition and you can't have an abortion?"
"If you insist on having an abortion, have you thought about the consequences? If things go wrong, it could be fatal."
"Baby, I don't care whether I have children or not, but without you, what am I supposed to do?"
There is a huge difference between not being able to live well and being dead.
Lin Ying seemed to be startled and stood there in a daze.
Seeing that his persuasion was effective, Chen Li walked to Lin Ying's side with an even gentler expression. "Baby, why are you getting angry with those keyboard warriors who earn less than 5,000 a month online? If they weren't online, they wouldn't even bother to come to you in real life, would they?"
"Think about your uncle and aunt, and your aunt and the others. If you make yourself angry, how sad will they be?"
Before coming to the United States to give birth, Chen Li had already visited all of Lin's relatives and friends. His status as the future son-in-law of the Lin family was already public knowledge in the Lin family.
If it weren't for Li Chi'an's exposure today, he could have just waited for the child to be born safely, then smoothly divorced Li Chi'an, and immediately went to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Lin Ying to get their marriage certificate, and then held a banquet to announce it to the entire Lin family's circle of friends.
After that, his career in Xianghai City and even the whole country will soar like a roc spreading its wings and riding the wind, and will be incomparable to what it was before.
But, but...
He turned to look at the luxurious decorations around him, a dark and unsettling stubbornness flashing in his eyes.
When he was with Lin Ying, he only knew that the Lin family was very powerful. Only after he personally entered the Lin family did he realize that his perspective was still too narrow.
The wealth and status of the Lin family, an established family in high society, were far beyond his comprehension.
Take the house they live in now, for example. It costs more than 40 million US dollars. And this is a property under Lin Ying's name overseas. No wonder Lin Ying used to be so arrogant. Now he realizes that she really has the capital to be arrogant.
Lin Ying is the only daughter of the Lin family. He believes that even if today's events happen, the Lin family will never abandon Lin Ying.
Lin Ying lost her job in China, but she still owns a lot of real estate and funds abroad. As long as he and Lin Ying solidify their relationship, ideally by getting married, he can continue doing what he can in the US by relying on the Lin family's connections. Even if he can't work, he can still live comfortably abroad thanks to the Lin family's wealth.
For everything he was about to obtain, he knew that no matter how angry he was, he had to be patient with Lin Ying.
Under Chen Li's gentle persuasion, Lin Ying's expression gradually calmed down.
Lin Ying lowered her head, looking at her belly, which was as big as a watermelon, with disgust in her eyes. "Hmph, I can find the best doctor here to have the surgery."
Chen Li's heart tightened, and a longing appeared in her eyes. "Baby, do you know how much I love you and how much I look forward to the birth of our baby?"
His large, warm hands gently stroked the belly that Lin Ying had rejected, as if caressing the most precious treasure in the world. "This is our son. Didn't you say that your grandfather was also looking forward to you giving birth to our baby? How can you just say you don't want him?"
Seeing that Lin Ying's expression was calm and unmoved.
Chen Li gritted his teeth, bent his knees, and knelt down in front of Lin Ying.
He held her legs and said with a heartbroken expression, “Baby, I know pregnancy is hard. If you really don’t want to go through that, we can go to the hospital now and have the surgery to take him out. He’s seven months along, he has hands and feet, and all his organs are fully developed. He can live just as well if we put him in an incubator for a while after he’s born.”
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