novelno Chapter 1276: Our Daughter Is Growing Up
Chapter 1276: Our Daughter Is Growing Up
Tang Li returned to the banquet hall, and Song Xiaohua had already been carried off by Song Ru.
When she sat back at the round table, Song Baiyan beside her put down his teacup, and under the table his right hand closed around her soft fingers. Only then did Tang Li pick up her chopsticks, and Song Baiyan asked gently, "What did the Internal Affairs Officer want with you?"
"Security received a gift. The person who sent it left without saying anything."
There were other people at the main table.
Tang Li pinched her chopsticks, her voice light as a feather: "I saw you talking to someone just now, so when the Internal Affairs Officer called me out, I went to take a look."
"It was just a little gold bracelet for a child."
Song Baiyan asked, "They didn’t leave their name?"
"Only a surname." Tang Li answered, "I think it was Han."
"Han as in Han Xin’s Han?"
"...It should be that Han."
As she spoke, Tang Li turned her head to ask, "Could it be from a lower-level official?"
Song Baiyan’s hand around her small hand tightened slightly. "Maybe."
Other than that, he did not ask further.
If Song Baiyan wanted to know who had sent the gold bracelet, he only needed to check the surveillance footage later.
Her guess wasn’t groundless.
Han Jifeng, Yuzhou senator, did indeed count as a local official.
The daughter of His Excellency having her full-month banquet—local officials sending congratulatory gifts was perfectly normal.
She didn’t mention Han Jifeng’s name in front of Song Baiyan because she didn’t want to complicate things.
That nominal, hollow marriage in her previous life was nothing but a bad debt. Rather than say she’d been living with Han Jifeng back then, it was more apt to say she’d been living with Qin Yueru.
The reason Han Jifeng could start up with Lai Shengxia so easily was precisely because he had never truly regarded her as a wife.
There was no affection between them to speak of.
To put it bluntly, they were just co-renters under the same roof.
It was only after her death that Han Jifeng began to feel guilty.
No matter whether the Han Jifeng and Lai Shengxia of her last life had a good end or not, in this life she had no intention of getting involved. If she and Han Jifeng had once loved each other passionately, perhaps she would feel unwilling, would want to fight for something again, to carve out a place for herself in his heart.
However, the truth was—
The reason she married Han Jifeng in the first place was simply to seek a safe harbor.
It was the impression Qin Yueru had given her mother at the very beginning.
Starting everything over again, she would no longer be the puppet on the strings of the Lai Family People’s hands. Having regained flesh and blood, when she faced feelings again, naturally she was more willing to follow her own heart.
To stimulate milk production, Tang Li had been eating a lot of pig’s feet stewed with soybeans recently.
Discovering that the pastries served were made from soybean flour, she took a bite and then put the piece back on her plate.
"Does it taste bad?" By her ear came Song Baiyan’s low question.
Tang Li raised her eyes and realized that Song Baiyan was very close to her. "I’ve been eating a bit too many soybeans lately."
The implication being: she was sick of them.
As soon as the words fell, the chopsticks in her hand changed owners.
Using her chopsticks, Song Baiyan picked up that piece of cake.
The soybean cake that Tang Li had bitten into ended up in Song Baiyan’s stomach.
If he truly liked it, he wouldn’t have stopped at that one piece—yet he didn’t touch a second from the platter of soybean cakes.
When it came down to it, he was just "cleaning the plate" for her.
Song Baiyan did this very naturally, but because people were around, Tang Li still felt her cheeks grow warm.
When the full-month banquet ended, Song Xiaohua was also returned to her parents.
The child was still the same child, but now she was festooned with all sorts of trinkets.
Not to mention the Jade Pendants and necklaces, there were five gold bracelets alone.
With the Nanny’s help, Tang Li bathed her daughter and put her in a little nightgown. The little one wasn’t afraid of the blow-dryer at all—no matter how Tang Li blew her hair, she just kept gnawing on her own tiny fist.
By the time Song Baiyan saw the guests off and returned to the master bedroom, Tang Li was leaning over the crib watching their daughter chew on her toes, now and then creating a little artificial obstacle.
The mattress beside her sank, and Tang Li couldn’t help turning her head.
Song Baiyan had only just undone one shirt button when Tang Li leaned in. "Let me help you."
She spoke as she set the cat teaser aside.
Song Baiyan stayed seated and didn’t move, letting Tang Li wait on him attentively. When she’d unbuttoned the third button, her hands were captured, the man’s palms rough and hot in a way she knew well. "The kindness of a beauty is hardest to withstand. How long has it been since you were this considerate last time?"
Tang Li: "..."
Wasn’t that just clearly implying she had a guilty conscience?
"I thought you’d had a hard day playing hostess and wanted to help. Since you put it that way, you can unbutton them yourself."
Tang Li tried to pull her hands back, but Song Baiyan didn’t loosen his grip, and instead used her hands to undo another button. "I had a bit of wine tonight. Now the alcohol’s starting to kick in."
At those words, Tang Li stopped struggling.
Seeing the worry show on her face, Song Baiyan slowly smiled. "It was only a small cup. Nothing’s going to happen from that."
Even without him saying so, Tang Li could guess it was white liquor.
But she didn’t launch into a nagging lecture.
On an occasion like this, if the host didn’t even share a single cup, that really wouldn’t look good.
"Then I’ll go pour you a glass of water."
Tang Li was about to get up when Song Baiyan pulled her back.
Her feet, still on the spring mattress, lost their balance, and she toppled right into Song Baiyan.
Song Baiyan took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her.
After bathing the baby, Tang Li had taken a shower herself.
The master bedroom’s air-conditioning was on, so she’d put a cardigan over her nightgown. And since it was bedtime, she wore nothing else under the gown. When she fell into Song Baiyan’s arms, the cardigan slipped from her shoulders, revealing the crescent-white, ice-silk camisole nightgown beneath.
A chill brushed her skin, and Tang Li instinctively reached for the cardigan.
But Song Baiyan’s hand covered hers.
In no time at all, a line of poetry popped into Tang Li’s head: "Little lotus just shows its sharp little tip."
Used to describe herself at this moment, it couldn’t have been more fitting.
Wearing a steel watch, Song Baiyan moved his left hand to the small of her back. Only once he’d helped her sit up did he lower his head.
After a long while, Song Baiyan let her go, his tone tender. "Feeding the baby every day—you even smell the same as her now."
"Then it just means she takes after me."
Blushing, Tang Li straightened and pulled her cardigan properly closed.
Song Baiyan chuckled and didn’t refute her line of reasoning.
Song Xiaohua was already sleeping sprawled out in all directions.
Song Baiyan went into the en suite to wash up, and Tang Li also changed into another nightgown.
The front of the original one was a bit damp, and it would have been uncomfortable to sleep in.
The next day, Tang Li actually slept in for once. When she opened her eyes, Song Baiyan was no longer there. However, her daughter, Song Xiaohua, was lying beside her. Who knew when the little one had woken up—she didn’t fuss or cry, just kept chewing on her tiny hand.
Tang Li first checked the baby’s diaper. After confirming there was no pee or poop, she got out of bed to wash up.
She’d only just come out of the bathroom when her cellphone rang.
It was a call from Feng Qi.
Picking up her cellphone, Tang Li noticed that Feng Qi had sent her a message five minutes earlier. She pressed the answer button, and Feng Qi told her something.
—At Huafu No.1, at the door of the apartment she had previously rented, the cleaning lady found a baby boy this morning.
Because the lease had expired, IMG had already terminated that apartment last month.
"The property management contacted the company and said the landlord found a letter in the entryway, which must have been slipped in through the crack of the door. Your name was written on the envelope."
However, when the property staff opened it, the letter inside was empty.
——
——
Good night!