The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

Li Yuming's Villa. 

"I made your favorite pudding for dessert!" Li Yuming announced cheerfully and stood up to bring it. 

"I'm already stuffed. I'm not sure if I will be able to eat any of it." Lanni pouted. The food was so yummy that she unknowingly ate too much. 

Xiehan stroked her head playfully. "Don't worry. I will eat on your behalf." 

"You meanie…" 

He laughed at her accusing tone. "You're already stuffed, aren't you? You will get a 'food baby' if you eat a spoonful of aunty's delicious pudding. Mmh… I wonder what flavor it is." 

She ignored his teasing begrudgingly. "Speaking of babies, I want to know how the real one is doing." 

As if on cue, Luna called at that moment, and reported the outcome. 

"That's awesome. I told you he wouldn't be mad." She was jubilant when Luna told her about Xia Hanchen's support. Luna seemed to have something else to say but when Lanni saw Li Yuming return, she promised to call later then hung up with a smile. 

"You are happy." Li Yuming observed when she returned with the pudding. 

Lanni supported her chin on her hand. "You might just become a grandma, of course I'm happy. But then again, I'm anxious, sigh." 

"Wait, what?" Li Yuming was shocked. She shifted her perplexed gaze between the two of them before her expression turned strict. "Do you mean what I think you mean?" 

"It depends on what you think I mean." Lanni said, earning a slight pinch from Xiehan. 

"Aunty, actually…" He started. 

"Wait…" Li Yuming interrupted him with her index finger on her lips. Caught between excitement and shock, She scrutinized the man strictly. "Just how forgetful are you? Anyway, that's not important." She shook her head to clear the confusion then said, "Look, this is the best news I've heard in my life but��� I'm not going to have my daughter go through the trauma of having people point fingers at her for being an unwed mother. Are you guys planning to get married?" 

Xiehan face palmed while Lanni jolted. "Mom!" 

Finally comprehending the misunderstanding. She laughed. Her brain must be on vacation. She coughed and explained, "I'm not pregnant." 

Li Yuming was caught between disappointment and shock. "If my daughter isn't pregnant, how will I be a grandma? Are you planning to get married and adopt a baby? Oh, are you getting a pet?" 

Lanni sighed at her mother's inability to catch up. "No one's adopting a baby nor a pet. Your daughter is expecting one… or two, who knows?" The last part was an inaudible mumble. 

"But you just said…" Li Yuming paused when she understood it. She felt her blood chill for a second. "You are saying that Xia Luna is…" 

Lanni nodded excitedly. "Uh huh… I bet that was her secret to tell but I was so anxious and excited that my tongue got too loose." 

"Oh." Li Yuming shrugged like it was none of her business. "I added a secret ingredient to this strawberry pudding. I bet you guys will love it!" 

Lanni frowned slightly then recovered her smile. "It must be hard to be a mother at such a young age… especially when you're neither married nor engaged. I bet one could really use some advice from her mother." She sighed. "But poor Luna, her mother doesn't even care whether she's dead or alive, let alone whether she gets rid of her baby or keeps it." 

"Excuse me?" Li Yuming was flabbergasted. 

Lanni shrugged. "You know, I'm starting to wonder what kind of person you really are. I mean…" She paused before she could say something she would regret. Standing up, she smiled. "I'm full. Thanks for the meal, it was delicious." She then walked out of the dining room. 

Li Yuming blinked as though to confirm that she was awake. "I can't believe she spoke to me that way."

"Actually, I think she's right." Xiehan carefully stated. 

She stared at him in shock. "Xiehan, you too?" 

He shrugged. "Luna is such a kind-hearted girl. Sure, she may be rash sometimes but… do you even care about her? 

We all once thought you were going to patch things up with her but all you did was show your hatred and distrust—for no specified reason, if I may add. How is what Lanni said a lie?" 

Li Yuming let out a breath. "Let's not talk about how it's my choice to love or hate who I want. Have you all been stupefied by that girl's sly pretense? I'm telling you, that girl's not as gentle as she appears. She's a devil in disguise… but none of you believe me. I mean, which good person commits murder without a conscience?" 

Xiehan calmly raised an eyebrow. "I know this isn't the first time you have heard this, but aunty, what right do you have to question the character of someone you didn't bring up? Besides, if you know the true self that she is hiding, why do you keep saying the same thing but not expose her?" 

She slapped her forehead and glanced in the direction of the living room. "It's not like she would believe me. And she is in the line of the storm." 

Xiehan frowned. If this was the first time he heard this, he would definitely investigate it. However, he had heard it multiple times and soon after, time proved that Luna was nothing like her mother described her. Sure, she had made some mistakes and committed some crimes in the past, but that did not make her a devil in disguise. 

Which fake person would even go as far as to plead guilty for a crime they didn't commit, simply to save their friend? That proved just how much she treasured the people close to her—and Lanni was the closest person to her. How could she hurt her? 

It was definitely not a misunderstanding. Was Li Yuming exaggeratively making a mountain out of a mole hill… or was she simply lying?

…

"Honey, do you think my mum's actually telling the truth? All her previous warnings amounted to nothing, after all." Lanni asked, hooking her hand with Xiehan's as they headed to the car. The door to the dining room was open at the time so she had heard what Li Yuming said to Xiehan. 

"Are you in my brain?" He grinned, then became more serious. "I hate to say this about her, but even I am starting to doubt her words." 

Lanni trembled when she thought of the possibility. This had been going on for long enough. If she was trying to frame Luna and Xia Hanchen, it was too much already.

"I'm starting to guess how this will end—probably with her apologizing to Luna for all the misunderstandings she is trying to cause, and for not trying to make up sooner… and it will probably be too late." She sighed. 

Xiehan frowned at the scary thought. It wouldn't get to that, right?

"I don't care how many times she tries to frame her. I will support my sister to the end." She declared. 

"And I will support you to the end." He kissed her lips lightly, then opened the car door for her.