Xiaoshi saw Lanni off when she was done discussing with Han Xichen. She was holding Yue in her arms and after hugging Lanni and kissing her cheek, she held up the little girl's hand to help her wave goodbye to Lanni. "Thanks for dropping by. But why did you insist on not staying for dinner? I was preparing to bring out my best culinary skills." She asked. She had overheard Han Xichen ask her to stay for dinner, but her response was that she had to leave.

Lanni was glad that they were willing to invite her so cordially and would have stayed if she could. "I promised Xiehan to make him his favorite meal. He will be unhappy if I don't." She explained, and they giggled at how Xiehan would probably complain like a little boy if she didn't make his dinner when he was expecting it.

Lanni caught sight of Yue trying to blow her a kiss at the side. She couldn't do it right so all she did was nibble at her hand and then blow out a puff of air. Her heart melted. "Do you want me to take her away for the night?" She asked, majorly because she could not resist the thought of a night with the jovial Yue.

Xiaoshi thought about it and had to drop the bummer. "Xichen has to leave the city tomorrow so we decided to have a family sleepover tonight. Yue will sleep with us so she does not think that her daddy doesn't love her anymore just because he is leaving."

"That's so adorable." She had to admit, even though she would no longer be able to take the little girl with her. She had also heard about Han Xichen's need to leave so she thought it would be crazy to insist on taking their daughter away.

Seeing her disappointment, Xiaoshi leaned over and lowered her voice, covering her daughter's ears even though she was too young to understand whatever they were talking about. "I'll definitely let you take her away in two days. I'll need it." She winked.

"What will happen in two days?" Lanni was confused.

They had discussed such matters a gazillion times and Lanni would take their daughter away whenever she needed some time alone with Han Xichen, but it was still embarrassing to say it out aloud. She cleared her throat. "Xichen will come back."

Lanni exaggeratedly mouthed an "Oh" to tease her, earning a smack. She laughed out aloud. "Leave it to me to get her off your hands."

"Then I'll have to thank you. Wait a second." Xiaoshi let her hold Yue and returned to the apartment, coming back with a plastic bag which she stuffed into Lanni's arms.

"What are these?" Lanni peeked into the bag and marvelled at the assortment of cookies.

"I made these for Yue but her dad doesn't allow her to eat many of them. Then I remembered that you love them so I didn't dispose of them." She explained honestly.

"That was so thoughtful. Thank you." Lanni hugged her. "I'll be on my way then."

….

Xiehan arrived just as Lanni finished cooking and had covered the pot of stew. He snuck up behind his wife who was humming a tune that sounded familiar but whose source he couldn't quite remember.

He spanked her backside with a grin.

She turned around and the expression on her face wasn't quite the reaction he had expected. He knew that she liked being spanked and even enjoyed it, but when she laughed out aloud, he found it strange.

"Honey, what are you cooking?" He pretended that everything was alright and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He knew that she hated being treated like anything different was happening and the last thing he wanted was to trigger her.

"Your favorite. I don't quite remember what that was because when did you ever have a favorite?" She glared at him for not specifying what to eat.

He laughed into her neck. "How can you not know what your husband wants to eat the most, honey?"

"I wouldn't know if he does not tell me. Now would I?" She reprimanded him and felt something against her butt. "Wait. Is that your…" She was surprised. "We are talking about food. How can you get hard on the thought of food?" She asked, as if in disbelief that such a thing could even happen.

"You can if what you want to eat is not the food, but your wife who is cooking it." He revealed, making her finally comprehend what his favorite meal was supposed to be.

"What about your food preference?" She asked.

"Anything you cook, with you as the dessert." He stated.

Her cheeks flushed at his shamelessness. "You pervert." She remarked.

He slowly let out a secret sigh of relief. His wife was finally back.

….

For the next two days, Lanni went to Lin Media Group and worked her brains out, making Lin Jian worried that she would be mentally drained. None of his warnings made her slow down. The more peculiar thing was that as soon as it was time to leave, she literally made a dash for the parking lot and drove off.

It would have made sense if Xiehan had been leaving work early or if she was rushing to pick him up but neither was the case.

On the second day, even Xiehan was too curious to stop himself from taking a peek at her. He searched all over the house and finally found her in one of the guest rooms. He saw that the door was slightly opened so he knocked gently. "Can I come in, my love?"

"Of course." She beamed as he pushed the door open.

He was awed. She had an easel in front of her, and a color pallet before her. She was painting in slow, gentle strokes with a smile on her face, proving just how happy she was to do what she was doing.

On the wall before her was a large painting of him and her, riding bicycles. He was wearing jeans of the same color as her shorts, but he had no shirt on since his checkered shirt was tied around her waist that had been exposed by her tank top. She had her hair in a braid that rested on one shoulder and her smile was bright as she looked up at him. He was looking down at her dotingly and they looked like they were about to kiss.

He certainly would never be able to see how he looked at her but when he saw his gaze in the painting, he was sure that was it. He was looking at her like she was the only treasure in the world. It was definitely accurate because that was how he felt. She was gazing up at him like he had the power to turn on the sun.

"Do you like it?" She prompted beside him, reminding him that he was living in the real world. He had been lost in the painting.

"It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He stated honestly. Though he was curious. "Why did you decide to pick up the brush again?"

"I realized that life doesn't have to stop just because one person's life stopped. And if the real world is too painful to live in, we can live in the imaginatory world a little." She smiled.

His heart broke. If only there was a way to take away her pain.

He looked down and realized that the painting she was currently working on included Flynn. It was of her, Luna, the twins and Flynn.

He gazed at it in awe at her talent, then loving every character. But he noticed something odd with her image and compared it with the one on the wall.

He frowned. "Do you paint from your imagination and memory?"

She nodded. "I do, usually, but not on these recent ones. I wanted every detail recorded so I used pictures instead."

He was even more confused. "Then why is there a slight bump on your tummy, on both paintings?"

____

AN

Hello darlings,

I have decided to get rid of this book's privilege because I don't think I can keep up with updates. I have too much work in my hands and too little time, and the old books end up suffering the most (It's not deliberate). I'm sorry that I can't write for this book every single day. I can't promise any number of chapters per week either.. I will try my best but please understand if I can't update as often as you wish, until I finish some of my books.

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