The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

"You ungrateful punk!" Ji Huifen was enraged. 

In response to his words, Xiehan smirked. "Don't misunderstand, father. I am very grateful to aunty for everything. If someone wanted to kill you, would you let them go ahead just because they once saved you?" 

"Your analogy is crap. Let go of your aunt right now! I said we would discuss the matter once she is here, didn't I?"

"Let's just say I'm not satisfied by your attitude." He wrapped his arm around Lanni's waist. "My wife and I need to go back and rest." 

They left the fuming Ji Huifen and headed for their car, but Lanni couldn't stop thinking about it. She turned to glance at the mansion where she knew from the shattering of glass that Ji Huifen had lost his temper. 

"Do you think he will try to do something to force you to let Aunt Meiling go?" 

He helped her into the car. "He knows me better than that. But just in case he tries to 'invite' you over, you can't go anywhere on your own until she is behind bars." 

She nodded.  She was missing something, she was certain of it. There was no way Ji Meiling's hatred could emanate from nowhere. Ji Huifen's reaction somewhat proved it. There was no way he could be certain that his sister would agree to leave peacefully if this was something Ji Meiling had done before. Besides, Xiehan's reaction the day before was suspicious too. 

"I want to talk to her." She spoke after a long spell of silence. 

He turned to glance at her. "You are kidding, right?" 

"No." She insisted. "I'm not going to meet up with her in person if that's what you are worried about. Can I give her a video call?" 

"Of course. I'll have someone bring her on the phone when we get home." 

"Okay." She closed her eyes for a nap. He studied her sleeping face for a few minutes and concluded that she was not actually sleepy. She was trying to get away from something, probably fear. 

"Are you scared?" He gently asked. 

"More or less." 

He held her in his arms. "Don't be scared. I'm here." 

"I know. I just have a bad premonition. Maybe I'm not ready for what she has to say." 

"You don't have to talk to her if you are not comfortable doing so." He kissed her forehead. 

"I have to." She insisted, so he didn't say anything else about it. He offered a smile which she once again thought was nothing close to a real smile. Maybe he really knew something and was keeping it from her. 

Soon after they got into bed, Lanni received a call from Li Yuming. She frowned, puzzled at why her mother was calling her so late at night. Since she got married, Li Yuming rarely called her after 7p.m in fear of interrupting their alone time. 

"Mom?" She answered the call nervously. 

"Honey, were you already asleep? I hope I didn't wake you." Li Yuming asked. 

"No, I was awake. Did anything happen?" She sat up, turning on the bedside lamp. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Tomorrow, I'm taking Linhou and Mumu to the amusement park. Would you like to join us?" 

"Sure. At what time?" 

"4pm. We will pick you up from work." 

She chuckled. "Mom, tomorrow is Saturday.. I'll not go to work." 

"Right, that makes it easier. How about we go earlier? How does 11am sound? We can play and have lunch with the kids." 

"Okay. Can you pick me up?" 

"I'll get the kids and pick you at 10." Li Yuming hung up before she could ask anything else and she believed it was on purpose. 

She placed her phone on the night stand and turned to Xiehan. "I think mother has something to say to me." 

Xiehan laughed. "I bet half of our retirement savings that it has something to do with aunt. Maybe father gave her a call and asked her to convince you." 

"That would be quite shameless of him." She was displeased. 

"He would really do anything for his sister. I wonder why that isn't the case when it comes to his children." Xiehan huffed in ridicule. He hated to think about Ji Feifei but at times, he would wonder if Ji Feifei would have been different if Ji Huifen was a better father. Maybe they would have found Ruby earlier. 

Lanni knew what he was thinking and she placed a hand on his shoulder.  "If things were different, there is no guarantee that the results would have been better." 

"You are right. Will mother rob you away for the whole day?" 

She laughed at his way of putting it. "Mother is not robbing me away. I'll be back before you realize that I'm gone." 

"Then you have to make up in advance for the time you will be away." 

…

The following day, Lanni found an adorable purple dress, which was the  color that Xiaomu liked the most. She draped on a white scarf to match Linhou's preference, and took out the toys she had asked someone to deliver early in the morning. 

Xiehan was in the living room when she went downstairs. 

"You look lovely. Are you going on a date?" He asked teasingly as he grabbed her for a kiss. 

"Yes. I'm meeting a lovely little boy, his sister and their grandmother." 

"Mmh. I'm jealous of the little boy." He exaggerated. 

"You can't be serious, right?" She was amused by his jealousy. How could he be jealous of a two-year-old boy? Not to mention, that boy was his godson as well as his nephew! 

"Of course I'm serious. You are mine." He claimed her. 

"Of course I am. No one's trying to change that." Her phone rang and she pulled out of his arms. "Mother is here. Do you want to say hello to the kids?" 

He nodded and followed her out. The twins jumped onto Lanni as soon as they saw her and Li Yuming had to slow them down. 

"Kids, your aunt can't take your naughtiness." She reprimanded, but they didn't hear her as they were busy  kissing Lanni and asking for pats and praises. She let them be. When her gaze met Xiehan's, she turned to look aside and he immediately knew that his hypothesis had been right. She had been coerced to talk to Lanni and wouldn't say that aloud in his presence. 

He pretended not to have realized anything and let them leave after playing with the twins for a few minutes. 

Li Yuming was silent through the entire ride and only spoke for the first time when they arrived and she asked if Lanni wanted to try any rides. 

"I think I'll just watch them." She didn't want to go on any ride that might trigger nausea. This was one of the reasons why she had been certain that Li Yuming wanted to have a chat with her and the amusement park was an excuse. She knew that Lanni would not want to go on any fast ride in case they made her dizzy, and she must have only wanted to have a chance for them to talk. Not that she minded it. 

Hence, they helped the excited kids onto a train and fastened their seat belts, and watched the train take off. Lanni then looked at her mother questioningly. "Is there anything you would like to tell me?" 

"It was quite obvious, wasn't it?" She caressed her face. "Here's the thing. I know what's happening in the Ji family lately." 

"And you want to convince me to talk Xiehan into letting aunty off?" She frowned. 

"You…" Li Yuming was slightly taken aback by the fact that she revealed what she knew right off the bat. 

"I know, mom. But you saw what they did to Luna. You know how scared everyone was to lose Luna. You were too, and you couldn't get a wink of sleep knowing that your daughter was missing and something could have happened to her. Then the excruciatingly long surgery…" 

"Honey, I know. I just don't want you to get hurt." 

"Did they threaten to hurt me if Xiehan didn't let aunty go?" She asked directly. 

Li Yuming knew that her daughter would not drop it so she told the truth. "He made it a point to let me know that some of the servants in your marital house have worked for the Ji family for years. He was subtly threatening your life!" 

"Xiehan will not let him off." She sighed. She had not wanted this to happen. The Ji family was getting smaller and smaller and at this rate, it might soon be just her and Xiehan. 

"I know. But that would only cause you more trouble. I don't want to risk your life." Li Yuming's heart broke. She had wanted to suggest having Lanni return to her house until she had her baby but that would only cause more misunderstandings.

"I'll speak to aunty first." She promised. She had been too uncomfortable to do it the night before but when she got back home from the amusement park, the first thing she did was ask to speak to her. 

Xiehan had his men give Ji Meiling a tablet and soon enough, the two women were facing each other through the screen. Xiehan left the room to give them privacy. 

"Aunty, why do you keep doing this?" She asked, straight to the point. "I didn't ever do anything to you." 

"You didn't do anything?" Ji Meiling laughed like it was a ridiculous joke. "What right does that brat have to have a baby when he killed my child?"