Chapter 426 - Side Story 2: The Right Timing

The thumping of the ball and the squeaking sound of her shoes against the floor resounded. 

In the middle of the empty court in Zhang Jing's backyard, Li Qin Yao was seen dribbling the ball and trying a few tricks that her husband had taught her the last time.

Because her daughter had an interest in the game, Li Qin Yao would always get pulled along to practice with her. However, once the little princess had noticed that her skill might be better than her mother's, Zhang Li Xue no longer ask her mother to accompany her and instead, would pester her father.

As she did not want to get left out, Li Qin Yao had asked for her husband's help.

Of course, Zhang Yu Han was more than happy to help. He would give his wife personal coaching whenever they were free and this training would soon turn into flirting sessions and led them into something else.

Anyway… Recently, Li Qin Yao's skill in basketball has gotten a lot better. Although it was impossible for her to attempt a slam dunk, she can still shoot the ball into the hoop more accurately. Her dribbling skills had also improved a lot.

Even Zhang Li Xue could not deny that her mother's skills had gotten better.

After practicing the dribbling skills that her husband had taught her for a while, Li Qin Yao ran with the ball towards the center of the court, jumped up slightly, and shot the ball into the hoop. 

The ball slammed against the hoop, went in, and drop on the ground with a loud thud. 

She turned around and saw her husband leaned against the wall with his arms crossing on his ċhėst. His lips curled into a slight smile. The moment their gaze met, Li Qin Yao suddenly had a sense of Deja Vu.

Zhang Yu Han was the first to take the initiative to walk over to her. He stopped just a few inches away from her and smiled. 

Because of their height difference, Li Qin Yao had to tilt her head up to look at him. She noticed the look on Zhang Yu Han's face and was about to open her mouth to say something but Zhang Yu Han beat her to it. 

"Hello," Zhang Yu Han spoke in his low, deep voice. He bent his head slightly to look at her until their face was only a few inches apart. The smile on his face became apparent and one glance at it, Li Qin Yao was able to tell that her husband was up to something.

"What are you trying to do?" Li Qin Yao whispered.

"My name is Zhang Yu Han."

Li Qin Yao stared back at her husband in confusion.

Why did he suddenly make an introduction?

"I've been watching you practicing for a while," Zhang Yu Han ignored the look on her face and continued. "I just wanted to say that your three-pointer shot was impressive."

Li Qin Yao tilted her head sideways and continued to stare at him. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind and a laugh escaped her. She took a deep breath and put on a serious expression on her face. "Hello. I'm Li Qin Yao. Thank you for your praise."

"Li Qin Yao," he repeated. "That's a nice name."

Hearing her name in his deep vibrating voice suddenly made her heart thump wildly against her ribcage. They have been married for seven years, but there are times when Zhang Yu Han could still make her blush like a teenage girl.

As she continued to stare back at his face, Li Qin Yao had the urge to link her arms around his neck and kiss him wildly. However, she could tell from his expression that he wanted to continue this play.

"Miss Li, I don't know how to say this," Zhang Yu Han made a long paused. "But I think you have caught my attention the moment the ball went into the hoop."

Unable to resist his charm, she stood on tiptoed and kissed his lips. The ball in her hand dropped and rolled somewhere. Li Qin Yao rested her hands on his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her waist to support her. 

The couple pulled away after a while and Li Qin Yao gave him a teasing smile.

"I often wondered what would it be like if I were to chase you back then," Zhang Yu Han said. "If I go forward and took the initiative to talk to you instead of waiting until the end of the match, do you think we can be together with a little more earlier?"

Li Qin Yao pondered over his question and imagined how she would react if Zhang Yu Han walked over to her after she had shot the ball years ago.

"Maybe not."

Zhang Yu Han frowned upon hearing her answer. "Why not?"

"Back then, my parents had just divorced," Li Qin Yao quickly explained. "If you walked over and introduced yourself to me as you did just now, I would probably ignore you. My teenage self was very different. I don't like to talk to people that much and preferred to be alone."

Zhang Yu Han chuckled. "Not even my voice can work their charm?"

Her laugh reverberated in the backyard.

"I only knew that I like this type of deep voice after I went to university. I guess they wouldn't work against me." Li Qin Yao saw the way he let out a disappointed sigh and laughed. She tiptoed to give him a peck on his lips as if to coax him and stared into his eyes for a long time. 

"Then I guess it was a fortunate thing that I did not go to you," Zhang Yu Han said. "I wouldn't know what to do if you reject me right then. After all, it was my first time liking someone."

Li Qin Yao lowered her gaze and felt her ears grew hot. 

"Meeting you at the sushi restaurant… I guess you could say that it was meeting the right person at the right timing," Li Qin Yao said. "When we met again, I was ready to be in a relationship. Fortunately, you did not back down even after you found out that I was in a relationship."

The frown appeared again. Zhang Yu Han would be unhappy whenever he recalled that his wife had almost married another guy.

He had never loved another person like he love his wife and he did not know what will happen to him if she had married another person. After a few years, perhaps he will give in to his parents urging and married someone he did not love.

As those hypothetical situations crossed his mind, Zhang Yu Han tightened his grip on his wife's waist. He laid his chin on her shoulder and pulled her closer into a hug. "Let me stay like this for a while."

At this time, a cheery laugh came from the door. The couple turned around at the simultaneously and saw their daughter running towards them.

"Mommy, daddy!'

Zhang Yu Han crouched down and a few seconds later, Zhang Li Xue pounced to hug him.

"Daddy, are you going to teach me more tricks now?" Zhang Li Xue asked.

"En. I'll help you practice." Zhang Yu Han nodded and soon his cheek was wet with his daughter's kisses. The little girl had turned five and would still love to smear her saliva on his face.

Not that he would complain...

"Where's your brother?" Zhang Yu Han asked. Just as the question dropped, Zhang Yu Han saw the small boy walking towards them with his short legs.

The small boy stared at him with his bright eyes and paused. He shifted his gaze and walked towards his mother.

His wife faced a lot of difficulties while pregnant with their son. Even the delivery process was tough.

Whenever he recalled how he was the one who caught their son as he came out, Zhang Yu Han was distressed and happy at the same time. He was distressed that his wife had to go through such pain and happy as this was not something that every father would experience. 

A few months after the child was born, Zhang Yu Han tried not to get close to him unless necessary. However, this was his son after all. Of course, he loved him all the same.

Moreover, their son resembled his wife more, especially his eyes, and therefore his gaze would soften whenever he looked at their son. 

As their son approached them, Zhang Yu Han stretched his arms towards him and the little boy stopped to stare at him. After a while, he decided to go to his father and Zhang Yu Han lifted the two kids in each arm. 

"Come on. Let's go and practice, alright?"

The siblings looked at each other and nodded happily.