July 20, 20X2 (Morning)
Zhao Manor \u0026 Hospital
As the sun rose, the people in the Manor slowly relaxed their guards. Upon hearing the news about the events that have happened at the Upper Docks, Jerome Bonaparte and Wu Tian Li sighed in relief. Once they made sure that nobody else was trying to sneak into the Manor, they finally rested. They left behind a lot of work for the cleaning staff, though. ;
Hao Chen received a video call, which made Hao Chen almost didn't want to answer it when he saw the name of the caller. He sighed before he slid green arrow on the monitor, Hao Chen grumbled, "Hello."
"HI!" Yue's face appeared in the video, making him choke on his saliva. What? How did this happen? Why did Yue have his older brother's cellphone?
Yue stopped Hao Chen's wondering imagination and endless questions as she said, "I helped, here, in the Docks, and I borrowed your big bro's cellphone to call you since I left mine at the condo!"
Hao Chen blinked and asked, "Big Bro?"
Was she referring to Yang? Or...
"Hao Ren, of course! He's going to be my big brother, too, right?" Yue's question looked innocent at first glance, but Hao Chen knew she was enjoying teasing him. His usually smiling face scowled. ;
There was an awkward cough in the background noise of the call. Hao Chen knew it was Hao Ren trying to do anything to silence Yue too. Yue only grinned and told Hao Chen the events that happened, how the kids escaped, how the Fool died, and how Chen Zhong died. ;
The Manor and the people that protected it finally rested.
Meanwhile, in the hospital, Mei Li slow danced with one of her children that whimpered in her shoulder, hoping that he would sleep as soundly as his elder brothers. The youngest was the fussiest of them all. Like a true older brother, the eldest of the three was the calmest. Though, many nurses told her that it would be opposite after a couple of years when they grow older.
Looking at the rising sun, Mei Li prayed that everything was okay. She hoped to see her husband and elder children soon. Once the whimpers stopped, Mei Li returned her youngest to his crib. She dragged it near her bed again. She laid on the newly made bed with his right hand on the cradle, because she knew that if it left there, there was going to be a chorus of cries. ;
She looked at the ceiling and tried her best to take her mind off of dark thoughts. She turned to the left to look at the clock on the side- 6:55 am. She groaned; it was still so early. Mei Li blames Yang's mischievousness on the triplets. They just knew when and how to piss her off. She loves them and would lay her life down for them, but does they really have to wake her up every two hours?
Suddenly, giggles were heard behind his back. Mei Li looked down and met the eyes of Chang, Ling Ling, and a little boy she did not recognize. The surprised look on her face became a full-blown smile, and her eyes twinkled brighter than the sun. ;
"My lovely children!" Mei Li spread her arms to welcome her eldest children to hug her in greeting. She missed them like crazy. ;
The children ran to her bedside, enthusiastically jumping for them to reach the bed, while the triple's cries worsen as Mei Li's hand left their crib. Mei Li gestured for Yang after she took the eldest child, and promptly deposited the child with a command, "Make your spawn shut up."
Yang stood there, looking like a lost child. He was about to complain when Chang and Ling Ling began to introduce their new friend to Mei Li, and ultimately, without hesitation, ignored him.
Yang looked down at his son and tried rocking him back and forth. The action was awkward and new to him. Was he doing it right?
Mei Li grinned at him a bit before she made Chang sit on the foot of her bed, then followed by Ling Ling, and also Linjun. The kids were peering over the infants with curious eyes. ;
Chang wrinkled his nose and remarked, "Their skin is like dried prunes, wrinkly..."
Mei Li giggled before she took the middle triplet, who then stopped crying, and she asked a question that made the kids excited, "Do you guys want to carry him?"
Three hands raised in excitement. Mei Li had a lot of questions in her mind. Who was this third kid? What had happened? What about the Fool? And many more. But she refrained herself. She could see that Ling Ling was a little bit quiet, that Chang was forcing himself to smile, and this third kid was nervously shifting his weight from side to side. ;
Mei Li gestured for Chang to sit, and when he did, she inserted a pillow to help Chang with the weight of the baby. Slowly putting the newborn in the safety of his elder brother's arm, Mei Li smiled when Chang's eyes seemed to glow. ;
Ling Ling jumped and demanded to do it next. With a smile, Mei Li added three more children in her list of people to take care of. Looking at Yang, Mei Li's smile widened. Yang was flustered, the tip of his ears was red, and his usual stoic expression was replaced with a panicked look, almost as if begging for her help. ;
Mei Li's family is finally together and, most importantly, safe.
In a small condo, Li Nai Nai was crying. Her back hunched into the toilet bowl as she vomited. On the floor beside her was a positive pregnancy test.