After watching for a while, 888 walked closer to his host with his head cocked to the side. "What did you do to him?"
He Yuan, who was in the middle of putting Han Tao's clothes back on, looked up at his system and poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "Made him infertile."
Although he wanted Han Tao and Chen Meili to get together, he had no plans of letting them have kids together. Chen Meili was the special one of this realm and he had to drain her luck. That wouldn't happen if she managed to have kids for Han Tao.
Once he was done with Han Tao's clothes, He Yuan gracefully hopped over the man's unconscious body and walked over to the cot. At some point, the babies had fallen asleep again.
He looked over to the clock -8:45am- and then he sat at the edge of the bed and slowly rocked the baby cot whilst his system dematerialized.
Five minutes later, Han Tao regained consciousness. "Ugh." He groaned and pressed a hand to his head as he sat up. He had a slight bump at the side of his forehead from the impact of falling to the ground. He frowned in confusion before looking around the room.
As soon as he set eyes on Xu Lifen, he asked, "What happened to me?"
He Yuan side eyed him briefly. "How would I know? Just a little hold on your neck and you fainted. With this much stamina, how on Earth do you catch criminals?"
Han Tao's face reddened and he got up from the ground. The second he remembered the conversation they'd been having, he ran a hand over his face tiredly. Honestly, he did not love Xu Lifen.
He had married her because she was available and he didn't want to waste his time searching for a wife. He'd thought that he could at least manage her and live out his days peacefully but she was just too difficult to get along with.
Besides... he couldn't handle the fact that she constantly accused him of having impure motives towards Meili. He hesitated for a few heartbeats before saying, "Xu Lifen, supposing we have a divorce, how do we handle the twins?"
"I want full custody." He Yuan said without missing a beat.
Han Tao's eyes widened. "Xu Lifen don't be selfish. Even after knowing the situation of my family, you still dare to demand full custody of the children?!"
He Yuan finally turned to Han Tao with a raised brow. "How is the situation of your unlucky family my concern and what does it have to do with my children?"
Han Tao's chest heaved. This was why he had come to dislike Xu Lifen. She was a horrible person through and through. He directly turned around and stormed out of the room before he was tempted to strangle her to death.
He Yuan eyed the door after Han Tao left with a sneer. The man had still not laid eyes on the babies. Tsk. He looked over to the babies in the cot.
Their lives in the original timeline was not stated in the realm information but looking at things now and judging from the fact that the inheritance had ended up with Chen Meili's own son, he could imagine how badly the twins must have grown in the Han home.
Han Tao had probably neglected them and placed all of his focus on Chen Meili's own children. Just like their mother, the twins must have been nothing more than tools used to push Han Tao's and Chen Meili's relationship further in the original timeline.
Over in Han Jinhai's family wing;
Mother Chen hugged her crying daughter in distress whilst her husband and only son stood to the side and watched on... also in distress.
They had planned to go over to the hospital right when Chen Meili was in labour but considering the fact that the babies had little relation to the Chens, it was a little inappropriate to do so. Even when they had insisted on going, Chen Meili had adamantly told them not to.
Last night, they had received a get together invite from the Hans and had come here some minutes ago hoping to finally see their daughter but who knew what they would find would be Chen Meili all alone in the living room, crying her heart out?
Mother Chen looked to her husband. "Mr. Chen, you can't let them get away with this! What kind of cruel beast would take a baby from a woman who had just given birth? Where is such a thing done?!"
Chen Meili's cries increased and her father's heart ached. He had been against this entire thing from the start but his precious daughter had insisted and he couldn't say no.
Standing beside Father Chen, Chen Bai tightened his fists. His little sister, who was pampered by every one of them right from birth, had been forced to go through such an ordeal because of some Xu Lifen. Ha. What did they take him, Chen Bai, as?
"Where did the Hans go?" He asked in a deadly voice.
Chen Meili sniffled and elaborately explained how Xu Lifen had caused the Han Madam to have a very severe heart attack with her uncouth behaviour.
Chen Bai smiled coldly. "And Han Tao?"
Chen Meili sniffled again. "Don't get mad at brother Tao. He had tried to defend me but had to tell me to leave because sister-in-law Lifen was really mad. He was afraid she..."
She burst into tears after that but every person in the room already got the general idea. Han Tao was afraid that Xu Lifen would do something crazy and harm Chen Meili, who had just given birth.
Chen Bai tapped his foot gently. At least that Han Tao had some common sense. As for Xu Lifen... Ha. His sister had painstakingly carried those babies for nine months. When is it the turn of a random Xu Lifen to snatch the babies from her?
Mother Chen rubbed her daughter's back gently. "Li'er, why not come home with us, hm?"
Chen Meili froze. "I... This..." She looked at her father and brother with slightly swollen eyes before turning back to her mother. "Why would you suddenly ask this?"
Mother Chen frowned. "Why would I not ask you to return? These people are clearly bullying you! Did they think the Han family is something us Chens cannot take on?"
Chen Meili burst into tears. "Mother you know I can't leave... Jinhai-" The rest of her words were incoherent admist her cries.
Mother Chen looked over to her husband, knowing the battle was lost. They didn't know when and how but Chen Meili's fixation to Han Jinhai had gotten so strong after his death. She never would have thought her daughter would choose to remain in the Han home because of her love for that Jinhai boy.
Seeing his sister cry, Chen Bai glared at his mother before coaxing Chen Meili gently, "You don't have to return if you don't want to. As for the twins... you gave birth to them so they're, of course, yours. Just don't bother yourself. I'd take care of everything."
Chen Meili stared at her elder brother with bright eyes. "Really?"
Chen Bai nodded. "Of course. When has big brother ever failed you?"
------------------------
The Han Madam was hospitalized that very day and from the following day onwards, He Yuan began to expertly pressure Han Tao about the divorce and gaining custody of the babies.
Each passing day, he made sure to forward online articles -about divorce proceedings and the high likelihood of children below the age of five ending up with the mother instead of the father- to Han Tao's phone.
Han Tao blocked him on the third day but that did nothing to stop him. He began leaving divorce brochures all over the mansion.
When the Hans found the divorce brochures, they berated He Yuan fiercely but still did not dare push for divorce. Seeing this, Han Tao held back from making any moves. The Han Madam was still in the hospital and hearing that Xu Lifen would take the babies for a while after divorce would certainly send her down to her grave.
Han Tao avoided Xu Lifen's room like a quarantined zone but he couldn't not see the babies so he went there about once every three days. The only downside was, he had to leave angrily each time because of Xu Lifen's antagonizing behavior.
He regretted the fact that he'd taken a five-month paternity leave so he couldn't report to the police station. Instead, he spent less and less time at home.
On the other hand, He Yuan's day started with personally bottle feeding the babies. As for their bathing and constant diaper change, the wet nurse and servants were there to handle it.
The twins were still very small and spent more time asleep than awake plus they were also well behaved so he didn't have much to worry about in that department.
Next on his itinerary was an early breakfast, going through the reports from the flower shop, monitoring his stocks and house shopping online. Then came lunch.
With the Han Madam in the hospital, everyone visited everyday at around lunchtime so that was the most relaxing period in the mansion. It was also the time He Yuan spent pasting the divorce brochures wherever the eye could see.
Like this, life went on in the Han mansion until three weeks and five days after the birth of the babies, when Han Tao was invited out by a group of friends.
That very night;
Chen Meili, dressed in a silky nightdress and a shawl over her shoulders, paced about the living room worriedly. Brother Tao had never returned home this late since the start of his leave. She stared at the door before walking out of the mansion.
Seeing that he still wasn't back, she entered into the mansion once more to continue pacing about. Everyone had returned from the hospital quite late this time and when asked about Han Tao, she had casually told them that he was already asleep because she didn't want them to worry.
She was regretting her decision now. What if something had happened to him? Chen Meili glanced up the stairs. Should she or should she not go and inform everyone? She looked to the time. 12:35am.
Better to tell everyone.
Chen Meili had just taken a few steps towards the staircase when the door suddenly opened and a slightly tipsy Han Tao walked in.