Chapter 114 - Sketchbook

Lu Mengjie held back her tears at the sight of Han Yizhou carrying their child. It brought warmth in her chest and for some reason, a thought entered her mind.

When her papa found out that she was not his daughter, what kind of thoughts filled his mind? Did he feel betrayed? Or… did he react the same way as Han Yizhou did? He never cared if she was another man's child. He accepted her as his own, he showered her with his love instead of hating her or her mother, Li Bingbing. 

At some point, Han Yizhou reminded her of her papa's gentle warmth and kindness. Not just her papa but also her real father's caring side. Han Yizhou was truly a good person even though he wanted to be bad. Maybe his other self, Yong Liwei, was the same. He only cared for Han Yizhou's well-being so in that way, he has goodness in him.

Since their son had to be taken to the NICU, after a short moment, Han Yizhou finally gave his son to one of the nurses. He lowered his mask just so he could wipe off his cheeks dry.

"Ah… I am supposed to be the one giving you a gift you know." He chuckled a bit. "But you ended up giving me one instead."

"Gift?" She tilted her head to the side a bit in confusion.

"I am supposed to surprise you but it seems like you will have to spend some time here in the hospital." He sighed sadly at the thought of delaying his plan for her. He reached out to hold her hand with both hands before he leaned forward to his temple. "Can you believe it? Our son has the same birthday as you."

The moment she learned that it was her birthday, another surge of memories flashed before her which caused her to feel a sudden sharp pain in her head. The doctor who was still present in the room became alert when she saw the mother's uneasiness. That's why she came rushing to her side, asking questions to Lu Mengjie which she couldn't understand because of the language between them.

"What's wrong?" He was in a panic, not knowing what to do at that moment.

His question remained unanswered when Lu Mengjie's sight began to dim. Before she knew it, her eyes automatically shut as she fainted on the bed.

"Mengjie? Mengjie!"

…

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Mengmeng. Happy birthday to you." The song was sung by a man. His voice was like melting honey, so pleasing and mellow.

The little girl who was watching the video from her laptop had a solemn look on her face. It was her seventh birthday. Her parents prepared a big celebration for her. Friends and family alike greeted her and showered her with their gifts but… she couldn't really enjoy it, not when her mind was flying off to somewhere. She could only smile politely at her guests, act like everything was alright. Every year, she has always been waiting for this moment. She has always been looking forward to the other birthday gifts her papa prepared for her. She may still be young but every time she watched the videos during her birthdays, her mind was maturing at the same time. 

Lu Mengjie lowered her gaze, landing her sight at the box she was holding after the video ended. Her eyes were filled with tears. Among all the gifts she received, the present she was holding was the most precious of them all, after all, it came from a man she considered as her father. How could she enjoy it when that day was his death anniversary too?

She brushed her tears away before she finally took off the lid of the box. There inside she saw was a book with a maroon-colored leather cover.

Children around her age would prefer to have colorful toys but she was different. Always has been. From her interest to her hobby, everything was unique.

As she opened the book, her eyes widened with what she saw on the first page. It was not just a simple book but instead, it was a sketchbook. On the first page, she saw a sketch of her as a baby with a caption written: 'The angel who entered my life. Mengjie.'

She broke into tears as she read the words written on the lower part of the page. Angel… yes… that was Xia Sinian's nickname for her but unlike him, her mother would address her as a 'little devil'. 

Her tears dropped from her chin to the paper and when she saw this happening, she quickly wiped off her tears and dried the page with her skirt. Luckily, her tears haven't fallen on the sketch part.

She bit her lower lip and hesitated to look at the other sketches but curiosity got the best of her so she continued. As she turned one page to another, there were Xia Sinian's other sketches of simple moments like when her mother was carrying her in her arms, or when her mother was pregnant with Xia Liqin. 

Now that she thought of it, it was her papa that introduced drawing to her a year before he left. Since then, she would nonstop color the floor, the walls which caused her mother's dismay.

Upon reaching half of the sketchbook, a note was seen.

'It's your turn.'

She touched the writings on the page. Her papa's handwriting was simple and easy to read. Those simple words began to mean so much to her. She closed the book and brought it against her chest. She closed her eyes and whispered, "thank you, Papa."

"Is it my turn now?"

The sudden voice startled her which made her open her eyes and shot her gaze at the man who was leaning against the doorpost. From the looks of it, he seemed to be standing there for quite a while, quietly watching her from a distance.

She wiped her wet cheeks before flashing him a small smile. "Daddy."

Lu Xian Yu straightened his back before he raised his foot and began taking steps closer to her. "What gift did he give you this time?"

She held the book out, showing it to him. "A sketchbook with his drawings in it."

He raised a brow. "With his drawings?" He sat at the space beside her. The side of his lips turned up as he asked, "can I see?"

She nodded happily and opened the book, revealing the sketches to him.

"Ah… " He took a closer look then pouted as he confessed, "I guess he's better than me in terms of doing something like this."

A grin spewed out from her face. "Way better! Daddy sucks!" She teased.

He placed his hand on his chest and gasped with exaggeration. "Me? Suck? No way!"

"Yes way!"

"I'm the most perfect human being alive in this world, how can I be bad at something?"

"Because I say so!"

"..."

"Daddy sucks at drawing! I made you draw Weiwei but you drew a pig! Weiwei is no pig, daddy! Mengmeng's waaaaay better than daddy!" She huffed, puffing out her chest proudly.

"You…"

The next moment, laughter filled the room, all coming from the little girl. It so happened that Lu Xian Yu finally attacked her by tickling her sides.

"Daaaaddddy!!!" She whined in the middle of her giggles.

"Who's way better than me? Hm? Who's bad at drawing, hm?"

"You--- Hahahaha!"

"This is your punishment for bullying your father, young lady!" Despite saying that, he was grinning from one ear to another, obviously enjoying the sweet moment with her.

"Hahaha! But it's truuuuee!"

Thanks to Lu Xian Yu, the mood in the room became light. That was always the case during her birthdays. He was always there to make her smile again after she cried. Besides, she was a daddy's girl so he would do anything just to make her happy.

"I won't stop until you'll be honest."

"Daaaaad!"

Since the room's door was slightly open, Lu Mengjie's laughter reached outside.

A small head popped out at the corner, peeking. He was curious about what was happening inside so when Xia Liqin saw that Lu Xian Yu and his sister were having fun, he came running towards them.

"I wanna join!" 

"Qinqiiiing! Help!" 

The little boy hopped on the bed and raised his hand in the air. "Super Qinqing will rescue Jiejie! Daddy be prepared!"

The man finally stopped tickling his daughter just so he could face the little Xia Liqin and catch him in his arms. If he didn't he was afraid that the boy might end up bouncing off the bed and fall on the ground. "Caught you!" 

"Oh no!" A loud gasp came from him. "Daddy! You're not allowed to catch me!"

He blinked a few times and tilted his head slightly on the side. "But you told me to prepare."

"Oh yeah…" When the man's words finally sank in him. He gasped loudly again. "Oh no! Qinqing is in danger! Jiejieeee help!

Lu Mengjie was about to stand up but then when she moved from the corner, a crack was heard, stealing the attention of her father and brother.

They all turned their heads to where the sound came from and there they saw… a laptop's screen disentangled from the body.

The room went quiet all of a sudden.

"My laptop…"

Her father released her brother from his hold and slowly said, "I'll buy you a new one."

"But my games! Papa's videos!" She looked at him with her tear-filled eyes.

"I'm pretty sure your mother can recover if so don't cry, Mengmeng."

Xia Liqin bobbed his head. "Daddy is right. We can still play next time."