Chapter 681   - You Are Not Alone (3)

"But that's not all, Moyu." Li Meili said once she calmed down, wiping her tears dry. She didn't care if her eyes were bloodshot from too much crying. However, she had started to eat more these days, courtesy of her brother, to make sure that she was getting sufficient nutrients and rest.

"Then what is it?" Tang Moyu lightly tapped her fingers over the table as she pondered the possibilities of Li Meili's pending confession. She didn't think her friend would consider aborting the child, considering how much Li Meili loved Tang Beixuan.

"Moyu, I—" Li Meili hesitated. She knew that Tang Moyu wouldn't agree with her, but she had to tell her before Tang Moyu heard it from other people.

The empress remained silent, patiently waiting for her best friend to say whatever she needed to. Li Meili shut her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that Tang Moyu might throw a fit after this.

"Moyu, I asked Zhang Jiren to marry me." There. She said it. Li Meili mentally counted, expecting Tang Moyu to chastise her right then and there, but only a brief silence answered her.

"M-Moyu?" She called after the empress when the silence persisted.

"Why, Meili? Tell me why you did such a stupid thing." Tang Moyu's words were so cold, it indicated that her friend's anger was being held back because of her delicate condition.

"Did your parents force you to?" Tang Moyu asked her and Li Meili shook her head.

"No, it's not like that…" She knew that Tang Moyu hadn't taken the news lightly.

"Then, did he force you?"

"No, Moyu. I proposed, I was the one who asked for his help." Li Meili corrected her friend. She swallowed her pride just to ask for Zhang Jiren's help, but it had been days since she met him and he hadn't given her his answer on whether he accepted it or not.

"Then why?" There was an obvious tone of confusion in Tang Moyu's voice. Li Meili wouldn't do such a reckless thing unless she was desperate. Did the Li family force her so much that Li Meili had to resort to proposing a marriage to Zhang Jiren?

Zhang Jiren…. It was that man again. Why was he getting involved with her loved ones these days? What was he up to? To think that Li Meili would consider marrying him, Tang Moyu didn't think that Zhang Jiren was just an innocent bystander in their lives. There was something about the man that made her wary of him.

Tang Moyu didn't want to hold any prejudice against him but the Zhang family had a consistent bad record of messing with her life. He just popped up from nowhere, meeting her daughter first, then getting acquainted with Tang Beixuan. It was like he was slowly ingraining himself into her family. Even Feng Tianyi had accepted him easily.

"It is like this, Moyu…"

Li Meili proceeded to share the talk she had with her brother and Tang Moyu had to admit that Li Yuanyi had a point. However, she still didn't think marrying Zhang Jiren was the best course of action at this point. An illegitimate child he may be, but none of them knew if he was also after the Li family's fortune and was being used by the Zhang family.

"But Meili, he's still a Zhang? Are you telling me you trust him?" She asked. Tang Moyu understood that Li Meili didn't want her child to be trapped in a custody battle with Zhang Wuying and the old woman knew how to play dirty. This was why Li Meili was willing to swallow her pride and become Zhang Jiren's wife for two years.

The years might sound short, but there are a lot of things that could happen within such a short span of time. Would Zhang Jiren be able to protect Li Meili and her unborn child from his family, or he would use this as an opportunity to influence the Li family?

Tang Moyu knew that she couldn't dictate Li Meili on what she should do in her life, but she wanted her to be careful with her life choices. She didn't want Li Meili and her future niece or nephew to get hurt.

"I don't know anymore, Moyu. I still haven't heard anything from him." Li Meili chewed her lower lip and sighed. "I guess he won't do it. Beixuan told me that Zhang Jiren was a prideful man. My proposition might sound too low for him."

Tang Moyu raised a brow but said nothing in return. There weren't many things she knew about Zhang Jiren and the status of his relationship with the Zhang family.

"Then we will figure something out. Don't worry, Meili. I'll do my best to help you. I won't allow anyone to take your child away. You aren't alone in this." She said in response. Perhaps it was a good thing that Zhang Jiren hadn't accepted Li Meili's proposal right away. This would give them enough time to consider other options.

"How far along are you now?" She asked her friend. Tang Moyu needed to know how Li Meili was faring before they could make a proper decision on their next course of action.

"Almost eleven weeks. I'm not showing yet." Li Meili said with all honesty. It wouldn't take long before her bump would be obvious to everyone's eyes and with no father around, she didn't want her baby to be scrutinized by her parents and the public because of it.

"Alright. If you don't have anything else to do there in Beijing, please consider returning home. Come back here, okay?" Tang Moyu said, exchanging a few more words with Li Meili before hanging up.

Li Meili stared at the phone in her hand and took a deep breath. Returning home… Yes, Tang Moyu was right. Her home wasn't here, in Beijing, but there, in Shenzhen. The people who truly cared about her were there, waiting for her return.