Chapter 17: Chatting with Daddy

Ou Zichen tried hard to recall but couldn’t remember ever meeting Zhao Yunxi. A woman as beautiful as her, if he had seen her, he would have certainly remembered.

He was puzzled. How had Zhao Yunxi ended up pregnant with his child? He thought he might find some clues from the photo, but now he was even more confused. It seemed the only way to get to the truth was to wait for her return and have her explain it herself.

Ou Zichen continued to look at Zhao Yunxi’s photo, deep in thought, while Zhao Jiaying assumed that he was captivated by her Mommy’s beauty. Proudly, she said: “Daddy, I was right, wasn’t I? Mommy is the most beautiful woman in the world!”

“Mm, she is pretty.”

This time, Ou Zichen didn’t deny it!

He then asked: “Why did your Mommy leave you and go so far away to work abroad?”

Logically speaking, as a single mother, she wouldn’t want to leave her young child to work in a distant place unless there was some special reason.

“It’s all because of an uncle named Yang Jianhua. If it weren’t for him, Mommy wouldn’t have had to go so far away to work!”

When talking about Yang Jianhua, Zhao Jiaying’s eyes were filled with a bit of resentment. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been separated from her Mommy for so long.

Yang Jianhua was the president of the Yang Group. He was about the same age as Ou Zichen and was also an outstanding young talent. In just a few years, he had managed the Yang Group well, even leading it to a new level.

Although the Yang Group wasn’t as big as Ou Corporation, it wasn’t far behind and was ranked among the top five leading companies in Bincheng.

What Zhao Jiaying mentioned about this Yang Jianhua—could it be the same one that Ou Zichen knew?

Ou Zichen took out his phone, found a photo of Yang Jianhua, and handed it to Zhao Jiaying, asking: “Yingbao, is this Uncle Yang Jianhua?”

Zhao Jiaying glanced at the photo, nodded, and said: “That’s right, it’s him!”

Ou Zichen’s curiosity was piqued. What had this Yang Jianhua done to make Zhao Yunxi prefer to leave her daughter behind and run abroad?

“Yingbao, what exactly did this Uncle Yang Jianhua do to Mommy?”

“He… he scared Mommy away!”

Ou Zichen had a big question mark over his head. What did “scared away” mean?

Zhao Jiaying began to explain in detail: “This Uncle Yang Jianhua once felt unwell and went to the hospital to see a doctor. Mommy was the one who treated him. When he saw Mommy for the first time, he fell in love with her. After that, he began relentlessly pursuing her, sending her flowers to the hospital every day. Mommy explained to him that she had a child and asked him to give up, but he said he didn’t care. He said he could treat her child, me, Yingbao, as his own daughter. Indeed, he was very good to me, often buying me lots of delicious food and fun things. But Mommy didn’t like him and rejected him many times. He just wouldn’t give up, saying he would wait for her no matter what until she fell in love with him. Later, Mommy thought about it and decided that if she couldn’t fight him, she’d just hide. Luckily, there was a plan for the hospital to send a doctor abroad for support. Mommy saw this and immediately signed up, just to avoid him!”

Zhao Jiaying spoke all of this in one breath, exhausting herself, and her mouth was dry. Seeing this, Ou Zichen reached out and handed her a glass of water.

“Thank you, Daddy!” Zhao Jiaying took the water and drank it quickly.

After drinking, her dry mouth and throat felt much better, and she continued speaking.

“Daddy, now someone is trying to steal your woman. Are you going to do something about it?”

Upon hearing this, Ou Zichen couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. He hadn’t even seen Zhao Yunxi in person, so how could she be his woman?

“Yingbao, Daddy hasn’t even met your Mommy. How can she be considered my woman?”

Zhao Jiaying didn’t like hearing this. She picked up the iPad in her hand, pointed at a picture of Zhao Yunxi, and said to Ou Zichen: “This woman is called Zhao Yunxi. She gave birth to your child. How can she not be your woman?”

She had given birth to your child, and you still dare to say she’s not your woman?

Zhao Jiaying’s words left Ou Zichen speechless. How could he deny that someone who gave him a daughter wasn’t his woman? No one would believe that. But he also felt aggrieved. He didn’t even know how Zhao Yunxi got pregnant with his child. How could he acknowledge her as his woman?

“Yingbao, even if Daddy admits that your Mommy is my woman, she has to admit that Daddy is her man, right?”

“Daddy doesn’t need to worry about that. Mommy will definitely admit it!”

Why was she so certain? That’s because she had discovered Zhao Yunxi’s secret. But for now, she wouldn’t tell Ou Zichen. When the time was right, she would reveal it to him.

“Why are you so sure? Did your Mommy know Daddy?”

Ou Zichen had a feeling that Zhao Yunxi had met him before, but he couldn’t remember where or when. However, he was certain that he didn’t have amnesia and couldn’t have forgotten someone he had met in the past. So, he was still confused.

“Secret!” Zhao Jiaying raised a small finger to her lips, making a “shh” gesture.

Zhao Jiaying then stretched out her little hand and yawned. She couldn’t keep talking to Ou Zichen anymore; she wasn’t sure if she might end up saying too much. It was best to go to sleep now.

“Daddy, Yingbao is so sleepy and needs to go to bed!”

After saying that, she immediately lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Ou Zichen’s mind was in turmoil, stirred up by Zhao Jiaying. There were so many questions, but now that Zhao Jiaying had fallen asleep, he couldn’t wake her up. He had no choice but to think by himself, but still couldn’t figure anything out. As a result, he ended up lying awake all night.

After Zhao Jiaying closed her eyes, she quickly fell asleep. She felt especially safe sleeping next to Daddy, and that night, she slept particularly soundly.

That night, Zhao Jiaying had a beautiful dream. In the dream, there was her, Daddy Ou Zichen, and Mommy Zhao Yunxi. The three of them went on a picnic together in the wild and had a very happy time.

In the dream, Zhao Jiaying even laughed out loud with happiness. Ou Zichen, who was still awake, heard her laughter and felt deeply moved. He gently kissed her on the forehead.

Ou Zichen thought about it for a long time and finally came to terms with it. He no longer felt troubled by how Zhao Yunxi had become pregnant with Zhao Jiaying. When she came back, everything would be clear. For now, he would just enjoy life with Zhao Jiaying and do his best to make up for the lost fatherly love over the past years!