Chapter 41 - I won't die from this

When Han Ye came back to the dining room five minutes later, he had a perplexed expression on his face as if he were unsure whether the world was alright.

Earlier, before he could even talk, Xiao Lei said, "Han Ye! My phone is low on battery! I've changed my mind! Something came up and I'm stranded at a McDonald. I've sent you the location earlier, do you mind coming over and pick me up so that we could talk in person? Also-"

The line went dead after that. Worried that she might be in some trouble, and happy to know that she changed her mind, Han Ye decided to go and pick her up.

"What's wrong?" Kai Xin asked when she saw his expression. "Something happened with the company or at home?"

"Erm… That was Ms. Xiao. The potential surrogate. She said she had a change of heart and that she felt bad, so she's going to give this a try…" Han Ye said.

He looked at the three old ladies and apologized, "Sorry, but I have to go and settle this work."

"Well, this is more important. After all, you are dealing with the mother of Lin's future grandchildren," Old Madam Du said upon placing her pair of chopsticks down.

Her movements were fluid and one could see that her elegance was something that was bred into her.

An Qi Yan agreed and said, "We can always have dinner again sometime. You're here pretty often anyway."

As for Lin, she merely nodded in approval.

"Yeah, next time, bring Tian Le with you as well. I haven't seen him since last month," Kai Xin asked.

"He's busy with a school project at the moment, but I'll bring him along next time. He did say that he misses you and Little Monkey."

At this moment, Little Monkey raised a hand high up and said happily, "Le Le!"

She remembered Tian Le who was like a brother to her and he always slipped her a piece of chocolate whenever no one was paying attention to them.

Han Ye smiled kindly and patted the toddler's head. "Yeah, your Big Brother Le Le."

"Is he doing well with the new prosthetic?" Kai Xin asked with a worried expression.

Tian Le meant a lot to Kai Xin, and back then, if the boy had accepted her idea of adopting him, she would have adopted him right away.

However, after some thoughts, he rejected her and chose to stay with Han Ye and Lu ZiYan so that she could spend more time with her new family.

Tian Le was abandoned by his biological parents because of a small defect; he was born with one of his legs missing from the knee onward.

It took a lot of effort for everyone to convince him before Tian Le would accept the prosthetic leg.

Because the cost of getting and maintaining a prosthetic leg would mean a smaller budget for everything and everyone else in the orphanage that he was in, Tian Le had refused to get one fitted before.

However, after Kai Xin married DX, and after he himself was fostered by Han Ye and Lu ZiYan, only then did he dare to accept it.

Han Ye and Lu ZiYan had gotten him the prosthetic leg as a welcome gift, and they told him that if he had refused, it meant that he did not think of the two of them as his older brothers.

As for those in Zi Han Orphanage, where Tian Le used to stay in, DX made sure that everyone had more than enough to eat and wear.

Ever since he knew that the orphanage was named after Kai Xin's oldest child, who she aborted a long time ago, he took the effort to clear some time out of his already busy schedule to deal with the matters pertaining to the orphanage.

Along with his boss and his boss' family, Han Ye had been helping at Zi Han Orphanage as well.

After all, that was where his foster brother spent the first 12 to 13 years of his life. In addition, along with Lu ZiYan, Han Ye had been making a monthly donation to various orphanages in Imperial City.

"He wasn't complaining about it…" Han Ye replied to Kai Xin. "At least, not anymore. Anyway, I'll talk to you more about him later. Ms. Xiao said that she's stranded somewhere and that she needed to talk to me."

Kai Xin waved her hand briefly as she said, "Alright then. Go on. I'll see you soon. Little Monkey, say bye-bye to Han Ye."

Hearing her mother's instruction, the toddler looked up at Han Ye, and she curled and uncurled her fingers as she said softly, almost in a whispering tone, "Bye-bye, Han Ye! Come 'gain!"

She then sent him a flying kiss which he pretended to catch and put on his heart. "Bye, Little Monkey… I'll see you soon!"

He then looked at the three old ladies and nodded before he walked out of the dining room.

It took him a while before he got to the McDonald's that Xiao Lei said she was in. After texting her, he waited outside the McDonald's. However, after 15 minutes, there was still no sign of her.

"Ah, her battery is dead…" Han Ye thought and sighed. Once he parked his car, he went into the McDonald to look for her. He found her with her head down on the table, sleeping.

Walking over, Han Ye gently touched her arm to wake her up. "Ms. Xiao? Xiao Lei?"

The next thing he knew, he was flipped over and pinned to the floor by the woman who was now sitting on him, and with a fist about to land on his face.

"It's me, Han Ye!" he yelled as he put his hands up to block his face from being permanently injured.

When she heard his voice, Xiao Lei blinked and narrowed her eyes to look at him carefully.

Having been woken up from a dream where she was eating escargot with her son, her eyesight was blurry earlier.

When she saw the person tapping her, she thought that he was sent by Murong Yu and acted out of reflex.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Han Ye!" Xiao Lei gasped and she quickly put down her fist. She then looked at him apologetically.

Leaning over, she pushed his hands away and cupped his cheeks as she asked frantically, "Did I hurt you badly? Did you hit your head? Should I call for an ambulance?"

Being so close in proximity to such an attractive woman made Han Ye slightly uncomfortable. With a blush, he gulped and said softly, "Ms. Xiao… Pl- Please get off me. We're in public now."

"Huh?"

Xiao Lei glanced around and saw that they were surrounded by the other patrons of the famous franchise.

Some of them were giggling, some were shaking their heads in a disapproving manner, and some were frowning as if they were looking at the most disgusting thing in the world.

Realizing that they were in a very weird position, Xiao Lei's face turned red immediately, and she quickly scrambled off from him. Once she got up, she offered Han Ye a hand and pulled him up as well.

"Are- Are you sure you're alright?"

Han Ye rubbed his shoulder and murmured, "I won't die from this."

"I'm sorry! I thought… I thought you were a bad man!"