BXBX NOVEL Chapter 925 - Accused for Nothing
This way, Li Lei wouldn’t have to have it so tough, too.
Li Lei felt heartened, knowing full well that everything she was doing was for his sake. “How are you going to handle your singing and endorsements?” He asked.
Xia Ling looked at him with tenderness and love. “What difference does it make if I sing elsewhere? I’ll set up a studio at the headquarters and record my songs there when I need to. And anyway, traveling is convenient. I’ll just go to Ah Wei and the rest if I need outdoor shoots and filming. Moreover...” She said, “I’m thinking of phasing out slowly.”
“Phasing out?” Li Lei was shocked.
“Yup.” Xia Ling said. “I’ll stop commercial endorsements and making commercial appearances. I’ll just stick with the purest and most simple of them all—releasing songs and holding concerts. Right now, I have no lack of fame or money, why do I need to tire myself out? I’ll just do it for my interests’ sake and spend the rest of the time with you and Little Shaohui—oh, and Li Rui.”
She knew that he couldn’t disregard Li Rui completely. Rather than sending him off to another family reluctantly and be subjected to others’ criticisms, they might as well go with the best option—keep him with them and raise him.
But Li Lei said, “I don’t mind you phasing out, I just want you to be happy. And Xiao Ling, you know that Xiao Rui doesn’t quite like you. I’m afraid that you’ll get hurt living under the same roof as him.”
“He’s a young child, how much could he hurt me?” Xia Ling smiled. “Relax, there’s Shaohui to watch over me, and Shaohui is much smarter than he is. Moreover, don’t you think that he could start liking me gradually? I’ve always been good with kids.” There was one more thing she did not and could not mention, which was the little selfishness she had as a woman. Since Su Tang was using the child to snatch Li Lei from her, she would take away Su Tang’s tool once and for all.
Once Li Rui was on her side, Su Tang wouldn’t even have any means of appealing to Li Lei!
What a pity. That woman had been smart her whole life and yet had made such a fatal mistake. Hitting her child? And almost to death? Did she expect her child to continue loving her in the future?! Such naivety!
Li Lei kissed her on the forehead. “Alright, then we’ll bring Xiao Rui over and raise him.”
Initially, he had planned to let Su Tang raise him so that she would have someone to depend on in her old age. But who knew that her bipolar disorder would turn out to be so serious? She almost killed him! The other day when he went to look for the psychiatrist, he had said, “Mr. Li, you have to take extra note of the child’s safety. Although it’s said that even a tiger won’t eat her child, it’s different for such disorders—mothers with bipolar disorder would think that keeping their child in this world is a form of torture. In order to liberate their child from suffering, they sometimes choose to kill them.”
Li Lei was terrified to hear that.
Given Su Tang’s condition, she was definitely unfit to raise Li Rui.
Xia Ling smiled at him. They were raising a child anyway, how hard could one more be? They just had to give him good food and a good life and make sure he did not go astray.
He did not have to turn out especially capable.
In the ward, Li Rui was almost done crying.
Li Lei and Xia Ling re-entered.
Li Lei ruffled Little Shaohui’s hair first before giving Li Rui a warm embrace.
The child cried again in his father’s arms. “Dad!”
“Dad’s here.” Li Lei coaxed him tenderly. “From now on, you’ll be with Dad, alright? You’ll live in Dad’s house with Brother and Aunt Xiao Ling. We’ll be a family of four.”
“Alright!” Li Rui agreed with tears still rolling down his face. “Dad, what took you so long to come?! You don’t know how scary Mom was that day! She hit me so hard! I begged her to stop, but she wouldn’t listen!” He was sobbing between words.
“Dad and Aunt Xiao Ling don’t hit children. You’ll be safe once you move in with us.” Li Lei was gentle with his words.
Xia Ling could barely listen to him speak. How fickle-minded Li Lei was—who was the one who was deciding how to hit Shaohui the last time? If not for the pirate-themed wedding, Shaohui would’ve been done for!
She looked at Shaohui a little sympathetically. Not knowing why his mom was giving him that look, Little Shaohui felt a little creeped out.
“Xiao Rui seems to hate me less now?” Xia Ling whispered to Shaohui.
Shaohui was proud of it. “But of course! I told him that my mom is the best mom in the world and will tell lots and lots of bedtime stories, and take me to lots and lots of fun places. He got so envious! Xiao Rui hated you because he thought that you were being mean to Aunt Su Tang, but I told him that it was just Aunt Su Tang spouting nonsense and lying to him... Even if Xiao Rui doesn’t like you now, he doesn’t exactly hate you.”
Xia Ling looked at her son in awe. This young boy was incredible, given how he managed to convince him so quickly and easily. He’d definitely grow up to be a fine and capable man.
She smiled and ruffled his hair.
“You people keep stroking me.” Little Shaohui quietly grumbled. “I can’t grow tall like this.”
Xia Ling smiled and stroked his head a few more times.
The four of them got along pretty well. Li Lei said to Li Rui, “When you’re better, Dad will settle your discharge papers. What sort of room do you like? Dad will get someone to prepare the room for you. You’ll be having the room beside Shaohui’s, then you can play together.”
“Yay!” Li Rui was delighted. “I want one with a big dinosaur!”
Li Lei agreed to it at once. Just then, a shrill voice came from the door. “I won’t agree to it! Don’t even think about taking my child away!”
Everyone turned around and saw that Su Tang was at the door in a white and blue striped patient outfit. Her hair was slightly disheveled and she was panting heavily while looking at them with bloodshot eyes.
Li Rui immediately hid behind Li Lei. Ever since he was almost hit to death, he began to fear his mother.
Su Tang looked at Li Lei and cried. “Young Master... You took my love away, and now you’re taking my son too? Can you return him to me? Don’t listen to that woman’s words, she’ll kill my son!”
She pointed at Xia Ling indignantly.
Xia Ling felt accused for nothing. She had not done anything and was already being blamed. But there was no point in bickering with this woman, she simply grabbed Shaohui and backed off a few steps as she waited for Li Lei to deal with it. He had to settle this woman, hmph.
Li Lei was caught in a fix. He used to think of Su Tang as a pretty good lady, but recently, she had become increasingly stubborn and unreasonable. “Su Tang,” he said patiently. “I know you can’t bear to part with Xiao Rui. But the doctor says that given your current condition, you’re in no state to take care of him. So I’ve decided to raise him and take good care of him. He’s still young, he can’t be on his own.”