Chapter 468: Dirty Blood

Pei Ziheng stared at her blankly.

He had never seen her caring for the child, and as such, did not know that she could be so gentle. He was extremely jealous of the baby in her arms, jealous that he could enjoy all the motherly love that Xia Ling was showing. His jealousy was like ten thousand ants were gnawing at his heart, such that his heart was riddled with holes.

He did not finish his meal, but instead, put down his cutlery and locked himself in the study.

Xia Ling sensed that he was unhappy, and her mood became pensive in her fear.

She coaxed the child for a long time before carefully carrying him back to the nursery, to avoid bumping into Pei Ziheng again and making him more upset. The look that he gave the child earlier gave her the chills.

In the study.

Pei Ziheng could not calm down. He wanted to deal with business matters, but his entire mind was filled with the image of Xia Ling coaxing the baby. Her every move and every smile, every minute expression on her face, tugged at his heartstrings.

Why? Why wasn't that child his?

If the child were his, everything would be so perfect.

However, if the child were really his... would Xiao Ling care for him as well as she did now? Would she still show that gentle expression? Would she still do everything for him?

He became more flustered as he dwelled on this. Reaching out, he picked up a document, crushed it into a ball, and threw it to the corner of the room in frustration.

He stayed in the study for a long time. When he returned to the bedroom, he realized that the luxurious king-sized bed was still empty. The top-rate silk bedsheets were still neatly made up, clearly untouched.

He called Nanny Zhou over. "Where's Madam?"

Nanny Zhou replied, "Madam is still in the nursery. Shall I call her over?"

Pei Ziheng waved her off and walked towards the nursery himself. This was unusual given that he had never stepped into that room on the far north of the house. Yes, he had placed the nursery in that small northern room, that was devoid of sunlight. When he had made that decision, Xia Ling's gaze was full of disappointment, but she could not do anything about it.

Then, Pei Ziheng had been happy at seeing the pain in her expression.

However, now that she preferred to hole in that small room with a child who was less than three months old rather than to sleep in the luxurious bedroom with him, he felt depressed.

The bedroom felt empty now. An emptiness that could not be explained, and he felt horrible.

He walked to the doorway of the nursery. Dim yellow lights seeped out from the open door.

Pei Ziheng looked into the room and saw the little baby quietly lying in the rocking bed. On the carpet beside the rocking bed sat Xia Ling, dressed in her loose-fitting casual wear. She had one hand on the rocking bed and was leaning her head on it with her eyes closed. Under the dim lights, her shoulders looked skinny, and her waist was as slim as that of an unmarried young lady. Her dark green hair fell slightly messily down her back, and the fair skin of her neck peeked out from between the curtain of her hair.

She looked beautiful.

Pei Ziheng watched her with a gentle expression as he quietened his breathing.

Even though he was upset about the situation, he could not bring himself to rage at her when he saw her peaceful sleeping expression.

It seemed that the carpet was slightly chilly, and she curled her body closer, hugging her arm around herself.

Pei Ziheng looked around the room and found a small blanket on the other side of the cot that smelled like milk powder. As he was draping it over her, her unique fragrance melded with the milk powder smell, creating a surprisingly addictive concoction.

He could not resist but kiss her cheek.

When she was awake, she did not like him kissing her. However, when she was asleep, she would not reject him. Her eyes were shut, and she looked peaceful with her breathing level. Pei Ziheng thought of the saying: "Blissfully quiet days."

He hugged her to his chest, his forehead against hers, and said softly, "Xiao Ling, let's have a child together too." He was desperate to have a child with her. If they had a child, would she stay by his side wholeheartedly? Would she perhaps... fall in love with him again?

There was some movement in the rocking bed.

Pei Ziheng turned his head and saw that the baby was awake and staring at him with curiosity with his puppy dog eyes.

The gentle expression on Pei Ziheng's face disappeared to be replaced to one of coldness.

He did not like this child. Not one bit.

The child seemed unaware of his dislike and was still curiously staring at him. Perhaps it was because he rarely saw Pei Ziheng, the baby's eyes were filled with excitement at the novelty. He started to wave his small arms around.

Pei Ziheng stood up and walked over to the rocking bed to look at him more closely.

His expression was still cold.

The child was blissfully unaware of the danger in his environment — perhaps an attribute passed on by his birth father. Seeing Pei Ziheng come nearer, a bright smile lit up the baby's face.

Pei Ziheng was stunned.

Other than Xiao Ling, he was the first person to smile so innocently at him, with nothing complicating matters, like the clean and orange sun.

He could not shift his eyes away from the child's shining eyes.

The baby resembled Xiao Ling on closer look, particularly his eyes, mouth, and nose, which were exquisite and pretty. His resemblance to Li Lei was mild, so mild that Pei Ziheng could barely find any.

Pei Ziheng's heart started to soften, and his gaze became gentler.

The little boy in the rocking bed seemed to sense his change in attitude and started to gargle and laugh out loud. He reached out his short arms, seemingly wanting to grab Pei Ziheng, or was asking to be carried.

If Li Feng were here, he would lament that the child was just like his father in terms of character, even if he did not resemble him in looks. He was undeterred by danger, and would voluntarily try to befriend the enemy to be able to survive.

This was a natural survival instinct.

If Li Feng were here, he would warn Pei Ziheng not to be taken in by the child's adorable looks and actions. When the child grew up, he would be just like Li Lei!

However, Li Feng was not here.

And the inexperienced Pei Ziheng was easily bought over by the adorable little boy. He reached out his hand and carefully touched the little boy like he was bewitched.

He was soft to the touch.

The baby's body was warmer than he expected, his skin smoother than silk.

Pei Ziheng was taken aback by this new sensation, and he withdrew his hand instinctively. After a while, he could not resist reaching out to touch the little boy again.

So this was how a baby felt like.

He stared at the little boy for a long time, his expression complicated.

The child laughed happily, thinking that this tall man was playing a game with him. He waved his small arms and feet, gargling in excitement, sounding like he was almost singing.

As expected of Xiao Ling's child.

Pei Ziheng thought to himself that the child would probably be a wonderful singer when he grew up.

Unfortunately, half of the blood that flowed in his body was dirty.