21 Baby Don't Cry

As soon as the capsule stopped in Li Wei Mansion, Ji Li Zhao immediately went out without minding his servants who were bowing. His mind was so muddled with the thought of his wife's crying figure that he ignored everyone. He took long and strong strides towards the upper level of the mansion.

Everyone looked at their young master in worry because he was walking way too fast. Someone wanted to protest and ask him to slow down, but Fang Tao was giving them an icy warning. The servants gulped down and decided that if they wanted to preserve their lives, they had to shut up and do as they were ordered.

Ji Li Zhao only stopped when he saw Gu Man at the door of their bedroom.

"Uncle Gu," he said in a shaky voice.

Gu Man's worried stare looked away from Hou Wei Yan's curled-up figure and landed on his master. He didn't know it would reach this extent.

"Young Master." he greeted and turned to the room again.

"Madame is still inside...crying," he said with worry obviously straining his voice.

Ji Li Zhao subconsciously looked at the room and nodded his head. He knew this would happen and he instinctively knew what to do. He had seen this happen a couple of times back then—back when the scar of the event was still fresh—so he knew how to calm her and take care of her in such a situation.

"Prepare warm water, towel, and new clothes," he ordered before carefully stepping into the room. Gu Man took a bow and slowly closed the door to let the young master handle the coaxing of his wife. Right now no one can do that except him, who had seen this countless times in their youth.

The room was exceptionally dark and he did not dare turn the lights on. He knew if he did it things would only worsen. Hou Wei Yan was kidnapped when she was young while visiting her aunt. During the abduction, Hou Wei Yan was hiding in her room, underneath the bed. She felt safe under the mask of the darkroom where she could not be seen and was terrified when the lights turned on.

Since then, every time she has nightmares, she would go hysterical when the lights turn on.

It was hard to see in such darkness but he had already memorized the room and his sight was fortunately exceptionally good in the dark. He walked further inside the room, his foot getting heavier and heavier. The blanket and some pillows were no longer in the bed. He followed its traces and his heart broke at what he saw.

It was his wife, shaking and crying while curling herself in the corner. He clenched his fist at his negligence.

"Wei Wei," he softly said, his voice like a whisper in the wind. It was like he was afraid a sleeping baby would awake so his voice was extraordinarily gentle and mellow.

Hou Wei Yan who heard noises had her ears perked up like a wolf. She did not budge. Instead, she went closer to the cold tiled wall. Ji Li Zhao stopped walking further, afraid that she would go to the veranda once cornered.

He remained rooted a few inches away from her. He spoke up once again when Hou Wei Yan's cry slowly died down.

"Wei Wei~" he called out, much softer than the last.

Hou Wei Yan who was sobbing at that time finally regained some of her senses. She was now aware that someone was in the room. She felt alert, her fist clenching. "W-Who?"

Ji Li Zhao felt quite relieved that she was now in a state where he could converse with her.

"It's me, your husband," he said as he took a step closer to her.

The shiver Hou Wei Yan had earlier subsided as she felt warmth slowly closing in on her. She didn't feel threatened as in the past so she slowly looked around the room. Her eyesight was still blurry from all the crying that she did which made it impossible for her to make out anything.

"Where are you?" she asked while sobbing making Ji Li Zhao take things further.

He hugged Hou Wei Yan's figure and enveloped her in his warmth. Instead of getting pushed away, Hou Wei Yan shoves her head into his chest as she cries a bucket of tears. She was safe! She was safe! Thank God she was safe!

Ji Li Zhao hugged her tighter as he kissed her head repeatedly. "It's okay, it's okay. There's no kidnapper, just me."

Hou Wei Yan cried at this because she knew in her heart what he said was true and she was grateful this man who calls himself her husband arrived to protect her from the kidnappers. She was crying in both fright and relief.

"I'm here. I'm here...Shhh, baby...Don't cry, okay? Don't cry...baby, shhh don't cry...I'm here," he repeated these words and didn't stop kissing her head.

Even though he hates it when his wife cries, he allows her to pour it all out that night. She was terrified and he could not do anything against that but support her in his arms as she cries.

When she was still not stopping, Ji Li Zhao decided to rock her back to sleep. Hou Wei Yan who was still refusing to stop earlier slowly found herself drowsing in his warm embrace. To make sure she would really fall asleep peacefully this time, Ji Li Zhao decided to sing her mother's lullaby.

That's right. He knew of the lullaby and had memorized it by heart.

He sang it to her, his voice miraculously in tune and melodious. It was sweet and addictive that Hou Wei Yan found herself succumbing to sleep in an instant. Ji Li Zho continued to rock her back and forth to ensure she was indeed asleep.

After a few minutes, he decided to look at the woman in his arms and saw the fresh tears in her eyes. Not liking the sight of it, Li Zhao kissed her tears away.

He felt horrible allowing such a thing to happen. He blamed himself even though it was clearly not his fault. These nightmares run deep as she had them since she was young. A lot of things were done to make it disappear, but it was all futile against this trauma.

Ji Li Zhao watched as she curled like a ball in his arms. He smiled at her peaceful state. This made him unable to stop himself from kissing her tenderly on her lips. Her lips taste sweet, like cherries and strawberries combined together. He loved it but he knew better than to prolong it. He was afraid she would wake up and cry again so he instantly pulled away and carried her gently in his arms.

He was so careful when carrying her because he was afraid that he would hurt her. Even when placing her down on their bed, Ji Li Zhao did it with utmost care. Hou Wei Yan moaned as she felt the soft mattress on her back and slowly, the smile on her face bloomed back. Ji Li Zhao felt glad about this. He placed a kiss on her forehead before gathering all the pillows and blankets and placing them back in their original state.

Ji Li Zhao was about to leave the room to get the water when his wife suddenly spoke up.

"Panda,"

It was a very low voice, much more like a whisper, but Ji Li Zhao heard it anyway. He smiled as he saw the Panda at the foot of the bed. He took it and slowly placed it in her arms. Hou Wei Yan hugged it the moment it landed in her arms which made him chuckle at her adorable state. "I told you not to lose it again,"

Hou Wei Yan was already fast asleep, so Ji Li Zhao decided to open the door. "Uncle Gu."

Gu Man was there, standing the whole time along with Fang Tao and some servants holding the basin of water, towel, and clothes that he asked for. He saw it was a pajama. Two pajamas that had the same designs. He looked at Gu Man and smiled.

"Thank you, Uncle," he said as he received the clothes in his arms.

Butler Gu took a peek inside the room and sighed in relief as he saw their Madame peacefully sleeping in the bed. He then took the water basin from the servants. "You can leave now."

The servants bowed down and left without delay. They knew their master was still hung up on the incident and is currently in his protective and territorial state.

Ji Li Zhao was the first to go back inside, followed by Butler Gu who was holding the basin, and Fang Tao who held the towel. "Uncle, buy some panda stuffed toys for Wei Wei. Get all sizes and make sure she gets it before tomorrow evening."

Gu Man immediately nodded his head. The two of them placed the basin and towel on the bedside table while Ji Li Zhao changed his clothes in the bathroom. Both of them took a glance at Hou Wei Yan and knew things would turn okay as long as Ji Li Zhao was around. After this, they turned around and left, because they knew they were useless to Ji Li Zhao's care.

The room was still dark, Ji Li Zhao decided it was better that way. If Hou Wei Yan wakes up again and sees his face, then all his plans will go to waste. This is what he was thinking as he stepped out of the bathroom and now donned a white-colored pajama with golden patterns on its edges. He took a seat at Hou Wei Yan's side and carefully took the towel now soaked in warm water. He gently wiped the sweat off her.

"Wife, don't scare me like that," he said as he continued wiping her sweat away.

Once done, Ji Li Zhao took the basin to the bathroom and took out Hou Wei Yan's pajamas. He didn't want anyone to dress her so he decided to do it himself. But he didn't want to dishonor her either, so he dressed his wife up with his eyes closed.

It may seem impossible, but Ji Li Zhao did it for the sake of preserving his wife's honor.

He sighed when he was done and was really glad Hou Wei Yan was a heavy sleeper once at peace. He was even more glad that she did not moan or he could have lost control. After the torture event of dressing her up, Ji Li Zhao laid down in bed.

He faced Hou Wei Yan and carefully drew her in his arms. Hou Wei Yan responded with obedience as she snuggled closer for his warmth. A smile that could not be held back any longer spread across his face as he hugged her in his sleep.

This time, it's no longer the tablet he was hugging to sleep, but his real actual wife.