Contract Marriage: Emperor CEO's Secretary Wife

After having their lunch at the hotel, the family of three immediately changed into a more solemn attire and traveled to the cemetery. They first stopped by at a nearby flower shop to buy some chrysanthemums.

Xiu Mei observed the surroundings while they walked to Lu Qiang's parents' graves. The first thing she saw was the lined up tombstones that reach until as far as she could see. She could clearly see that the place was very well maintained with all the grasses neatly trimmed and there's no patch of mud exposed. Even the tombstones were very well cleaned.

After walking for a little while, Lu Chen and Lu Qiang finally stopped in front of a tombstone. Engraved in it were the pictures and two names she'd heard yesterday--Jing Li Yan and Lu Yu Xiao. Her eyes grew solemn.

Lu Qiang slowly knelt in front of the grave to put the bouquet in front of the tombstone. She noticed that the kid paused.

His eyes glued on his parents' names, Lu Qiang reached out and traced his parents' picture with his fingers. He doesn't remember anything at all, and he wasn't sure if he was very fortunate to not remember at all. Because wouldn't it be harder for him to accept that he was already an orphan if he could remember them at all?

The kid stayed like that for a few minutes before finally standing up and standing to the side. He brushed away the pieces of grass that stuck on his knee when he knelt down.

Next to give their respects was Lu Chen and Xiu Mei.

Lu Chen didn't say much and finally introduced Xiu Mei to them.

"This is my wife, Xiu Mei. She's also the one who'll be standing as a mother to Lu Qiang from now on." Lu Chen briefly introduced her.

She felt a bit pressured when Lu Chen spoke about her being a mother to Lu Qiang but she didn't step back and bravely introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Xiu Mei. I'm not sure if you're watching over us somewhere but please rest assured that I���ll be a good and proper mother to your son. I will love him as much as you did and shower him with affection."

Feeling the smooth gravestone with her hands, she continued.

"I'm not sure if I'll do it well but I will do my best to be a qualified mother. Also, thank you for giving birth to such a wonderful child, Ms.Jing. If you could see Lu Qiang right now, you'll see how much she looks like you."

Turning her head towards Lu Qiang, she smiled with so much tenderness at the little kid that looked so absent-minded right now. She knew that it must be because he was feeling sad. She remembered his empty eyes back when she first met him and her heart ached a little.

Yes, right now that she's his foster mother, she promises to never let that happen again. She'll accompany him and make him happy.

The three of them stayed for almost an hour before finally deciding to leave when Lu Chen pointed out that it would rain very soon. She looked up to the sky and noticed that the sky indeed had gotten a bit darker than it was an hour ago.

After the three of them said their goodbyes to the dead couple, they finally left the cemetery.

Their ride back to the hotel was filled with deafening silence. Lu Chen was looking ahead while Xiu Mei pulled Lu Qiang towards her body. She hugged him by the shoulder and kept him like that without speaking at all.

When they finally reached the hotel, Lu Qiang quickly returned to his room. Xiu Mei was just about to follow him when she was pulled back by Lu Chen when he grabbed her wrist.

"Just let him be."

She glanced at the door before turning worriedly at Lu Chen.

"Are you sure?"

"Hmm. He's always like that every time we visit their graves. He'll just spend a few hours alone in his room and he'll come out fine afterward."

Hearing that, Xiu Mei did not follow the kid to his room anymore. But she was still worried.

She bit her lower lip while she stared at the closed door of his room. Would it really be fine to really leave him alone for now?

"You're worried about the kid but you're not worried about me?" Lu Chen tried distracting her from getting even more distressed. She's not yet completely recovered so all this trip wasn't helpful at all for her body.

For now, he couldn't afford her getting mentally stressed as well.

Since she was in front of him, he bent his body slightly to bury his face on her shoulder. He grabbed her by her arms to keep her still as well.

He ignored it when he sensed that she stiffened for a little bit by his touch but then, she gradually relaxed in his arms. Xiu Mei clumsily clung onto his clothes by the waist and patted lightly as if she were comforting a little child to sleep.

He suppressed the chuckle that was threatening to escape from his mouth. With his face mostly buried on her neck and shoulder, he was filled by her sweet scent that he unconsciously relaxed his guard.

"Are you a kid?" She snorted as if she didn't believe him at all.

"I am, so what?"

What kind of man would get jealous of a kid? Most especially that was his son?

Ah, here he is. A man named Lu Chen.

She laughed at the thought and finally let the a.d.u.l.t man cling to her. She comforted him for a little when she finally opened her mouth to ask him something.

"Lu Chen."

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'll become a good mother?"

Startled by the question, Lu Chen pulled away from Xiu Mei to look at her. He read her expression and he could see the anxiety in her face. Then he remembered what she said at the cemetery, he thought that Xiu Mei must've been too pressured to do well in her role as Lu Qiang's mother.

He raised his hand and patted her head.

"You'll be fine." He brushed her hair with his fingers, feeling the smooth strands in between them.

"It'll be hard, but you'll learn along the way." He looked at her eyes for a few moments then he pulled her towards the sofa to sit.

He sat beside her and pulled her towards himself before continuing.

"When I first took the role of being a father, everyone thought that I was not a qualified back then to take care of Lu Qiang. Since the company was just newly built-up back then, I was too busy taking care of the company's affairs that I'll even forget to eat meals often. Back then, I'll work even with an IV stuck on my hand so my Uncle and Aunt were very hesitant to leave him in my care."

Listening to his story, Xiu Mei understood that it must've been very difficult for him to open a company from scratch. The first step is always the hardest part to endure.

"When I was finally recognized as the official guardian, I had to completely change my habits. I'd always bring the baby to my office so I could watch over him since I couldn't trust leaving him to a babysitter at that time. If I need to go somewhere, I'll leave him to Lu Shao for a while and finish the job as soon as I can. When Lu Qiang grew older, it was very difficult for me to find time to teach him. He learned to crawl and stand at an early age, and he would mumble incoherent words."

"But what made all those sacrifices worthy and satisfying was when he finally uttered his first decent word."

Xiu Mei saw Lu Chen's expression soften and was gradually filled with tenderness.

"That's when it all came back to me. All those sleepless nights while working on some doc.u.ments and coaxing him to sleep, that countless baths that I have to do when he kept throwing the food I was feeding him, when he'd pee a few moments after changing him into a new diaper, and the other things that I did for the very first time in my life. At first, I was very clueless about what to do that I doubted myself whether I could really do it, but slowly learned and got used to that kind of pace as time passed by."

Lu Chen held Xiu Mei's hand while his free hand patted her head.

"That's why you don't need to pressure yourself. Just go on your own pace while learning things. And whether you'll become a good mother, it's only Lu Qiang who can really judge that." Then Lu Chen glanced at the door and chuckled.

"But seeing how that kid is all over you, I know you're already doing a great job as a mother figure for him."

"..."

"Xiu Mei, you'll be fine. Trust me."