Zhan Mohan was busy preparing for the proposal, and although he went to work at a normal hour every day, he always returned very late at night.
Although Wei Yumeng was not the type to be suspicious and think that her husband was fooling around outside while she was in confinement, she could clearly sense his busyness and was worried if something had happened to the company.
She was certain that if that were the case, Zhan Mohan would never tell her, so the calmer things appeared on the surface, the more worried she became.
As for what Zhan Mohan was busy with, even Old Master Zhan was aware of it. However, Zhan Mohan had anticipated Wei Yumeng's thoughts and had already colluded with Old Master Zhan on their story.
"There are indeed some issues, but they are merely troublesome, not intractable, so it will take quite some time to resolve them, about a month or so."
Although she didn't know what problems required such a long time to handle, since Old Master Zhan said it wasn't intractable, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Since Zhan Mohan himself didn't say anything, she tacitly didn't intend to ask further. Little did she know, this was a pretense created by them together, to make her believe that Zhan Mohan wouldn't have time to accompany her for her birthday next month, thus reducing the risk of this surprise being discovered.
While chatting with Old Master Zhan, Zhan Mohan also returned home, arriving late and looking exhausted. Seeing his weariness, Wei Yumeng felt a pang in her heart. She stepped forward to help him take off his coat and put it away. "Have you eaten dinner yet? Let me cook you a bowl of porridge."
Seeing her pained expression, Zhan Mohan knew that she had overheard what he and his grandfather had planned. He was truly tired and hadn't tasted Wei Yumeng's cooking in a long time, so he didn't refuse.
While the porridge was cooking in the kitchen, Zhan Mohan sat with Old Master Zhan. As soon as he took a sip of water, Old Master Zhan asked, "Have you thought of names for the two children? Even if they aren't registered yet, they need names."
Upon hearing this, his movements paused. The children had been born for almost twenty days, and they still didn't have names.
Seeing his reaction, Old Master Zhan knew he hadn't taken this matter to heart and couldn't help but sigh. "You young people, really. What's that saying? Parents are..." He trailed off, searching for the words.
Wei Yumeng, emerging from the kitchen, picked up the conversation. "Grandfather, do you mean to say, 'Parents are true love, children are accidents'?"
Old Master Zhan immediately nodded. "Precisely, that's the saying."
This reaction almost made Zhan Mohan laugh out loud. It seemed his grandfather knew quite a lot.
Old Master Zhan patted the table. "Tonight, you must decide on names for both of my great-grandchildren. I will be the one to decide for my two great-grandchildren."
Since he had spoken, Zhan Mohan and Jiang Siyu naturally had to obey. The three of them sat down and began to discuss the children's names. They consulted dictionaries, examined each character and its annotations, and unanimously agreed on the names for the two children.
The elder son was named Zhan Jinzhi, hoping he would be like his father and surpass him.
The daughter was named Zhan Shiqing, hoping she would grow into a girl with a cool and elegant demeanor.
It is said that everyone's name carries the expectations of their parents. Zhan Mohan had high hopes for his children, especially his daughter.
Wei Yumeng wasn't very fond of this name initially, but Zhan Mohan insisted. He hoped that when his daughter grew into a young woman, she wouldn't be deceived by bad people, nor would she live under the protection of her parents forever.
He hadn't been so conflicted when naming their son, which showed he would likely be a doting father to his daughter.
Wei Yumeng shook her head and sighed, anticipating how President Zhan would spoil his precious daughter in the future.
Zhan Mohan himself didn't realize it, but just thinking that his daughter would look exactly like Wei Yumeng when she grew up filled him with delight.
In the nursery, he kept lingering by his daughter's crib, doting on her, as if he had completely forgotten about his son who was being neglected.
Wei Yumeng watched as President Zhan, who couldn't coax children before, became increasingly skilled. A wave of emotion washed over her. This man had finally given all his tenderness and patience to their family of three.
Days passed, and Zhan Mohan continued to work late every day. Sometimes, Wei Yumeng would have already fallen asleep by the time he tiptoed into the room.
Fortunately, the preparations were almost complete, and now they were just going over the procedures repeatedly.
Finally, after Wei Yumeng finished her confinement, everything was ready on his end.
After enduring confinement, Wei Yumeng wanted to invite Mu Linjing out for some shopping, but she was unceremoniously refused.
They had all agreed on a unified story: if Wei Yumeng asked, they would say they were too busy with company matters.
Finally, the day of her birthday arrived. She thought Zhan Mohan would at least make some time to celebrate with her.
However, early that morning, Zhan Mohan woke her up. While she was still groggy, he apologized. "Yumeng, there's an urgent situation at the company that I need to attend to. I'll be very busy today. I'll try my best to free up my evening to celebrate your birthday."
Hearing this, her sleepiness vanished. Although she was unwilling a hundred times over, she didn't want to appear unreasonable. However, she couldn't even utter a phrase of feigned generosity. Zhan Mohan seemed to be in a great hurry. He gave her a perfunctory kiss on the forehead, quickly put on his coat, and strode out.
Watching the door close, she couldn't help but feel overcome with sadness. Anyone would feel unhappy when their long-awaited birthday turned out like this.
She no longer felt sleepy. She went downstairs, poured a glass of water, and drank it listlessly. At this moment, Wen Yulan, who was always eager to see others in distress, appeared.
During this period, Wei Yumeng had truly held her head high in the Zhan family. She often played chess with Old Master Zhan while watching the children, creating an image of harmony.
It had been a long time since she had seen her looking so dejected. Wen Yulan felt a surge of pleasure.
"No one to accompany you for your birthday, sitting here all by yourself and feeling sad?"
Upon hearing her voice, Wei Yumeng composed herself and looked up. "I'm not that fragile. On the contrary, I have to trouble you for remembering it's my birthday and coming here specifically to make sarcastic remarks."
"If you're really unhappy, don't put on a brave face. Do you think you can rely on your children to elevate your status, that by giving birth to two children, you can truly transform into a phoenix and capture Zhan Mohan's heart? Look at how much Zhan Mohan has cared about these two children of yours. How have they grown now? Does he even remember them?"
Zhan Mohan did indeed visit the nursery less frequently, which gave Wen Yulan an opportunity to strike. "Could it be that he thinks these two children look less and less like him as they grow, leading him to harbor some suspicions?"