The next morning, Zhan and Yibo actually spent the whole day before cuddling in bed in the bedroom, Yibo had to go back to work and Zhan was alone at home with Yibo's mother. Since she was still asleep when Zhan said goodbye to his fiancé, he went into the living room and read a few chapters of the new book that Yibo bought him a few days ago.

Zhan had just reached chapter 6 when Yibo's mother came out of the guest room already showered and dressed, sat down next to him, took his hand and asked, "Good morning Zhan. How are you today? Are you and the baby doing well?"

"Um yeah. We are doing fine. Thank you. And you?" Replied Zhan, still finding it a little confusing that Yibo's mother is suddenly being so nice to him.

"Very nice. I'm feeling fine, too. Say, are you also feeling well enough for the two of us to go out and do some shopping for the baby?"

"You mean shopping for the baby?"

"Mn. Right."

"Yeah sure. I should just text Yibo to let him know."

"Um okay..."

"It's just because Yibo calls here at home every now and then to ask how I'm doing. And if he can't reach me here, he'd worry right away."

"Oh, that's why. Yes well, you should write to him then. He can call you on your cell phone then if he wants."

"Mn. I'll write him quickly." Said Zhan and wrote a quick message to Yibo that he was going baby shopping with Yibo's mom. It didn't take long for Yibo to reply either, telling him to be careful, to take care of himself and their baby, and that he should always carry his cell phone. Zhan texted him to promise and then got ready to go shopping.

Since they were already downtown because of the apartment, they didn't have to go too far to reach the first store where there were children's clothes for sale. Zhan had to literally grin as Yibo's mother walked through the aisles wondering about the tiny clothes. Every now and then, some of it ended up in her shopping cart, too, with the words, "I'm sure this will look good on my grandchild."

There was not much of the rude manner as he had met her the day before. Instead, she looked like a happy grandma-to-be who couldn't wait to see and dress her grandchild. And again and again, she checked on Zhan to make sure he was doing well.

Already the first store the two left with two big bags full of baby clothes and went straight on to the next store, as there are baby strollers. They saw one that they liked immediately. But because it must also please Yibo, they sent him a few pictures of the stroller, who agreed to buy it and said he liked it too.

With the new stroller and now three big bags they put in the stroller, they went on to a furniture store where Yibo's mother ordered some nursery furniture. Among them a crib, a changing table, a closet and a few shelves. And everything is to be delivered to their home in just one week.

Before they continued their shopping trip, it was time for a break. They went to a café, ordered tea and a piece of apple pie, and took another closer look at the stroller. And of course the baby clothes. And Zhan had a question that interested him. "Um Mrs. Wang?"

"Mrs. Wang? Zhan you can call me Maya." She replied.

"Oh okay thanks. Maya, are you just being nice to me now because of the baby?"

"Mhhh, you would think so right? But no. After yesterday I realized one thing. You really love Yibo and he loves you. Yibo's eyes light up every time he looks at you. And last night when he helped me make dinner for you, he told me how incredibly happy you make him and he also told me that for the first time in his life he can let himself go and not worry about falling hard. Because you are there to catch him. And that was the moment for me when I realized that you can't be a bad person. And I've been watching you a little bit. I see that you are a kind, honest and smart young man who loves my son with all your heart."

"Yibo is my everything. It feels like I've always been in love with him. Ever since the first time I saw him at the youth club when I visited my cousin on my vacation and accompanied him to the youth club. There has never been anyone else for me but Yibo. And there will never be anyone else either."

"You love him that much?"

"Yes. I can't imagine my life without him. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes." And indeed, Zhan had tears in his eyes as he smiled and told of his love for Yibo.

Yibo's mother took Zhan's hands and held them tightly, "I promise to protect you. You, Yibo and the baby. My ex-husband will leave you alone from now on."

"Do you think he will really stop terrorizing Yibo all the time then?"

"He will. Believe me. And I offered to help Yibo in your business yesterday so Yibo can spend a little more time with you. I know I haven't really proven to be a good businesswoman lately. But that was because of the alcohol. Now I don't drink anymore and continue my therapy. And your baby, my grandchild is another reason to stay sober. I really want to help you, and I'm glad you asked me to help."

"I've been thinking back and forth about who can help Yibo. And all I could think of was, if anyone can control his father, it's you. And of course, it would be nice if Yibo had more time for us."

"You know Zhan, my ex-husband kicks and lashes out because he's helpless and doesn't know what to do. Not because of the company, but because he knows he has lost his sons. Even if it doesn't seem like it, but his sons were always the most important thing to him. Why do you think he allowed Yibo to have a secret relationship with you? Because he knew he would see Yibo happy with it. The problem is, my ex-husband never learned to show and express his feelings properly. It is hard for him to show what he feels. And he's always afraid of someone looking behind his facade and seeing how soft he really is."

"That means, the real reason you wanted Yibo and Hai Kuan to stay out of your business was because you could hit your ex-husband the hardest with it?"

"Yes. I knew he would try to get his sons on his side. But if they stayed away from him, it would break him. I knew that. And now he's trying everything to get Yibo and Hai Kuan back. But because he never learned to reach out to others and tell them how he feels, he's doing all this crap."

"So he doesn't actually want to terrorize Yibo and just get him back somehow?"

"Yeah. I think that's it."

"But then why the action with this fiancée?"

"A cry for attention. Nothing more. Believe me, I've known this man long enough now to know that he would never force Yibo to marry her. And he sent you the picture hoping Yibo would come at him because of it."

"Really sick thinking."

"Yeah. But if you never learned any other way? You know, our marriage was arranged by our parents back then. But we were lucky together because we fell in love with each other. However, it was hard for him to show that and even more so to say that. At that time he came up to me, put a small box in my hand and said, "Here the ring is for you. It suits you better." He didn't say, here the ring I got for you, because it is an expression of my love for you. But that's what he meant. He has a very twisted mind, and his father is not entirely innocent of that."

"What was his father like?"

"He was a terrible man. He drank alcohol every day and regularly beat up his wife and sons. They didn't even have to do anything. He just beat them up because he wanted to. And if one of his sons showed feelings, he beat them up even more. The arranged marriage was his way out of that hell for him."

"Now I'm beginning to understand."

"I'm not saying that deep down he's a good man. But he's not a bad man either. Well, if you corner him, he lashes out and kicks. Of course only verbally and not really. He never hit me or the kids."

"But why did you actually put up with his escapades all these years with cheating and stuff? You loved him, didn't you? Wasn't that hard to take?"

"There's more to it than you think. He and I had noticed at the time that things weren't going well in our marriage. We talked about it and said we try an open marriage now. We could sleep with others. But, not have lasting affairs. It was going pretty well, too. But then I met a man and fell in love with him. I wanted to leave my ex-husband already then. But he persuaded me to stay. He told me to think about our sons and our business. I knew I would lose everything if I separated from my husband. I couldn't lose my whole life, my sons, my home and my business. So I gave up the man I had fallen in love with and stayed. But I was not well. And to drown my feelings, I started drinking alcohol."

"Do you still love this other man?"

"No. He married another woman a year later."

"That must have been hard."

"Oh yes it was. But I had found comfort in alcohol. I tried to get closer to my husband again. But it was already too late. He couldn't forgive me for falling in love with someone else. So I drank more alcohol to numb my senses and feelings."

"So your ex-husband only started the affair with his daughter-in-law because he was hurt?"

"Maybe. I think he wanted to hurt me because I hurt him. You have to know, even though our marriage wasn't going well anymore and we had an open marriage, he still loved me."

"What a mess. If you guys had talked more and about everything, it might never have gotten to this point."

"You're right Zhan. But you know, even old people make mistakes."

"Phew, well then I'm curious to see how things will go."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Hey Maya. Do you think he still loves you?"

"Mhhh, it's possible. Why?"

"My mom thinks he still loves you and is desperate now because he has no reason to contact or see you all the time."

"I'm going to find out. Now let's go do some more shopping."

"Okay, I'd love to." Replied Zhan. The two set off again and were on the road for more than three hours before they returned home and prepared a meal for Yibo together.

When Yibo came home and saw his mom and fiancé talking and laughing in harmony, his heart laughed and he was happy to see them like this. It was just as he had wished and imagined. The most important people in his life were getting along well with each other.

Yibo hugged Zhan and kissed him before giving his mother a hug and asking them both how their day had been. Excited, they immediately showed him what all they had bought. And Zhan had even bought a small gift for Yibo. A mug that says: #BestDadInTheWorld. Yibo was of course very happy about it.

Zhan and Yibo spent the evening together on the sofa, talking, cuddling and listening to soft music. While Yibo's mother retired to her room to rest and ponder Zhan's question about whether her ex-husband might still love her. She wondered, what if that was the case?