I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 346

Pei Jingxiu gazed at her for a second before tugging her chin up towards him. He narrowed his eyes and asked a little mockingly, "Are you scared?"

Ning Xi slapped his arm and turned away so that she wouldn't have to look Pei Jingxiu in the eye.

Pei Jingxiu's long, slender fingers moved away from her face, but his lips curled into a smile as he said breezily, "Perhaps this solution might be the start of something new, don't you think?" "It's out! The report's out!"

Su Shaoqing dashed through the door with the latest lab report in his hand. The moment he entered the room, he saw Pei Jingxiu and Ning Xi sitting side by side. There was an awkward tension between them that even he could sense.

Su Shaoqing raised an eyebrow. Mistakenly thinking that Ning Xi was too nervous to speak, he burst into laughter. "Hey, firecracker, are you worried about the compatibility of your bone marrow? Well, I'll be damned. In most cases, the possibility of a non-biological daughter being an eligible bone marrow donor for their adoptive mothers is very slim. However, to everyone's surprise, your bone marrow is highly compatible with Aunt Ning's! Although the compatibility is a little lower than Huan's, the numbers are very reassuring. It's more than 50%."

Hearing this, Ning Xi was overjoyed. After all, it was one life she would be able to save. She was especially desperate now that she knew the relationship between Ning Xin and herself. “Do you mean I'm eligible to be a bone marrow donor for Aunt Ning? That's wonderful! When will the surgery be conducted?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We have to consult the doctors and arrange a time for the surgery first. You'll need to rest up during the next few days. Don't forget that your own health is very important too, especially if you are to be a bone marrow donor." Su Shaoqing was secretly very pleased as well. They had labored in vain to replace a suitable bone marrow donor until Ning Xi miraculously showed up. It was an extremely pleasant turn of events. "I'll inform Li Heng and Fu Chengyan immediately."

When they found out about the news, Li Heng and Fu Chengyan rushed over immediately. Pei Huan had been at the hospital the whole time-when news reached him, he went down to Su Shaoqing's office immediately. Looking gratefully at Ning Xi, she said, "Sorry for all the trouble, Ning Xi."

"It was no trouble at all. She's my aunt too!" Ning Xi replied, smiling. Seeing the tired look on Pei Huan's face, she asked worriedly, "Hey, do you want to take a break? You probably haven't slept very well these past few days."

"Here, have a seat!" Pei Jingxiu noted the greying tint of Pei Huan's face and pulled over a chair, gesturing for her to sit down.

They were right-Pei Huan was indeed very tired. After realizing that she had caught the virus, the woman had spent one sleepless night after another. If she hadn't been so worried about Ning Xin's illness, she would have given up and died a long time ago.

Fu Chengyan and Li Heng soon reached the office. They discussed the time Ning Xin should undergo the operation and managed to agree on a time and date. At long last, the dark cloud of worry that had been hanging over all of them finally disappeared.

Li Heng took one look at the exhausted expression on Pei Huan's face and immediately asked everyone to excuse them. Taking Pei Huan by the hand, he left the room immediately.

As she was dragged down the corridor by Li Heng, she panicked at the thought of what he might do to her. "Li Heng, what do you think you're doing? Let go of me right now!"

"Shh, don't fuss." As they reached the car park, Li Heng stretched out a hand and caressed her hair softly. He stuffed Pei Huan into the car and shut the door. "I'm bringing you somewhere." "Where?" Pei Huan shot him a suspicious look.

Li Heng laughed lightly. "Don't worry; I won't be selling you off to a pimp."

Pei Huan pursed her lips. She was too tired to argue with Li Heng like she usually did. She could only let him be.

Li Heng turned on some music as Pei Huan leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes-almost immediately, she fell asleep.

Li Heng glanced at her, a look of heartache flashing across his face. Touching her face softly, he whispered, "Wait for me. After I resolve everything, I'll make sure to cure you and Bao of the virus" After a long and uneventful drive, the car arrived at Wuyun Residence. Carefully, Li Heng scooped Pei Huan up in his arms and carried her out of the vehicle.

Aunt Zhang saw their car pull into the driveway and came running out immediately. "Mr. Li, what's the matter with Mrs. Li?"

"Shh." Li Heng warned Aunt Zhang to speak softly to avoid waking Pei Huan up. "Because of Mum's illness, Huan hasn't been able to get much sleep lately. It's high time we let her get some rest." Aunt Zhang nodded. As she looked at Pei Huan, she tutted anxiously and murmured, "Poor child!"

Li Heng carried Pei Huan upstairs to their bedroom and lay her down gently on the bed. After he took off his clothes, he jumped into bed as well, hugging Pei Huan tightly to his chest.

When Pei Huan finally woke up, the first thing she thought was that she hadn't slept so soundly in a long time. As she opened her eyes, she realized how light her body felt. However, when her gaze fell on the man next to her, Pei Huan froze. Gazing at Li Heng's chiseled features, Pei Huan's finger hovered over his face, trembling, as she debated whether or not to touch it.

As she continued to gaze at him, she smiled and let out a soft sigh.

Li Heng's eyes flew open suddenly. He reached and grabbed Pei Huan's hands, startling her. Feeling a little awkward, Pei Huan stammered, "Are-are you awake?" Li Heng nodded. "Did you sleep well?"

Pei Huan realized with a start that she had fallen asleep so easily. Could it be because I've been so tired lately?

She nodded. "Yes. Thanks for all your help."

Li Heng's lips curved into a smile. "No problem. Since you're awake, let's get out of bed."

Pei Huan followed him as he stumbled out of bed. "Um, well..."

Li Heng took fresh clothes out of the wardrobe and handed them to her. "Aunt Zhang is downstairs right now. She should have already finished making breakfast for us by this time." Pei Huan looked down at the clothes, looking a little dazed. "These are..."

"These are yours," Li Heng stated simply.

"Wait... Li Heng!" Pei Huan exclaimed as he was about to turn and leave. "There's something I need to tell you. Bao... Bao is your son!"

Li Heng paused for a moment before a smile spread over his face. "Yes, I know that!" The kid looked so much like him that it was practically impossible for anyone else but him to be the father.

A huge load was lifted off of Pei Huan's shoulders when she finally told Li Heng the truth. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you these past few days. Ning Xi's bone marrow is compatible with my mother's, so we'll be able to proceed with the surgery very soon."

"That's great! You don't have to worry about it anymore." Li Heng walked over to her and caressed her face gently. "I've tasked a few of my colleagues to investigate the virus in your body, so don't worry about it anymore. Trust me, okay?"

"I..." Pei Huan opened her mouth to protest before closing it again and nodding numbly. "Alright!"

"Let's go downstairs and have some breakfast!"

Ning Xin's surgery was scheduled to be conducted a week later. During the week before her surgery, everyone got extremely busy.

Prosperous Group had been recently selling off its shares, so it was no surprise that the Li Group's stock price had taken a harrowing plunge. Before this, there had already been rumors floating around that the Li Group's business empire was close to collapsing. However, the Li Group had been around for a long time - there was always a chance for them to rebound. Most people believed that the Li Group would rise again after some time had passed.

However, the company's stock price continued to fall after the initial moment of panic. Those who had scorned the idea of the Li Group's collapse now hurried to sell their shares, plunging the company into utter chaos. The Li Group's new president finally realized the severity of the situation-there was nothing Li Xufan or even Li Cenbei could do to help.

Li Xinzhi had no choice but to settle the problem by himself. However, the Li Group was in for even worse problems over the next few weeks. Their goods got held up at the shipping customs, and the overseas department got thrown into a panic. Li Xinzhi felt rather helpless in the middle of it all.

Nonetheless, some of the stakeholders chose to stick it out. They started to demand Li Heng's return. "Why don't we ask Li Heng to come back and lead the company? He was the one who got us out of the mess seven years ago when the Li Group encountered some financial difficulties. Back then, he was only in his twenties, but he had more gumption in him than almost everyone else."

"Yes! Let's ask him to return." Li Xufan realized that only his uncle would be able to save the Li Group from its imminent collapse.

However, Li Xinzhi looked rather reluctant. "Hmm... Bei, what do you think?"

Li Cenbei had been very distracted lately. As soon as he heard Li Xinzhi's question, he smiled and said blandly, "Haven't you already made up your mind about that, Father? I believe the person you originally wanted to leave your position to was Li Heng."

"Bei, how-How could you say something like that?"

Li Cenbei merely smiled. "Everyone, please take a look at this!" He took out a stack of documents and started passing them around the room. Gazing icily at Li Xinzhi, he said coldly, "Father, some of the information stated here might sound a little familiar to you."

"What? This is impossible... Impossible!" Li Xinzhi's eyes widened in horror as he looked down at the document in his hand.

Seeing the look of shock on Li Xinzhi's face, the other stakeholders quickly scanned through the documents in their hands. Their faces grew grim with disbelief as they read. "What? Prosperous Group belongs to Li Heng? How is that possible? He has been working at Li Group all this time... How could he have the time to manage Prosperous Group as well? Besides, why would he see the need to destroy Li Group?" Li Cenbei's face clouded over. In a booming voice, he said, "Is everyone accusing me of forging these documents, then?"

For once, Li Xinzhi was at a loss for words. A long while later, he finally put the documents aside. "Bei, what should we do now? We can't let him destroy Li Group like this. I know he hates me for sending him away all those years ago, but I didn't have a choice! The fortune-teller..."

Li Xinzhi paused for a while before he continued. "Oh, forget it. We shouldn't be talking about these things at the company. Bei, let me know if you have any solutions to this issue. After all, you're the managing director of the Li Group now."

Something sinister flashed in Li Cenbei's eyes. "There is a way out of this, of course. The most important thing we need to do right now is to replace a company that's still willing to invest in the Li Group. I'll replace a way to settle things in the overseas department. Even if Li Heng has three heads, which I highly doubt he does, he can't take down a large corporation like us overnight. Whoever manages to wait this out longer than the other wins."

"Invest? But who would want to invest in our company now?" It wasn't as though Li Xinzhi hadn't thought of such an idea before.

However, considering the present circumstances of Li Group, the only solution now was to let Li Heng return and reassure the stakeholders of the company's future. Other than that, Li Xinzhi had no idea how to restore the company to its former glory.

"Father, you don't need to worry about that. I've contacted L Company in C Country, and they've agreed to work with us."

"L Company? Do you have connections to the people there?"

"I worked at L Company a long time ago, and I'm still in contact with some of my colleagues there. They're willing to help Li Group, but on one condition-they want to control the majority of the shares. That's what I'm here to discuss with everyone today." Li Cenbei passed around the agreement contract he had drawn up with L Company. "Please have a look at this."

Li Xinzhi looked a little hesitant. After glancing through the documents, a look of doubt crept over his face. "Bei, you do know that the Li Group is the result of decades of my hard work, right? What if L Company takes the opportunity to take us down..."

"Father, don't worry. If I have the ability to talk them into investing in us, I'll be able to talk them out of anything!"