Chapter 6 - leave

“What a coincidence! I was going to book two airplane tickets just now, but found out that my bank had no money. Right after that, I received the money you sent me.” Zhang Han said with a faint laugh.

“Oh......Eh?” Zhang Li said in astonishment, “Buy an airplane ticket? Brother, could it be that you……”

“That’s right, I intend to go somewhere else.” Zhang Han said.

“Are you finally willing to leave Shangjing City?” Zhang Li’s voice was trembling, and there was happiness in her tone.

“That’s right. It is just as you said, I won’t be able to investigate much by staying in Shangjing City. Once my strength grows, everything will fall in place,” Zhang Han said.

“As long as you understand.” Zhang Li asked, “Where do you intend to go?”

“Xiangjiang.” Zhang Han replied, “You should settle your affairs and come to Xiangjiang too. Enjoy life together with me, your brother.”

“I am currently in Xiangjiang.” Zhang Li said slowly.

“Oh. I will be taking the flight tomorrow evening at 6pm and will be reaching Xiangjiang International Airport at 9.30pm. You can pick me up me.” Zhang Han said.

Zhang Li hesitated for a while, then replied, “Alright then. Wait! You said that you booked two airplane tickets just now. Who are you coming with?”

“With my daughter.”

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

The sound of a phone dropping on the floor could be heard, followed by Zhang Li’s cry of astonishment, “What did you say? Your daughter?”

“Yep. My daughter, who is also your niece.” Zhang Han laughed while shaking his head.

“How is it possible? Why did I do not know about it? Are you joking with me?”

“Of course it’s true. Even I myself was somewhat shocked.” Zhang Han replied.

“My…god…I am already an aunt?” Zhang Li mumbled at a loss.

“You will be able to see her when we meet tomorrow.”

“No, I want to see her now. Let’s video chat.” After speaking, Zhang Li immediately hung up the phone.

Soon, a video chat invitation arrived in Zhang Han’s WeChat.

[WeChat is something like WhatsApp.]

After connecting through, when Zhang Li saw the neatly dressed Zhang Han who looked exactly as he did in the past, tears filled her eyes.

“Alright, you are a grown woman now. There is no need to cry.” Zhang Han said with a smile.

“No matter how big I am, I am still your little sister. Seeing you being able to pull yourself together, makes me very happy.” Zhang Li wiped her tears and adjusted her emotions, then said, “Where is my niece? Let me see her.”

Zhang Han walked to the bedside and adjusted the phone’s camera lens right at the little princess who was sound asleep.

“What a pretty and adorable little girl!” Zhang Li said tenderly, “Brother, who is my sister-in-law? To be able to give birth to such a pretty child, she must also be very beautiful right?”

“Eh……” Being afraid to wake up Meng Meng from her sleep, Zhang Han replied softly, “Let’s talk about it when we meet.”

Despite Zhang Han’s voice being very soft, the little girl heard him. Twisting around her little body, she kicked away the blanket, revealing her little legs and a disposable diaper.

Zhang Han tenderly covered the little fellow with the blanket again, then walked to a corner to continue chatting with Zhang Li. After chatting for close to an hour, he hung up.

Walking back to the bed, Zhang Han took off his clothes and placed it on the side. Looking at the adorable little girl by his side, Zhang Han gradually fell asleep.

The next day just as the sun came up, Zhang Han was woken up by a burst of crying sound.

Zhang Han quickly opened his eyes and saw that the little girl beside him was crying loudly.

“What’s the matter little daring? Don’t cry, don’t cry. Come, give daddy a hug.” Zhang Han quickly hugged the little fellow in his embrace.

“Boohoo, boohoo…D-d-daddy, there wa-was a big monster chasing after me. I’m scared!” Meng Meng cried.

Zhang Han said softly, “Meng Meng, it was only a dream. You were just dreaming.”

“Boohoo! I’m scared…”

After coaxing for a while and seeing that it was not working at all, he suddenly thought of an idea. Raising his left hand, he attracted the little girl’s attention,

"Meng Meng don’t be scared. Big monsters are all stupid and ugly. Watch as daddy beat the big monster up! Ha! Watch this fist of mine! Bang! The monster’s nose has been beaten crooked by me. Watch these two fingers of mine. Ha! The monster’s eyes got poked out by me. Look at this palm of mine. Smack! The monster got beaten to death with a slap from my palm!”

Seeing that she had stopped crying after being attracted by his actions, Zhang Han let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, the big monster has been beaten to death by daddy!”

Looking at Zhang Han, she said in a worshipping tone, “Wow, daddy is so powerful.” There were still tear stains on the edge of Meng Meng’s eyes, but the crying had stopped.

“That is only natural. Your dad is the most powerful.” Zhang Han said proudly.

“Daddy, I’m hungry. I want to drink milk.”

“Give daddy a second, daddy will get you milk.” Zhang Han stood up and went to grab a cup of milk for her

After getting the cup of milk, he realized that the milk’s fragrant was very faint. Zhang Han took a look at the powdered milk and laughed in disdain, then said, “Meng Meng, wait until after we have settled down, daddy will raise a dairy cow and you’ll drink fresh milk every day.”

After finish speaking, he passed the milk bottle over to Meng Meng. Taking the milk bottle, Meng Meng drank a big mouthful, then asked confusedly:

“What is a dairy cow?”

“Dairy cow is a cow that can produce milk.” Zhang Han explained, “The powdered milk that you are currently drinking is manufactured out of cow’s milk. Little children all have to drink milk to grow up because milk is nutritious.”

“Didn’t I-I drink mommy’s milk to grow up?” Meng Meng asked.

“You drank your mother’s milk when you were a year old. After a year, you have to start drinking cow’s milk.” Zhang Han replied.

Luckily, Zhang Han loved Meng Meng. If she were an outsider or some other family’s child asking him question upon question, Zhang Han would most definitely be annoyed and say:

“Am I the great Han Yan Immortal Monarch supposed to be here to answer all your questions? Scram, you.”

For his own daughter, however, Zhang Han had no choice but to answer all her questions, while feeling both helplessness and enjoyment.

In the morning at 9 am, the manager of the second-hand car website arrived as planned. After finishing the deal with the car, Zhang Han rejected the manager’s invitation to eat together.

Back in the hotel, he threw away all the other bank cards in his wallet, leaving himself with the new card that had 2 million yuan on it.

Afterward, Zhang Han and Meng Meng remained in the hotel to wait for night to come and head to the airport.

Under normal circumstances, when going to Xiangjiang, one had to get a visa. In addition, they were not allowed to stay there for too long. However, Zhang Han did not need to trouble himself with those minor details, because not only did he have a house at Xiangjiang, he also has the permanent residency there. As someone who was once the young master of a rich and powerful family, if he was not able to even do those things, it would really be a joke.

In the afternoon, while eating a simple lunch at the hotel’s restaurant, Zhang Han looked at the sumptuous food in front of him and started considering whether he should find a larger mountain to set as his base. If he were to personally grow the ingredients himself, it would be much better than eating out at restaurants.

“Meng Meng’s body is currently growing and requires an abundance of nutrition. Thus the food she eats must be the best. Seems like I will have to prepare a detailed plan.”

From then on, when Zhang Han pondered over things, he would always keep Meng Meng in mind. It must be said that, after having a daughter, Zhang Han’s mindset had started to change.

At 4pm afternoon, Zhang Han carried the little girl and took a taxi to the International Airport. Arriving at 5pm, they stayed at the airport lounge to wait for the plane. The little girl was very excited to travel.

At Zhang Han’s destination, Xiangjiang. , in one of the offices of the Imperial Corporation’s subsidiary company, Imperial Entertainment:

“Big sister Yan, you shouldn’t be too anxious. After all, you just came back out of retirement. Because the company’s competition is so fierce right now, it is impossible for the company to arrange plans for you in such a short time,” a woman with a ponytail said to Zi Yan.

“I know.”

Sitting at the sofa by the window, Zi Yan’s exquisite face was filled with exhaustion. Gazing out of the window, she shook her head and said:

“But if I wait for the company to make a plan, I would have to wait for at least half a year or more before I’m able to get a role in a show. The news about me coming out of retirement has already been reported. If I were to not have any activity in the following months, my fans will be very disappointed.”

“Prince Li invited you to eat dinner at Amber Restaurant tomorrow. His father is one of the members of Imperial Corporation’s board of directors. If he is to say something on your behalf, there will be no problems with getting a role in a show,” said the woman.

“It is not that simple.” Zi Yan sighed while feeling vexed.

The entertainment industry was a very complex place. For example, the motive of prince Li’s dinner invitation was very obvious. If Zi Yan was to agree to whatever his conditions were during the dinner, the matter of getting a role in a show would be solved very quickly. But, was this kind of deal she wanted?

Zi Yan had always rejected these kinds of “business deals”. Back then when she signed a 5-year contract with Imperial Entertainment, she relied on her beautiful appearance and heart-touching voice, and after 3 years of hard work, along with the company’s grooming, she became famous.

In her fourth year, she switched from singing to acting. During that year, the number of movies and shows that she was in were endless, causing her reputation to become even greater. It got to the point where she had the chance to win the title of “Best Actress Award” during that fifth year. That’s when the accident with Zhang Han happened.

Originally, when Zi Yan was pregnant, she wanted to immediately retire, but her company did not allow it. Without a choice, she persevered for a few more months until the contract with the company came to an end. Then she went to North America. Five years later, when she returned to China, the entertainment industry was however already not how it used to be.

The competition in the entertainment industry was much fiercer now. After signing a 3-year contract, the company did not give her resources to help her. After all, everyone else was queuing up for their turn to get resources. So it was not possible for a has-been celebrity to cut in line.

In the company, there were many people who pointed at her, and from time to time said out loud “has-been celebrity.” Those three words made Zi Yan feel indignant. Now she wanted to use her own strength to prove herself.

The woman with a ponytail passed a glass of water over to Zi Yan and said, “Big sister, take a sip of water. You can do it, I believe you.”

“Thank you, Xiao Fei,” Zi Yan said with a slight smile.

The ponytailed woman’s name was Zhou Fei. She was an orphan since young and suffered quite a bit. She became a manager after growing up. However, when she was working as Zi Yan’s manager, she felt comfort and warm from Zi Yan, and so became extremely faithful to Zi Yan. Even when Zi Yan retired and went to North America to hide, she remained with Zi Yan.

Right now, not only was she Zi Yan’s manager, she was also her assistant and housekeeper. Towards Zi Yan, she was very nice, but towards outsiders, she had a sharp tongue.

“What are you being courteous to me for? Big sister, how about you release an album first? The company has recently gotten quite a few songs. You can go discuss with big sister Mei, I reckon she might agree to let you choose the songs, after all, you did initially debuted through music,” Zhou Fei said.

“Let's see how things go first.”