Gifford gazed at his sister, just born and wrinkled all over, and he whispered, "Finally, someone to go through training with me. Maybe Dad will let up, for once."
Unfortunately, the little boy was wrong. He waited patiently for his sister to grow up. But even when Yvette reached the tender age of three, Wesley still didn't seem interested in training her. He'd take the two out for a jog, but that was as intense as he got with Yvette. Eventually, he'd take Yvette home, and play the harsh taskmaster with Gifford.
Their third baby, Erica Li, was unplanned.
By the time Erica Li was born, Evelyn was fifteen years old, Gifford was ten, Terilynn nine, Yvette seven and Matthew all of five years of age.
Niles had two kids—a six-year-old girl and a boy a year younger.
When Cecelia discovered that Blair's third child was another daughter, she was so happy that she immediately gave Blair three million dollars.
She was a fair mother-in-law—she had also given Irene three million dollars after she gave birth to a daughter.
Blair pondered this for a whole week and finally remembered how she had gotten pregnant this time.
It was a dark and windy night. Blair had just come back from work. She didn't expect Wesley home so early, but there he was.
She wore a knee-length cold shoulder shirt that she bought on impulse two days ago. It was basic white cotton, revealing her shoulders and lovely collarbones. She was definitely sexy.
She felt like a completely different woman. By the time she got home, Wesley was walking down the stairs.
His eyes lit up when he saw his wife. After Blair said hi to the elders in the living room, Wesley told her, "Good! You're home. I need to talk to you." Blair had been taken in by this countless times, yet she still followed him to their bedroom. She was always too trusting.
One could imagine the result. Her shirt was torn from her, and he had his way with her.
While they were both naked, they found there were no condoms. Blair urged Wesley to buy them, but he said he would buy them next time.
He did buy a few boxes of condoms after this. But before the condoms were used up, Blair found she was pregnant.
She was so mad at Wesley that she left again.
Cecelia hadn't seen Blair for a few days, so she asked her grandson in confusion, "Where's your mom? I haven't seen her a few days."
"She ran away from Dad again," Gifford answered calmly.
"Again? But why?"
"Mom always holds her back and complains, 'My back is killing me. It's all your fault, Wesley Li! My life is a living hell.'" Gifford's imitation amused Cecelia.
"Really? You're going to have a kid brother. Or maybe a little sister. Your mom and dad will be very busy preparing for the baby. Grandma will take good care of you. I'll treat you like my own kids," Cecelia joked.
Gifford, however, shook his head. "No way! You always hit Uncle Niles. That's no fun. I don't want to be your son."
"Ha-ha! You bad boy! You always make me laugh."
"Grandma, can we be friends? I want to be friends with you."
"Why on earth would you want to be friends with me?" Cecelia asked in confusion.
"I wanna hang out with you."
Cecelia held back her laughter and pretended to be sad.
"But I'm an old woman now. I might not be able to keep up with you."
Cecelia had already had a few white hairs, and the skin on her cheeks and around her eyes was starting to wrinkle.
"Grandma, you are not an old woman. You are as young as my mom!" Gifford protested.
"Really? Oh Gifford, you're so sweet. You always know what to say to make me smile. I love you so much."
Blair's child was expected to pop around Wesley's birthday. She suddenly had an idea and went for a cesarean section instead.
So father and daughter had the same birthday.
Erica Li was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. After all, she had a brother and a sister, as well as many cousins to lavish their love and attention on her. She was the little princess of the Li family, and people called her Angel as a nickname. But the spoiled girl never stayed away from trouble and soon got herself a new pet name—Miss Troublemaker.
One day, Blair asked Cecelia to take care of Erica Li for her. She got changed and went to pick up Wesley. They were going to a friend's party tonight.
When she arrived, she saw Wesley berating his men loudly. "Look at you! You're in your twenties. I'm over forty. Yet you can't outrun me? Such a disgrace! For you and me! Why are you even here? When I was your age, I could run 10 k, carrying 10 k, and come in first."
His voice was stern and firm. Dressed in his uniform, he looked valiant and heroic despite his age. He was still the awe-inspiring officer, even 20 years on.
However, when he noticed the woman staring at him, smiling, his eyes softened.
One of the soldiers whispered, "The wifey's here. We're saved."
"Really? Thank God. I couldn't take much more of his nagging. It's enough to make you wanna kill yourself."
"Silence!"
Under the watchful eyes of his men, the stern-looking man finished his lecture as soon as he saw his beautiful wife. "Dismissed," he declared.
After that, Wesley hastily ran up to Blair and saluted. "Babe."
Blair chuckled. "What did they do this time?" she asked.
"They couldn't outrun me. They're lucky I only yelled at them. I should've punished them!" Wesley held her hand in his and they walked to the parking lot together.
"Don't look so serious," she pouted.
Wesley gave her a smile. "Next time, I'll wear a pair of white gloves to check if there's dust in their dorms. I'll check their beds and see if I can bounce a coin off them..."
Blair burst out laughing. She knew he was serious as he had already begun to teach Gifford how to make his bed military style. "Come on! Lighten up! By the way, you are as amazing as ever. You are more than forty, yet you outran a group of young men."
"Do you know why?" Wesley suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A gust of wind blew over. Ginkgo leaves floated down from the ginkgo trees in the yard, passing by them.
The scene was lovely. It was a perfect time and place for lovers' honeyed words.
Blair blinked, and looked at her favorite and the most important man in her life like a little child with a slightly crooked head. "Why?"
Wesley looked her in the eye and said in a charming voice, "I tried my best to run the five kilometers, just because I imagined you were waiting there at the end."
Wesley's tone was matter-of-fact, yet Blair was still moved. With their fingers entwined, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "You know we'll live happily ever after, right?"
Wesley nodded his head heavily. "Count on it." Deep in his heart, he thought, 'Not only in this life, but the next life as well.
Blair, thank you for coming into my life. You are the most wonderful woman in the world.'