Leaf abruptly stopped what she was doing, turned to Zero, and said, “Looks like husband candidate number 1 is asking for attention. Gotta go.”

Leaf started to fade and then completely disappeared with a blushed expression. You heard that right, she decided to get along with Zed and started to get to know him. She even started calling him husband candidate number 1 in her mind.

Hearing what Leaf said and looking at Zed in the mirror feeding cute apple bunnies while Leaf willingly opened her mouth to receive them, he started to have a mild headache. His host was really out of control.

+++++

During the days leading up to her discharge from the hospital, Leaf was being pampered by Zed.

Zed began ordering various kinds of fruits, flowers, and amenities immediately after his confession. He worked diligently to create a homely atmosphere in the hospital room. He even carved fruits into cute animal shapes with his superb knife skills and offered them to Leah.

It didn't bother him that Leah didn't respond to his confession. He was simply happy that he hadn't been outright rejected.

When he noticed Leah not touching the fruits and focusing on her laptop, he tried to feed her himself. Leaf was too lazy to be bothered, so she let him do as he pleased.

She decided to do whatever she felt like doing. After all, she was on vacation. Being pampered was a new experience for her, and she felt elated.

Leah accepting his advances made Zed over the moon. He even went further by ceasing to call the hospital staff when Leah needed something and attending to her needs himself, as long as it didn't involve leaving Leah's side.

When Leah needed to use the toilet, he offered to carry her. With an amused expression, Leah nodded in agreement.

"Am I agreeing too easily to his advances?" Leah thought to herself. She shook her head slightly and decided that she was willing to let this man take advantage of her for now. I forgot to mention that Zed is her type. Everything ticks all her checklists, from body build and facial features to behavior.

She chuckled inwardly and maintained her gaze on the man as she was bridal carried to the washroom. A few seconds later, a blush appeared on Zed's ears and spread to his neck.

Leah was once again amused. Everything was red, including his face.

Leah hugged the man's neck to stabilize herself. "Cute," she said halfway to the washroom door while blowing warm air on Zed's ear.

Zed stiffened, walked faster, and left Leah inside before closing the door. He wanted to leave the hospital room, but he couldn't. Then he heard laughter from the other side of the door.

He sat down, his hands intertwined, looking as though he was about to make an important decision. "F*ck," he muttered. He was now facing one of the most significant crises in his life. A huge tent was forming over his groin.

Like most men, he experienced morning wood once in a while. Like most men, he got hard in unexpected circumstances, which was normal. But unlike most men, it did not last longer than a few minutes. It shrank back like it never happened in the first place. He couldn't even remember if he ever woke up with wet underwear, and I'm not talking about being wet with pee or watery stool here.

His body's urge to procreate didn't connect to his brain.

Back in the present, he had an uncontrolled desire to release something from within, to be with Leah intimately. However, he didn't want to appear unsightly in front of Leah or behave ungentlemanly towards her.

From his earlier research, he knew that most women preferred gentle and considerate men. They favored men who listened, knew how to cook, and respected their independence. He planned to embody all those qualities just to win Leah over.

It also stated that women prefer financially independent men, and he could confidently say that with his savings in USD, he could be considered a millionaire. He was willing to give her all his money as soon as they became official—heck, he was willing to do it now. However, he knew that Leah had more money than him, and he didn't want to overwhelm her.

Accompanying Leah, he learned that she was currently busy making plans on how to deal with that Wang bastard, his mistress, and more. She also refused to take a break from managing part of her parents' company as a future heiress.

The sound of a flushing toilet woke him up, jolting him back to his current predicament. In a panic state for the first time, he dashed to his assigned room next door. He opened a duffel bag containing who knows what and grabbed a taser. He mercilessly tased his right leg. Thanks to his inhumane training, he recovered immediately from the shock. He got up as if nothing had happened, his face returning to its stoic appearance and his body in default state.

After a quick mental and physical assessment, finding everything in satisfactory condition, he rushed back to Leaf's side.

Meanwhile, on Leah's side, after Zed gently put her down and closed the washroom door, entertained by Zed's reaction, she laughed.

She removed her underwear, lifted her hospital gown, and sat on the toilet. She knew that the washroom was not soundproof, but the noise would still be muffled. Aware that with Zed’s abilities, he could still hear from outside if she farted or peed, she didn't care. Firstly, people fart, pee, and poop. Secondly, he was assigned to stick with her all day and night, so it was unavoidable. Lastly, if they ended up being an official couple in the future, they both needed to get used to each other's unsightly habits and physiological needs.

When Leah opened the washroom door after drying her hands, she saw an expressionless Zed. She noticed how those dead eyes came to life after seeing her. Leah looked him up and down and found no other reaction.

Zed stepped aside to let Leah pass by.

"Not carrying me anymore?" she asked. Zed looked down to avoid eye contact and shook his head.

Leah walked back to her bed and continued working on her laptop. Zed did the same. He was now diving into the business world, especially those involved with the Liu conglomerate. He wanted to know everything about Leah and anything that could harm her.

Leah was just staring at her laptop. She had to admit, she was a bit disturbed by Zed’s lack of reaction after showing her his lovely blushing face. Tapping into the system that records all the occurrences in the world, she found out what happened. With a frown on her face, she looked at Zed.

"Zed," she beckoned.

"Hmmm," Zed replied, facing Leah.

As Leah looked into his obsidian-like, expectant eyes, Leaf mulled over whether she should ask him what happened and offer her piece of advice.

Leah shook her head and said, "Never mind." She continued looking at her laptop, focusing on her work. Puzzled, Zed looked at the frowning Leah, but her frown eased, and she returned to her usual grin. This relieved Zed, and he returned to his self-assigned work.

Leaf decided against confronting her husband candidate number 1. "I'm sure he'll be able to handle the next one with the right approach. He's not stupid enough to tase himself a second or third time, right? He even avoids touching me to prevent it from happening again. With his job, he wouldn't be able to avoid touching me, but I'm sure he'll find a way online or offline to handle it normally," Leah tried to convince herself.

Little did she know, Zed was so preoccupied with her that he had pushed that incident to the back of his mind. In Zed’s world, Leah was his highest priority, and everything else was relegated to the bottom of his list.

Even if he found a normal way to address the issue, he would consider it inefficient. To him, a quick fix like tasing himself was faster, and he would resort to it again if needed.

Leah would soon come to regret not speaking up at that moment. She would never again compare Zed to the common sense of the general population after that.

Meanwhile, in another hospital…

A woman with a pale complexion lay on a hospital bed, her hands being held by a man in a suit with a worried expression. They both focused intently on the doctor in front of them.

"The fetus is now stable and safe," a female doctor delivered the good news to what she assumed was a newly married couple.