He knew Qin Xiangnuan very well, considering her typically reserved and uncommunicative nature. Without her saying anything, no one would know her issues; thus, he had to intervene and care for her. Marrying such a girl means he’s both tired and overjoyed.
Qin Xiangnuan breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the excuse was acceptable to everyone. Hopefully, Li Qiuhua didn’t feel too embarrassed either, for indeed, she had been consuming too much nourishment recently, leading to constipation from the resulting "heatiness".
Luckily, she stopped drinking more soup. Plus, the system issued her a bottle of medicine, recommending she take one tiny, tasteless pill daily with water. Whether it was due to stopping the supplemental soup or the medicine itself, her constipation did improve.
"Have you decided?" Qin Xiangnuan asked the system if it really wanted to give up its eighteen years of memories to become human—with all the illnesses and emotions that entailed, eventually leading to death.
Being human isn’t all that great; being a system seems much better with its eternal life, devoid of the lengthy yet fleeting vicissitudes of human existence.
"I’m sure. What about you?"
The system wouldn’t say it out loud but only displayed a line of text.
"When I turn eighteen, the system will vanish from you and return to me. Won’t you be system-less then?"
Qin Xiangnuan chuckled softly, having no real objections, "You have helped me so much. I can manage well without the system now. Moreover, it originally belonged to you; it’s just returning to its rightful owner. So when do you transform into my baby? Should I start calling you my child?"
The system responded much later with a string of ellipses, seemingly confused by its newfound ability to express human emotions.
"Keep taking the medicine until they are born," it told her after a long pause.
This sparked a thought in Qin Xiangnuan, "Are you saying there’s more than one baby inside me? Could it be twins?" she asked excitedly, her eyes moist with emotion.
"People have dozens of children; why would having just one mean a loss?"
Qin Tongnuan could only laugh at the absurdity. It had nothing to do with making a loss, but thankfully, her condition was good enough to support raising multiple children, unlike others who struggle financially just to raise one.
Food, growth, diapers, schooling, housing, marriage—modern society struggles to afford even one child, let alone a dozen. That seemed utterly life-threatening.
Suppressing her laughter, she naturally wouldn’t delve into these unrealistic scenarios with the system. As long as she could deliver, she would provide for them, whether it’s one child or two.
"Do you plan to join as well?" Qin Xiangnuan questioned the system, genuinely unopposed to it becoming her child. The system had made it clear that although the child would also ’be’ the system, it would just possess additional memories belonging to the system, reincarnating as her child.
"No," the system responded without hesitation.
"Why?" Qin Xiangnuan couldn’t understand. "Didn’t you say you wanted to become human? Why change your mind now?"
"I haven’t changed my mind," the system seemed a bit reserved, finally responding after a while.
"They will be boys; how can I become a human then?"
Qin Xiangnuan couldn’t help but laugh at the system’s upfront humor about possibly becoming a transsexual.
However, placing her hand on her still-flat belly, it seemed Jian Zhiqing’s dream of having a daughter was not possible now.
Could it be that she’d really need to try for a second child when she’s forty? More like a pearl from an old clam. But it seems there was no choice—if she wanted a daughter, she’d have to try again.
"What if the second child is also a boy?" Qin Xiangnuan worried, as this wasn’t something she could control; it was in the hands of fate.
"You will definitely give birth to me," the system, seemingly still piqued maybe from knowing it had to wait another decade or so, responded. But there was no helping it since the child Qin Xiangnuan was currently expecting, despite being twins, didn’t include it.
All Qin Xiangnuan could do was sigh helplessly.
She truly couldn’t do anything about it.
She busied herself with sewing some unfinished garments while her belly was still manageable, planning to sell them since the new season’s clothing had arrived, easing her workload.
It was just... her stomach.
She was getting hungry too quickly.
She couldn’t stand it anymore; she needed to get some food. When she finally left the system interface, not much time had passed since she entered, but she was just really hungry, worried that giving birth to these twins might turn her into a fat person.
When Jian Zhi returned, he brought her favorite dumplings from a restaurant she loved. Qin Xiangnuan was so pleased that she ate a large plate by herself, even forgetting that she had just eaten. Gazing at the empty plate before her, Jian Zhi hadn’t managed to eat any himself, stunned by how satisfied Qin Xiangnuan looked rubbing her belly.
Was she eating too much?
But remembering that she’s currently eating for two, he understood.
Yet he still worried about Qin Xiangnuan; it seemed like she was eating too much, concerned that she might overstuff herself. Previously, Qin Xiangnuan didn’t eat much, rapidly feeling full, but now she was eating more than him, a grown man.
Initially, Jian Zhi could remain seated, but it soon became unbearable whenever he saw the large bowls in front of Qin Xiangnuan, his heart racing with anxiety.
Eventually, Jian Zhi felt he was going insane, unable to ignore how her eating increased daily without gaining weight, he worried that it might be a malnutrition issue. So he took leave from work and accompanied Qin Xiangnuan to the hospital, coincidentally running into her high school friend Li Li, and Mao Xiaomei, who had financial difficulties back then. Qin Xiangnuan had helped them with their breakfasts for about three years during school, which they gratefully remembered. The friends kept in touch, often celebrating holidays together.
Li Li was quite surprised by this coincidence, having just transferred to this hospital only a few days before she encountered her old classmate.
"What’s wrong, where does it hurt?" Li Li, now a senior doctor, asked as she had been practicing medicine for several years and was doing quite well.