"No, no, no, we need to get you to a hospital for a check-up immediately. I’ll always be on tenterhooks until it’s confirmed." Guo Jinnian nearly whisked Tong Yao off to the hospital himself at once. Tong Yao was thin, her arms and legs fragile. What if something happened to her?
If anything did happen, she’d be a sinner forever. And Dr. Si, what if he lops off her legs when he returns?
With the insistence of both Gu Hongwei and Guo Jinnian, Tong Yao agreed to go to the hospital with them. As Tong Yao had previously lived in the hospital’s staff apartments, many people recognized her there, and her appearance caused quite a surprise.
All the medical staff at the hospital had heard the rumors about Si Chen’s divorce with Tong Yao. Those who had initially disliked Tong Yao now felt an even stronger distaste for her and chose to ignore her completely, as if they didn’t recognize her.
Tong Yao didn’t pay them any mind. After her appointment had been set up, she went to have her examination. Coincidentally, she ran into Guo Nan on her way there, who stared at her incredulously, questioning whether she had mistaken Tong Yao for someone else.
"Tong Yao?"
"Guo Nan." Tong Yao smiled and nodded at Guo Nan. Seeing Guo Nan’s swollen belly, she expressed her surprise: "You’re married?"
"Yes!" Guo Nan excitedly grinned, "I’ve been pregnant for over eight months now, almost due. What brings you here?"
She had heard that Tong Yao divorced Si Chen, which she felt was a pity, but it was not her place to comment or ask about other people’s affairs. Never did she expect she would run into Tong Yao at the hospital. It was quite a surprise.
"Just here for a check-up." Tong Yao chuckled.
"Have you been feeling unwell?" Guo Nan was surprised. With the superior medical facilities in Kyoto, why would Tong Yao come to a smaller hospital like this?
Tong Yao shook her head with a smile, "No, I’m just here to check if I might be pregnant."
"Pregnant?????" Guo Nan was dumbfounded, "Aren’t you..."
As though she remembered something, she suddenly held her tongue. The gossip she heard may not be true. The fact that Tong Yao was in Li City implied she and Si Chen hadn’t divorced. Otherwise, why would she be hanging around such a small town?
Guo Jinnian had obviously read Guo Nan’s mind, and said quite freely: "Did you hear Si Xiaohui and Lin Fengying say that Tong Yao and Dr. Si divorced? Don’t ever believe what they say, both of them are mad. Tong Yao and Dr. Si are doing fine. A while back, Dr. Si even came to visit Tong Yao."
So they hadn’t divorced after all. Guo Nan’s doubts were cleared. She quickly smiled and said: "Then go on with your check-up! There should be very few patients now."
She thought to herself, Si Xiaohui and Lin Fengying said Tong Yao was a barnyard hen that wouldn’t lay eggs. Now, isn’t she pregnant?
Tong Yao went up to the second floor for the pregnancy check-up in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Although she did not go to Yu Shiya’s department, Yu Shiya heard about her visit to the hospital. While Tong Yao was waiting for the results, Yu Shiya was even more anxious. As soon as the results came out confirming Tong Yao’s pregnancy, she was so furious she smashed her water glass....
Elsewhere, Tong Yao looked at the pregnancy period indicated on her report, feeling extremely excited. Her eyes were full of happiness.
Indeed, the heavens were looking out for her; she was pregnant, carrying hers and Si Chen’s baby.
Leaving the hospital, Tong Yao began to calm down, while Guo Jinnian was increasingly excited, making sure Tong Yao was carefully tucked away like a precious pearl during their walk.
"Yaoyao, you are now our top priority. From now on, I’ll handle the heavy and tiring tasks, Hongwei can take care of the thinking, and you can just be the commander," Guo Jinnian said.
"That sounds like a good idea." Gu Hongwei nodded sincerely.
Tong Yao burst into laughter, amused by their antics. "I’m not that delicate, there’s no need to make a fuss. Come, let’s go eat. I’ll treat you to something delicious."
"We should eat something good. Now, as a pregnant woman, you need to eat well." Guo Jinnian fixed his gaze on Tong Yao’s belly, "I’m guessing I’ll have a pretty hard time getting married in the future. Let me be your child’s godmother."
"Deal!" Tong Yao readily agreed.
Guo Jinnian’s heart blossomed with joy. "Then I’ll treat you to today’s meal. As the future godmother of the child, I must treat you all to something good."
Tong Yao led them to a restaurant she had enjoyed before. The food was great, and they all hadn’t had a proper meal in a while so they relished it. Everything she ordered was to her liking, which helped to keep her meal down.
After the meal, the trio headed to a tea shop. As soon as they arrived at the entrance, Tong Yao was surrounded by three dogs wagging their tails and growling happily. She paused before realizing that these three dogs, now chubby as pigs, were the three stray dogs she used to take care of.
Don’t blame her for not recognizing them, they had changed way too much.
Upon her query, the three dogs barked in response. Tong Yao was taken aback.
She could no longer understand what the dogs were saying....
After thinking it over, she realized that shortly after Si Chen left last time, everything became quiet. Could it be...Her superpowers disappeared after she became pregnant???
Tong Yao was not sure if her pregnancy was the cause, but it seemed like she could not understand the dogs anymore.
"Boss, our neighbors love these dogs. They consider them lucky charms. They often feed them bones and seasonings, and use them to guard their homes. That’s why they’ve grown so fat," Xiaoshuang explained with a laugh.
Tong Yao figured it all out. At the time of the earthquake, these three dogs had barked and alerted the people. Everyone remembered their helpful deed.
Tong Yao patted each dog’s head and asked Xiaoshuang to buy some meat and bones for them every day. Hearing this made the tails of the three dogs wag even more furiously, and they refused to leave her side.
After sitting in the tea shop for more than half an hour, Tong Yao decided to go back to the inn to rest. Gu Hongwei and Guo Jinnian set off for the market. When they returned, they hadn’t made much progress with their errands, but they did bring back someone with them.
"Sister Hu?" Tong Yao was slightly surprised to see that Hu Haiyun had returned with Guo Jinnian and Gu Hongwei. She didn’t expect to see her again so soon.
Now, Hu Haiyun was neat in appearance, displaying a mature aura. She was very different from the person Tong Yao had encountered earlier.
"Miss Tong, I did not expect we would meet again so soon." Hu Haiyun revealed a bitter smile at the corner of her mouth.
Just as Tong Yao was about to offer Hu Haiyun a seat, she noticed the bandage on Hu Haiyun’s arm, with traces of coagulated blood. Concerned, she asked: "Are you hurt?"
Hu Haiyun shook her head. "Just a flesh wound, nothing to worry about."
After inviting Hu Haiyun to sit, they all engaged in idle chit-chat for a while. It was then that Gu Hongwei finally brought up the story of meeting Hu Haiyun. He and Guo Jinnian had visited several shops, only to be denied entry because the owners feared they were scammers.
After wandering around for a while, realizing it was about time to return, Guo Jinnian remembered that Tong Yao, now pregnant, needed to wear maternity dresses, suggesting they bring a few back for her. Thus, they had bumped into Hu Haiyun in one of the shops.