The news that Ling Tianya was pregnant with a daughter went viral in less time than it took to eat a meal.
In the living room, Madame Ruan and Wang Yazhi were watching a rerun of Hunting Allure. They were entirely captivated by the plot and were unable to tear themselves away.
Ruan Qishan returned from a social engagement and, upon seeing his mother and wife watching television, handed his coat to a servant and walked over to them.
Seeing that Ruan Qishan had returned, Wang Yazhi smiled charmingly at him. “You’re back. How much have you had to drink?”
As Wang Yazhi spoke, she sniffed Ruan Qishan’s body to see if there was a strong smell of liquor on him.
She wanted Ruan Qishan to cancel all social engagements with the outside world and become a slave to his wife, yet as the boss, Ruan Qishan had the responsibility to be sociable.
Today was alright. The alcohol smell on Ruan Qishan’s body wasn’t strong. Wang Yazhi said, “Are you tired? I’ve already told someone to help you prepare the water for your bath. Go take a bath and go to sleep early. Mom and I will go to bed after we’ve finished watching this.”
Ruan Qishan had been home for a while now and Madame Ruan hadn’t even turned her head toward him. She was entirely focused on the television. Although she had already seen the movie, she didn’t want to miss anything.
Ruan Qishan looked at Madame Ruan and then asked, “Tiny Rice Ball is a girl?”
Tiny Rice Ball! Every time Wang Yazhi and Madame Ruan heard Ruan Qishan say that name seriously, they would be covered with goosebumps.
Madame Ruan finally lifted her head and looked at Ruan Qishan oddly. “Who told you that?”
No one in the Ruan Family knew of the tiny rice ball’s gender. Because they wanted to respect Ling Tianya’s wishes, they had never asked the doctor about the child’s sex, so how had Ruan Qishan found out that Tiny Rice Ball was a girl?
“You went to the hospital in secret to ask?” Madame Ruan’s expression turned grim. “Didn’t the Ling girl ask you not to? Why couldn’t you control yourself?”
Ruan Qishan felt wronged at being scolded by Madame Ruan. “I didn’t ask. Someone at my table during this evening’s dinner told me.”
Madame Ruan raised an eyebrow. “That’s weird. Our own family doesn’t know, so how could an outsider have found out? What did the person say?”
Ruan Qishan furrowed his brows as he reflected on the conversation he had been part of earlier. “I was talking, then this person raised his glass and congratulated me. I was very confused as to what he was congratulating me about. Then, he said congratulations on adding a small cotton jacket to the family and said something about a granddaughter being better. A granddaughter will be more considerate and filial in the future. I was completely mystified. Only after asking him did I find out that there was a rumor going around that my daughter-in-law was pregnant with a daughter.”
Madame Ruan’s anger immediately dissipated. Where had that rumor come from? Even the people in their own family didn’t know and yet, it had gone viral in the outside world. How could that be right?
“Therefore, I came back to ask if you guys knew about it but you have no idea either.” Ruan Qishan paused. “I was thinking that perhaps our daughter-in-law secretly went to ask the doctor and, after finding out that it was a daughter, was afraid that we wouldn’t be happy and therefore didn’t dare tell us?”
Madame Ruan took a deep breath. “The Ling girl isn’t that kind of person. If she knew, then she would definitely tell us.”
“Not necessarily. Ever since Yaya was pregnant, there have been many eyes on her. She is probably under a lot of pressure,” Wang Yazhi said.
Madame Ruan stared at Ruan Qishan and coldly asked, “If it really is a daughter, won’t you be happy?”
Ruan Qishan shook his head. “Of course not. I’d be happy with a boy or a girl.”
Madame Ruan finally relaxed and nodded. “Okay. We will pretend that we don’t know anything. No one will ask the Ling girl and we won’t put her under any pressure. In any case, for me, a girl and a boy are the same. I love them both!”