"Wife," Xie Jingchen stepped quickly to block her way, speaking earnestly:
"I might not be like other husbands who can keep you company all the time, but when I’m here, I want to do everything within my power to make you feel secure and happy. You’re not alone, you have me. No matter how long I have to leave in the future, I only know this: you are my wife, and when I return to your side, I will fulfil my duties as a husband, caring for you with all my heart, and protecting you in every possible way."
What Xie Jingchen left unsaid was that even when he couldn’t constantly be by her side, he’d still find every possible way to protect her fully.
Zhang Shanni stared blankly at his stern and sincere face, only managing to mutter a low "oh".
Zhang Shanni, groggy, was supported by Xie Jingchen at the dining table; she wasn’t even clear on how she had managed to gulp down the wontons into her belly.
Later, feeling bloated and uncomfortable, she had no choice but make Xie Jingchen do the dishes while she roamed aimlessly around the living room by herself.
"So, so stupid!" Zhang Shanni held her belly, walking and criticizing herself internally for being such a silly glutton!
How could she have eaten the whole big bowl of wontons just because they were tasty!
If it weren’t for Xie Jingchen suddenly speaking up and startling her, she might have finished the entire bowl, broth and all!
Her belly was already big enough, and now she had gorged herself; it was no wonder she felt so bloated.
Xie Jingchen was equally worried. He hurriedly placed the dishes in the sink and quickly stepped out.
Seeing his little wife’s face red with discomfort, how could he not feel anxious?
"Wife, feeling any better?" Xie Jingchen saw his wife constantly rubbing her belly, embracing her with one arm to pull her against his chest, and with the other hand he gently mimicked her actions, soothing her tummy.
"Sniff, it still feels so full!" Zhang Shanni had already chewed two digestive pills, but they were medicine, not immortal medicine; they couldn’t possibly work in just a few minutes. They required slow, gradual movements. This combined approach would hopefully yield a better result.
"You silly girl, what were you thinking while eating?" Xie Jingchen was exasperated. His wife was indeed cutely foolish, but seeing her holding her stomach and pacing back and forth, he felt heartbroken for her.
After all, she is his own wife to cherish, and with her belly just over four months along, already the size of five or six months, it was quite big. Now that she had overeaten, it seemed to Xie Jingchen that her belly had grown an additional fifth in size... He watched, feeling exhausted for her!
It’s all your fault! Speaking so sentimentally out of the blue, causing her to be moved and overeat on the sweet impulse – no one else is as adorably foolish as that.
Zhang Shanni was too embarrassed to voice her own thoughts, merely giving Xie Jingchen an innocent, accusing glance.
"You!" Xie Jingchen ruffled her hair with his large hand, wearing a look of wordless resignation caused by her.
Outside, the ground was even colder after a night of snow, and it was slippery now, with little snowflakes still drifting down. Seeing his little wife , Xie Jingchen couldn’t dare to let her step outside.
The two of them had no choice but to make do with slowly walking around the small living room.
With Xie Jingchen’s support, Zhang Shanni moved much faster, and after turning around for nearly half an hour, she cast a sidelong glance at the man and saw that he was already sleepy but still stubbornly supporting her as they moved. She felt a mischievous sense of triumph in her heart.
Seeing the effects dissipated, and he could still hold on for another half hour, she felt a deep sense of respect for her husband’s strong will for the first time.
"Brother Chen, I’m so sleepy, let’s go back to sleep for a while. We can go for the prenatal check-up when the sun is out at noon, okay?" Zhang Shanni feigned a giant yawn, her words laced with feigned drowsiness.
Although the couple had already had breakfast and even took a ’walk’ for half an hour, in fact, it wasn’t even seven in the morning yet.
Zhang Shanni’s biological clock normally has her up before six, and Xie Jingchen’s even earlier—he would consider waking up at five to be already late.
If it weren’t for the fear of waking his wife when getting up, he wouldn’t have stayed in bed with her until nearly six o’clock.
"Okay." Xie Jingchen’s head was tortured by sleepiness. Hearing his little wife’s words, he immediately agreed, supporting his last bit of consciousness, helped his wife back to bed, took off his jacket, then gently laid down beside her. In less than three seconds, he fell into a deep sleep.
Zhang Shanni was also quite sleepy and, to make it seem more real, she too took some Spirit Core Liquid.
But because she had been taking it almost every month, her reaction wasn’t as intense as the first time Xie Jingchen took it.
Seeing the man sleeping peacefully by her side, Zhang Shanni gradually couldn’t resist the drowsiness either. She propped her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.
The couple slept very comfortably.
However, in another family building not far from them, two women of different ages were quarreling non-stop.
"Little sister, don’t go too far; that’s your brother-in-law!" It wasn’t something she could tolerate.
As expected, old habits die hard! When their mother brought the little sister to their home, she felt something was off. If she hadn’t insisted on knowing the reason from their mother, she wouldn’t have been on guard!
That was enough! Were they really her mother and sister?!
The audacity of her little aunt to almost cling to her brother-in-law while she was busy doing housework in the kitchen—how could she tolerate that!
She knew what her little sister wanted—it was to irritate her to the point that she’d send herself back to her hometown!
Bullshit, did she really think she wanted to keep her here? If it weren’t for their mother clinging to her, in tears, begging her to convince her little sister to stay before she left, she would have never continued to endure!
Seeing her sister’s behavior, it was truly intolerable—even if her own mother were here, she wouldn’t be able to bear it!
"What do you mean I’ve gone too far? If you’re scared, just send me back home! I’m saying you’ve really done it, making me come to a place . Have you ever considered what I want?"
Indeed, they were real sisters, their emotional outbursts were exactly the same. The elder had held back a few times, but finally felt that if she didn’t wake her sister up from her ’daydreaming’, she’d be the only one to suffer. If it affected her husband, what would become of her future life?
"Pah! What desires do you have, little sister? To seduce a married man? He’s already got two or three kids, and his wife is pregnant. You shamelessly throw yourself at him, do you want to be a stepmother? I want to ask you, what are you thinking? Giving up a good first marriage, only to debase yourself by throwing yourself at someone?"
The older woman seemed to realize that these words were harsh. She dragged her sister into a room to continue their quarrel.
But as they debated louder and louder, and considering the poor sound insulation of the houses at that time, the man sitting in the living room frowned.
This little aunt had been here for only four or five days and had almost torn his house apart. His mother-in-law was still so unreliable!
This arguing non-stop on the first day of the new year—what bad luck!