Qiao Wanqing looked at the messy drawer full of snacks, some of which had small bite marks on the packaging.

She imagined Kouko sitting on the floor alone, trying to bite open the packaging but failing, and felt a pang of sympathy for him.

This little boy had such a strong obsession with food.

Qiao Wanqing took out her phone and snapped pictures of this “evidence.”

She planned to show these photos to Kouko when he grew up, so he would remember his childhood antics, unlike Gu Yanqing, who now denied such things.

She took away all the snacks but left a few small cookies and chocolates for him, just in case he noticed his stash was missing and started crying.

Qiao Wanqing was taking advantage of the fact that Kouko didn’t know exactly how many snacks he had.

Then she sent the photos to Madam Gu on WeChat, saying, “Mom, look at how many snacks Kouko has hidden in the room you and Dad sleep in.”

Madam Gu replied quickly: “So many! Our little Kouko is getting better at hiding snacks.”

Qiao Wanqing: “Kouko is so small, he couldn’t have hidden such big snacks by himself.”

Madam Gu: “Oh, then maybe the snacks grew legs and walked into the room themselves.”

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Dear mother-in-law, could you be any more blatant with your white lies?

However, Qiao Wanqing didn’t want Madam Gu to feel embarrassed; she just wanted to let her know that she had discovered where Kuo Kuo’s snacks were hidden and that they shouldn’t buy any more for him.

Madam Gu and the others spoiled their grandson, buying him whatever he wanted and even sneaking snacks for him behind their backs.

They doted on him, and of course, they couldn’t refuse him.

But as parents, Qiao Wanqing and Gu Yanqing had to consider their child’s health as well.

In the afternoon, while Kuo Kuo was still napping, Qiao Wanqing had the butler keep an eye on him while she went to the company.

Their top-selling product had lost its ranking, and they needed to start a new link.

Product selection was a big issue. Previously, their best-seller was a mixed fruit and vegetable dried snack, so they decided to promote it again.

However, the results weren’t as ideal as expected.

After some discussion, they decided to try a new mix of dried purple sweet potato, taro, and sweet potato strips.

This new product surprisingly sold well, and customer feedback was positive.

Their data analysis showed it was the best performer.

So, they decided to push this new product.

By the time she finished her work, it was already past office hours.

Qi Xinghui was coming to pick up Tang Yueyue for dinner, so Qiao Wanqing didn’t want to delay her.

As she was leaving the office, she noticed a new flowerpot on Tang Yueyue’s desk.

It was a set of three pots, containing lucky bamboo, a money tree, and a “step-by-step growth” plant, each labeled with “Treasure Bowl” written underneath.

Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “This is so over the top.”

“Sometimes, you just have to believe in a little mysticism. To tell you the truth, my mom heard about our store being downgraded and went to a temple to have a high monk bless a pair of fortune lions for me. They’ll be arriving by express delivery tomorrow,” Tang Yueyue said.

Qiao Wanqing: “…”

Tang Yueyue went off on her date with her fortune lions, and Gu Yanqing, hearing that she was at the office, said he would come to pick her up.

After the spring season began, Gu Yanqing’s company got busy again.

The wedding, New Year, and honeymoon had taken up so much time that a lot of work had piled up.

He couldn’t be as relaxed about work as before.

So, he couldn’t leave work on time and was delayed.

Qiao Wanqing didn’t mind and waited for him at the office.

She fell asleep while waiting, not even noticing when Gu Yanqing arrived.

Gu Yanqing had been to her office before and knew where her desk was.

“Wanqing, wake up.”

Qiao Wanqing was sleeping soundly when she felt someone shaking her.

She knew she should wake up but just wanted to keep sleeping.

Then, she felt a warm, moist touch on her lips.

Gu Yanqing had used the most direct way to wake her up.

Qiao Wanqing reluctantly opened her eyes, yawning widely.

Seeing Gu Yanqing’s face so close to hers, she couldn’t help but be startled. “Are you trying to scare me to death?”

“If my handsome face can scare you, then if a real bad guy sneaks in, wouldn’t you be scared out of your wits?” Gu Yanqing shook his head, reaching out to rub her head. “Have you been very tired lately?”

He noticed that Qiao Wanqing had been looking tired lately.

“I don’t know,” Qiao Wanqing said, feeling puzzled.

She yawned and added, “I just feel so tired and want to sleep.”

Gu Yanqing helped her up from the chair and turned off her computer. “Should we go to the hospital for a check-up?”

“It’s probably not that serious. I think I’ll be fine in a few days. It might just be because I haven’t eaten much, so my blood sugar is low,” Qiao Wanqing believed there was nothing wrong with her health.

This response only strengthened Gu Yanqing’s resolve to have her checked out. “We’re going to the hospital tomorrow.”

“No need for that. You’re busy with work, and I’ll just rest for a few days.”

“Even if I’m busy, I can still make time to take you to the hospital. Or I can have the doctor come to us.”

Their family doctor was Dr. Huang, whom Kuo Kuo dreaded.

He was apparently well-trained abroad, but he didn’t have the skills to diagnose from symptoms alone.

Just saying she felt tired and wanted to sleep wouldn’t be enough.

A hospital check-up was necessary.

“Let’s go. Kuo Kuo will get upset if he wakes up and doesn’t see us. He might cry,” Gu Yanqing said, taking her bag and guiding the still-sleepy Qiao Wanqing.

Kuo Kuo wasn’t as clingy to his parents anymore.

When he woke up from his nap and saw that his parents were not there, he didn’t cry.

Instead, he played happily with the butler and even shared a pack of his snacks with him.

Butler Qing Shu knows about Kouko’s secret stash of snacks, which were bought by Madam Gu and Gu Jingzhi.

However, he doesn’t dare to report this and pretends to be unaware, letting Gu Yanqing and others discover it themselves.

Raising a child involves constantly outsmarting each other.

The drive from Qiao Wanqing’s workplace to home takes less than 20 minutes.

While she was chatting with Gu Yanqing intermittently, she soon felt sleepy.

She struggled to keep her eyes open, trying to stay awake until they got home, but somehow she fell asleep without even realizing it.

At a red light, Gu Yanqing turned up the car’s heater and adjusted Qiao Wanqing’s tilted head to prevent her from hurting her neck.

Despite being disturbed, Qiao Wanqing showed no signs of waking up; she just turned her face and continued to sleep soundly.

Gu Yanqing frowned, thinking he needed to take her to the hospital tomorrow.

…

For dinner, they made spicy beer chicken in the kitchen.

Since Qiao Wanqing had recently lost interest in lighter foods and craved something spicy, Gu Yanqing carefully prepared this dish for her.

The hotpot beer chicken is made by stir-frying the chicken until fragrant, then adding hotpot seasoning and beer to simmer it.

It has a fresh, slightly spicy flavor with a unique beer aroma.

Every piece of chicken absorbs the flavors of the hotpot seasoning and beer, making it incredibly tasty—a real meal enhancer.

The chef’s earnings were excellent, and Qiao Wanqing enjoyed the hotpot beer chicken so much that she ate two small bowls of rice in one go.

If she could fit more, she would have eaten more.

KuoKuo, however, was different.

He woke up late today, and after snacking on a pack of treats all afternoon, he was still full and didn’t want to eat dinner.

Qiao Wanqing scooped a spoonful of rice towards his mouth, but Kuo Kuo pursed his lips and avoided the spoon. “Mommy, Kuo Kuo talked to Grandma on video this afternoon.”

“Oh? Did Grandma tell Kuo Kuo to eat well so he can grow up strong?” Qiao Wanqing asked.

Kuo Kuo shook his head and said, “Grandma said Kuo Kuo can’t eat, eat dinner.”

Qiao Wanqing wanted to say, “You’re talking nonsense,” but she was curious to see how Kuo Kuo would explain, so she asked, “Why not?”

“Eating, eating too much will make your tummy, tummy explode,” Kuo Kuo said, making an exaggerated expression and adding, “Boom~”

Qiao Wanqing and Gu Yanqing exchanged glances: “……”

Look at this kid, how creative he is.

Now, Kuo Kuo can understand a bit of TV.

Sometimes, while playing, the TV at home shows cartoons like “Bears Out” or “Peppa Pig,” and Kuo Kuo picks up new words.

He’s much smarter than before, and his imaginative stories have become more elaborate.

Watching him make up stories, Gu Yanqing patted his head and said sternly, “No more snacking in the evening.”

“Kuo Kuo didn’t eat!” Kuo Kuo argued.

“Then who did?”

“Grandpa Butler!” Kouko flatly sold out his allies.

Butler: “…”

Butler Qing Shu felt frustrated but couldn’t say anything.

Today’s kids are quite impressive, both in intelligence and thinking.

After dinner, Qiao Wanqing was feeling extremely drowsy.

Normally, they would take a walk around the neighborhood, but today Qiao Wanqing wouldn’t get up and just curled up on the sofa like a corpse.

Gu Yanqing, considering she wasn’t feeling well, decided to take Kouko, who was insisting on going out to play, by himself.

A visit to the hospital was scheduled for the next day.

Gu Yanqing didn’t go to work and dragged the reluctant Qiao Wanqing out of bed to go to the hospital.

They went to a private clinic where they could get immediate tests without waiting.

They had to wait a bit for the results, so they sat on the guest sofas in the waiting area.

The atmosphere of the hospital made Qiao Wanqing feel a bit anxious.

She started worrying and imagining the worst-case scenarios, and eventually, she couldn’t help but tell Gu Yanqing, “What if I have some incurable disease?”

“Don’t say such things!” Gu Yanqing said seriously.

Qiao Wanqing stuck out her tongue, looking fierce.

Gu Yanqing took her hand to comfort her, saying, “Don’t worry, it will be fine.”

Even Kouko, who had been messing around, came over and patted Qiao Wanqing’s face, saying, “Mommy, don’t be scared.”

Qiao Wanqing hugged him and said, “Thank you, Kouko. Mommy isn’t scared.”

At that moment, the doctor who was checking her results came over with a big smile and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Gu. Mrs. Gu is pregnant.”

This news was like a bolt from the blue; both of them were stunned on the spot.

Even though Qiao Wanqing had been pregnant before, she never suspected it was the cause now because the symptoms were completely different from those of her first child.

When she was pregnant with Kuo Kuo, she experienced severe morning sickness, couldn’t eat, and even vomited bile due to an empty stomach—her reaction was very intense.

But now, while she occasionally had a poor appetite, the urge to vomit was not as pronounced.

Most of the time, she could eat and sleep just fine, which didn’t seem like pregnancy at all.

She didn’t understand, and Gu Yanqing, who had no experience, was even more confused.

Moreover, they had taken great precautions.

“How… how long has it been?” Qiao Wanqing finally regained her voice after a while, finding it hard to believe.

The doctor, seeing their reaction, stopped smiling and said, “According to the test results, it’s about six or seven weeks. The exact duration will need to be calculated based on your last menstrual period.”

Qiao Wanqing rubbed her forehead.

Of course, her menstrual cycle was a bit irregular, around 40 days, making it hard to remember the exact date compared to those with a regular cycle.

Since she hadn’t had her period this month, she hadn’t paid much attention and just thought it wasn’t time yet.

By this calculation, she had been pregnant for… 45 days.

During this past month or so, they had had unprotected intercourse once, but it was during what they thought was a safe period, and it wasn’t long before they had cleaned up… could they still get pregnant?

The probability seemed… so small.

The news came as a complete surprise, leaving Qiao Wanqing in a daze.

She felt a sense of unreality as she walked out of the hospital.

Gu Yanqing helped Kouko into his special seat and opened the car door for Qiao Wanqing, noticing her dazed expression.

He could tell she wasn’t ready to embrace the news of the baby.

Their plan had been to wait until Kouko was in kindergarten, or even a bit older, before having a second child.

He leaned in and hugged her, saying, “The news is just between us. If you don’t want to keep it, you can tell me directly. I will respect your choice.”

Kouko didn’t understand terms related to pregnancy, so he was still blissfully unaware that he might have a little brother or sister on the way.

Qiao Wanqing looked down and said, “I—I need to think about it.”

She actually liked children a lot, but this news had come too suddenly, leaving her unprepared.

Rationally, she knew it would be better to wait until Kouko was older and her career was more stable.

She had even brought Tang Yueyue on as a partner, and it wouldn’t be fair to let her down.

But she also couldn’t bear the thought of ending the pregnancy.

After all, this was her child.

Maybe it would grow up to be like Kouko, a little one who could bring both joy and challenges.

Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Ending it seemed too cruel.

Maybe… it would be better to have the baby.