Chapter 35: Pregnant?

◎ Every Wedding is Different ◎

Wei Xuan was irritated by his cautious behavior, and she couldn’t help but reflect: was she usually that harsh with him? Otherwise, how could she scare him so much?

She looked at Jiang Che and remembered the first time she met him. Back then, he was just a bit arrogant, still an immature young man. In just a year and a half, he had changed so much. The arrogance was still there, but now, in front of her, he had put away the side of himself that was trying to act tough and had completely transformed into a man who could shoulder the responsibilities of their little family.

Thinking about this, Wei Xuan suddenly didn’t want to say what she had planned. Jiang Che kept his eyes fixed on her, and all of his actions were clumsily expressing his feelings—his feelings for her, for their family, and for their unborn child. Why would she be so foolish as to ruin this? It was just perfect the way it was.

Maybe even the heavens felt that the two of them were ready. One morning in May, Wei Xuan got up to make braised meat. However, the smell that usually made her hungry suddenly turned her stomach.

“Darling, what’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?”

Wei Xuan had a suspicion. Though this was her first time, hadn’t she heard of the saying, “Even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen a pig run”?

Counting the days, it had been more than two months since they decided to have a child, and her period was late by a few days this month.

She quietly told the anxious Jiang Che, “Don’t worry. I don’t think it’s food poisoning. I might be pregnant.”

“Pregnant?”

“Yes. After all this time, it’s normal to be pregnant.”

Jiang Che felt a little dizzy: “Wait, let me process this.”

Seeing him like that, Wei Xuan didn’t expect much from him. It was getting late, and there was still a lot of work to be done.

Jiang Che had actually been mentally preparing for this, but when it actually happened, it felt different. After a while, when he finally recovered, he saw his wife trying to lift the jar of braised meat. He quickly stopped her.

“You can’t do this heavy work right now. Let me do it, you sit over there.”

Although Wei Xuan appeared calm on the surface, she had also been acting on instinct just now. After Jiang Che’s reminder, she realized how inappropriate her actions had been, so she immediately stepped aside.

After the meat was packed, Jiang Che, still uneasy, turned back before heading out to deliver the goods and asked, “How about taking the day off from work? I’ll take you to the hospital to check.”

Wei Xuan thought for a moment and then refused: “I’m fine for now, no rush. Just today, I’ll rest tomorrow. You take the day off at the factory today, and tomorrow we’ll go to the hospital.”

Jiang Che saw that his wife was very determined, so he could only keep looking back as he left.

Once he was gone, Wei Xuan sighed deeply, gently touched her belly, and smiled warmly.

The next day, Wei Xuan and Jiang Che woke up early. Both of them were a little nervous about going to the hospital, so they had woken up before dawn. They tossed and turned in bed for a while and couldn’t lie still, so they got up to make breakfast.

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Che continued to hold Wei Xuan’s hand, not letting go. His action attracted the curious gaze of many passersby. Wei Xuan had to nudge him with her elbow to signal him to let go, indicating that she could walk on her own.

But to her surprise, Jiang Che not only refused to let go, he even pulled Wei Xuan’s shoulder closer and said, “It’s fine. We’re a married couple, and it’s perfectly legitimate. No one can do anything about it.”

Wei Xuan had no choice but to go along with him. It was strange, though. In her past life, she wouldn’t have been surprised by public displays of affection like people kissing in the street. But now, with just Jiang Che holding her hand, she felt uncomfortable.

Wei Xuan couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh, thinking, “The environment really does change a person!”

It was like how, in the past, she used to feel strange wearing short sleeves and shorts in the summer. But by the time summer was halfway through, she would casually go out in a tank top without a second thought.

Today, Jiang Che didn’t ride his bike to the hospital. The two of them simply walked back, hand in hand.

When they passed a restaurant, Jiang Che stopped and asked, “How about we don’t cook lunch today? We can buy some dishes and take them home to eat?”

Wei Xuan gave him an exasperated look. “Let’s go home. I’m barely two months pregnant. Do you want to keep eating out until I give birth?”

Jiang Che realized that wasn’t practical. He had the money, but no tickets.

After thinking for a moment, he suggested, “How about we move back to live with them? Your sister-in-law and mom will be there, and we’ll have food ready.”

Halfway through, he denied his own suggestion: “No, no, that won’t work. You don’t get along with your sister-in-law, and if you get angry, the baby won’t grow well.”

Wei Xuan couldn’t be bothered to deal with him; he was always coming up with ridiculous ideas. Moving back in was definitely not an option. Not to mention her sister-in-law, even her mother-in-law would be the first to disapprove if she sat around doing nothing at home. Despite being pregnant, in the eyes of the older generation, pregnant women were not to be coddled.

Moreover, Wei Xuan truly believed her health was fine. Aside from heavy lifting, she could handle most chores.

When they arrived at the door, Jiang Che slapped his thigh and said, “I know! How about we have my mother-in-law come take care of you for a while? When she comes, she won’t have to do anything else. The main thing is that she has experience, and with her here, we’ll both feel at ease. What do you think, wife?”

Wei Xuan thought for a moment and replied, “That’s fine, but not urgently. I’m just pregnant, and it’s not time for someone to take care of me yet. Plus, there’s a lot going on in the village, and Xiaolong has just over two months until his college entrance exams. I can’t have my mom leave everything at home and come look after me right now. How about this: when I’m a little further along, by around September or October when things at home aren’t so busy, we can have her come then to take care of me. That would be perfect.”

Jiang Che wasn’t entirely reassured, but since Wei Xuan was insistent, he didn’t press the matter. He’d just have to be extra attentive himself in the meantime.

The two of them sat down in the house, and Jiang Che asked again, “What about Wu Yun? Should we stop things over there for now?”

Wei Xuan, who hadn’t drunk water all morning and was feeling very thirsty, took a sip of plain water before replying, “No need. You’re doing most of the heavy work. I’m just adjusting the seasoning or tending to the fire now and then—how tiring could that be? You saw that my third sister-in-law is pregnant and still working in the fields, so don’t worry too much. I’m fine.”

Jiang Che might not be able to control everything, but since Wei Xuan was his wife, of course, he couldn’t be careless!

Still, his wife had a point, so he decided to listen to her for now.

“Then if you feel uncomfortable at all, you must tell me.”

“Mm, I will.”

While they were talking in the house, they heard someone calling Jiang Che from the yard.

Jiang Che went out and saw, “Jian Jun? What are you doing here?” They often ran into each other at the factory, but it was rare for Jian Jun to come all the way to his home.

Before Jian Jun could explain, Wei Xuan came out as well.

Seeing both of them at home, Jian Jun was surprised and asked, “You two have something today? Why are you both at home?” He had originally gone to the office to find Jiang Che, but when he couldn’t find him, his coworkers told him Jiang Che had taken the day off, so he had come to the house instead.

The couple had planned to keep the pregnancy a secret for a while, but since they had just left the hospital and Jiang Che’s mood was still high, when Jian Jun asked, he couldn’t resist bragging a little. With a smile, he shared the news.

Jian Jun, as expected, congratulated them: “Congratulations, brother!”

Jiang Che waved his hand happily and said, “Alright, alright, enough of that. Tell me what brings you here?”

Actually, Jian Jun had some happy news to share with them as well.

“Qian Qian is getting married? Is it with the same guy from before?” Wei Xuan asked, surprised. Since the last time Bian Qian Qian had gone back home, they hadn’t seen each other again. Jiang Che didn’t like Wei Xuan prying into Bian Qian Qian’s affairs, and since Wei Xuan also felt it wasn’t appropriate for outsiders to be overly concerned, she hadn’t kept up with what happened next. So, she was surprised to hear now that Bian Qian Qian was getting married.

Although Song Jianjun came to share good news, there was not much joy on his face. After hearing Wei Xuan’s words, he simply nodded indifferently, “Yes, it’s him. Recently, Qian Qian gave birth to a boy, and the baby is almost three months old now. So both families decided to have a simple celebration, just a couple of tables for family. Qian Qian specifically asked me to invite both of you to attend.”

This didn’t sound quite right. When Bian Qian Qian went back, her belly was still small, and if they were getting married, it should have happened back then. Why would they wait until now, after the child was born, to hold the celebration? But Wei Xuan knew this was someone else’s private matter. Since they hadn’t shared the details, she couldn’t ask too much. Just as she was about to agree to this invitation, Jiang Che beat her to it and refused on her behalf.

“Jianjun, if it were a normal situation, given our relationship, there would be no doubt we’d go. But as you know, my wife is just pregnant, and the doctor said things are still uncertain, so we won’t join in the celebration. When your cousin gets married, you can bring us some wedding candy so we can share in the joy, alright?”

Song Jianjun didn’t insist, as in his view, his cousin’s wedding wasn’t exactly something to be proud of. Whether a few more people attended or not didn’t matter much. He had delivered the message, and if the couple had other things going on, he couldn’t drag them into it.

After Song Jianjun left, Jiang Che smiled at Wei Xuan with a look of ingratiation. “Wife, you’re not upset that I took the liberty of turning down the invitation for you, are you?”

Wei Xuan didn’t take it seriously. First, she wasn’t in the right condition to travel far right now, and second, she wasn’t the original owner and didn’t have a close relationship with Bian Qian Qian. Whether she attended the wedding or not didn’t matter. However, seeing how anxious Jiang Che was, she purposely kept a straight face and pretended to be angry.

When Jiang Che saw that his wife was truly ignoring him, he tried to appease her, circling around her, “Wife, I’m doing this for your own good. You know, what’s so special about other people’s weddings? When the baby is born, we can go wherever you want to play, I’ll take you anywhere.”

“Really?”

Seeing his wife’s attitude soften, Jiang Che immediately assured her, “Yes, really. We can go anywhere you want.”

“Alright, I forgive you.” Wei Xuan realized that she hadn’t had much fun since coming to the city, and after the baby was born and out of the confinement period, it would be next year before she had the chance to properly explore. By then, the policies would be more relaxed, and she really wanted to look around the area to see if there were any properties for sale, whether commercial spaces or residential ones. Buying a commercial property could allow her to start a business or rent it out.

Even if she didn’t rent it out and simply held onto it, the value would likely rise. Just thinking about it made her happy. But to buy property, she’d need money!

She remembered that Jiang Che had mentioned stopping the business with Wu Yun earlier. She definitely couldn’t agree to that. Although it seemed like they had a lot of money now, when the time came to spend it, it might not feel like enough.