Chapter 74 Extra-six: Raising Baby 2

It wasn’t until Wei Lai was four and a half months pregnant that her morning sickness started to improve.

That Friday night, she went to bed early and woke up hungry in the middle of the night.

Zhou Sujin had just lain down when she carefully turned over and sat up.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” He immediately sat up as well.

Wei Lai looked at him and said, “I suddenly want to eat hot pot.”

“…”

Zhou Sujin told her to lie back down. “What vegetables and meat do you want? I’ll go to the kitchen to prepare. You can come down before we start cooking.”

After waking up, Wei Lai was no longer sleepy. “I’ll go with you.”

Once pregnant, cravings had to be satisfied immediately; even waiting a minute was unbearable.

She glanced at the time—it was 11:56.

“Honey, can you just boil some vegetables and meat for me in plain water? No need to make the sauce; I’ll dip it in ketchup.” It was too late to eat anything too heavy.

In the kitchen, Zhou Sujin followed her instructions.

The boiled vegetables and meat dipped only in ketchup tasted too bland.

He placed the cooked meat in a plate in front of her. “I’ll accompany you for hot pot tomorrow at noon; it’s fine to eat it once in a while.”

“A few days ago, Min Xi also said she wanted hot pot. I’ll ask her if she’s free tomorrow.” Wei Lai picked up a slice of beef and dipped both sides in ketchup, but it still tasted bland in her mouth.

Zhou Sujin got up and prepared a dipping plate for her, adding a little bit of millet pepper.

With her favorite sauce, Wei Lai devoured a plate of vegetables and meat, feeling satisfied.

After eating her fill and washing up, she still didn’t feel sleepy.

Zhou Sujin poured her a cup of warm water. “Drink some water, and I’ll accompany you for a walk in the yard.”

She was only wearing one of his T-shirts, so he grabbed her robe and draped it over her.

Wei Lai could no longer stand on tiptoe and didn’t dare to hang onto his neck with both hands; she could only hold his hand.

Zhou Sujin couldn’t always accurately interpret her gesture as a signal for something else or a kiss request, but as long as she held his hand, he would lean down to kiss her.

Wei Lai returned the kiss, saying, “Thank you, hubby.”

That satisfied her midnight craving for hot pot.

Zhou Sujin gently tied the sash of her robe around her waist and led her downstairs.

In early June, the temperature in the yard was just right in the early morning.

The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse, with a gentle breeze accompanying the sound of chirping insects.

Wei Lai felt the baby move and gently touched her belly.

“The baby is moving again.”

Zhou Sujin placed his palm over her abdomen, feeling the distinct movements. It was as if the baby’s heartbeat was connected to his.

Wei Lai mentioned her due date, saying, “If I don’t go into labor early, the baby will share my zodiac sign.”

Zhou Sujin replied, “I hope the baby inherits your personality.”

Wei Lai held onto his two fingers and walked toward the backyard. “It would be nice if they take after you too.”

“I talk too little.”

“I don’t mind that you talk less.”

Zhou Sujin tightened his grip on her hand.

Under the lights in the backyard, shadows of the trees danced on the ground as she walked between the leaves and treetops.

They walked back and forth three or four times.

Zhou Sujin asked with concern, “Are you feeling okay after eating?”

Wei Lai shook her head. “Not really.”

“Grandpa gave the baby a nickname, saying it’s suitable for both a boy and a girl.”

Wei Lai was intrigued. “What nickname?”

“Duo Duo.”

Unintentionally associating it with “Baiduo,” Wei Lai laughed.

She still thought “Chen Chen” was the prettiest name.

They walked in the yard for half an hour before returning to the bedroom upstairs.

Zhou Sujin couldn’t hold her while sleeping now, but he gently kissed her belly.

Wei Lai held onto his hand and quickly fell asleep.

She had a bizarre dream where the baby’s nickname was Baiduo.

The next day, she woke up naturally.

Since becoming pregnant, she had entered a weekend mode, rarely working past eight o’clock each day.

[Are you free today? If so, let’s go eat hot pot together.]

Min Xi replied instantly: [I’m meeting Lu Yu to discuss some PR matters, let’s go together.]

The hot pot restaurant was booked by Wei Lai. She had been there once before, and the dipping sauce was exceptional.

The last time she ran into Lu Yu was over a year ago; now it was June, and they hadn’t seen each other in over six months.

The location and name of the hot pot restaurant were unremarkable. Lu Yu had been nearby a few years ago, and not just once, but he had never noticed this place.

He took a bite of the dipping sauce. “Eating hot pot is best when I’m with you.”

Wei Lai casually asked, “What have you been busy with this first half of the year? I haven’t seen you at the supermarket.”

In the past, she would run into him one or two times at the Jiang’an Yuncheng branch.

Min Xi said, “You haven’t been to Jiangcheng this year, have you?”

Lu Yu replied, “I went once.”

He had to handle things related to the project, but he had only stayed for three days.

Wei Lai asked, “Is the project in Jiangcheng finished?”

“No,” Lu Yu picked up the communal chopsticks and cooked meat for them. “I used to stay in Jiangcheng to avoid blind dates, but now I don’t need to hide.”

“Are you in a relationship now, or did your family stop pushing you?” Wei Lai picked up her cup, ready to congratulate him; either situation was worth celebrating.

Min Xi had only heard that Lu Yu had gone on a blind date but knew nothing of the follow-up. She curiously looked at him.

“I’m not in a relationship. I went on a blind date on the third day of the Lunar New Year, but both of us felt there was something lacking in each other.” If they were to be together, it would have to be forced.

After a few meals together, she suffered, and so did he.

After Valentine’s Day, they silently stopped contacting each other.

His mother noticed he barely wanted to say more than a few words during that time and sighed helplessly, saying she wouldn’t care about him anymore.

Lu Yu divided the cooked meat, giving half to Wei Lai and the other half to Min Xi.

As Wei Lai ate the boiled beef, she felt a pang in her heart watching Lu Yu. Her sister already had a baby due a month earlier than hers. The relationship between her sister and brother-in-law was simple and constant, while Lu Yu’s feelings were bound to lead nowhere.

Now that he no longer stayed frequently or traveled back and forth to Jiangcheng, it was a good start.

She raised her warm water glass to Lu Yu, and everything she wanted to say was left unspoken.

Lu Yu joked, “Thanks to Zhao Lianshen for bringing Wei Lai to Beijing; otherwise, I’d have to wait until I got to Jiangcheng to use my supermarket coupons.”

Wei Lai and Min Xi burst into laughter at his words.

They didn’t leave the restaurant until 2:30 PM. Min Xi planned to do some shopping in the afternoon; the last time she had gone shopping was during the Spring Festival, and she had taken on two projects in the past six months, keeping her extremely busy.

Wei Lai wanted to check out baby clothes and went along with Min Xi.

After saying goodbye, Lu Yu took a smoke before getting into his car. Just as he started the engine, a familiar, cool figure passed in front of his car.

“Chen Jiarui.” He rolled down the window.

Chen Jiarui was holding an umbrella in one hand and rummaging through her bag with the other. When she heard Lu Yu’s voice, she paused.

She adjusted her expression and turned around as he got out of the car.

It had been three and a half years since they last met, and he thought there would be no waves when they saw each other again.

Lu Yu approached and asked, “Are you back to visit your uncle and aunt?”

Chen Jiarui, who usually didn’t smile, couldn’t manage one today either: “Yeah, I happen to have a day off.”

Lu Yu nodded. Her parents lived in the old community up ahead, where parking was inconvenient; she always took the subway over. She was his college classmate and had pretended to be his girlfriend before. He used to pick her up often, so he knew this area well.

Chen Jiarui asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m eating hot pot with two friends nearby.”

Lu Yu held two bottles of water, unscrewing one and handing it to her.

“Thank you.” He used to do this for her often, but that stopped later.

Chen Jiarui tilted her head slightly to drink the water; she should have left later today to avoid running into him.

Lu Yu asked, “Are you married? You never post on social media.”

Chen Jiarui swallowed hard: “I haven’t earned enough money yet; I’m not in a hurry.” She pointed ahead, “If you don’t mind, come sit at my house.”

Lu Yu politely declined, “I still have things to do back at the office. I’ll find you for dinner when I have time.”

Chen Jiarui said her farewells out of courtesy and, after turning away, took a deep breath.

The biggest regret in her life was agreeing to pretend to be his girlfriend at the beginning. After a year of being together, only she had truly gotten into the role.

---

Wei Lai returned to this hotpot restaurant six months later, just a few days before the New Year’s Eve. At that time, Chen Chen was just three months and two days old, and Min Xi invited her out to gather.

This time, there were many people; Min Ting and Min Xi’s husband were also there. Lu Yu had a meeting, so she arrived late after they had already started eating.

Snowflakes began to fall outside, and they sat around the table enjoying steaming hotpot, with a layer of mist on the glass.

Zhou Sujin didn’t come; he was home with their daughter.

They were now familiar with each other, discussing everything. When the topic turned to the New Year’s family feast, Lu Yu felt troubled. Although her mother no longer urged her, whenever there was a gathering, she couldn’t avoid being pressed by the other family members about marriage, and the incident of her pretending to be a girlfriend for a classmate would inevitably come up again.

Min Xi, who had seen Lu Yu’s fake girlfriend, asked, “How’s Chen Jiarui doing now? Are you still in contact?”

“Almost no contact,” Lu Yu replied, recalling the last time they had hotpot together and encountered Chen Jiarui.

Wei Lai was unfamiliar with the name, “Who is Chen Jiarui?”

Lu Yu explained, “She was my classmate in college; she pretended to be my girlfriend.”

Wei Lai nodded, remembering the few months of her contract with Zhou Sujin. “How did your family figure out the truth?”

Lu Yu said, “Maybe because I wasn’t really into the role and was a bit too polite to her.”

Over time, the family noticed something was off.

Wei Lai felt a wave of emotions, hoping that Chen Jiarui hadn’t fallen into the role as deeply as she had back then.

Considering Wei Lai, they finished dinner early, before seven o’clock.

When they got home, Zhou Sujin was in the baby room with their daughter.

She took a shower first and changed into clean clothes.

Chen Chen had been awake for half an hour, getting a bit fussy after playing for too long, and began to cry. Zhou Sujin hurriedly picked her up, gently shaking her little hand.

Their daughter was over three months old, and he still didn’t know how to soothe her.

The next second, Chen Chen opened her mouth and cried even louder.

The nanny was about to take the baby, but Wei Lai, who had already showered, rushed in, “I’ll hold her.” She took their daughter from Zhou Sujin’s arms.

As soon as Chen Chen smelled her mother’s familiar scent, she recognized it was mom and broke into a smile.

Wei Lai kissed her daughter, always close to her. After being out for several hours today, she started thinking about her daughter on the way back.

Zhou Sujin moved her hair to her shoulder, “Didn’t I tell you? I’m home, you don’t need to rush back.”

Wei Lai playfully teased her daughter while replying, “I didn’t rush; I came back after it was over.”

Zhou Sujin asked, “Are you full?”

“No, I didn’t dare to eat much.”

“What do you want to eat? I can ask the aunt to make it.”

“Not in a hurry.”

Wei Lai waited for Chen Chen to fall asleep before thinking about what she wanted to eat.

Chen Chen was already sound asleep, her small hands slightly clenched into little fists.

Zhou Sujin picked up their daughter’s hand and placed it in his palm. He had just returned from a two-week business trip to London today and felt like her little hand seemed slightly bigger than before he left.

Her hands were soft and chubby; Wei Lai couldn’t help but squeeze them. They both squeezed by the crib, watching their daughter, who leaned against Zhou Sujin’s back.

Zhou Sujin instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist. Wei Lai’s face was pressed against his cheek, her nose filled with his crisp scent.

“Zhou Sujin, look, haven’t Chen Chen’s eyelashes grown longer again?”

Zhou Sujin looked at their daughter tenderly, “Yeah, they’ve gotten a little longer.”

The aunt finished making the late-night snack Wei Lai wanted. Zhou Sujin kissed their daughter’s forehead and went downstairs with Wei Lai to eat.