Chapter 39: Must Return Safely

After finishing the durian cake, the smell lingered in the house for a long time. Shen Yunhe opened the window to air out the room. Just then, two girls came in, caught a whiff of the durian, and excitedly exclaimed:

“It smells like durian cake! It’s so sweet! Does the shop have durian cake?”

“Yes!” Jiang Banyue took out the sliced cake, and the two girls each bought a piece, happily leaving.

Jiang Banyue raised an eyebrow and smiled proudly:

“See? There are people who like it!”

Shen Yunhe couldn’t understand these strange tastes. How could anyone think such a stinky thing was sweet?

At 5 p.m., Shen Yunhe was about to leave. Jiang Banyue prepared some food for him to take, picking two big peaches from the space and placing them in a bag. He was the children’s biological father, and she hoped he would be safe and return, not wanting the children to be sad.

Shen Yunhe looked at the things she prepared, feeling deeply moved. Was she forgiving him?

“Banyue, thank you for preparing this for me.”

Jiang Banyue, indifferent, replied, “No need to thank me. I did it for the kids. They all want you to be safe.”

“Mm.” Shen Yunhe smiled foolishly. He hoped he would be fine.

Jiang Banyue looked at him in confusion. What was wrong with him? Why was he smiling so foolishly?

That night, after Shen Yunhe coaxed the children to sleep, he kissed each of their foreheads before reluctantly heading downstairs.

At the door, Jiang Banyue yawned and waved her hand carelessly.

“Goodbye!”

She was so sleepy and would go upstairs to sleep as soon as he left. Shen Yunhe put the things in the car, turned around, and looked at her with soft eyes, his eyes slightly red.

Jiang Banyue originally planned to return to the house after he left, but she waited for a long time, and he still didn’t get in the car. Instead, he kept staring at her, making her feel a little unsure of what to do.

“I’ll go upstairs first,” she said.

She turned to go back into the house and closed the door, but a large foot blocked the door. Shen Yunhe pushed it open with his large hand, closing it behind him. His burning gaze fixed on her tightly.

Jiang Banyue was startled, her heart racing, and she stepped back one step at a time.

“W-what’s wrong with you?” she stammered.

Shen Yunhe pressed his lips tightly together and took a big step forward, pulling her into his arms. Jiang Banyue was so scared that she struggled forcefully.

“Wife, please let me hold you for a while. After I leave, I might not be able to come back for years.”

“I’m not your wife! Let go of me!” Jiang Banyue protested.

Shen Yunhe didn’t let go. Instead, he held her tighter.

“Wife, if something happens to me and I can never return, find a good man and marry him. I will leave a lot of money for you and the kids. If they ever ask about me when they grow up, tell them their father loved them very much.”

Jiang Banyue’s eyes reddened, and tears began to fall drop by drop. Thinking about his final fate made her heart tremble. She gripped his clothes tightly.

“You must come back alive. The children need you. You need to watch them grow up.”

Shen Yunhe tightened his hold on her, his mood heavy.

“Okay, I will come back alive. For the children, and for you.”

Without needing to think, Jiang Banyue understood that this trip of his was definitely very dangerous.

Shen Yunhe lowered his head and gently kissed her hair, letting go of her and turning to leave. He walked away quickly, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would truly be unable to part from her. Jiang Banyue, with tear-filled eyes, watched the car slowly drive away, her vision blurring.

“I must come back safely!”

After Shen Yunhe left, Jiang Banyue felt a bit down. She sat listlessly at the counter, holding a pen, staring blankly at her notebook.

The shop door opened from the outside, and a rare guest arrived: Gu Qingci’s mother. Since their last meeting, Gu’s mother had become quite fond of Jiang Banyue. This time, while shopping outside, she happened to see her shop and thought to stop by and chat.

“Banyue!”

“Aunt Gu,” Jiang Banyue quickly collected herself, masking her downcast mood with a smile, and chatted with Gu’s mother.

Gu’s mother looked enviously at the triplets playing nearby.

“These three kids are so well-behaved and chubby, like little blessings. You’re really lucky!”

“Please, don’t praise them too much. They’re quite mischievous. If you turn your back for a moment, they’ll get all dirty,” Jiang Banyue replied with a smile.

Gu’s mother chuckled and sighed.

“Children are always like this. I don’t know when I’ll be able to hold a grandchild. Qingci keeps refusing to go on blind dates, and it’s driving me crazy. Everyone his age is already married and having children, but he’s still single.”

Jiang Banyue wasn’t sure how to respond, so she simply smiled. Gu’s mother continued:

“Does Qingci like someone? I’ve seen him lost in thought several times, smiling one moment and frowning the next. He has something on his mind. Banyue, have you seen him getting close to any girl?”

“No,” Jiang Banyue shook her head.

Gu’s mother lowered her gaze in disappointment. “Ah, when will I ever hold a grandchild?”

After sitting for a while, Gu’s mother left, and Jiang Banyue saw her out and returned to the shop.

---

Recently, An Xiuxiu had been frequently vomiting, feeling weak, and lying listlessly on the couch. When Song Shiyan came home from work and saw how miserable she looked, he tossed his briefcase aside, picked her up, and quickly headed out the door.

“Ah Xiu, let’s go to the hospital!”

“It’s nothing. I probably just ate something bad,” An Xiuxiu replied.

At the hospital, after a series of tests, the doctor held up the test results, and An Xiuxiu asked:

“Doctor, I’ve been feeling uncomfortable in my stomach lately. Is it because I ate something bad?”

The doctor looked at the couple with surprise.

“You two are so careless! Your wife is pregnant—she’s already over four months along, and her belly is even starting to show. And you think it’s just a bad stomach?”

“What!”

Both were stunned. An Xiuxiu thought she had just gained weight, so she hadn’t considered pregnancy at all, and Song Shiyan, being a man, never even thought about it.

“I… I thought I was just gaining weight.”

The doctor was also surprised. She had never seen such a careless couple. They hadn’t noticed she was pregnant even though she was already four months along. She then asked An Xiuxiu:

“Have you missed your period every month since you got pregnant? Didn’t you suspect anything?”

“Doctor, I really didn’t know. I’ve never been pregnant before, and no one told me that missing your period could mean pregnancy. I’ve also had irregular periods before, so I just didn’t think anything of it.”

An Xiuxiu felt like she was being scolded by a teacher and didn’t dare look the doctor in the eye. Song Shiyan, feeling sorry for her, wrapped his arms around her protectively.

“It’s all my fault. She doesn’t understand these things. I should’ve noticed she was pregnant.”

The doctor paused, feeling a bit exasperated, and then wrote a few lines on a piece of paper.

“Your wife is fine. Morning sickness during pregnancy is normal. If you’re still worried, I’ll prescribe some medicine to help keep the pregnancy stable.”

She tore off the prescription and handed it to Song Shiyan.

“Go to the pharmacy and get the medicine.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor.”

Song Shiyan took the prescription and helped An Xiuxiu out of the clinic. At the pharmacy window, An Xiuxiu sat on a bench waiting for him while Song Shiyan stood in line. He kept glancing back at her.

Every time he turned around, she would smile at him obediently, making his heart burn with warmth. Looking down at the prescription in his hand, he slowly realized:

He was going to be a father. Their baby was on the way.

After getting the medicine, Song Shiyan helped her back home. As soon as they entered the house, Song Shiyan scooped An Xiuxiu up into his arms.

“Wife, I’m going to be a father! This is amazing!”

An Xiuxiu smiled sweetly and hugged his neck, equally happy.