Chapter 80

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone at the table stopped what they were doing, and the room fell into a deathly silence of awkwardness.

“Cough… cough…”

Xia Qingning had just swallowed a mouthful of rice when she was startled by this sentence and choked. She couldn’t stop coughing and her face instantly turned red.

Lu Jingzhe, who was sitting beside her, saw that she had choked and calmly poured her a bowl of soup, placing it in front of her.

Xia Qingning quickly picked up the soup and buried her entire head in the bowl.

“Hurry up and eat, hurry up and eat. Little girls don’t understand anything.” Wang Mingfang immediately came to smooth things over.

Lu Xiaoxue looked unconvinced and continued:

“Why don’t I understand? Aunt Zhao said that if two people kiss, they will have a baby. They kissed for so long this afternoon, they must be having a baby soon.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to her again…

Hic…

This time Xia Qingning wasn’t coughing, she was hiccuping. One hiccup after another, as if she couldn’t stop.

“Eat.” Lu Jingzhe, with a stern face, patted Lu Xiaoxue’s head and uttered two words.

Under Lu Jingzhe’s authority, Lu Xiaoxue didn’t speak anymore and started eating the rice in her bowl.

Everyone started talking about other things, as if nothing had happened.

Only Xia Qingning continued to hiccup…

The atmosphere seemed to return to what it was before they talked about having children, but Xia Qingning felt really awkward, so she quickly finished her meal, got up from the table, and went back to her room.

Wang Mingfang went out after dinner. Yáo Hóngméi was pregnant, and the doctor said that she had a slight threat of miscarriage. Xia Qingning had already left the table first, so the task of washing dishes naturally fell to He Shanshan.

He Shanshan was cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, slamming them around. Before Lu Jingzhe came back, she had never done these things. Thinking about what Lu Xiaoxue had just said about Lu Jingzhe and Xia Qingning kissing in the room, she became even angrier.

If Xia Qingning really got pregnant and gave birth to a son, wouldn’t she be so proud of herself, and she wouldn’t have any chance to deal with her. Thinking about this, He Shanshan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with resentment, and she couldn’t suppress the evil thoughts in her heart.

When it was time to sleep at night, Xia Qingning and Lu Jingzhe tacitly didn’t mention the incident, but Xia Qingning slept a little further away from him.

Whether it was an accident or not, they did kiss. She had a strange feeling in her heart that made her look at Lu Jingzhe differently than before.

When she was naive and ignorant, she had imagined countless scenarios for her first kiss, but she didn’t expect it to be like this. It felt like they kissed, but it also felt like they didn’t.

Another thing she didn’t understand was why Lu Jingzhe was so calm.

Oh, right, he had grabbed her… chest. Thankfully, he didn’t apologize to her afterwards. If he had, the scene would have been so embarrassing.

Xia Qingning thought about it for a while and slowly fell asleep. Lu Jingzhe, who was beside her, heard her even breathing and frowned, unconsciously turning his head to look at her.

The faint moonlight shone in through the window, adding a soft glow to her delicate face. She had an oval-shaped face, long eyelashes, and a small nose with pink lips.

His gaze lingered on her lips, and the scene of kissing her flashed quickly through his mind. For the first time, he truly felt that the girl’s lips were so soft and tender.

The replayed scene made him unconsciously swallow, and a wave of heat rose in his body.

After a moment, he turned his head away, forcing himself to stop looking at her.

The next day, Xia Qingning got up early, washed up, combed her hair to one side, braided a loose fishbone braid, and paired it with a checkered cloth headband. Her whole appearance looked lively and refreshing.

When she went out, she saw Yáo Hóngméi walking out of the room. Her face was pale, as if she had no blood, and she even walked a little unsteadily.

“Sister-in-law, are you feeling okay?” Xia Qingning asked.

“I, I’m okay, I just feel like my stomach hurts a lot lately.” Yáo Hóngméi said weakly.

Xia Qingning knew that she was definitely going to lose this baby. After hesitating for a moment, she still reminded her:

“You should go to the hospital as soon as possible. You can’t ignore stomach pain during pregnancy.”

Yáo Hóngméi was a little worried and a little embarrassed:

“It’s probably because I’ve been vomiting so much. I didn’t vomit this much when I was pregnant with Yingying. Mom said it’s okay, boys have a bigger reaction, and it will be fine after this period of time.”

Xia Qingning had already said what she needed to say. If she said anything more serious, people might think she was cursing her. After a moment of silence, Xia Qingning finally reminded her:

“Sister-in-law, your body is your own. You should go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible.” After saying this, she didn’t stay any longer and walked out of the house.

She had already reminded her. Whether she listened or not was up to her.

After listening to Xia Qingning’s words, Yáo Hóngméi was hesitating when she heard Wang Mingfang’s voice behind her:

“Why go to the hospital! As soon as you go for a checkup, they’ll give you injections and draw blood. Your body can’t handle it, and it’s easy to have problems!”

As she spoke, Wang Mingfang walked over and patted Yáo Hóngméi’s arm, comforting her:

“Hóngméi, vomiting means the baby is naughty and knows how to move around. This clearly shows that it’s a boy. You should eat more. It’s okay if you vomit, just eat again. As a mother, it’s only right to suffer a little for your child.”

Yáo Hóngméi covered her stomach, opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally held back. She nodded obediently and replied:

“Okay, Mom, I understand.”

Xia Qingning still didn’t dare to ride her bike so fast on the road, so she took Wu Xiaodong’s car to the factory as usual. When she arrived at the factory gate, she happened to be seen by Liáo Qiáng, who was riding his bike.

Liáo Qiáng followed behind them without making a sound, his narrow triangular eyes scanning Xia Qingning from top to bottom. Looking at her increasingly graceful figure, and thinking about the red he had seen on her chest when he had pulled her clothes open last time, Liáo Qiáng felt a surge of heat.

For men, the more unattainable a woman is, the more they crave her. The slap he received last time had long since stopped hurting. His desire to possess her had grown even stronger. He narrowed his eyes, looked at Wu Xiaodong walking with Xia Qingning, as if he understood something, and walked forward without a sound.

As soon as Xia Qingning sat down at her sewing machine, a female worker beside her looked her up and down and teased her, saying:

“Qingning, why do I think you’re getting prettier and prettier lately?”

With her reminder, the female workers around them also looked over. They saw that the person in front of them had an oval-shaped face, long eyelashes, and especially her eyes were sparkling, as if stars were embedded in them.

In the past, the original owner always kept her head down, and she was always cautious in her actions and speech. Although she was beautiful, it was as if a pearl had been covered in dust. It always felt like something was missing. Now, although it was the same face, Xia Qingning was confident and cheerful, always smiling when she saw people. Her temperament had changed, and her whole appearance was different. Otherwise, why do people say that confident people are the most beautiful?

Everyone couldn’t help but praise her:

“Yes, you’re not only dressing better than before, but your skin has also become better!”

“They say that people rely on their clothes, but look at Qingning, she looks good in anything she wears!”

“That’s right, that’s right. I’ve never seen a woman who looks so good in these drab work clothes.”

Liu Xiǎohóng, who was sitting beside her, listened to this and curled her lips in disdain, her eyes full of contempt.

At this time, Qin Zǔzhǎng walked over, a gentle smile on his face, and said:

“Her husband has come back, so naturally she has to dress up more.”

When Xia Qingning took leave a few days ago, she told Qin Zǔzhǎng that she was going back to her parents’ home with her husband, so Qin Zǔzhǎng naturally knew that her husband had returned.

“Oh, your husband is really back?” The female workers were even more curious. Xia Qingning had been working here for two years, and they all knew that she was married, but no one had ever seen her husband.

“Oh, stop gossiping.” Qin Zǔzhǎng walked to Xia Qingning’s side and said:

“Director Liáo said he has something to talk to you about. Go to his office now.”

Hearing the words “Director Liáo,” Xia Qingning’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Hadn’t the slap she gave him last time taught him a lesson?

“Go ahead.” Qin Zǔzhǎng patted Xia Qingning’s arm and said.

Xia Qingning nodded and stood up, walking towards Liáo Qiáng’s office.

“What’s going on?” Qián Xiǎofāng, who was always gossiping, looked at Xia Qingning’s back and couldn’t help but ask Liú Xiǎohóng beside her: “Why is Director Liáo calling her to his office again?”

“What else could it be…” Liú Xiǎohóng raised her fox-like eyes, a mocking smile on the corner of her lips:

“Heh… it’s just that kind of thing.”

“Ah?” Qián Xiǎofāng looked confused and said:

“Didn’t everyone just say that her husband came back? And everyone in the factory is saying that her husband is an officer, and he’s not a low-ranking one either.”

“Humph!” Liú Xiǎohóng snorted disdainfully:

“What officer? Xia Qingning has been working here for two years, have you ever seen her husband?” Then she said in a more condescending tone:

“Even if he’s really a soldier, I bet he’s just a boilerman in the army.”

A woman in her thirties passed by Liú Xiǎohóng and happened to hear her say this. She asked in surprise:

“Ah? What? Qingning’s husband is a boilerman in the army?”