w.a.n.g Ling got his parents" hints during the meal. Actually, he thought that they were worrying too much, but it still warmed his heart since it proved that they valued his opinion. As a member of the family, w.a.n.g Ling basked in the feeling of being valued."Ling Ling… say that if… if one day, your dad and I want to have another child… do you want a brother or sister…" Mother w.a.n.g asked as she put the bowls and chopsticks down and smiled at w.a.n.g Ling in front of her.
Looking at Mother w.a.n.g"s belly, w.a.n.g Ling directly opened his mouth to speak out loud in a rare moment. "Sister."
Father and Mother w.a.n.g were overjoyed; at least they now knew that w.a.n.g Ling didn"t mind having a brother or sister.
What they had been most worried about was that w.a.n.g Ling would be upset; it looked like they could completely let go of their concerns.
Thus, Mother w.a.n.g ate very happily that night. Since she was now eating for two, she needed all sorts of extra nutrition.
After dinner, she started calling all their relatives to announce the good news about her second pregnancy.
From his bedroom, w.a.n.g Ling inadvertently heard Mother w.a.n.g"s conversations with several different people, and he could tell that she was very excited.
The first call.
Mother w.a.n.g: "Second Aunt, let me tell you – I"m going to have a second child!!"
Second Aunt: "Second child? Really? Can you still, at your age…"
Mother w.a.n.g: "I went to the hospital for a check-up; my body"s fine."
Second Aunt: "What about w.a.n.g Ling? Is he alright with it?"
Mother w.a.n.g: "Ling Ling doesn"t mind; he even said he wanted a sister!"
Second Aunt: "That"s great, then. We have to ask our kids what they think. Children nowadays have a lot of ideas, and we need to pay attention to them. w.a.n.g Ling"s a good kid, not like some in particular who feel like the love they get will be split."
Mother w.a.n.g rubbed her belly while she was on the phone. "That"s right, w.a.n.g Ling must be very happy."
...
The second call.
Mother w.a.n.g: "Great Aunt, let me tell you – I"m going to have a second child!!! I"m already pregnant!"
Great Aunt: "So suddenly? What about w.a.n.g Ling?"
Mother w.a.n.g: "Great Aunt, I"ll care for both of them the same. We don"t value sons over daughters, they"re both the same. But Ling Ling said he wanted a sister!"
Great Aunt: "Sister? Haha, that"s good. A daughter is her parents" snug little cotton-padded jacket! Haven"t you always said, after w.a.n.g Ling was born, he tore down the house, like in the Coin Dozer game…"
Mother w.a.n.g: "…"
...
After making several calls in a row, Mother w.a.n.g finally sighed with relief on the bed.
"Success?" asked Mother w.a.n.g.
"Should be – he definitely heard it." On the bed, Father w.a.n.g glanced in the direction of w.a.n.g Ling"s bedroom.
The reason they"d made the series of calls was to explicitly announce that they were having a second child… They didn"t think it was proper to bring it up at the dining table, so the couple thought that this indirect method was pretty good. They just needed to speak a little louder while on the phone; given w.a.n.g Ling"s hearing, it was only a matter of seconds before he heard it.
But to confirm that w.a.n.g Ling had already heard, Father w.a.n.g thought it was still better to ask him.
Thus, he put down the newspaper and looked in the direction of w.a.n.g Ling"s room. "Ling Ling, if you heard… give us a peep."
w.a.n.g Ling: "Peep."
Father and Mother w.a.n.g: "…"
...
September 14th, the thirty-second day of the summer break.
Today, w.a.n.g Ling went on a rare shopping trip with Mother w.a.n.g to the cultivation mall. Songhai city had entered a period of on-going high summer temperatures, and w.a.n.g Ling had asked Mother w.a.n.g if she wanted her clothes enchanted so she could keep cool. Mother w.a.n.g had declined; although it would be nice and cool on her skin, the baby in her belly might feel cold.
Taking this into consideration, and to ensure that Mother w.a.n.g didn"t overheat, w.a.n.g Ling would follow her whenever she went shopping from now on. He had a portable air conditioner, so Mother w.a.n.g could stay cool in the summer heat as long as she was with him. Of course, once w.a.n.g Ling started school again, Dog Two would take over this guard duty, as the yellow tights it wore could also lower the temperature.
Pets normally weren"t allowed inside the shopping mall, but Dog Two was different: it was an intelligent, top-cla.s.s spirit beast certified by the Pet Trainers Guild. It wouldn"t cause anyone any trouble, and thus received preferential treatment.
As they walked through the food section, Mother w.a.n.g conscientiously picked out new cooking sauces. These were natural and free of additives, and more suitable for pregnant women. For example, the soy sauce in her hand was a natural extract drawn from a type of spirit beast, and it was rich in nutrients. It was pricey, but extraordinary times called for extraordinary treatment.
"This soy sauce won"t cause the baby"s face to be too black after birth." Mother w.a.n.g picked up a few bottles and put them in the shopping cart before saying to w.a.n.g Ling, "This type of soy sauce wasn"t around before you were born and we just had the ordinary kind, so your face was very black when you came out; back then when he held you, your dad almost broke down."
w.a.n.g Ling: "…"
w.a.n.g Ling and Mother w.a.n.g then walked through the instant foods section which sold things like instant noodles, frozen dumplings and so on. Here, w.a.n.g Ling saw a quarrelsome pair — w.a.n.g Zhen and Liu Qingyi.
They were bickering about what flavor of instant noodles to buy.
"Braised beef!" w.a.n.g Zhen wasn"t backing down.
"Beef with pickled vegetables!" Liu Qingyi argued, "Beef with pickled vegetables is great! Instant noodles aren"t digested so easily, and it"s easy to get fat if you eat too much of it! Think about it: beef with pickled vegetables is sour! It can speed up digestion! You won"t get fat from eating it!"
w.a.n.g Zhen was lost for words.
On the side, w.a.n.g Ling was amazed when he heard this. What kind of bizarre theory was that… the law of energy conservation was deeply saddened by it!
"Aren"t those two your friends?" Mother w.a.n.g looked at the bickering pair from afar.
w.a.n.g Zhen and Liu Qingyi had visited the w.a.n.g family before, so Mother w.a.n.g recognized them.
"h.e.l.lo, senior!" While the two were quarreling, they saw Mother w.a.n.g and w.a.n.g Ling push a shopping cart over, and they stood at attention and saluted very respectfully.
"You youngsters need more nutrition. How can you eat instant noodles?" Mother w.a.n.g sighed.
w.a.n.g Ling: "…" What d.a.m.n youngsters?!
These two were from the Domain of the G.o.ds, with over a thousand years of cultivation… If they were wrapped in bandages and dumped inside the pyramids, they would be three thousand-year-old mummies!
Liu Qingyi and w.a.n.g Zhen both sighed.
They didn"t want to eat instant noodles either, but they really didn"t have enough money after descending to the world below…
w.a.n.g Ling more or less knew the story behind this.
The main reason was that they had secretly come to Earth without permission, and had thus broken the rules of the Domain of the G.o.ds. They were still under Gu Shunzhi"s surveillance for now, and had to live like normal Earthlings for two years, with a portion of their powers sealed, before they could return to the Domain of the G.o.ds.
Food and board had become a problem for them during this period.
They were children of wealthy, n.o.ble families in the Domain of the G.o.ds, and just couldn"t adapt to mundane lives. Liu Qingyi had gone out to look for work previously, and could only find a simple job handing out leaflets. It was just that she had lost her temper after clas.h.i.+ng with a pa.s.serby, beating up the latter so badly that he had to be sent to the hospital… In the end, Gu Shunzhi had stepped in to mediate and pay the hospital bill, but the money was now on Liu Qingyi"s head.
In short, w.a.n.g Zhen and Liu Qingyi were now stuck together. Worse still, Liu Qingyi had a ma.s.sive debt and owed Gu Shunzhi a huge sum of money.
Worst of all, apart from when Gu Shunzhi needed them to carry out emergency a.s.signments, their powers were restricted to the Foundation Establishment stage… Even in today"s era of national cultivation, the things a Foundation Establishment cultivator could do were very limited. The most they could do was fly on swords to deliver takeout or parcels, or move bricks at construction sites.
In short, w.a.n.g Zhen and Liu Qingyi were like gra.s.shoppers on a string.
"I remember, you"re Ling Ling"s new cla.s.smates? You"ll also be studying at No. 60 after the summer break?" Mother w.a.n.g looked at them with a smile. "I"m also a little hungry after walking for a bit – how about we eat together? My treat."
Clutching the instant noodles in their hands, w.a.n.g Zhen"s and Liu Qingyi"s eyes lit up, as if they were seeing an angel in that moment…