"I"m sorry," Lin Chu apologized in a soft voice.
"It"s not your fault. You may be pregnant but that does not mean you cannot go anywhere. We can only blame Zhu Hexuan for having malicious intent. This is not your responsibility, why should you still claim responsibility for it when you are being hurt. If you didn"t b.u.mp into Zhu Hexuan tonight, then nothing would have happened," Yan Beicheng said. He took in a deep breath. His fingers tidied her hair, and he ma.s.saged her scalp to help her relax.
He pulled himself apart from her slightly and lowered his head to look at her. He wiped away her tears and said, "You did well, remembering what I said to not eat street food and knowing that I would be a.s.sured if you eat at Sheng Yue. If you have a craving and don"t feel like stepping out of the house, you can call Sheng Yue and have them delivered to you. If you want to eat noodles and are afraid that they won"t taste good after delivery, you can ask the chef to come and cook for you on the spot. Don"t get your hands tied and be afraid because of what happened tonight. I don"t blame you. I only blame those with bad intentions."
"Whether or not if you want to come out or stay at home, it"s up to you," Yan Beicheng continued. "Just remember to protect yourself and don"t let yourself get hurt, my heart can"t bear it."
Lin Chu was like a child receiving instructions, she nodded obediently and a.s.sured, "I will protect myself."
Yan Beicheng smiled, he lowered his head to kiss her gently on her forehead and stroked her back. This helped to calm her and his beating heart.
"Don"t let the two elders know about what happened tonight, they will be worried," Yan Beicheng said. "They should be asleep by now. If they ask about it tomorrow morning, just say that you ate at Sheng Yue and coincidentally met me when I finished my meeting and we came back together."
If the two elders knew what happened, they might nag Lin Chu.
Lin Chu nodded obediently.
When they reached home, the two elders had slept. Aunt Zhuang was waiting for them, and she had asked Aunt Chen to go to bed first.
Lin Chu was frightened tonight. Both of them speedily washed up and went to bed. Yan Beicheng hugged her with one hand, and he placed his other hand on her stomach.
Lin Chu felt her stomach warmed up from his touch and she gradually felt at peace. The warmth spread from her stomach to her limbs, she felt warm from being hugged, and finally closed her eyes to sleep in peace.
She did not know, however, that after she closed her eyes, Yan Beicheng"s eyes stayed wide opened throughout almost the whole night looking at her. Even though he had consoled Lin Chu, but deep in his heart, he was actually very afraid. He had to be a pillar of support to Lin Chu and let her feel at peace because he is a man, and he could not show his weakness in front of her.
As long as he is standing, Lin Chu would not fall.
It was only now after Lin Chu had slept that he dared to show his fragility, and slowly digest tonight"s frightening experience.
Perhaps from the fright last night, Lin Chu did not sleep well. She kept waking up suddenly at night, her eyes wide open in fear.
Every time she woke up in fright, Yan Beicheng would be the first to know. He would always know even though she did not make a sound when she woke up.
His chin rested on her forehead, and she could feel his Adam"s apple that slightly protruded. His big and warm hand patted her gently on the back. Even though both of them did not say anything, but Lin Chu felt safe under his silent comfort and shut her eyes falling asleep again.
This repeated throughout the whole night. At seven in the morning, Lin Chu woke up and opened her eyes. Even though she did not sleep well at night, but at least she had rested.
Yan Beicheng definitely did not rest enough as he was awakened by her through the night. He was afraid that if he slept deeply, he would not know when she woke up and hence, he did not get as much rest as she did.
When Lin Chu opened her eyes, she saw Yan Beicheng sleeping in front of her. There were dark circles under his eyes, it was obvious he did not have a good rest.
She only moved slightly when she woke up, her actions were not easily noticeable. Yan Beicheng"s eyes were closed, but as if on reflex, his hand immediately patted her back gently and soothingly. He was so tired from not having enough rest that his eyes were closed.
Lin Chu did not know if Yan Beicheng did this the whole night. Now that she was awake, she could clearly see that he did. Her eyes went red, and it felt warm and stung a bit from her tears. She was very touched, but she also felt bad and heartache.
She abandoned her thoughts of getting up. She closed her teary eyes and cuddled into Yan Beicheng"s embrace, her hands hugged him tightly at the waist as she smelled the familiar pine tree fragrance on him.
She loved this man so dearly, she loved him so much.
She could not understand, why was he so good, how could he be so good.
He had always said that she thought too much, afraid of troubling him, afraid of disturbing him. He was always so good to her; how could she not think for him?
Even if she thought for him, she would still unintentionally create trouble for him; such as this time and he did not sleep well. The more he did as such, the more she wanted to treat him better, but she felt that it was still not enough no matter what she did.
Lin Chu felt that even if she gave her life to him it would also not be enough.
Yan Beicheng felt her; perhaps it was from her tight hug on his waist, or it could be from her tears quietly flowed out, wetting her eyelashes and transferring it on to his n.a.k.e.d chest.
Yan Beicheng"s eyelashes fluttered and he opened his eyes. He lowered his head and saw Lin Chu"s face stuck closely and tightly to his chest as if she wanted to melt her flesh and bones into his.
Thinking that she was having nightmares again and was scared, Yan Beicheng hugged her tight and patted her back gently.
Lin Chu raised her head, her red eyes looking at him.
"Are you awake?" Yan Beicheng"s eyes were still sleepy, his voice was low and hoa.r.s.e, but it felt like the warm sun s.h.i.+ning pleasantly into her heart.
Her fair ears could not help to wriggle, it could one day get pregnant from his voice.
"Did you have a nightmare again?" Yan Beicheng asked in a low voice, he lowered his head and kissed her at the corner of her eye.
Lin Chu shook her head, and replied, "I woke up, and saw you suffered from not having a good sleep because of me."
She raised her hand, her soft fingers caressed his dark eye circles, her eyes expressed obvious heartache with it.
"Your eyes are red because of this?" Yan Beicheng chuckled. His slender and defined fingers brushed her long hair, sweeping them all to the back of her head.
Lin Chu shook her head again. He probably was not even aware of his reflex actions in his sleep.
She felt heartache for that very sole reason.
Lin Chu smiled. She raised her head but could only reach his unshaven chin and kissed it before saying, "I"m awake now so don"t worry. I"m not afraid now. You did not rest well through the night, sleep in a bit more."
Lin Chu got up and out of bed, and Yan Beicheng could not sleep as he felt his embrace was empty. He decided to get up and Lin Chu"s advice went unheeded.
They both went downstairs. The two elders just came back from their exercise and saw them. Old Master Yan asked in surprise, "Why are both up so early today?"
They usually slept in quite late during the weekends, especially after Lin Chu was pregnant, she ensured that she had sufficient sleep, but both woke up early today.
"I can"t sleep anymore," Lin Chu replied, smiling. Her eyes were not red anymore and both the elders did not detect anything amiss.
Old Lady Yan noticed Yan Beicheng"s panda eyes and asked, "Cheng"er, did you not sleep well last night?"
"I had a few drinks with a customer last night and drank a bit more than usual. I came back late and did not get much rest. When Lin Chu woke up, she wanted me to sleep some more but I couldn"t do so alone. I will take a nap later when I"m tired," Yan Beicheng explained.
Old Lady Yan did not suspect anything.
Aunt Zhuang stood by the side calmly and did not say anything. She was the one who waited last night for Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu.
When they came back, the atmosphere was a bit weird. Yan Beicheng also did not have any smell of alcohol on him. It was obvious that they told a white lie so the two elders would not be worried. Aunt Zhuang did not say anything.
Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang were making dumplings. Lin Chu had a craving for it. She was in the car one morning pa.s.sing by a street food stall. Many people were sitting on the low benches in cold weather, eating hot dumplings and drinking hot soup and munching on crunchy scallion pancakes. It looked so delicious that Lin Chu"s mouth watered and she had to swallow her saliva to satisfy her cravings.
Old Lady Yan was concerned with the quality of the ingredients that the street food stall used to make the dumplings and scallion pancakes, they may not use good meat and you would not what sort of cooking oil they used; hence she did not allow Lin Chu to eat outside and Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang made it at home.
"The scallion pancake is baking in the electric pan, the dumplings will be ready soon," Aunt Chen said, smiling.
Lin Chu"s eyes brightened hearing her words. Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan burst out laughing at her mouth-watering look.
Chu Xi ran to the kitchen counter and stood up with his front paws at the counter side, its mouth and nose smelling the electric pan incessantly. After that, it looked up and howled as if it was urging the electric pan to cook faster.
Since moving to the Old Mansion, Chu Xi had stopped eating dog food and it had gotten fatter and rounder!
Around ten in the morning, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu started packing to move to Sheng Town.
Yan Huaian and Yu Zi also came. Yan Ningbai volunteered to come, citing earnestly that he could help to take care of Chu Xi so the a.d.u.l.ts had one less thing to worry about.
Chu Xi seemed to know that it will be moving away as it saw Yan Beicheng and Yan Huaian putting in suitcases into the car boot. Thinking of how it would have to eat dog food again, it started to sob and tugged on Old Lady Yan"s pants with its paws, indicating that it did not want to leave and wanted to stay on to eat delicious meat and chew on yummy bones.
Besides, it had just buried a bone in the back yard last night!
How could it leave just like that!
Unfortunately, Chu Xi was suppressed cruelly by Yan Ningbai. Yan Ningbai"s pudgy body sat on Chu Xi, and it fell with its tongue stuck out and eyes rolling.
Yan Ningbai sat on Chu Xi"s back. Chu Xi looked like a tortoise, its four paws stuck out straight on the floor, its sharp ears flipping front and back.
Yan Ningbai"s black eyes rolled. Seeing that the a.d.u.l.ts were not paying attention to them, he discreetly said into Chu Xi"s ear, "Be good, follow us to the new house. I will be your neighbor and I can feed you meat and bones every day!"
Chu Xi"s ears moved, it howled and suddenly stood straight up.
Yan Ningbai was not prepared and was flung to the floor by Chu Xi. His fat b.u.t.t hit the ground, stunning him.
Lim Chu and Yan Beicheng had stayed here for a while. Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan felt the house was lively seeing them every day and they were happy. Now that they are moving out, the two elders could not bear the thought of it and felt that the house will be empty.
Lin Chu noted Old Lady Yan"s reluctant expression, and she could not bear it in her heart too and said, "If not, we don"t move? We can always stay here with Grandpa and Grandma."
"Don"t, don"t," said Old Master Yan. He might not bear the thought of it, but he still waved his hand, and continued, "You should have your place to stay given that you are now both married. How can you continue to stay with us? Leave quickly. It would be more convenient for you youngsters as well to stay separately from us."
Old Lady Yan nodded in agreement. Lin Chu said, "Or, we could come back every three to five days and stay with you. Please don"t think we are troubling you then."
Old Lady Yan was very happy, and kept nodding her head saying, "Good, good."
Even Old Master Yan was delighted and could not help to twirl his beard and said, "Then come back every two to three months to stay for two to three months."
Yan Beicheng, "…"
Yan Huaian, "…"
Lin Chu, "…"
Yu Zi, "…"
What happened to the imposing manner of rus.h.i.+ng people to leave?
Chu Xi was the happiest, wagging its tail and howling up into the sky.
"Let us tidy up the house and you two Elders can come and stay with us for a few days," Yan Beicheng said.
Old Master Yan waved his hand and said, "No need for us to stay for a few days, we can come by to take a look."
There was not a lot to tidy at the bungalow in Sheng Town. Yan Beicheng had instructed people to clean it every day, and every room had an air purifier to remove the smell of formaldehyde and other pollutants from the renovation. The smell was close to non-existent, as they had used the best materials when customizing the furniture and as such when the furniture was sent over and set up, all smell had dissipated.
However, Yan Beicheng was still concerned and had the air purifiers on for almost the whole day to clear out the smell completely.
All Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng had to do were to move and put their personal belongings and toiletries there. It was as simple and convenient as when Lin Chu moved into Ding City.
Even that, moving the stuff there and setting them up also took half a day. When it was dinner time, Yu Zi asked them both to come over for dinner.
Lin Chu lamented during dinner, "It is so convenient for us to stay so near to each other now. It"s just one corner to come for dinner."
Yu Zi laughed and said, "You might feel convenient now, but wait till Ningbai come troubling you at your place and you will feel bothered."
Yan Ningbai was munching on a drumstick. Hearing that, he puckered his oily lips and exclaimed, "I"m not a trouble, I"m a good boy! There is no uncle as good and cute as I am!"
"Yes, yes, yes, our uncle is a good boy," Lin Chu said as she beamed and nodded her head.
Yan Beicheng, "…"
Yan Ningbai felt proud hearing that. He thrust his chest forward and sat up straighter and gobbled down two more bowls of rice!
Understanding that they just moved in today and taking into consideration Lin Chu"s current physical condition that she might tire easily, Xu Moyan and Zheng Yuntong did not come to visit even though they stayed in the same neighborhood.
Xu Moyan was going on a business trip the next day; Zheng Yuntong had nothing much to do but would rather wait for Xu Moyan to visit together and decided to come by next week for the housewarming.
Before Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng moved in, Han Zhuoli and the gang were already very excited wanting to come over for housewarming. Once they found out that they had planned to move in today, they set the date to visit the very next day as it was a Sunday.
Early the next morning at around seven, Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were still asleep when the doorbell rang.
Aunt Zhuang was in the kitchen preparing Dough Drop and Vegetable Soup. Lin Chu woke up in the middle of last night, citing that she had dreamt about the fragrant dish and craved for it.
Yan Beicheng did not care that it was three in the morning. He put on his pants, went downstairs and knocked on Aunt Zhuang"s door to inform her about Lin Chu"s cravings and to cook the dish for Lin Chu in the morning.
Aunt Zhuang was dreaming of being a queen in an unknown era and was enjoying life; she only need to sit and be pampered, she would be carried around in a sedan chair whenever she was out, whatever she wants to eat she would get it and she did not even have to use her own hands. She was dreaming happily when Yan Beicheng woke her up.
She was stirring the egg in the flour when she heard the doorbell rang. Aunt Zhuang washed and dried her hands and went to the door. She opened the door and was horrified to not find anybody there.
She heard somebody calling her from below. She lowered her head and saw Yan Ningbai at the door. He was dressed in a sports outfit.
Aunt Zhuang looked at the time and was shocked again. She quickly let Yan Ningbai come in and asked, "Why are you so early?"