‘Is it a boy or a girl?’ Shen Cheng asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan was sitting in the car, looking at the scans in her hands. Her twenty-nine-week-old baby was healthy. She could clearly see her baby’s arms and legs. Her baby’s mouth and eyes were closed, and she could picture what her baby would look like after her baby was born.
‘I don’t know,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
One of the hospital’s policy was doctors weren’t allowed to tell their pregnant patients if they were expecting a boy or girl.
‘I hope it’s a boy,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Why?’ Shen Cheng asked.
Shen Cheng didn’t expect Qiao Tan Yuan favored boys over girls.
‘No reason,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
If Qiao Tan Yuan’s baby was a boy, he would grow up to be cold hearted like his father and wouldn’t be heartbroken. If her baby was a girl, she was scared her daughter would grow up to waste years being a fool in love.
Qiao Tan Yuan thought she was overthinking. No one could predict the future. There was a possibility if she had a son, he could grow up to meet a girl who had someone else in their heart.
At the red lights, Shen Cheng was heartbroken to see Qian Tan Yuan’s sad expression.
‘Tan Yuan, are you thinking about him?’ Shen Cheng asked.
‘No,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I haven’t thought about him for a long time.’
Shen Cheng didn’t believe Qiao Tan Yuan. If she wasn’t thinking about Gu Jiao Wu, she would have accepted his marriage proposal. He didn’t want her baby to be looked down on by others if her baby was born illegitimate.
‘Do you think big brother Wen would tell Gu Jiao Wu about you being pregnant?’ Shen Cheng asked.
It wasn’t a secret Qiao Tan Yuan was pregnant. But Gu Jiao Wu was working away from home for a long time, and he wouldn’t know she was pregnant. Gu Jiao Wen wasn’t an idiot. Gu Jiao Wen would be suspicious after seeing how big her stomach was, he would tell Gu Jiao Wu and complicate the situation.
‘I don’t know,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan wasn’t close to Gu Jiao Wen, and couldn’t predict his choices.
‘But I’m not scared,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘But…’ Shen Cheng said.
Shen Cheng knew Gu Jiao Wu was the Gu Household’s firstborn… if Gu Jiao Wu found out Qiao Tan Yuan was pregnant, he couldn’t predict what Gu Jiao Wu would do.
‘No but,’ Qian Tan Yuan said.
Qian Tan Yuan carefully put her baby’s scans in her bag. She kept all her baby’s scans as momentums for her baby to see when her baby was older.
Shen Cheng resumed driving after the lights turned green.
‘So what if he knows?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. ‘It’s not his baby.’
Shen Cheng knew Gu Jiao Wu hated being deceived. He was surprised Gu Jiao Wu didn’t die from hating Qiao Tan Yuan intensely for years. He was scared Gu Jiao Wu would… it was a scary thought. It was safer for him to concentrate on driving.
On Sunday, Qiao Tan Yuan was slowly walking outside of a Bai Hua Qiao store. Bai Hua Qiao was crowded upstairs and downstairs, it made her smile. Bai Hua Qiao was a relatively popular franchise in the northern districts.
‘Big sister,’ Qiao Jie called. He ran to help Qiao Tan Yuan walk outside the store. ‘Your stomach is this big, and you still run here by yourself. Big sister, you should have asked me to check-up on any Bai Hua Qiao stores.’
‘It’s nothing,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I’m pregnant not sick.’
‘Big sister, your stomach is carrying the Qiao Household’s precious heir,’ Qiao Jie said. ‘You should take it easy and let me do the hard work. Unless you don’t trust your little brother’s abilities.’
‘Of course not,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I’m proud of my hard working little brother. How can I look down on you?’
‘Then big sister should rest and let me do the hard work,’ Qiao Jie said and patted his chest. ‘You can leave one hundred and twenty hearts here. I promise they’ll be safe.’
‘OK,’ Qiao Tan Yuan conceded. She had walked around two levels and felt tired. ‘I’ll go to the cafe downstairs to take a rest. After work, come find me there and drive me home.’
Qiao Jie nodded his head. Since Qiao Tan Yuan was pregnant, no one in their family let her drive. Because in her first trimester, she had severe morning sickness. Then it became a habit of being driven around. She wasn’t a weak pampered heiress, but others perceived her that way.
Nearby the cafe Qiao Tan Yuan was walking toward, in a clothing store, Gu Jiao Wu was shopping with w.a.n.g Tu Ya. He didn’t understand why he needed to look at maternity and baby clothes.
‘Jiao Wu, Pan Ting is six months pregnant,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘What do you think I should buy for Pan Ting’s child?’
Although Chen Ting Yu was taking care of Tan Pan Ting’s daily needs, w.a.n.g Tu Ya felt it was her duty as an elder to show she cared about the members of the Gu Household.
Gu Jiao Wu hated shopping and wasn’t good at picking out clothes for other people.
‘Mum, I don’t know, you choose,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
w.a.n.g Tu Ya mostly heard the same replies from Gu Jiao Wu while they were shopping, ‘Mum, I don’t know, up to you… not bad, buy it if you like it… you choose.’
Compared to shopping with Gu Qi Jiang, w.a.n.g Tu Ya thought it was more pitiful to shop with Gu Jiao Wu. Even though Gu Qi Jiang hated shopping, at least Gu Qi Jiang gave her opinions when shopping with her.
‘Jiao Wu, is this cute?’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya asked.
Gu Jiao Wu looked at the childish pink underwear w.a.n.g Tu Ya was holding, and frowned.
w.a.n.g Tu Ya suppressed her frustrations at Gu Jiao Wu’s lack of cooperation.
‘Jiao Wu, Pan Ting is six months pregnant,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘When will you give me a grandchild to hold?’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t want to answer w.a.n.g Tu Ya’s question.
‘You’re the firstborn,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘You and Qiao Tan Yuan are divor-’
‘Mum, do you still want to shop?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked coldly. ‘If not, I’ll go home first.’
‘You…’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. She could see what sort of good son she gave birth to. ‘You rarely come home. Is it too much to ask you to go on an outing with me?’
Gu Jiao Wu picked up the children’s clothing in w.a.n.g Tu Ya’s hands, and pa.s.sed it to a shop a.s.sistant.
‘Help me wrap this,’ Gu Jiao Wu said to the shop a.s.sistant.
‘Jiao Wu…’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya called.
Gu Jiao Wu paid for the clothes at the counter, and gave the Gu Mansion address for the clothes to be delivered there.
Gu Jiao Wu turned around to face w.a.n.g Tu Ya. ‘Mum, do you want to buy anything else?’
‘I’m tired,’ w.a.n.g Tu Ya said. ‘Let’s go somewhere to rest for a bit.’
‘Mum, where do you want to go to sit?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Sir, downstairs there is a cafe,’ the shop a.s.sistant said. ‘It’s a good cafe. You and Madam can order light refreshments and sit there to rest.’
‘Mum, let’s go to the cafe downstairs,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Mo Mo Xiao cafe below the Bai Hua Qiao store was Qiao Tan Yuan’s favorite cafe. She could smell the delicious coffee, but she was pregnant and couldn’t drink coffee. She hated sweets, but her tastebuds changed since she was pregnant. The cafe desserts were delicious.
Qiao Tan Yuan ordered two small desserts and a gla.s.s of warm milk. Afterward she browsed through a book about what to expect while pregnant. Usually she was too busy to read, she skipped the first two trimester sections since she was in her third trimester.
Qiao Tan Yuan’s back was facing the door so she couldn’t see the customers entering the cafe. A waiter called her name, she raised a hand and the waiter brought her order to the table. She put the book down and remembered she hadn’t washed her hands yet. It meant she had to stand up and go the toilet. Since she was pregnant, she had to go to the toilet to urinate often but it was inconvenient to stand up to go to the toilet often.
Qiao Tan Yuan slowly stood and walked to the toilet. She washed her hands, walked out of the toilet and accidently b.u.mped into someone. She instinctively stretched her hand to hold onto something to stop herself from falling and protect her baby. A person’s hand held onto her hand and stopped her from falling.
‘Thank you…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qian Tan Yuan thought she was seeing things… Gu Jiao Wu?
‘Gu Jiao Wu…’ Qiao Tan Yuan called.
Qiao Tan Yuan could see how much Gu Jiao Wu hated her on his cold handsome face. After she stood steadily, he let go of her hand and took a step back.
Gu Jiao Wu looked coldly at Qiao Tan Yuan. She wore a loose maternity dress and her hands were protecting her round stomach… she was pregnant?
Gu Jiao Wu narrowed his eyes. He could see the anxiety in Qiao Tan Yuan’s eyes briefly before she composed herself. She turned around, and intended to leave like nothing happened but he grabbed her arm.
‘You’re pregnant,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan was forced to turn around and face Gu Jiao Wu. She didn’t expect to see Gu Jiao Wu a day after seeing Tan Pan Ting and Gu Jiao Wen. Yesterday she acted cheerful in front of Shen Cheng, but she couldn’t sleep at night. She dreamt about that day Gu Jiao Wu told her to abort her baby and give him a divorce. When she woke up, she thought about what she would do if Gu Jiao Wu knew she was pregnant.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t think Gu Jiao Wu would suddenly return to the city from the south. Even if he was in the city, she didn’t expect to see him. So what if he knew she was pregnant? She could deny the truth about him being the father. There was nothing he could do to her baby. But standing in front of him made her momentarily anxious. Then she saw his eyes narrowed, looked coldly at her and her anxiety disappeared.
Qiao Tan Yuan held her chin high and spoke firmly. ‘That’s right. I’m pregnant. Is there a problem?’
End of Chapter Three (Part 2 of 2)