"Honey, I think there might be something unusual with my pulse," Shen Yin said, pressing her right hand on her left wrist.
"What do you mean unusual?" Xu Xiuhe asked anxiously. In some matters, it's better to err on the side of caution, especially when it came to Shen Yin. He couldn't accept even the slightest problem.
"I feel like it's a slippery pulse."
"What does that mean?"
Shen Yin, unsure, felt her pulse again. It was as if a row of bubbles passed under her right hand's ring finger, middle finger, and index finger in quick succession, one after another, with a strong, rhythmic beat.
"When was the last time we...you know?" Shen Yin asked.
Xu Xiuhe understood what she meant by "you know."
"Didn't we have a time about a week ago?"
"And before that?"
Shen Yin was perplexed, wondering if she had misread her own pulse.
"Mommy," the little one tugged at Shen Yin's hand, pressing it against his own wrist. "What are you doing?"
"What is it, Zhengzheng?"
"Check my pulse."
Shen Yin crouched down, feeling the little one's pulse. It was steady, neither floating nor sinking, flowing smoothly, neither too strong nor too weak.
"Zhengzheng is very healthy. Well done!"
"Let's go home and discuss this later tonight," Xu Xiuhe said.
In the car, Xu Xiuhe sat in the driver's seat, his heart already racing with excitement.
"Your body?" he asked.
His question made Shen Yin suddenly realize. Her periods had always been very regular, and she never experienced pain, so she hadn't paid much attention to tracking them. Now that she thought about it, she might be late this month. Could she really have hit the jackpot?
Shen Yin's mouth gaped slightly, still trying to figure out where things might have gone off track.
From her expression, Xu Xiuhe had already guessed. There's no such thing as 100% safety, and if he remembered correctly, they had one particularly passionate encounter about a month ago where they might not have taken precautions.
"Let's go to the hospital tomorrow to check," Xu Xiuhe said.
"What if we really have won the lottery?"
Xu Xiuhe couldn't help but laugh at Shen Yin's question. What else could they do but have the baby? It would be wonderful. Zhengzheng was old enough now, they were in a good position, and they had good genes. Why not have another child?
"We'll have the baby, of course."
"But Zhengzheng is still little."
The little one, hearing this, looked disapproving. He wasn't little at all.
"Mommy, Zhengzheng has grown up. Zhengzheng is a big boy now and can protect Mommy."
The little one said, flexing his arms. He was even going to kindergarten now, how could he be considered little?
"Zhengzheng, how would you feel if Mommy had a little baby in her tummy?" Shen Yin asked, looking at the little one sitting next to her. She cared deeply about Zhengzheng's feelings. There had been news reports about only children not wanting their parents to have more kids. That's why she had wanted to wait a few more years until Zhengzheng was older before asking him. But sometimes, things don't always go according to plan.
The little one looked at Shen Yin and patted her stomach.
"Is Mommy's tummy going to be like Aunt Qi Ji's? With a little baby inside?"
"Mommy's not sure if there's a baby inside yet. Mommy wants to know what Zhengzheng thinks. Would you like a little brother or sister?"
Xu Yunzheng seemed fascinated and touched Shen Yin's stomach again.
"Will they be as tiny as Aunt Qi Ji's babies? This small?" Xu Yunzheng held out his hands to demonstrate how small Aunt Qi Ji's twins were.
"That's right. Zhengzheng used to be that small too. You grew and grew from this tiny size into the little man you are now," Shen Yin said, mimicking his gesture.
"Can they play with me?"
"Of course they can."
"When can the baby in Mommy's tummy come out to play with Zhengzheng?"
The little one's voice was full of impatience.
Shen Yin: ...
Xu Xiuhe: ...
If she remembered correctly, she had only asked how Zhengzheng would feel if there was a baby in her tummy. But the little one had taken it further, asking when the baby would come out to play. Goodness, they hadn't even confirmed anything yet.
"Zhengzheng, do you prefer a little brother or a little sister?" Xu Xiuhe asked from the driver's seat.
"I like both. Will Mommy be like Aunt Qi Ji and have two babies come out of her tummy?"
Shen Yin was once again at a loss for words.
"Zhengzheng, Aunt Qi Ji is very special. It's rare for someone to have two babies at once."
The little one nodded, seeming to half-understand.
"Mommy just said Zhengzheng is super great too. So Zhengzheng can have two babies too in the future!"
The little one waved his arms excitedly, apparently very pleased with his deduction.
"Ahem, ahem..." Shen Yin had wanted to say something, but she was truly shocked by Xu Yunzheng's logical reasoning. That's not how analogies work!
"Hahaha! Zhengzheng can't have babies because Zhengzheng is a boy. Boys can't carry babies. Carrying a baby is a very difficult thing, so girls have a tough job. That's why Zhengzheng should be gentlemanly towards girls in the future."
Xu Xiuhe wanted to say more but felt he might not express it well and Zhengzheng might misunderstand, so he stopped there.
After arriving home, Xu Xiuhe parked the car, quickly got out to open the door for Shen Yin, and helped her out of the car.
He opened the front door, got Shen Yin's slippers for her, and was careful not to let her bump into anything. He even followed behind her as she went up the stairs.
"Honey, you don't need to be so..."
"Go sit in the bedroom. We can't risk anything. Zhengzheng, you stay with Mommy and protect her."
"Okay!"
Hearing this, Xu Xiuhe went downstairs, entered the kitchen, washed some fruit, cut it up, and brought it upstairs.
"You eat first. I'll take Zhengzheng for a bath."
With that, Xu Xiuhe picked up Zhengzheng. Shen Yin sat on the sofa, turned on the projector, and started watching a variety show while eating fruit.
Soon after, Xu Xiuhe brought Zhengzheng out of the bathroom, put him on the bed, and told Shen Yin to go in and bathe.
"Can I... maybe I should go in with you. What if you slip and fall?"
Shen Yin: "I might be pregnant, not incapacitated."
"Oh." The man rubbed his nose sheepishly.
After Shen Yin and Xu Yunzheng had gone to sleep, Xu Xiuhe went to the study alone and called Liu Bo.
"Liu Bo, how is Xiao Li'er's prenatal check-up going?"
"Very well, everything's normal."
"That's good. Be a bit busier tomorrow, I need to accompany my wife for a prenatal check-up. By the way, what should we pay attention to during the check-up?"
Xu Xiuhe asked.
"You mean your wife is pregnant?"
"Yeah, is your wife allowed to be pregnant but not mine?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant. I meant, have you confirmed the pregnancy? Is tomorrow's hospital visit for a prenatal check-up or to confirm if she's pregnant?"
"The latter."
"Then she should fast in the morning."
