Qi Ji opened it to reveal two beautiful small jade pendants. Though not large, they were exquisite in their transparent luster and adorable shape, truly delicate pieces.
"How cute," she remarked.
"I bought them while filming in Xiangcheng. They have quite a lot of these things there. When I saw them, I thought these two little jade pendants would be perfect for our two treasures."
After speaking, Shu Yi leaned over to look at the two babies in the crib.
"They're so beautiful. Cherry-like lips and such fair skin. You can tell they'll be great beauties when they grow up."
"You don't know the half of it. When the babies were first born, she was quite disappointed," Ye Rong joked with a laugh.
"They were all wrinkly then, like little monkeys," Qi Ji defended herself.
"Hahaha, all newborns look like that. They improve once they fill out. How much space do you think there is in your belly? And there were two of them! They'd have to be a bit wrinkled to fit. Look how cute they are now, much prettier than Jing Rui was as a baby. When he was born, I almost wanted to throw him away," Ye Rong quipped.
Her words sent Qi Ji and Shu Yi into fits of laughter.
"Alright, you two have fun. Call me when the babies wake up. I'm going downstairs to check if the auntie has finished making the soup."
The two nodded as Ye Rong left.
After she was gone, Shu Yi said with a smile, "Your mother-in-law treats you like her own daughter, taking care of you so meticulously."
"Mm-hmm, Mom is really good to me. Sometimes, even Jing Rui himself wonders if he's the one who married into the family instead."
"That's too funny!"
Shu Yi was genuinely happy for Qi Ji. How wonderful to have no mother-in-law conflicts. If there were such issues, someone with Qi Ji's personality would probably be bullied to death by her mother-in-law.
"When do you leave next?" Qi Ji asked.
"In three days."
"And when will you be back?"
"In about 20 days."
"That's great! By then I'll be able to go out. We can go eat delicious food together. I'm craving spicy food so badly."
"Just hold on a bit longer."
"I'm so envious of you guys."
"What's there to envy? My constant late nights filming? Or that your sister Yin will soon be in the same boat as you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your sister Yin is pregnant!"
Goodness, Qi Ji was stunned for a second. Just a few days ago, sister Yin had come to bring her some treats and even brought little silver bracelets for the two babies. Now sister Yin was pregnant? How did she not know? Sister Yin hadn't told her.
"Such big news, and I had no idea. You guys are keeping secrets from me again. Boo-hoo, I'm heartbroken," Qi Ji pouted playfully.
"Stop, stop, darling. We weren't hiding anything from you. I just got lucky. When I came back today, I happened to run into their family of three and found out they had just been to the hospital for a check-up this morning."
"I can't believe our Suisui and Niannian will become big brother and sister so soon after being born," Qi Ji said, looking at the two sleeping babies with a tender expression.
"Suisui and Niannian?"
"Yes, those are their nicknames. The boy is Suisui, and the girl is Niannian. Their full names are Xue Le'an and Xue Leyu respectively."
"Those are lovely names!"
Qi Ji smiled. She and Xue Jingrui had only come up with the nicknames. The formal names were chosen by Xue Kai. How could names picked by Xue Kai be anything but excellent?
"Do you like Suisui and Niannian?" Qi Ji asked, seeking Shu Yi's approval.
"Of course, they're lovely. You know what little Zhengzheng once told me?"
"What?"
"He said his mommy's name is Mimi."
"Oh, is sister Yin's nickname Mimi?"
"Yes, yes! Later when I asked Yin about it, she was completely stunned. She asked how I knew her childhood nickname, saying she had almost forgotten it herself."
"My son-in-law is truly impressive."
"Yin said her nickname was Mimi, and her brother's was Wangwang."
"Her brother should find a girlfriend named Bingbing in the future," Qi Ji said, letting her imagination run wild.
Shu Yi immediately caught on to Qi Ji's joke.
"Hahaha, anyway, I think they definitely shouldn't let her parents name the baby in Yin's belly."
The next evening, Shu Yi said she wanted to see how Qingfan Tower had changed. She had been there for its opening, but now a month had passed. During her time on set, Qingfan Tower had quietly become popular, turning into a trendy spot for social media check-ins.
It had gone viral on various short video platforms, attracting many tourists to visit and sightsee. However, many people only looked from the outside without going in, as it was too crowded. The tables inside and private rooms were impossible to book, with demand far exceeding supply.
Qingfan Tower had become a tourist attraction in its own right, driving up real estate prices in the surrounding area. Fortunately, Xu Xiuhe had the foresight to buy up the nearby vacant lots with Chen Siming.
Now they were proceeding with further development. There were also many people outside Qingfan Tower, with the pond full of green lotus leaves and lotus flowers in full bloom.
Even more people were taking boat rides, as who wouldn't want to experience the feeling of "wandering deep into a sea of lotus"?
So when Shu Yi stood on the bridge, she was fully disguised. But it was no match for the sheer number of people here, including many of Shu Yi's fans who could recognize her just from her silhouette.
"Excuse me, are you Shu Yi?" someone asked.
Shu Yi adjusted her sunglasses, never imagining she would be recognized.
The person asking was a pretty young girl, looking at her eagerly. Shu Yi smiled and made a shushing gesture.
The girl instantly became excited. She had just randomly encountered her idol!
"Can I take a picture with you?" she asked.
"Like this?" Shu Yi pointed to her fully disguised appearance.
"That must be Shu Yi, right? She looks just like her."
"It is! Look at her figure, and the color and length of her hair. It's definitely my goddess."
"Even though her face is hidden by sunglasses and a mask, you can still tell it's her."
"There was news yesterday saying Shu Yi had returned from Xiangcheng."
"It's her, it's definitely her."
Shu Yi was curious how people nowadays had such keen observation skills. The lighting wasn't even good here, yet they recognized her instantly.
"Can we take a photo together?"
"Actually, I'd love an autograph too."
Seeing that she had been discovered, Shu Yi decided not to hide anymore. She took off her mask and greeted them graciously.
"One at a time, okay?" she suggested.
"Of course, of course."
"Everyone, let's be orderly and show our quality as Shu Yi's fans," someone said.
Suddenly, Shu Yi felt the crowd around her become more organized, lining up to approach her one by one.
"Goddess, you're even more beautiful in person than on TV."
"Thank you."
"We love you, Shu Shu baby!" After taking photos, people conscientiously moved away.
"Darling, we've taken enough photos. You're here to eat, right? Hurry and go in, don't let yourself go hungry," a fan advised.
It was Shu Yi's first time realizing her fans were like this.
