Zhi Yao stared at the receipt in disbelief, feeling completely overwhelmed.
In her haste to clean up with Fifteen earlier, she had overlooked the most crucial piece of evidence!
Pei Chiyao looked at the receipt and read it aloud softly, "Ten pairs of Orleans-style chicken wings, an 8-inch classic Italian meat sauce pizza, large fries, and two cups of cola."
None of these foods were suitable for Fifteen due to his young age.
So...
Pei Chiyao narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, Zhi Yao preemptively slid to her knees, "Honey, honey, I admit it. I was terribly wrong this time. I shouldn't have eaten all this junk food, and certainly not in such large quantities!"
Zhi Yao truly felt like crying.
She could already foresee her miserable fate for the evening.
Unexpectedly, Pei Chiyao didn't pursue the topic. Instead, he said to Zhi Yao, "Since you've eaten so much, I assume you won't be hungry for dinner. Let's go out for a night run together."
Night run...
Zhi Yao immediately shook her head, patting her stomach as she said, "Actually, I suddenly feel a bit hungry. Haha, let's have dinner!"
This wasn't entirely a lie. For some reason, her appetite had increased recently... she had been eating unusually large amounts.
However, Zhi Yao had always been slim, and she had the kind of metabolism that allowed her to eat excessively without gaining weight. So, her weight wasn't something she was particularly concerned about.
Moreover, considering the amount of exercise she did during the day with Pei Chiyao, and at night... well, suffice it to say, it was astonishingly high.
As a result, not only had she not gained weight, she had actually lost some.
She quickly walked to the dining table. Today's soup was fish soup, her favorite.
Just as she reached out to ladle a bowl, suddenly, that familiar feeling of nausea surged up again.
Zhi Yao: "..."
She quickly tried to use her impressive acting skills to pretend nothing was wrong, but...
This time, the churning in her stomach intensified. Zhi Yao instantly forgot everything else and rushed to the bathroom.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Pei Chiyao's face, which had turned impossibly dark.
It's over, everything's ruined.
Zhi Yao vomited until her eyes were brimming with tears, losing all awareness of her surroundings.
In her hazy state, she could only feel someone gently patting her back, sighing as they did so, "Silly baby, I told you not to eat these things for your own good. Look at how miserable you've made yourself."
Zhi Yao felt terrible, but Pei Chiyao felt even worse.
Finally, when her stomach settled a bit, Zhi Yao weakly leaned against Pei Chiyao's shoulder. This time, she truly realized her mistake.
"I'm sorry, I won't do this again."
She looked pitiful and wronged, her nose red from discomfort. Even if Pei Chiyao had been angry before, he couldn't bear to scold her now.
"It's good that you understand your mistake."
He bent down and picked up Zhi Yao, cradling her in his arms like a child. He brought a glass of water to her lips for her to rinse her mouth, then carefully wiped her lips with a tissue. "Feeling better?"
Zhi Yao nodded.
She felt like she had emptied her entire stomach.
Pei Chiyao was about to carry Zhi Yao out when they turned and saw Fifteen standing in the doorway.
"Fifteen, mommy's okay."
Zhi Yao thought Fifteen was worried about her and was about to comfort him.
Unexpectedly, Fifteen's eyes lit up, and he ran towards Zhi Yao like a little firecracker, "Mommy!! Sister!! Sister!!"
He could sense his sister's presence, right there in mommy's tummy.
Sister...
Zhi Yao knew Fifteen desperately wanted a sister, but she and Pei Chiyao had been so careful with contraception, it was impossible for there to be a baby.
Hearing this, Pei Chiyao was stunned. He suddenly looked at Zhi Yao, his dark eyes seeming to churn with hidden emotions.
"Yao Yao, have you noticed anything unusual lately?"
Zhi Yao's periods had always been irregular, so there was no point in asking about that.
But unusual...
Zhi Yao shook her head. She had been eating and sleeping well recently, nothing unusual.
Except for today, when she had eaten far too much of a variety of foods, which was why she felt sick.
It probably had nothing to do with pregnancy...
But Pei Chiyao didn't seem to think so. He turned to Fifteen and said, "Fifteen, go out for a moment."
"But..." Fifteen was reluctant, he still wanted to be close to his sister.
"Fifteen!" Pei Chiyao's tone turned cold, and Fifteen finally turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Pei Chiyao set Zhi Yao down and took out a pregnancy test from the cabinet. "Take the test."
"I'm not pregnant!" She knew her own body better than anyone. "We always use protection, there's no way I could be pregnant."
"No protection is 100% effective."
Especially considering how frequently they...
"Just take the test."
Zhi Yao took the test, glancing at Pei Chiyao. As she turned away, she failed to notice his slightly trembling hands.
When the result came out, Zhi Yao was dumbfounded.
"This... this... this..."
She touched her flat stomach in disbelief. "Pei Chiyao, I..."
Pei Chiyao took the test from Zhi Yao's hand and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing his silence and his less-than-pleased expression, Zhi Yao suddenly realized, "Honey, do you... not want the baby anymore?"
Pei Chiyao closed his eyes, guilt flooding his heart. "I'm sorry, Yao Yao. It's my fault. I didn't take proper precautions, and now you..."
He really didn't want Zhi Yao to suffer anymore, but he hadn't expected this child to come so suddenly and unexpectedly.
"Why are you apologizing?"
Zhi Yao was confused. "I know you've always wanted a daughter. Who knows, maybe this one is a girl?"
"Or..." Zhi Yao's tone suddenly dropped, "You don't want a daughter anymore? Are you tired of the idea?"
Tired? Tired of what?
Pei Chiyao quickly realized his little wife was overthinking again.
He wrapped his arms around Zhi Yao's soft waist and said, "Don't overthink things. I want a daughter that belongs to you and me more than anyone else. But... I care about you more. I want you to be healthy, safe, free from illness, pain, and danger."
The cost of childbirth was too high; he couldn't risk it.
Hearing this, Zhi Yao couldn't help but smile, her eyes sparkling.
"Honey, for you, I'm willing to do anything."
She wrapped her arms around Pei Chiyao's neck and kissed him deeply.
...
Half an hour later, the two of them finally emerged from the restroom.
While they had been sweetly intimate in the restroom, poor Fifteen had been left waiting outside, growing increasingly anxious for the outcome.
Seeing Zhi Yao come out, Fifteen immediately rushed over. But before he could dive into Zhi Yao's arms as usual, Pei Chiyao swiftly intercepted him.
"Be careful of your sister," he warned.