Ding Sha froze, feeling a little guilty. She had no memory.
For the first time, she faced this question that she had deliberately ignored.
She was not the Ding Sha that Xiao Jun loved deeply.
She was just a lost soul who had crossed over from another world for some unknown reason. Even though she was called Ding Sha, she was not the original Ding Sha.
Ding Sha suddenly felt irritated. "I don't remember! I don't know!"
"Can you stop bothering me?!"
She closed the account book, got up and went back into the room.
Xiao Jun watched her back feeling a little helpless.
Sitting on the bed, Ding Sha soon regretted it. How could she have snapped at Xiao Jun?
Clearly...
Clearly it was her who had wronged Xiao Jun.
Xiao Jun looked at the coconut milk in his hand without drinking it, and put it back in the fridge.
There was no meaning in drinking it alone.
That night, Ding Sha tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Xiao Jun, lying in the other bed by the window, noticed and got up to walk over, grabbing her calf, "Cramping again?"
Without stopping, he gently and patiently massaged Ding Sha's calf.
Ding Sha felt even more guilty.
She wanted to say something, but before she could, she heard Xiao Jun humming a little tune in a strange language.
Xiao Jun's mother was from an ethnic minority. When he was little, he had rarely been lucky enough to be lulled to sleep while being sung to.
He could no longer remember what his mother looked like, but the melody still drifted in his dreams.
Ding Sha slowly fell asleep.
In her dream there was a young boy, his crying cat-like face, sweet millet cakes, and the silhouette of the boy smoking at the village entrance in the night.
The dream was long and dark.
But the gentle little tune accompanied her all the while, so she would not be afraid.
When she woke up, it was just getting light. Xiao Jun had already gotten up and gone shopping.
Sitting on the bed, Ding Sha felt as if she were in another world. She rubbed her eyes, cradling her belly as she washed up, and finally went to the kitchen.
The fridge was a little empty, with a cup of the sweet coconut milk with red beans she had seen in her dream.
Ding Sha took out some millet.
She wanted to make millet cakes for Xiao Jun.
She didn't know why she had dreamed of that memory, but Ding Sha felt that if Xiao Jun came back to see millet cakes, he would definitely be very happy.
She soaked the fresh millet in water and set it aside. Ding Sha took three eggs and separated the whites from the yolks.
She whipped the egg whites with lemon juice and white sugar into a meringue-like texture and set it aside.
Then she mixed the soaked millet and three egg yolks with some corn oil in a blender into a smooth batter.
Finally, she combined the egg whites and batter in a small bowl, tapping it on the table.
Lastly, she sprinkled a few raisins on top.
She boiled water and steamed it.
Just as she had finished steaming, she heard the door open as Xiao Jun returned.
Hearing noises in the kitchen, he went directly over and saw Ding Sha with sweat on her forehead supporting her belly as she lifted the steamer lid.
"Let me do it, let me do it." Xiao Jun was shocked, afraid she would accidentally scald herself.
Ding Sha smiled and gestured for him to lift it.
As Xiao Jun opened it, he saw the golden millet cakes, fluffy and soft, looking sweet as well.
Suddenly, he couldn't speak.
He knew Ding Sha liked good food, liked eating, liked cooking. So whether there was an occasion or not, he would think about making dishes for her.
But of all the things he had eaten over the years, what he had loved the most were still the millet cakes he had eaten as a child.
That sweet taste seemed to be etched into his soul, growing along with him. No matter when, whenever he was hungry, the first thing he would think of was always that millet cake.
"Jun?" Ding Sha couldn't help patting his shoulder when she saw him lost in thought.
Xiao Jun murmured in reply as he set about taking out the millet cakes and cutting them into quarters.
Seeing Ding Sha pick up a piece, he also took a bite. "Delicious."
It was the same taste as his memory.
Still so sweet and soft.
Xiao Jun looked at Ding Sha.
Except the pretty girl from back then was now his wife.
As soon as this thought arose, a feeling of delight welled up from the bottom of his heart, making his limbs feel lighter.
His wife.
Their little life together.
The two of them.
It really was wonderful.
Xiao Jun couldn't help squinting his eyes.
After breakfast, Xiao Jun took Ding Sha back to the maternity hospital for a prenatal checkup.
There weren't too many people today, so they were called for the 4D ultrasound soon.
Xiao Jun followed Ding Sha in, holding her hand tensely as he watched the doctor pull up her shirt to expose her bulging belly and smear some gel over it.
The doctor pointed at the image to show them, "Look, this is the baby's head, these are the little hands. He's curled up in mommy's tummy."
"A very healthy baby." The doctor concluded.
The little couple heaved a sigh of relief. As they left the hospital, they went to a nearby street lined with baby stores.
"Which one to buy?" Ding Sha held a blue and a gray baby outfit, somewhat conflicted as she felt both were cute.
"Let's get both, get both." Xiao Jun reached out to take them directly into the shopping basket.
Ding Sha glanced back and saw the basket was piled high with things, almost overflowing!
She picked up an especially beautiful and fancy pair of pink baby shoes. "What's the point of buying this?"
"For our daughter to wear!" Xiao Jun said matter-of-factly.
Ding Sha froze for a moment, wondering if she should tell him the baby was a boy.
The basket also had many pink clothes, shoes, bibs, burp cloths, and diapers.
Xiao Jun nodded confidently, "I added a midwife on WeChat. She sent me a list of things to prepare. I bought everything according to what she said."
Ding Sha put the pink items back. "What if it's a boy? You want him to wear pink too?"
Xiao Jun refused to believe her words. "How could it be a boy? It must be a girl!"
Ding Sha picked out some mustard-yellow clothes. "These are fine right? Good for either gender."
Xiao Jun reluctantly compromised.
On the way home, Xiao Jun carried large and small bags, with more stuff strapped to his back. He looked just like a refugee fleeing with belongings.
Xiao Jun stopped to weigh the packages that were slipping down and thought to himself that he should buy a car. It would be even more inconvenient after the baby was born.
Luckily their little shop wasn't far from the maternity hospital. After walking for a bit, they arrived.
From afar, they saw someone pacing back and forth at their door. Ding Sha assumed it was a customer who had come before realizing they were closed today.
Drawing nearer, they saw it was Da Zhuang from the construction site.
Da Zhuang was pacing outside the door. Hearing a call, "Brother?"
He turned to see Ding Sha dressed in maternity clothes. Her face was rounder, but her body was still thin. The roundest part of her was that pregnant belly.
Behind her, Xiao Jun carried a pile of stuff on his back.
Ding Sha opened the door and let him in to sit down. "What would you like to eat today?"
Da Zhuang looked around. The shop was bigger than he had imagined, with seven or eight tables, tidy and cleanly arranged. The decor was a Chinese antique style, giving a unique sense of taste.
He randomly ordered a pork belly hot pot. Only then did he sheepishly say, "Sis and bro-in-law, I came because I have a request."
"Would you happen to be hiring for your shop?"
