Kang Anhe watched her retreating back disappointedly for a while before returning to the car. He asked, “Is Duoyao angry because I didn’t go over to visit her? She’s much colder to me than before.”
Xiling thought to herself: It’s good that you know, but she didn’t say it aloud and even said, “No, she’s just too tired. She hasn’t been back for three months—anyone would miss home.”
“That’s true.” Kang Anhe nodded before driving off in his car.
…
The first thing Duoyao did when she arrived home was to rush to her bedroom to take a bath. She let the water run in the bathtub and dripped in some essential oil, feeling exceptionally touched. Home felt so warm. Besides, she had been living at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level lately, so in the short span of a few days, her skin became dark and dry.
After she was done with her bath, she took out her phone and updated her feed: Dear friends, I am back, I am back. Feel free to ask me out.
Within a minute after she put her phone down, Changqing called, sounding excited and agitated. “You’re finally back?”
“Yes, yes.” Duoyao nodded. “Do you wanna hang out tonight?”
“Yes, of course,” Changqing said resolutely.
“Aren’t you afraid Song Chuchu will scold you?” Duoyao laughed secretly.
“Isn’t this a special situation?” Changqing snorted. “I’m so bored right now, but Song Chuchu isn’t keeping me company and is working every day. Right, where’s Brother Molun? Didn’t he come back with you?”
“No.” At the mention of him, Duoyao felt a little uncomfortable. Yan Molun had yet to give her a call or send her a message up until now and she didn’t even know if he would be coming back today.
“Why didn’t he come back?” Changqing was shocked.
“I don’t know.” Duoyao pressed her lips together. She splashed the water in the bathtub to create ripples. “Aye, we had an argument last night and things are a little strained between us.”
“You already argued before you returned? That’s really not good.” Changqing was a little disappointed. She was still looking forward to seeing them acting lovey-dovey in front of herself. She didn’t know how Brother Molun would look in a relationship.
“I didn’t want to argue either.” Duoyao felt frustrated.
“Alright, there’s no need to be too frustrated. It’s normal for couples in a relationship to get into arguments. I’ll get our Chuchu to sound Molun out to find out where he is.” Changqing hung up and called Song Chuchu. He didn’t pick up, so she continued calling since she had nothing to do.
…
Song Chuyi came out from his surgery and when he saw 38 missed calls from Yan Changqing, he felt his scalp going numb. He was afraid something had happened to her, so he called back quickly.
“Chuchu…” Hearing her delicate voice from the other side, Song Chuyi was at ease. However, he quickly became angry, asking her coldly, “Why did you call me so many times? Don’t tell me you’re about to go into labor?”
“No,” Changqing said innocently. “I was bored and because your voicemail sounded nice, I called you a few more times.”
Song Chuyi massaged his temples. “Yan Changqing, haven’t you been going overboard lately? Do you know that called me 38 times? My phone battery was almost drained because of your calling.”
“Then change phones to Oppo. Don’t they just take five minutes to charge with two-hour calls?” Changqing twirled her long hair, saying seductively.
“…” Song Chuyi sighed helplessly. “What on earth do you want? I still have to work. I don’t have time to play with you.”
“Didn’t I tell you before that Brother Molun and Duoyao are going out?” Changqing said quickly. “Duoyao came back today but Brother Molun didn’t come back with her and she has no idea when he’s coming back. Do you?”
“I don’t,” Song Chuyi said, enunciating each word.
“Then give Brother Molun a call to ask him.” Changqing tried to persuade him. “Duoyao finally got herself a boyfriend and I don’t want them to break up, but don’t say I got you to ask him. You just act like you’re showing some concern as a friend.”
“Why are you women so troublesome?” Song Chuyi frowned. “It’s their quarrel—can’t you just let them settle it themselves?”
“Are you going to ask or not? If you don’t, I won’t let you listen to Yan Wo’s fetal sounds.” Changqing hung up angrily.
…
Song Chuyi sighed. This woman was getting bolder day by day, but what other choice did he have? She was pregnant. He took off his anti-bacterial suit and called Yan Molun. “When are you intending to return?”
“Maybe tomorrow.” Yan Molun asked lightly, “Why did you suddenly call me when you’ve been keeping your child company every day?”
“Changqing made me ask. She said you had an argument with Jiang Duoyao; maybe they’re a little anxious.” Song Chuyi added, “Don’t say I told you that. Just treat it like I didn’t say anything. She might be concerned about her face.”
“Oh, it’s just a small conflict. It’s not a big problem,” Yan Molun said. “I have a friend in Lhasa so we met up, and while we were at it, I got him to help me sell the car.”
“Right, I heard you went to Myanmar to do some stone gambling this time. You must’ve earned quite a lot again,” Song Chuyi said with a smile. “It’ll be your treat when you return. Shaobin has been talking about you every day.”
Yan Molun: “…”
“He really misses you.” Song Chuyi laughed softly.
Yan Molun only wanted to hang up quickly.
————————————————-
At a barbequed fish shop by the beach in the evening, Jiang Duoyao had just found a seat when the door to the suite was pushed open. The woman who entered had a delicate oval face. Her skin was as smooth as a hard-boiled egg without its shell. Under her light blue maxi skirt, her abdomen was protruding slightly.
Jiang Duoyao looked at her and was stunned. ‘Wow, it’s just been a few months, yet you look so different. Your face has gotten rounder.”
“Jiang Duoyao, is there a need to attack me the moment we meet?” Changqing touched her face and said, “Chuchu said it’s called being meaty and it’s very cute.”
“Oh no, I’m already getting goosebumps.” Duoyao shuddered. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“A boy,” Changqing said with a smile. “We even came up with his nickname—Yan Wo. Sounds good, right?”
“Mm. It’s a pretty cute name.” Duoyao propped her chin up with her hand. “I wanted to invite Guan Ying along but she isn’t in Northern City.”
“She’s been filming every day recently,” Changqing said with a smile. “I had a phone call with her before and it seems she’s quite popular now. She’s received several good scripts and she’s also working very hard right now, so she’s been basically been with the production team for these three months.”
“To think she’s the most popular out of the three of us right now. That’s why they say fortune knocks once at every man’s door,” Duoyao lamented. “Ruan Yang has gone to Norway. Now it’s getting harder to meet up.”
Changqing fell silent for a while and said, “Xin Ziao and Zhao Zhu got their marriage certificate recently.”
“What?” Duoyao slammed the table angrily. “Xin Ziao, that b*stard, really got married to Zhao Zhu, that b*tch?”
“Yeah.” Changqing nodded. “I didn’t tell Ruan Yang. I was afraid she’d feel upset.”
“Scumbag,” Duoyao said angrily. “When Ruan Yang spoke up for me back then, Zhao Zhu, that b*tch, stabbed my back. I didn’t think… why doesn’t someone like her get knocked down by a car when she goes out?”
“Calm down.” Changqing poured her a cup of tea. “Have you ordered?”
“I only ordered a fish. You can order the side dishes.” Duoyao pushed the menu to her.
Changqing ordered a few dishes and a 2 kg barbequed fish was served. The fragrance filled the entire room. As a pregnant woman who took tonics every day and a woman who had been in the mountains for three months, the two couldn’t help but wolf down the fish upon smelling the fragrance.
“You’re going to eat so much again? Are you sure your husband won’t scold you?” Duoyao asked.
“It’s already been a month since I had anything spicy. Today is an exception,” Changqing said. “Right, Chuchu called Yan Molun to ask. He said Yan Molun will be back tomorrow. He wanted to meet up with his old friend in Lhasa.”
“Oh.” Duoyao ate the fish distractedly.
Changqing’s chopsticks paused. Suddenly, she asked softly, “Let me ask you a question—have you two done that?”
“Cough, cough.” Duoyao immediately choked on her food and she glared wide-eyed at Changqing while blushing.
“Why are you glaring at me? Didn’t you ask me too in the past?” Changqing snorted. “You even asked worse things.”
“No.”
“Aye, why haven’t you done it?” Changqing was a little disappointed.
Duoyao said angrily, “It’s just been three months and we’re dating, unlike you and Song Chuyi who are already married. You two probably did it not long after getting your marriage certificate.”
Changqing’s ears were red. She bit her chopsticks as she pondered over this. It did seem like it wasn’t long. Probably a month or two. “We got our certificate first before we made up for everything before that.”
Duoyao rolled her eyes. This woman was getting increasingly dirty. However, why was she becoming more reserved after dating Yan Molun?
“No way.” Changqing tilted her head and thought. “It’s pretty good to be reserved, but don’t overdo it. Otherwise, he’ll think you don’t have feelings for him. Why are you reserved in front of Brother Molun? No way! That’s not the Jiang Duoyao I know. Since you two are already dating, it’s okay to act a little more natural. In any case, Brother Molun already knows about your dirty side. He’s definitely interested in you because he likes that side of you.”
Duoyao felt sick all over. Why did it feel so depressing to know that he was interested because she was dirty?
…
After dinner, the two went to watch a movie and when it was past nine, Song Chuyi came to pick Changqing up. He was wearing a white top with black pants, looking elegant and refined.
Changqing went up to hold his arm proudly when she saw him. “Chuchu, I was very obedient today. I only ate a little barbequed fish and some vegetables.”