After searching for a while and finally finding the blanket, Meng Jinyan hadn’t even had a chance to sit down when his phone dinged with several voice messages.
All from “Grandma.”
When he opened them, none were what he wanted to hear.
“You brat, I’m warning you—during these first few months of pregnancy, you’d better not make any rash moves. Take good care of your wife.”
“Your wife is beautiful and has a great figure. I understand you’re at that age full of vigor, but you absolutely must not lay a finger on her. If I find out you’ve bullied her, I won’t let you off easy.”
“Tomorrow morning, I’m having breakfast with your Grandma Xia, so I won’t be joining you for the meal. Be considerate to your wife at the table, you hear me!”
After listening, Meng Jinyan couldn’t help but find it laughable.
His grandmother was probably overthinking things. He wasn’t the type to develop such thoughts about a woman he’d only met twice.
After replying with a couple of perfunctory messages, he wasn’t in the best mood and went to the window to get some air.
Not long after, Jin Yu came out.
Old Madam, likely worried he might have any improper ideas, had sent over pajamas that covered her up completely. Aside from her face and collarbone, nothing else was exposed.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyan curled his lips into a smile.
A particularly sinister one.
In any case, Jin Yu found it rather frightening.
She shuffled her small steps over to the sofa area.
Not daring to say much, she only whispered, “It’s late. I’m going to sleep now. Goodnight.”
With that, she pulled the blanket over herself, covering her face completely.
Meng Jinyan stared for a moment. As he passed by the sofa, he said, not too lightly but not too heavily either, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll suffocate?”
Jin Yu: “…”
Of course she was afraid, but she was even more afraid of him.
Only after hearing him enter the bathroom did Jin Yu dare to pull the blanket down and take a breath.
Although she was feeling a bit sleepy now, sharing a room with a strange man still made her somewhat fearful. Her initial drowsiness had faded quite a bit by this point.
Meanwhile, not long after entering the bathroom, Meng Jinyan suddenly remembered something—the woman sleeping on the sofa was pregnant.
As he took off his shirt, his expression turned particularly unpleasant.
Various images flashed through his mind.
She slept with her face covered, not even afraid of suffocating. If she slept on the sofa, what if she clumsily and carelessly ended up losing the baby in the middle of the night?
At this thought, his hand paused as he unbuckled his belt.
If the child really were lost, based on his understanding of Old Madam, she’d probably still force him to find a way to get another one pregnant. Ugh, he didn’t have the inclination to father children with different women.
Thinking this, he stopped completely.
Without another word, he pulled the door open and stepped out.
As soon as he stepped out, his gaze fell on her curled up on the sofa. Seeing this, he felt strangely uncomfortable, but his tone remained impatient. “Get up!”
Jin Yu hadn’t been sleeping soundly to begin with, and now, hearing his impatient voice from outside, her heart leaped into her throat.
Slowly pulling the blanket away from her face, she asked timidly and confusedly, “What’s wrong?”
Having been under the blanket for a while, her face was now flushed with a rosy hue against her fair skin. Her almond-shaped eyes looked timid, pure, and utterly adorable, making Meng Jinyan’s heart itch.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze darkening.
Damn, pregnant and still so seductive.
“You’ll sleep on the bed tonight.”
The concise five words made Jin Yu’s eyes widen. She swallowed hard and asked incredulously, “What do you mean?”
Meng Jinyan, who never wasted words, grew even more impatient. “I said you sleep in the bed tonight.”
Not long after, he added another sentence.
“Not just today. You’ll sleep in the bed from now on.”
Hearing this, Jin Yu became even more alarmed. “Then… then what about you?”
When asked this, Meng Jinyan’s annoyance reached its peak.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
With that, he slammed the bathroom door shut.
The loud “bang!” startled Jin Yu, making her shiver. It seemed her marriage partner had quite a temper.
Inside the bathroom, Meng Jinyan washed up, but the more he washed, the more he felt something was wrong with him. He must have gone mad to voluntarily offer to sleep on the sofa.
Who in their right mind would give up a perfectly good bed to sleep on the sofa? Only an idiot would do that.
As he was about to finish washing, he even considered going back on his decision once he stepped out. But the word “child” kept echoing in his mind.
It forced him to suppress his frustration.
The mess he had created truly reflected the saying: what goes around comes around. It wasn’t that retribution wouldn’t come—it was just a matter of time.
Look, barely over a month had passed, and the creditor had already come knocking.
That little one in her belly was truly his ancestor.
By the time he came out again, Jin Yu had already folded the blanket on the sofa and was sitting bolt upright.
The moment he saw her, Meng Jinyan felt a headache coming on, and his tone was far from pleasant. “What are you sitting there like a fool for?”
Jin Yu paid no mind to his harsh tone and answered very seriously, “I was waiting for you.”
Meng Jinyan: “…”
Jin Yu pursed her lips and stared straight at him. “I thought about it, and this doesn’t seem right. How about this—you ask the housekeeper to arrange a guest room for me. I’ll just sleep there.”
Hearing this, Meng Jinyan gave a slight, mocking smile and casually gestured toward the bedroom door with his chin. “Open the door and take a look.”
Jin Yu didn’t understand, but his meaning was clear. She still got up and did as he said. The moment the door opened, a chorus of voices rang out, “Good evening, Young Madam. Is there anything you need?”
Jin Yu: “…”
Seeing the five maids standing outside the door, she felt nothing but awkwardness. After hastily saying, “No need,” she hurriedly closed the door.
Even after the door was shut, her heart was still racing. Was it… was it really this terrifying?
They even had people monitoring their sleep.
When she looked up in Meng Jinyan’s direction, the man’s eyes held a teasing smile. “Understand now?”
Jin Yu pursed her lips. She understood, and it was shocking.
After all the commotion, it was already quite late.
Meng Jinyan didn’t waste any more words on her. Grabbing the blanket she had just slept with, he sprawled out on the sofa. “Remember to turn off the lights when you sleep. If you need to use the bathroom, go now. And keep quiet when you sleep at night.”
Watching him cover himself with the blanket she had just used, Jin Yu’s face flushed slightly, and her movements became somewhat hesitant. After softly uttering an “Oh,” she tiptoed toward the bed.
After turning off the lights, Jin Yu lay on the unfamiliar bed, her heart racing with anxiety. She felt not the slightest bit sleepy.
Everything that had happened today felt like a dream.
For her, this was a major decision in her life—marrying a stranger and carrying a child.
By all appearances, this seemed like an incredibly irresponsible act. But if it meant she could save her grandmother and younger brother, she would do it without hesitation.
She had already lost two people who loved her, and she didn’t want the remaining two to repeat the tragedy of the past.
Thinking of her grandmother and younger brother in the hospital, and the high medical expenses finally being settled, her heart gradually calmed down. Sleepiness soon followed, and she quickly fell asleep.
She was asleep, but Meng Jinyan, lying on the sofa, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep even after more than an hour.
The sofa was far too cramped and uncomfortable for him.
The blanket she had used carried her scent—a delicate, lingering fragrance that was undeniably alluring.
How the hell was he supposed to sleep like this?
Another hour passed, and the longer he lay there, the more unbearable it became.
Finally, under the moonlight, he watched her sleeping soundly in what should have been his bed, and his irritation only grew.
What the hell! Why should he?
After a brief twenty-second deliberation, he threw off the blanket and got up without hesitation. Why should he suffer like this?
It was his bed, and he had every right to sleep in it.
As for her, he could simply turn a blind eye and ignore her.
Standing by the bed, the moonlight from outside illuminated her face more clearly—porcelain-white skin, arched brows, long lashes, a delicate nose, and rosy lips. She truly was a beauty.
She slept peacefully, her hands tucked neatly outside the blanket, like a child in kindergarten.
Meng Jinyan stared at her quietly for a moment before suddenly cursing under his breath.
“Tsk, her skin really is fair.”