19. Carrying my offspring in your belly, who else do you plan on marrying?
“Alright, I won’t touch you.”
Ling Qing Ruan pitifully shrank into a corner, hugging her legs and curling into a ball.
After a moment, she raised her head and secretly glanced at Si Zhanhan’s side profile.
He sat very straight. The black suit he wore was free of any wrinkles, his tie was impeccably knotted, and his shirt was buttoned up to the very top. He looked abstinent and noble.
A man like him wasn’t bad, actually. If she were to look for a boyfriend, she probably wouldn’t find anyone better than Si Zhanhan.
*So what’s there to hesitate about? Just agree to him.*
A voice echoed in Ling Qing Ruan’s ear.
But she really wasn’t sure if she wanted this child. It was a small life, and she couldn’t bear to get rid of it.
Ling Qing Ruan wrapped her arms around Si Zhanhan’s arm and leaned into his embrace, her heart in turmoil. What on earth was she supposed to do?
Si Zhanhan was speechless.
She was the one who initiated the hug this time. It shouldn’t be his fault, right?
Ling Qing Ruan rested in Si Zhanhan’s arms and closed her eyes after a short while. The car drove steadily. Si Zhanhan gently held her, thinking the young woman had fallen asleep.
He had heard that pregnant women were especially prone to drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, and morning sickness—many, many symptoms. He had already looked into it, along with all the necessary precautions.
But a moment later, Si Zhanhan felt the front of his shirt getting soaked again.
“Little Crybaby, weren’t you asleep?”
Ling Qing Ruan blinked her large, watery eyes, with teardrops still clinging to her curled lashes.
“Si Zhanhan, my phone is ringing. It’s a call from my best friend. Can I tell her the truth about what’s happened?”
Ling Qing Ruan sniffled aggrievedly. Wu Xiaomin was her best friend, and she didn’t want to hide something this huge from her.
“Let’s wait a few more days. How about you tell her once things have stabilized?”
“Okay.”
Ling Qing Ruan was just an eighteen-year-old girl who didn’t understand anything, so she could only listen to Si Zhanhan.
“Ruan Ruan, baby, I’m already home. Are you home too? It’s the weekend tomorrow, I’ll take you clubbing. I heard a lot of handsome guys just showed up at Yu Harbor Bay. We might even meet a few.”
Ling Qing Ruan’s scalp tingled at her words. Handsome guys? She was carrying an offspring now. What if she danced it away?
However, she completely failed to notice the man beside her, whose face had turned so grim that it looked like it could drip water.
Handsome guys? Were they more handsome than him? Were they richer than him?
Si Zhanhan didn’t know why a strange sense of jealousy arose in his heart. It was probably because he knew Ruan Ruan was carrying his child, so he had already started seeing her as his woman.
*Woman…*
Si Zhanhan gazed at Ling Qing Ruan, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. He had personally turned her into a woman.
“Xiaomin, you go ahead. I have something to do this weekend.”
“Is it another part-time job? When will your bloodsucking parents ever let you go?” Wu Xiaomin asked indignantly.
“No, it’s something else. I’ll tell you when I get back.”
“Alright, then you go handle your business. Tell me when you’re back in the dorm.”
“Okay.”
Ling Qing Ruan hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Xiaomin didn’t press further. Otherwise, what could she have said? That she was carrying an offspring in her belly?
Xiaomin definitely wouldn’t believe her and would think she was joking.
“Si Zhanhan, I have to go back to Imperial University in a couple of days.”
“No.”
The man’s tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
“No way, Si Zhanhan, you can’t restrict my freedom. Otherwise… I won’t have the baby.”
A hint of a smile flashed in Si Zhanhan’s eyes. “Ruan Ruan has decided to have the baby?”
Ling Qing Ruan pouted her rosy lips. “I never said that. You’re the one who said it.”
“Ruan Ruan, the baby is in your belly right now. He’s a little life. Can you really bear to get rid of him? He’ll be small and cute, and in the future, he’ll even call you ‘Mommy’.”
Si Zhanhan’s large hand roamed over the girl’s flat abdomen, greeting his baby. His baby was so smart; they must know that Daddy was stroking them.
An image of a beautiful little baby appeared in Ling Qing Ruan’s mind. The baby had large eyes just like hers and a cute, rosy face. Right now, it was hugging her leg, calling her ‘Mommy’.
Ling Qing Ruan’s heart was about to melt from the baby’s cuteness. How could she bear to not have the baby?
Ling Qing Ruan’s heart clenched. *I really want to keep this baby. The baby will hug my leg and call me ‘Mommy’ in the future.*
All the way back, Ling Qing Ruan kept thinking about what her baby would look like and whether it would resemble Si Zhanhan more.
That would be very handsome, too. Si Zhanhan was so handsome, so the baby would definitely be handsome.
Si Zhanhan noticed the girl’s gaze. He lifted his eyelids, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing. “Little one, if you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to think you’ve fallen for me.”
Ling Qing Ruan immediately snapped back to her senses, her face flushing red as she patted her cheeks with both hands.
“You… You’re talking nonsense! I was just wondering if the baby would look more like you or me.”
“A girl will look like you, and a boy will look like me. Maybe Ruan Ruan is even carrying Dragon-Phoenix Twins.”
Ling Qing Ruan’s face turned even redder. Dragon-Phoenix Twins? Having two at once? She’d be exhausted to death.
No, no way!
“Si Zhanhan, you… you’re not allowed to talk nonsense.”
“Alright, I won’t. So you stop crying, too. Your eyes will get swollen and won’t be pretty anymore.”
Si Zhanhan’s long fingers wiped away the tears from the corner of Ling Qing Ruan’s eyes. The warmth of his fingertips on her skin sent a shiver through her.
Her small face reddened again. She rubbed her eyes. This time, she really wouldn’t cry.
They returned to the familiar Manor.
Ling Qing Ruan was carried by Si Zhanhan. It was less like being carried and more like being held up, with her sitting in his arms.
The surrounding servants were all looking at Ling Qing Ruan with a peculiar gaze. The tips of her ears turned red.
“Si Zhanhan, can you put me down? There are so many people watching.”
Instead of letting go, Si Zhanhan carried Ling Qing Ruan straight into the main hall.
“From now on, this is the Little Mistress. The Little Mistress is with child, so you must all serve her well.”
The man’s voice carried a powerful, oppressive force. The surrounding servants were so frightened they didn’t dare to lift their heads, nodding repeatedly.
“Yes, Second Master.”
Ling Qing Ruan’s dark, almond-shaped eyes widened as she stared at the man before her in disbelief.
She hadn’t even agreed to marry him, yet this man was spouting such nonsense.
What Little Mistress? She wasn’t!
She wasn’t!
(︿)
“Si Zhanhan, I haven’t agreed to marry you. How could you make decisions on your own?”
Ling Qing Ruan balled her fists and pounded on the man’s chest, her actions carrying a hint of a coquettish tantrum.
Si Zhanhan sat on the sofa with the little woman in his arms, letting her hit him. The woman had little strength, like a kitten, and he couldn’t feel a thing.
“You’ll have to marry me sooner or later. Carrying my offspring in your belly, who else do you plan on marrying, Ruan Ruan?”