Chapter 173: Giving Birth is Terrible
The residential complex was old but quiet. With sumr approaching, the days grew longer, and nights shorter. People stayed up later, and many windows in the buildings still glowed with light.
Xu Qing lay sprawled on the couch, clutching a copy of The Complete Sherlock Hols. He completely disregarded Jiang He’s earlier advice about how lying down to read would strain his eyes. Instead, he pulled the couch closer to the window, leaving a crack open for the breeze.
The weather was getting hotter, though it wasn’t warm enough to turn on the fan just yet. The cool breeze drifting through the window brought a serene and cozy feeling.
Sotis, doing absolutely nothing—just lazily lying there, reading a book or closing your eyes to think—was enough. Ti slipped away unnoticed, and then you’d fall asleep, waking to embrace a new day. Xu Qing couldn’t even rember the last ti he felt so at ease.
A year ago? Two years ago?
After pondering for a mont without finding an answer, he placed the book over his face and closed his eyes to rest.
Jiang He had started imposing rules on him, and that wasn’t a good sign.
Her underlying ssage was clear: either stop drinking or stop trying to kiss her after drinking.
Trying to have both options would require an overwhelming show of force, but Xu Qing knew that was impossible. While the idea of "outshining the master" was conceivable, no amount of confidence could convince him that he could overpower Jiang He and force her to endure his alcohol breath.
She had been training from a young age, while he was just a latecor to the martial arts world. Her struggles in chaotic tis gave her an edge that he, with his peaceful life, couldn’t match.
The idea of forcing anything was thrilling… but ultimately, it was just fantasy. The only way forward was to outsmart her.
“Are you asleep?”
Hearing Jiang He’s voice, Xu Qing resisted the urge to move. He remained still under the book, pretending not to hear. His mind wandered to how he might avoid being overpowered in the future. If they ever shared a room and Jiang He turned over, pinning him down… well, that would be a disaster.
Just as he was mulling this over, the couch sank slightly. Then, the book was lifted from his face. Xu Qing resisted the urge to react, curious about her intentions.
“Is this so kind of entrapnt?”
“You’re misusing the term,” Xu Qing replied, opening his eyes to see Jiang He standing over him. “Entrapnt ans you’re trying to catch doing sothing suspicious, right? I’d need to have ill intentions for you to bait . You don’t, so what am I supposed to fall for?”
“What kind of ill intentions?” Jiang He asked.
“What kind of ill intentions?” Xu Qing countered, pretending to look serious.
“?”
“Well, it’s not like you’d suddenly kiss . Even if you did, I wouldn’t resist. That doesn’t count as ill intent. Ill intentions an I don’t want sothing, but you insist on doing it anyway.”
“Oh.” Jiang He turned away, feeling unamused. Just monts ago, she’d thought about sneaking a kiss while Xu Qing seed asleep.
Realizing she was still holding his book, Jiang He returned to place it back over his face. “Would wanting to punch you while you’re asleep count as ill intent?”
“Can you even punch in secret? If you hit , I’d wake up. And if you knock out first, I’d definitely figure it out when I woke up sore all over. It’s not exactly a secret.”
Xu Qing reached out on instinct, grabbing her hand and pulling her down beside him on the couch. “Now, sneaking a touch when you’re asleep is different. You wouldn’t even notice. I’d be satisfied, and you wouldn’t lose anything. Isn’t that a win-win?”
Jiang He stared at him blankly. “I was just asking.”
She settled beside him, watching as Xu Qing absentmindedly played with her hand. Oddly, it felt comfortable—probably because his face was covered by the book.
Without his intense gaze, the situation didn’t feel awkward. Jiang He reflected on this. Maybe that’s why his habit of holding her leg had made her self-conscious before—because he’d always looked like he was savoring the mont.
Looking down at her calf under her nightdress, Jiang He kicked off her slippers and curled up beside Xu Qing. She rested her head against his chest, cautiously taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
It was incredibly relaxing to lie here with soone she liked on such a peaceful night.
“Don’t move.”
Seeing Xu Qing about to remove the book from his face, Jiang He pushed it back over him.
“What kind of weird quirk is this?” Xu Qing asked, bewildered.
“It’s not weird at all.” Jiang He snuggled closer, much like she had while watching movies with him, only now they were lying down instead of sitting.
With his face covered, it felt safe, as if Xu Qing were temporarily blind. He could only hold her without doing anything else.
“Did you get addicted to this after the last ti we cuddled?” Xu Qing tightened his arm around her waist, trying to understand her perspective.
Girls naturally liked hugs, kisses, and being held. It was instinctual. Especially soone like Jiang He, who’d lived through swordplay and chaos, might find warm embraces addictive. But why insist on covering his face with a book? Was it to pretend he was asleep?
Xu Qing smirked at the absurdity of it, amused by the “modern” twist on the old idiom of “covering one’s ears to steal a bell.”
Jiang He responded with a quiet hum, not saying much, just savoring the warmth of the mont. She thought about falling asleep like this but quickly dismissed the idea. The potential consequences were too daunting.
“Sleeping on a couch won’t lead to having children, will it?”
???
Xu Qing froze.
“Haven’t you seen those illustrated guides?”
“Why would I look at such things?”
“Didn’t Second Boss teach you how children are made?” Xu Qing licked his lips, suddenly feeling guilty as though he were corrupting an innocent girl.
“She… she did,” Jiang He muttered, deciding not to elaborate. “Shut up. I get it.”
“…”
Xu Qing’s fingers traced along her waist absentmindedly. He was pretty sure she didn’t know. Why would Second Boss explain such things to her?
Back when Xu Qing was young, it was the age of crude curiosity and limited information. He and Qin Hao had once stumbled upon a dubious CD and secretly watched it at Qin Hao’s house. They were utterly shocked and believed, for a while, that babies ca out of butts.
Xu Qing couldn’t even rember how he eventually cleared up that misconception. School gossip probably helped. In such an environnt, kids naturally learned the truth over ti.
Jiang He, though, had neither school nor mischievous peers. Her life was all martial training and chores. Any real knowledge would have to wait until she got married—or stumbled upon it accidentally.
Maybe a trip to the local brothel would’ve enlightened her… but she likely hadn’t been to one either.
“If you keep squirming, you’ll end up having kids,” Xu Qing warned when he felt Jiang He shift against him.
“Huh?” Jiang He froze, lying stiffly on his chest, unsure what to do. “I’m just feeling hot.”
“Hmm… I’ll buy you a fan tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Jiang He nodded, then moved her arm slightly, brushing it against his. His touch felt cool and soothing.
“There’s a fan in my room, too. I could find it for you. But it’s not great to use fans this early in the season—it’s bad for your health. Hand fans are better.”
Xu Qing’s room doubled as a storeroom, where he’d shoved the fan when Jiang He moved in. It was probably buried in a corner.
Speaking of martial artists, weren’t they supposed to be immune to cold and heat? A calm mind, as the saying went, brought natural coolness. Then again, Xu Qing wasn’t sure how true that was. Most of his understanding ca from TV dramas.
“Do you really feel hot?”
“No, it’s just…” Jiang He hesitated, trying to explain. It wasn’t about the temperature but a restless feeling, like a tiny fla flickering inside her.
“Forget it. No more cuddling.” Jiang He sat up abruptly, leaving Xu Qing behind on the couch. She padded back to her desk and sat down, a determined look on her face. If moving around could calm her down, so be it. But if Xu Qing’s warning about having kids was a lie, she needed to know.
Xu Qing finally removed the book from his face, rubbing his nose as he got up. Wandering over to Jiang He, he leaned down to peek at what she was doing.
“What leads to having kids?”
???
Jiang He had already closed the webpage.
“You—”
“Shut up!”
“Okay.”
Seeing Jiang He’s flustered expression, Xu Qing wisely refrained from asking further. So things had to be learned in private, and he respected that.
“For the record, touching feet doesn’t lead to having kids,” Xu Qing explained.
“Of course not!” Jiang He gave him a look that scread, “Are you stupid?” She knew that much at least. If touching feet could cause pregnancy, the world would be overrun with people.
“Well… there’s a course on it in the nine-year compulsory education…” Xu Qing scratched his head. He’d thought about ordering a book online to help her learn, but it felt awkward. Did she really need to learn about this now?
“Baidu’s results aren’t always trustworthy. Don’t believe everything you find there,” Xu Qing said earnestly.
He fell silent for a mont, then added, “It’s like liking shoes—it’s not normal. Most people wouldn’t understand it. But when soone really likes you as a person, sotis…”
“So you’re finally admitting your shoe fetish?” Jiang He asked smugly.
“…Yeah, I admit it.” Xu Qing nodded. There was no point denying it—Jiang He already had her conclusions.
At least she wasn’t shocked. That lack of reaction said it all.
Liking Jiang He’s grass shoes and little heels wasn’t so insurmountable hurdle. After all, it wasn’t about the shoes themselves but how she looked in them. The lines were blurry, but that was fine.
“You hid my grass shoes before you liked ,” Jiang He pointed out, unconvinced.
“At first, I thought they were antiques. Antiques are valuable! With the money, we could buy a big house with a vegetable garden. You’d love that, right?”
“Why would I bother farming if I had a big house?” Jiang He rolled her eyes at his logic. Sotis Xu Qing was shockingly dense compared to his usual sharpness.
“…What would you do with a big house, then?”
“I’d hire soone to do the farming, of course.”
“…”
Fair enough. Every farr dreams of becoming a landlord.
Failing to get her to lift her legs, Xu Qing gave up. Instead, he grabbed Jiang He’s hand, gave it a firm kiss, and stood up to leave. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
“Don’t trust everything you read online. Just skim it.”
Xu Qing left the living room to her, knowing she’d continue her research on having kids.
Without understanding the truth, sharing a bed before marriage would remain out of the question.
Ancient people seed to fear childbirth, likely due to the dire conditions of the ti. Giving birth was akin to walking through death’s door, with “save the mother or save the child” scenarios haunting many. Xu Qing rembered hearing that phrase in a drama once—it always left him cold.
In those tis, choosing to save the mother often ant losing the ability to have more children. For a common household, that could an the end of the family line.
But modern tis were different. With today’s dical advancents, having one or two kids wasn’t a big deal. Xu Qing hoped Jiang He would eventually see this and approach the topic with a calr mindset.
Reflecting on the absurdity of discussing children at their age, Xu Qing shook his head, laughing to himself. Ever since Jiang He arrived, normalcy seed to have flown out the window.
He rummaged through the storeroom and found the old fan buried in the corner. After dusting it off, he set it aside for sumr use.
…
Reviews
All reviews (0)