"Let’s be together." He reached out a hand and brushed his thin lips against her cheek, kissing her. "Sangsang, let’s do it, okay?" In the past, every quarrel would end like this. If this could resolve their differences and lt her cold heart, he was willing to try.
"No! Let go of ! Don’t touch !" She blurted out without thinking, struggling violently.
Unable to break free, she glared at him with fierce resentnt. "Jiang Jinghuai, every ti you touch now, it makes nauseous. If you touch again, do you believe I’ll throw up right on your face?"
He stopped and spoke faintly, "So I’ve made you hate this much?"
"That’s right." She gave a cold, bitter smile. "If we could divorce, don’t you think I would have done it by now? From the mont your mother stord out and got into that car accident, don’t you think our relationship was already dead?" She couldn’t forget the icy look in his eyes then, and every ti after. It felt like a dagger stabbing straight into her heart.
His hand withdrew from her. He sat up, lay back down, and pulled the blanket over himself.
The night returned to silence once more.
Tian Sangsang slowly raised her arms to hug herself, tears quietly slipping from the corners of her eyes and soaking into the pillow. After a while, he suddenly turned over and moved closer, draping a strong arm over her waist.
The position of his arm was too precarious, startling Tian Sangsang. "Don’t touch ."
After the earlier ordeal combined with her ntal exhaustion, her mind felt hazy. She moved a little but couldn’t get free, and her voice had gone hoarse.
"If you don’t want to, then we won’t. Just sleep peacefully." He kissed her hair, the gesture carrying a hint of comfort.
Tian Sangsang, unwilling and annoyed, retorted, "Can you take your arm off of ?"
"No."
"You’re pressing on my stomach—it hurts."
He adjusted his hand from pressing to a loose embrace. "Then where should I put it? If I press down, it’ll hurt even more."
Tian Sangsang was truly afraid his hand might harm her stomach. She reached up to grab his wrist, but at this mont, his hand felt as immobile as a barbell—no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move it.
"Shit." Exhausted to her core, she muttered a low curse.
A wave of sorrow washed over her—what was this? What did such intimacy even an anymore? She no longer wanted it. Picking up his other hand, she bit down on it hard. The faint taste of blood filled her mouth, but he didn’t even flinch. Instead, she felt another wave of bitterness rise in her throat and gagged, covering her mouth as she retched a few tis.
Jiang Jinghuai moved closer from behind, gently patting her back with one hand. "Sangsang," he said worriedly.
Afraid he might notice sothing wrong, she quickly lay down, her tone showing disgust. "It’s the blood on your hand—it made sick." After speaking, she didn’t bother to see how he reacted and, drained of energy, fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Jinghuai’s hand clenched tightly, his eyes bloodshot as he gazed down at her. But she didn’t open her eyes again. He reached out to check her breathing near her nose—it was steady, indicating she had fallen asleep.
He felt a mix of bitterness and amusent.
**
Outside, birds sang as sunlight stread in brightly.
When Tian Sangsang woke in the morning, the bed was empty on the other side, which brought her a sense of relief.
She went to check on her son’s room. ng Shuyan had just woken up. After helping him wash up, she took him downstairs.
"Grandma, Auntie." At the dining table were only the two of them. Tian Sangsang greeted them, feeling a bit downcast. "Where is everyone? Where did they go?"
Grandma Tian gave a faintly amused smile. "Your father-in-law went to work, your mother-in-law said she’s going out for a walk, and Jinghuai probably went running. Anyway, no one’s around in the morning. You two ca at the right ti—sit down and eat. Yanyan~"
Grandma Tian kindly prepared food for ng Shuyan.
Little ng Shuyan looked a bit disappointed. Tian Sangsang had already guessed as much but still felt wronged on behalf of her family.
"Mom, maybe we should listen to Sangsang and go back?" After Grandma Tian finished serving food to ng Shuyan, her second aunt suggested, "I feel like we’re not welco here. Staying like this isn’t proper. What’s that saying—about being poor or sothing?" At least back ho, life was freer and more comfortable. If bored, they could always tend to the fields.
"Even if we’re poor, we should still have dignity." Tian Sangsang softly explained, echoing the sentint, "Being poor doesn’t an we should lack ambition. Even in poverty, we must maintain our integrity."
"What ambition? Your bones are inside you, and no one can see how proud you are." Grandma Tian shot them a sharp look and said domineeringly, "We’re not going anywhere! If that wife doesn’t want us here, then we must stay even longer. Let’s see if she can do anything about it. Does she think our family has no one backing Sangsang, to bully her so easily?"
"You’re pregnant, and how do they treat you? They even let you run the shop, and every day you have nothing but simple als. Not even a separate effort to make sothing nourishing for you!" Grandma Tian said with heartfelt distress.
Tian Sangsang stayed quiet, feeling guilty. Since Grandma Tian wanted to stay a few more days, so be it.
At worst, she would move out after they left. As for her pregnancy, she didn’t care what reaction Ye Binyi might have if she found out. And as for Jiang Jinghuai, she cared even less.
After breakfast, Grandma Tian and her second aunt offered to help Aunt Zhang clean up, but Aunt Zhang wouldn’t dare allow it. "Guests are guests."
"Grandma, I’ll take Yanyan for a walk around here. Would you like to co?" The neighborhood was beautifully landscaped, with wide roads perfect for strolling or jogging. Since it was rare for her not to be at the shop, she wanted to take her son out for so fresh air.
The early morning air was clean and crisp, with not a hint of smog.
Grandma Tian waved her hand. "You two go ahead. But be careful and don’t run around—it’s not just you to consider now, you’re pregnant!" Being in a new and unfamiliar place, they didn’t feel like wandering far for fear of disgracing Tian Sangsang.
Tian Sangsang had no choice but to take ng Shuyan out. As they left, she overheard Grandma Tian and her second aunt talking:
"This yard is so big—what a waste to just grow flowers."
"Exactly! With a yard this big, if it were ours, it’d be full. We’d plant gourds along the fence, set aside a veggie patch, raise a few chickens, ducks, and geese, maybe even have a dog or a cat. How lively would that be?"
Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. Turning this kind of yard into that would indeed be wasteful—and in Jiang Jinghuai’s family, it was impossible. Ye Binyi loved tending to her flowers and plants, and much of the yard was lined with her pots. If it were up to her, though, she would plant more things in the yard—not just flowers and grass, but also fruit trees and maybe even dig a small pond.
But the yard wasn’t hers, so it wasn’t her place to decide.
"Mom." After walking for a while, ng Shuyan suddenly lifted his small face, his eyebrows furrowed into the shape of a caterpillar. "What does pregnant an?"
Tian Sangsang froze for a mont, realizing she hadn’t told him yet.
She smiled and pinched his cheek. "It ans Mommy is having a baby—you’ll have a little brother or sister. Are you happy?"
Little ng Shuyan blinked his dark, shiny eyes, imdiately looking around excitedly. "Where? Where is my little sister?"
Looking at his eager expression, Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
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