Tian Sangsang took a deep breath and accepted the bowl from his hand. "I’ll eat by myself."
Jiang Jinghuai’s lips curved slightly. "Eat more, don’t let yourself go hungry."
Annoyed, she ate a piece of green vegetable, a few strips of shredded potato, and a mouthful of rice, chewing slowly.
"How is it?" he asked.
"It’s okay," she replied flatly. "Aren’t you hungry? You eat too. Don’t just stare at ."
Jiang Jinghuai shook his head. "I’m not hungry. Watching you eat fills up."
She swallowed the food unhurriedly and glared at him.
"Can you stop joking while we’re eating? It’s not funny at all."
He didn’t respond, just looked at her with a smile. As he kept staring, his eyes turned red.
This mont was so wonderful.
Tian Sangsang couldn’t handle his relentless gaze. He was shaless, staring at her without end. But she wasn’t soone who would stop eating just because she was being stared at. People were born to be seen by others. Eyes were on other people’s faces; you couldn’t stop them from looking. In the end, she simply ignored him and ate slowly.
Overall, the food was okay—not great, not awful—certainly nothing poisonous.
It wasn’t until she finished her al that Jiang Jinghuai ate haphazardly, then swiftly tidied up the dishes and prepared to take them to the kitchen. By then, the setting sun had turned the sky a brilliant orange. Tian Sangsang wanted to help but was refused by him.
The orange-red sunset light spilled into the living room, and Jiang Jinghuai, having finished cleaning up, had so water on his hands.
He grabbed a towel and carefully wiped his hands.
In the glow of the sunset, his chiseled profile softened slightly.
Tian Sangsang felt she couldn’t quite see through him and said coolly from the side, "You already work so hard in the military. You don’t have to force yourself to do all this."
He didn’t take her words seriously and placed the towel on the table.
"You’re the one carrying the child; you’re going through much more than I am. If I could, I’d take care of you every day. But I still need to return to the base." He pulled her into an embrace, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. "I’m sorry for not giving you a more stable environnt and making you endure all this hardship."
"What hardship? I chose to have this baby. It’s not ’suffering’!" Having a baby was not suffering; what did he take this child for? How unwelco must this child seem for him to describe it as suffering!
Jiang Jinghuai, seeing her expression, pressed her head against his chest, his voice low and full of joy. "Thank you."
His chest trembled slightly as he spoke, and she could even hear the intense beating of his heart. His embrace was so warm, inviting yet suffocating.
Tian Sangsang couldn’t stand such intimacy from him. She lifted her head.
"It’s getting late. I need to take Yanyan ho."
Jiang Jinghuai’s eyes dimd slightly. He didn’t argue. "Alright, let’s go to my place to see him."
The two of them went to the Jiang Family ho, where ng Shuyan and Ye Binyi were having dinner.
When they ca back, Ye Binyi greeted them with surprise and delight.
"You’re back. Have you eaten yet?"
She first looked at Jiang Jinghuai and then shifted her fiery gaze to Tian Sangsang’s belly.
"We’ve eaten," Jiang Jinghuai replied.
Ye Binyi bead. "Even if you have, would you like to eat so more? After all that walking, the baby in Sangsang’s belly must be hungry."
Jiang Jinghuai answered for Tian Sangsang, "No need, Mom. If Sangsang gets hungry, I’ll cook sothing for her."
Ye Binyi was not pleased. From the mont Tian Sangsang walked in, she had kept a cold face and hadn’t even greeted her. The most maddening part was that her son’s child was in this woman’s womb, so she had to endure it.
No matter how much she disliked Tian Sangsang, she couldn’t mistreat her grandson or granddaughter.
But what had her son just said? He’d cook sothing for her? Her son was already overworked and now had to cater to Tian Sangsang? What kind of sense did that make? And since when did her son even know how to cook?
"Daddy, Mommy!" ng Shuyan wiped his mouth and hopped down from the chair.
"Yanyan." Tian Sangsang bent down to pat his head, smiling gently. "It’s late. Let’s go ho with Mommy."
"What do you an, ho?" Ye Binyi said, "Stay here tonight."
Jiang Jinghuai glanced at Tian Sangsang’s expression. She showed no emotion, but he knew she was angry.
He spoke up. "No need, Mom. We’re staying out tonight."
Why on earth would they stay out? Ye Binyi fud silently. She didn’t even need to think; clearly, her son was accommodating that woman. She didn’t dwell too much on it, assuming they were heading to Tian Sangsang’s place.
"Yanyan, you can stay here tonight, okay? Go with Mommy tomorrow." Ye Binyi looked affectionately at ng Shuyan, clearly longing to spend so ti with her grandson.
ng Shuyan nodded obediently and reluctantly said to Tian Sangsang, "Mommy, I’ll stay with Grandpa and Grandma tonight. Please co get in the morning!"
Tian Sangsang, who had been sleeping with the little one recently, nodded and kissed him on both cheeks. "I’ll co get you tomorrow. Be good, okay?"
"Mm-hmm." ng Shuyan bead with his crescent-shaped eyes and puckered his lips. "Daddy."
Jiang Jinghuai crouched down knowingly, rubbed his son’s little head, and received a kiss from him.
By the ti they walked out of the Jiang Family courtyard, the sky had gone completely dark, and the night breeze carried a slight chill.
"Sangsang." Jiang Jinghuai took her hand and ward it in his palm, his voice deep. "Stay at my place tonight, okay?"
"I’ve been comnded for my service this ti, and the organization gave a month off. I want to spend more ti with you both." Not only that, but he had also earned a first-class rit this ti, leading to a promotion in rank and position—he was now a lieutenant colonel, with two bars and three stars.
"Thank you for your suggestions."
His eyes sparkled like the stars in tonight’s sky, brilliant and dazzling.
"Suggestions are just that—suggestions. Whether they’re implented depends on the individual. Your achievents are your own doing." Tian Sangsang clenched her teeth and hardened her heart, trying to pull her hand away.
But he held on tighter, almost pleading. "Just stay at my place for a few days. I only have limited ti. We’re still married; I have responsibilities as a father. You can’t take away my chance to be with our child. Treat it as... for the child."
He said it so naturally that it left no room for argunt.
Tian Sangsang stared at him for a mont, then followed him.
He didn’t laugh out loud, but his excitent was evident. His eyes glimred with starlight.
"How have you been lately?"
Tian Sangsang: "..."
"Are you in a good mood?"
Tian Sangsang: "..."
"Have you been eating on ti?"
Tian Sangsang: "..."
"How’s your health? Have you been feeling unwell?"
Tian Sangsang: "..."
"Is the baby giving you trouble? Do you feel him moving?"
Tian Sangsang: "..."
"You’ve gained weight."
Tian Sangsang: "...Get lost."
"Sangbao, I miss you."
Tian Sangsang: "..."
She never knew he could talk this much.
The journey to Jiang Jinghuai’s place was quite far. They didn’t take a car but walked instead. Tian Sangsang treated it like a stroll. Walking was good for a pregnant woman anyway.
As soon as they arrived, Tian Sangsang headed for the kitchen, but Jiang Jinghuai stopped her. "Are you hungry? Tell what you want to eat, and I’ll make it."
She rolled her eyes internally. "I want to take a bath." In the sumr, she wished she could bathe three tis a day—once in the morning, once at noon, and once before bed. Did she look like a pig that needed constant feeding?
Jiang Jinghuai nodded in realization. "I’ll heat so water for you."
After heating the water, Tian Sangsang wanted to handle the rest herself. Jiang Jinghuai wouldn’t let her lift anything heavy, so he poured the water into a wooden tub, tested the temperature, and handed her a brand-new towel.
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