Xu Bin nearly spat out his mouthful of alcohol, coughing repeatedly.
"What the hell kind of reasoning is that? So, being a brother-in-law ans you're always at a disadvantage, and it's okay if your wife is eyed by others? And being a brother-in-law ans you're always the one benefiting?" he thought to himself.
Yao Xin, who had been teased, didn't blush but instead smacked her sister's butt and laughed, "I dare him to try anything. You're asking for it with jokes like that."
"How about that? Pregnant and taking a break from duties, planning to keep the family wealth within, huh?"
"Sure, if Big Sister is okay with it, I don't mind. But we'd have to follow the rules of seniority, and you'd have to call 'sister,'" Yao Nan replied with a smirk.
The sisters laughed and joked, but Shen Ruyu blushed and scolded, "You two, watch your mouths."
Then, she suddenly asked, "Yao Xin, why did a bank call today saying your credit card bill is overdue?"
Yao Xin froze, her face paling slightly, while Shen Ruyu's expression turned serious.
"Mom, those are scam calls," Xu Bin said casually, peeling a large prawn and placing it in his wife's bowl with a smile. "Telecom scams are rampant these days."
"But they knew so many details," Shen Ruyu replied, still skeptical.
"Mom, in this age of big data, scams are precise. They even know you have three daughters, two married and one not," Xu Bin explained, still smiling.
"Alright," Shen Ruyu's expression softened, rembering the gossip from the tea house and how even her acquaintances had been scamd.
Yao Xin chid in, "Mom, you've never received a scam call?"
Yao Nan laughed, "I've received a few. Once, they said my son was with them."
Xu Bin winked and said, "Baby, did you ask the scamr if he was sticky?"
The three married won burst into laughter.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but the joke felt natural and harmless, unlike before when Xu Bin would have been scolded by his mother-in-law.
Xu Bin flattered, "Now, scamrs are precise in their targeting. They called you, Mom, which ans they think you're wealthy. To you, Mom!"
"Cheers!"
Yao Xin gave Xu Bin a grateful look, and he smiled back, understanding passing between them.
*Ding... Big Sister Yao Xin: Affection Level 50%.*
Xu Bin had figured out the pattern: lower levels increased easily, but higher levels were a challenge. Last night, his wife was extrely satisfied, even giving him a new phone and whispering sweet nothings, but her affection only rose to 96%. He wondered when it would reach 100%.
What worried him more was that affection could both increase and decrease. He was always careful with his words and actions, trying his best to please her, fearing that one wrong word could undo all his efforts.
Yao Nan opened a bottle of red wine, and Xu Bin raised an eyebrow, "Honey, you're pregnant. Can you drink alcohol?"
Shen Ruyu smiled approvingly, "You're quite the observant one."
Yao Nan poured herself a small glass, sticking out her tongue playfully, "Husband, I took the afternoon off. Aunt Yanzi took to the city's traditional Chinese dicine hospital. We got a specialist to check out."
Xu Bin frowned, "What specialist?"
These days, the term "specialist" didn't have a good connotation, mainly because there were so many quacks.
Shen Ruyu rolled her eyes, "Let Nan finish speaking. Why the long face?"
Yao Nan continued, "The regular checks and machine scans can be done at our hospital, but I wasn't comfortable, so I went to the traditional Chinese dicine hospital for another check-up."
"Aunt Yanzi found a remarkable specialist—a retired professor from the provincial dical university who was recalled to teach. He doesn't see patients anymore, just ntors students."
"The old man is 85 and ca to our city at the invitation of our hospital director. Almost all the chief physicians, departnt heads, and even the director of the traditional Chinese dicine hospital are his students."
"Impressive!" Xu Bin thought this one might be legitimate.
Shen Ruyu puffed out her chest proudly, "Well, of course. I wanted to go, but Aunt Yanzi said we shouldn't bother the old man."
Yao Nan added, "Aunt Yanzi didn't even go in. A departnt head from the traditional Chinese dicine hospital led in. They were incredibly polite."
"What did the doctor say?" Xu Bin asked, concerned.
Yao Nan sipped her red wine and smiled, "The old man said my constitution is good, just different from other pregnant won."
"My body is 'dry' and has 'slow blood flow.' Usually, pregnant won shouldn't stimulate blood flow, but I should have a little white or red wine every few days to stimulate my blood. I don't have to avoid crab like other pregnant won; I can eat it once a week to reduce internal heat."
"What else?" Xu Bin asked, taking notes seriously.
Shen Ruyu smiled warmly, "This daughter-in-law of mine is a good one. When I was pregnant with you girls, your father never asked a single question. I was pregnant and still had to serve the family."
Yao Xin looked down, and Yao Nan stuck out her tongue, neither wanting to interrupt.
"Nothing much else. Just eat normally; eat whatever you crave. Pregnant won just need to avoid stimulating blood flow, but since my blood flow is slow, I can soak in a warm spring once I'm six months along, for no more than ten minutes, twice a month. It helps the baby absorb nutrients better," Yao Nan said.
Xu Bin wrote everything down diligently, not missing a single word.
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