Extra Story 11
"Mom~ I’m pregnant, not paralyzed, okay?"
"An Yuan comes home to cook for me most of the time, and if I’m hungry, I can make some dumplings myself."
Her mother was busy in the kitchen, cooking for Chen Cheng. Leaning against the kitchen doorframe with her arms crossed, Chen Cheng watched her mother with a helpless expression.
"It’s fine. I’m not working right now anyway, so I might as well be your nanny."
After divorcing Chen Cheng’s father, her mother found a job at a braised food shop, earning about 4,000 yuan a month. But recently, she quit because the work was too tiring, deciding instead to focus on taking care of her pregnant daughter.
"You really don’t have to."
Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Chen Cheng tried to persuade her in a caring tone. "You live so far from here, and it’s so hot outside. Why go through the trouble of coming all the way over?"
"Then why don’t I just move in? You have three rooms, and one is empty anyway."
"Wait, that’s not what I meant..."
Chen Cheng wanted to refuse but hesitated, trying to come up with a polite and reasonable excuse.
"By the way, you should clean your kitchen more often after cooking. It’s filthy."
"And look at you, your clothes are covered in cat fur. Why don’t you use a lint roller?"
"You should be tidier. Your clothes are always lying around everywhere..."
Her mother and auntie often dropped by, always finding something to criticize. Their hands and mouths never stopped moving. If it were just that, it would be fine. The real problem was that they sometimes stumbled upon her and An Yuan’s… private things.
"And that thing of yours… why don’t you put it away after using it? Why leave it on the bedside table?"
"Uh—" Chen Cheng quickly turned her head in embarrassment, mumbling under her breath, "I didn’t know you were coming today..."
"Make sure to disinfect it. Hygiene is even more important now that you’re pregnant." Her mother chopped up an old hen and placed the pieces into a clay pot, muttering, "And why did you buy such a big one? It’s scary."
Feeling her face burn, Chen Cheng stubbornly defended herself. "I bought it, but I haven’t used it! I was just curious!"
"The smoke from cooking is too much. I’m going outside for some fresh air."
Finding an excuse, she quickly slipped out to the living room. She flopped onto the couch and let out a sigh.
Her cat jumped onto the couch, then onto her lap, curling up into a little ball.
She absentmindedly scratched the cat’s chin with her fingernail, making it purr contentedly. But it didn’t take long before her pants were covered in cat fur.
At first, she was a little reluctant. Now, she didn’t care anymore.
From the hallway, she heard the sound of the elevator doors opening.
Chen Cheng quickly set the cat down and ran to the entrance just as An Yuan stepped inside, bending down to take off his shoes.
"An Yuan~ An Yuan~ My mom’s here, and she’s cooking."
"Huh? I could’ve cooked instead." An Yuan looked up in surprise and muttered under his breath, "Her cooking is... not great..."
"Exactly!"
Chen Cheng took An Yuan’s briefcase, hung it on the wall, pulled out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, and tossed them in front of him.
"Hurry and take over before she makes old wine-braised chicken again, it’ll be so tough and dry, we won’t be able to eat it!"
"What do you want to eat?"
"You~"
"Be serious."
Chen Cheng rolled her eyes. "Shandong-style stir-fried chicken? That should be good. I’ll find you a recipe."
An Yuan grinned playfully, stretched out his arms, and whined in a childish tone, "Wifey~ I worked all day~ So tired~"
"Aww, poor thing. Come here, hug hug~ Kiss kiss~ No more tiredness~"
Chen Cheng hugged him, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Then, her face turned serious, and she kicked his shin lightly. "Now get going!"
"Roger that!"
Chen Cheng chuckled as she watched An Yuan rush off.
Even though she often complained about his antics, she actually liked his playful and silly side.
After all, he only acted this way in front of her.
As someone who had once been a man herself, she understood men weren’t always as strong as they seemed. They just didn’t know how to express their emotions, or they were afraid to.
Sometimes, they just needed a little reassurance.
She didn’t want An Yuan to one day come home from work but feel too afraid to step inside, choosing instead to sit in his car, smoking alone, swallowing all his stress and worries by himself.
"Mom! Why are you here again? Stop working, I’ll do it."
An Yuan walked into the kitchen and, without waiting for an answer, took over what Chen Cheng’s mother was doing.
"I got this, I got this. You go rest."
Her mother cheerfully left the kitchen but couldn’t sit still. She started tidying up, mopping the floor, and wiping down the tables.
"Don’t leave your clothes lying around. Pick up things that fall on the floor. And that cat of yours, keep it in a room instead of letting it run all over the place. There’s fur everywhere..."
Chen Cheng replied halfheartedly, her face full of despair.
This is my house! An Yuan and I don’t even mind the mess!
Stop rearranging things! I can never find anything after you clean up!
"I’m going to play on the computer."
"Don’t play too much. The radiation isn’t good for the baby. Do we have fruit at home? I’ll wash some for you."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Chen Cheng casually responded and went into the computer room. She sat down, feeling bored, and moved her mouse around aimlessly, then started online shopping for bras.
Her current ones were getting too tight, so she had to buy bigger sizes.
An Yuan was overjoyed, but she never liked them too big.
It was hard to find clothes when they're too big. Loose clothes make her look shabby, and tight ones are too suggestive.
Her belly was already noticeably round. Chen Cheng absentmindedly rubbed her stomach over her clothes, feeling like she had suddenly grown a beer belly. She leaned back in her chair, looking like a middle-aged man with a pot belly.
"So fat, so ugly..."
She lifted her shirt and saw faint stretch marks on her belly, like tiny centipedes crawling on her skin. She frowned, quickly pulling her shirt back down, feeling frustrated.
Chen Cheng has always been very conscious of her image, so as her pregnancy bump became more obvious, she became increasingly reluctant to go out. Now, unless she had a doctor’s appointment, she hadn’t stepped out of the house for over half a month.
Luckily, she was already a homebody, so staying in didn’t bother her much.
"Chengzi, dinner’s ready."
An Yuan pushed open the computer room door and called out to her.
"Oh~"
"What’s wrong? Bad mood again?"
The moment he heard her tone, An Yuan knew something was up. Smiling, he walked over, hugged her from behind, and rested his chin on top of her head.
"If you’re feeling down, how about we cuddle after your mom leaves?"
"No way."
"What?! The seductive fox actually turned me down?"
"If you don’t start exercising again, there won’t be anything seductive about you anymore."
Maybe it was because he was eating along with her, but An Yuan had visibly gained weight these past few months, his abs were now just one solid block.
An Yuan pretended to be heartbroken. "So you don’t like me anymore, huh?"
"That’s not it..." Chen Cheng looked down, playing with her nails. "It’s just... I feel so ugly right now. I’m fat, I have stretch marks, and I just look terrible."
She didn’t want An Yuan to see her like this, so different from how she used to be.
"What do you mean? You used to be a pretty young girl. Now, you’re a gorgeous woman. And gorgeous women are way better, okay?"
"Ugh, shut up. Let’s eat."
An Yuan was good at comforting Chen Cheng. But then again, her emotions always came and went quickly.
Just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly frowned, holding her stomach as she sat back down.
"What’s wrong?"
Deep inside her belly, she felt a strange sensation, like tiny bubbles popping or a small fish swimming and creating ripples. It was a faint movement, but it felt so real. Staring at her stomach in shock, she looked up at An Yuan in disbelief.
"I think... she’s moving..."
"Really?!"
An Yuan froze for a second, then quickly crouched down, pressing his ear against her belly, trying to listen.
"Do you feel it? Can you hear anything?"
"I think so?" An Yuan closed his eyes, holding his breath. A few seconds later, he suddenly looked up at Chen Cheng, eyes wide with excitement. "Yes! I heard it too!"
"Right? Right?! I'm so excited!"
Chen Cheng completely forgot about her bad mood. Overjoyed, she and An Yuan shared a silly laugh.