Extra Story 7
“This is amazing! My wife is pregnant!”
“Hey! Did you hear? My wife is pregnant!”
“Here’s a red envelope for you. My wife is pregnant!”
“Happy? Not really… Am I super happy? It’s just my wife being pregnant!”
For days, An Yuan had been handing out red envelopes to everyone he met, grinning like it was New Year’s. In just a few days, everyone in the neighborhood and at work, even the dogs being walked, knew that Chen Cheng was pregnant.
But when he got home from work one evening, he found both their parents, four people in total, gathered in their home, surrounding Chen Cheng and bombarding her with questions.
Seeing the impatient look on Chen Cheng’s face, An Yuan froze for a moment, guilt creeping in. He carefully put on his slippers and tried to sneak off to the balcony.
“I’ll go get the laundry…”
“AN YUAN!”
Chen Cheng’s sharp voice stopped him in his tracks. An Yuan bolted toward the balcony.
“Oh, come on~ Why keep this a secret from us?”
An Yuan’s mother cut in before Chen Cheng could explode. She held Chen Cheng’s hands gently and spoke with concern. “An Yuan meant well! He has work, so someone needs to take care of you.”
Her mother nodded in agreement. “Exactly! And you’re still eating takeout? From now on, your mother-in-law and I will cook for you.”
“I can cook for myself,” Chen Cheng weakly protested. “I’ve only been pregnant for a few days. I don’t need all this care.”
“Pregnant women shouldn’t be breathing in cooking fumes. It’s bad for the baby,” An Yuan’s mother continued, coaxing her. “And the first trimester is the most dangerous! Is An Yuan still… bothering you at night? You can’t sleep with him anymore.”
Chen Cheng’s cheeks turned pink. She had never been comfortable saying words like “sleep together” out loud. She snuck a glance at her mom and dad across the room, feeling incredibly awkward and restless.
Even though she was already an adult and pregnant, An Yuan had always protected her well. As a homebody who barely interacted with the outside world, she sometimes still felt like a kid.
But An Yuan's mother was totally unfazed. “Just let An Yuan hold it in! And make sure he behaves. If he dares cheat on you, I will beat him up!”
Chen Cheng forced a stiff smile and nodded. “Mhm, got it.”
Meanwhile, her father and uncle stood at the other end of the couch, quietly discussing baby names, completely uninvolved in this part of the conversation.
Her parents had divorced when she was in college, but strangely, their relationship actually became more peaceful after that. They no longer fought all the time and could even laugh and chat when they met because of her.
As for her mom, she had apparently met someone new online and found Chen Cheng a stepfather. She hadn’t seen him much, but from what she heard, they were doing well.
“Have you been to the hospital for a check-up?” her mom asked.
Chen Cheng bent down, pulled out the hospital report from under the table, and handed it over. “The doctor said everything’s fine. They just gave me some folic acid supplements.”
“Did they tell you anything else to be careful about?”
“They said no alcohol, no staying up late…”
Giving up alcohol wasn’t a big deal, she only occasionally drank a few bottles with An Yuan. But not staying up late? That was torture.
“You also need to stop eating junk food and sugary drinks. Your fridge is full of Coke.”
Hearing this, Chen Cheng immediately defended herself. “The doctor said a little is fine! It’s not like I drink it every day! And it’s sugar-free Coke, it’s healthy, okay?”
Her mother frowned. “You’re about to be a mom. Can’t you control what you eat? Do you still think you’re a child?”
“Hmph.”
Chen Cheng pouted and turned her head away, refusing to look at her mom.
Thankfully, An Yuan had finished putting away the laundry and walked back in. The moment he sensed another mother-daughter argument brewing, he quickly tried to smooth things over. “She’s pregnant, her happiness is the most important thing. A little soda won’t hurt.”
“You’re the one spoiling her!”
An Yuan blinked in surprise, then quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, it’s all me.”
An Yuan’s father took a few steps closer to the couch and asked, “An Yuan, are you planning to buy a house? You can’t just keep renting with Chengcheng forever.”
“The housing prices keep dropping. Buying now would be a bad deal.”
“It’s not like you’re short on money. It's probably hitting rock bottom, now’s the perfect time to buy.”
An Yuan figured the prices might drop for another year or two. Buying now would mean losing hundreds of thousands.
But when he glanced at Chen Cheng, he had to admit, buying a house would be better.
Chen Cheng didn’t have high expectations for a home. Even if it was a decent-sized studio where she could stay in all day without worrying about social obligations, she was fine. If possible, she preferred not to move too often. New environments made her anxious, like a cat getting stressed in a new home.
“Let’s buy a house. We can go look at properties tomorrow.”
As expected, the corners of Chen Cheng’s lips visibly drooped.
“This will be the last time we move,” An Yuan promised. “You just need to show up when it’s time. I’ll take care of everything else.”
Chen Cheng’s mood brightened again. “Okay! But cleaning a big house is going to be a hassle~”
Her mother joked, “How about your mother-in-law and I come over once a week to help clean? Just pay us 100 or 200 yuan each time, like hiring a cleaning lady.”
“You still want money for that?”
“What else? I can cook for you too, for 1,000 yuan a month.”
An Yuan's mother chimed in, “1,000 is too little! That won’t even cover groceries. You’ll have to pay extra for that.”
"No thanks!" Chen Cheng turned to complain to An Yuan's mother, "My mom's cooking isn't very good. It's okay to eat it once in a while, but if it were delicious, I wouldn't like ordering takeout so much."
Her mother rolled her eyes. “Takeout isn’t clean.”
“But it’s delicious!” Chen Cheng argued back confidently. “Why don’t you make food that’s both clean and tasty?”
With the topic now focused on her mother, even her father joined in, taking the opportunity to complain her about her cooking. Her mother, however, defended herself with full confidence, saying, Eat it or don’t, it’s up to you!
After a few exhausting hours, the couple finally saw off the four parents.
Chen Cheng flopped onto the couch, yawning. “I can’t handle this.”
She preferred peace and quiet. Just a few hours of back-and-forth conversation with their parents had drained all her social energy for the next few months. She didn’t even want to step outside for the next week.
“They’ll probably visit more often from now on.”
“This is your fault!” Chen Cheng kicked An Yuan’s thigh. “Why did you go around telling everyone?!”
An Yuan scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. “I was just excited!”
“And you used to say you didn’t even like kids!” As she spoke, Chen Cheng casually stripped off her pajamas, leaving her in just a light tank top and shorts. “They didn’t even warn us before coming over. I had to rush to get dressed and almost tripped.”
“You should be more careful. What if you actually fell?”
An Yuan’s eyes couldn’t help but drift toward her.
Her short tank top revealed a flat belly and her navel. Her waist was still so slim that it looked narrower than his thigh. The curve between her waist and hips was mesmerizing. From the side, he could also see the rounded bulge of her breasts. Her shorts were extra loose, and from certain angles, he could almost see beyond the hem.
“…Feels like they’ve grown again. They're a bit sore.”
Right in front of An Yuan, Chen Cheng casually pressed her chest twice, wincing at the slight pain.
“I heard pregnancy makes them grow more?”
An Yuan’s tone was casual, but Chen Cheng glanced at his lower half, and a mischievous grin spread across her face. Like a little devil, she teased, “Not now~ You are so naughty~”
In the past, if Chen Cheng teased him like this, An Yuan could just pick her up and teach her a lesson. But now? He realized he had no way to fight back.
Keeping a straight face, he grabbed a couch pillow and placed it over his lap, though his eyes kept sneaking glances.
After all, it had been days since he last touched his wife.
“Hey, you’re not actually going to hold it in so long that you go find someone else, right?”
Chen Cheng suddenly remembered what An Yuan's mother had said earlier.
An Yuan looked at her like she was crazy. “You actually took my mom’s joke seriously?”
“What kind of joke is that, anyway?” Chen Cheng muttered, turning her head away. A moment later, she hesitated, then glanced at An Yuan’s phone on the table and reached for it.
“Lemme borrow your phone for a bit.”
“…Are you checking my phone now?”
“No! I just want to play for a bit… My phone’s charging.”