Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter 407: Sleeping in Separate Rooms?
That evening, Lin Shuying also came over. When she heard Gu’er was pregnant, she was happy for her too.
Gu’er pulled Lin Shuying into the back room, which made Cao Qiu frown. Sun Jiaming hurried after them; he knew his mom was worried Gu’er was moving too abruptly and feared something might happen.
Gu’er asked about Li Hua.
Lin Shuying shook her head.
"Over the New Year, Li Hua took the children back to the village. You know how she got a big bonus, right? She was planning to buy new clothes and nice food for the kids, and then go back to her parents’ place to see them. But Zhou Mazi ended up snatching the money from her. He even hit her and tried to force her to stay, claiming they were still husband and wife and that he was still her man. He demanded she bring her monthly salary home to him. Li Hua refused. She told him they were already divorced and that her money was for raising the children, not for him. So, Zhou Mazi wouldn’t let her leave. Finally, Li Hua had to secretly find someone to get the Li Family. They came and gave Zhou Mazi a good thrashing, which is the only reason she was able to get away."
Lin Shuying sighed. "When Zhou Mazi was hitting her, Li Hua was afraid he’d hit the children, so she tried to shield them. But who would have thought? The kids just stood there watching from a distance. Not one of them said a word, not even to try and stop him. Sister Li Hua told me she doesn’t know what she’s doing it all for anymore. She works her fingers to the bone every month to raise those three children, but they don’t seem to have any feelings for her. She said it just breaks her heart."
Gu’er could understand how Li Hua felt. ’Wasn’t Zhang Juan the same way? She was so awful, treated me so badly, but didn’t I still stick by her side, helping her with this and that? No matter how terrible your children are, a mother’s heart still aches for them.’
’Li Hua is able to say no to Zhou Mazi now, and she knew to get help when she was in trouble. That’s progress, right? At least she’s much stronger than before. Change takes time.’
’I won’t get involved with the Zhou children, but I can’t just ignore Li Hua.’
"Auntie, could you please help keep an eye on things? You know what the Zhou siblings are like. No matter how good Li Hua is to them, they’re heartless. But she can’t bring herself to abandon them. I figure Zhou Feng’er is old enough to get married, and Zhou Duo’er won’t be far behind in a couple of years. Zhou Cai is a son of the Zhou family; Zhou Mazi is bound to demand he come back eventually. Once those two girls are married off and Zhou Cai returns to his father, Li Hua will finally be able to relax. We can have her come back then."
Gu’er felt it was the only option.
"You’ve got a point. I don’t think Sister Li Hua could live with herself if she just abandoned them. So, let’s just wait for the girls to get married. As for Zhou Cai, he has his father. Sigh... having children like that... it really hasn’t been easy for her."
Lin Shuying sighed.
"Alright, you stop worrying about it. I’ll keep an eye on things. You just focus on resting and don’t think about anything else. These first three months are the most important. Giving Jia Ming a healthy baby boy is the top priority."
Lin Shuying understood what Gu’er was getting at. Even if Gu’er hadn’t asked, she would have looked out for Li Hua. After all, when she first arrived, she had lived with Li Hua. Li Hua was a down-to-earth person who had taken good care of her. Back then, Li Hua had spent a lot of time comforting her when no one else would. She remembered all of it.
"Mm-hm."
Gu’er gently touched her belly, her expression softening.
After Lin Shuying left, Gu’er looked at Sun Jiaming, who was gazing at her tenderly. "My sister-in-law thinks I might be having a girl," she said.
"A girl would be wonderful. You know what they say, a daughter always stays close to her mother’s heart. I’d love to have a little girl. And a daughter of yours would be just as beautiful as you. We can have a girl first, then wait a couple of years until she’s a little older before we have another. There’s no rush. I’ll be happy no matter what, so don’t you worry."
Sun Jiaming moved closer and wrapped an arm around Gu’er’s shoulders. She gently leaned her head against him.
"Jia Ming, Gu’er, are you two done talking? When you are, I need to have a word with you, Jia Ming."
Cao Qiu had come to knock on the door again.
"We’re done, Mom."
Sun Jiaming opened the door to let Cao Qiu in.
Cao Qiu didn’t come inside, however. She stayed at the doorway and whispered to Sun Jiaming, "Jia Ming, Mom knows you and Gu’er have a good relationship, and you’re both young. Now that Gu’er’s suddenly pregnant, I’m sure it’s hard on you. But no matter how hard it is, you have to hold back. You absolutely cannot be reckless. During these first three months, if you aren’t careful, if you put pressure on her or jostle her, the baby could be lost. Do you understand? So for these three months, you can’t touch Gu’er. And after three months, you still have to be careful. When it gets close to the birth, you absolutely must not touch her. Back in our village, there was a baby born with white stuff all over its face and body. That’s because right before the birth, the husband and wife... did that... and it was the man’s... dirty... stuff left behind. The whole village made fun of them. You can’t be like that, you hear me?"
Cao Qiu’s words made Sun Jiaming blush, and Gu’er, who had her head lowered, felt her own face flush. She hadn’t heard everything Cao Qiu said clearly, but she’d caught bits and pieces. She never imagined her mother-in-law would talk about such things.
"Okay, Mom, I get it! Don’t say any more."
Sun Jiaming was also embarrassed.
"Don’t just brush me off. You take this to heart. I’m telling you this for your own good. What’s there to be embarrassed about? I’m your mother. Is it the first time I’ve seen you stark naked? What are you shy about in front of your own mom? Remember what I said. It’s best if you two sleep separately. Otherwise, if anything happens to my grandbaby, I’ll hold you responsible!"
After she finished, Cao Qiu glanced from Sun Jiaming toward Gu’er. Her words weren’t just for Sun Jiaming; they were for Gu’er as well. She was telling Gu’er to be sensible. In her mind, with young couples, it wasn’t just the man whose desires were strong; some women were quite fond of it too. She was afraid Gu’er might lack self-control and pester Jia Ming. And Jia Ming was a hot-blooded young man—how could he possibly resist if she did? She made sure Gu’er could overhear so she would understand the consequences and act appropriately.
"I know, I know."
Sun Jiaming ushered his mom away.
He turned back, just about to say something to Gu’er, when unexpectedly, Chen Fengjiao came over.
"Jia Ming, why don’t you go keep Li Zhi and the others company? I’m just going to have a few words with Gu’er."
Chen Fengjiao had spoken, so Sun Jiaming couldn’t exactly refuse. He gave Gu’er a look and headed out to the living room.
Chen Fengjiao sat down next to Gu’er. "What did your mother-in-law say just now?" she asked.
"She told Jia Ming to be careful... said that the baby could be easily lost in the first three months. She wants us to sleep in separate rooms."
Gu’er blushed but felt she had to answer.
"Your mother-in-law is right. This is no small thing. The house is big enough, so maybe you should sleep separately."
Chen Fengjiao was also worried that since Jia Ming and Gu’er were so young, they might not be able to resist, which could harm the baby.
"Did you and Dad sleep separately back then?"
Gu’er asked in a low voice. ’Why does every single person want us to sleep apart? Do they think Jia Ming and I are the kind of people who can’t be trusted to be careful?!’
"The house was too small back then. We only had one kang bed, so how could we? Besides, your father is a very self-disciplined man. He wouldn’t be reckless."
Chen Fengjiao gave Gu’er a look. ’Honestly, this child, asking a question like that.’
"Jia Ming wouldn’t be reckless either."
Gu’er’s voice was quiet but firm. She trusted Sun Jiaming to be sensible. She didn’t want to sleep apart; she felt at ease with him by her side. ’Besides,’ she thought, ’the baby will feel secure with both parents nearby. If I’m alone, I’ll be scared, and if I’m in a bad mood, the baby will feel it too.’
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Thank you to Melody Ranran for the monthly ticket, and thank you all for your support.
