I Became the Mother of His Child

"Xu Xiuxiu," he called, his gaze resting on Xu Xiuxiu's face as if he were looking through it at someone else, "What if I told you that I followed you the entire night without you realizing, how would you feel?" Song Yuanhuan said in an ostensibly relaxed manner.

Boom! Bang! Crack! A bomb on hold suddenly exploded.

How would she feel? What else could she feel?

Xu Xiuxiu's eyes trembled, instinctively taking a step back, and a sense of guilt spread unavoidably across her face. He followed her? That meant he had seen everything she did that night, crystal clear.

So that's how it was! No wonder he had come to her in such anger, questioning if she even considered him a man. No wonder at all. She had thought he might have guessed what she had done without really knowing what went on that night, that she could simply deny everything. So that's how it was! He had known all along, known everything.

"Oh!" Without anything else to say, Xu Xiuxiu opted for silence with bowed head.

The atmosphere between them grew increasingly tense. Xu Xiuxiu hung her head in silence, while Song Yuanhuan, lighting another cigarette, took several quick drags as though venting his anger, or perhaps suppressing the turbulent emotions surging within him.

The weather that night was far from good, cold and damp. Even he, a soldier who had experienced all manner of situations, could hardly cope with that night's weather. Yet, as he watched her slender frame, so clearly in need of protection, she stubbornly relied on herself. She even dared to squat in hiding for so long and then sneak into someone's home in the darkness. How could she be so daring? Did she realize that if he hadn't been there to clean up after her, she really thought she could have done everything undetected?

Thinking of this, Song Yuanhuan didn't know whether to call her naive, foolish, or just plain silly.

"Xu Xiuxiu, I'm your man, and even if the sky were to fall, I should be the one to bear it," Song Yuanhuan said, tossing away the once again finished cigarette, pulling Xu Xiuxiu towards him with both hands. His large palm cradled the back of her head and, in the next moment, his thin lips descended to silence her startled cry.

The sky should fall on me to bear! Xu Xiuxiu, feeling slightly dizzy as she reflected on those words, breathed in the strong scent of tobacco that invaded her mouth, overpowering everything else. It took her some time to respond: "Mmm!" Xu Xiuxiu had always hated the smell of tobacco, but at this moment, as Song Yuanhuan kissed her forcefully, she found she wasn't really resistant, though the shock of his previous words took her a long time to get over.

"..." Having finally managed to push Song Yuanhuan away and gasping for fresh air, she immediately began to take deep breaths, but the strong smell of cigarettes inhaled was all his, causing her to furrow her brows tightly.

"Xu Xiuxiu," Song Yuanhuan held her cheeks in his hands, his eyes misty and seductive as he called out to her.

"Mmm," Xu Xiuxiu responded, eyes wide, to Song Yuanhuan's low call.

"Could you tell me what you're planning to do in the future, please?" Song Yuanhuan asked with extreme earnestness, as if negotiating with Xu Xiuxiu, yet his tone carried a hint of sorrowful pleading, like a child unsure of what to do, resorting to the most awkward way of seeking favor from her.

"I..." Xu Xiuxiu opened her mouth to agree but then considered that she probably couldn't do it, so she changed tone, "I'll try." I'll try to tell you what I want to do; that's all I can promise.

"Ugh!" The tobacco-flavored kiss came dominating once more.

Xu Xiuxiu was being kissed by Song Yuanhuan, her cheeks cradled in his hands, feeling the domineering nature of his kiss, the strong desire to conquer her from the start, which had now softened into a slow seduction, a gentle provocation that led her slender body to lean against the window frame.

Outside, the sky was a murky gray, but it was finally about to dawn, and the two kissed intimately, creating a dizzyingly beautiful scene.

"Tell me," he insisted.

"..." Though the kissing left Xu Xiuxiu in a daze, she still had some rationality left and opened her mouth to say something in refusal. She was a person of her word, and she would never make a promise she couldn't keep, even if it killed her—that was her resolve. Song Yuanhuan seemed to know her determination and was even more persistent than she was.

Before Xu Xiuxiu could speak, his forceful kiss came again, not allowing her refusal. He was determined and overbearing, wanting to kiss her until she agreed, otherwise, he would keep kissing her, confident in his patience to compel her to agree.

"Will you tell me?" he asked seriously again.

"Song Yuanhuan!" Xu Xiuxiu said with a hint of helplessness, unconsciously biting her red lip.

"Xu Xiuxiu, I've never had many demands for you, but as your man, I must remind you that you lack the realization of what it means to be a wife," Song Yuanhuan said, his fingertips firmly holding her cheeks and his nose gently pressed against Xu Xiuxiu's upturned one.

"A man steps in to solve problems a woman can't when it's necessary. But you think of solving problems on your own, and you never once thought of telling me. When I ask, you're unwilling to tell me? Xu Xiuxiu, you're being quite incompetent," he said, symbolically punishing her with a nibble on her red lip.

"Ouch! That hurts," Xu Xiuxiu protested lightly after being bitten.

"Xu Xiuxiu, I'm giving you two choices now. One, close down Sichuan Pavilion yourself and obediently follow the troops, or two, I make moves to shut down Sichuan Pavilion and force you to come along. Which will you choose?" Song Yuanhuan's gaze was serious, and his words didn't come off as overly cold. To Xu Xiuxiu, it seemed like they were merely discussing the weather.

"What if I don't choose either?" Xu Xiuxiu challenged with an angry raise of her eyebrow.

"You don't have the option to refuse," Song Yuanhuan replied calmly, shaking his head, "It seems you prefer the second choice?" He concluded, lightly rubbing his nose against Xu Xiuxiu's.

If this woman couldn't behave herself and stay by his side, he wouldn't mind using means to clip her wings and force her. He didn't want her to see his dark side—in fact, he had never planned to show it to her before, but since realizing how bold this woman was, he became increasingly flustered. He found himself suddenly afraid of her potential to leave him one day, as unexpectedly as she had appeared.

Xu Xiuxiu looked at Song Yuanhuan, her cheeks still in his grasp, but her body involuntarily trembled at his words. Her eyes met his, deep like a vast ocean, and in that moment, she felt as though she was truly seeing this man for the first time, recognizing his dominance and his coldness.