I Became the Mother of His Child

"You can rest assured that I would never neglect my nephew. Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have bought him an imported baby carriage. But what I'm asking about now is you. Don't you have anything special that you really want for your own wedding?" Perhaps it was because Xu Xiuxiu harbored a sense of compensation that she wanted to fulfill Xu Jingjing's material desires to a greater extent.

"Do you think it'd be okay if I got a wedding photoshoot?" Xu Jingjing hesitated for a while, her eyebrows twisted as she finally spoke up, "Wedding photoshoots are very popular now. The last time I passed by the photo studio in the county, I saw it—that woman wearing a white wedding dress looked so beautiful." The longing in her expression was heart-wrenching.

"Wedding photos?" Xu Xiuxiu was quite surprised by Xu Jingjing's request, "If you want to take wedding photos, just do it! Since there's a photo studio in our county, find a time to go there with Song Wenshu and take a look. I'll pay for the photoshoot, and you can just pick the most expensive and the best without worry." Xu Xiuxiu's words carried weight, unflustered by the cost, her financial confidence apparent.

"Big sis, you said it yourself, don't regret the expense when the time comes." Xu Jingjing teased Xu Xiuxiu with a smile, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and the fleeting gloom quickly vanished.

Xu Xiuxiu's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively felt that the shadow of gloom she thought she saw in Xu Jingjing for that split second must have been a coincidence because upon closer inspection, Xu Jingjing seemed to be doing quite well, embodying the demeanor of a bride-to-be. Although her demeanor wasn't exactly joyful, it wasn't as forced as imagined, "Don't worry, I surely won't begrudge the money." I'm just worried about you.

"Okay." Xu Jingjing nodded with a smile.

...

On the way back from the Xu Family to Song Family Village, Xu Xiuxiu did not feel the sense of relief she had anticipated. Instead, after speaking with Xu Jingjing, her anxiousness only intensified. She felt that Xu Jingjing seemed to be plotting something.

"Yuanhuan, I'm feeling very uneasy." Xu Xiuxiu said, gripping Song Yuanhuan's hand, her eyes reddening slightly, her body trembling, the anxiety emanating from deep within her was frightening.

"Don't be scared, I'm here!" Song Yuanhuan's large hand wrapped around Xu Xiuxiu's shoulder, his soothing and deep voice having a hypnotic effect.

"Mhm!" Leaning on Song Yuanhuan, Xu Xiuxiu felt her tightened heart relax a little. After a bumpy ride back to the Song Family's house, Xu Xiuxiu hid in her room and lay on the wooden bed. She began dissecting Xu Jingjing's words, sentence by sentence. The deeper she pondered, the more unsettled she became.

Xu Jingjing was too calm today, her reactions were strangely different than before—this was a red flag. She had been visibly struggling in pain, so why did she suddenly seem resigned, no longer struggling? Was it only because of the child in her womb?

Thinking this, Xu Xiuxiu suddenly felt frustrated to be at a very awkward stage—a stage where even going out was a significant hassle.

When Song Yuanhuan entered the room with a bowl of hot chicken soup, what he saw was Xu Xiuxiu sitting on the wooden bed, lost in thought, her fingers subconsciously tugging at the twin's small blanket, "Drink the chicken soup quickly." Song Yuanhuan planned to feed her carefully with a soup spoon.

"I'll do it myself." Xu Xiuxiu looked disgustedly at the chicken soup but, noticing that there wasn't any oily film floating on the surface, she took a deep breath and slowly drank it down.

Song Yuanhuan sat beside her, watching Xu Xiuxiu drink the chicken soup slowly and declared, "For the rest of your days, you're to stay put in the house and recuperate, and you're not allowed to go anywhere." On the journey to and from the Xu Family Village, Song Yuanhuan had been filled with worry, regretting the lenience he had shown her; this woman was just too willful.

"Mr. Song, I'm afraid I can't just obediently agree to you." Xu Xiuxiu slowly shook her head in refusal.

"What more do you want to do?" Song Yuanhuan's stern gaze sharpened, his tone rough.

Xu Xiuxiu shook her head: "For now, I don't know how to answer you. But tomorrow, I have to be there to watch over Jingjing's wedding photoshoot." In her heart, she had a nagging feeling that Xu Jingjing would deal her a fatal blow.

"You're not going."

"Mr. Song..."

"Forbidding means forbidding," he said with a very strong attitude.

"Mr. Song, just indulge me this once, please! I really must go!" she begged, tugging at his sleeve and fluttering her lashes coquettishly.

"Indulge you in not taking care of your own body?" he scoffed contemptuously, eyes blazing like daggers. "Xu Xiuxiu, don't even think about it," he called her name through gritted teeth, visibly angered.

"Mr. Song..."

"..."

"Mr. Song..."

"...," his firm resolve gradually crumbled under the cooing voice of the little lady.

"Song... Mmm." Xu Xiuxiu was about to continue her coquetry when Song Yuanhuan, frustrated, shut her up by pressing his lips against hers. He fiercely pulled her into his embrace, forcing her to endure his passionate assault.

After her initial surprise, Xu Xiuxiu found herself in a passive state of enjoyment as their fervent kiss lingered on and on.

"You don't mind the filth?" Xu Xiuxiu, who hadn't properly bathed since giving birth, only wiping herself down roughly, lightly punched Song Yuanhuan's chest.

"You smell wonderful," Song Yuanhuan replied, satisfyingly curving his lips into a smile and leaving a kiss on Xu Xiuxiu's cheek.

Xu Xiuxiu then shot him a big, exasperated eye roll, "Mr. Song, you've had your kiss, now you should agree to let me go out," Xu Xiuxiu quickly seized the opportunity to make her conditions.

"I'll accompany you," Song Yuanhuan sighed resignedly, lifting his arms to pull Xu Xiuxiu into his embrace.

"Mhm," Xu Xiuxiu responded, gently resting her chin on Song Yuanhuan's shoulder.

...

Xu Jingjing said she wanted to have her wedding photos taken before the marriage, so the next day they sent for Song Wenshu, and the two hurried to the county to take their wedding photos.

"Be careful, the snow has melted, and the ground is very slippery," Song Wenshu guided Xu Jingjing with a supporting hand, being extremely cautious and smiling the whole way. Seeing Song Wenshu's face brimming with a handsome smile, Xu Jingjing's calm heart was stormed with emotion.

Really, the thought of him touching me is repulsive!

"Our Third Sister has been really good to us. I remember seeing her just once at Song Yuanhuan's wedding banquet, her charming and pretty appearance – it'd be hard to find a wife as lovely as her in ten villages around. I used to envy Song Yuanhuan's good luck! But that was before, haha! Ever since I met you, Jingjing, to me, our Third Sister looks quite ordinary. You are much prettier than her," Song Wenshu took the initiative to strike up a conversation when Xu Jingjing remained silent, thinking about how the money for this wedding photo session was funded by Jingjing's Third Sister. Song Wenshu was elated – not only was getting a wedding photo a chic thing, it wasn't cheap either. Having someone else play the sucker and pay for it pleased him greatly. He also got to enjoy the fashion and could later brag about it to his cronies. Thinking about it, Song Wenshu was quite tickled with joy.

"Mhm," Xu Jingjing replied coldly, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. Her eyes trembled fiercely before regaining composure.