Chapter 347: Shotgun Wedding?

**Chapter 347: Marriage Due to Pregnancy?**

Ye Xiaoxiao attended Bai Mengan’s wedding in October.

Bai Mengan and Chu Yunxiao were a perfect match.

Though fewer guests came than to Ye Xiaoxiao’s wedding, the venue was still bustling and lively.

All who could attend from the Bai and Chu families were there.

The elders were warm and kind, clearly pleased with the newlyweds.

Ye Xiaoxiao knew Bai Mengan would be happy.

At the wedding, Bai Mengan tossed her bouquet to Su Tong.

“Hope my bestie finds her soulmate soon.”

Even at her own wedding, Bai Mengan didn’t forget to urge her friend, “Xiao Xiao and I are both married now—you’ve gotta get moving! Who knew you’d be the last single one?”

In school, Su Tong had been unusually gentle, not like the rest of them, and had a ton of admirers.

But Su Tong was aloof—she scared off every one of them.

Bai Mengan felt this wouldn’t do; she needed to step in about her love life.

Su Tong caught the bouquet, her earlier warmth gone in a flash. “Relax. If I like someone, I’ll make the first move.”

Bai Mengan whispered, “Get on it. If you need help, I can hook you up—no artsy guys, how about Chu Yunxiao’s colleagues?”

Su Tong burst out laughing but humored her.

It’s not like she lacked options—she just hadn’t met the right person yet.

Since it was Chu Yunxiao’s wedding, Zhang Kaining, Qu Miao, and their other classmates also showed up.

After learning about the bride’s friendship with Xiao Xiao, Zhang Kaining joked, “Xiao Xiao, why didn’t you introduce me to such a beautiful friend?”

Ye Xiaoxiao glanced at him. “You even have time for dating?”

Lately, Zhang Kaining had been working nonstop on a new project, pulling all-nighters until his hair started falling out—who knew he was still thinking about this?

Zhang Kaining scratched his head, grinning. “Of course I’ve got time. I won’t let work stop me from wifing someone up.”

Ye Xiaoxiao just stared.

After the wedding, Ye Xiaoxiao and the others left early.

The newlyweds got the rest of the day to themselves.

“You should come see my new place in a couple days—you haven’t seen it yet, right?”

Ye Xiaoxiao hugged Bai Mengan goodbye. “Sure thing. We’ll swing by.”

...

Not long after Bai Mengan’s wedding, Ye Xiaoxiao received a call from her second brother.

Her second sister-in-law, Shen Qiuyu, had a baby girl named Ye Yijia.

“Congratulations, second brother! I’ll drop by to see sis-in-law when I get a chance.”

She wouldn’t miss the baby’s one-month celebration for anything.

Ye Changan said there was no hurry—if Lu Hanchuan couldn’t make it, she could come with Ye Changning instead. Just don’t go by yourself.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded agreeably.

As soon as she hung up, she got to work.

With no video calls back then, she couldn’t see her darling niece from a distance. So she picked out baby clothes and formula to send instead.

Duan Hong happened to be home, so Ye Xiaoxiao asked her to come along and help pick out some outfits.

Duan Hong shot her a weird look. “Are you pregnant?”

“No way—it’s for my sis-in-law.”

Duan Hong looked almost let down.

A lot of people started families right after getting married, so to Duan Hong, her boss was behind the times.

Ye Xiaoxiao sensed the disappointment but didn’t understand why.

Thankfully, the cute baby clothes quickly took her mind off it.

Most mall stalls were privately run now—aside from the public ones—and the service attitude made that clear enough.

The moment Ye Xiaoxiao and Duan Hong walked in, the shopkeeper greeted them warmly and recommended some popular items.

As she browsed, two more customers came in.

“Boss, do you have clothes for newborn boys?”

At the sound of that voice, Ye Xiaoxiao turned around—sure enough, it was Zhao Hongxia with Hao Yanyan.

Her eyes drifted to Hao Yanyan’s stomach.

Her waist was a little thicker, but her belly wasn’t noticeably rounded yet—probably not even three months pregnant.

Doing the math, she couldn’t have been pregnant during the incident, or she wouldn’t have kept the baby.

So after her business flopped, Hao Yanyan decided to become a homemaker?

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t think being a stay-at-home mom was bad.

But it gave her a kick knowing she’d changed the female lead’s fate.

Spotting new customers, the shopkeeper jumped in: “We’ve got plenty! These sets sell really well. Go with blue—it’s perfect for little boys.”

Zhao Hongxia’s eyes landed on Ye Xiaoxiao too.

It was a little awkward, but not the same tense standoff as before.

Honestly, she had nothing left to compete with Ye Xiaoxiao about, and she didn’t want to offend the Lu family either.

Ye Xiaoxiao had expected Zhao Hongxia to either turn and leave or come over to provoke her.

But to her surprise, the other woman flashed her a smile. “Isn’t this Xiao Xiao? What are you doing here looking at kids’ clothes? Don’t tell me…”

Her look turned curious.

Zhao Hongxia’s pulse quickened—was Ye Xiaoxiao pregnant too?

If that were the case, could she have only married into the family because she was pregnant?

Zhao Hongxia felt like she’d uncovered the truth.

“Just looking around—shopping for family,” Ye Xiaoxiao replied vaguely.

The vaguer she was, the more Zhao Hongxia became convinced Ye Xiaoxiao was too embarrassed to admit it.

When Hao Yanyan saw Ye Xiaoxiao, her easy smile disappeared.

She couldn’t stand her. Why did Ye Xiaoxiao always show up to ruin her happiness?

And Hao Yanyan had to admit—Ye Xiaoxiao was prettier than her.

Even after marriage, the other woman still kept that girlish glow. It was just plain annoying.

“Found everything you’re looking for?” the shop owner asked from the side.

Ye Xiaoxiao turned and said, “I’ll take these.”

“You got it!” the shop owner nodded cheerfully. “That’ll be 238 yuan total.”

Ye Xiaoxiao took her things, gave Zhao Hongxia a quick goodbye, and walked out.

As for Hao Yanyan, she completely ignored her.

They’d already had their blow-up—no need to pretend anymore.

Once Ye Xiaoxiao was gone, Zhao Hongxia leaned in and whispered, “Did you see? She only bought pink and red stuff—probably having a girl.”

Hao Yanyan thought her mother-in-law was reading too much into it. “Didn’t she say she was buying for family?”

Zhao Hongxia scoffed, “You’re too green. She was just blowing us off. I haven’t heard of anyone else in the Lu family having a baby—those things are definitely for herself.”

Hao Yanyan opened her mouth, then paused. That actually made sense. “But Xiao Xiao and Comrade Lu only got married last month.”

Tch. “Had to be a shotgun wedding. No way the Lu family would’ve accepted her otherwise.”