Chapter 51

Chapter 51

A Snowy New Year's Eve Night.

7:45 PM Beijing time, Shishu's dinner service ended.

Fu Yuze received seven perfect-score customer reviews sent by the front-of-house manager. Leaving the kitchen, he headed to his lounge to change back into casual clothes and discovered his phone had automatically shut down due to extremely low battery.

He placed it on the charger.

While waiting for it to boot up and receive notifications, Fu Yuze sat back at his desk to check his personal Shishu email. Among the flood of event invitations were a few important partnership inquiries. He selected two and forwarded them to the business development team.

"Ding—"

The phone rebooted successfully.

A series of message notification sounds chimed one after another.

Fu Yuze habitually tapped into his WeChat pinned chat, seeing Jiang Jining's message about pudding from an hour ago. He called the manager, saying, "Box up a green apple rice pudding. I'll come get it right away."

The front-of-house manager had just finished handling a super sensitive guest and thought he was about to be criticized for an unsatisfactory solution. Hearing this, he was immensely relieved. "Alright, I'll have the dessert station prepare it now."

Fu Yuze continued replying to messages.

Not checking his phone for three hours on New Year's Eve felt like it had been bombarded. There were quite a few missed calls, and WeChat, including the family group chat, was flooded with red notification dots. Among them, Bian Jiacheng's three consecutive knife emojis stood out as especially weird.

Fu Yuze replied with a: 「?」

Bian Jiacheng ignored him.

The phone battery charged to fifteen percent. Fu Yuze put on his coat and walked while checking the remaining messages, finally seeing the second page—Bian Han had also messaged him.

?

Before opening the chat, seeing only a single question mark, Fu Yuze was slightly puzzled. His few interactions with Bian Han had been pleasant, a state that was comfortable for both of them, never before experiencing anything resembling dissatisfaction with the other or an inability to articulate something.

He tapped into the chat with his fingertip.

The thumbnail showed Bian Han's accusatory content: a picture of Jiang Jining's bathroom sink.

What?

Fu Yuze enlarged the image with one hand, the sink filled to the brim with items. One, two, three... they were beyond his everyday knowledge. But as his thumb swiped left and right, the enlarged view revealed two blue-and-white sticks.

There were instructions in Chinese here.

「Pregnant + / Not Pregnant -」

The white test strip clearly showed a red + sign.

The other one was even more straightforward with a digital display, directly stating: 「Pregnancy Confirmed, 3w+」

Fu Yuze's steps gradually slowed to a stop.

Pregnant?

Two or three possibilities flashed through his mind only to be dismissed. Summarizing all the clues and experience, Fu Yuze's thoughts quickly settled on the first, and what he felt was the most improbable, answer: these pregnancy tests were Jiang Jining's.

And Jiang Jining knew he could get pregnant.

Bian Han mistakenly believed Jiang Jining had confided everything to him.

Bian Jiacheng was going crazy with jealousy.

All three deductions made perfect sense.

Fu Yuze clearly felt his mind go blank for a moment. He stared intently at the dimmed screen in front of him due to low battery, at the overwhelming evidence on the countertop. His eardrums conveyed the rhythm of his heartbeat, skipping two beats...

The fingers in his pocket rapidly lost their warmth, turning stiff.

What should he do now?

Fu Yuze's current ability to think was completely scrambled.

The front-of-house manager saw his boss in the corridor and approached with the prepared item. "The pudding you requested, Chef."

Jiang Jining was still waiting at home.

Fu Yuze felt as if his soul had momentarily left his body, finally grasping the key point—

The time Jiang Jining said he wanted pudding roughly coincided with Bian Han contacting him. It was most likely Jiang Jining had already been prompted, completed the test, and was waiting for the results, yet still chose to message him first.

"Thank you."

Fu Yuze almost snatched it over.

The manager stared dumbfounded at his retreating, hurried figure. "You're welcome, Chef."

...

Was the steering wheel slippery on the snowy roads?

Just past eight o'clock, Jiang Jining was already sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window with the kitten in his lap, waiting. He combed its fur while watching the gaps in the courtyard gate for any sign of movement. However, having drunk too much milk, he needed to use the bathroom and left briefly.

When he returned to his spot, the courtyard gate was already open.

A familiar silver-gray GTR was parked at the main entrance, its headlights still on, but no one was in the driver's seat.

"Ding-dong—"

Bian Han, who had been keeping an eye on Jiang Jining's condition, nudged Bian Jiacheng's calf with his foot. Bian Jiacheng was texting their mother. "He's here."

"Who's here?" Bian Jiacheng asked, then immediately tossed his phone aside. "I'll get the door."

This was going to be good!

Considering Bian Jiacheng's sincerity and his immediate action in contacting the hospital to arrange Jiang Jining's check-up, Bian Han revealed a tidbit: Fu Yuze probably didn't know about the pregnancy any earlier than Bian Jiacheng did.

Bian Jiacheng's mood couldn't be better.

He had thought Fu Yuze was prepared long ago.

Turns out Jiang Jining only took the test for the first time today after coming home!

The sound from the 100-inch TV's speakers was quite loud, masking the doorbell. Bian Jiacheng deliberately walked slowly to answer it. Just as he unlocked the door, he was pulled forward by an outward force.

"Move."

Fu Yuze tossed out the words and was gone in a flash.

Bian Jiacheng clutched at his nearly dislocated shoulder: "..."

Jiang Jining had turned his beanbag chair to face the courtyard, watching the snow-laden magnolia branches. Soon, the light above him was blocked as he was enveloped in a cold, tight embrace. When he tilted his head up, his eyelashes brushed against Fu Yuze's Adam's apple, feeling the vibration from his words: "Why did you suddenly think to take a test? Did he have any unusual reactions today?"

"He vomited this afternoon."

Bian Han continued shelling sunflower seeds and sipping sweet tea, and gave Bian Jiacheng, who'd been rubbing his arm, a couple of pats, saying, "He vomited until he was pale; it was impossible not to notice. Do you two think this is right?"

"After the weather turned cold, A Ning has been sleeping a lot. I thought it was just his habit and didn't take him to see a doctor earlier."

Fu Yuze took the scolding and admitted his mistake.

When he looked down again, Jiang Jining fluttered his long, curled eyelashes at him and said, "I'm pregnant."

Fu Yuze closed his eyes for a second to calm himself.

"Let's change your clothes, okay? I'll take you to the hospital first for some basic check-ups."

Jiang Jining's fair fingers openly traced over the firm chest beneath his clothes. He'd never known a heart could beat that fast in someone who showed no blush or change in breathing. "Didn't you drive here?"

It was as if he had run ten kilometers on foot.

"I'm too happy."

Fu Yuze didn't dare share any other emotions.

After all, he couldn't possibly question Jiang Jining about forgetting to tell him such a big thing.

Bian Han watched as Fu Yuze went back to the room to get Jiang Jining's down jacket and scarf, then said to Bian Jiacheng, who had stopped, "So calm. Do you think he's been waiting for this day all along?"

Bian Jiacheng, who had inadvertently noticed his buddy's trembling hands: "..."

Probably not.

Bian Jiacheng watched Fu Yuze closely as he got Jiang Jining ready to leave. After a brief two-second eye contact, he suddenly picked up on his buddy's vibe.

Uh...

_Could it be that Fu Yuze didn't know Jiang Jining could get pregnant?_

This guy seemed unflappable on the surface, but in reality, every move was made with trembling hands, as if he had never made such a huge mistake in his life.

"Which hospital are you taking Ningning to for the check-up?"

Bian Jiacheng stepped forward to ask as they were about to leave. Hearing Fu Yuze name the exact hospital he was thinking of, he leaned against the wall and said, "Right, right, I remember now—Xing Zai was also born there. How about you two take a breather? I've already asked my mom to book the chief physician; we can get an early start on the check-up at seven tomorrow..."

"Now," said Fu Yuze, who had quickly determined which method was the most authoritative for verification. At the moment, no one had faster connections than Bian Jiacheng. He looked him straight in the eye: "Please."

_If we don't go tonight, I'll be sitting on the balcony all night._

Jiang Jining also lifted his beautiful eyes to look at Fu Yuze.

_Why was he suddenly begging people?_

Bian Jiacheng: "..."

_Everyone knew he had a soft heart, right?_

In for a penny, in for a pound. Now upgraded to an uncle, he started putting on his coat and shoes right in front of them. "Alright, alright, I'll call the person over right now. Sis—are you coming to the hospital?"

The next moment, Bian Han appeared at the entrance, fully dressed and ready. "Let's go."

The group set off in a flurry.

In the heavy snow, neither luxury car dared to drive too fast, proceeding at a normal speed to a prestigious private hospital. By the time they arrived, the nearly sixty-year-old chief physician had also hurried from her residence to the hospital.

This was a nationally renowned maternity hospital.

Located only in Jingzhou, it had been valued and invested in by the Jiasheng Group thirty years ago, making them the largest shareholder.

Two years ago, Ji Huan also chose this hospital for her prenatal check-ups and the delivery of Xingxing. With top-tier medical safety and service standards, it was relatively easy for the owner to grant equipment access in the middle of the night.

But the subject was special.

The chief physician they had called in had saved thousands of high-risk pregnancies, difficult cases, and amniotic fluid embolism surgeries with her skill. Kind-faced and exuding an air of authority, she didn't even flinch when repeatedly confirming Jiang Jining's gender. She personally completed every step of the process in detail, filling several pages of electronic records.

"Beep—"

"Here's the ultrasound report."

The chief physician took it and handed it directly to Bian Han: "Currently, there's nothing specific that requires intervention. No need to worry excessively. Let me mainly explain how to handle special situations..."

"Please go ahead."

Bian Han's heart softened as she looked at it.

She had already seen it once on the screen earlier—the little one was absolutely adorable.

...Wait!

A person??

At three weeks, could you see a baby's shape? Shouldn't it still be a little round blob?

Bian Han immediately scrutinized the report carefully.

The chief physician stood up and opened the door, letting Bian Jiacheng into the ultrasound room to listen to the medical advice together: "The fetus is currently over thirteen weeks, very stable. All indicators are within the safe clinical range. It's indeed a standard baby, very healthy."

Thirteen weeks!

Over three months.

Bian Han's first reaction was that she had been scammed by the pregnancy test seller.

On the other side, Fu Yuze was squatting down, wiping the ultrasound gel from Jiang Jining's lower abdomen. The latter hadn't sat up straight, slightly hunched over, his soft belly gathered in a round shape—the posture that most clearly showed pregnancy at this stage.

This was definitely not the belly of someone who had just gotten pregnant.

It was already round.