Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Wait, what?! Your wife is pregnant?!"

Wen Pei's voice blasted out of the phone's speaker. Huo Yanshen, worried he might wake Shen Ling, quickly held the phone away and glanced down at the person in his arms.

Shen Ling didn't stir. He lay on his side in Huo Yanshen's embrace, his cheek pressed against Huo Yanshen's sleep shirt, lips slightly pouting, sleeping deeply.

The hollows in his cheeks from his hospital stay had finally started to fill out a little. Because he was sleeping on his side, a small, soft puff of flesh bulged on his cheek, gently rising and falling with every breath.

Huo Yanshen's fingers hovered over that soft spot for a few seconds before finally landing and giving it a gentle pinch.

It felt like a steamed milk cake fresh out of the steamer.

He stared at Shen Ling's sleeping face for a long time.

The past few days had been pure chaos—one thing after another piling on. Shen Ling hadn't had a single full night of sleep. They'd finally gotten his vitals stable, finally managed to put a little meat back on his face, and then it turned out there was a baby in his belly too.

Shen Ling didn't have much meat on his bones to begin with, and now half of it had to go to nourishing something even smaller.

Something in Huo Yanshen's chest felt like it had been stabbed—a dull, throbbing ache.

Wen Pei's voice came through the receiver, "Hey? Huo Yanshen? You still there?"

Huo Yanshen picked up the phone and said in a low voice, "You're too loud."

And hung up.

Three seconds later, a WeChat message popped up from Wen Pei: You're crazy.

Huo Yanshen replied, deadpan: Got any meds?

Wen Pei: ...

Wen Pei: Wow, screw off, old man.

Huo Yanshen: ?

Wen Pei's side showed "typing..." for a full minute before he finally sent: Does your wife know about your texting game?

Huo Yanshen didn't keep going back and forth with him. He just typed out the whole situation.

The test results from a few days ago showed that Shen Ling's HCG levels were way above normal, confirming he was pregnant. His body was unusual—the doctor said getting pregnant with this kind of constitution was already extremely unlikely, and the risk of miscarriage was much higher than with a normal pregnancy. The only option was to try to keep the pregnancy going.

But Shen Ling's baseline health was already bad—low body weight, anemia, a history of anxiety—and on top of that, pregnancy symptoms were already starting to show. The next few months were going to be rough.

"So I need you to do me a favor," Huo Yanshen said.

"Once he wakes up, talk to him in your capacity as his doctor. Don't hide the risks, but make him understand that his body can get through this. He trusts you—he'll believe whatever you say."

Wen Pei said, "You're afraid he'll spiral and scare himself to death?"

Huo Yanshen said, "He's already spiraling."

Wen Pei sighed. "Alright, I'll come this afternoon."

An hour later, Wen Pei showed up in the hallway of Hai City Private Hospital.

Huo Yanshen had already moved Shen Ling there. The place was much nicer than the public hospital, and the bed was bigger, so Huo Yanshen could stay by Shen Ling's side without ever leaving.

Shen Ling was already awake, propped up against the headboard, holding a cup of warm water in both hands, taking little sips.

When he saw Wen Pei come in, he set the cup down, and a flicker of tension crossed his face.

Wen Pei pulled up a chair and sat down, not beating around the bush. He spread out the exam report and pointed to each item one by one.

"Based on your current numbers, your body can handle this pregnancy. Some stress symptoms in early pregnancy are normal. Although your body is on the weaker side, since all your vitals have stabilized now, carrying this to term shouldn't be a problem."

Shen Ling listened, pressed his lips together, and dropped his gaze. "I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of him properly."

"I can't even take care of myself... I trip when I walk, I throw up when I eat, and I have nightmares. If he's with me, won't he have a shitty life?"

Huo Yanshen sat on the edge of the bed and reached out, covering his hand. "I'm here too."

Shen Ling blinked a few times.

That was true. Huo Yanshen was so reliable—if he really couldn't hold on, this man would take care of everything. Huo Yanshen would raise the baby, send him to the best schools, get him the best teachers. The baby would definitely be a very happy kid.

But then he thought of something else. According to the contract, their marriage would end exactly one year from now.

By the time the baby was born, the marriage contract would be about up too. The baby would go with Huo Yanshen.

And what about himself...?

Shen Ling visibly deflated again, tucking his chin into the blanket until only his eyes were visible—and the light in those eyes dimmed bit by bit.

Shen Ling said in a small voice, "Oh... then... that should be... no problem..."

Huo Yanshen didn't know what Shen Ling was thinking. He just saw him suddenly wilt. He asked, "What's wrong, baby? Are you feeling unwell?"

Shen Ling shook his head, pulled the blanket up higher, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm not feeling sick."

Huo Yanshen looked at him for a while, then said, "If anything feels off, let me know."

Shen Ling, "Mm-hmm."

Shen Ling answered, but his expression was still that wilted, deflated look.

Huo Yanshen couldn't figure out what was making him unhappy, so he could only try different ways to cheer him up. He tried everything for over half an hour before finally coaxing a small smile out of Shen Ling.

*

After the discharge paperwork was done, Huo Yanshen took Shen Ling home.

Within three days, Huo Yanshen had covered every hard edge with bumper guards, installed safety railings at the stairs, laid non-slip mats in the bathroom, switched the bedroom sheets to higher thread-count pure cotton, and swapped the laundry detergent for an unscented one.

The fridge was stocked with ingredients prepped by a nutritionist. Three main meals plus two snacks were delivered every day by a dedicated chef, strictly following the pregnancy nutrition plan.

Every day, Shen Ling was kept close to Huo Yanshen's side—fed three full meals plus two snacks. After dinner, Huo Yanshen would take him for a twenty-minute walk around the community garden. When they got back, he'd check his blood pressure and temperature. Shower at exactly 8:30 PM, in bed by 9:00, no exceptions.

Like a doll being pampered.

Shen Ling remembered that day outside the ultrasound room, when he told Huo Yanshen he was pregnant.

Huo Yanshen's first reaction had been to urgently push him toward the neurology department, insisting on a head CT, until the doctor ran after them and stopped him.

It had been funny at the time, but thinking about it now, his heart felt a little sore and full.

So... maybe Huo Yanshen cared about him, at least a little bit.

Shen Ling turned over in bed. The sound of water came from the bathroom—Huo Yanshen was in the shower.

He secretly slipped his phone out from under the pillow, turned the screen brightness down to the lowest, opened CaiBao, and typed a line into the search box.

"CaiBao CaiBao, how do I win over a husband who only signed a one-year contract? Desperate, urgent, waiting online."

CaiBao, "Hello, I've found the following search options for you:"

Shen Ling kept scrolling.

"1. Create intimate contact. 2. Showcase your charm. 3. Express your true feelings..."

Shen Ling followed up, "CaiBao CaiBao, so how do I create intimate contact?"

Right then, the bathroom door opened.

Huo Yanshen walked out wearing only gray lounge pants, bare-chested, drying his hair with a white towel. Below his collarbones were solid pectorals, and two V-lines tapered down from his waist into his waistband.

Beads of water still clung to his skin, rolling down the grooves of his chest, sliding past the midline of his abs, and disappearing into the edge of his waistband.

Shen Ling was completely oblivious, chatting away with CaiBao.

He lay on the bed, ankles crossed and feet swinging, chin propped on the pillow, holding his phone with both hands and tapping away at lightning speed.

On the screen, a new message from CaiBao popped up: "You can make the first move when he comes out of the shower, using actions to show it, like when he's not looking..."

Shen Ling, "When he's not looking, do what?"

CaiBao, "This response has been flagged for sensitive content. Please re-enter your question."

Shen Ling: o.O

Huo Yanshen stood there for a moment. He draped the towel over the back of a chair and cleared his throat. "Baby."

Shen Ling didn't hear him; he was tapping the screen, and CaiBao had just popped up another message that hadn't been blocked. He needed to read it carefully, completely unaware that someone was standing right next to him.

Huo Yanshen, "..."

Huo Yanshen leaned over the bed, bracing one hand on the mattress beside Shen Ling, and brought his mouth close to Shen Ling's ear.

Huo Yanshen, "What are you looking at?"

Shen Ling's fingers jerked violently. As fast as he possibly could, he pressed the lock button, shoved the phone under the pillow, and flipped onto his back.

His gaze lifted and met Huo Yanshen's lowered eyes.

Those dark eyes were watching him, his expression unreadable, one eyebrow slightly raised.

Shen Ling, "N-nothing."

Huo Yanshen reached under the pillow and pulled out the phone.

Shen Ling grabbed for it, but Huo Yanshen had already held it out of reach, his other hand pressing Shen Ling's shoulder down.

Huo Yanshen pressed and held the side button, turned the phone off completely, and casually placed it on the nightstand on his side.

Then he pulled back the covers and lay down, wrapping an arm around Shen Ling and pulling him close.

Shen Ling's face was pressed right against his bare chest, his nose brushing the skin below his collarbone. His eyelashes swept across Huo Yanshen's chest, and he could feel his heartbeat under his skin.

Huo Yanshen looked down at him. Shen Ling tilted his face up, lips glistening in the dim light, the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye redder and more vivid from pregnancy hormones.

Huo Yanshen lowered his head and kissed him.

He captured his lower lip, slid his tongue past Shen Ling's lips, and probed in slowly and deliberately.

Shen Ling was caught completely off guard, his breathing quickening, nails digging into Huo Yanshen's shoulders, a soft whimper slipping out.

After a few breathless moments, Shen Ling's body began to go limp, his fingers sliding from the back of Huo Yanshen's neck down to his shoulder blade, the skin burning hot under his touch. He lingered, stroking it a couple more times.

Huo Yanshen's kiss trailed from the corner of his lips down to his jaw, then settled on the small mole at the corner of his eye.

Shen Ling tilted his head, nuzzling closer to Huo Yanshen's lips.

"Mmm... husband..."

The voice was soft and seductive. After calling out, he surprised even himself.

His body had become extraordinarily sensitive since he got pregnant, and that kiss just now had been overwhelming.

He lay on the bed, eyes glistening as he looked at Huo Yanshen, lips slightly swollen from being kissed, and a faint red mark on his collarbone where Huo Yanshen's mouth had been.

"Husband," he said softly, "should we..."

Huo Yanshen's gaze darkened.

His hand was still braced beside Shen Ling's ear, and Shen Ling could feel the muscles in his arm tense, veins standing out from his wrist to his forearm.

Huo Yanshen's voice was low and rough, "No."

Shen Ling's cheeks burned. "Why not? I-I'm ready..."

Huo Yanshen, "Not during the first three months."

Shen Ling, "Then how long do I have to wait..."

Shen Ling's expression was like a kitten whose bowl had just been snatched away. His lips trembled twice, then he rolled over, intending to curl up into a ball on the other side of the bed in silent protest.

He had just rolled over when he caught a glimpse of Huo Yanshen out of the corner of his eye, reaching to open the bottom drawer of the nightstand. He raised his head and turned around, and saw Huo Yanshen holding something in his hand, already tearing open the wrapper.

Shen Ling blinked. "...What is that?"

Huo Yanshen tossed the wrapper into the trash can and said slowly, deliberately.

"Something that'll make you feel good. Lie down, baby."

==========Author's Note:==========

Since my book is getting featured on the recommendation list the day after tomorrow, I'm taking a day off tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow at 11 PM I'll drop 10,000 words.