Hu Li, suddenly worried, stopped his excited actions and gently placed Hua Yan on the bed. He asked with concern, "I got too excited just now. Did my actions hurt you anywhere?"
Hua Yan, though pleased by his concern, couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Wasn't the usually composed Hu Li supposed to stay calm in any situation? His earlier frenzy was completely out of character for him, truly wild and crazy.
In fact, Hua Yan had forgotten that Hu Li was already thirty-two years old, a significant phase in a man's life. No wonder he was so keen on having children. Although she would turn twenty-five after the new year, she was still considered part of the single crowd in society. Even considering her age before her rebirth, she was barely twenty-three, a time when thoughts of children were still vague and unclear.
"How many months has it been?"
"A little over two months. When you took off your gear at the ski resort, a woman in her thirties from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners was also waiting for her husband. We chatted a bit, and she must have noticed something. After taking my pulse, she told me I was pregnant. She also marveled that I dared to ski while pregnant and said you, as my husband, were not attentive enough," Hua Yan said, somewhat gleefully.
"It would be best to go to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow, just to be safe. We don't want the skiing to have affected the baby."
"I'm not as fragile as porcelain. That woman also said I was fine."
"But you didn't mention that she also suggested going to the hospital for a check-up, just in case."
Feeling caught, Hua Yan uncomfortably touched her nose and asked, "How did you know? There was no one else around us at the time."
"I guessed. But we should still go to the hospital tomorrow and then head straight home." Knowing Hua Yan's aversion to hospitals and realizing he was not a gynecology expert, he decided a visit was necessary.
Though he initially planned to return to their retreat base the next morning, he received news that the Hu family had already caught wind of his whereabouts. If not for Old Qiao's people keeping them occupied, they might have already shown up.
"Okay." Understanding the importance of being cautious with the baby, Hua Yan finally agreed after some hesitation.
"It's late. Let's sleep." Hu Li had regained his usual composure, recalling the things he'd read online about pregnancy. He knew it was important for expectant mothers to get good sleep, stay happy, have a balanced diet, and exercise moderately. This was beneficial for both the baby and the mother throughout the pregnancy.
After playing too hard the previous night, Hua Yan didn't wake up until nine the next morning. Hu Da, anxious about Hu Fu's situation, was visibly uneasy. Hu Li, however, ignored him, prioritizing Hua Yan's rest. He had prepared many plans for emergencies, hoping Hua Yan could enjoy her pregnancy at the retreat until it was time for a safe delivery.
At the hospital, they confirmed both Hua Yan and the baby were healthy. They left the hospital and headed straight out of Haibin City. Their vehicles joined a convoy of a high-ranking official from the capital, making it impossible for the Hu family to follow. Although the Hu family set up ambushes in potential locations, Hua Yan and Hu Li managed to leave the convoy after a day and returned to their retreat that night, evading their pursuers.
Upon learning of Hua Yan's pregnancy, Hua Fu and Old Yang were overjoyed, seeming to grow younger overnight. Besides their usual chess arguments, they now debated whether the child should recognize Old Yang as the godfather.
With the three men doting on her, Hua Yan spent her days eating and sleeping. Despite her regular exercise, she couldn't burn off all the calories. By the fifth month, her belly had grown significantly, and her previously slender face had become fuller. Afraid of becoming chubby, Hua Yan began watching her diet, balancing meat and vegetables to ensure the baby's nutrition while favoring more fruits and veggies. Hu Li, utterly devoted to his wife, never pressured her to eat more when she pouted.
Thanks to Hu Li's support, Hua Yan enjoyed a relaxed pregnancy, with the elders' care and her husband's constant companionship. Sometimes she chatted with others at the retreat about their thrilling past missions and the exotic sights they had seen worldwide. Occasionally, she even argued and teased Xiao Nancheng.
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Since that Christmas, Hu Li hadn't left the retreat. The Hu family, following the faintest of leads, tried to find Hu Li but couldn't compete with the state, making no progress.
Another piece of news was that Cai Cai was now three months pregnant. The aphrodisiac meant for Hu Li had failed, leading to Cai Cai and Ke Shaozheng's first intimate encounter and an unexpected pregnancy. The two families held a grand wedding within two months before Cai Cai's pregnancy showed. Despite their hidden conflicts, Hu Fu and Hu Mu attended with generous gifts.
Watching the wedding, Hu Mu missed her son even more and became increasingly agitated, constantly nagging Hu Fu about Hu Li's absence. Learning from Cai Cai that Hu Li was married, she grew even more furious.
"I will never acknowledge Hua Yan as my daughter-in-law, not even in death! You have to stand by me!" Hu Mu pleaded with Hu Fu.
"Alright, haven't you always had the final say in family matters?"
Hearing her husband's words, Hu Mu finally quieted down, but she was already plotting how to torment Hua Yan once Hu Li brought her back, without anyone knowing. Hua Yan had torn apart her dream of a loving family and made her son increasingly distant from her.
However, she forgot that her son was very perceptive about everything inside and outside the family. When the time came, all her tricks would be transparent to Hu Li. Eventually, this would only anger Hua Yan, and Hu Mu herself would end up infuriated.
In midsummer, Hua Yan’s belly had started to drop, indicating the baby was due soon. The whole household was on high alert again, and someone was with her almost 24 hours a day.
Most of the time, it was Hu Li, the attentive and meticulous husband, who accompanied Hua Yan. He would either support her during walks in the vine-covered corridors or read various children's stories to her in a specially renovated, air-conditioned room where she reclined on a chaise longue.
Whether the stories had any effect on the lively baby often kicking inside her was uncertain, but they certainly helped Hua Yan. Hu Li’s hoarse, magnetic voice reading the little stories always acted as a lullaby, putting Hua Yan to sleep.
Her belly was at its limit, her legs were swollen, and sometimes she worried excessively about the baby's health, leading to sleepless nights and making her look more haggard. Fortunately, Hu Li discovered that reading little stories helped her sleep, which relieved everyone's concerns.
"Hu Li, my stomach hurts..." Hua Yan, lying on the chaise longue, suddenly groaned, startling Hu Li and alarming everyone else.
The doctor at the retreat checked her and confirmed it was labor pain. If everything went well, the baby could be born by night.
Hua Yan lay in the delivery room at the retreat, prepared for her in advance, sweating profusely and biting Hu Li’s arm in pain, her hands tightly gripping the bed sheets. Hu Li, drenched in sweat from worry, looked as if he were the one giving birth.
Hua Fu, Old Yang, Nanny Chang, and other elders waited anxiously in the living room. The tense atmosphere persisted until around eight or nine in the evening when they finally heard the baby's first cries.
A few days later, in an independent pavilion room, a baby's cry broke the silence. A man in casual home clothes hurriedly rushed in from outside.
"Xiao Yan, is the baby hungry?" Hu Li asked, his hands covered in soap suds after washing the baby's diapers outside.
"Go and wash your hands properly. Our son probably just wet himself. I'll change his diaper," Hua Yan, wearing a cotton robe, said. Though her face was pale, the happiness on it was undeniable.
Hua Yan had given birth to a chubby, fair-skinned son. Except for crying when he was hungry or needed a diaper change, he spent most of his time sleeping or giggling, a remarkably easy and undemanding baby. Everyone at the retreat adored him.
Hu Li halted his steps, looked at his hands, and realized he wasn't much help. He quickly ran out again. After a short while, he returned with clean hands.
"Take the diaper out to wash it. Leaving it too long will breed bacteria."
"Oh, I’ll go right away." Reluctantly, Hu Li put down his son, who had stopped crying and was giggling after the diaper change.
"Go wash the diaper. You promised to handle all the diaper changes," Hua Yan said discontentedly, wanting to hold her son.
"You, always taking advantage. Fine, you and our son can play, and I’ll go wash the diaper." Hu Li gazed at Hua Yan with affection, carefully placed the baby on the bed, and obediently took the dirty diaper outside.
As he stepped out, he saw Nanny Chang bringing in a bowl of black-bone chicken soup. Seeing the diaper in his hand, she smiled warmly. Hu Li touched his nose, blushing slightly, and quickly walked out.
"Miss, the young master is truly a rare good man. He even washes the baby’s diapers," Nanny Chang said, handing the soup to Hua Yan with great admiration.
Hua Yan smiled, not saying anything. Since their marriage, Hu Li had never disappointed her. Her fears related to marriage had gradually disappeared.
At some point, she began to enjoy the happiness of marriage, no longer worrying about the common sayings that men stop caring about women after marriage, or that men would eventually find mistresses as time went on.
Savoring the delicious chicken soup, Hua Yan looked at Nanny Chang, who found happiness in her happiness, and then at her son lying beside her, blowing bubbles and giggling. Hua Yan felt like she was living in a fairy tale, as if an invisible barrier protected her from all the negative things in the world.