"If you don't love Lu Zihao anymore, then it's better to break it off as early as possible," Chen Fei continued saying before Long Jinjing could respond. "Don't feel like you have to stay with him just for the sake of your babies. Girl, don't forget that you're the CFO of a booming company now. You're a boss bitch just like me and your sister! You don't need a man to build a happy family. I know damn well that you can raise your kids by yourself. Heck, I'll help you. I know that Xiulan will also help you and so will our other friends from the girl squad."
"N-no! That's not it, Xiaofei!" Long Jinjing was now panicking. "I'm not…it's not like that at all, okay?"
"Then what is it? Explain to me so that I'll understand. All this dilly-dallying is a big waste of time. Do you still love Lu Zihao?"
"Yes! Of course, I still love him. I love him so much, especially now that both of us are expecting our own set of twins. I can no longer imagine my life now without him."
Chen Fei had to physically press her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making a sarcastic comment. She also looked up at the ceiling so that Long Jinjing couldn't see her rolling her eyes.
Unlike her other friends who had experienced love, Chen Fei still didn't know that it felt like. Deep inside, she thought it silly that normally intelligent people like her best friend Long Jinjing would turn so stupid when it came to love. No matter how much she wanted to lecture Long Jinjing, it wasn't her place to do so due to lack of personal experience.
Sighing, Chen Fei chose to remain quiet lest she blurt out unnecessary words that might hurt her best friend. Fortunately, Long Jinjing didn't need any additional probing for her to finally divulge the reason why she hadn't married Lu Zihao yet.
"It's because I…I've become so f-fat and ugly."
Chen Fei blinked a few times and even tapped her ears to check if they were still working properly.
"Can you repeat what you said? I don't think I heard it right."
Long Jinjing pouted and turned red. "Don't make me repeat it again, Xiafei. It's so…embarrassing!"
"So you do know that your reason is embarrassing! Girl, what the hell?!"
Long Jinjing bit her lower lip. "I appreciate that Ni—Zihao is acting so responsible by wanting to register our marriage first before I give birth and then have the wedding ceremony when I'm ready. B-but…you know, uhm…."
Chen Fei didn't need her friend to say anything more. She already knew the real reason why Long Jinjing kept on delaying her marriage with Lu Zihao.
"Holy fucking fried mackerel, Long Jinjing! Are you fucking kidding me?! This is ridiculous! Absolutely fucking ridiculous! My gosh, girl!"
"I know it already. You don't have to say it to my face. I know how ridiculous I'm acting right now." Long Jinjing grabbed a pillow and hugged it above her belly for comfort.
Chen Fei wanted to shake some sense back to her best friend but could only restrain herself because Long Jinjing might give birth prematurely from the force.
"Jing, listen to me," she said in a serious tone before sitting beside Long Jinjing. "You're not fat or ugly. Who told you that? Tell me now and I'll fight them myself! Did Lu Zihao say that? If he did, I'll fucking beat up the asshole even if that's the last thing I do in my life!"
"No!" Long Jinjing was quick to deny. "Zihao is so good to me. He never said that. Actually, he always tell me that…uhm, he l-likes my pregnant body and, uhm, you know…he…uh! I can't say it! Just know that he has become so much more enthusiastic."
"Oh." Chen Fei raised an eyebrow. She wasn't stupid. She knew what it meant. "Hmph! So if he doesn't think that way about you, then where the hell did you come up with that stupid idea that you're fat and ugly?"
"Me…."
"Jing, come on!" Chen Fei pulled at her own hair in frustration. "I know that you're usually not confident about yourself for whatever dumb reason but this is not good anymore. This is not right, I'm telling you! I'm worried about you. What if you develop post-partum depression because of this? Did you not watch the film 'Strong Yet Broken'? Although your situation is different, I still don't want you to end up like Guan Jintao's mother and become depressed all your life after giving birth."
"I…no, I'm not gonna end up like that! I…d-don't think…so…."
Chen Fei looked skeptical.
"Xiaofei, really. Believe me."
Chen Fei crossed her arms and stared at her, silently saying, "Make me believe."
Long Jinjing sighed. "I just…f-feel so inferior. Look at my sister. Xiulan looked so amazing and beautiful all throughout her pregnancy. She barely gained any weight. After giving birth, she has almost regained her previous figure. In fact, she looks even more beautiful now than before she gave birth.
"And then look at me. I'm so swollen everywhere, so fat! I feel like a whale! An ugly whale. I don't understand how Ni—Zihao can even make love with me when I look so ugly like this!"
"Oh, Jing." Chen Fei hugged her best friend which was rather difficult given Long Jinjing's huge belly.
Long Jinjing sobbed on her friend's shoulder. Chen Fei patted her back and just allowed her friend to let it all out.
A few moments later, Long Jinjing calmed down a little. She sniffled and wiped her remaining tears.
"I'm okay n-now…thanks, Xiaofei. S-sorry about that. So embarrassing."
"Not at all. If you can't even cry in front of me, then I'm not doing my job as your best friend well."
Long Jinjing gave her a shaky smile.
Chen Fei grabbed more tissues for Long Jinjing.. "I know that I should be treat you gently because you're pregnant but I can't allow this to continue any longer. Jing, all this nonsense about you feeling inferior to Xiulan is pure bullshit! Do you hear me? It's BULLSHIT!"
