After lunch.
Afternoon, 1 pm.
Dong Xuebing finally got to carry his daughter when Luan Xiaoping went to the bathroom. It’s been a while since he carried her.
“Did you miss Dad? Huh?”
“Ooh… aah… aah….”
“Oh, you miss me? Good girl….”
“Aah… ya… ya….”
“Let Daddy play with you for a while.”
Dong Xuebing went into the bedroom and placed Little Qianqian on the bed. He lay on the bed with her and played with her. Little Qianqian was excited and kept trying to grab his fingers. She was only a few months only and only knew how to flip herself. In a few months, she would be crawling about. She looked so cute and pretty. She would grow up to be a beautiful woman like Aunt Xuan.
A few minutes later, Luan Xiaoping entered the room.
Luan Xiaoping got mad when she saw Dong Xuebing playing with Little Qianqian. “What are you doing?! How can you let her flip and turn like this? What if she falls off the bed?”
Dong Xuebing replied. “She will not fall. I am watching her.”
“What do you know?” Luan Xiaoping scolded. “Give her back.”
Dong Xuebing protested. “Mum, you are taking away my privileges as her father.”
Luan Xiaoping ignored Dong Xuebing and carried her granddaughter. “I have something to say to you all. Call Yunxuan and Huilan in.”
“What?”
“It’s something important.”
“Oh, I will call them now.”
Dong Xuebing walked out of the bedroom and waved to Xie Huilan and Qu Yunxuan. “Mum wants to speak to us.”
Inside the bedroom.
Luan Xiaoping sat on a chair with Little Qianqian in her arms. Dong Xuebing, Aunt Xuan, and Sister Xie sat on the bed in front of her.
Xie Huilan smiled. “Mum, what do you want to say?”
Qu Yunxuan added. “Yes, Sister Luan. What is it about?”
Luan Xiaoping looked at them and stood up. She bowed deeply. “My son had failed you two, and I must apologize. I had failed to teach Xiao Bing properly. Sorry.” None of them expected her to apologize suddenly.
Qu Yunxuan quickly helps Luan Xiaoping up. “Stop, Sister Luan.”
“Mum….” Xie Huilan went over to help her. “Please get up. You are making us feel bad.”
Luan Xiaoping’s eyes were red. “You two had treated Xiao Bing well, and he had made such a big mistake. I am grateful to you two. I am not siding with my son, but things have already happened. The problem will not be solved even if I beat him to death. I don’t care about your five-year agreement. I want you two to know that both of you are my daughter-in-law. I will treat you two as my daughters. Yunxuan, stop calling me Sister Luan. Call me Mum.”
Qu Yunxuan nodded. “Mum.”
“Good.” Luan Xiaoping replied. “I will seek forgiveness from your parents a few days later. I will accept any scolding or punishment from them.”
Dong Xuebing interrupted. “Mum, this is my fault. How can I let you take responsibility for what I did?”
Luan Xiaoping gave Dong Xuebing a stare. “You are my son, and I am responsible for your actions. I am saying this to you again. Huilan and Yunxuan have done a lot for you, and you must never let them down. If you ever let them down again, I… I will disown you!”
Dong Xuebing replied. “Yes, I understand.”
Luan Xiaoping nodded and hugged Little Qianqian. “Yunxuan, Qianqian is my granddaughter, and I will not allow you to put her in the care of a nanny. I don’t trust a stranger to look after her when you are at work. I will look after her for you. I will stay here for now. If things don’t work out in the future, I will bring her to the neighboring City and let her live with me there. Of course, you can fetch her back anytime you want. I can help you all take care of her until kindergarten. What do you think?”
Qu Yunxuan smiled. “To be honest, I was worried when I hired a nanny. After all, she is a stranger. I am assured if you are taking care of Qianqian.”
Luan Xiaoping smiled. “It’s settled then.”
Qu Yunxuan continued. “I am afraid it might be too tiring for you.”
“No, it’s not. Haha…. I will not be tiring.” Luan Xiaoping kissed Little Qianqian’s forehead. “Look at this little fellow. I love her too much. I can help you all care for her when I can still walk. All of you are busy with your work.” She stroked Little Qianqian’s head. “This fellow will live with her grandmother in the future.”
Xie Huilan laughed. “Look at Mum. She is overjoyed. Haha….”
Luan Xiaoping looked at Xie Huilan. “Huilan, I….”
Dong Xuebing also felt terrible. Xie Huilan is his official wife, but the whole family revolves around Little Qianqian. This is unfair to her. Even Qu Yunxuan felt bad towards Xie Huilan, and she held her hand.
Xie Huilan thought nothing about it. “Why are you all looking at me like this? Haha….” She touched her face. “Is there something on my face?”
Dong Xuebing said. “Huilan….”
Dong Xuebing had been curious why Xie Huilan was not upset when Qu Yunxuan brought Little Qianqian home yesterday. Instead, she seemed to enjoy their company. She behaved too graciously and still accompanied Yunxuan to buy groceries and diapers. This was too weird.
Everyone looked at Xie Huilan and wondered why she was so forgiving. She should be upset about how Dong Xuebing and his mother treated Qu Yunxuan.
Suddenly, Dong Xuebing felt Xie Huilan might be hiding something from them.
From Dong Xuebing’s understanding of Xie Huilan, he knew things were not so simple.
“You all are making me uneasy.” Xie Huilan laughed and sat on the chair. “Haha…. Qianqian is my daughter too, and even if Mum cannot help us look after her, I will find time to take care of her. She is so cute.”
Dong Xuebing gained a newfound respect for Xie Huilan. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette subconsciously. He was about to light it when the three women shouted at him.
Mum: “Don’t smoke!”
Qu Yunxuan: “There’s a baby here!”
Xie Huilan: “Smoke on the balcony!”
Dong Xuebing quickly put back his cigarette. “Sorry…. I forgot.”
After shouting at Dong Xuebing, Qu Yunxuan looked at Xie Huilan in surprise. She did not expect Xie Huilan to be so concerned for Little Qianqian.
Xie Huilan looked at them and smiled. “Alright. I am going to make an announcement.”
Dong Xuebing asked. “What is it?” He was afraid of any announcement now. “Err…. What is it regarding? Is it good or bad?”
Xie Huilan glanced at Dong Xuebing. “It is good for me, but I don’t know about you.”
Luan Xiaoping asked anxiously. “Hurry and tell us.” She also noticed Xie Huilan behaving differently these two days.
Xie Huilan had always been calm, and she did not reply. She walked to her handbag on the sofa and took a piece of paper from it. It looked like a medical report, and she placed it on the table. “My period was supposed to be on the day Dong Xuebing went outstation. But it was late for almost a week, and I went for a medical checkup yesterday. The result….”
Dong Xuebing was shocked. “What’s the result?”
Luan Xiaoping was overjoyed. “Stupid! What do you think is the result?! She must be pregnant!”
Qu Yunxuan was also shocked and quickly looked at the medical report. “She’s pregnant! Huilan! You are going to be a mother! Congratulations!”
Dong Xuebing shouted in joy. “Let me see!”
Luan Xiaoping looked at the medical report and gave it to Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing burst out laughing after reading the report. He is going to be a father again! No wonder Huilan behaved differently.
“How many months?” Dong Xuebing asked.
Xie Huilan replied. “What do you think? How long have we been married?”
“Slightly more than a month.”
“Oh, it will take a while to see your tummy.”
Luan Xiaoping was also overjoyed. She held Xie Huilan’s hand. “Good! We must celebrate. Hurry, call your parents. Have you told them?”
Xie Huilan laughed. “Not yet. It’s New Year soon, and we will have a few days off. I planned to return home with Xiao Bing and tell my parents.”
Qu Yunxuan reminded. “You must be careful these few months. I will not leave tonight. We can have a good chat. Haha…. There are many things to watch out for during pregnancy.”
Xie Huilan looked at Qu Yunxuan. “Thank you.”
Qu Yunxuan replied gently. “When Xiao Bing’s plane crashed, I stayed at your place for a month. You had taken care of me during that period, and it’s my turn now.”
