Qu Jingwan quickly stood up and, after wrapping a silk scarf around her neck, left secretly. Walking to the rose bushes, she pricked herself as she reached within for the item. She endured the pain as she took the item, hiding it inside her scarf before creeping back to her room on the second floor.
The morning sun shone past the beige curtains and into the room. It was rare for Pei Ge to have a good night’s sleep. Seeing that it was already 9 AM on the alarm clock, she quickly washed up and came downstairs.
Madam Ji and Qu Jingwan were sitting on the sofa in the living room. Hearing the sound coming from the stairs, the lady looked up at her and smiled. “You’re up. I’ll warm your breakfast.”
“That’s right.” Pei Ge nodded, and when she learned that the lady wanted to get breakfast for her, she quickly declined. “No need; no need. I’ll just eat something.”
“That won’t do. You’re pregnant, so you must eat something nutritious. Rest assured; I made it for you myself.” Her cute look was to Madam Ji’s liking. It would have been the best if this lady was the one pregnant. Unfortunately…
“You made it yourself?” Pei Ge stared at the lady before her in disbelief.
There must be something wrong with the food if that’s the case.
“That’s right. Jingwan got up early to prepare breakfast, and her cooking skills aren’t bad. Try it later and see how her cooking is.”
“Well, thank you.” She could not decline further and could only nod in gratefulness.
“What are you thanking for? We’re a big family. It’s our responsibility to take care of you. Just sit there and eat later.”
“Okay.”
Since the whole family had it, she should be fine now.
Standing in the kitchen, Qu Jingwan took a deep breath. Ever since she smuggled this box into the house last night, she could not sleep well. Thus, she made breakfast before the sky turned bright. Earlier, She was worrying about how to make Pei Ge her breakfast if the latter woke up ahead of her. Thankfully, the latter was the last to wake up.
She added the white powder into the glass of milk before heating it in the microwave. After some stirring, the white powder was no longer visible and could not be smelled.
She carried the breakfast to the dining table before turning to speak to Pei Ge. “Come have your breakfast fast. Try and see how my sandwich is.”
“Alright.” The latter got up and walked toward the dining table.
“I specially toasted the bread this morning, while the butter was bought by Auntie Zhang. They’re all made with fresh ingredients. Come try it; if you don’t like, I’ll make you something else.”
Pei Ge felt uneasy but did not know where that feeling came from.
She sat down and had a bite of the sandwich. This was her favorite American Jons salad sauce. Back when she was pregnant, this was the salad spread she often put in her bread.
“How’s it?” asked Qu Jingwan from beside her.
“Not bad; it tastes good.” She had another bite; perhaps she was too anxious, but she almost choked.
The young lady quickly pushed the milk to her. “Eat slowly; don’t choke. There are more in the kitchen. I can make as many as you want.”
She picked up the milk and hesitated. “Sorry to trouble you.”
Qu Jingwan watched her drink the milk, but all of a sudden, her hand stopped. She hurried. “It’s not troubling; nourish your body well and quickly drink the milk. Try not to choke on it.”
Her heart was in her mouth as she looked at Pei Ge hold the cup of milk.
Her grandmother told her that the medicine would take effect in two hours. The white powder had no taste or smell, so that was why she decided to add it into the milk.
Pei Ge had a sip of the milk before putting the glass down. She continued eating the sandwich, and in the end, both were finished by her.
Seeing that her appetite was good, Madam Ji smiled. “Do you still want more? Let Jingwan go make you a set. Now, you’re not alone but two.”
“Auntie, I—”
“I know; I know. I won’t say anymore.”
The older woman smiled and turned to look at the TV on the wall. It was showing the trendiest palace drama. Qu Jingwan took the plates to the kitchen and washed them. Pei Ge realized that the current family setting was a modern version of the palace drama being shown on TV.
She sat on the sofa for a while and picked up the laptop on the coffee table as she asked, “Ziming went to the office?”
“That’s right. You weren’t awake when he left so he didn’t wake you up and let you sleep some more.”
“Why didn’t he tell me when he was going to the office?”
“You don’t have to think about the company’s matters. You just have to stay at home and nourish the baby in your stomach properly. If you’re bored of staying in the house, Jingwan and I can bring you out for a walk. Just tell us where you want to go. If you want to go to America to visit your mother, the family’s private plane can bring you there anytime.”
“No, auntie; I don’t mean it that way.”
She was seriously helpless. Her pregnancy was deemed as truth by the older woman. The more truth she spoke, the more unwilling Madam Ji was to believe it. The latter even reckoned that she had prenatal depression.
“Stay at home well; you still have me here. I feel that I can move out of the family now. Since you’re already pregnant, we must prove that this child is this family’s, but I still want to take care of you. Auntie, can I move out some time later?” requested Qu Jingwan aggrievedly, and this made the older woman’s heart ached.
“Who asked you to move out? You’re not allowed to do so.” The older woman turned around and spoke sternly. “Whether Pei Ge is pregnant or not, you can’t move out of this house. If you move out, what will happen to my grandson? He is still so young and relies on you so much.”
“It’s not too late if I wait till Baby recovers to leave.”
“Even if he recovers his memory, Pei Ge hasn’t given birth yet, so you can’t leave.”
Madam Ji’s attitude was totally different from the way she spoke to Pei Ge yesterday. Fortunately, she was not expecting the older woman to chase out this young lady, but if the older woman did chase Qu Jingwan out, she would only feel worried of this lady using other excuses to enter the family again.
She was aware of the extent this lady was willing to go for the sake of marrying into Ji Ziming’s family.
“Alright, alright, alright, auntie. I won’t leave, so don’t get angry. Don’t forget that there’s a baby here. If the baby knows that you’re angry, it will be very unhappy.”
“Right. I shan’t get angry. Pei Ge, don’t get angry, too.”
Madam Ji lightly tapped her hand.
