“Little disciple, you should listen to Zhai Hua and wear that on your waist.” She was so petite, yet she had such a big tummy. He was worried that if she did not wear the waist support, her tummy might burst.
Lin Yuankang felt chills down his back for no reason. He glanced at the cut watermelon that was placed on the table.
“Little disciple, your tummy is so large. I think you must have taken too much food. Should you control your food intake?”
Lin Yuankang was serious. Qiao Nan’s tummy was too large. He was worried that her tummy could not withstand the weight of the two babies.
Zhai Hua, who kept vigil by Qiao Nan’s side, felt conflicted. “The doctor kept saying that the babies are making good progress. All of her data indicated that she is healthy.” The problem was she had the same sentiments as Lin Yuankang. She also felt that Qiao Nan’s tummy was too large.
Qiao Nan’s tummy looked normal in May, but now that it was June, Qiao Nan seemed to have taken in big gulps of air and her tummy was double the size in May.
Last week, Qiao Nan took a half-an-hour afternoon nap. By the time she woke up, Zhai Hua was shocked to see that her tummy seemed to have grown larger. She even dragged Miao Jing with her to take a closer look.
Qiao Nan was not even six months pregnant, but she would not be able to see her toes when she looked downward at her feet.
Zhai Hua was worried that her tummy would grow even bigger as time passed.
Lin Yuankang did not have any children, so he was clueless in this respect. Since he started the conversation, he had to be responsible for it. “Don’t worry. Look at my disciple. She has rosy cheeks and she looks healthy. Nothing will go wrong. She is carrying twins. It is alright to have a bigger tummy.”
“…”
“…”
Qiao Nan and Zhai Hua were at a loss for words. The tree of them then broke into laughter.
Lin Yuankang took a box from the house and passed it to Qiao Nan. “This is from Zhu Chengqi to you, or rather, to my grand disciples. Keep it for them for the time being.”
There had not been many changes to Lin Yuankang’s life since he returned to the capital. It was similar to his life in Ping Cheng.
At times, people would visit him to ask him for advice, but most of the time, he would be staying at home, gardening and spending time playing with the birds.
After Zhu Chengqi came to the capital, life was totally different for him. He and Zhai Yaohui were busy with work. They seldom had time for their families. They also had to go on many work trips.
Upon knowing that Qiao Nan was having twins, Zhu Chengqi shouted out in joy, exclaiming that he was going to be a grandfather. He was constantly thinking of buying gifts for Qiao Nan’s babies.
However, he was too busy. Even if he had bought the gifts, he had no time to give it to Qiao Nan. He could only pass them to Lin Yuankang and ask him to hand them to Qiao Nan.
Zhu Chengqi bought gold jewelry for the two babies. The small golden bracelets were beautiful.
The golden bracelets were dazzling. One could imagine how it would look on the chubby hands and legs of the babies, highlighting their fair and tender skin, making them all the more adorable and cute.
Qiao Nan’s heart melted when she touched the golden bracelets. She then touched her tummy, saying, “My babies, these are from Grandpa Zhu. After you are born, you must be filial to him.”
Zhu Chengqi had been taking good care of her since ages ago. Qiao Nan was well-aware of it.
Even though she and Zhu Chengqi did not go through any ceremony to acknowledge their relationship with each other, Zhu Chengqi already treated her as his own daughter.
It would probably be another two more years before Zhu Baoguo would marry and settle down. Qiao Nan, who married at a young age, had received almost all of Zhu Chengqi’s fatherly love.
Fortunately, Zhu Baoguo was not the boy he was back then. He was not as small-minded and did not take issue with Qiao Nan.
In fact, Zhu Baoguo had bought gifts for her children and had already passed them to her. His presents were models made from bullet shells.
Qiao Nan had a headache with the presents that he gave her.
Both Zhai Sheng and Zhai Hua already gave similar presents to the babies. Now, Zhu Baoguo gave them the same presents as well.
If this went on, she would have a lot of model toys that were made from bullet shells.
“How about me? As the master of their mother, am I not good to them?” Lin Yuankang felt displeased. “After the babies are born, you must tell them to play with me.”
The older one was, the more one behaved like children.
Elder Lin was already advanced in years, but he behaved like a child.
Normally, the adults would play with the children, but in the case of Elder Lin, he wanted Qiao Nan’s children to play with him.
“Yes, let’s all have fun.” Zhai Hua felt amused by Lin Yuankang’s words. She tried to appease Lin Yuankang by agreeing with him.
Zhai Hua knew that Lin Yuankang had his influence in the capital.
If her nephews or nieces could ‘play’ with an important figure like Elder Lin since a young age, it would be very beneficial for them. It was better than spending a bomb to send them to kindergarten.
She totally approved of such an arrangement.
Lin Yuankang glanced at Zhai Hua, askance. He was experienced in the workings of the world. He could tell what she was thinking of.
However, this was what he had in mind as well. Therefore, he did not take issue with Zhai Hua. “It is June. In another half a month, you will be sitting for your exams. Given your current condition, is it convenient to go to school?”
Lin Yuankang was very worried for Qiao Nan since she had such a big tummy.
But Zhai Hua had assured him time and again that the doctor had said that the two babies were developing as per normal. If Qiao Nan was pregnant with one child only, it was more likely that the baby would be too large. But in the case of twins, they would usually be lighter than normal.
Qiao Nan’s tummy might be too large, but the babies were doing well.
Since Zhai Hua assured him that the babies were healthy, Lin Yuankang felt slightly at ease. Otherwise, Lin Yuankang would feel like accompanying Qiao Nan to the doctor for her prenatal checkup.
“Master, don’t worry. I usually wear loose-fitting clothes and I rarely spend time at school. Very few students will notice my tummy. Furthermore, now that exams are coming, they will not pay attention to me. It will be alright.” Qiao Nan reassured her master.
Lin Yuankang reached out his hands to give a slight tap on Qiao Nan’s head. He was about to tap her head when he halted. “On account of my grand disciples, I will teach you a lesson a few months later. Will I be worried that other people might notice your tummy? You should be given extra care since your tummy is so large. Now that you keep your pregnancy a secret and there are so many people at school, what will happen if they bump into you?”
Most of the youngsters in school were careless and short-tempered.
His disciple could not afford any bumps or accidents.
“Elder Lin is right!” Zhai Hua nodded in agreement. “Nan Nan, how about you take a leave of absence for a year? Or perhaps you can revise and prepare for your exams at home? At most, you can give the first-prize scholarship a miss.”
