novelraw Chapter 194 What do they play?
Chapter 194 What do they play?
Jin Qiqi's straw fell to the ground. Her mouth was agape, her eyes wide as bells, and she seemed to have been frozen in place.
"What?!" Her voice rose eight octaves, startling Yinuo so much that she dropped her spoon. Lu Xiran grabbed her hand, thankfully they were in a private room, "You scared Yinuo."
Jin Qiqi covered her mouth, her eyes still wide open, moving from Lu Xiran's face to her stomach, then back to her face, looking at her repeatedly until her eyes suddenly reddened.
"Really?" Her voice was muffled in her palm, trembling slightly.
Lu Xiran nodded.
Jin Qiqi hugged her tightly, so tightly that Yinuo shouted from the side, "Mom is crushing Godmother!" before she let go, tears already streaming down her face. "Ranran...that's great...that's really great..." She cried even harder than Lu Xiran, while Yinuo watched blankly from the side, at a loss for what to do.
"Mom, cry." He reached out his little hand to wipe Jin Qiqi's tears.
"Mom is happy." Jin Qiqi sniffed, then laughed, pulled Yinuo over, and the three of them hugged each other.
"I'm going to be a godmother! No, I've been a godmother for a long time! I'm going to be—I'm going to be what?" She was rambling incoherently, confusing herself.
Lu Xiran was amused by her, and laughed until tears came out.
They talked for a long time. Starting with what to name the child, Jin Qiqi listed a long list, from "Gu Muran" to "Gu Nianran," each one inextricably linked to Lu Xiran's name. Lu Xiran said it was too obvious, but Jin Qiqi insisted it had to be obvious, to show his father that this child was something he had begged for his entire life.
They then discussed how to decorate the nursery. Jin Qiqi said she wanted pink, while Lu Xiran said they didn't know the gender yet. Jin Qiqi suggested half pink and half blue, with a rainbow painted in the middle. Lu Xiran said it was too flashy, but Jin Qiqi said, "So what if it's flashy? Flashy is what makes it pretty. When I decorated Yinuo's nursery, Yan Xu said it looked like a playground. I said, 'So what if it's a playground? As long as the child likes it, that's fine.'"
Yinuo was playing with building blocks nearby, building a crooked tower that collapsed, then he built another one, which collapsed again. He pouted, on the verge of tears. Lu Xiran quickly helped him stabilize the last block, and the tower stood firm. He smiled again, his eyes curving into two crescent moons.
"Godmother, will my little brother also build with blocks in the future?" he asked, looking up at his mother.
Lu Xiran was taken aback. "Who told you about your little brother?"
Yinuo tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Mom said so. Mom said that godmother has a little brother in her belly, and he'll play with Yinuo in the future."
Jin Qiqi blushed and quickly covered his mouth. "Yinuo, don't talk nonsense!" Yinuo protested whimperingly. She let go, and he shouted again, "It's true! Godmother has a little brother in her tummy!"
Lu Xiran smiled, a smile both helpless and sweet. She placed her hand on her lower abdomen, gently, as if protecting something. Jin Qiqi, seeing this gesture, felt her eyes redden again, quickly lowering her head to drink her milk tea, swallowing back her tears.
In the evening, Jin Qiqi led Yinuo home.
As soon as Lu Xiran stepped out of the store, Gu Yanshen appeared.
Lu Xiran didn't say anything, but she still got into Gu Yanshen's car.
Yinuo had fallen asleep in the car, his little face flushed, still clutching half a cookie in his hand. Jin Qiqi took him out of the car seat, he squirmed a little, then fell into a deep sleep again. She carried him inside, moving very quietly.
Lian Bichen came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and carrying a bowl of freshly made soup. Seeing them, she smiled, placed the soup on the table, and took it from Yi Nuo. "Did you have fun?" she asked softly, afraid of waking the child.
"Happy." Jin Qiqi replied casually as she changed her shoes.
Lian Bichen placed Yi Nuo on the sofa and covered him with a small blanket. The little guy rolled over, mumbled something, and went back to sleep. Lian Bichen sat beside him, watching his sleeping face, and gently stroked his forehead, her touch as tender as a spring breeze in March.
"Was Yinuo a good girl today?" she asked.
"Good boy." Jin Qiqi went into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, "He just drank a strawberry milkshake and got it all over himself. I changed his clothes twice."
Lian Bichen laughed. "Kids are all like that. Yan Xu was like that when he was little too, he could drink juice all the way up to the ceiling."
Jin Qiqi came out carrying a water glass, leaned against the door frame, and watched her mother-in-law teasing Yinuo's back. Lian Bichen was bending down to tuck a blanket into him, her profile appearing particularly gentle in the lamplight.
"Mom, didn't you have plans today? Why are you home so early?"
"Something came up, so we'll reschedule for another day." Lian Bichen looked up and smiled. "Perfect timing, I made you some soup. Drink it when you wake up." She stood up, walked back to the kitchen, put the soup on the stove, and turned on a low flame.
"Yinuo, what did you do with your godmother today?" she asked casually, stirring the soup as if she were just talking about the weather.
Yinuo rolled over, rubbed his eyes, and sat up groggily. "Playing with building blocks!" his voice was still hoarse from just waking up. "My godmother built such a tall castle!"
"Anything else?" Lian Bichen turned her head, smiling at him. "Did your godmother buy you anything delicious?"
"I bought a cake! A strawberry one!" Yinuo's eyes lit up, her little face flushed with excitement. "Godmother said that when my little brother comes out, I'll buy him one too."
Lian Bichen's fingers paused for a moment. Just a moment, so quick it was almost imperceptible. She lowered her head, placed the soup spoon on the shelf, wiped her hands, walked to the sofa, sat down, and pulled Yi Nuo onto her lap.
"Little brother? What little brother?" she asked with a smile, her voice very soft, as if she were playing a fun game with a child.
Yinuo tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said in a childish voice, "It's the little brother in my godmother's tummy. Mom said that my godmother is going to give birth to a little brother for me, so he can play with building blocks with me, go down the slide with me, and—" He counted on his fingers, but forgot when he got to the third one, and his face turned red with anxiety.
Jin Qiqi almost dropped the water glass in her hand. She suddenly looked up at her mother-in-law.
Lian Bichen had her back to her, so her expression was not visible. All she could see was that she was looking down at Yi Nuo.
"Yinuo is such a good boy." Lian Bichen's voice was still gentle. She kissed Yinuo's cheek and hugged him. "Grandma loves Yinuo the most."
Jin Qiqi stood there, watching her mother-in-law's back, watching the hands resting on Yi Nuo's shoulders, watching that impeccably gentle demeanor, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but a chill ran down her spine, as if something unseen was slowly creeping up from the shadows.
"Mom—" she began.
Lian Bichen turned her head to look at her, her smile unchanged. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing." Jin Qiqi put the water glass on the coffee table, her fingers still trembling slightly. "I...I'll go tidy up Yinuo's toys."
She didn't know why she was panicking.