Jiang Xiao was also helping with the search.
The corridor was temporarily empty, very quiet.
“Pfft.”
But Jiang Xiao suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?”
Song Qiuyu was confused.
“I’m laughing that now we’re famous, coming here for a pregnancy test report feels like the whole world is watching us.”
Jiang Xiao sighed.
“….”
Song Qiuyu paused her own search, turned her head to look at Jiang Xiao, and suddenly felt guilty. “Sorry, Jiang Xiao.”
“Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
Jiang Xiao looked back at her.
“If it weren’t for my dream…”
Song Qiuyu had known from early on that aiming to become a great director would mean losing some things. The more famous she became, the more privacy she lost. The current level of attention was just a tiny beginning.
From now on, she would always stand in the spotlight, receiving everyone’s gaze, and at the same time, everyone’s scrutiny and judgment.
The closer she got to her dream, the higher the attention would be.
But originally, Jiang Xiao wasn’t part of her world.
It was all because of the mistake she made as a child that she dragged Jiang Xiao into this world of actors and directors.
Before she could finish, her small mouth was covered by Jiang Xiao’s hand.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Jiang Xiao frowned. “You might think I’m being glib, Xi’er, but I have this feeling that even if the way we met changed, we would still become lovers. I would only ever love you.”
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu froze for a moment, then a smile curled at the corners of her mouth, almost lifting to the sky.
“Then what if I hadn’t turned into a girl? Would that still be possible?”
“If I were still a boy too, then it probably wouldn’t.”
Jiang Xiao pinched her delicate cheek. If the girl in front of him weren’t a girl, they’d most likely be brothers for life.
He might even have punched Xi’er in anger, sending her flying to the ground, making her lose her front teeth.
Even though Jiang Xiao didn’t say it out loud, Song Qiuyu faintly sensed a hint of killing intent. She swallowed, timidly scooted a spot to the side.
“?”
Jiang Xiao was taken aback.
Then he saw the girl, curled up in fear, purse her lips, scratch the back of her neck with her little hand, as if she had made some kind of resolution. She decisively moved back, closed her eyes, and offered her face.
“Xi’er, what are you doing?”
Jiang Xiao was even more puzzled.
“I can feel your resentment toward me!”
Song Qiuyu’s brow tightened.
“Resentment? Is there any?”
Jiang Xiao looked at the girl’s slightly chubby face, couldn’t help reaching out to rub and squeeze it a few times.
With an inadvertent glance, he was shocked to find that, from the shadows, several people had already appeared, wearing hats with brims pulled low, holding cameras in their hands. His eyes darkened.
Paparazzi?
“Come on, Jiang Xiao. The bad child personality from ten years ago is logged in. Now you can vent your resentment on ‘him’!”
Song Qiuyu tilted her face up, looking completely like she was calmly facing death.
Jiang Xiao pulled his attention back, laughed lightly. He was no stranger to this side of her. But resentment…
He glanced sideways at the people secretly filming them, thought for a moment, then clenched his big hand into a fist, and abruptly opened it.
Remembering how someone had deliberately stirred things up at the wedding a month ago, but his good performance had turned the tide and gained even more traffic, he suddenly had a bold idea.
Scandals and conflicts between male and female celebrities in this circle should be hot topics for the paparazzi.
Xi’er thought he had resentment, which meant that knot hadn’t been fully untied.
Maybe he could use these people.
Two or three cameras were all aimed at Jiang Xiao, their holders determined to capture the next scene, holding them especially steady.
Then Jiang Xiao’s open hand landed on Song Qiuyu’s left cheek.
With a crisp smack, the sound of the slap suddenly echoed in the hospital corridor.
“?”
Song Qiuyu’s face was turned to the right. A red palm print appeared on her fair cheek, and her beautiful eyes glistened with a watery mist.
She sniffled, looked at Jiang Xiao in disbelief, completely stunned.
Every frame of this scene was precisely captured by the paparazzi. They checked the images on their cameras, a smirk curling on their lips.
Good. This should fetch a nice sum of money.
Since they were doing shady work, they didn’t dare linger. They packed up their cameras, pretended to be passersby, pulled their hat brims down low, and prepared to leave the hospital immediately.
The corridor was quiet.
The watery mist in Song Qiuyu’s eyes was about to form teardrops. She pursed her lips, stared at Jiang Xiao, and said, “Wait, you actually hit me?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Xiao looked calm, not making any excuses.
“That hard?”
Song Qiuyu tilted her head.
“Sorry, the me from ten years ago just logged in too.”
Jiang Xiao frowned.
“?”
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
Just stunned like that, she forgot what she was about to say. Her lips opened but no sound came out.
‘So my feeling just now was right. Even though we’ve been sweet and happy for four years, Jiang Xiao still harbors resentment toward me because of what happened back then?’
Thinking this, she pressed her lips together. This was the resentment she deserved to bear, so there was nothing to argue against.
She really had wronged the Jiang Xiao of ten years ago.
Rather than never clearing the air, letting this “ten-years-ago Jiang Xiao” hit her was fine.
It’s just… it hurts…
“Alright, the main personality is back now, right?”
Jiang Xiao rubbed her reddened left cheek, soothing her.
“Mm.”
The teardrop about to fall from the corner of her eye was gently wiped away by Jiang Xiao’s finger. Song Qiuyu’s eyes caught sight of several figures leaving with strange smiles, and her pupils contracted.
The key point was that those people were holding cameras.
Almost instantly, she had an idea of who they were. “Jiang Xiao, I think there are paparazzi…”
“Mm, I know.”
Seeing Jiang Xiao’s composed expression, Song Qiuyu looked bewildered.
“Don’t worry, everything is still going according to plan.”
After saying this, Jiang Xiao leaned close to her ear and whispered his plan.
Hearing half of it, Song Qiuyu was stunned. The light in her eyes brightened a few degrees, and admiration for Jiang Xiao grew.
‘So he’s using the paparazzi to stir up hype? And then planning to find an opportunity to shoot a short video later, claiming it was all just rehearsal?’
‘What’s up with Haki Xiao? He’s integrating into this circle way too fast.’
‘It’s as if he was born to enter this circle.’
Not long after, the pregnancy test report came out.
Song Qiuyu took the report sheet, didn’t glance at the words on it, closed her eyes tightly, and tilted her face up.
“That nervous?”
Jiang Xiao looked at the report, then at her.
“Mm. It’s the first time in my life seeing something like this!”
Song Qiuyu took a deep breath.
Then, mustering her courage, she opened her eyes, looked at the words on the pregnancy report, blinked a few times, and then looked at the doctor in front of her.
“Is it… pregnant?”
“Yes. And it’s already been one month. Congratulations!”
The doctor said with a smile.
Song Qiuyu’s mind buzzed. After buzzing for a while, she looked at Jiang Xiao, jumped up excitedly toward him, and Jiang Xiao, prepared, caught her steadily.
“Jiang Xiao, I really have it! I really have a child!”
“Mm!”
Looking at his beaming wife, Jiang Xiao nodded firmly.
“Jiang Xiao, do you want a girl or a boy?”
Forgetting the doctor’s presence, Song Qiuyu wrapped her arms around Jiang Xiao’s neck, rubbed her cheek against his, and asked.
“Either is fine. Both boys and girls are adorable!”
Jiang Xiao played along.
But the doctor didn’t play along; he suddenly coughed twice.
At the sound of the cough, Song Qiuyu’s whole body jolted, then seemed to have all her strength drained away. She went limp in Jiang Xiao’s arms, visibly blushing from head to toe.
Her little pink fist thumped her husband’s back twice, and she whispered reproachfully, “Why didn’t you warn me?”
Jiang Xiao’s lips curled up; he said nothing.
“Let me say a few things briefly.”
The doctor looked at their lovey-dovey display with disdain, twirling the pen in his hand. He wasn’t jealous at all—he had a wife too, and a pen she gave him.
“The pregnancy of a gender transformation patient is roughly similar to that of an ordinary girl. However, the chest engorgement will gradually worsen over time. Now that summer is approaching, the weather will get hot. If not handled well, the odor can become quite severe.”
The doctor spoke while writing on the paper, his brow deeply furrowed. “So from now on…”
At this point, he glanced at Jiang Xiao. “You’ll have to work hard to help her as her husband.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Xiao looked like he didn’t understand.