In the early morning, Lin Xinyuan was pulled up by her mother.
“Get up quickly. How can you have breakfast so late?”
Mother Lin finally left the bedroom only after watching her sit up dazedly.
“Oh…”
Lin Xinyuan lifted her eyelids slightly and responded weakly, but she only felt that not only her hands and knees hurt, but her mouth was even more sore.
‘Woo…’
She glanced subconsciously at the rumpled bedding beside her, puffed out her small face, and looked indignant.
‘This guy… He enjoyed himself, but left me feeling terrible…’
But the moment she thought of last night’s scenes, she wanted to cover her face and avoid seeing that someone.
‘Using his hands was bad enough, but I actually… I actually agreed to that…’
‘Woo…’
Even though she had brushed her teeth last night, Lin Xinyuan still felt something weird in her mouth, an indescribable taste.
“Xiaoyuan, aren’t you getting up yet?”
Outside, Mother Lin hadn’t heard the girl getting up and seemed a bit angry.
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan ignored the discomfort in her body and quickly got out of bed.
“I know! I’m up!”
She responded, but as she spoke she couldn’t help coughing once.
Fortunately, it wasn’t very loud. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and a blush quickly spread to the roots of her neck.
Forcing herself to calm down, she patted her cheeks and headed to the washroom.
To be honest, carrying a little one in her belly—although she wasn’t that big yet—made walking somewhat cumbersome.
Perhaps after this period, she was starting to get used to it, and it seemed that pregnancy wasn’t all bad.
‘For example, Aunt… no, Mom often…’
She thought, this should be considered God closing a door for you but also opening a window.
Though it wasn’t much better.
After dawdling through her morning routine, Lin Xinyuan returned to the living room and sat down at the dining table.
Soon, Mother Lin placed a bowl of lean meat soup noodles in front of her.
“Hurry up and eat, careful it’s hot.”
Mother Lin sat down beside her and watched her.
“Ah… this again…”
Lin Xinyuan looked dejected. Every morning it was either porridge or soup noodles.
Bland was one thing, but there were no chili peppers either.
Upon hearing this, Mother Lin shot her a glare, understanding her thoughts.
“I’ll make it for you at noon. Don’t eat chili in the morning, it irritates the stomach.”
Hearing that, Lin Xinyuan pouted and said nothing more, starting to eat without much taste.
Normally, she actually liked soup noodles quite a bit.
But after months of eating them this way, and without any spice, she felt something was missing; it was too bland.
‘Well, with me eating so much spicy food, according to my mom, I’m a “spice boy”… uh… “spice girl”?’
Seeing her daughter’s listless appearance, Mother Lin couldn’t help asking, “Did you sleep very late last night? Why do you look so dejected?”
“Uh…”
Upon hearing this, Lin Xinyuan’s expression instantly turned wrong.
Her already unwilling lip muscles became even weaker, and her face unconsciously reddened again.
She muttered, “No… not at all…”
Noticing the girl’s strange expression, Mother Lin seemed to sense something, but although her mouth opened, she didn’t ask—after all, it was a matter between the young couple.
Still, she helplessly rubbed her daughter’s fluffy little head and reminded her, “From now on… don’t stay up too late, and be careful to keep in check. It’s a special time now, both of you take care.”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan’s originally calm face instantly burned. She let out a soft “eh” and silently bowed her head to eat.
“Sigh, you’re about to become a mother yourself, why are you still acting like a child…”
Mother Lin couldn’t help shaking her head and sighing, but there was no blame in it.
“Woo…”
Lin Xinyuan was extremely embarrassed and lowered her face even more awkwardly.
…..
Soon it was February, and the New Year arrived.
As in previous years, she and Qin Nanfeng first went to visit Yi Jie and Ming Shu.
Yi Jie and Ming Shu had somewhat treated Qin Nanfeng like their own child, and when they learned Lin Xinyuan was pregnant, they were naturally delighted.
After having dinner with the two elders, the Qin family returned to Quancheng together for New Year’s Eve the next day.
But this year was different: one person was missing from the Qin family’s New Year’s Eve dinner—Qin Qingge.
Qin Qingge was already over thirty, and she had finally decided to marry Cheng Qian this year, with the date set for September.
So this year, Qin Qingge planned to have New Year’s Eve dinner at the Cheng family’s and return to Quancheng after the New Year.
After the meal, the family didn’t dare let Lin Xinyuan help and told her to go back to the room and sit.
Although she was a little embarrassed, she understood her situation and had grown used to it.
On New Year’s Eve, the family’s discussion was no longer about other things but about the unborn child—mainly future plans.
Lin Xinyuan nestled in the man’s arms, listening quietly.
The saying “sour for a son, spicy for a daughter” had no scientific basis but still had some credence, so the elders thought the baby in her belly was likely a girl.
They kept talking about how to raise the child—whether to learn piano or something.
But Lin Xinyuan didn’t care about that. Her only wish was for her child to be happy.
At least… not like she had been before.
Having experienced those misfortunes, she wouldn’t let the little one suffer them.
So she wanted to become a qualified parent.
A… mother.
As she listened, Lin Xinyuan gradually grew drowsy. Her body was already uncomfortable, and since becoming pregnant, she got sleepy more easily.
In the end, she fell asleep in Qin Nanfeng’s arms.
Seeing this, the others immediately quieted down. Grandpa Qin waved at his grandson, signaling him to carry the girl back to the room to rest.
In the following two days, Qin Qingge finally returned, and Cheng Qian also came over, mainly to visit Grandpa Qin and the others.
During that time, Lin Xinyuan also met Grandpa Xiao, who had come to play chess with Grandpa Qin.
Grandpa Xiao had clearly heard about it long ago; when he saw Lin Xinyuan’s belly, he wasn’t surprised but rather quite gratified.
After bidding farewell to the Qin family, Lin Xinyuan and the man returned to Zhanzhou City to reunite with her maternal grandfather and the others.
But when she appeared before the Tang family with her slightly visible belly, she still felt awkward and shy.
Especially Tang Yaxun, who especially liked to crowd around her, touch her belly, and babble all sorts of nonsense.
“Little Xiaoyuan, are you a boy or a girl? Come on, tell your little aunt quickly—let your aunt be happy!”
“Little Xiaoyuan, do you like Ultraman, or Kamen Rider? Or this Yanlong Xia right here?”
“Hey, I guess you must like Robinson, right?”
“…”
Listening to her younger female cousin’s nonsense, Lin Xinyuan was speechless, and the others were amused.
But they understood—Tang Yaxun had always been the youngest in the family, so knowing she was no longer the lowest was definitely exciting.
Even though Lin Xinyuan felt embarrassed—after all, her former identity had completely disappeared, leaving only her current female self—and she had even nearly given birth to a child for that Yellow-Haired Brat.
Among acquaintances who knew her past, she was somewhat uneasy.
But regardless, the atmosphere with her maternal grandfather and the others became even more lively and full of New Year’s flavor because of the little one in Lin Xinyuan’s belly—which was a good thing.
On the fifth day of the New Year, as usual, the two went to Da Yeye’s house for the Nianli meal, but this year Mother Lin chose not to go.
Like the other elders, both Lin Cousin Lin Xinyu and Yi Jie were curious about Lin Xinyuan’s belly.
Da Yeye couldn’t help asking a few extra questions, obviously quite concerned about Lin Xinyuan’s child.
It wasn’t for any other reason—only because this child was Lin Xinyuan’s offspring and also the last remaining descendant of Da Yeye’s younger brother’s eldest son.
As for Lin Chongshan, he still hadn’t returned this year, but the girl didn’t mind.
She is very happy now.