Chapter 57: Time to Show the Baby Bump Part 1

The last day of September was also the final day of military training.

That afternoon, on the sports field, rows of fresh-faced students stood tall and straight in formation.
Thunderous chants echoed through the sky without restraint.

After a full month of training, every student’s energy and spirit had been transformed—there was not a trace of lethargy to be found.

Their skin had taken on a healthy bronze glow, beads of sweat clung to messy bangs, and the freshmen stood proudly, chins raised and chests out, youthful and vibrant, as if embodying the school’s century-old motto the moment they stepped through its gates.

At the highest point of the spectator stand, the principal watched the energetic young faces below, nodding in satisfaction.

“Has the cold poison relapsed recently?”

As a member of the Student Council’s notorious slacker division, I’d managed to snag a seat on the far edge of the stands.

Su Liumeng didn’t bother squeezing into the front row. On the contrary, she looked quite pleased to be sitting in the back with me, holding a parasol over my head.

“No.” Su Liumeng gave a short and blunt answer.

Each time the cold poison acted up, it felt like death itself.

The torment of it was worse than death—an experience she never wanted to repeat. But what could she do? A hint of worry crept into Su Liumeng’s brows.

Everyone else cultivated internal energy, drawing from the ambient spiritual energy in nature. At its core, internal energy was just countless free-floating motes of spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy and yin energy were two sides of the same coin—like the yin and yang of Taiji, fundamentally incompatible, and yet strangely intertwined.

So it wasn’t hard to imagine the devastation that would occur when a cultivator who had trained in spiritual energy since childhood suddenly had their body invaded by the chilling yin force of a thousand-year-old frozen pool.

It would be like throwing water on burning oil.

The fact that Su Liumeng was still alive made her one in a million—a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

What’s more, the poison of that cold pool wasn’t just any ordinary yin energy—it was the gathering of an extremely pure and dense concentration of yin essence, accumulated over a thousand years.

When Su Liumeng was pushed in by Su Yi back then, Su Yi hadn’t even considered the possibility that she might survive. That’s why she hadn’t bothered delivering a final blow.
But against all odds, Su Liumeng had crawled her way back out.

The scene was akin to someone falling into molten lava or an iron furnace heated to thousands of degrees—yet still managing to climb out through sheer force of will.

Without perfect timing, location, and fate on her side, she wouldn’t have made it.

I didn’t miss the sorrow in her eyes. My hand resting at my side quietly curled into a fist. If only there were something I could do to help…

“Baby,” I tried calling out to Si Zhiruo, hoping she might know a way to help.

Su Liumeng looked at me curiously, clearly having heard me. “Who are you calling ‘baby’?”

“None of your business!”

I grew awkward but still held my ground. No way I was going to claim I’d been calling her that.

I went quiet again, staying true to my ‘silence is golden’ policy.

Su Liumeng couldn’t do anything about it. When I didn’t want to speak, even a jackhammer couldn’t pry my mouth open.

She eyed me strangely, her gaze wandering across my face. Why is it so hard to get this girl to talk…?

She had only tried using her tongue once before—and sure enough, it was difficult. She hadn’t even managed to make contact before a small hand had ruthlessly pushed her away.

I lowered my long lashes and stared at a trash bag on the floor. I didn’t even realize that my brainwaves were mysteriously in sync with the girl beside me.

Si Zhiruo didn’t respond. She was probably still sleeping.

I didn’t call out louder. As important as Su Liumeng’s health was, the baby’s development was even more crucial. If she could be born a day earlier, it’d mean one less day of suffering for Su Liumeng.

“Have you decided on a name for the baby yet?” Su Liumeng suddenly asked, though I’d brought up naming the baby long ago.

“Si Zhuangyu,” I replied softly.

There may be thirty days in a month, but a pregnancy month is measured in weeks—four weeks, or 28 days—not quite the same as a regular month.

That’s also why the hospital report uses weeks as the unit, rather than months.

When I had just enrolled in school, probably because of Xinyan’s special constitution, the development had already leapt to over six weeks. After that, though, the pace of development returned to normal.

Now, after a full month, I should be around eleven weeks along.

Through the thin fabric of the camisole, I looked at my slightly rounded belly—no longer flat. Without realizing it, my fingertips had already come to rest there.

“Is this the name you picked?”

“Yeah.”

In another week, I’d be going to the hospital for a check-up, and also to establish the official records. That way, once the baby is born, we can register her right away using the birth certificate and add her to the household registry.

“Once the baby is born, we’ll register this name for her.” I looked away from my belly. Nothing’s showing yet—that’s normal. I just hope that in a few months, this little one won’t be kicking around just to show she exists. That would be a blessing.

“Not bad. It’s a good name. Quite poetic,” Su Liumeng commented.

Is it? I looked up at her.

I always thought it was just average.

Parents never think what they’ve given their child is already the best. They’ll always want to give them better.

At that moment—

A familiar figure appeared among the group below.

Li Mei?

My gaze froze, silently watching her walk forward.

Li Mei seemed to sense something and instinctively looked up at me.

Our eyes met in the air before she quickly lowered her head again.

“Want me to get rid of her?” Su Liumeng asked coldly.

Anyone who affected Si Xinyan’s mood had to disappear from Beiqing completely.

She only had one month left in Beiqing.

Before then, she had to wipe out all unknown variables.

It was only from Su Liumeng’s explanation that I learned the full story of what had happened.

Before Li Mei was dragged away by her mother, it was actually the counselor who called the police.

Li Mei’s mother still clung to those outdated beliefs—saying things like, “I gave birth to her, so everything about her is mine. I can marry her off to whoever I please.” In the end, the police had to intervene so Li Mei could stay.

Since Li Mei was still under eighteen when the incident happened, the counselor decided to give her another chance and see how she behaved at school going forward.

“That’s what the counselor said?”

“Yeah.”

I let out a quiet laugh.

Seeing that I didn’t comment, Su Liumeng wasn’t sure what I was thinking.

“Should I take care of her then?” Su Liumeng asked again.

I glanced at her. “I don’t like her, sure—but if the counselor’s already made their stance clear, what more can I say?”

Her counselor was my counselor too.

We’d both be living at Beiqing for years to come.

As the old saying goes, It’s better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person.

I really hate trouble.

What if the counselor turns out to be the petty type?

It’s not that I’m afraid of them—I just don’t want to deal with the hassle.

If she dares cross me again, I’ll take care of her and the counselor.

Just after mentally spitting out that violent thought, I casually patted my hands and stood from the back row of the stands. “Su Liumeng, let’s go.”

Li Mei’s nothing.

I didn’t crash and burn last time—and now that I’ve got my eyes on her, there’s no way she’ll get one over on me.

I’ve got a baby now. I need to stay calm and collected.

If I get bumped or bruised, I’d just be angry with no real outlet.

“Are you… really sure?” Su Liumeng quickly caught up to the girl who had reached the staircase.

She could tell the girl was unhappy.

“Positive.” I scowled irritably. “Let me guess—you were about to say: ‘With your vengeful personality, no matter who crosses you or how small the matter is, you always go all out to crush them completely,’ right?”

“Isn’t that true?” Su Liumeng asked in surprise.

“You said it yourself—that was the old me.”

I used to be completely alone. Naturally, I was like a honey badger from Africa—always ready to go head-to-head with the world, afraid of no one. But now, I’m not alone anymore.

When Su Liumeng heard my response, she suddenly fell silent.

“Xiaoyan, you’re right.” She was starting to accept the changes in my personality.

“It’s fine.” I patted her on the shoulder.

I know her well—Su Liumeng holds grudges even more than I do. The people of the Su family have wolf blood in their bones. How could they ever be kind-hearted?

“Let’s just consider it as doing good for the baby’s karma.” I chuckled lightly. There was no trace of resentment left on my face. Convincing Su Liumeng was probably also part of convincing myself.

I gave the sports field one last glance. “What if she comes back to mess with you again?” Su Liumeng still didn’t seem fully at ease.

I gave her just one word in response: “Kill.”

Naturally, old and new grudges would all be settled together. This time, at most we drove her out of Beiqing. But if there’s a next time, losing her life might be the least of her concerns.

*****

At that same moment—

In a corner of the field, a figure was watching Li Mei closely.

“President, are you sure you want to increase the difficulty of the first test?”

“I’m sure.” Shangguan Xiyue sneered.

If you can’t meet the excellence threshold…

Heh. She sneered again, her gaze drifting away from the spot where the figure had vanished from the stands. Then she quietly retreated into the shadows.

*****

I lingered in the commercial district. Su Liumeng noticed my hesitation. “Want something to eat?”

“Kind of craving ice cream. Does that count?” I hadn’t forgotten Zhizhi’s obsession. Even though I had no idea how she could taste the food I ate, that didn’t stop me from keeping it in mind.

“Better not.” Su Liumeng, acting like some old nag, practically peeled my feet off the ground and dragged me away from the district’s entrance.

“You have uterine cold. Eating something that icy? Watch out for a miscarriage.”

“Can you stop bringing up my uterine cold all the time?”

“I’m just saying!” I protested weakly. Can’t even let me think about it. Seriously.

“Why do you always treat me like a child? I literally turned eighteen last month. By legal standards, I’m already an adult. You could call me a woman—or if you want to be blunt about it, even a ‘lady’. No matter what word you use, it’s not ‘little girl’. Heck, if I were already married, you could even call me a young wife.”

I was in a pretty good mood today, so the words just kept spilling out.

Su Liumeng suddenly stopped walking and stared at my face.

“Where do you even read this stuff? What nonsense—who even describes themselves as old?”

“What nonsense?” I said, feeling a little guilty. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice the pile of educational books on my bookshelf.

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, just stop treating me like a little girl. I’m raising a baby now. I need to own that role like an adult.”

“With the baby in the picture, I’m technically already a young wife.”

The more Su Liumeng listened, the darker her expression grew—like she was this close to sewing my chattering mouth shut with a needle.

“So now you think you’re worldly, huh?”

She refused to take another step, insisting on shaking the nonsense out of my head and correcting my current worldview. She wasn’t about to let me age myself on purpose.

“You tell me—how old are you, exactly?”

“Eighteen, exactly!” I replied crisply, almost raising my hand like I was answering a question in class.

“Yeah, sure, that’s true. But you also need to look at it realistically. Kids these days study until their twenties. Someone who hasn’t even entered society yet—how mature can they really be? Lots of big college kids go home during break and still don’t do any chores. All they do is whine about wanting to buy this or that new gadget.”