Watching Su Liumeng swing between excitement and dejection, then perk up again in the next moment, I nearly rolled my eyes into a full moon.
Su Liumeng… What’s up with her?
She’s not going crazy, is she?
If she lost her mind, wouldn’t that make me a widow ahead of schedule?
I huffed softly to myself and ignored Su Liumeng’s weird antics. After joking around, I planned to bend down a little and pick up my shoe from the floor.
It was a struggle, and I regretted ever tossing my shoe down there.
Because I really couldn’t bend over; anything that fell to the floor was a big ordeal to pick up, often requiring both time and some tricks.
That’s why every time I put my shoes on, it took ages.
It was also why Su Liumeng often had to wait in the living room for an hour.
Now, holding my shoe, I tried to recline as much as possible on the sofa, stretching my leg up so I could just barely reach my foot without bending.
Baby… Su Liumeng, watching this scene, felt her heart tremble violently, a kind of indescribable ache spreading within her.
Without hesitation, she took the shoe from me. “You… do you always put your shoes on like this?”
“Yep?” I cocked my head at her, puzzled. It was my favorite way to act cute…
I didn’t think acting cute in front of the one you love was shameful.
Maybe my baby was bigger than others, so my belly was larger too. I couldn’t press on it, so I could only do it this way.
Hearing her answer, Su Liumeng was deeply shocked.
She’d never been pregnant herself, so she knew it was tough, but never realized it was this hard.
Seeing her stunned, I laughed. “Relax. Haven’t you noticed? I always wear slip-on shoes, never ones with laces. Because these shoes are different—you can’t just slide your foot in, so it’s a little more trouble…”
Su Liumeng really hadn’t noticed.
A deep sense of guilt welled up in her.
Because…
It was her own request that led her baby to wear shoes with complicated designs.
If putting on shoes was this hard, how did she get her socks on?
Su Liumeng dared not imagine it.
She feared picturing Si Xinyan struggling alone on the bed to pull on her socks—the image almost brought her to tears.
Just changing clothes—how could it possibly take an hour?
There could only be one answer left.
Si Xinyan had spent nearly the whole hour on the bed, laboriously putting on socks and shoes.
“Baby, I…” Su Liumeng was flustered. “I didn’t know… I really didn’t know putting on shoes was so hard for you, and I even asked you to wear white stockings for me.”
Su Liumeng wanted to slap herself on the spot.
How could she be so careless? She’d only just learned about something so important.
What on earth had she been doing?
Even if she wanted to change her baby’s conservative thinking, did she have to rush it? Why pick the third trimester, the hardest time to move?
There wasn’t a trace of blame in my eyes. Instead, I was puzzled by her self-reproach. “I’m not mad at you. It’s just how the third trimester is—if it weren’t for the trouble putting on shoes and socks, why would I be in slippers all the time?”
I’m not some fossil.
I just think feet shouldn’t be touched by others’ hands. Being barefoot isn’t a big deal.
It’s the same as how I wouldn’t touch anyone else’s feet.
The hands I use to eat—how could I use them on feet?
And Su Liumeng, in my eyes, her hands were meant to wield swords and fight enemies—how could I let her touch my feet?
My way of thinking was shaped by the traditional Su family, but blended with modern ideas, so I wasn’t an actual fossil.
Now that my brain was back in gear, I finally understood why Su Liumeng had called me old-fashioned.
She just wanted me to be less conservative, to stop hiding so much from her.
That’s why she used the word “old-fashioned.”
But you know, if she says I’m old-fashioned, I can accept that now.
Seeing myself more clearly, I knew I was a bit traditional—but that didn’t make me some relic. I’d just blended old and new ideas.
Maybe it was my calm tone, but Su Liumeng only felt more heartache.
Things I’d long since gotten used to were things she’d only just learned.
What kind of partner was she…
So irresponsible.
“Baby, let me help you.” Su Liumeng’s voice was very earnest, with no lingering romantic thoughts—only the desire to ease my pain a little.
“Nope.” I snatched my shoe back. “Didn’t I say? The hand you use to fight with swords—how could you touch someone else’s feet? I think that’s really insulting, just like if your friend stuck their foot out and said, ‘Su Liumeng, help me put my shoe on’… Wouldn’t you feel humiliated?”
“In ancient times, Gao Lishi was asked by a famous poet to take off his shoe. It was even written into the histories, remembered forever as an act of humiliation.”
That’s my perspective.
“I don’t think marriage gives anyone the right to demand that of their partner.”
“Having your partner do something degrading, even if it’s out of love, is the thing I can’t accept most.”
“Because you’re my partner, the person I care about and love most, I should respect your dignity even more.”
Su Liumeng looked at the girl in front of her, stunned again, feeling she was glowing.
At that moment, what moved her was not her beauty, but the purity of her heart.
It was a kind of indescribable shock.
Faced with such a pure girl, for the first time, Su Liumeng felt a bit dirty herself, like her own unusual fondness for feet was about to be completely cured.
Su Liumeng quickly changed her tone, a hint of repentance in her voice. “Baby, I was wrong. You’re not old-fashioned at all. In fact, you see things more clearly than anyone. You’re just a bit shy, so you’re a little conservative.”
It’s just that my ideas are too far ahead, so I didn’t understand you right away…
“So you’ve always thought like this.”
Smiling, I raised my small hand and rubbed Su Liumeng’s head. “Don’t say such silly things. Old-fashioned or not, I admit it now. After all, in modern society, hardly anyone holds onto these ideas.”
“No, no.” Su Liumeng corrected seriously, “You can’t call someone a fossil just because most people have lost their sense of propriety. If you can still respect other people’s feelings, you deserve more respect, not less.”
The decay of ritual is a necessary result of progress.
The more open a society gets, the fewer rituals remain. That’s not backwardness; with more freedom, certain rituals naturally fade from daily life.
Old rules aren’t always right—some are just pointless fuss. If even your freedom to dress is restricted, those rules are pointless.
But Si Xinyan could hold onto the good parts, and that left Su Liumeng feeling complicated, as if she were facing a real fairy—she couldn’t even summon a single impure thought.
I didn’t bother correcting her anymore. I just kept gently rubbing her hair.
There was a maternal radiance about me now, strong enough to see with the naked eye. My gentle voice sometimes made Su Liumeng feel disoriented, unable to connect me with the girl I’d been months ago.
“All right, let go.”
“Let me do it myself.”
Su Liumeng’s eyes filled with pain, as if a thousand little blades were slicing at her heart, but under the girl’s gentle gaze, all she could do was put the spotless shoe where I could reach it on the sofa.
“Baby, let a maid help you put it on.”
“Nope.” I flashed my little tiger teeth, rejecting her again. “I’m already married, so I should avoid suspicion with others. How could I let someone else touch a private part of my body? I’m not like those people who don’t even see maids as individuals.”
Even with a million things to say, wanting to care for the girl in front of her, wanting to help her herself, Su Liumeng found the words wouldn’t come. She could only watch as I lay flat on the sofa, using all my flexibility to struggle into my shoes.
Because—
Love is respect.
Respect for someone else’s beliefs, their persistence, their thoughts.
Once I had my shoes on, I spun lightly on the floor, delighted.
As expected, I looked best like this.
After finally dressing up, of course I needed to show it off.
Suddenly, I noticed Su Liumeng’s gaze. After thinking for a moment, I took her hand in mine. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Since I’ve decided to be a mother, I was already prepared to face and overcome all the hardships of pregnancy. That’s what I have to go through, so there’s nothing to feel bad about.”
A faint smile played at my lips, as if it could heal all ills. “No matter what, I’ll bring my baby into this world.”
Su Liumeng’s eyes were complicated. “Baby… you’ve really grown up a lot.”
“You’re already a qualified mother.”
With our hands linked, Su Liumeng gently pulled the girl in for a hug, arms so gentle she barely dared use any strength, as if cradling the most fragile treasure. “But I also hope you’ll tell me about your difficulties… because I’m your partner, Yan. Can you face hardships together with me?”
At that moment—
Su Liumeng suddenly thought of something.
Since Si Xinyan couldn’t bend over at all, how did she trim her nails?
Before she could ask, the girl spoke in a low voice.
“You’ve been talking to me all this time—did you forget your period’s started?”
“It’s already stained your pants. Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“You, honestly, even if you want to chat, you can’t completely ignore how you’re feeling.”
Her gaze was complicated, with a helpless fondness. She slapped a pale pink square packet into Su Liumeng’s palm.
Su Liumeng froze…
Was she being doted on in return?
Turns out, when you truly fall in love with someone, you can’t help but spoil them.