【At the end of the previous chapter, there were some slight modifications; you can go take a look.】
The night in Beiqing was very quiet—so quiet that all I could hear was the soft rustling of the wind.
Individual scattered leaves rolled across the ground, tracing circular patterns before finally stopping at my feet, where I crushed them underfoot.
“I don’t think I’ll feel that cold anymore.”
Suddenly, I stretched out my hands and caught a tiny firefly.
It wasn’t as beautiful as I had imagined. When it fluttered alone, it was far from the poetic image I had dreamt of; its swollen belly even looked somewhat ugly.
A faint tickle spread across my palm.
At last, it spread its wings, glowing faintly with a starlight hue, and slowly flew away from before my eyes.
I watched its departing silhouette, making a firm decision at the same time.
“Suliu Meng probably won’t survive this trial.”
“Baby, I want to go help her.”
“Is that possible?”
“It’s possible, but…” Sizhizhuo watched my expression carefully. After confirming that I hadn’t shown any adverse reaction since leaving the villa, she softly said, “But Suliu Meng is still alive. At least, she’s no longer in life-threatening danger.”
“That’s because your Yin Yuan Thread hasn’t broken, and there’s no sign it will.”
Her voice was still somewhat weak.
Only now did I finally come to terms with it.
Sizhizhuo.
My Baby, she was hurt.
My voice trembled as I asked, “Zhizhi, have you been hiding something from me?”
Whether it was Suliu Meng or my Sizhizhuo, they were the people I cared about most.
If anything happened to either of them, it tore at my heart.
“It just took a lot out of me. I just need to rest for a week, and I’ll be fine,” Sizhizhuo’s answer made me breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t press for details.
Just like most of the time, a mother only wants a reassuring reply from her child—not a relentless interrogation.
“Baby, are you sure nothing else will happen to Suliu Meng?”
“I’m not too sure,” Sizhizhuo answered honestly. “No one can predict what will happen next, but for now, there’s no life-threatening danger.”
She stared blankly ahead, her gaze shifting only for a moment.
Since this was the first time she had used her divine ability, she was still a little inexperienced, and on top of that, she had been too nervous and accidentally exerted too much strength, causing excessive depletion.
But now, she only needed to briefly scan a designated area, which would only delay the developmental progress by one day—a cost she considered acceptable.
Although it was just a glance, Sizhizhuo confirmed that the red Yin Yuan Thread in the void remained thick and robust, with no sudden signs of collapse.
Standing in the darkness of the campus, I clenched my teeth.
More than once, I had been overcome by a strong impulse to go to the Su family’s Trial Land, even feeling the urge to leave the villa right then.
But Sizhizhuo’s current weakness was bringing my reason back.
I was carrying twins now. Even a slight knock or bump could disturb the pregnancy. If I rushed off to the Su family’s Trial Land while Suliu Meng was not in immediate danger, wouldn’t I be needlessly burdening both of them?
Sixin Yan, you’ve grown up now—you can no longer be so reckless.
I recalled the promise Suliu Meng made before leaving.
She swore to me that she would definitely come back.
I should have more faith in her ability.
In the darkness, the girl’s silhouette gradually turned, her back to the night behind her, stepping once more into the bright lights ahead.
At that moment, Aunt Lin, who had been searching the campus for a long time, suddenly spotted the girl under the lamp.
She ran over, gasping for breath, grabbing the girl’s arm and anxiously inspecting her from head to toe, exclaiming, “My little missy, where did you wander off to alone in the middle of the night without telling me? When I heard from others that you were missing, I was nearly frantic trying to find you!”
Hiss—
I lightly pursed my lips, frowning suddenly.
“Sorry, sorry.” Aunt Lin had been too worried just now and hastily let go, leaving a few faint red finger marks on my arm where she had held me.
Skin as smooth as cream, that could squeeze out moisture—now there was solid proof of it.
“It’s nothing. It has nothing to do with you,” I said calmly, staring at the marks on my arm as I hid it back into my sleeve. “It’s just that I’m a bit swollen…” Her grip really hadn’t been strong, and I didn’t want to take it out on anyone without reason.
“Let’s head back.” I looked up at the sky, the night still deep and the stars twinkling far above. “Sorry to have worried you.”
On the way back, Aunt Lin kept glancing at me worriedly. If anything happened to the young miss, how would she explain it to her family?
Once she was certain I was truly fine, Aunt Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I was still worried about Baby’s weakness but found no words of comfort.
After all, she was doing all this for me…
My eyelashes trembled several times, casting delicate shadows over my cheeks. From just now until now, my mood had been far from good, so I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.
The walk back to the villa was long, and my steps were slow. Aunt Lin tried a few times to support me, but I shook my head to refuse. I rubbed my aching waist and stopped in front of a bench to rest for a while.
The night air made the bench a little chilly, but Aunt Lin was quick and pulled out a handkerchief, placing it on the bench’s surface. I glanced down to see a clean white handkerchief, then adjusted my clothes and sat down directly.
“Little Miss, let this old servant rub your shoulders for you.” Aunt Lin didn’t sit down but respectfully stood at my side.
This was a distance where she could react instantly if there was any danger.
“No need.” I shook my head and gently declined.
Sizhizhuo was really too obedient. Even though she was already feeling unwell, she still patiently tried to comfort me. “Mother, don’t be upset because of me. I really have nothing wrong with me. Just resting for a week will be enough for me to recover.”
The body is the source of strength but also a form of constraint. She had not yet been officially born. As the pregnancy entered its midterm and her body grew complete, she would no longer be the Ghost King of the past. Her weak physical form before birth was a limitation.
She knew this temporary weakness would pass. Once she successfully descended into the world, it would be a sensational rise.
Sizhizhuo was already very tired and wanted to fall asleep immediately but still forced herself to speak to her mother. She knew this incident wasn’t over yet.
Tonight, after returning home, the girl would likely struggle to sleep and would need to repeatedly confirm Suliu Meng’s safety before she could rest easy.
Hearing the faint voice in my mind, I suddenly felt a strange mix of emotions. Human hearts are made of flesh; no one can remain unaffected.
She could have quietly developed inside me but instead sacrificed her state time and again. Everything she did was right before my eyes, slowly transforming into an inexplicable guilt deep within me.
What kind of mother is this?
After resting a while longer, I made a decision on the way back. As long as I didn’t have a similar heartache again, I wouldn’t ask Sizhizhuo anything else about Suliu Meng.
You’d better get some rest.
Back at the villa, once Aunt Lin was no longer beside me, I anxiously called out,
“No, I want to stay and chat with Mommy a little longer.” Sizhizhuo’s eyelids were already drooping, her small body leaning against the big tree, her head bobbing up and down as she fought off sleep.
“No!” I said firmly, with an unmistakable decisiveness. “Go to sleep now, understand?”
I was really about to get angry.
Probably my first time playing the strict mother role, Sizhizhuo’s little face froze for several seconds, then she didn’t dare say a word against me—perhaps that’s the innate fear every child has toward their mother.
“Okay, I’ll listen to Mommy.” No sooner had she said this than her head tilted to the side and she fell fast asleep against the tree.
Feeling my body’s state, just as Sizhizhuo could faintly sense my emotions, I could also roughly tell if she had woken. After confirming she was seriously sleeping, I relaxed completely and collapsed onto the big bed.
This day had truly worn me out. Both mentally and physically, the intense pressure made my stomach ache slightly.
I’d never had a menstrual period, so I didn’t know what menstrual cramps felt like. But from what I’d heard in a certain Pregnancy Group, it was probably similar.
There’s a range to be careful of—mild pain is normal, but if it becomes unbearable, a hospital checkup is needed.
After the third month of pregnancy, the body wasn’t so fragile. This should be the relatively stable midterm period. As long as I didn’t recklessly push myself, nothing serious would happen.
The earlier and later stages were the most critical, with early unpleasant reactions and later difficulties moving around, plus emotional stress—these always made things troublesome.
Just as Sizhizhuo had guessed, I lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep, then got up and walked over to the electronic scale.
When my bare feet stepped onto the cold device, the final number made my mood drop sharply.
Ninety-six point five jin.
Am I already this fat?
These days, I mostly wore cotton slippers when going out and rarely bothered with proper shoes. The reason was simple—many boots that used to fit perfectly were now a bit tight.
My personality also had a lazy streak, and since I often didn’t want to think too much, I just chose to wear cute cartoon slippers.
Compared to other ordinary Babies, Sizhizhuo’s development was relatively fast. Although it had only been about eighteen or nineteen weeks, I already felt as if I were in the later stages of pregnancy.
With such a rapid developmental pace, premature contractions were almost inevitable; the only unknown was exactly which week she would be born. Yesterday, Sizhizhuo had even discussed her condition with me and gave a relatively definite time frame.
Assuming September 1st was six and a half weeks, she should be born around the thirty-fifth week.
Unable to sleep, I sat at the table flipping through children’s books. Although these stories were meant for kids, I read them with great interest. But my tightly furrowed brows betrayed my true mood. I often looked up at the window, gazing at the black clouds on the horizon.
My drifting, scattered gaze seemed to have traveled somewhere else, quietly pondering the one who occupied my heart.
The girl’s murmured whisper was especially clear in the darkness,
Under the same moon.
Now that I look up at the sky, does it mean that the distance between us is no longer so far?
Suliu Meng.
What are you doing right now in the Trial Land?
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