Every student in the class could hear his voice. There were quite a few students who immediately turned to look at the Mandarin school representative.
It was not surprising that everyone had thought that Mo Jinxi was transferring because of this recent boycott.
Primary school students would often ruffle each other’s feathers, and not everyone would get along. Even though it was common for classmates to get into arguments and face some kind of backlash for it, no one really wanted someone to be forced into transferring because of their boycott.
For a brief moment, the students in class regretted their actions.
The girl sharing a table with Mo Jinxi looked like she was about to cry. “Jinxi, are you… are yiy transferring because of us? We won’t do it again. I… I know you’re a good student. I’m sorry, please don’t leave, okay?”
“That’s right, Jinxi. We won’t bully you again. We were wrong. You were the one that helped me go to the school clinic when I scraped my knee in Physical Education class last time out. Jinxi, don’t leave,” a student hurriedly said from the back of the class.
“Jinxi, are you angry at us?” A student who was sitting in the front asked him.
“I’m not. It’s just that my biological family found me and I’m moving in with them. They want me to transfer schools,” Mo Jinxi shook his head in response.
“Why? Can’t you choose not to leave?” Another student asked.
Another student at the front said, “Jinxi, you helped me take notes when I was too sick to come to school. It was so detailed too. Jinxi, don’t leave, please?”
Mo Jinxi shook his head. “Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not transferring because of all of you. I’m serious. We are classmates, and there’s nothing for us to bear grudges about. My family does not know what happened in school, they’re just transferring me for the sake of a better education.”
With that, he picked up his school bag and walked toward the door.
After this, the headmaster and class teacher walked to the front of the room and stopped Mo Jinxi.
The headmaster got everyone to be quiet and said, “Mo Jinxi will not come to class from tomorrow onward. His family has transferred him to Jixia Academy.”
Even primary school students were aware of what a good school Jixia Academy was.
To them, Jixia Academy was a dream school that everyone aimed for, much like how students would try their best to get into University A and B University. Students who did not come from an influential family had to try to get into Jixia Academy through their own hard work and abilities, but this was almost always worth it. After all, students who got in this way were guaranteed to gain admission into University A and B University.
In their eyes, it seemed like an impossible place to get into.
The Mandarin class representative was so shocked that her mouth was left hanging open. Mo Jinxi pursed his lips slightly before saying, “Even though I’m transferring, we can still keep in contact. I will miss everyone.”
The children felt sad about a classmate whom they had spent so much time together with leaving. Some of the more emotional ones even cried.
The atmosphere was filled with sadness, and once one student started crying, the whole class began to cry as well.
In the end, Mo Jinxi had to be taken away by Liang Xiulin amidst all the crying children.
Once they got into the car and left the familiarity of the school compound, Mo Jinxi started to feel sad as well. At the same time, he was also feeling anxious about his new environment.
Liang Xiulin told Mo Jinxi that he would be taken to Jixia Academy tomorrow to familiarize himself with the environment.
“Grandma, which class am I transferring to? Can I be in the same class as Ningbai? I won’t know anyone in the new school so I will feel better if I was in the same class as Ningbai,” said Mo Jinxi.
“Don’t worry, we’ve already made all the necessary arrangements. You’ll be in the same class as Yan Ningbai,” Liang Xiulin smiled as she ruffled Mo Jinxi’s hair.
Mo Jinxi finally gave a smile of relief.
…
The next day, Yan Beicheng received a call from Mo Jingsheng. Mo Jingsheng informed him that Liang Xiulin had brought Mo Jinxi to look around Jixia Academy. His class had already been decided too, and he would be in the same class as Yan Ningbai.
When Yan Beicheng told Lin Chu about this, Lin Chu nodded. “Mo Jingsheng is really reliable when it comes to handling these sorts of things.”
She guessed that Liang Xiulin had no intention of telling them about this, but Mo Jingsheng was understanding enough to update them about Mo Jinxi’s situation.
“I should let the old principal know about this,” said Lin Chu. A moment later, she gave the orphanage a call and informed the old principal about the news.
The old principal was happy that Mo Jinxi could go to a better school, even more so since it was a school that the orphanage would not have been able to get him into. At the same time, she felt sad that she needed to find out about this from Lin Chu. She sighed to herself.
“Mo Jingsheng invited us to the Mo family house tonight for dinner as tomorrow Mo Jinxi will officially be starting school. Yan Huaian’s family has been invited too because Yan Ningbai is the only person Mo Jinxi knows in Jixia Academy; not to mention, the two of them will be in the same class. Madam Mo would like Yan Ningbai to take care of Mo Jinxi as well. Because of this, we’ll be going over tonight to celebrate with Mo Jinxi and give him some encouragement so he won’t feel so nervous,” Yan Beicheng said as he helped Lin Chu fill up half a bowl of soup.
Lin Chu wanted to invite the old principal but swallowed her words at the last minute. She decided not to say anything as Mo Jingsheng had not mentioned the old principal. It would not be nice to bring the old principal if they had not said anything about her. After all, the Mo family were the hosts.
Besides, judging by Liang Xiulin’s attitude, she would not treat the old principal too fondly if she were to suddenly appear. Liang Xiulin might say something that would make the situation awkward and cause Mo Jinxi to feel bad. This would only serve to burden him instead of helping him relax the night before school.
Thus, Lin Chu could only bite her tongue.
After finishing work in the afternoon, Yan Beicheng drove Lin Chu to the Mo family house.
When they got to the entrance, they bumped into Yan Huaian and his family who had arrived only four to five minutes earlier.
Liang Xiulin had taken Mo Jinxi around Jixia Academy today where he got to see Yan Ningbai for a very short while before returning home.
He had a very free day as he did not need to go to school today. Thus, he had taken out a little bench that Liang Xiulin had bought for him before seating himself right at the corner of the living room and staring out the French window. He sat there like a wax figure while he looking out, totally unmoving.
Liang Xiulin brought out a tray of sliced watermelon and saw Mo Jinxi sitting in front of the window. She said, “Jinxi, come over here and have some fruit. They will be here soon, don’t worry.”
Mo Jinxi had sat there for a long time. He seemed to be in low spirits and you had to wonder if it was simply due to the unfamiliar surroundings.
When he was in the orphanage, there were many children and the atmosphere was always cheerful and loud. As a result, Mo Jinxi never had to worry about finding a playmate.
He did not know anyone here and he was the only child in the house. Furthermore, Liang Xiulin did not allow him to do anything, so Mo Jinxi was feeling very listless.
Mo Jinxi answered ‘okay’ but did not get up. When he saw a familiar car stop at the entrance, Mo Jinxi’s face immediately brightened.
“Chu Chu and the others are here!” Mo Jinxi called out happily as he stood up to run outside.
“Slow down and stop running. It’s not nice to look so uncouth,” Liang Xiulin called out from behind him.
However, Mo Jinxi had already rushed out.
Liang Xiulin shook her head and turned to the young woman sitting on the sofa. “Children these days are a little playful. It does not help that he had been staying in the orphanage all this while and was not brought up well. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and have decided to start educating him properly from now on.”
“Orphanages often do not have the best conditions. He is a child of the Mo family and should be properly educated, especially since it’s not too late to start now. With Uncle and Cousin around, Jinxi will grow up to be a fine young man. Jinxi looks like an obedient and polite child. His demeanor is that of a Mo family man, so you don’t need to feel too anxious about him,” replied the young woman.
Liang Xiulin might have been complaining about him, but she was not willing to listen to others say anything bad about Mo Jinxi. When she heard her niece praise Mo Jinxi, she smiled happily.
“That’s right. Jinxi is a very obedient boy,” Liang Xiulin smiled as she said.
Mo Jinxi flew into the garden where he could not see anybody but Lin Chu. He shouted loudly as he ran toward her, “Chu Chu!”.
Yan Beicheng saw the speed at which he was running and immediately stood in front of Lin Chu to protect her by blocking Mo Jinxi’s path. Then, he reached out to grab Mo Jinxi by the collar. It made Mo Jinxi look like a tortoise as his four limbs fumbled pathetically in the air.
“Did you forget that Chu Chu is pregnant?” Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrow.
“I was too excited,” Mo Jinxi’s neck shrank back as he gave Yan Beicheng a rare smile in an attempt to get into his good books.
Yan Beicheng grunted as he put Mo Jinxi down. Then, Mo Jinxi walked past Yan Beicheng to hug Lin Chu’s big belly. “Chu Chu, I’ve missed you.”
Lin Chu smiled as she lightly flicked him on the forehead. “It’s only been a few days. You never missed me this much when I only visited the orphanage once every one or two weeks.”
Mo Jinxi’s forehead became a little red from the flick. He rubbed his forehead on her belly and replied, “It’s because I’m the only one at home now.”
It was incredibly boring to stay home today. He got through the day by reminiscing about his life back in the orphanage, when he had lots of fun with the other children.
“Jinxi! How could you not see me? That hurts!” Yan Ningbai ran over like a little beachball ball with his schoolbag still on him.
Mo Jinxi’s face brightened when he saw Yan Ningbai. He let go of Lin Chu and ran toward Yan NIngbai before giving him a big hug.
Yan Ningbai was taken aback. “Yikes! Jinxi, you’re being too friendly today!”
Mo Jinxi was initially overexcited, but immediately released his hug when he heard Yan Ningbai’s comment. He blushed as he turned his head away. “It’s not… It’s not that I’m so happy to see you, it’s just that I had no one to play with!”
This did not bother Yan Ningbai at all. He was used to Mo Jinxi’s occasionally prideful ways. Thus, he shrugged and led Mo Jinxi back to the house. “We can play together every day once you start school tomorrow.”
The two children went into the house while Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng walked in behind them.
They could hear Yan Ningbai chattering away, but then he suddenly stopped talking. The next moment, they heard Mo Jinxi say, “This is my Aunt.”
Then, they heard Yan Ningbai call out politely, “Hi, Auntie.”
Lin Chu heard a gentle, female voice reply, “Hello.”
Lin Chu spotted Mo Jinxi’s aunt when she and Yan Beicheng entered the house. Lin Chu paused upon seeing her. The woman looked familiar.
The woman was already smiling at her. “What a coincidence. It’s you.”
Lin Chu did not react. Her memory was not that great now, and even her personality was not the same as it was before she got pregnant. There were times when she had thought about her personality before pregnancy and could hardly believe that was how she used to be – it felt like she was a completely different person than before.
Even when she was being stubborn with Yan Beicheng, she was well-aware of how she was sometimes a little over the top, which was very unlike her. She would never act this way before she got pregnant, but her personality had changed just like her palette.
In the past, there were dishes that she never liked, to the point of being nauseated of them; but now, she loved having them.
Some say that pregnant women cannot stand fishy smells, but this did not seem to apply to her. Before she was pregnant, she hated having fish, which of course, did not include raw sashimi. She mainly did not like cooked fish, regardless of if it was steamed, fried or boiled into soup. It was something that she disliked strongly, and no amount of spices was enough to cover the fishy smell.
Even after getting pregnant, especially when she had morning sickness, she could not stand the smell of fish. However, now, in the middle of her pregnancy period, she had begun to fall in love with fish dishes. She wanted to have fish for every meal and enjoyed regardless of the way it was prepared. This was something she had never imagined happening.
Fish was a very nutritious food. Other pregnant women may not like it, but Lin Chu could not have enough of it. Old Lady Yan was happy about this, and Aunt Zhuang would make different fish dishes for her every day. Aunt Zhuang also enjoyed making the dishes, often commenting that very fish was nutritious for Lin Chu.
Even so, her palette was not the only thing that had changed, even her personality changed after pregnancy. Lin Chu was slightly depressed about this. Even she sometimes could not stand her own personality after getting pregnant. She honestly felt bad for Yan Beicheng, who surprisingly did not show even the slightest hint of annoyance or displeasure. He was always very patient toward her.
However, Yan Beicheng giving in to her did not mean that she should continue acting this way. When Yan Beicheng accompanied Lin Chu for her check-up, Lin Chu confided to the doctor about her situation despite her embarrassment.
She did not expect the doctor to smile and reply, “It’s nothing serious. It’s not strange for your personality to change after getting pregnant. It’s quite a common occurrence.”
Lin Chu said worriedly, “But I’ve seen a few of my friends when they were pregnant, and they weren’t like me at all.”
“You don’t hang out with your friends every single day, so how would you know how they behaved during their pregnancy?” The doctor smiled in response.
Lin Chu thought about it. When she had been discussing pregnancy with Fang Jiaran, Song Yu, and Ruan Chendan, Lin Chu would ask them questions about things she did not understand as all three of them had already gone through this. She really had no idea how they behaved when they were pregnant.
“Take my younger sister for example. She had just given birth this year and had just thrown a full moon party for the baby. She would kick my brother-in-law off the bed at 2.30 am in the morning demanding to have some pig trotters. How was he supposed to find pig trotters in the middle of the night? There were some in the fridge, but by the time he finished cooking it, it would be sunrise. He could not even reason with her as all my sister did was cry and shout at him, claiming that my brother-in-law no longer loved her. She cried so terribly and loudly that her neighbors downstairs came knocking on their door.
“Thus, my brother-in-law had no choice but to speed to one of those late-night barbeque stalls which often served food for supper. He was lucky that it was summertime and he was able to find one of the stalls. If it happened now, you wouldn’t find any of them still open at that hour in B City. So, he eventually managed to bring some grilled pig trotters home, which my sister was so happy to have. When she told my mum about the story, even my mum scolded her for acting out.
“Most pregnant women are not able to control their emotions and there’s not much they can do about it. I’m a doctor, so I’m aware of these situations. I’ve shared lots of examples with my brother-in-law because I was worried that one day, he would not be able to take it and end up fighting with my sister. It is quite a blow to pregnant women when such a thing happens. Different people react differently to their pregnancy. Some don’t suffer too much when it comes to morning sickness while others don’t even experience it. Then there are others still who downright suffer from the daily morning sickness. Apparently, they could even taste the metal of the machine used to cut the noodles in the food they are. Those who haven’t experienced pregnancy often struggle to understand this. They simply assume that pregnant women are being too much, but we, on the other hand, are more emphatic because we have been pregnant before.
“It’s exactly the same case with you. You are aware that your temper comes and goes easily. You will even lose your temper over minor things and find yourself devoid of the logic and judgment that you possessed before the pregnancy, but you will have no control over it and will struggle to tone down your temper. Just like my sister, who wasn’t being difficult on purpose. Before she got pregnant, she was really an all-round good wife. My brother-in-law did nothing at home while my sister did all the laundry, cooking and housework. My brother-in-law was such a bum that he might as well have stayed in bed and waited for my sister to feed him. I previously did not like the idea of my sister pampering him so much, but can you imagine that during her pregnancy, she became someone who cried and wailed over my brother-in-law not going out to get her pig trotters in the middle of the night. She even shouting at him that he no longer loved her and insisted on a divorce!
“There is another example of a pregnant woman who seemed fine for the first four months of the pregnancy. There was no morning sickness and her temper was just as stable as before. However, during the fifth month of her pregnancy, she started becoming highly emotional and suspicious. Every little thing seemed off to her and she would casually fly into a rage, often suspecting her husband of cheating on her. Once, her husband had come home late after entertaining clients, during which he had had a drink or two. She immediately latched on to him and demanded to know who he was with that night and what he did. After interrogating him, she called each and every person who had drank with him and only felt better once she had determined that there had been no woman with him. During this period, they nearly got a divorce. Once the child was born, she felt incredulous about what she had done during her pregnancy as it had all been like a dream to her. If she hadn’t experienced it herself, she would not have believed that she would do such a thing. Even though she did not consider herself to be a career-oriented woman, she does have her own career and is an independent person. What she had done during her pregnancy was behaviour that she herself had always looked down on.”
Lin Chu listened with her mouth agape. “Is that true?”
The doctor replied, “Yes, it is. So, don’t worry about it as it will not affect you too much. Of course, you have to pay attention to any signs of post-partum depression and will need the extra care and understanding of your family. You might even need them to talk to you about it. Also, if you feel that the situation is getting out of hand, you can find yourself a psychologist to talk to.”
Lin Chu nodded but never ended up resorting to a psychologist. She already felt much better after listening to the doctor.
…
Now that she was looking at this strange, young woman, Lin Chu did not immediately recognize her and felt embarrassed about this.
She was about to apologize when an image flashed through her mind.
Lin Chu suddenly looked at the woman in realization. “Oh, it’s you!”
Lin Chu smiled and held her hand gratefully. “I’m so sorry. My memory has become quite bad. I couldn’t recognize you just now, but thank you for helping me back at Sheng Yue. I didn’t even get the chance to thank you properly.”
The woman smiled gently. “Didn’t you thank me the last time out? I had not expected to see you again today. It looks like our fate really is intertwined.”
“Yes, I really didn’t expect it either. May I know, you are…” Lin Chu was grateful to her from the bottom of her heart.
“Oh, that’s so rude of me. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Liang Wenyin. Madam Mo is my aunt,” the woman replied as she let Lin Chu hold her hand in a friendly manner. She snuck a glance at Yan Beicheng, who was behind Lin Chu.
Lin Chu realized that this was why Mo Jinxi had referred to her as auntie.
“Wenyin studied painting at Italy’s Florence Academy of Fine Arts, and was hired by Z University after graduating and returning to the country. Not long ago, the dean from B City’s Academy of Fine Arts personally visited Z City to persuade her to lecture at their academy instead. You may not have heard of Wenyin’s Mandarin name, but you would surely have heard of the name Vivian before. She’s known as The Muse to many painters in the industry. She will be holding an exhibition in B City next week,” Liang Xiulin was filled with pride while introducing her niece.
Lin Chu was not a fan of art and did not have much artistic talent. Thus, she was not aware of the name Vivian at all.
However, since Liang Xiulin had mentioned it, she would definitely make an effort to visit the exhibition. Therefore, Lin Chu pretended to recognize Liang Wenyin’s name. “Oh, so you are the famous painter!”
Liang Wenyin gave a gentle laugh. “I’m not a famous painter. It’s just that the industry has been kind enough to grant a young person like me an opportunity. There’s nothing to that moniker.”
Everyone laughed and chatted while they moved to the middle of the house. Liang Wenyin’s every movement carried a touch of artistic charisma, and she was particularly elegant.
Every student in the class could hear his voice. There were quite a few students who immediately turned to look at the Mandarin school representative.
It was not surprising that everyone had thought that Mo Jinxi was transferring because of this recent boycott.
Primary school students would often ruffle each other’s feathers, and not everyone would get along. Even though it was common for classmates to get into arguments and face some kind of backlash for it, no one really wanted someone to be forced into transferring because of their boycott.
For a brief moment, the students in class regretted their actions.
The girl sharing a table with Mo Jinxi looked like she was about to cry. “Jinxi, are you… are yiy transferring because of us? We won’t do it again. I… I know you’re a good student. I’m sorry, please don’t leave, okay?”
“That’s right, Jinxi. We won’t bully you again. We were wrong. You were the one that helped me go to the school clinic when I scraped my knee in Physical Education class last time out. Jinxi, don’t leave,” a student hurriedly said from the back of the class.
“Jinxi, are you angry at us?” A student who was sitting in the front asked him.
“I’m not. It’s just that my biological family found me and I’m moving in with them. They want me to transfer schools,” Mo Jinxi shook his head in response.
“Why? Can’t you choose not to leave?” Another student asked.
Another student at the front said, “Jinxi, you helped me take notes when I was too sick to come to school. It was so detailed too. Jinxi, don’t leave, please?”
Mo Jinxi shook his head. “Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not transferring because of all of you. I’m serious. We are classmates, and there’s nothing for us to bear grudges about. My family does not know what happened in school, they’re just transferring me for the sake of a better education.”
With that, he picked up his school bag and walked toward the door.
After this, the headmaster and class teacher walked to the front of the room and stopped Mo Jinxi.
The headmaster got everyone to be quiet and said, “Mo Jinxi will not come to class from tomorrow onward. His family has transferred him to Jixia Academy.”
Even primary school students were aware of what a good school Jixia Academy was.
To them, Jixia Academy was a dream school that everyone aimed for, much like how students would try their best to get into University A and B University. Students who did not come from an influential family had to try to get into Jixia Academy through their own hard work and abilities, but this was almost always worth it. After all, students who got in this way were guaranteed to gain admission into University A and B University.
In their eyes, it seemed like an impossible place to get into.
The Mandarin class representative was so shocked that her mouth was left hanging open. Mo Jinxi pursed his lips slightly before saying, “Even though I’m transferring, we can still keep in contact. I will miss everyone.”
The children felt sad about a classmate whom they had spent so much time together with leaving. Some of the more emotional ones even cried.
The atmosphere was filled with sadness, and once one student started crying, the whole class began to cry as well.
In the end, Mo Jinxi had to be taken away by Liang Xiulin amidst all the crying children.
Once they got into the car and left the familiarity of the school compound, Mo Jinxi started to feel sad as well. At the same time, he was also feeling anxious about his new environment.
Liang Xiulin told Mo Jinxi that he would be taken to Jixia Academy tomorrow to familiarize himself with the environment.
“Grandma, which class am I transferring to? Can I be in the same class as Ningbai? I won’t know anyone in the new school so I will feel better if I was in the same class as Ningbai,” said Mo Jinxi.
“Don’t worry, we’ve already made all the necessary arrangements. You’ll be in the same class as Yan Ningbai,” Liang Xiulin smiled as she ruffled Mo Jinxi’s hair.
Mo Jinxi finally gave a smile of relief.
…
The next day, Yan Beicheng received a call from Mo Jingsheng. Mo Jingsheng informed him that Liang Xiulin had brought Mo Jinxi to look around Jixia Academy. His class had already been decided too, and he would be in the same class as Yan Ningbai.
When Yan Beicheng told Lin Chu about this, Lin Chu nodded. “Mo Jingsheng is really reliable when it comes to handling these sorts of things.”
She guessed that Liang Xiulin had no intention of telling them about this, but Mo Jingsheng was understanding enough to update them about Mo Jinxi’s situation.
“I should let the old principal know about this,” said Lin Chu. A moment later, she gave the orphanage a call and informed the old principal about the news.
The old principal was happy that Mo Jinxi could go to a better school, even more so since it was a school that the orphanage would not have been able to get him into. At the same time, she felt sad that she needed to find out about this from Lin Chu. She sighed to herself.
“Mo Jingsheng invited us to the Mo family house tonight for dinner as tomorrow Mo Jinxi will officially be starting school. Yan Huaian’s family has been invited too because Yan Ningbai is the only person Mo Jinxi knows in Jixia Academy; not to mention, the two of them will be in the same class. Madam Mo would like Yan Ningbai to take care of Mo Jinxi as well. Because of this, we’ll be going over tonight to celebrate with Mo Jinxi and give him some encouragement so he won’t feel so nervous,” Yan Beicheng said as he helped Lin Chu fill up half a bowl of soup.
Lin Chu wanted to invite the old principal but swallowed her words at the last minute. She decided not to say anything as Mo Jingsheng had not mentioned the old principal. It would not be nice to bring the old principal if they had not said anything about her. After all, the Mo family were the hosts.
Besides, judging by Liang Xiulin’s attitude, she would not treat the old principal too fondly if she were to suddenly appear. Liang Xiulin might say something that would make the situation awkward and cause Mo Jinxi to feel bad. This would only serve to burden him instead of helping him relax the night before school.
Thus, Lin Chu could only bite her tongue.
After finishing work in the afternoon, Yan Beicheng drove Lin Chu to the Mo family house.
When they got to the entrance, they bumped into Yan Huaian and his family who had arrived only four to five minutes earlier.
Liang Xiulin had taken Mo Jinxi around Jixia Academy today where he got to see Yan Ningbai for a very short while before returning home.
He had a very free day as he did not need to go to school today. Thus, he had taken out a little bench that Liang Xiulin had bought for him before seating himself right at the corner of the living room and staring out the French window. He sat there like a wax figure while he looking out, totally unmoving.
Liang Xiulin brought out a tray of sliced watermelon and saw Mo Jinxi sitting in front of the window. She said, “Jinxi, come over here and have some fruit. They will be here soon, don’t worry.”
Mo Jinxi had sat there for a long time. He seemed to be in low spirits and you had to wonder if it was simply due to the unfamiliar surroundings.
When he was in the orphanage, there were many children and the atmosphere was always cheerful and loud. As a result, Mo Jinxi never had to worry about finding a playmate.
He did not know anyone here and he was the only child in the house. Furthermore, Liang Xiulin did not allow him to do anything, so Mo Jinxi was feeling very listless.
Mo Jinxi answered ‘okay’ but did not get up. When he saw a familiar car stop at the entrance, Mo Jinxi’s face immediately brightened.
“Chu Chu and the others are here!” Mo Jinxi called out happily as he stood up to run outside.
“Slow down and stop running. It’s not nice to look so uncouth,” Liang Xiulin called out from behind him.
However, Mo Jinxi had already rushed out.
Liang Xiulin shook her head and turned to the young woman sitting on the sofa. “Children these days are a little playful. It does not help that he had been staying in the orphanage all this while and was not brought up well. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and have decided to start educating him properly from now on.”
“Orphanages often do not have the best conditions. He is a child of the Mo family and should be properly educated, especially since it’s not too late to start now. With Uncle and Cousin around, Jinxi will grow up to be a fine young man. Jinxi looks like an obedient and polite child. His demeanor is that of a Mo family man, so you don’t need to feel too anxious about him,” replied the young woman.
Liang Xiulin might have been complaining about him, but she was not willing to listen to others say anything bad about Mo Jinxi. When she heard her niece praise Mo Jinxi, she smiled happily.
“That’s right. Jinxi is a very obedient boy,” Liang Xiulin smiled as she said.
Mo Jinxi flew into the garden where he could not see anybody but Lin Chu. He shouted loudly as he ran toward her, “Chu Chu!”.
Yan Beicheng saw the speed at which he was running and immediately stood in front of Lin Chu to protect her by blocking Mo Jinxi’s path. Then, he reached out to grab Mo Jinxi by the collar. It made Mo Jinxi look like a tortoise as his four limbs fumbled pathetically in the air.
“Did you forget that Chu Chu is pregnant?” Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrow.
“I was too excited,” Mo Jinxi’s neck shrank back as he gave Yan Beicheng a rare smile in an attempt to get into his good books.
Yan Beicheng grunted as he put Mo Jinxi down. Then, Mo Jinxi walked past Yan Beicheng to hug Lin Chu’s big belly. “Chu Chu, I’ve missed you.”
Lin Chu smiled as she lightly flicked him on the forehead. “It’s only been a few days. You never missed me this much when I only visited the orphanage once every one or two weeks.”
Mo Jinxi’s forehead became a little red from the flick. He rubbed his forehead on her belly and replied, “It’s because I’m the only one at home now.”
It was incredibly boring to stay home today. He got through the day by reminiscing about his life back in the orphanage, when he had lots of fun with the other children.
“Jinxi! How could you not see me? That hurts!” Yan Ningbai ran over like a little beachball ball with his schoolbag still on him.
Mo Jinxi’s face brightened when he saw Yan Ningbai. He let go of Lin Chu and ran toward Yan NIngbai before giving him a big hug.
Yan Ningbai was taken aback. “Yikes! Jinxi, you’re being too friendly today!”
Mo Jinxi was initially overexcited, but immediately released his hug when he heard Yan Ningbai’s comment. He blushed as he turned his head away. “It’s not… It’s not that I’m so happy to see you, it’s just that I had no one to play with!”
This did not bother Yan Ningbai at all. He was used to Mo Jinxi’s occasionally prideful ways. Thus, he shrugged and led Mo Jinxi back to the house. “We can play together every day once you start school tomorrow.”
The two children went into the house while Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng walked in behind them.
They could hear Yan Ningbai chattering away, but then he suddenly stopped talking. The next moment, they heard Mo Jinxi say, “This is my Aunt.”
Then, they heard Yan Ningbai call out politely, “Hi, Auntie.”
Lin Chu heard a gentle, female voice reply, “Hello.”
Lin Chu spotted Mo Jinxi’s aunt when she and Yan Beicheng entered the house. Lin Chu paused upon seeing her. The woman looked familiar.
The woman was already smiling at her. “What a coincidence. It’s you.”
Lin Chu did not react. Her memory was not that great now, and even her personality was not the same as it was before she got pregnant. There were times when she had thought about her personality before pregnancy and could hardly believe that was how she used to be – it felt like she was a completely different person than before.
Even when she was being stubborn with Yan Beicheng, she was well-aware of how she was sometimes a little over the top, which was very unlike her. She would never act this way before she got pregnant, but her personality had changed just like her palette.
In the past, there were dishes that she never liked, to the point of being nauseated of them; but now, she loved having them.
Some say that pregnant women cannot stand fishy smells, but this did not seem to apply to her. Before she was pregnant, she hated having fish, which of course, did not include raw sashimi. She mainly did not like cooked fish, regardless of if it was steamed, fried or boiled into soup. It was something that she disliked strongly, and no amount of spices was enough to cover the fishy smell.
Even after getting pregnant, especially when she had morning sickness, she could not stand the smell of fish. However, now, in the middle of her pregnancy period, she had begun to fall in love with fish dishes. She wanted to have fish for every meal and enjoyed regardless of the way it was prepared. This was something she had never imagined happening.
Fish was a very nutritious food. Other pregnant women may not like it, but Lin Chu could not have enough of it. Old Lady Yan was happy about this, and Aunt Zhuang would make different fish dishes for her every day. Aunt Zhuang also enjoyed making the dishes, often commenting that very fish was nutritious for Lin Chu.
Even so, her palette was not the only thing that had changed, even her personality changed after pregnancy. Lin Chu was slightly depressed about this. Even she sometimes could not stand her own personality after getting pregnant. She honestly felt bad for Yan Beicheng, who surprisingly did not show even the slightest hint of annoyance or displeasure. He was always very patient toward her.
However, Yan Beicheng giving in to her did not mean that she should continue acting this way. When Yan Beicheng accompanied Lin Chu for her check-up, Lin Chu confided to the doctor about her situation despite her embarrassment.
She did not expect the doctor to smile and reply, “It’s nothing serious. It’s not strange for your personality to change after getting pregnant. It’s quite a common occurrence.”
Lin Chu said worriedly, “But I’ve seen a few of my friends when they were pregnant, and they weren’t like me at all.”
“You don’t hang out with your friends every single day, so how would you know how they behaved during their pregnancy?” The doctor smiled in response.
Lin Chu thought about it. When she had been discussing pregnancy with Fang Jiaran, Song Yu, and Ruan Chendan, Lin Chu would ask them questions about things she did not understand as all three of them had already gone through this. She really had no idea how they behaved when they were pregnant.
“Take my younger sister for example. She had just given birth this year and had just thrown a full moon party for the baby. She would kick my brother-in-law off the bed at 2.30 am in the morning demanding to have some pig trotters. How was he supposed to find pig trotters in the middle of the night? There were some in the fridge, but by the time he finished cooking it, it would be sunrise. He could not even reason with her as all my sister did was cry and shout at him, claiming that my brother-in-law no longer loved her. She cried so terribly and loudly that her neighbors downstairs came knocking on their door.
“Thus, my brother-in-law had no choice but to speed to one of those late-night barbeque stalls which often served food for supper. He was lucky that it was summertime and he was able to find one of the stalls. If it happened now, you wouldn’t find any of them still open at that hour in B City. So, he eventually managed to bring some grilled pig trotters home, which my sister was so happy to have. When she told my mum about the story, even my mum scolded her for acting out.
“Most pregnant women are not able to control their emotions and there’s not much they can do about it. I’m a doctor, so I’m aware of these situations. I’ve shared lots of examples with my brother-in-law because I was worried that one day, he would not be able to take it and end up fighting with my sister. It is quite a blow to pregnant women when such a thing happens. Different people react differently to their pregnancy. Some don’t suffer too much when it comes to morning sickness while others don’t even experience it. Then there are others still who downright suffer from the daily morning sickness. Apparently, they could even taste the metal of the machine used to cut the noodles in the food they are. Those who haven’t experienced pregnancy often struggle to understand this. They simply assume that pregnant women are being too much, but we, on the other hand, are more emphatic because we have been pregnant before.
“It’s exactly the same case with you. You are aware that your temper comes and goes easily. You will even lose your temper over minor things and find yourself devoid of the logic and judgment that you possessed before the pregnancy, but you will have no control over it and will struggle to tone down your temper. Just like my sister, who wasn’t being difficult on purpose. Before she got pregnant, she was really an all-round good wife. My brother-in-law did nothing at home while my sister did all the laundry, cooking and housework. My brother-in-law was such a bum that he might as well have stayed in bed and waited for my sister to feed him. I previously did not like the idea of my sister pampering him so much, but can you imagine that during her pregnancy, she became someone who cried and wailed over my brother-in-law not going out to get her pig trotters in the middle of the night. She even shouting at him that he no longer loved her and insisted on a divorce!
“There is another example of a pregnant woman who seemed fine for the first four months of the pregnancy. There was no morning sickness and her temper was just as stable as before. However, during the fifth month of her pregnancy, she started becoming highly emotional and suspicious. Every little thing seemed off to her and she would casually fly into a rage, often suspecting her husband of cheating on her. Once, her husband had come home late after entertaining clients, during which he had had a drink or two. She immediately latched on to him and demanded to know who he was with that night and what he did. After interrogating him, she called each and every person who had drank with him and only felt better once she had determined that there had been no woman with him. During this period, they nearly got a divorce. Once the child was born, she felt incredulous about what she had done during her pregnancy as it had all been like a dream to her. If she hadn’t experienced it herself, she would not have believed that she would do such a thing. Even though she did not consider herself to be a career-oriented woman, she does have her own career and is an independent person. What she had done during her pregnancy was behaviour that she herself had always looked down on.”
Lin Chu listened with her mouth agape. “Is that true?”
The doctor replied, “Yes, it is. So, don’t worry about it as it will not affect you too much. Of course, you have to pay attention to any signs of post-partum depression and will need the extra care and understanding of your family. You might even need them to talk to you about it. Also, if you feel that the situation is getting out of hand, you can find yourself a psychologist to talk to.”
Lin Chu nodded but never ended up resorting to a psychologist. She already felt much better after listening to the doctor.
…
Now that she was looking at this strange, young woman, Lin Chu did not immediately recognize her and felt embarrassed about this.
She was about to apologize when an image flashed through her mind.
Lin Chu suddenly looked at the woman in realization. “Oh, it’s you!”
Lin Chu smiled and held her hand gratefully. “I’m so sorry. My memory has become quite bad. I couldn’t recognize you just now, but thank you for helping me back at Sheng Yue. I didn’t even get the chance to thank you properly.”
The woman smiled gently. “Didn’t you thank me the last time out? I had not expected to see you again today. It looks like our fate really is intertwined.”
“Yes, I really didn’t expect it either. May I know, you are…” Lin Chu was grateful to her from the bottom of her heart.
“Oh, that’s so rude of me. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Liang Wenyin. Madam Mo is my aunt,” the woman replied as she let Lin Chu hold her hand in a friendly manner. She snuck a glance at Yan Beicheng, who was behind Lin Chu.
Lin Chu realized that this was why Mo Jinxi had referred to her as auntie.
“Wenyin studied painting at Italy’s Florence Academy of Fine Arts, and was hired by Z University after graduating and returning to the country. Not long ago, the dean from B City’s Academy of Fine Arts personally visited Z City to persuade her to lecture at their academy instead. You may not have heard of Wenyin’s Mandarin name, but you would surely have heard of the name Vivian before. She’s known as The Muse to many painters in the industry. She will be holding an exhibition in B City next week,” Liang Xiulin was filled with pride while introducing her niece.
Lin Chu was not a fan of art and did not have much artistic talent. Thus, she was not aware of the name Vivian at all.
However, since Liang Xiulin had mentioned it, she would definitely make an effort to visit the exhibition. Therefore, Lin Chu pretended to recognize Liang Wenyin’s name. “Oh, so you are the famous painter!”
Liang Wenyin gave a gentle laugh. “I’m not a famous painter. It’s just that the industry has been kind enough to grant a young person like me an opportunity. There’s nothing to that moniker.”
Everyone laughed and chatted while they moved to the middle of the house. Liang Wenyin’s every movement carried a touch of artistic charisma, and she was particularly elegant.
