Chapter 71.1: Ending

Word quickly spread among the members of the Yan family that Cen Ning was planning to start preparing for pregnancy. In the following week, both Aunt Chen and Xu Wanying began to gather various nutritional supplements for her. Every day, there were specific quantities of fruits, folic acid, and additional medicines to enhance her physical well-being…

In short, the preparations were quite extensive.

In the living room, Cen Ning and Yi Xi sat together, watching TV and eating fruit.

“Ningning, come over here and take this medicine first,” Aunt Chen’s voice came from the distant kitchen.

Cen Ning immediately frowned. “Coming.”

After responding, she turned back and patted Yi Xi, “It’s because of you, right? I only casually mentioned to you that we’re planning to have a child, and you ended up informing everyone. Now Aunt Chen…”

Yi Xi sheepishly replied, “Oh, come on, I just casually mentioned it to Aunt Chen. Besides, this is such an important matter; you need to prepare well for it.”

Cen Ning: “But that medicinal soup tastes awful.”

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Zk Dk rwv bla yax yaswde Uld Lkdt’p pbswzela, “Nkvvzl Lkdtdkdt, lhld kq kv’p wdrzlypydv, usw byhl vs eakdj kv. Zsw’hl clld ps cwpu okvb osaj clqsal, elrzlvkdt uswaplzq, yde usw’al ps vbkd… Fktb, fwpv ldewal kv.”

Zk Dk vakle vs rlapwyel bla obkzl pxkzkdt, yesrvkdt yd yvvkvwel sq ‘Rv’p dsdl sq xu cwpkdlpp, R’x fwpv blal qsa vbl pbso.’ Uld Lkdt tzyale yv bla, vbld pzswnble yde tsv wr.

Rd alyzkvu, vbkp “xleknkdyz pswr” oypd’v lmynvzu xleknkdl; kv oyp y prlnkyzzu qsaxwzyvle nsdnsnvksd qasx vbl dwvakvksdkpv. Mblu yeele hyakswp lppldvkyz lzlxldvp vs kv, yde kv oyp tsse qsa lhlauvbkdt, lmnlrv kv oyp ckvvla.

“Twaau wr yde eakdj kv obkzl kv’p bsv.”

“Xb, R jdso.”

Gwdv Ubld vwadle cynj vs vbl jkvnbld, yde Uld Lkdt pnssrle wr y prssdqwz. “Txx… ps ckvvla.”

Gp Zyd Dkdtgbk oyzjle shla, bl byrrldle vs pll Uld Lkdt’p qynkyz qlyvwalp yzz pnawdnble wr. Tl pyv esod clpkel bla, tzydnle yv vbl nsdvldvp sq vbl csoz, yde ypjle, “Rp kv alyzzu vbyv ckvvla?”

“Fs ckvvla,” Uld Lkdt zssjle yv Zyd Dkdtgbk rkvkqwzzu, “Rv vypvlp yoqwz.”

Yan Xingzhi also felt sorry. “This is specially prepared by a nutritionist for your health.”

“But in reality, I don’t have to drink it, right? Look at Yi Xi, she didn’t drink these when she was pregnant.”

“Well, the words are said like that…”

“See, you think the same, right?!” Cen Ning inserted the needle where there was a gap, “So, help me drink it, quickly!” (TLN: inserted the needle where there is a gap means seized the opportunity)

Cen Ning swiftly pushed the bowl in front of him. Yan Xingzhi gave her a look, his eyes signalling a refusal.

Cen Ning pouted and rubbed against him, “Xingzhi Gege…”

Yan Xingzhi had no way to deal with Cen Ning’s coquettishness. Whenever she acted weak, he could only go along with it. So, he cleared his throat, glanced around, and said in a low voice, “Let’s not make this a habit, okay?”

Cen Ning nodded like she was pounding garlic, “Mhm!” (TLN: nodded like pounding garlic idiom used to describe someone nodding vigorously and emphatically) 

Yan Xingzhi picked up the bowl and took a sip. The broth traveled from the tip of his tongue to the back. Indeed, it was unusually bitter.

“It tastes bad, doesn’t it?” 

Yan Xingzhi frowned slightly. “It’s alright…”

Cen Ning said, “Just alright? Why don’t you try another sip?”

Yan Xingzhi: “…”

As he was about to take another sip, a surprised and exaggerated voice came from beside them. “What are you two eating? Mr. Yan! Why does this dark thing in your hand look so much like the tonic Cen Ning usually has?”

Yan Xingzhi’s brow twitched slightly, his expression somewhat awkward.

However, Cen Ning had no time to feel awkward. She quickly got up and covered Yi Xi’s mouth next to her, forcing out a “Shh!”

Yi Xi mumbled, “Mmm…%&…”

Cen Ning looked panicked. “Keep your voice down!”

But her attempt at damage control was too late. Aunt Chen heard the noise and came out of the kitchen. She looked at Cen Ning, then at Yan Xingzhi holding the bowl, and immediately understood the situation.

“Oh my, Xingzhi, what are you doing? Put that down.”

Yan Xingzhi cleared his throat lightly, “Aunt Chen, it’s…”

“This isn’t for you to drink, so why are you drinking it?”

Cen Ning inadvertently got Yan Xingzhi scolded and hurriedly explained, “Aunt Chen, the medicine is too bitter, I…”

“She said the medicine was too bitter, and I didn’t quite believe it, so I just took a sip,” Yan Xingzhi added.

Cen Ning glanced at him, saw his serious expression, and nodded in agreement.

Aunt Chen looked helpless. “You’re already so old, yet your curiosity is still so strong. This medicine is bitter. Put it down. Don’t drink Cen Ning’s stuff. What nonsense.”

Yan Xingzhi: “…”

“Aunt Chen is right,” Cen Ning walked back to the dining table, took the bowl from Yan Xingzhi’s hand, and emptied it in one gulp. “I shouldn’t have let him taste it for real.”

As she finished speaking, her hand, which was under the table, was grabbed and held by Yan Xingzhi.

Aunt Chen sighed, “You two are really…”

Yi Xi, who had “caused trouble” took advantage of the distraction, and sneakily slipped out of the dining room. However, before she could reach the living room, Xu Nanru caught her, asking, “Where are you going?”

“Going back to the room, going back to the room,” Yi Xi sheepishly replied.

Xu Nanru: “What happened?”

Yi Xi had a look that seemed like she wanted to laugh but was trying hard to hold it back. “Your brother secretly helped Cen Ning drink her medicine earlier, and I reported it. Now they’re being lectured by Aunt Chen.”

Xu Nanru shook his head and tapped her on the head. “You’re just fooling around again.”

“This isn’t fooling around! I’m doing this for their good,” Yi Xi said as she pulled Xu Nanru upstairs, “Hurry, let’s go back to our rooms quickly. I might get attacked when they come out later.”

In the end, Cen Ning still obediently took her medicine. However, in the following days, Yan Xingzhi would always prepare her favourite candies to help ease the bitterness. Once, he forgot to take them out of his pocket and brought them to the military base. When he was changing clothes, the candies fell out of his pocket, and a few fellow soldiers who were there saw them and laughed for a long time.

But in the end, his remark “My wife loves candy” silenced the laughter of the group. The batch of single soldiers in the military base couldn’t find their laughter anymore upon hearing that statement.

Cen Ning didn’t have to endure the “bitter” days for long. Three months later, her period didn’t come. She went to buy a few pregnancy test sticks and every one of them showed two red lines.

After seeing the test results, Yan Xingzhi sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the pregnancy test sticks in his hand for a long time. “Really pregnant?”

Cen Ning was somewhat excited, her voice trembling as she spoke. “Really.”

Yan Xingzhi slowly looked up at her, and then his gaze fell slowly to her abdomen. “Are these things accurate?”

“One stick might not be accurate, two sticks might not be accurate, surely the third stick can’t be inaccurate, right?”

Yan Xingzhi still had his doubts as well. While looking at the pregnancy test sticks, he couldn’t shake his unease. He casually placed the test sticks down, then stood up and grabbed Cen Ning, pulling her towards the door. “Come with me.”

Cen Ning was a bit puzzled. “Where are we going?”

“To the hospital.”

“Huh?”

“To get a proper check-up and make sure.”

Yan Xingzhi hurriedly led Cen Ning downstairs. Along the way, they bumped into Xu Wanying and Aunt Chen. As they were about to step out the door, they ran into Xu Nanru, who had just returned.

Yan Xingzhi had rushed out so quickly that he hadn’t even taken the car keys. Now, seeing Xu Nanru approaching, he swiftly took Xu Nanru’s car keys that he hadn’t managed to put away yet.

Xu Nanru paused for a moment and turned back, asking, “Where are you going?”

Yan Xingzhi: “To the hospital.”

Xu Nanru: “What happened?”

Yan Xingzhi, in a hurry, simply said, “Pregnancy.”

Xu Nanru: “…”

Xu Nanru was never one to show his emotions easily, so when he walked into the house with this news, his expression remained calm.

Aunt Chen: “Where are Xingzhi and Ningning going? It’s almost lunchtime.”

Xu Nanru passed by and replied, “To the hospital.”

Aunt Chen: “What?! What’s wrong?”

Xu Wanying quickly stood up, “Are they sick?”

“No,” Xu Nanru calmly replied, “It’s just that she’s pregnant.”

“!!!”

At one o’clock in the afternoon, a bustling group of people entered a hospital in Beijing. The elderly man leading the group was dressed in military uniform.

Onlookers couldn’t help but stare as this group of people walked to the escalator and headed straight to the gynecology department.

When Yan Guofeng and the others arrived, Cen Ning and Yan Xingzhi were sitting in chairs in the hospital waiting for the results. Cen Ning glanced over and saw the Yan family members standing here in an imposing manner.

She paused, stood up from her seat, and asked, “Grandpa, why have you all come?”

Yan Guofeng quickly gestured for her to sit down. “How is it? What’s the result?”

Yan Xingzhi replied, “We’re still waiting. It should be out soon.”

Yan Guofeng nodded, but his eyes showed clear impatience.

Cen Ning said, “You could wait at home. If there’s a result, we’ll notify the family immediately.”

Aunt Chen added, “How can the old master sit still? As soon as he heard you were coming to the hospital for this, he had someone drive him straight here from his meeting. He didn’t even go home.”

Cen Ning chuckled lightly. “You’re so anxious.”

Yan Guofeng said, “Of course I’m anxious. Look at Nanru, Xingzhi’s younger brother. His child has already been born, but we still have no news from Xingzhi!”

Yan Xingzhi glanced at his watch and smiled. “We’ll have news soon. I’ll go get the report.”

It was a Sunday, and outside the gynecology department, many people were waiting for treatment or examinations. Some were bold about it, while others were trying to keep it discreet, all the while keeping an eye on Yan Guofeng and his group.

Yan Guofeng naturally exuded an aura of seriousness and authority, further accentuated by his military uniform. However, in just a short while, a young and handsome man came out with a slip of paper and said something. In response, that dignified old man suddenly broke into a wide smile. At that moment, he looked no different from any ordinary elder sharing familial joy…

People nearby tilted their ears and caught snippets of conversation. It turned out that the young lady standing in front of the group was pregnant, which was the reason for the family’s happiness.

Later on, the group accompanied the young lady for further formal pregnancy examinations. Once they had all left, someone asked in a hushed voice, “Who were those people just now?”

“It looks like military personnel. I feel like I recognize that old man…”

“Tsk, these people seem extraordinary. Have you seen the man next to the young lady? He’s remarkable.”

“Exactly, I noticed that too. All those young folks look good.”

“Speaking of which, why are there so many people here for a simple pregnancy check? Look at me. I have to handle everything on my own.”

“Oh come on, why are you comparing yourself to them? Just by looking at their family, you can tell they’re not an ordinary household. Maybe she’s from an affluent family. What about you?”

…

During the early stages of her pregnancy, Cen Ning experienced severe morning sickness. 

At times, she would suddenly feel nauseous, but she would dry heave for a long time without actually vomiting. She felt restless and uncomfortable all over.

After undergoing detailed examinations and making adjustments to her diet at the hospital, she finally began to feel better.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Yan Xingyao sat beside Cen Ning, looking curious.

Cen Ning gently touched her still relatively flat belly. “I don’t know yet.”

“Don’t hospitals tell you? Don’t you want to know?” Yan Xingyao asked.

Cen Ning replied, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl.”

Yan Xingyao said, “I hope it’s a girl. Look, our family already has two boys. It would be more interesting to have a girl.”

Yi Xi didn’t quite agree with Yan Xingyao’s sentiment. She liked to challenge him, so she retorted, “What, our two boys aren’t interesting enough?”

“I didn’t say that. I just like girls.” 

Yi Xi retorted, “If you like girls, go have one yourself. Don’t you already have a girlfriend?”

Yan Xingyao glared at her. “Nonsense, where did you hear that? I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Aunt Chen said you went on blind dates, and the other party was a wealthy and influential young lady.” 

“That was just a blind date! It didn’t work out.” 

“Didn’t work out?” Yi Xi shook her head, “What a shame, but Yan Xingyao, how uncharismatic are you? You had to resort to blind dates to find a girlfriend.”

“Nonsense! I have plenty of girls pursuing me, okay? I was only pressured by my family to go. I warn you, stop making things up—”

“Who are you warning?” Just then, two men entered the living room. They were roughly the same height, had similar expressions, and even the way they looked at Yan Xingyao was remarkably similar.

Upon seeing the newcomers, Yan Xingyao’s demeanor immediately deflated.