Chapter 23
After sending off the father and son, Xia Shi felt an emptiness inside her, as if something were missing. She wandered around the living room aimlessly before suddenly realizing she hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet. She went to the kitchen, finished the meal that had been prepared for her, glanced at the clock — it was only eight o’clock — and, bored out of her mind, went back to her room to catch up on sleep.
Yet, in just that short nap, the internet had already erupted into chaos once more.
[I’m a Happy Little Lamb]:
“Last night when I came back from a class reunion, I happened to pass by Ciai Hospital and saw the male god carrying the female goddess out of the car and rushing into the hospital! [Video]”
Comments:
“The poster’s luck is amazing! To actually see the two of them! But… why at a hospital? Is the goddess sick?”
“You don’t usually go to a maternity hospital for a common cold, right? And the goddess was holding her stomach the whole time… could she be pregnant?”
“Aaaaah! Pregnant? So that means the male god and goddess are having a little princess?!”
“She looked like she was in pain though. I hope she’s okay. Seeing her frown like that hurts my heart!”
“Relax, guys. She’s probably fine. Didn’t the Where’s My Baby production team just post saying all five families had departed? If the goddess were really unwell, would the male god still take their little prince on the show?”
“True. Some women have really strong pregnancy reactions — that can’t be helped. She just has to get through it herself.”
“Yeah, I’ve been through it. Pregnancy is tough! Hang in there, goddess! Can’t wait for the little princess!”
The internet collectively decided, without a shred of doubt, that Xia Shi was pregnant — and the rumor spiraled out of control.
By eleven o’clock, Xia Shi woke up, put on light makeup, and went out. She had arranged to meet Su Fei and Tian Tian for lunch.
After returning to China, her workload had increased. Lu Tingchuan helped her register a studio under Qin Tang’s management — independent in operation but still supported by the major company.
Su Fei had officially signed on as her agent, and Tian Tian had been assigned as her assistant from within Qin Tang.
This was their first official meeting — mostly a formality.
As soon as Xia Shi entered the private dining room, both women hurried forward, each taking an arm, supporting her carefully.
“Be careful, sit here, slowly, slowly.”
Xia Shi blinked, utterly confused. “What’s… going on with you two?”
Su Fei poured her a glass of water. “I’ve never been pregnant myself, but I was there for Shen Hui’s whole pregnancy from start to finish. The first three months are crucial. You can’t drink tea — caffeine’s bad — so I brought you lemon water. Sweet and sour, perfect for you. Avoid greasy foods too, you’ll get nauseous. Let’s eat something light today. Everything for the little princess! Since Lu Tingchuan isn’t here, I’ll have to make sure you’re well taken care of. Otherwise, if anything happens, he’ll kill me!”
Xia Shi choked on her water. “Cough cough! Little princess?”
Tian Tian blinked. “Xia Shi-jie, you haven’t seen? It’s all over the internet.”
Pulling out her phone, Xia Shi saw the headlines —
#LuTingchuanXiaShiLittlePrincess# — trending at the top.
Fans were going wild, even photoshopping an imaginary baby girl using her and Lu Tingchuan’s facial features. The result was so cute that countless “Mom-fans” were melting.
Xia Shi could only give a helpless smile. “Their imagination is way too wild.”
Su Fei rolled her eyes. “So… you’re not actually pregnant?”
“I’m just… you know, that monthly thing women have! You know what I mean!”
Tian Tian sighed, visibly disappointed. “Aw, what a shame. I really thought we were getting a little princess.”
Su Fei groaned dramatically, clutching her head. She loved adorable kids — especially little girls — but she was single. She bit her straw in frustration. Why couldn’t fate make her a hermaphrodite — or at least send her a high-quality sperm donor?
Xia Shi felt even more exasperated. It was just a painful period! How was she supposed to explain that to millions of overexcited netizens?
Then Su Fei coughed and said tentatively, “Well… we could just, you know, make one?”
Pffft!
Xia Shi sprayed water again. Make one?! As if that were something you could just make!
That evening, after worrying all day, Xia Shi finally got a call from her boys.
“Mommy, the village chief uncle is a big bad wolf!” little Lu Xuan grumbled.
Xia Shi laughed. “What did the village chief do? Did you have fun with your new friends today?”
Her son immediately forgot his complaint. “Mommy, I made two new friends — Betty and Sister Xiangwan. Sister Xiangwan’s amazing! We had to take care of little kids in the village today, and she told them stories. Betty’s Chinese isn’t great, but her English is good, so I spoke to her in English! She’s shy though, so I helped her.”
“Did you take care of her?”
“Yup! We did missions together, played games, and I was her translator!” His voice brightened, then dimmed. “But Yuanyuan wasn’t happy. She wasn’t in my group.”
Xia Shi smiled mischievously. “So, do you want to be in Yuanyuan’s group?”
He thought hard. “Hmm… either’s fine! If we were together, I’d take care of her. But if not, that’s good too — Fangfang-gege won’t glare at me anymore.”
Xia Shi laughed out loud. So oblivious! She wondered what kind of daughter-in-law such a dense boy would bring home one day.
Just then, Lu Tingchuan came over, snatched the phone, and said sternly, “Bedtime. It’s already ten.”
“But I haven’t finished talking to Mommy!”
“Daddy hasn’t even started! You’ve been talking for seven minutes!”
After thinking it over, little Lu Xuan nodded magnanimously. “Okay then, I’ll let you have it.”
Lu Tingchuan chuckled and stepped out to the balcony, turning off his mic.
“How’s your stomach? Still hurting?”
“No, it’s fine now. But your phone’s off limits over there, so you probably don’t know — one stomachache and the whole internet thinks I’m pregnant! And they’ve already decided it’s a little princess!”
Instead of sympathy, Lu Tingchuan burst out laughing.
“Lu Tingchuan! I’m serious!”
“I know. The crew told me — they even asked about it.”
“You what?! What did you say?”
“I just… admitted it.”
“WHAT?”
“Would you rather I told them you were at the hospital because of period cramps?”
Xia Shi froze. True, that would’ve been embarrassing, but still — “Admitted it?!”
Lu Tingchuan chuckled wickedly. “Maybe we should make one for real while we’re at it?”
Xia Shi was speechless. Why does he sound exactly like Su Fei?!
Meanwhile, little Lu Xuan was timing them:
“Daddy, one minute!”
“Two minutes!”
“Ten minutes! Daddy, you talked longer than me! You promised to sleep with me! If you break the rule, then tomorrow’s ten minutes are all mine!”
Even the production crew couldn’t help laughing.
When they returned from filming on Sunday night, it was nearly midnight. Lu Xuan was fast asleep in his father’s arms. Xia Shi thanked the staff profusely for bringing their luggage in.
“How was his performance?” she asked.
The two female directors exchanged glances and giggled. “He was great.”
Xia Shi already knew what that meant.
The next morning, Lu Xuan ran into the room barefoot, beaming. “Mommy! I brought you gifts!”
He presented a pile of handmade crafts — paper cuttings, lanterns, carvings — all souvenirs from their filming location.
“These are all for you, Mommy!”
Seeing his excitement, Xia Shi played along. “Wow, they’re beautiful! Did you make these yourself?”
“Yup! We learned how from the uncles and aunties there and even sold some at the market! These are special ones I made for you!”
The clumsy paint strokes proved his little hands had been at work. Xia Shi hugged him tightly, warming his cold feet in her hands.
“Did you miss Mommy?”
“Mm-hmm! Lots!”
Blushing, he buried his face in her arms.
Lu Tingchuan, watching them from the side, looked on helplessly — and maybe, a little jealous.
Later, on the drive home, he muttered, “When you’re not around, he’s perfectly fine. Why’s he so clingy now?”
Still scrolling through her phone, Xia Shi replied dryly, “Are you blaming me?”
He panicked. “No, no! My fault! Bad parenting — all my fault!”
She burst out laughing. “Don’t say that, he’s wonderful.”
Lu Tingchuan sighed. He wanted to say that he was just jealous — that the hugs and snuggles should be his.
Back home, he asked, “Teach me a few easy dishes?”
Seeing his pitiful, pleading look, Xia Shi couldn’t help but laugh. Clearly, things hadn’t gone smoothly while she was away.
So she picked two tomatoes and a couple of eggs. “Let’s do scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Simple and safe.”
He tied on an apron, knife in hand, staring at the tomato. “How do I cut this?”
“…Vertically,” she said, taking the knife — only for him to hug her from behind, guiding her hand.
“Teach me like this,” he said innocently.
She elbowed him. “Lu Xuan’s five. You’re a grown man!”
He grinned. “Same difference. Neither of us knows how.”
She sighed — and let him have his way.
Their housekeeper, Aunt Wu, came out, saw the scene, and backed quietly into her room, shaking her head with a smile. Ah, young couples. Even cooking turns into flirting.
Under Xia Shi’s guidance, Lu Tingchuan managed to finish the dish — or so it seemed. She decided to record a video.
“Now stir a little, add a pinch of sugar — just a little, to bring out the tomato’s flavor.”
He glanced at her lovingly, then grabbed the wrong jar.
“That’s sugar again! You already added it!”
Too late — half the jar poured in.
Startled, he panicked and poured a bowl of water into the pan.
“…Why water?” she asked weakly.
“To dilute it!”
And thus, scrambled eggs with tomatoes became sweet tomato soup.
@XiaShiV:
“Mr. Lu’s cooking show — what do you all think?” [Video]
Comments:
“Even in an apron, he’s so handsome!”
“The way he looks at her behind the camera — I’m melting!”
“I was hungry, but after all this dog food, I’m full.”
“Haha, his face when he realizes he added sugar twice — priceless!”
“He says it’s not his fault — it’s the goddess’s beauty distracting him!”
“I volunteer to eat this dog food for life!”
Xia Shi had only wanted to tease him, but once again, the internet turned her casual post into a trending romance headline.
As Lu Tingchuan dumped the sugary “soup,” Xia Shi patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, we’ll try again next time.”
He smiled wryly — just as his phone rang.
It was Zhou Zhang.
“Guo Zihua has escaped from prison.”
The phone nearly slipped from his hand. He looked toward Xia Shi, who was still tidying up, blissfully unaware. His expression darkened as he stepped out to the balcony.
“When did it happen? How?”
“Last night. You know what his time in prison was like.”
Lu Tingchuan’s fist clenched, trembling slightly. He did know — in fact, he’d made sure of it.
Guo Zihua had hurt countless women… and Xia Shi. Simply locking him up had never been enough. So he and Zhou Zhang had quietly arranged for him to be placed with violent inmates — the kind who preyed on other men.
Justice served.
But now… this.
“Two days ago, he fought back during another assault, fell down the stairs, got sent to the hospital, and escaped last night.”
“Where is he now?”
“No idea. The police have issued a nationwide manhunt. Don’t lose your head — he’s got nowhere to go. The Guo family’s finished. He’ll try to flee abroad. Just… don’t tell Xia Shi yet.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
He hung up, breathing hard, fury boiling under his skin. Then —
He turned.
Xia Shi stood behind the glass door of the balcony, watching him silently.
He froze, cold spreading through his veins. Had she heard?
Later, Xia Shi tended to his bleeding hand calmly — too calmly.
“All done. Don’t get it wet.”
As she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist. His voice trembled. “Xia Xia… you… you know?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “The police contacted me this morning. Most escapees try to flee, seeking the only freedom they can…”
(to be continued)
