Su Qi hung up the phone, feeling a bit hungry. She got up, washed her face, and went downstairs to wash some fruit. To her surprise, Qin Xue was sitting in the living room. Seeing Su Qi come down, she beckoned her over.
"Child, come here."
Su Qi hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over and sitting down beside Qin Xue.
Qin Xue linked her arm through Su Qi's and then signaled for a servant to bring bird's nest soup. After Su Qi finished drinking it, she spoke slowly, "Do you want to make time to go to the hospital tomorrow?"
"Go to the hospital? I've already had my prenatal check-ups..."
"Not a prenatal check-up, I want to do an amniocentesis, you know..."
Qin Xue trailed off, her words unfinished.
What the servant had said that morning still felt like a thorn in her side.
Adding to that, news broke at noon that Xu Lin Yun's unborn child was not Huo Ting Yun's biological offspring.
Qin Xue couldn't help but feel that perhaps her son was lacking in some way. What if Su Qi's unborn child wasn't Ting Yun's?
When she heard Qin Xue mention amniocentesis, Su Qi felt a lump in her throat, making it difficult to breathe, and her chest felt heavy.
"Mom, you suspect me?"
"It's not suspicion, you know about the news, it's just a precaution..."
Seeing that Su Qi had fallen silent, Qin Xue quickly stopped, "Forget it, forget I said anything. If you don't want to, then don't."
Despite saying this, when Huo Ting Yun returned home from work for dinner that evening, Qin Xue asked the servants to add a few more dishes, as he rarely returned home these days.
Huo Qing Rang wasn't home, so only three people ate dinner. However, there were still many dishes, filling the entire table, all of them substantial.
Su Qi didn't have much of an appetite and was contemplating how to move out.
Qin Xue ladled some old hen soup for Su Qi, "It's not fishy at all, child, try it."
Su Qi accepted it, "Thank you, Mom."
Huo Ting Yun lowered his gaze and looked deeply at the small woman beside him. Her submissive demeanor was so endearing. After a busy day, seeing this little one, if she weren't pregnant, he wouldn't even want to eat dinner, he'd want to eat her.
The man picked up a spoon, blew on it to cool it, and brought the soup to Su Qi's lips, "Drink it."
Su Qi obediently lifted her upper lip and drank the soup.
It was rare for her to be so obedient. Su Qi only acted so demurely in front of elders.
Su Qi slowly drank a bowl of soup, thinking the matter was settled. Unexpectedly, Qin Xue coughed and hesitantly said, "Ting Yun, take Xiao Su to the hospital tomorrow."
"What's wrong?" Huo Ting Yun frowned, his handsome brows knitting together. His first thought was that Su Qi was ill.
"Let's do an amniocentesis. After all, it concerns the Huo family's bloodline, so it needs to be checked."
She didn't want to raise someone else's child for free.
"Mom? You suspect the child isn't mine?" Huo Ting Yun frowned fiercely, his expression turning slightly grim.
"Don't be angry, Mom is doing this for your own good. Xu Lin Yun caused such a scene today, I'm worried..."
"Su Qi's unborn child is my flesh and blood. Amniocentesis can cause significant harm to a pregnant woman's body. Don't be ridiculous!"
Su Qi jolted and looked up at Huo Ting Yun, unable to believe that this man was actually defending her.
"Ting Yun, you child, how can you speak to your mother like that? Mom is doing this for your own good. Have Lin Chuan perform the amniocentesis on Su Qi. His medical skills are superb, and it won't cause Su Qi much harm." Even as she said this, it was utterly absurd.
"There's no need to check, don't I know clearly?"
"You haven't had any scandals for so many years, and you've been with Xu Lin Yun for so long. In the end, she's carrying someone else's child, and Su Qi she..."
"Mom, that's enough, stop talking. I brought Su Qi to the Huo family for you to take good care of her and your grandson. You can question me, but you absolutely cannot question whether Su Qi's unborn child's father is me."
Whether it was his or not, he knew better than anyone.
The date of Su Qi's pregnancy perfectly coincided with the night he, drunk, had stumbled into her room.
Sister Wu stayed by Su Qi's side all day, and Su Qi only moved around the Shallow Water Bay villa. How could she possibly know other men?
If there were, Su Qi wouldn't have the ability to pull the wool over their eyes.
"Ting Yun, you..." Qin Xue had expected Huo Ting Yun to agree, especially since her son had never shown much affection for Su Qi before. But she hadn't expected him to defend Su Qi so thoroughly, even making her, his own mother, feel jealous.
After dinner, Su Qi went to the garden for a stroll to aid digestion, her mind filled with Huo Ting Yun's defense of her earlier.
As she walked towards the back garden, she overheard two gardeners watering plants, discussing something.
"What do you think is up with the young master? Has he changed his ways? The young master never used to care for that woman!"
"Who knows? Maybe she really is pregnant, just because of the child she's carrying."
Su Qi perked up her gossipy ears, sidestepping and hiding behind the greenhouse, listening to the two gardeners' conversation.
"A mother gains status through her child, understand? You need to be careful what you say in the future, lest you accidentally offend her. Look at what happened to that auntie this morning."
Su Qi curved her lips into a sly smile.
In the past, she had been naive, always believing that simple avoidance and forbearance could solve everything.
Now she realized that only by being strong and having sharp edges could she protect herself and those around her.
Su Qi turned to leave but unexpectedly bumped into a wall of flesh. Her nose hurt from the impact, and she almost teared up. Su Qi raised her hand to touch her nose, then looked up at the man in front of her.
"What are you doing here?"
"That's what I should be asking you."
Huo Ting Yun had been in the greenhouse the entire time until Su Qi walked in. Although there were lampposts in the garden in the evening, the light wasn't very bright, and the greenhouse was dark. In the darkness, Huo Ting Yun watched Su Qi walk in. She had been lurking suspiciously by the greenhouse glass, eavesdropping on the gardeners outside.
"I... I wasn't doing anything!" Su Qi's face practically screamed "I'm up to no good."
Huo Ting Yun lowered his gaze and chuckled softly, "Really? Not doing anything bad?"
"Of... of course. What bad things could I be doing? I need to go back and rest."
Su Qi turned to leave. The greenhouse was very hot, and after staying for a short while, she was already sweating. Perhaps she was wearing too many layers for winter.
As soon as she took a step, her wrist was grabbed by the man, who pulled her back towards him.
"Let go of me..."
"What if I refuse?"
The man raised a long, elegant eyebrow with amusement, a faint curve on his lips.
"You haven't answered my question yet."
"And you, what were you doing in the greenhouse?"
Alone, in the dark, acting suspiciously...
Su Qi seemed to realize something, her beautiful eyes widening.
He wouldn't possibly be here...
"I don't have that kind of fetish. I just wanted to come and look at the flowers and plants."
This was the first time Su Qi learned that Huo Ting Yun actually liked flowers and plants.