Wen Baozhu attributed her loss of appetite to the fish not being fresh.
She had never been picky about food since childhood. She always ate whatever was available at home. As long as she could fill her stomach, that was great.
The phrase her grandma liked to say most was, "Our Baozhu is the easiest to feed."
Thinking of her grandma, Wen Baozhu felt a bit of a sting in her eyes, as if it were the after - effect of the vomiting just now that she hadn't fully recovered from.
How had she become so delicate as she got older?
Wen Baozhu came back to her senses. Aunt Jiang brought her a bowl of medicine.
Aunt Jiang said, "If you have no appetite, don't eat for now. Drink the medicine and go to bed early."
Wen Baozhu really couldn't eat anything. After she finished the medicine, she went upstairs to her room.
Lying in bed, she wasn't sleepy. Wen Baozhu got up, turned on the light, and opened a professional book on equestrianism.
Last time when Fu Lian came back from the racetrack, he told her some good news.
Sai Zhenzhu's leg injury wasn't particularly serious. After treatment and recovery, she could still run, but she couldn't participate in races anymore.
Wen Baozhu didn't think it was a bad thing.
"It's good not to participate in races. It's great if she can live safely and healthily," she clasped her hands together, looking extremely pious.
She was a person without much ambition and no lofty aspirations. In Wen Baozhu's eyes, as long as one could be healthy, safe, and happy, that was already wonderful.
Such a person always carried a gentle and relaxed aura.
No matter how tense one's emotions were, they could be soothed and relaxed the moment they saw her.
Fu Lian's gaze fell on her, and he let out a soft laugh. "You really don't fight or strive for anything."
Then he turned around and gave her a stack of professional equestrian books, telling her to study them well. When Sai Zhenzhu recovered, he would let her learn to ride.
Wen Baozhu leaned against the headboard to read. As she read, she began to feel sleepy. Finally, the book covered her face and she fell asleep.
All night, her dreams were filled with the scene of her riding on Sai Zhenzhu.
When she woke up in the morning, she turned over, and the book fell off her face and landed directly beside the bed.
Wen Baozhu turned her head and saw the empty space beside her. She knew Fu Lian hadn't come last night.
He had just returned from a business trip abroad. He must have had a lot of work to do and also needed to adjust to the time difference. It must have been the greatest indulgence for him to spare time to have a meal with her and take her to apologize to Zhou You.
Wen Baozhu got out of bed, tidied up the books that had fallen on the ground, walked into the bathroom to wash up, and then walked downstairs.
Aunt Jiang had already prepared breakfast as usual. When she was halfway through the meal, suddenly the doorbell rang.
Wen Baozhu thought it was Fu Lian coming so early. Aunt Jiang was washing the dishes in the kitchen, so she walked over to open the door. To her surprise, she saw an unexpected face.
"A Lian said you usually live here, so I came to see you," Fang Yuan said with a smile. She covered her mouth in surprise. "You live in such a big villa all by yourself!"
Fang Yuan's sudden appearance made Wen Baozhu a bit nervous. She was a bit worried that their relationship with Fu Lian would be discovered, but she couldn't just block her outside the door.
So she had no choice but to invite Fang Yuan in.
"A Lian said you were usually lonely, so he asked me to come and keep you company when I was bored," Fang Yuan's eyes searched the room, trying to find clues that a man had lived there.
The so - called "keep you company" was just a makeshift excuse.
But this trick worked very well on Wen Baozhu. After hearing that it was Fu Lian who told Fang Yuan the address and allowed her to come, Wen Baozhu chose to compromise.
How could she resist Fu Lian's arrangement?
"Have you had breakfast? Sorry I came a bit early," Fang Yuan said with an innocent smile. Although she was saying sorry, there was no apology in her tone.
"I've already had breakfast," Wen Baozhu replied politely.
Fang Yuan suddenly saw Aunt Jiang walking out of the kitchen. She seemed to be deep in thought. "Isn't Aunt Jiang by your mother - in - law's side? Was she specially arranged to take care of you, Baozhu?"
Wen Baozhu didn't like the way Fang Yuan was prying into things with every word. It made her very uncomfortable, and she felt a strong sense of being spied on.
She could feel that Fang Yuan didn't come simply to visit, but with an attitude of scrutiny and searching.
It wasn't very obvious, just subtly, as if she were coming to catch an affair.
——
Aunt Jiang brewed the tea. Wen Baozhu and Fang Yuan sat down hand in hand in front of the tea table.
The teacups were filled with tea. Fang Yuan picked up her cup and looked at Wen Baozhu with a beaming smile. "It's so quiet here! Unlike my home, which is noisy every day."
"My cousins always pester me to play with them. It's so annoying."
Wen Baozhu replied with a smile, "Kids are lively. It makes the home more bustling."
"No matter how lively and cute they are, they're not my own kids," Fang Yuan pursed her lips and sighed as if she were very discouraged. "Only one's own kids can make one satisfied in every way."
As she said this, her eyes fell on Wen Baozhu's flat abdomen.
There was no sign of pregnancy there yet.
But Fang Yuan had heard from others that some pregnant women didn't show much and it would take several months for it to be obvious.
"How many months are you pregnant?" Fang Yuan suddenly asked.
Wen Baozhu pursed her lower lip and calmly lied, "Almost two months? I haven't counted carefully."
"No wonder you don't show much," Fang Yuan nodded, but her eyes still didn't move away from her stomach.
Her casual question set off alarm bells in Wen Baozhu's mind.
Wen Baozhu was afraid that her not being pregnant would be discovered. She steadied her breathing and then said with a smile, "Maybe it's because I haven't been eating much recently. The doctor also said that some people show later."
"Yes, I envy women like you who don't gain weight during pregnancy," Fang Yuan blinked playfully. "I heard that pregnant women have a special charm."
Wen Baozhu didn't know whether she should laugh at such a joke.
"Baozhu is so lucky. You're pregnant so soon," Fang Yuan smiled and then continued, "I hope I can borrow your good luck. When I marry A Lian, I can also get pregnant with a baby soon."
The topic always revolved around pregnancy and having a baby. Wen Baozhu felt extremely uncomfortable, but she didn't dare to interrupt. She could only listen with a stiff upper lip.
Fang Yuan took a sip of tea. There was still a curious look on her face. "Baozhu, since we're so close, do you have any secrets to getting pregnant? Share them with me."
Wen Baozhu blushed instantly. She was as helpless as when the salesgirl told her about the gossips of the wealthy families last time.
Her thinking was still conservative. Unlike these rich ladies, she couldn't talk about sexual experiences and feelings as easily as chatting about daily life.
And most importantly, she wasn't pregnant at all!
Looking at Fang Yuan's expectant look, she could only mumble vaguely, "It mainly depends on fate. Just let nature take its course."
After she said this, she felt that the words were familiar. Only later did she realize that this was what Fu Lian had used to comfort her before.
Fang Yuan nodded meaningfully. "Yes, it always depends on fate."