Twilight seeped into the living room. The wind chimes on the window frame swayed gently, bringing with them the unique coolness of the evening breeze.
Just as Feng Lin had dealt with the forces that had targeted Xiao Yu before and hadn't even caught his breath, he heard the report from Butler Chen.
"I've noticed that the mistress seems a bit off these days..."
Feng Lin's heart clenched suddenly, and he immediately asked, "What's wrong with Xiao Yu? Is she not feeling well?"
Seeing that his young master was about to get up and go upstairs, Chen Shui quickly stopped him and finished his words.
"It's not that the mistress's body is wrong. It's just a feeling I have in my heart."
Feng Lin finally let out a sigh of relief, frowned, and sat back on the chair. "Be more specific."
Chen Shui lowered his voice. "The young mistress went to the bookstore this afternoon. I sent the driver to follow her. He said she spent half an hour rummaging in the parenting section, but in the end, she bought a copy of... *A History of European Art*."
Feng Lin's fingers that were loosening his tie paused. He knew that Su Xianyu was interested in art, but since she got pregnant, she always said she felt dizzy and rarely even touched picture books.
"Maybe she just wanted to clear her mind." He casually threw his coat on the sofa, and his tone showed no emotion.
"Then there's that bottle of vitamins," Chen Shui's voice got even lower. "When Mama Liu was cleaning up the trash this morning, I saw that the medicine blister was empty, but the plastic seal on the bottle cap hadn't been fully torn off."
"Who would finish taking the medicine and still keep the intact plastic seal?"
Feng Lin walked to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.
Amid the soft clinking of the ice cubes, he remembered that this morning, Su Xianyu had indeed held the empty medicine blister and acted coquettishly, saying, "The baby doesn't like this taste."
At that time, the slyness in her eyes was like a cat that had stolen some candy. He just thought it was a little girl's temper and didn't take it seriously.
"She's always been fond of such petty tempers." Feng Lin swirled the glass, and the amber liquid traced an arc on the glass wall.
"Last week, she said she wanted to eat the almond cakes from the west of the city. But after I bought them back, she said they were too sweet and ended up stuffing them all into my mouth."
Butler Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say that he had seen Su Xianyu on the balcony on the phone this morning, asking someone on the other end, "How's the investigation going?"
But seeing the indulgence in Feng Lin's eyes, he finally swallowed his words. "Maybe I'm just overthinking."
When Su Xianyu walked into the study with a fruit platter in her hand, Feng Lin was frowning at the medical journal in his hand.
She tiptoed over and saw that there was also an open prenatal check - up handbook beside it, with an ultrasound report of hers sandwiched inside.
The image of the gestational sac was very clear, and the date was marked in red pen beside it.
"Busy?" She placed the plate on the corner of the table, and her fingertips accidentally brushed the edge of the handbook.
"The doctor said I need to have an NT scan next week. Will you go with me?"
When Feng Lin looked up, his gaze happened to fall on her wrist.
Su Xianyu was wearing a delicate diamond bracelet with a small safety buckle hanging from it.
The bracelet was a gift from him at the beginning of the year. She used to think the style was too plain, but these days she had been wearing it every day.
"Why did you suddenly start wearing this?" He reached out and touched the chain, and the coldness of the metal came through his fingertips.
"I went to the temple to pray for it yesterday." Su Xianyu casually sat on his lap and rubbed her nose against his Adam's apple.
"The master said that wearing it can ensure safety, and the baby will be more stable too." As she spoke, her fingers gently twirled the safety buckle.
Hearing this, Feng Lin let out a soft laugh and pinched her cheek. "Since when did you start believing in these things?"
"For the sake of the baby, it's okay to believe a little." Su Xianyu picked up a strawberry and fed it to him. Her fingertips gently brushed his lips.
"By the way, Butler Chen watched me buy that book this afternoon and always seemed to want to say something but didn't. Does he think I'm being absurd?"
She blinked her eyes, with a hint of well - timed grievance in them. "Actually, there's an article about prenatal aesthetic education in that art history book. I wanted to learn how to tell stories to the baby."
Feng Lin's tongue that was holding the strawberry paused. He remembered the cover of that book. The thick hardcover had the oil painting *The Starry Night* printed on it. It really didn't seem like it could hide an article.
But the frankness in her eyes was so real that even the strawberry juice on her eyelashes seemed innocent.
"He's getting senile." Feng Lin reached out to wipe the juice off her eyelashes. His fingertips had a warm touch. "You can do whatever you like."
At night, when lying in bed, Su Xianyu turned over and faced away from Feng Lin.
His breath fell on the nape of her neck, carrying a faint smell of alcohol. His hand naturally rested on her lower abdomen.
The edge of the silicone lumbar support was a bit uncomfortable. She quietly moved to the side, but Feng Lin hugged her even tighter.
"Don't move," his voice was sleepy. "The baby just calmed down."
Su Xianyu's heart skipped a beat. She knew that he was referring to the "fetal movement" in the evening, which was actually her secretly pressing the vibrator hidden in the belt.
At that time, Feng Lin was on the phone and didn't see her press the switch. He just thought it was real fetal movement, and the surprise in his eyes was as bright as stars.
"Feng Lin," she turned around and pointed at his chest with her finger. "Do you think I'm too much trouble? I keep asking for this and not wanting that, and I'm always suspicious."
Feng Lin opened his eyes. The moonlight shone through the gap in the curtain and fell on his face. His eyes were very clear.
"No." He gently kissed her forehead. "It's normal for pregnant women to have strange tempers. When my aunt was pregnant, she even asked my uncle to go to the river to fish for the moon in the middle of the night."
Su Xianyu was amused and burrowed into his arms. "I'm much better - behaved than her."
"Yes." Feng Lin's hand gently patted her back, as if he was coaxing a temperamental child. "You're the best - behaved."
The next day happened to be a weekend. Feng Lin and Su Xianyu were going to the mall, and Butler Chen went with them too.
He watched as Su Xianyu browsed in the baby section. Her fingers glided over those small cradles, and the tenderness in her eyes didn't seem fake.
When she drank the warm fruit tea and said, "Cold drinks are bad for the baby," the seriousness in her tone didn't seem false either.
But Butler Chen still saw a small box fall out of the pocket of the coat that Su Xianyu had taken off outside the fitting room of the mother - and - baby store.
It wasn't an anti - radiation sticker for pregnant women, but a lipstick. It was bright red, extremely eye - catching, and definitely not something a pregnant woman should touch.
Butler Chen was just about to reach out when Feng Lin bent down and picked up the lipstick first.
[Huh? Lipstick? Isn't Xiao Yu pregnant? She should be more careful. It's not a good idea to wear lipstick!]
[Exactly. No matter how vain one is, it's best not to wear heavy makeup during pregnancy. It will affect the baby's development. How can she not even have this common sense?]
[You guys are overreacting. Sister Xiao Yu just carried the lipstick with her. She didn't put it on directly.]
[It's really a joke. If she didn't plan to put it on, why would she carry it around? With such an irresponsible mother, I'm really afraid the baby will be born deformed.]
[Is there really a pregnant woman who forgets such basic knowledge? She's been reading parenting books recently. Does she really not know or just not care...]