572. Caught Red-Handed
It was a rare occasion, but Ning Chu had taken the initiative to visit her mother’s home.
Usually, unless it was a holiday or her mother called her over for a lecture, she wouldn’t bother to listen to her mother’s nagging. She hated how her mother meddled in her life with Wen Yang.
They were bustling around the kitchen together, and while she was helping her mother, she suddenly asked, “Mom, is Wen Yang going to bring someone to pick me up on the big day?”
“Wedding?”
“Uh-huh.”
Her mother looked back at her in surprise: “Didn’t you say it wasn’t necessary? Just swap the wedding dress and suit with Wen Yang and head to the restaurant?”
Ning Chu had rejected all the traditional wedding processes, leaving only the ceremony at the feast. No one was going to pick her up, and there wouldn’t be any ruckus in the wedding night. She always thought it could be simplified to avoid exhausting herself with wedding chaos and making everyone unhappy.
“Feels like… it might still be a bit necessary? After all, it’s just this once?”
Ning Chu was looking down, chopping a white radish, avoiding eye contact with her mother.
“What’s this? Did the wedding of your friend last week get to you?”
“Just a little?”
Her mother shot her a glance: “You always find something to fuss about, making me tired playing along.”
Complaining made Ning Chu’s ears turn a bit red, and she sweetly adopted a cute tone: “Mom~”
“Who told me to be your mom~ Is the radish all chopped? Give it to me.”
“Mom is the best~”
After being a girl for so many years, she had mastered the art of being cute and getting her way.
Especially since she was pretty, it worked like a charm on everyone. If that didn’t work, she would just show some big, watery eyes and it was a guaranteed win.
But Wen Yang was a bit immune to it, so she had to get creative.
“Mom, you know I have a friend named Lily, right?” Ning Chu said while washing and chopping vegetables, sharing gossip. “She visited during the New Year, that embarrassing succubus.”
“Lily? That little girl? I have a pretty good impression of her.”
“Last week at my friend’s wedding, she had her eyes on the best man!”
Her mother chuckled teasingly: “Isn’t she a bit picky? To actually like someone else?”
“Right? That guy’s pretty handsome, looks like a firefighter with an amazing physique!” Ning Chu happily swayed her tail, “But he’s a staunch bachelor-type, totally not planning on dating or getting married.”
“So what’s she going to do?”
“She went straight in for the k*ll!”
“???”
Her mother turned with a puzzled look.
“She stayed at the hotel all week, having Li Han help her ask him out. I heard she even sent him multiple swimsuit photos after getting on WeChat… Lily must be feeling anxious seeing everyone else getting married.”
Love really does change a person.
The once sporty girl turned into a demure lady, the typically aloof and introverted succubus became proactive, moving quickly from independent woman to soon-to-be mother in just a few years.
Her mother was happily sautéing green peppers while commenting: “Is there really a succubus of that age who’s never dated? Isn’t her private life a bit… questionable?”
“She’s still a virgin~”
“No wonder you keep calling her the succubus of shame. Did she finally get brave?”
The rich scent of green peppers wafted through the kitchen.
Inhaling that aroma, Ning Chu furrowed her brow, a strong wave of nausea rising in her throat, making her stomach churn like a tumultuous sea.
She struggled to swallow her saliva, trying to suppress the feeling of nausea.
“Lily said she’ll still check things out, just getting cozy for now and observing his character…”
Mid-sentence, Ning Chu suddenly leaned over the kitchen counter and started retching into the sink.
Her mother felt the commotion and hurriedly turned off the stove, rushing to pat her back nervously: “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
After gagging for a few seconds, Ning Chu finally looked up and complained, “The green pepper smell is too strong! Can’t you buy sweet peppers instead?”
“You said you wanted it spicier.”
“Did I?” Her gaze flickered as she looked down, “Maybe I’ve been eating too bland while preparing for pregnancy and can’t adjust suddenly?”
She absolutely couldn’t let her mother find out she was pregnant.
Remember how her sister-in-law was treated during her pregnancy? It wasn’t so much caring as it was being monitored, and she couldn’t handle that.
“Could it be that you’re pregnant?” her mother asked suddenly.
“Impossible! I test twice a week, okay?” she quickly defended, “I probably have a little bug. I’m going to step outside for a bit.”
Back in the living room, Ning Chu collapsed onto the sofa, relieved to be away from the greasy smell, alleviating her nausea a little.
She rubbed her temples, stifling a yawn.
Ever since the unexpected pregnancy, she hadn’t had this much time off and had no idea if it was due to a lack of energy or pregnancy symptoms, but she’d been particularly fatigued lately, sleeping over ten hours a day.
Even during her period, she could still drink breakfast milk, but now, for the sake of not raising suspicions, she had been sleeping in a separate bed from Wen Yang at night.
Fortunately, the guest room she converted into a gaming den still had a foldable sofa that transformed into a bed.
“Dinner’s ready.”
“Did you fall asleep again?”
When her mother brought the prepared dishes to the table, she looked up to see her daughter leaned against the armrest of the sofa, already dozing off.
She approached and gently shook her shoulder: “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Ning Chu woke up from her light slumber, blinking at her mother dazedly, then rubbed her aching eyes before answering, “I stayed up on my computer last night.”
Her mother couldn’t help but nag: “Aren’t you old enough to have some self-control when it comes to gaming?”
Turning to the bedroom, she called out loudly, “Dinner’s ready!”
After knocking a few times, her uncle finally emerged from the bedroom, looking pale, and awkwardly leaned against the wall as he walked into the bathroom: “I’ll brush my teeth, you guys eat first.”
It was already midday, and he was just waking up now, looking like he had barely survived the night.
“Mom, even Uncle can’t handle your antics anymore~” Ning Chu yawned and teased her mother as she sat at the dining table.
Her mother playfully tapped her on the head with her chopsticks: “Says who? Are you pregnant?”
“I told you I’m not.”
Ning Chu weakly turned her gaze downward, pushing her rice around, but soon pursed her lips and stopped.
Not really in the mood…
She had felt incredibly nauseous since this morning, and with Wen Yang already off to work, she hadn’t thought much of it then.
But now, it was clearly what they called morning sickness.
“Come on, eat more,” her mother cheerfully piled more food into Ning Chu’s bowl, quickly forming a small mountain, “You have to finish it all.”
“……”
“Do you think I’m blind?”
She could see right through her daughter’s guilty face.
“Fine…”
“How far along are you?”
“Almost six weeks, I guess?”
Her mother furiously tapped her on the head again with her chopsticks: “Why didn’t you tell me? And you were in the kitchen inhaling smoke?”
“That’s painful!” Ning Chu clutched her head, curling into a ball, “I’m a pregnant woman!”
Upon hearing that, her mother immediately set her chopsticks down and rushed into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?”
“Making you some soup.”
