It took Ni Jingxi's eyes a long time to adjust to the darkness of the room, but at this moment Huo Shenyan's palm was pressed against her waist, and even though she was wearing thick clothes, she could still feel the warmth of his palm.
He grasped her hand with his other hand and lowered his voice: "I'm going to settle accounts later."
His voice, which was usually cool and deep, sounded slightly hot as it reached her ears, spreading from the base of her ears and gradually becoming a wildfire.
When Huo Shenyan's lips pressed against hers, Ni Jingxi's back was pressed tightly against the door panel, and she tilted her head slightly to accept his forceful and irresistible kiss.
Before gently prying open her lips, his tongue traced an ambiguous line along her lips.
Ni Jingxi hugged his waist, and then Huo Shenyan carried her step by step to the bedside until the two of them fell onto the soft bed. Huo Shenyan pressed down on her, rubbing his nose against hers and letting out a soft "star."
Ni Jingxi hugged his neck and waited quietly.
Suddenly, Huo Shenyan chuckled softly, saying with a hint of helplessness yet gentleness, "Why do I like you so much?"
This sudden confession, along with the childish words that only an eighteen-year-old boy could utter, made Ni Jingxi feel as if she were immersed in a honey pot, with even her breath filled with an irresistible sweetness.
As winter approached, the New Year seemed to arrive faster and faster. Old Master Huo was finally invited back from Hong Kong by Huo Zhenzhong and Zhong Lan. After his return, Ni Jingxi and Huo Shenyan would stay overnight at the mansion on weekends.
However, she was extremely busy as the year drew to a close, with one interview assignment after another.
Since winning the National Journalism Award (Gold Medal), the newspaper not only promoted her but also granted her greater press freedom and rights. She was now allowed to report on major social news stories that others couldn't.
Zhong Lan had mentioned having children before, so Ni Jingxi naturally didn't take it to heart.
Anyway, after the wedding, the two of them stopped using contraception and started taking a more relaxed approach. At first, they were quite looking forward to it, but as time went on, they both forgot about it.
Just before the holiday, because it was Friday, Ni Jingxi drove straight to the mansion after work.
It was raining in Shanghai today, with a light drizzle mixed with a cold wind. After parking the car, Ni Jingxi ran straight to the lobby without even taking out an umbrella.
Just as she opened the door, Aunt Zhou saw her and quickly came to greet her. Seeing the raindrops on her coat, she said softly, "Next time, just call out and I'll come out to bring you an umbrella."
“It’s alright, it’s just a few steps.” Ni Jingxi shook her head.
No sooner had she finished speaking than her nose tingled, and she quickly turned her head away, sneezing out.
Aunt Zhou touched her hand and said repeatedly, "Look how cold your hands are. I'll go make you some ginger tea to warm you up."
“Really, it’s not necessary,” Ni Jingxi called out from behind.
Zhong Lan was just coming out of the study. Huo Zhenzhong wasn't home today; the old man was playing chess alone in the study. Zhong Lan brought in a cup of hot tea.
"Jingxi is back," Zhong Lan said with a smile.
After putting down her bag, Ni Jingxi took off her coat and hung it up. Zhong Lan noticed that her face was a little pale and said in a low voice, "The weather has been quite cold these past few days, be careful to keep warm."
Ni Jingxi nodded.
Zhong Lan didn't say much. After all, young people these days are very opinionated, and they might not be willing to listen if she said too much. So she usually tries not to say too much.
Huo Shenyan got off work quite early today, arriving home before seven o'clock.
As soon as he returned, Aunt Zhou announced that dinner was ready. Huo Shenyan went to the study to invite the old man, and Ni Jingxi was about to go to the kitchen to help when she smelled a particularly strong aroma of pork ribs as soon as she entered the kitchen.
Aunt Zhou added with a smile, "I made pork rib and winter melon soup today. You should drink more soup in winter."
As soon as she finished saying the word "soup," Ni Jingxi smelled the rich aroma of pork ribs filling the kitchen, and suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was churning up inside her, and her stomach churned violently.
"Sorry," Ni Jingxi said, then quickly turned around.
Luckily, the restroom on the first floor was nearby. She went in and leaned over the sink, starting to gag, but nothing came out. She just felt awful, especially with the smell of meat broth.
Ni Jingxi reached out and pulled out two tissues, then wiped her mouth after rinsing it.
She threw the paper into the trash can, then reached out the back of her hand to touch her forehead; it wasn't hot.
When she opened the bathroom door to leave, she found Zhong Lan and Aunt Zhou standing there waiting. Remembering her actions in the kitchen, Ni Jingxi immediately explained, "Aunt Zhou, it wasn't because you were cooking, it was my own fault..."
“I know.” Aunt Zhou nodded nervously immediately.
At this moment, Zhong Lan asked cautiously, "Jingxi, are you pregnant?"
When Ni Jingxi heard this, her first reaction was, "Is she pregnant?" But the next second, she almost jumped up. "What day is it today?"
It wasn't until she belatedly remembered the date that she realized ten days had passed since her period.
She almost smacked herself on the head right there and then.
Is there anyone in the world more slow to realize things than her?
Zhong Lan watched as her expressions shifted from one thing to another, seemingly unsure even of her own, so she asked softly, "Haven't you tested it yourself?"
Ni Jingxi shook her head.
She really didn't, because her periods are usually a bit irregular, sometimes coming early and sometimes late.
She was a little nervous when her period was delayed by two or three days, but then she was too busy and completely forgot about it. If it weren't for her particularly strong reaction to the pork rib soup today, she still wouldn't have remembered it.
"How about we send someone to buy it now?" Zhong Lan suggested.
Ni Jingxi was too embarrassed to trouble others with something like a pregnancy test, so she immediately said, "I'll drive to buy one myself after we finish eating."
"Let Shenyan go. He's a man, and it's raining outside. How can we let you go?"
Because they were having dinner, no one mentioned it, and they planned to tell Huo Shenyan after dinner.
Earlier, Ni Jingxi felt a little nauseous because of the soup, so Aunt Zhou didn't serve her any. But when Huo Shenyan saw that there wasn't any soup in front of her, he put his own soup in front of her and whispered, "Drink more to warm your stomach. It's quite cold today."
When Zhong Lan and Aunt Zhou saw this, they both became a little anxious.
Zhong Lan actually stood up and took the soup from Huo Shenyan's hand: "This soup is a bit cold, let Aunt Zhou get a fresh bowl."
So Aunt Zhou quickly took the soup away.
A short while later, Aunt Zhou came back and took the soup off the table. It wasn't brought back up again after the meal was over.
After dinner, Zhong Lanzhen wanted to talk to Huo Shenyan, but the old man called Huo Shenyan into the study and asked him to play chess with him.
Zhong Lan couldn't stop him, of course. Seeing that the game of chess was going to go on for who knows how long, after Huo Shenyan went into the study, Zhong Lan immediately said, "Why don't I go buy it? I can drive."
Zhong Lan does have a driver's license, but she can't even remember the last time she drove.
Seeing how anxious she was, Ni Jingxi quickly stopped her, saying, "How about I buy it online?"
Zhong Lan was slightly taken aback, then asked happily, "You can still buy it online?"
Ni Jingxi wasn't sure either, but she opened the mobile app. It was indeed very fast now, and buying medicine online was very convenient. However, this was the first time Ni Jingxi had ever bought a pregnancy test online.
Just as she was about to place the order, Huo Shenyan's voice suddenly rang out from behind: "What are you doing?"
With a clatter, Ni Jingxi's phone slipped from her palm and rolled several times on the ground.
The sound of the phone hitting the marble floor was particularly jarring, and Ni Jingxi was clearly startled, her body trembling reflexively.
Seeing that Ni Jingxi was clearly startled, Zhong Lan stepped forward and patted Huo Shenyan on the back, angrily saying, "How can you be so careless? Don't scare your wife, she's pregnant now."
Huo Shenyan was a little stunned when Zhong Lan hit him like that. After all, Zhong Lan always had the demeanor of a noble lady, and even when she spoke to him, she was slow and deliberate. She had never hit Huo Shenyan so directly before.
But what stunned him even more than the slap was Zhong Lan's words.
What do you mean by 'she is pregnant now'?
Huo Shenyan's eyes widened slightly for a few seconds before he subconsciously looked at Ni Jingxi's stomach. She immediately waved her hand and said, "Not yet."
Well, she means it's not confirmed yet.
After all, she had only gagged a little. If it turned out to be a false alarm and the whole family got excited for nothing, she would be extremely embarrassed.
Zhong Lan didn't care about that. She smiled and instructed Huo Shenyan, "Drive out and buy a pregnancy test. Let Jingxi take it first. If there's good news, take Jingxi to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow."
Huo Shenyan nodded blankly.
But when Zhong Lan saw that he just nodded and remained standing still, she quickly patted him on the back again.
Huo Shenyan then said, "I'll go right away."
He had just turned around when he suddenly turned back and gently hugged Ni Jingxi in front of Zhong Lan and Aunt Zhou. When he let go, he had a very obvious smile on his face.
He was usually reserved and deep in his emotions, and rarely showed them so openly. But now, in front of Zhong Lan and Aunt Zhou, he couldn't help but express his feelings, which clearly showed that he was extremely happy.
Huo Shenyan left quickly and returned even faster, in about fifteen minutes.
When he handed the bag to Ni Jingxi, she looked down and saw that it was full of boxes.
These are all...
Zhong Lan and Aunt Zhou were waiting downstairs, while Huo Shenyan was waiting upstairs in their bedroom for Ni Jingxi to come out of the bathroom.
Huo Shenyan immediately stood up and walked over. Ni Jingxi stood at the door, looking hesitant.
At this moment, Huo Shenyan thought it was a false alarm she was worried about, and was about to reach out and pat her head to comfort her that everything was alright, but Ni Jingxi took out three sticks from behind her back, and Huo Shenyan looked at them.
The first line is very deep, the second line is only a shallow one.
"This..." He was a little confused.
Ni Jingxi said softly, "Mr. Huo, it seems we have a little Huo."
Huo Shenyan was stunned by these words, even though having children was a matter of course to them.
But when it actually happened, he was genuinely a bit stunned.
After the initial shock, I felt completely lost and helpless.
He had certainly seen babies before; they were tiny little bundles of fluff, with eyes, eyebrows, fingers, and toes, all very small and extremely soft.
As she grows up, her face might resemble Jingxi's or his.
Suddenly, Huo Shenyan felt a surge of heat in his heart, a feeling of fullness and even a slight burning sensation.
I felt a surge of excitement that was almost impossible to contain.
He reached out and hugged Ni Jingxi, whispering, "Thank you, Xingxing."
When Huo Shenyan and Ni Jingxi came downstairs to tell Zhong Lan, Zhong Lan was so excited that she wanted to immediately pull Ni Jingxi upstairs to rest. However, she also knew that she couldn't rush it, so she could only let them go upstairs to rest first.
The next day, almost at dawn, Ni Jingxi woke up and went downstairs, where Zhong Lan was waiting.
It's said that she's already made plans with a familiar obstetrician-gynecologist, and a specialist at that. After taking sick leave from the newspaper, Ni Jingxi went to the hospital accompanied by Zhong Lan and Huo Shenyan.
The second examination at the hospital was just to be absolutely certain.
When they received the test results, Director Jiang said with a smile, "Congratulations to you two, you're going to be parents."
Now the good news is finally confirmed.
After returning home, Zhong Lan immediately told Huo Zhenzhong and the old man about it. Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and nodded, saying, "This is the first great-grandchild of our Huo family. Good, good."