B5SB -Chapter 178 Stretch Marks

A few more days passed like flowing water.

After breakfast, Gu Yihan took advantage of the time while the baby was sleeping to chat with Grandma Gu in the courtyard.

“Our neighbor, Deputy Battalion Commander Wang’s wife, is pregnant,” Grandma Gu said.

Gu Yihan replied, “Really? Deputy Commander Wang’s mother must be overjoyed.”

Grandma Gu pursed her lips and muttered, “You haven’t seen that Old Madam Wang lately—she walks around looking extremely proud.”

The grandmother and granddaughter chatted for a short while before they heard Zhao Ju calling from outside the gate.

“Xiaoyan!”

Grandma Gu opened the courtyard gate. Zhao Ju, now over seven months pregnant, walked in holding an old hen.

Gu Yihan quickly took the struggling hen from her hands, complaining, “Why are you still bringing things over?”

Zhao Ju moved into the bedroom with practiced ease, sat on the sofa, and took the honey water Grandma Gu had let cool, gulping it down in several large sips.

Only then did she look at Gu Yihan with a pitiful expression: “I only just came to see you… you won’t be mad at me, right?”

Gu Yihan gave her a sharp glance but replied, “Of course not.”

Zhao Ju rubbed her belly and, looking at Gu Yihan’s flat stomach, couldn’t help but feel envious.

Then she remembered the red marks on her own lower abdomen. “Xiaoyan, have the lines on your belly disappeared?”

Gu Yihan paused, then realized Zhao Ju was talking about stretch marks.

She often drank the special water from the space, and her belly had developed no marks at all.

Gu Yihan asked, “You’ve got stretch marks?”

Zhao Ju nodded, her face not very cheerful, and complained, “I didn’t last time, but this pregnancy my belly is bigger, and it’s so itchy.”

Itchy? Gu Yihan looked closely at her belly and realized it was noticeably larger than a typical seven-month belly.

Zhao Ju hurriedly nodded, “It’s not just the belly now, even my thighs have them.”

Then she lifted her shirt to show Gu Yihan her stomach.

Gu Yihan was startled. Irregular reddish-purple vertical streaks ran up to just above her navel.

Seeing Gu Yihan silent, Zhao Ju lowered her shirt, tears dropping as she choked out, “Is it… really that ugly?”

Gu Yihan knew some pregnant women could become anxious about bodily changes.

She quickly patted Zhao Ju’s shoulder to reassure her: “Nonsense! How could it be ugly? These are the most beautiful marks that heaven has given you.”

“They show your baby how much you love them and what you’ve given up for them. Later, they will cherish you even more.”

Zhao Ju froze, touched by the words. She loved children, but seeing the marks on her belly had made her feel so upset.

Red-eyed, she asked, “Xiaoyan… are you just trying to comfort me?”

Gu Yihan patted her hand and smiled, “Soon, you’ll have someone in your family to care for you, too.”

Zhao Ju nodded. Even though she knew Gu Yihan might be comforting her, she still felt reassured.

Seeing Zhao Ju calm down, Gu Yihan changed the subject: “Sister Ju, how often do you go for checkups? Have you listened to the baby’s heartbeat yet?”

Zhao Ju replied, “Not yet. I originally planned to go at six months, but Jianguo went on a mission, and I didn’t want to go by myself.”

Gu Yihan: “…”

Grandma Gu came out of the bedroom and frowned at Zhao Ju’s words.

Ever since her granddaughter had become pregnant, she always accompanied her to the hospital for checkups.

She knew a lot about it—pregnant women still needed regular checkups to be safe.

She looked at Zhao Ju’s belly, which was noticeably bigger than her granddaughter’s, and asked, “Could it be twins?”

Hearing this, Zhao Ju thought she misheard and asked again, “Grandma Gu, did you say twins?”

Grandma Gu nodded, “Your belly is almost as big as someone nine months pregnant.”

Seeing Zhao Ju’s expression change, Gu Yihan hurriedly explained, “Sister Ju, my grandma is just guessing. Don’t take it too seriously.”

Zhao Ju felt a pang of worry. She was genuinely concerned about twins—if there were two babies, she wouldn’t be able to take care of them alone.

She gripped Gu Yihan’s hand tightly: “Xiaoyan… could you go with me to the hospital tomorrow for a checkup?”

“Sure,” Gu Yihan agreed promptly.

Zhao Ju was about to thank her when a voice called from the courtyard: “Is sister-in-law home?”

Grandma Gu, hearing this, went out to the living room and saw the two military wives who had visited last week.

She smiled and called out, “Xiaoyan is home.”

When Jiang Yue and Liu Aihua entered the living room and saw Zhao Ju on the sofa, they greeted her with a smile.

Gu Yihan stood up and gestured for them to sit on the sofa.

Grandma Gu brought a stool, placed a cushion on it, and gestured for her granddaughter to sit: “Xiaoyan, I’ll check if Haohai is awake.”

Gu Yihan smiled and nodded, then poured a cup of brown sugar water for the newcomers, Jiang Yue and Liu Aihua.

Turning, she smiled at them: “Be careful, it’s hot—let it cool a bit.”

Both Jiang Yue and Liu Aihua laughed: “Sister-in-law, you’re too polite.”

Since arriving at the residential compound, Jiang Yue had done her homework on Gu Yihan’s background.

There were many rumors in the compound about her origins.

Many said she wasn’t Gu family’s biological child. Her real father had come looking for her but had not recognized her due to various reasons.

But seeing how well Grandma Gu treated Gu Yihan, most of those rumors were probably false.

Who would treat a child with no blood relation so well?

Jiang Yue praised, “Sister-in-law, Grandma Gu treats you really well.”

Gu Yihan smiled: “Yes, she’s treated me well since I was little.”

Liu Aihua chatted with Zhao Ju: “Sister, how far along are you now?”

Zhao Ju smiled back: “Over seven months.”

Liu Aihua froze for a moment, then laughed: “The Shiying family really lives well. When I was pregnant, we barely had enough to eat, and my baby was under five pounds at birth.”

After Liu Aihua finished speaking, Zhao Ju’s face showed no smile, and she replied listlessly, “Is that so?”

Seeing Zhao Ju uninterested in chatting, Liu Aihua stopped trying.

Zhao Ju watched Gu Yihan and Jiang Yue chatting happily and felt a little uncomfortable, as if Gu Yihan had been taken away from her.

She tugged at Liu Aihua’s hand and whispered, “What does she do for work?”

Liu Aihua was surprised at the question. Since Zhao Ju lived in the same compound and often saw her, they were familiar.

Jiang Yue lived in a smaller courtyard, so it was normal she didn’t know. She whispered back, “She works in the logistics department of the textile factory.”

The logistics department? Zhao Ju nodded and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yue quietly asked Gu Yihan: “Sister-in-law, does Grandma Gu support your work?”

“Yes,” Gu Yihan smiled and nodded.

Jiang Yue was very envious. When she gave birth, she missed a work opportunity because there was no one to help.

Gu Yihan checked the time, went back to the bedroom to feed the baby, while the others chatted until 11 a.m., then left.