RIRW – Chapter 136

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After wandering around the whole day, by the time they got back to the guesthouse, Zuo Dan was so tired she could barely walk.

As soon as they managed to return to the guesthouse, she collapsed onto the bed and didn’t want to move. Shen Yiming carried the hot water bottle provided in the room to fetch hot water, then helped her wash her face and soak her feet.

Leaning against the bed, Zuo Dan chatted lazily with Shen Yiming, “Shen Yiming, let’s go to Xujiahui tomorrow. It’s really lively over there. Hmm, we haven’t even finished walking down Nanjing Road today. Oh right, let’s explore some side streets tomorrow too. I want to scavenge some things for our little Youyou. Maybe even find a family heirloom.”

Shen Yiming massaged the soles of her feet and disagreed, “What heirloom? I’m not planning to leave him anything. He’ll have to rely on himself.”

“That won’t do. Competition in the future will be intense. We can’t let him lose at the starting line,” Zuo Dan argued protectively. She had seen how cruel and fierce competition in the future would be.

Of course she wanted her child to benefit from having capable parents.

Shen Yiming pursed his lips and simply stopped talking. After all, the child was in Comrade Zuo Dan’s belly — she could do as she pleased for now. But once the baby was born, it’d be a different story. He’d raise the child the way he saw fit.

Counting on parental support? Hah.

After a while, he heard steady breathing coming from the bed. He gently wiped her feet clean, poured out the basin of water, and went to wash up himself.

When he returned to the bed and turned off the light, he placed his hand on Zuo Dan’s belly. He left it there for a while, but there was absolutely no movement. He started to feel a bit anxious.

Could the baby have a slow temperament?

Shen Yiming sighed and fell asleep, hugging Zuo Dan.

For the next two days, Zuo Dan took Shen Yiming around shopping. The department stores in Shanghai were very different from those in the provincial capital. Although the capital’s stores sold a lot of things, they were all rather common. Shanghai was on a different level — even the clothing seemed trendier and more fashion-forward.

Zuo Dan mostly looked around without any strong desire to buy.

It was actually Shen Yiming who seemed more interested. Whenever he saw something nice, he’d ask the salesperson to let her try it on.

“Shen Yiming, I’m just looking. I’m not planning to buy anything.”

“Buy it. We rarely come here. If you see something you like, just buy it,” Shen Yiming said firmly. “I can definitely afford to buy you a few nice outfits. It’s not like the old days anymore. You can wear brighter colors now. I like seeing you in something vivid. Let’s get a few pretty dresses. You’ll look perfect in them in a few months.”

He picked out a few pieces for her, using cloth coupons and industrial coupons, along with some cash.

Zuo Dan looked at the neatly stacked money and coupons he pulled out and realized — he had come fully prepared.

After buying the clothes, just as Zuo Dan was about to pull Shen Yiming away, two women with bright red lips walked toward them.

Shen Yiming glanced a few times and said, “Want one? I think it’ll look better on you than on them.”

Oh please, she wasn’t the least bit interested. Back home, she used to have a whole set of Yves Saint Laurent.

Zuo Dan put on a stern face. “Comrade Shen Yiming, you shouldn’t be spending money so carelessly. Right now, the entire household relies on you. Now that we’ve got a baby coming, you need to think about saving for formula.”

Shen Yiming’s mouth twitched.

Zuo Dan added, “Besides, that’s an industrial product. It’s not good for the baby. The doctor even told me not to draw my eyebrows.”

“Then you can use it after the baby is born,” Shen Yiming insisted.

“Fine, fine, go ahead and buy it. Buy it for yourself,” Zuo Dan said, grumbling.

Shen Yiming dragged her off to buy lipstick. But it turned out to be an imported product and required foreign exchange coupons.

Zuo Dan covered her mouth, laughing. “Comrade Yiming, our family’s as red and pure as they come. We don’t have any foreign relatives.” Then she saw Shen Yiming calmly pull a foreign exchange coupon from another pocket and hand it to the salesgirl. “Give me one in bright red.”

Zuo Dan puffed up her cheeks. As expected, this sly fox always came fully prepared.

The salesgirl inspected the coupon, then picked out a lipstick for her.

After receiving it, Shen Yiming looked contentedly at the bright red tube. If she weren’t pregnant right now, he definitely would’ve painted her lips with that color and kissed her thoroughly.

He smacked his lips, seemingly savoring the thought.

Zuo Dan immediately covered her mouth and glared, “Shen Yiming! So that’s why you bought me lipstick? You pervert!”

Shen Yiming squinted and smiled. He loved this — just a look, and she already knew what he was thinking. Perfect.

The two of them wandered around for another two days, thoroughly exploring all the lively spots in Shanghai before finally getting ready to go home.

The night before leaving, Zuo Dan lay in bed sorting out the gifts she bought for the family.

For Grandma, for the Zuo family, for the Li family… Most of the stuff was hers. After organizing everything and packing the luggage, Zuo Dan lay in Shen Yiming’s arms and said, “Shen Yiming, let’s go on trips more often in the future. Next time, we won’t come to Shanghai though.”

“Okay,” Shen Yiming replied with a kiss.

“But we’re going to be really busy this year. Our top priority is having the baby.”

Mentioning the baby made her think about the slow little one in her belly. She was already more than four months along. The doctor said the baby should start moving after four months — it was just a matter of time.

Zuo Dan looked at her belly. There still wasn’t the slightest sign of movement. If her belly wasn’t growing, she might have suspected a false pregnancy.

“Shen Yiming, when do you think the baby will start moving?”

Shen Yiming stared at her belly, deep in thought. Then he said, “I need to study it carefully. Lie down. Let me examine your belly.”

Zuo Dan looked at him and laughed. “You sure you’re up to it?”

Shen Yiming narrowed his eyes. “You’ll know soon enough.” He gently helped Zuo Dan lie down on the bed, then began unbuttoning her pajamas from the bottom up—one button, two, three… As he reached just below her chest, Zuo Dan stopped him. “You can see the belly now.”

“Mm.” Shen Yiming pressed his lips together, stroking his chin as he seriously studied her belly like a scholarly old professor.

After staring for a while, he even leaned in to listen. Zuo Dan burst out laughing. “Shen Yiming, are you really pretending to be a doctor now?”

“I just heard him,” Shen Yiming said solemnly. “He said if I give him a kiss, he’ll move.”

Zuo Dan didn’t believe him. “Liar. He doesn’t understand anything yet.”

“Don’t believe me? Let me kiss him,” Shen Yiming said.

“Go ahead, go ahead. I still don’t believe you.” Zuo Dan rolled her eyes.

Shen Yiming suddenly pressed his lips to her belly and kissed it gently. The soft touch made Zuo Dan feel ticklish all over. She pushed at his head. “It tickles.”

Then his head slowly trailed upward from her belly, unbuttoning the last of her buttons and exposing her chest.

He leaned gently over her and kissed her there.

Zuo Dan went limp under his kisses, holding his head and gasping, “I knew you had bad intentions.”

Shen Yiming lifted his head from her chest and kissed her lips.

Zuo Dan passionately kissed him back. After all, this was the last night of their honeymoon—of course it had to be perfect. Their clothes gradually slipped off. Worried about pressing on her, Shen Yiming lay on his side and helped her lie on her side as well.

Just as they were about to take things further, Zuo Dan suddenly felt something move inside her belly. The sensation was unfamiliar, and she didn’t immediately realize what it was. It wasn’t until it happened a second time that she understood, pushing away Shen Yiming’s hand that was resting on her leg.

Flushed, Shen Yiming looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

Zuo Dan excitedly held her belly. “Shen Yiming, he moved! Youyou moved!”

The flush on Shen Yiming’s face vanished as he widened his eyes and stared at her belly, then reached out to feel it.

Nothing. He looked at her, unimpressed.

“I’m not lying! He really moved!” Zuo Dan said excitedly.

So the two of them stayed still, waiting for movement. Shen Yiming put his hand here, then there, then finally just rested his head on her belly.

His short, fuzzy hair tickled Zuo Dan all over again.

They studied her belly for a while, but the lazy baby wouldn’t budge. Shen Yiming was just about to resume what they hadn’t finished when he suddenly felt something lightly tap his hand, which was resting on her belly. It was a faint touch, but very distinct.

He froze. Then he felt it again—two more little taps—before everything went still again.

Zuo Dan was so excited she didn’t even speak, afraid of disturbing the baby. The two of them just stared at her belly in silence.

When it became clear the lazy little one wouldn’t move again, Zuo Dan turned to Shen Yiming excitedly. “Did you feel that? He moved again just now!”

Shen Yiming lifted his head and looked at her, then nodded with pursed lips.

As soon as he looked up, Zuo Dan asked in surprise, “Shen Yiming, why are your eyes red?”

Shen Yiming took a deep breath, feeling like something was stuck in his throat. “I don’t know. I just suddenly feel this huge sense of responsibility. But I’m really happy.” He realized Zuo Dan was right—they needed to create a good environment for their child and leave him something for the future. They couldn’t let him suffer.

Zuo Dan reached out and placed her hand over his, both of them resting their hands on her belly. “Because this is our sweet burden.”

Since their train home was in the afternoon, they weren’t in a hurry in the morning and decided to sleep in until around 9 a.m.

When Zuo Dan woke up, she felt something lightly pressed against her belly. She looked over and saw that Shen Yiming was nowhere to be seen—just a bulge under the blanket.

“Shen Yiming, what are you doing?”

“It’s morning. I’m checking if he’s awake yet,” came his muffled voice from under the covers.

“…”

Clearly, the baby had returned to hibernation mode. He didn’t move again all the way to the train station—slept like a rock.

On the way back, the train carriage was more crowded. Fortunately, Shen Yiming had bought two lower berths.

Although they didn’t get to enjoy the space to themselves, the lively atmosphere was nice too.

Everyone in the carriage was returning from Shanghai to the provincial capital, so the chatter was lively.

Two steel mill engineers on the upper bunks were chatting. “There were way more foreigners in Shanghai this time than before. Things are definitely different now.”

“Yeah, I even heard something about overseas Chinese. Weren’t they considered enemy spies back in the day?”

“You’re just not used to it. They’re returnees now. I heard they had no choice but to leave before, and now they’re doing well abroad.”

“Times really are different. It hasn’t been that long, and now they’re called returned overseas Chinese…”

Zuo Dan was playing chess with Shen Yiming when she overheard this and suddenly thought of the man who had wronged her mother. She thought to herself: better if he never comes back. Her family was living peacefully as things were.

Two days passed quickly, and by the third afternoon, they were back in the provincial capital. Zuo Dan still felt like it wasn’t real. She looked around for a while before finally regaining that familiar feeling.

Zuo Cong was waiting at the station. When he saw them come out, he happily ran over. “Sis, Brother Yiming, you’re back!”

“Xiao Cong, why are you here?” Zuo Dan asked.

“To pick you up, of course. I figured it would be tough to get a ride all the way from the station. Just so happened that Brother Xiaogang came to visit Grandma, so I asked him to help bring the car over. Now you can drive yourselves home.”

Zuo Dan smiled. “Our Xiao Cong is so thoughtful. When you find a girlfriend one day, you’ll definitely be more considerate than your brother-in-law.”

Zuo Cong scratched his head shyly.

The car was parked just outside the station. The three of them got in and drove home together. On the way, Zuo Cong said, “Oh right—Third Uncle came by while you were gone. He was really disappointed when he found out you weren’t home, then just went back.”

“When did that happen?” Zuo Dan asked in surprise.

She had invited Third Uncle over to the provincial capital several times, but Zuo Chengcai was always too busy to make the trip. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

“The day after you two left. He didn’t say when he’d come again, but he looked pretty happy,” Zuo Cong replied.

Zuo Dan raised her eyebrows. “Could it be that Third Uncle is getting married?” Uncle Zuo Chengcai and Comrade Li Suli had been dating for quite a while. “I’ll call home and ask once we get back.”

When the three of them got home, Grandma had already prepared a delicious meal. Seeing them walk into the courtyard, she was overjoyed and couldn’t stop smiling. She pulled Zuo Dan into the house and asked about her health.

When she heard that the baby had moved, she was visibly delighted.

Perhaps sensing the joyful atmosphere at home, Zuo Dan felt a flutter in her belly again. She turned to Grandma and said, “He just moved again. He hasn’t moved in two days, but as soon as we got home, he did. He must be happy to see his great-grandma.”

Grandma leaned in to examine her belly closely. Though she couldn’t really see anything, she smiled until her face nearly split in two. “Great-grandma is happy to see you too. You must grow up quickly now, little one.”

Zuo Dan counted on her fingers and said happily, “Soon, very soon, we’ll get to meet each other.”

That afternoon, after resting for a bit at home, Zuo Dan went out to make a call to Zuo Family Village. Grandma Zuo picked up, and when Zuo Dan asked about her third uncle, Grandma Zuo started complaining angrily over the phone.

“Don’t even mention that rascal. He didn’t even discuss the wedding date with me before setting it. Just told me out of nowhere. So disrespectful!”

Zuo Dan winced and asked, “So when is he getting married?”

“Li Suli’s family said they’d wait until the end of the year, and your third uncle just agreed. I mean, what’s the difference if they get married sooner? Why wait?”

Having gotten the information she wanted, Zuo Dan quickly said, “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right, Grandma. I’ll scold him for you later. But this call is costing me a lot—it’s several cents just for a few words.”

“What? That expensive? Alright, then, talk to you later.” Click —the old lady hung up.

Zuo Dan hung up as well, paid the phone fee, and headed home with Shen Yiming.

“My third uncle’s getting married at the end of the year. Though it’s a bit late, by then our Youyou will be able to drink the wedding wine!” Zuo Dan laughed. “Imagine that—Youyou drinking his granduncle’s wedding wine. I don’t know why, but that just makes me so happy!”

Shen Yiming chuckled, but then looked slightly worried. “Do you think their relationship is stable? Things are changing so quickly these days. I’m just afraid something might go wrong…”

Zuo Dan remembered that the college entrance exams were supposed to resume around the end of the year, too. That really did make things a bit complicated.

But she couldn’t pressure her third uncle to rush into marriage just because of this.

“Let’s just let it happen naturally. After all, they’re not getting married until year’s end,” she said, thinking marriage wasn’t something to be rushed.

After their honeymoon, Shen Yiming became busy again. Taking a long vacation meant double the workload when he returned. Meanwhile, Zuo Dan focused on her studies and frequently reminded Zuo Cong to hit the books too.

Everything was moving along in an orderly way.

The only thing that was a bit frustrating was the lazy baby in her belly. He still refused to move much.

Doctors had said that once a baby hit five months, they would start moving more frequently.

But her little one didn’t seem eager to show off. Aside from his movements becoming stronger, he still only moved every few days to remind them of his presence—before promptly falling back into a deep sleep.

Still, that was enough to make Grandma overjoyed. “He’s just well-behaved, doesn’t want to trouble you.”

After Labor Day, things started getting tougher for Zuo Dan. Her thighs began swelling, and since she had been eating too well lately, she noticed she had gained more than a little weight.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Zuo Dan could hardly stand to look at herself. She began to suspect Shen Yiming had some kind of taste problem—how could he still kiss her pudgy, round face?

It wasn’t just her figure that had changed—her tastes had too.

Sometimes, when it was time to eat, nothing looked appealing. But by nighttime, she’d feel so hungry it seemed like she could eat a whole cow.

“Shen Yiming, I want those flatbreads you used to make. The ones with scallions.”

Shen Yiming was massaging her swollen legs. “Alright, I’ll make them for you tomorrow.”

Zuo Dan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “I want them now. Right now. Immediately. I must have them in my mouth!”

“……” Shen Yiming got up and headed to the kitchen to make them.

A little while later, the fragrant scallion flatbreads were done. Just as Zuo Dan picked one up and prepared to eat, she suddenly felt nauseated. She didn’t want to waste Shen Yiming’s effort, so she forced herself to take a bite—only to immediately bend over the bed and dry-heave.

Shen Yiming: “……”

Zuo Dan held up both hands and swore to the heavens, “I swear I wasn’t trying to mess with you…”

Shen Yiming sighed. “What do you want to eat now?”

“I want something sour… sour plum soup! I’m really craving it,” she said, swallowing again just at the thought.

Shen Yiming glanced out at the dark night sky. It was probably too late to buy any, so he went into the kitchen, found some preserved plums they had stored, and started simmering them into soup.

By the time the sour plum soup was ready and he brought it into the bedroom, Zuo Dan was already fast asleep.

Shen Yiming walked over quietly and gently tucked a blanket over her. Looking at her high, round belly, he rubbed his sore eyebrows and couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re such a handful. When you come out, don’t think I won’t take good care of you.”

At that moment, a small bump appeared on Zuo Dan’s belly, followed by a little ripple that traced across the skin.