Chapter 178 Pregnancy Marks

Time flew by like water, and a few more days passed.

After breakfast

While the child was sleeping, Gu Yihan chatted with her grandmother in the yard.

"Our neighbor, Deputy Battalion Commander Wang's wife, is pregnant."

Gu Yihan: "Really? Then Deputy Battalion Commander Wang's mother must be overjoyed."

Grandma Gu pursed her lips and muttered, "You haven't seen that old Mrs. Wang now, she walks with such an air of superiority."

The grandmother and granddaughter had been chatting for a short while when Zhao Ju's voice came from the doorway.

"Xiao Han".

Grandma Gu opened the gate to the courtyard, and Zhao Ju, who was more than seven months pregnant, walked into the yard carrying an old hen.

Gu Yihan quickly took the thrashing hen from her hands and complained, "Why did you bring things with you?"

Zhao Ju skillfully walked into the bedroom, sat on the sofa, took the cooled honey water from Grandma Gu's hand, and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Then he looked at Gu Yihan pitifully and said, "I'm only coming to see you now, Xiaohan won't blame me, will she?"

Gu Yihan glared at her irritably and said, "No way."

Zhao Ju touched her own belly and couldn't help but feel envious as she looked at Gu Yihan's flat stomach.

Then she thought of the red marks below her belly and asked, "Xiao Han, have the stretch marks on your belly faded yet?"

Gu Yihan was stunned for a moment before she realized that Zhao Ju was talking about stretch marks.

She often drinks water from the space, and no stretch marks have appeared on her stomach.

Gu Yihan: "You've got wrinkles?"

Zhao Ju nodded, her expression not very good, and then complained, "I didn't last time, but this time my belly is bigger and my skin is especially itchy."

Itchy? Gu Yihan took a serious look at her belly and found that it was much bigger than when she was seven months pregnant.

Zhao Ju nodded quickly, "Now it's not just on my stomach, it's on my thighs too."

After saying that, she lifted her clothes to show Gu Yihan her stomach.

When Gu Yihan saw it, she was startled. There were irregular purplish-red vertical cracks that stretched all the way up to her navel.

Seeing that Gu Yihan didn't speak, Zhao Ju put down the clothes, tears streaming down her face, and choked out, "Am I particularly ugly?"

Gu Yihan knew that some pregnant women would experience anxiety due to changes in their bodies.

He quickly patted her shoulder to comfort her, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? You're not ugly at all. This is the most beautiful mark God has given you."

"Let the baby in your belly know how much his mother loves him and how much she has sacrificed for him, and he will spoil you even more in the future."

Zhao Ju was stunned when she heard this. She liked children, but seeing the stretch marks on her belly made her feel particularly sad.

With red eyes, she asked, "Xiao Han, are you just trying to comfort me?"

Gu Yihan patted her hand and smiled, "From now on, there will be one more person in your family who will love you."

Zhao Ju nodded. Although she knew that Xiao Han was probably just trying to comfort her, she was still somewhat reassured.

After seeing that Zhao Ju's emotions had stabilized, Gu Yihan changed the subject, saying, "Sister Ju, how often do you get checkups? Have you listened to the fetal heartbeat yet?"

Zhao Ju: "I haven't gone yet. I originally planned to go when I was six months pregnant, but Jianguo went on a mission, so I didn't want to go."

Gu Yihan: "..."

Grandma Gu came out of the bedroom and frowned after hearing Zhao Ju's words.

Since her granddaughter became pregnant, she has accompanied her to every hospital check-up.

Even though they know quite a bit, pregnant women still need to have regular checkups to feel at ease.

He glanced at Zhao Ju's belly, which was considerably larger than his granddaughter's: "Could it be twins?"

After hearing Grandma Gu's words, Zhao Ju thought she had misheard and asked again, "Grandma Gu, did you just say twins?"

Grandma Gu nodded: "Your belly is about the same size as someone who is nine months pregnant."

Seeing that Zhao Ju's expression was off, Gu Yihan quickly explained, "Sister Ju, my grandma was just guessing, don't take it seriously."

Zhao Ju was panicking. She was genuinely worried about twins because there was no one to help take care of the children, and she wouldn't be able to manage both of them by herself.

Zhao Ju gripped Gu Yihan's hand tightly: "Xiaohan... could you come with me to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow?"

“Okay.” Gu Yihan readily agreed.

Just as Zhao Ju was about to say thank you, a question came from the courtyard.

Is your sister-in-law home?

Grandma Gu heard the noise and came out of the living room to see the two military wives who had visited last week.

She greeted him with a smile, "Xiao Han is home."

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

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

Grandma Gu moved a stool, put a soft cushion on it, and let her granddaughter sit down: "Xiao Han, Grandma will go and see if Hao Hao has woken up yet."

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

He turned around and smiled at Jiang Yue and Liu Aihua, saying, "It needs to cool down for a while, it's a bit hot."

Jiang Yue and Liu Aihua both smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you're too kind."

Since arriving at the family compound, Jiang Yue had done her research. There were several versions of Gu Yihan's background in the compound.

Everyone says she's not Gu's biological child. Her biological father came looking for her, but they didn't acknowledge each other for various reasons.

But seeing how good Grandma Gu is to Gu Yihan, those rumors in the family compound are probably all false!

Where else can you get along so well with a child who isn't related to you by blood?

Jiang Yue praised, "Sister-in-law, Grandma Gu is so good to you."

Gu Yihan smiled and said, "Yes, Grandma has been very good to me since I was little."

Liu Aihua smiled and asked Zhao Ju, "Sister-in-law, how many months pregnant have you been?"

Zhao Ju responded with a smile, "It's been more than seven months."

Liu Aihua was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

He then smiled and said, "The Shi family is living a good life. When I was pregnant, we had nothing to eat, and my baby weighed less than five pounds at birth."

After Liu Aihua finished speaking, Zhao Ju's smile vanished, and she replied listlessly, "Really?"

Seeing that Zhao Ju wasn't interested in chatting, Liu Aihua stopped trying to engage her in conversation.

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

He tugged at Liu Aihua beside him and whispered, "What does she do for a living?"

Liu Aihua was stunned. She hadn't expected Zhao Ju to ask this. Zhao Ju lived in the same apartment building as her and they saw each other often, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Jiang Yue lived in a small courtyard, so it was normal that she didn't know him. She replied in a low voice, "I work in the logistics department of the textile factory."

The textile factory's logistics department? Zhao Ju nodded and said nothing more.

On the other side, Jiang Yue whispered to Gu Yihan, "Sister-in-law, does Grandma Gu support your work?"

"I support it." Gu Yihan nodded with a smile.

Jiang Yue was extremely envious. When she gave birth, she missed a job opportunity because no one could help her.

Gu Yihan glanced at the time, went back to her bedroom to feed the baby, and the group chatted until 11 a.m. before saying goodbye and leaving.