Su's mother felt like fainting; her eyes were brimming with tears. If anything happened to her son, she wouldn't want to live anymore.

"This isn't the worst news. No surgery has a 100% chance of success. Let's stay calm." Su Zhifei said softly. "Mom, I have other things to do at the company. Just let me know if you need to have the surgery, and I'll be with you."

"Okay."

As Su's mother spoke, she seemed to remember something and grabbed Su Zhifei's arm, "How is that other one? Has she stopped bothering you? She's only acting like this because she's pregnant; she's a bit pretentious."

"Yes." Su Zhifei nodded heavily; he knew.

That's why I wanted to acknowledge this child as part of the family line, so that his biological mother wouldn't raise him badly.

"Mom, you should rest well first. Don't let your health collapse before the surgery is even over."

"Zhifei, you are my only hope now, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, I understand."

"..." Upstairs, at the corner of the stairs, Su Zhixiang looked down at the loving mother and son downstairs, and he was almost driven mad with jealousy.

They were both her sons, yet he was always the one who received the least love.

——

Lin Zhaoyue returned early, and Hua Xiuyun had just made some chicken soup and served her a bowl first. "This is the half chicken left over from lunch. Drink some soup to warm yourself up. It's too cold in the morning and evening. Why didn't you wear more clothes? Pregnant women are more prone to catching colds and getting sick."

"It was cold outside, but hot in the car, so I took it off and didn't wear it anymore." Lin Zhaoyue smiled. "Mom, it's okay, I've always been in good health."

"You can't compare the old you to the current you; you're a completely different person now!"

Hua Xiuyun looked at her with doting eyes, and touched the back of her hand, which was still warm, before she stopped nagging. "It's better to get pregnant when you're young. Your aunt had all sorts of discomforts in her second trimester, and she was vomiting terribly in the first trimester. Now she has edema. She went to the hospital for a checkup and the doctor said it was normal. She should be more careful."

"She's already experiencing edema?" It's normal for edema to occur in late pregnancy, so this pregnancy is likely to be very difficult for her.

"Hmm." Hua Xiuyun sighed. "She insisted on having this child, and no one could persuade her otherwise. I also heard from your father that she doesn't feel well when she sleeps at night, and her legs always cramp up. Calcium supplements don't help either."

Her condition is indeed quite serious.

Lin Zhaoyue didn't speak, and Hua Xiuyun continued, "Giving birth is not easy for women. If you ask me, you shouldn't have any more after this one. As your mother-in-law, I shouldn't interfere in your childbirth. We already have three children, and it's tiring for a mother with many children."

"I'm not having any more children." Lin Zhaoyue nodded slightly and repeated, "I won't have any more after this one."

"good."

Jiang Jingzhou entered the house with a chill in his air. Lin Zhaoyue looked up at him. She had just parked the car, but he hadn't gone back inside. Where had he gone this time?

"Didn't you say last night that you wanted to eat the oil-splashed noodles from our alley? I went and bought you a serving."

Jiang Jingzhou put the packaged oil-splashed noodles in his arms, not minding that they were hot.

"I'll go get a bowl."

Hua Xiuyun saw that the food was in a bag and couldn't be eaten. He had just carried the bag in one hand and covered his clothes with the other when he came into the house.

"..." Lin Zhaoyue looked at him with a smile on her lips. No matter what she said, the man would find a way to do it.

This proves that actions speak louder than words.

Lin Zhaoyue's favorite thing about Jiang Jingzhou is that he talks less and does more work.

"Why did you only buy one serving? Isn't that your favorite place for oil-splashed noodles?"

“Mom must have cooked something for you at home. I bought you some noodles. You can’t finish all of Mom’s cooking, so I’ll have to eat them all.”

Jiang Jingzhou lowered his voice a few degrees as he finished speaking, "If there's too much left, won't Mom nag us?"

Lin Zhaoyue's smile widened even more; she hadn't expected him to even think of that.

"You didn't even tell me you were buying things! There's still half a chicken in this pot!"

Sure enough, when Ms. Hua brought the bowl over, she couldn't help but complain about Jiang Jingzhou.

"I've been stewing this chicken for a long time. It would be a waste not to eat it. Your dad and I can't finish it, the kids can't eat it, and the two aunties don't want to get tired of eating it. So who do you think will eat it?"

"I'll eat it."

Jiang Jingzhou smiled slightly, "Mom, I'll make sure I finish everything and there's absolutely no waste."

"Giving you food is a waste. You're as strong as an ox now, you don't need any supplements."

Hua Xiuyun immediately lost her temper and let out a soft snort.

"I need to. I've been quite busy with things in the military lately, so I definitely need to catch up."

"Okay, then take your time to make up for it!"

"Mommy, hug, Mommy," Da Guai and Er Guai are walking more and more steadily now, and they keep babbling for their mother to hug them.

Jiang Jingzhou didn't give his eldest son the chance, reaching out to pick him up around the waist, saying, "Mommy has a little sister in her tummy, you can't hold her."

“He’s so young, what does he know about a younger sister?” Lin Zhaoyue looked at Jiang Jingzhou with a hint of helplessness in her eyes. “Besides, it might not be a younger sister; what if it’s a younger brother?”

"It would be better to have another little girl." Jiang Jingzhou likes daughters; he hasn't had enough of them yet.

"Whether you have a son or a daughter isn't up to you. Two sons are fine too; they can protect their little sister properly." The only downside is having to be a mother-in-law to two daughters-in-law. You can't even be a good mother-in-law to one, let alone two! You have to treat them both equally!

"I think it should be a girl," Hua Xiuyun said, watching her daughter-in-law eat the spicy noodles with great relish. There's some truth to the saying that sour foods indicate a boy and spicy foods indicate a girl. When her daughter-in-law was pregnant with these two children, she liked both spicy and sour foods, and as a result, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

"..." Lin Zhaoyue felt it was a bit spicy and wanted to add vinegar.

She blinked.

Can I only look, but not be jealous?

If what my mother-in-law said is true, it seems to make a lot of sense.

"What's wrong? Did it not taste good? I told you long ago that the food they make outside isn't fresh. It's definitely cleaner to make it yourself."

"No, I just think it's a bit spicy. They must have changed the chili peppers."

Lin Zhaoyue frowned. "Mom, why don't you take your chicken soup over and I'll just have a bowl of chicken soup myself?"

"Hehe, Zhaoyue, I don't think you can handle spicy food. You wouldn't be craving something sour, would you? Then you're probably carrying a son! What's there to be embarrassed about? Eat whatever you want. We'll have both a boy and a girl. Just ignore what he's saying."

Hua Xiuyun smiled happily. In fact, whether it was her grandson or granddaughter, they had long been mentally prepared. It was all the same!

No matter what it is, it's their child, and she'll spoil it.

"I can't eat spicy food, I want to eat sour food."

Lin Zhaoyue smiled and said, "I want to eat Mom's pickled fish."