Xia Baozhu and Sun Xingyan stayed in China for four months and then spent six months in the United States before returning to China. This time, they opened two foreign trade companies in Heicheng and Beijing respectively.

The company recruited more than a dozen foreign language professionals, so Sun Xingyan's role became less important. Since he owned a significant number of shares in the company, he became a hands-off manager.

Xia Baozhu happened to be pregnant, which made it even more natural for him to be a hands-off manager. He let himself go and eventually decided to only take a share of the profits and not participate in management.

After the pregnancy stabilized in Beijing, the two took a sleeper train back to Taicheng.

To make it easier for Xia Baozhu to rest, Sun Xingyan booked an evening train ticket so that she would arrive home just as she woke up.

"Wife, be careful and walk slowly." Sun Xingyan carried simple luggage and helped Xia Baozhu walk slowly as if he were helping a patient.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm perfectly fine." Apart from some morning sickness, Xia Baozhu was perfectly healthy; she couldn't even feel the presence of a new life inside her.

Ever since the doctor told her she was pregnant, Sun Xingyan has been constantly on edge, treating her with the utmost care as if she were a landmine.

Although she felt warm inside, Xia Baozhu was a little irritated by the fact that nothing was allowed.

"Honey, you don't need to be nervous. The doctor said pregnant women should relax."

Sun Xingyan kept a large notebook filled with knowledge about pregnancy. He bought many related books from the bookstore, and even started learning to cook based on the books, despite not usually cooking.

"You're making me nervous." Xia Baozhu rarely got truly angry with Sun Xingyan. She would occasionally say a few words to him, but never seriously.

She could no longer tolerate Sun Xingyan's various restrictions on her, so she spoke up to him, her tone harsh and her impatience evident.

"Then I won't say anything, I'll just support you," Sun Xingyan said with an awkward smile.

Xia Baozhu wanted to say that she was just pregnant, not that she had difficulty walking, but in the end she sighed and said nothing.

She knew Sun Xingyan's personality all too well; he seemed easy to talk to but was actually very difficult to deal with. If he wanted to do something, he could do it if he persisted.

When Xia Baozhu returned home, her mother was already preparing breakfast.

"Mom, why did you put hawthorn in the porridge you cooked? The book says pregnant women shouldn't eat hawthorn." Sun Xingyan helped Xia Baozhu sit on the sofa and followed his mother, who was cooking, into the kitchen.

Sun's mother specially cooked hawthorn porridge to whet her daughter-in-law's appetite, but she was unhappy because of what her son said.

"Sour for boys, spicy for girls, why can't we eat hawthorn? I ate hawthorn all the time when I was pregnant with you and your brother. You should have no books at all if you believe everything you read."

“What do you mean by ‘eat often’? Did you guys eat hawthorn twice a year back then?” Sun Xingyan walked to his bag, took out his notebook, and pointed to it, saying, “Look, pregnant women can easily experience uterine contractions from eating hawthorn.”

Looking at the various pregnancy taboos her son had recorded, Sun's mother felt dizzy and pushed the notebook back, not wanting to look at it any longer.

"Then let's not eat the hawthorn. I'll just cook another pot of plain porridge."

She knew that the difficult one to please was never her daughter-in-law, but her own demanding and troublesome son.

Xia Baozhu watched TV and listened to Sun Xingyan reciting various precautions for his mother-in-law during pregnancy. Her expression was helpless, but she couldn't help but laugh.

It was indeed a very lucky thing to meet Sun Xingyan.

Sun Xingyan strictly followed the book's instructions regarding Xia Baozhu's diet and daily routine, which filled her with a happy kind of trouble.

Sun's mother didn't want them to come over for the New Year's Eve dinner, as her son always found fault with the food she cooked during this period.

As soon as Sun Xingyan began to speak, everyone fell silent as he recounted the dietary precautions for pregnant women.

Liu Runan was pressed down onto a stool by Xia Laidi and couldn't move around, for fear that she would touch Xia Baozhu's stomach and make Sun Xingyan complain.

Xia Laidi realized for the first time that too much concern could be suffocating. She looked at her older sister, who was eating quietly, with envy and pity.

Even her capable older sister, who was able to get a smooth divorce, couldn't handle her good-natured and easy-going brother-in-law.

You can't really criticize someone who wholeheartedly considers and sacrifices for you.

Lele felt that this year's New Year's Eve dinner was unusually long, as if his uncle was giving him a lesson that had nothing to do with him.

After the meal, Sun's mother dared not suggest that her second son and daughter-in-law stay any longer; she wished they would leave as soon as possible.

"Wife, do you want to sleep here or go home?" Sun Xingyan's question made everyone's hearts clench again.

If they sleep here, the house will be so quiet that not a sound can be heard. Not only will they not be able to eat properly, but they'll also be woken up by their snoring at night.

Looking at her second daughter-in-law, who was becoming increasingly beautiful and radiant due to her pregnancy, Sun's mother silently thought: Go back to sleep! Go back to sleep!

Xia Baozhu received her mother's brainwaves and stood up: "I want to go back to sleep."

Sun Xingyan quickly helped her up: "Why did you stand up without saying anything? Let's go back to sleep then."

"Laidi, Nannan, your sister and I will take you home first."

Xia Baozhu felt as if she had been kidnapped by Sun Xingyan, and slowly walked down the stairs while holding onto his arm.

"Mom, is Auntie sick?" Nan Nan asked quietly.

"No, your aunt is pregnant."

"That's why my uncle helped my aunt walk so slowly."

“Yes,” Xia Laidi replied with a smile.

My older sister's second marriage is so much better than her first; she can even take care of her, who is a burden.

Choosing the right person is so important; I wonder if she can find someone who treats her as well as she does. But unlike her older sister, she also has Nan Nan.

"After dinner, a walk will help digest your food." Sun Xingyan helped Xia Baozhu walk for a while. When they encountered other friends out for fun, he didn't stop to chat. He simply greeted them briefly and left.

"Is Xingyan's wife sick? Why is Xingyan helping her walk?"

“She might be pregnant. My mom said she saw Aunt Sun buying groceries every day but never bringing them back. When she asked Aunt Sun, she was told that she went to Xingyan’s house.”

"No wonder he was so cautious."

The news of Xia Baozhu's pregnancy spread quickly, even reaching Leng Minghui, who was at home playing with his son. The source of the information was his sister, who was very reliable.

So this is what it means to be destined to be together but not to stay together; even if you get married, you will still get divorced. This sentence appeared in Leng Minghui's mind.

He was quickly kicked by his son's little foot, but he continued to laugh and try to make his son happy.

Upon hearing this news, Wang Aixiang sneered and said maliciously, "Whether the baby can be born is another matter. What if it was conceived through medication and turned out to be deformed? That would be a good thing."

Lin Shiwan agreed with Wang Aixiang's words. She couldn't take action against Xia Baozhu right now, so she could only rely on a vague and ethereal curse.

After giving birth and finishing her postpartum confinement, Leng Minghui told her that the middleman had taken his money and run away, but he didn't mention that she had hired someone to kill Xia Baozhu.

But it's clear that Leng Minghui not only knew about this, but also covered it up for her, saying these things only to warn her that she shouldn't do these things again.

"Mom, don't say these things in front of the children anymore," Leng Minghui said to Wang Aixiang with a tone of disgust and impatience.