Chapter 78 When to Have a Baby
Rong Rui leaned against the door frame, staring blankly at the handsome young man outside, unable to come to her senses for a long time.
The boy in front of her, with his striking appearance, was far removed from the image she had of her eldest son's ideal partner.
He wasn't some middle-aged man, nor some slick socialite, but a handsome young man with a youthful air about him.
"I am Song Juelan." The deep, pleasant voice rang out again, pulling Rong Rui back to reality.
She then snapped out of her daze, her face instantly breaking into a warm smile. She stepped aside to let him in, saying, "Little Song's here! Come on in!"
In the kitchen, Wen Lexian was tending to the food in the pot and couldn't leave, so he could only turn his head and look towards the living room.
Seeing Rong Rui standing there stunned at the door for so long, he was also very nervous and anxious.
Surely he can't be older than the driver from last night?
With a loud sizzle, Wen Lexian quickly turned around, grabbed the spatula, and stirred the food a few times. He dared not look around anymore, but his heart was still pounding.
Song Juelan stepped into this home she had visited several times before, handed the exquisite gift box she was carrying to Rong Rui, and bowed slightly: "This is a small token of my appreciation for you and your uncle."
Rong Rui accepted the expensive-looking gift boxes, beaming from ear to ear: "You silly child, why did you bring any gifts? Your aunt just wanted to invite you to our house for a meal."
She wasn't just being polite; after all, they hadn't been dating long and it was far from the point of formally meeting each other's parents. But Song Juelan's attitude was almost like that of someone formally meeting the parents.
"Brother Jue Lan—!"
A childish cheer rang out, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. A small figure rushed over like a cannonball, instantly reaching Song Juelan and tightly hugging one of his long legs.
Xiao Tang looked up with her rosy cheeks and asked expectantly, "Brother Jue Lan, can I learn to swim today?"
He didn't know why Song Juelan was here, but his little brain automatically associated swimming lessons with Song Juelan.
Rong Rui was somewhat surprised that Xiao Tang liked Song Jue Lan so much, but she smiled and said, "Xiao Tang, Brother Jue Lan didn't come here to teach you today."
Xiao Tang blinked in confusion, looking at this and then that, her little head full of question marks, not understanding why her mother looked so happy.
Song Juelan squatted down, patted Xiao Tang's head, and handed him a beautifully wrapped little gift box: "This is a gift for Xiao Tang."
Xiao Tang's eyes lit up, and she opened her short arms to hug the small gift box tightly in her arms: "Thank you, Brother Jue Lan!"
Rong Rui led Song Juelan to sit down on the sofa, picked up the teapot on the coffee table and poured Song Juelan a cup of tea. Her eyes and brows were full of genuine smiles as she lingered on the person in front of her.
Although Song Juelan looks young, his calm and composed demeanor made her feel very at ease at first glance.
Rong Rui noticed that Song Juelan, while picking up his teacup to drink tea, cast his gaze toward the corner of the living room, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Following Song Juelan's gaze, she saw Wen Zhi still kneeling on the carpet, her ears bright red, frantically wiping the water that had splashed on her while "playing in the water."
In contrast, Song Juelan, sitting on the sofa drinking tea, appeared more composed and calm.
Rong Rui's gaze swept back and forth between the two, and the smile on her face deepened.
She lowered her head to take a sip of tea, then turned her gaze back to Song Juelan, and said with a smile, "I heard from Zhizhi that you taught Xiaotang to swim during the summer vacation, and you taught her very well."
Song Juelan put down his teacup and said modestly, "It's because Xiao Tang is talented and learns quickly."
"Kids are so playful, it must be really hard to teach them, right?" Rong Rui followed up the conversation and asked in a friendly tone, "Have you been teaching children all the time? Is your work very tiring?"
After meeting Song Juelan in person, she no longer cared that he was just a swimming coach, but she still wanted to learn a little about him.
Wen Zhi, who had just dried her clothes and sat down on the sofa, happened to hear these words and was slightly taken aback.
He then realized that he hadn't told Rong Rui that being a swimming coach wasn't Song Juelan's main job, so he quickly explained, "Mom, he's just helping out at the swimming pool during the summer vacation; he's not an employee there."
Rong Rui was taken aback when she heard this. She could tell that Song Juelan was very young and thought that Song Juelan had dropped out of school after finishing middle school, which was why she worked at the swimming pool.
"So, what is Xiao Song's current situation...?"
Song Juelan replied in a deep voice, "I'm still studying, at the same university as Wen Zhi."
A look of obvious astonishment flashed across Rong Rui's eyes, and she was momentarily speechless.
Ever since she learned that Wen Zhi's boyfriend was a swimming coach, she had been filled with all sorts of worries. Little did she know that it turned out he was a student just like Wen Zhi.
After learning the truth, Rong Rui's heart finally settled down, and her tone became even gentler: "So you and Zhizhi were classmates. How old are you this year?"
Song Juelan, who had been appearing calm and composed, paused slightly when he heard the question.
Just as he was pondering whether or not to report his age according to the traditional Chinese age reckoning, Wen Zhi's voice drifted over from the side, answering for him, "He just turned eighteen this year."
"..."
Rong Rui was taken aback at first, and her gaze toward Song Juelan was filled with disbelief.
For Wen Zhi, eighteen years old is almost like being a little kid, while for Rong Rui, who has already raised two children, this age is even more like being a child who hasn't grown up.
The composed young man in front of her instantly transformed into a child in her eyes.
Remembering how she had just seriously inquired about the other person's work situation, she felt a little amused and exasperated. Unable to continue the pleasantries with Song Juelan as if she were an adult, she invited Song Juelan to have some fruit from the coffee table.
She got up again, took out Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang's snacks, and placed them on the coffee table, telling Song Juelan not to be shy.
The atmosphere in the living room immediately became much more relaxed, just like when entertaining friends that my son brings home to play.
"Please sit here for a while, lunch will be ready soon." Rong Rui smiled at the two people on the sofa, politely declining Song Juelan's offer to help, and walked briskly into the kitchen.
Only Wen Zhi and Song Juelan, who were sitting together, and Xiao Tang, who was enjoying eating grapes, remained in the living room.
Song Juelan relaxed slightly, his gaze falling openly on Wen Zhi's face beside him. He reached out to wipe the water stains from Wen Zhi's neck and asked in a low voice, "What were you playing just now?"
Wen Zhi pointed to the small pool on the carpet that hadn't been put away yet: "Xiao Tang's new toy, it's quite fun."
After the large hand wiped away the water stains, it naturally took his hand, which was resting on his lap, and held it tightly in its palm.
"You weren't nervous just now, were you?" Wen Zhi tilted her head slightly, observing Song Juelan's expression, but couldn't discern anything.
Song Juelan squeezed his soft hand and replied, "It's alright."
At first, he was a little worried that Wen Zhi's mother would be dissatisfied with him, but her attitude was unexpectedly easygoing. However, after learning his age, she seemed to become a little strange.
Wen Zhi leaned forward, took two grapes from the fruit plate, ate one herself, and then stuffed one into Song Juelan's mouth: "I told you, it's just a simple meal, don't think too much about it."
Seeing Wen Zhi feeding grapes, Xiao Tang immediately dropped the grapes she was eating, ran over, hugged Wen Zhi's knees, and said softly, "Xiao Tang wants Zhi Zhi to feed her too!"
Wen Zhi had no choice but to take another grape and put it into Xiao Tang's wide-open mouth, watching Xiao Tang chew the grape with her cheeks bulging.
Xiao Tang swallowed the sweet grape, her round eyes darting around. She looked at Wen Zhi, then at Song Juelan, and asked curiously, "Why does Brother Juelan want Zhizhi to feed him too?"
Wen Zhi was taken aback by the question, and exchanged a glance with Song Juelan beside her. Only then did she realize that no one had told Xiao Tang that the two of them were dating.
"Because... Brother Jue Lan is my boyfriend." Saying this in front of a child made Wen Zhi feel a little embarrassed, and her voice unconsciously lowered.
Xiao Tang's already round eyes widened even more, filled with surprise.
He overheard other children at kindergarten saying that their teacher also had a boyfriend and was getting married soon, after which she would stop coming to kindergarten.
"Are you getting married too?" Xiaotang asked, blinking her eyes.
Wen Zhi hesitated for a moment, feeling that it was a bit too early to talk about this topic. Just as she was about to brush it off, Song Juelan next to her nodded without hesitation and gave a firm "hmm".
Xiaotang pointed to her parents who were busy in the kitchen and asked, "Just like Mom and Dad?"
“Yes.” Song Juelan answered without hesitation.
Wen Zhi looked at the composed man beside her with a somewhat bewildered expression.
What are you talking about...?
Xiao Tang's mouth pursed slightly, her thick eyelashes drooping: "Then...then if Zhi Zhi and Brother Jue Lan have a baby, will they no longer want Xiao Tang?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Wen Zhi felt a sense of relief; this time, Song Juelan didn't blurt out a "yes" without thinking.
“Of course not…!” Wen Zhi spoke up before Song Juelan could, afraid that he would talk nonsense again, “We love Xiao Tang the most, we would definitely not abandon Xiao Tang.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tang's dejection vanished, and she smiled again. She leaned on Wen Zhi's lap, tilted her head back, and asked curiously, "When are you going to have a baby?"
He actually really wants a little brother or sister.
"..." Under the gaze of the two, one big and one small, Wen Zhi's cheeks instantly burned.
When did he say he wanted to have a child with Song Juelan? Wait, that doesn't seem to be the point...
Song Juelan, who had been eagerly answering questions, was now completely silent, his gaze fixed on his flushed face, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Wen Zhi just wanted to get over this awkward topic as soon as possible. Her fingers, which were held in Song Juelan's palm, curled slightly, her fingertips burning. She forced herself to say, "We'll see...we'll see how it goes."
In the kitchen, the couple were busy working while talking in hushed tones.
Upon learning that her son's girlfriend was just an eighteen-year-old boy, Wen Lexian was shocked for a long time before letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Now you can finally relax completely, right?" After putting his mind at ease, Wen Lexian couldn't help but tease his wife with a smile, "It's just the two kids playing around. Zhizhi is a few years older than him, so she definitely won't suffer any losses."
Rong Rui gave him a disgruntled look: "And you're talking about me? You were scared and couldn't sleep last night either."
She skillfully ladled the food out of the pot, then suddenly remembered something and instructed, "Oh right, put away your precious red wine and go downstairs to buy a couple more bottles of coconut milk. Why would a kid drink alcohol with you?"
Wen Lexian sighed with some regret. He had specially taken out his treasured red wine today, hoping to have a few drinks with his son's girlfriend, but he didn't expect to have to take it back.
He responded and pushed open the soundproof kitchen door. Before he even stepped outside, he heard his youngest son's excited cheers.
"Great! I'm going to have a little sister too!"
With a clang, the spatula in Rong Rui's hand fell into the pot.
The couple's pupils dilated violently, and they turned their heads in disbelief to look at the two people sitting close together on the sofa.
-----------------------
Author's note: Thank you to the author for the "Peaceful Years" landmine~
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com