Qingyun is preparing for pregnancy.
The inky sea swallowed the moonlight, leaving only a few shards of silver visible on the crests of the waves. The evening breeze, carrying a salty, damp coolness, swept across the massive cruise ship, drawing a line between light and shadow on the shore.
Rong Chengzhou wrapped the coat he had been covering her in tighter around her and carried her back to the cruise ship.
Two parallel footprints were left on the beach, one end of which was covered in messy, sticky warm sand, still bearing traces of past intimacy.
A few minutes later, a wave crashed over and washed away the ambiguous marks in the blink of an eye.
The cruise ship has pre-prepared rooms with complete bathroom facilities, comparable to ocean view rooms.
Rong Chengzhou carried her to the bathroom to shower, then dried her hair, lay her on the bed, held her in his arms, and gently soothed her with his palms on her back.
Jiang Mingxue nestled in his arms, her cheek pressed against his firm chest, and it took her a long time to recover.
It was the first time I'd ever been so close to him, and I'd endured so much from him; I'm still a little dazed.
Rong Chengzhou moved his hand from behind her to the front and gently covered her lower abdomen.
The heat seeped through the fabric of the nightgown, and Jiang Mingxue reached out to grab his hand, chuckling softly, "Not yet."
The man was unconvinced and asked in a calm voice, "How do you know there isn't?"
Jiang Mingxue had no choice but to agree with him, saying, "Okay, okay, is it alright now?"
Rong Chengzhou didn't speak, but simply put his arm around her waist and held her in his arms, resting his chin on her hair, his voice filled with obvious guilt and heartache:
“Peipei, you’ll have a hard time when I’m not around.”
If it weren't for Jiang Mingxue wanting a child, how could he bear to let her get pregnant?
These past few days he has been trying to buy time with the commander to spend as much time as possible with her.
Jiang Mingxue wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his chest, saying softly, "I said I didn't want children before because I thought I wouldn't have a relationship with the opposite sex, not because I was afraid of the pain of pregnancy and childbirth."
“I really like children. If we could have a child, then when you’re not home, I’ll have someone to keep me company.”
Rong Chengzhou pursed his thin lips, his apology deepening between his brows.
If he could stay home with her more often, she wouldn't necessarily have to have children.
Ultimately, it was all his fault as a husband.
The cabin was dimly lit, and Jiang Mingxue could sense Rong Chengzhou's self-reproach without even looking up.
She snuggled closer to him, inhaling the pleasant scent of cedar on him, and lightly changed the subject: "Rong Chengzhou, let's make a bet."
The man lowered his eyes slightly: "What bet?"
Jiang Mingxue raised her chin: "Let's bet on whether our first baby will be a boy or a girl."
Although nothing is set in stone yet, she and Rong Chengzhou haven't spent much time together, so she wants to talk about some things as soon as possible.
Rong Chengzhou chuckled and played along with her childish game: "Okay, you guess first."
"Hmm..." Jiang Mingxue thought for a moment, "I guess it's a girl."
He raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why?"
"Because you said before that the Y chromosome structure is easily damaged by high-altitude radiation, many of your comrades had daughters as their first child."
Jiang Mingxue logically and convincingly brought up his previous words, and Rong Chengzhou couldn't help but chuckle: "You have a good memory."
"Of course," Jiang Mingxue urged him, "And you, what did you guess?"
Rong Chengzhou smiled faintly: "Since you guessed it's a girl, then I can only guess it's a boy."
Jiang Mingxue: "So what did you originally want to guess?"
Rong Chengzhou frankly said, "I haven't thought about this question, but based on our family's current fertility history, the first child will most likely be a boy."
It's not that they prefer boys to girls; the Rong family has had only one son for three generations, and they would love for another girl in the family.
After his reminder, Jiang Mingxue suddenly became confused: "Could it be that your family's genes are too strong, and you're immune to radiation?"
"I don't know." Rong Chengzhou casually pinched her earlobe, his voice low and gentle. "You can change it now if you want to."
Jiang Mingxue shook her head: "I won't change it, I'll just guess it's a girl."
"Okay, I'll guess the boy. What's the bet?"
Rong Chengzhou never expected that he would do something so childish one day, and he couldn't help but laugh when he said those words.
Jiang Mingxue thought for a moment and said, "How about we change the baby's diapers for a month if whoever guesses wrong?"
Rong Chengzhou nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
This bet isn't very meaningful. Even if Jiang Mingxue guesses wrong, Rong Chengzhou will still take over the diaper changing as long as he's home.
But when two people are together, they don't need to pursue whether things are meaningful.
He indulged her childishness.
It's that simple.
--
After a week-long honeymoon, the couple boarded their return flight. They rested for one night at Songyunting, and the next day visited the Jiang family home and the military compound to chat with the elders on both sides and look at the photos.
In the military compound, several elders sat in the living room looking at the photos they had taken. Madam Rong praised, "This island has a nice environment. We should go and visit it when we have time."
Jiang Mingxue: "It's pretty good. We can go as soon as possible while there aren't many people around."
Madam Rong nodded repeatedly and said to Major General Rong, "We'll bring Dad along then."
Major General Rong: "Okay."
Aunt Liu brought over a pot of freshly brewed hot tea and calmly poured tea for the old generals in order of seniority.
When it was Jiang Mingxue's turn, she held down Aunt Liu's hand and said, "Aunt Liu, we can just drink hot water."
Several elders looked over at the same time, and Madam Rong asked curiously, "What's wrong? Didn't you used to love drinking tea?"
Jiang Mingxue pursed her lips and lowered her eyes. Rong Chengzhou held her hand and placed it on her knee, answering for her: "We're trying to conceive recently, so we'll try to drink less tea."
General Rong and Major General Rong were immediately overjoyed: "It's good to be preparing for pregnancy. We should be more careful than before."
When the news was announced to the Jiang family, the elders of both families had similar reactions.
After all, both sides have few people. If Rong Chengzhou and Jiang Mingxue have a child, it will be the only offspring of both families.
Grandpa Jiang and General Rong are both getting old and want to see their grandchildren or grandparents before they pass away.
Everyone was overjoyed, but Madam Rong was different from the others; her eyes widened when she heard the news.
He looked back and forth between the couple incredulously: "Trying to conceive?!"
Rong Chengzhou's expression darkened slightly, and he turned his head away, clearly not wanting to talk to his own mother at this moment.
Ren Rushuang's final questioning gaze fell on Jiang Mingxue's face, silently asking her, "What happened?"
Jiang Mingxue then suddenly realized that Madam Rong was unaware of Rong Chengzhou's situation. She gave her a wink, signaling that she would explain later.
After looking at the photos and chatting in the living room for a while, Jiang Mingxue finally had a chance to go upstairs with Madam Rong.
Rong Chengzhou didn't want to discuss this issue with his mother, so he took the initiative to go fishing with General Rong, which made the old man extremely happy.
Ren Rushuang led Jiang Mingxue to the second-floor living room, and the first thing she asked eagerly was, "Mingxue, did you really cure Chengzhou?!"
Jiang Mingxue was both amused and exasperated: "Mom, Chengzhou isn't sick at all."
"Huh? You're not sick?!" Ren Rushuang's beautiful eyes, which were perfectly well-maintained, widened.
Jiang Mingxue blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed to talk about these private topics now: "We misunderstood back then, Chengzhou is in very good health."
Ren Rushuang was both surprised and delighted: "Really? Did you take his pulse and examine him?"
Jiang Mingxue glanced uncomfortably to the side: "Yes, it's been checked."
There's no need to take her pulse; she's already experienced it countless times herself.
"That's wonderful, that's wonderful! I'm glad you're not sick. Now I have a chance to help you take care of the child." Madam Rong said repeatedly, beaming from ear to ear. "Mingxue, you can rest assured and focus on your pregnancy. I will take good care of you while Chengzhou is away."
Jiang Mingxue covered her mouth and smiled: "Okay."
On the night he returned from the military compound, Rong Chengzhou knew that Jiang Mingxue had to go to work the next day and that she couldn't stay up late during her pregnancy preparation period, so they only did it once.
However, without the barrier of that plastic film, the close contact at zero distance intensifies the feeling, and one session can last for more than two hours.
--
The next day, after Rong Chengzhou drove Jiang Mingxue to work, he first went to a bookstore and bought several books related to preparing for pregnancy and childbirth, which he then read in Jiang Mingxue's study.
He has his own study, but he doesn't like to use it.
Jiang Mingxue's study still smelled of her.
He started flipping through the pages from the beginning, his brows gradually furrowing deeper.
He had imagined that preparing for pregnancy, getting pregnant, giving birth, and postpartum recovery would be a very complicated and difficult process, but he did not expect it to be so cumbersome, especially for pregnant women. During the preparation for pregnancy, they have to take folic acid for three consecutive months and cannot even dye their hair, perm their hair, or get manicures, not to mention that during the pregnancy, they should avoid raw, cold, spicy, and coffee, etc.
He frowned as he read most of the book, and suddenly regretted agreeing to let Jiang Mingxue try to conceive.
In the end, he only noted down some key points. As long as it did not affect Jiang Mingxue's health, he did not intend to mention or restrict her from overly correcting her.
But he noted down everything the man needed to be aware of.
The saying "Be strict with yourself and lenient with others" perfectly describes Rong Chengzhou.
In the afternoon, I closed the book and went out to meet Yu Feijie and the others at the club.
This was the first gathering of the four brothers since his wedding. Because his vacation was coming to an end, they could never get Rong Chengzhou to come out when Jiang Mingxue was at home. They could only get him to come out when she was at work.
As soon as Rong Chengzhou entered, he smelled a whiff of smoke. His brows furrowed, and he asked unhappily, "Who's smoking?"
The three men looked at each other, none of them smoking.
"Oh, I see." Yu Feijie remembered something. "I just went to the restroom. There was a man smoking by the door, and it made the inside smell really strong. I guess I accidentally brought it in."
Rong Chengzhou's brows finally relaxed a bit. He went to the door to turn on the ventilation system before walking over and sitting on the sofa.
"Brother Rong, why are you so sensitive to the smell of smoke after getting married?" Yu Feijie asked.
Rong Chengzhou first picked up his water glass, poured a large cup of hot water as instructed in the book, and drank it all before lazily raising his eyes: "I'm trying to conceive recently, so I can't stand the smell of smoke."
"Huh?! Trying to conceive?!"
The three people asked in unison.
"Brother Rong, aren't you leaving soon? How much time have you given yourself to prepare for pregnancy?" Song Shaojun asked.
Rong Chengzhou: "One week."
This month-long vacation is almost over; only one week remains.
"A week? That's too short a time." Song Shaojun has friends who have tried to conceive, and they all started several months in advance.
Upon hearing this, Rong Chengzhou simply said in a low voice, "Is preparing for pregnancy a very difficult thing?"
Yu Feijie: "Of course! Otherwise, why would someone start preparing one or two years in advance?"
Pei Yichuan sneered and picked up the wine glass on the table: "Ignore him, let him be arrogant for a couple of days, and see if he's pregnant or not in a month."
Rong Chengzhou chuckled and glanced at the wine glass in his hand: "Don't let me smell the alcohol, it will affect my wife and me trying to conceive."
Pei Yichuan: "..."
"Hahahaha." Yu Feijie watched the spectacle from the sidelines. "A man is like a tree that grows up and leaves home. Brother Rong has completely become a henpecked husband."
The gathering of several people ended quickly because Rong Chengzhou wouldn't let them drink or smoke, and he didn't even have time to eat dinner with them because he had to pick up Jiang Mingxue.
Rong Chengzhou drove Jiang Mingxue back to Songyunting. After taking a shower, Jiang Mingxue went to the study and immediately saw several books on childbirth preparation on the table. She knew without asking that Rong Chengzhou had bought them.
Jiang Mingxue is a doctor and has a good grasp of knowledge about childbirth preparation, so she didn't need to read these books, but she still sat down at the table and flipped through them.
Two of the books showed signs of having been read, with annotations made by Rong Chengzhou in a marker pen, not missing a single page.
Rong Chengzhou came in after taking a shower and walked to the desk: "You don't need to read these books, I'll read them."
Jiang Mingxue: "There are also many things I don't understand."
She waved to him: "Come here, let's watch together."
There was only one chair in the study, and Rong Chengzhou assumed that the two of them would sit together.
He went around behind the desk and pulled Jiang Mingxue onto his lap.
Jiang Mingxue was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. She had already gotten used to this intimate situation. She sat sideways on his lap, turning the pages of her book, and read with him for a while.
The book is very comprehensive, and it even shows the most suitable positions for pregnancy.
Jiang Mingxue was startled by the sudden appearance of the nude art image, and her face quickly flushed red.
Rong Chengzhou, however, remained calm and pointed to one of the pictures of a side-lying position, saying, "We haven't used this position before, but we'll try it later."
Jiang Mingxue had always admired his composure, so she remained calm as well, though it was all an act: "...Oh."
Preparing for pregnancy still requires practice. Fearing that Jiang Mingxue would stay up too late, the two of them went to bed early and tried out all the positions in the book one by one.
The two lay on their sides, Rong Chengzhou holding her tightly from behind, kissing the back of her neck, his voice hoarse:
"Peipei, I love you."
The room was dimly lit, and her vision was blurred. Jiang Mingxue held his hand, her eyes half-closed, and responded to him intermittently:
"Rong Chengzhou... I love you too."
Those sweet words that we usually don't have the chance to say sound especially beautiful at this moment.
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Author's note: 100 RMB red envelope~
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