Chapter 415 It’s My Fault
That afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. Ji Wan looked at the birds flying freely outside the window and couldn't help but sigh.
"What's wrong?" Chi Wenyan put down the documents in his hand, walked to her side, and gently put his arm around her shoulders.
"Nothing, I just feel a little stuffy." Ji Wan leaned in his arms, her voice muffled, "I feel like I'm going moldy."
Chi Wenyan looked down at her slightly bulging belly, a trace of guilt and heartache flashing in his eyes.
"It's my fault for locking you up at home." He pondered for a moment. "There's a business dinner tonight. It's not too formal, just a gathering of old friends. If you feel well, I'd like to take you out for a walk to get some fresh air."
Ji Wan's eyes lit up, but then he hesitated again: "But, I'm like this now..."
She looked down at her body which looked a little bloated due to pregnancy.
"My wife looks best no matter what she looks like." Chi Wenyan pinched her cheek, his tone full of unquestionable doting, "It's settled. I'll go with you tonight."
In the evening, the lights began to come on. The banquet hall was ablaze with color and beauty. Chi Wenyan remained by Ji Wan's side, one hand supporting her waist, the other holding a glass of warm water, and carefully separating himself from the crowded crowd.
His appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention, especially his wife who was obviously pregnant.
Ji Wan was wearing a loose and comfortable custom-made dress. Although her figure was no longer as slender as before, the tenderness between her eyebrows and the happiness of being pampered made her exude a different kind of brilliance.
Chi Wenyan took her to exchange a few words with some familiar partners, then found a quiet corner for her to sit down and rest.
He got up and went to get her some fruit snacks suitable for pregnant women. Before leaving, he carefully reminded her: "Wait for me here, don't wander around."
Ji Wan smiled and nodded, watching him leave. She took a sip of warm water, her eyes casually scanning the banquet hall.
At this moment, the deliberate whispers of two fashionably dressed women not far away floated clearly into her ears.
"Tsk tsk, that's Mrs. Chi? She's pregnant, she's gained a lot of weight, she's completely different from before." A woman in a champagne-colored dress curled her lips.
Another woman in a black dress covered her mouth with her hands, a malicious glint in her eyes. "That's right, that's what happens when a woman is pregnant. Her figure changes and she looks haggard. Look at Mr. Chi, he's young and strong, and he's so rich and powerful, how could he possibly be without women around him?"
The woman in the champagne-colored dress lowered her voice, her tone ambiguous: "I heard that the Zhao family's daughter, Zhao Xiyue, recently returned from abroad. She and President Chi used to be..."
"Shh, keep your voice down." The woman in the black dress interrupted her, her eyes becoming even more excited. "It's not just in the past. I heard that Zhao Xiyue is pregnant this time! Some people speculated about this timing. Tsk tsk, what do you think, Mr. Chi... After all, raising one is raising the same as raising two. For a family like them, it's nothing."
"Is this true?!" The woman in the champagne dress widened her eyes. "Then this Mrs. Chi..."
Ji Wan's fingers, holding the water cup, suddenly tightened, their knuckles turning white. Zhao Xiyue?
That name, like a needle, pierced her heart unexpectedly. She remembered it; Chi Wenyan had mentioned it once. She was the daughter of an old family friend with whom she had interacted in their youth. She was avant-garde and bold. Was she pregnant too? And wanted Chi Wenyan to be the father?
A chill ran down her spine, and the banquet hall, which had felt warm and comfortable just a moment ago, suddenly became icy cold. The whispers coiled around her like poisonous snakes, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
She subconsciously touched her belly, where she and Chi Wenyan's child was born, the fruit of their love. But those words.
Those talks about another woman and another child hit her heart like a sledgehammer.
She suddenly looked up and her eyes passed through the crowd, just in time to see Chi Wenyan carrying a small plate of exquisite fruit and walking towards her through the crowd with a gentle smile on his face.
But at this moment, that smile was covered with an indescribable shadow in her eyes.
Chi Wenyan came over with the cut fruits, a gentle smile reflected in his deep eyes. He handed the plate to Ji Wan and said, "I picked some that are not too cold. Would you like to try it?"
Ji Wan looked at the plate of brightly colored fruits, but his stomach churned.
Those vicious comments just now were like cold needles, pricking her heart and making it numb. She tried to force a smile, but it was uglier than crying. "Thank you, I don't really feel like eating right now."
There was a barely perceptible tremor in her voice and her face was pale.
Chi Wenyan immediately noticed that something was wrong with her. He put down the plate, reached out and touched her forehead, then held her cold hand, frowning: "What's wrong? Why do you look so bad? Are you feeling unwell?"
His concerned eyes, when they fell on Ji Wan's eyes, made her heart even more bitter. Did he also feel that she had become bloated and ugly during pregnancy, and had lost her appeal?
So when Zhao Xiyue came back, he...
"No, maybe I'm a little bored." Ji Wan avoided his gaze, gently withdrew her hand, stroked her lower abdomen, and said in a low voice, "I want to go back."
"Okay, I'll accompany you." Chi Wenyan stood up without hesitation and was about to help her.
Just then, several men in suits came over. They looked like important business partners, with warm smiles on their faces. "Mr. Chi, what a coincidence! I've been looking for you for a long time. There are some details of the cooperation that I want to confirm with you..."
Chi Wenyan frowned slightly, looked at Ji Wan, then looked at those people, and said apologetically: "Sorry, my wife is not feeling well and needs my care."
"It's okay, go ahead." Ji Wan interrupted him, lowered his eyelids, and said in an unusually calm tone, "I can wait by myself. You go and get down to business first."
Her overly sensible look made Chi Wenyan feel nervous.
But he looked at the partners who were obviously in a hurry, and then looked at Ji Wan's persistence, so he could only compromise: "Then you sit here for a while, I'll be back soon."
He turned around and threw himself into the socializing, chatting with people with a focused expression. As the drinks flowed, he became the focus of the whole audience, graceful and at ease.
Ji Wan sat in the corner, watching him surrounded by the crowd and chatting and laughing with others. A strong sense of inferiority and alienation swept over her.
She was like an outsider, sitting there awkwardly, out of tune with all this brilliance.
Those discussions about Zhao Xiyue and the other child once again swirled in her mind.
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