Chapter 70 I checked, this position...
"Do you have a fever?" Jiang Shiyuan pressed her forehead against Huo Lan's, and the burning temperature startled her.
She tried to get up from his embrace, but he held her tightly, making it impossible for her to move.
"You've caught a cold, you're burning up." Jiang Shiyuan coaxed him, "Shall I go get you a thermometer to take your temperature? Be a good boy/girl."
Huo Lan's eyes seemed to be veiled in a hazy mist. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his hot, dry lips kissed her soft neck, burning her heart like a flame.
The hand on her waist slowly moved downwards, beginning to stir restlessly.
“It can be done at this stage, I’ve asked the doctor.” He didn’t answer Jiang Shiyuan’s question, but just looked down at Jiang Shiyuan’s collar, his desire growing stronger.
Jiang Shiyuan had originally planned to go out to play in the snow, so she was dressed quite warmly. She had just changed into a sweater dress and was still wrapped up tightly.
Huo Lan frowned, realizing he couldn't reach below or slip his hand inside. Frustrated, he feigned a stern look, "From now on, you're not allowed to wear this sweater dress... it's not nice to touch..."
He had no choice but to be quiet for a while, then wrapped Jiang Shiyuan in his arms like a protective chick, letting her feel his intense heat more closely.
Jiang Shiyuan gave him a gentle nudge and said, "Why do you ask the doctor about everything? Shameless..."
Huo Lan chuckled, pinched her chin, and kissed her again. "What's shameless about things between husband and wife?"
Jiang Shiyuan was so flustered by the stabilizing effect that she only realized she was wearing a white lace underskirt when she regained her senses.
The thin fabric made him feel the softness and warmth even more, his breathing became rapid and disordered, and the sound and heat of the firewood burning in the fireplace made him feel like he was about to explode.
With a little effort, Huo Lan lifted Jiang Shiyuan up and made her straddle him. He kissed away her gasp and his strong hands firmly supported her lower back.
Jiang Shiyuan knelt up, supporting her belly, trying to minimize contact with him. But for every step she took back, he moved closer, his burning kisses falling rapidly, leaving her no way to escape.
In a brief moment of respite, she had a chance to escape his kiss, covering his mouth with her hands. "Huo Lan! You have a fever. What you need to do now is not this, but take your medicine and get some sleep!"
Huo Lan ignored her words and instead mischievously licked her palm with his tongue. The hot breath on her skin, accompanied by a dense tickling sensation, made her quickly withdraw her hand.
“I checked, this position is good…” Huo Lan looked at her with hazy eyes, slowly moving her waist, trying to guide her to take the initiative, “Just think of it as letting me go in and say hello to Tuantuan…”
"In a few more days, we won't be able to go in... My sweet baby, have pity on me, okay?" His eyes were misty, and his eye sockets were slightly red. He gently shook her body. "This is the last time, have pity on me."
Jiang Shiyuan sighed slightly, thinking that Huo Lan was even better at acting cute than she was, making it hard to refuse her.
"You wouldn't let me go out, but you rolled around in the snow yourself. Are you feeling bad now?" Jiang Shiyuan became soft and weak because of Huo Lan's teasing. Her words, which were clearly accusations, sounded like flirting to him. "It's your fault for not taking me out to play. I won't let you."
Jiang Shiyuan was naturally indifferent in this regard, but Huo Lan's desire was extremely strong. If he hadn't deliberately touched and seduced her, she could have simply chatted with him while lying flat on the same blanket.
But she was easily swayed by touch and easily aroused by teasing. Although she was still conscious, her body betrayed her.
Huo Lan chuckled softly, gently stroking the long hair behind her. "You say you won't give it to me, but your body says otherwise."
"It's too hot..." Jiang Shiyuan blushed, half-heartedly agreeing with him, "Aren't you dizzy?"
Huo Lan tried his best to control his desire, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his thin skin.
The dizziness from the cold and the stimulation from Jiang Shiyuan almost drove him crazy, but he still had to endure it with all his might.
"Ugh..." Huo Lan firmly grasped her lips, sucking on them wantonly, "But this feeling is so amazing..."
After their tender moment, Jiang Shiyuan quickly tidied herself up and got dressed. Then, she picked up a blanket and carefully covered Huo Lan with it.
Fortunately, the sofa was big and wide enough to be used as a bed, so she didn't have to worry about not being able to take him back to the bedroom for the time being, and stayed by his side.
His body temperature didn't drop at all, his mind was foggy, but he kept calling her name, begging her not to leave.
For some reason, Jiang Shiyuan felt a pang of reluctance. Suddenly, she felt a stirring in her abdomen and discovered that Tuantuan was restlessly stretching out its arms and legs inside her, as if it was also trying to keep her there.
"Tuantuan, Mommy has things to do. Will you be a good boy and stay with Daddy?" she whispered to her belly. "He's very capable. He'll definitely raise Tuantuan to be a great student."
The commotion in her lower abdomen subsided for a while, and Jiang Shiyuan rested next to Huo Lan for a while before regaining some strength to get him a thermometer and a first-aid kit.
“38.1 degrees…” Jiang Shiyuan saw the mercury scale on the thermometer and quickly looked for antipyretics in the medicine box.
"Huo Lan, wake up quickly, take your medicine before you go back to sleep, okay?" Jiang Shiyuan placed the medicine box on the low table next to her and gently shook him, but she couldn't wake him up.
Jiang Shiyuan lowered her eyes, pretending to pack her things, and said, "Great, since he's asleep, no one will care about me even if I leave Huo Garden..."
She had just stood up when she realized that her wrist was being tightly gripped. She looked down and saw that Huo Lan had slightly opened his eyes, and a tear slid down from the corner of his eye.
"No..." Huo Lan's voice was weak, but the grip on her wrist was still strong. "You can't leave me..."
Seeing Huo Lan's vulnerable state, Jiang Shiyuan couldn't bring herself to say anything cruel. So she sat down next to him again and gently coaxed him, "I won't leave. Tuantuan hasn't been born yet. How can I leave?"
Huo Lan closed his eyes, his fingers intertwining with hers as he pressed his hand to his chest. His voice was hoarse from the fever, "Could you... stay after giving birth to Tuantuan? I can't live without you..."
“But we made a promise.” Jiang Shiyuan couldn’t give up the chance to leave him. “You can’t go back on your promise. Tuantuan doesn’t want his father to be a man of his word.”
"I was wrong." The person who was usually so domineering in front of others was now humble and cautious. "I shouldn't have locked you up on the island against your wishes, I shouldn't have disbelieved you and misunderstood you. Please forgive me."
Jiang Shiyuan's reply was ruthless and cold: "Thank you for locking me up on the island, which suddenly gave me the strength to resist. Otherwise, I might have really had to suppress my emotions, hide my true self, and live a muddled life like that."
Huo Lan's body trembled slightly. After a long while, he released her hand and nodded gently. "I understand. I will set a good example for Tuantuan and be a person of integrity."
But he still wouldn't give up, and asked again, "Will we have a future?"
"Shall we separate first?" Jiang Shiyuan's voice was indifferent, without joy or sorrow. "I'm very uncomfortable staying at Huo Garden. I want to leave."
“If you don’t like Huo Garden, I can buy another house outside. Aren’t you going to study in Beijing? I can bring Tuantuan and live with you there.”
Jiang Shiyuan felt a tightness in her chest, and her distress was no less than Huo Lan's. "You know that's not what I meant. I want freedom, but you can't give it to me."
"I can give it to you, trust me, okay?" Huo Lan felt like she was about to be shattered by Jiang Shiyuan's ruthlessness, and the pain was so intense that she felt like she was suffocating. "I've already tried not to monitor you, I've already tried to let you leave me on your own, I just need some time to adjust."
"Isn't that perfect? We can separate for now while you're adjusting. We can talk about divorce once you no longer need me."
The word "divorce" shattered his delusions like a thunderbolt. He wanted to use Tuantuan to soften her heart again, but when he thought that she could abandon Tuantuan back then, what bargaining chips did he have to soften her heart?
Huo Lan could only nod, obediently take the fever reducer, and then, supporting himself, took Jiang Shiyuan's hand and went back to the bedroom.
The snow outside has stopped; snow in Wancheng never lasts long.
Huo Lan held Jiang Shiyuan tightly as they lay on the bed. Even though his head was still spinning, he kept talking and chatting with her.
He recounted amusing anecdotes from his childhood, mentioning how his father took him out to play, only to be caught by Xu Feixuan, who punished them by making them copy the *Di Zi Gui* (Standards for Being a Good Student and Child) for a whole day. He also spoke of how his grandfather was strict with him from a young age, scrutinizing even the friends he made and the people he associated with...
She was an unexpected event in his life, a stroke of luck and a deviation from his planned path, the source of his unrequited love...
Two months later, as Jiang Shiyuan's delivery date drew closer, Huo Lan took her to Qixin Temple, the most famous and efficacious temple in Wancheng, to offer incense and pray for the unborn Tuantuan.
This is a long-standing tradition of the Huo family: before the eldest daughter-in-law gives birth, the entire Huo family, young and old, must accompany her.
Because the Huo family has always been the biggest worshippers at Qixin Temple, and the temple's construction and maintenance have all been funded by the Huo family, they had arranged a time to book the entire venue long ago.
The Huo family was not particularly prosperous by Huo Lan's generation, but there were still more than a dozen people who came to offer incense and pray for blessings.
Whether it was Huo Lianyu and Huo Rou, who had a grudge against each other, or Shen Chuqing, Huo's fiancée, they all had to accompany the matriarch of the Huo family to pray for blessings. Jiang Shiyuan was no exception.
Huo Lan had his own selfish motives. Normally, he would be afraid that too many people would disturb her peace, but now he just wanted to savor every moment that still belonged to her.
He wanted everyone to understand clearly that she was his Mrs. Huo, the only one he truly cared about, and his rightful wife.
Huo Lan and Jiang Shiyuan led the group behind them to offer incense. The abbot of the temple handed Jiang Shiyuan a blessed sachet, wishing Tuantuan a healthy and safe growth.
Because Jiang Shiyuan was nearing her due date, she did not stay at the temple any longer. After praying for blessings, she did not linger and returned to Huo Garden with Huo Lan to prepare for childbirth.
Huo Lan checked the maternity bag again and again in the Bell Pavilion, and even after confirming that everything was in order, he was still not at ease and checked it again. Even though Anna had already prepared everything, Huo Lan was still extremely nervous.
A few days later, they were within the delivery period given by the maternity team. Huo Lan stayed by her side almost every moment, but Jiang Shiyuan had several contractions but showed no signs of giving birth. This scared Huo Lan so much that he dared not sleep.
That evening, Jiang Shiyuan finished washing up as usual and went to bed to rest, but then her stomach started to hurt violently.
"Huo Lan!" This time, the feeling was very different from before. Jiang Shiyuan's legs went weak, and she unconsciously began to sob, "I feel like Tuantuan is about to come out..."
Huo Lan held Jiang Shiyuan in his arms to comfort her, and shook the bell by the bed. Anna then brought several top female obstetricians who had arrived at Huo Garden a few days earlier from the next room to check on Jiang Shiyuan's condition.
Despite having a professional team and top-notch obstetricians, and having chosen painless childbirth, she still felt excruciating pain when she was wheeled into the delivery room.
Huo Lan stayed close to her, comforting her and gently kissing her, trying to ease her pain and anxiety. Only when she was able to receive pain medication did she feel like she had come back to life.
Huo Lan gently stroked her cheek, his eyes moist. "Shi Yuan, you will be alright."
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Author's Note: Regarding update frequency: I cannot guarantee daily updates, but I will try my best to update daily. My personal condition varies, sometimes I can write more when I'm in a good state, and sometimes I can't write at all when I'm in a bad state. But I will try my best to adjust my condition, write more and try to finish the main text by the end of October.
Regarding the update time in the announcement: The update time is an estimate and therefore changes frequently. I personally can't stay up late; if I don't finish writing by midnight, I feel completely lost the next day. So I try not to write overnight, which might mean "postponing" the update. If you feel this isn't appropriate, please leave a message and let me know if the announcement needs to be modified to include the update time. If not, then the default update time will be around 11:50 PM every night. If there's no update by then, it means there won't be an update that day.
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