Rock

At night, with the summer heat finally fading, the weather had begun to cool, and the evening breeze was fresh and pleasant.

“Here, have some more soup.”

At the dinner table, Chen's Mother ladled soup into Ye Shuang’s bowl. “Is work wearing you out? You need to eat more and take better care of yourself. Look how thin you’ve gotten.”

“It’s not tiring, Mom.” Ye Shuang accepted the soup and added, “We can serve ourselves.”

“It’s no trouble.” As she spoke, Chen's Mother also filled bowls for An Shiyu and Anshi Yi. Ye Shuang had often praised the two assistants for being highly capable and taking a great deal of the workload off her shoulders, so Chen's Mother was quite fond of them as well.

“Thank you.”

The two fishes were unusually well-behaved that evening—or rather, their attention was focused on the lavish spread of food covering the Chen family’s dining table. The Chen family usually prepared more than a dozen, sometimes even twenty, dishes for a meal, so the two of them could feast to their hearts’ content.

Neither An Shiyu nor Anshi Yi received much spending money, so they figured they might as well mooch off the food whenever they could.

At that moment, Chen Hai noticed that his bowl was empty. “Mom, fill me a bowl too.”

“Do it yourself. You have hands and feet—do you expect your mother to wait on you?” Chen's Mother said irritably.

“Seriously?” Chen Hai protested. “Then why did you serve Ye Shuang and the others?”

“Is it the same thing?” Chen's Mother replied. “When you can bring Qiaoqiao home, I’ll serve you soup. Until then, serve yourself.”

“Fine.”

Chen Hai knew that his divorce had hit his mother hard, so he sullenly stood up and ladled himself some soup.

“Darling, have some more chicken.”

Chen Qin also began placing food in Ye Shuang’s bowl. Ye Shuang quickly stopped her. “I can do it myself. You’re pregnant, so don’t move around unnecessarily.”

“It’s fine. I’m not that delicate.” The moment Chen Qin finished speaking, Chen's Father and Chen's Mother glared at her.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

Chen Qin immediately shrank back beside Ye Shuang like a turtle retreating into its shell.

After that, Chen's Mother kept asking Ye Shuang about work and other matters, but she did not say a word to Chen Hai. She did not even ask about his job or how he was doing.

“I’m not eating anymore.”

Chen Hai suddenly threw down his chopsticks and rose to leave. “You lot enjoy your family dinner.”

“Stop right there.”

Seeing Chen Hai slam down his chopsticks, Chen's Father immediately said, “What do you think you’re doing? Throwing your chopsticks down?”

Hearing the anger in his father’s voice, Chen Hai hesitated timidly for a few seconds. In the end, however, he stubbornly strode out of the house.

“I’m not eating!”

“Then don’t come back!”

“Fine!”

A moment later, the lights in the garage came on. Chen Hai drove away, disappearing into the night.

“Good grief.” Chen's Mother sighed, then said to Ye Shuang and the others, “All right, don’t worry about him. Let’s eat.”

“Mom, I’ll go bring Chen Hai back.”

“Let him go!” Chen's Father said grimly. “He doesn’t have much ability, but he sure has a big temper.”

“If he were even half as sensible as Shuangzai, I wouldn’t be this angry.”

“Actually, Chen Hai…” Ye Shuang noticed the expressions on Chen's Father and Chen's Mother’s faces and decided not to continue. “Well, let’s just eat for now.”

Although the atmosphere at the table had become rather awkward, the two fishes seemed completely unaffected. They continued stuffing themselves with food, eating away as if nothing had happened.

After all, the less Ye Shuang and the others ate, the more the two of them could eat. Their motto was clearly: eat, eat, and eat some more, with absolutely no concern for what was going on around them.

After dinner, Ye Shuang sat on the sofa and sent Chen Hai a message.

Ye Shuang: Did you get back?

Ye Shuang: Dad is really angry.

After a while, Chen Hai replied.

Chen Hai: I’m not in the mood anymore. How can they be like that?

Chen Hai: I’m going to find somewhere to eat.

Ye Shuang: All right, then.

Chen Hai: I might as well see if there are any unwanted beauties I can pick up and bring home.

Ye Shuang: …

Although Ye Shuang knew Chen Hai was joking, she also understood that he was genuinely upset. It seemed that all he really lacked was someone to show him a little care and concern.

“Where did Chen Hai run off to?” Chen Qin asked from beside Ye Shuang. Seeing the two of them chatting, she had grown curious.

“He went out to find somewhere to eat.”

“He actually threw down his chopsticks and left? What a temper.” Chen Qin was clearly displeased by Chen Hai’s behavior.

“All right, don’t be angry.”

Ye Shuang reached out and gently rubbed Chen Qin’s cheek. Perhaps wanting to change the subject, he glanced at her swollen belly. “Did the baby kick you today?”

“He’s been very active. Of course he did.” At the mention of the baby, Chen Qin’s mood seemed to improve. She smiled brightly. “I think it’s going to be a boy. He’s already so mischievous.”

Ye Shuang reached out and placed a hand on her belly as well. “Being pregnant really is hard. You have to go through so much.”

“Hehe, I was worried he wouldn’t come at all.” As she spoke, Chen Qin seemed to remember something. “Oh, right. Let’s play some music for the baby.”

With that, Chen Qin rummaged around and eventually pulled out a white earbud. She placed it against her belly.

Just then, An Shiyu and Anshi Yi came over. Noticing the earbud on Chen Qin’s stomach, they asked, “Can a baby that small actually hear music?”

“Of course,” Chen Qin replied. “I’ve been playing soothing music for the baby lately. It seems to calm him down.”

“Really? It can make him behave?” An Shiyu asked, folding her arms.

“When I get pregnant, I’ll play rock music for mine,” Anshi Yi said from the side. “Then it can start rocking out right there in the womb.”

Ye Shuang: “…”

Wasn’t that taking things a little too far?

As the night grew deeper, Ye Shuang took Chen Qin back to their room to rest.

After showering, Ye Shuang sat on the edge of the bed and continued reading through the company documents in his hands. Chen Qin brought over two cups of coffee and sat quietly beside him without disturbing him.

“Darling, have some coffee.”

“Mm.”

Ye Shuang took a sip, then realized something was off. “Is this milk?”

“It’s mostly milk with just a tiny bit of coffee,” Chen Qin explained. “You still need to sleep, don’t you?”

She didn’t want to see Ye Shuang staying up late working through documents, so she had only added a little coffee powder.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve been getting plenty of rest lately.” Ye Shuang smiled.

“Darling.”

“Hmm?”

“After the baby is born, I’ll move in and live with you all. That way, you won’t have to keep going back and forth.” Chen Qin smiled sweetly. “Hasn’t this period been exhausting for you?”

“You’re planning to move over?” Ye Shuang asked.

“Mm. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. But your parents won’t agree.” Ye Shuang knew that with the baby just being born, Chen's Father and Chen's Mother would definitely want to keep the child by their side.

“Then we can leave the baby with them to look after, and I’ll come over by myself,” Chen Qin said.

“You silly girl.” Ye Shuang pointed at her belly. “Be careful. The baby might hear you.”