Once Yang Wei had made repeated reassurances that 'Curly-baby' would just be a nickname, the family finally sat down for lunch.

At the dinner table, Mother Yang kept feeding Yang Wei, reminding her and Qi Xiao Yan of things pregnant women should pay attention to. Father Yang consumed his meal in silence. Every once in a while, his eyes would fall to Qi Xiao Yan and his nostrils would flare. Yang Ming looked at him as well. Here he had thought that Professor Qi was just a boring old tweed suit, dry as dust. He'd never have thought him to be the type to knock up his sister, and thus pull the rug out from under his father.

But did this mean that he was going to be an uncle? Curly-baby... How adorable.

After the meal, Mother Yang began washing up and Father Yang called Qi Xiao Yan into the study alone for a conversation. Though Yang Wei was worried, he rubbed her head and soothed her. "The worst that could happen is that he'll beat me up again. It's no big deal."

Yang Wei: "..."

Professor Qi must not know that her father had practiced Sanda¹Chinese kick-boxing. in his younger years.

When Qi Xiao Yan entered the study, Father Yang was sitting at the desk. On the table, steeping, was the Pu'er tea that he had brought today. Father Yang invited him to sit, then sat in silence for a while before asking, "Are you remarrying Yang Wei for the sake of the child?"

"No," Qi Xiao Yan denied. "Even without Curly-baby, I would have remarried her. Of course, now that he's here, I have to.”

Father Yang raised an eyebrow. “Why did you two have to divorce in the first place?”

“I think Yang Wei also told you that we had no emotional foundation prior to marriage. Afterward, we encountered a great many issues and felt like our personalities weren't compatible...”

Father Yang interrupted him with a sneer in his voice, “Oh, and are you feeling all accommodating now?”

"Now we'll work hard together to get used to each other." Qi Xiao Yan paused. There was a hint of determination in his tone. "We were too impatient and inexperienced to know how to make a marriage work, but this time, I truly do want to make it work with Yang Wei. I hope that you will be able to trust me again.”

Father Yang took a drink of his tea, keeping his eyes on him. “Her mother and I pampered Wei Wei in childhood. Although she's occasionally hot-tempered, she is absolutely neither arrogant nor foolishly stubborn. As a man, her husband, and now the father of her unborn child, you should be more considerate of her."

"I will."

Father Yang nodded. "Well then, I hope that you two will be able to make it work."

In the living room, Yang Ming leaned against his sister with a broad smile. "Elder sister, I never expected you to be so open-minded, getting pregnant outside of marriage."

Yang Wei:" ...... "

If not for the fact that she was indeed pregnant at the moment, she would have given him a good beating.

Yang Ming looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Your expression says that you want to beat me up a bit. Don't forget that you haven't been able to beat me since elementary school."

Yang Wei: "..."

She missed those halcyon years in which she could pin her brother down and beat him to tears.

There was sympathy in her eyes as she smiled at Yang Ming. "Now that I'm remarried, you're going to be the only target for all of mom's enthusiasm. Take good care of yourself."

Yang Ming: "..."

Just then, Qi Xiao Yan emerged from the study. Yang Wei stood and made her way over to inspect him. "Are you alright?"

"What are you saying? Did you think I was going to eat him?" Father Yang came out right after and gave Yang Wei a very disgruntled look. He was obviously holding down something about how daughters got married and turned against their family.

Yang Wei smiled at him ingratiatingly, pulling Qi Xiao Yan out the door. "Dad, we signed up for a parenting class this afternoon, so we've got to go."

Hearing her, Mother Yang stuck her head out from the kitchen. "Parenting class? The kind that teaches you how to take care of a baby?"

"You've heard of it?"

"I have, nowadays it's not nearly as popular. Well, go on, study hard!"

"Alright," Yang Wei responded, and left with Qi Xiao Yan. Sitting in the car, she finally managed to breath out a sigh of relief. "Hooh, finally my dad's been dealt with." She glanced Qi Xiao Yan's way. There was a small red mark on his forehead, probably from being beat by her father.

Raising her hand to touch his forehead, she asked, "Does it hurt?"

Qi Xiao Yan shook his head. "Nope."

Yang Wei cocked her head, then suddenly smiled. "Here, I'll kiss it and make it better." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the forehead.

Qi Xiao Yan was slightly dumbfounded. Then he pointed at his lips. "Here seems to be injured, too."

Yang Wei chuckled and pecked him on the mouth as well. "How's that?"

"Not quite there." He slid his hand to the back of her head and kissed her. For fear that she would be tired keeping up the awkward position too long, he kept it light and let her go shortly.

Yang Wei sat back in her seat, a little breathless. Helping her fasten her seat belt, Qi Xiao Yan said to her, "There's still a lot to do."

She blinked at him. "Like what?

"Next week, I'll take some time and take care of the remarriage logistics. I'll also inform my parents." He started up the car and headed for the class.

 

Every other young couple at the parenting class were around their age. Unlike a regular school full of desks and chairs, the classroom was very spacious, prettily decorated with well-maintained equipment.

The teacher was a woman who looked like she was in her thirties. She was dressed well, a little like a talk show host. Everyone stood up two by two, and teaching assistants came over to help distribute fake bellies.

Today's first lesson was about letting each prospective father experience the pain of pregnancy.

Yang Wei could hardly hold in her laughter looking at Qi Xiao Yan, dressed snappily in a suit and tie but with a bulging belly tied about his waist. "How many months along are you, Mr. Qi?"

She patted his fake belly, then took out her phone to take a photo. Qi Xiao Yan seized it immediately. Though Yang Wei couldn't take a photo, she did her best laughing at him with all her heart, as did every single other mother-to-be. Quite a few of the fathers lamented about how heavy the belly was.

Next, the assistant threw a small ball at the feet of each pair of parents. Watching them all with a smile, the teacher said, "Fathers, please pick up the ball on the ground."

It was extremely inconvenient to bend down with such a large belly, and the clumsiness of the fathers had the women in stitches. One of the more anxious men fell over, and the teacher walked over to him with a smile, "Sir, I'm afraid that your water might have broken."

Another burst of giggling filled the classroom as a flush of red climbed up the man's ears. Although Professor Qi moved very slowly, he was able to use his exquisite understanding of balance mechanics to pick up the ball on the ground.

After each prospective father had retrieved their ball, the teacher tasked them toward tying their shoelaces.

It was no less difficult than picking up something on the ground, even though normally it would hardly have been an issue in their eyes.

“Are you finding it difficult?” The teacher asked, taking in their shoelace struggle. “I hope that this will help you understand the physical and psychological changes that your wife will be undergoing, and that you will be able to understand and accommodate them with more patience than usual."

Even after Qi Xiao Yan had taken off his fake belly, Yang Wei was unable to stop laughing. "Curly-bae, you looked so interesting just now. Oh, I should have brought a video camera, I could have recorded it and shown it to Curly-baby.”

Qi Xiao Yan really wanted to ruffle up her carefully-combed hair into something more like a rooster, but called upon his stores of patience to resist the urge. The teacher had just told them not to get into a fight with pregnant women.

Later, under the teacher's guidance, they learned how to change diapers and bathe children. The class ended with everyone exhausted after a long afternoon, but Qi Xiao Yan nevertheless insisted on cooking dinner for Yang Wei at home.

While sitting in the living room, waiting for the meal to be ready, Yang Wei picked up a book on the table. Qi Xiao Yan had bought it earlier. It was on how a pregnant woman should deal with her emotions. There were also a large number of books in the bedroom titled things such as "How to Exercise for Pregnant Women", "One Hundred Tricks for Prenatal Education", "Nutritious Recipes for Mommy", etc., all bought by Qi Xiao Yan. Yang Wei suspected that had just swept every book with the keywords 'pregnant' and 'mother' from the shelves.

A cup of tea was placed on the table in front of her. However, the tea leaves looked quite odd. Yang Wei had never seen leaves of this particular shape before. Book in one hand, she looked up. "What is this?"

"Tea from the farm of a friend of mine. It has no □□, is rich in various minerals, and is especially suitable for pregnant women."

Yang Wei picked up the cup and took a sip. It tasted nice. "Are you still in contact with this friend?"

"He gave me a lot. You can take your time drinking it." Qi Xiao Yan headed back to the kitchen. Putting down her book, Yang Wei followed him back to take a look. "What are you making?"

"Wontons."

She walked over to him and peered down at the meat in the bowl. A huge mound of shrimp shells lay nearby. "Shrimp stuffing?"

"Shrimp and seaweed..."

"All rich in minerals," Yang Wei picked up a bit before he could say anything and ate it. Qi Xiao Yan's lips quirked up a little. He gave her a sidelong look and continued wrapping wontons. Washing her hands in the sink nearby, Yang Wei picked up a piece of dough. "I'll help you out."

"No need."

"You don't need to be so polite to me. This little job won't tire me out."

"I'm just afraid that yours will be too ugly."

Yang Wei: "..."

She swiped a little flour left from the small bowl with her fingers and streaked it quickly across Qi Xiao Yan's face. Looking at the cat whiskers she had painted on him, Yang Wei laughed, pleased with herself. As she was laughing, he smeared a cross on her face.

Yang Wei swallowed her laughter and looked at him, disgruntled. “Was the afternoon class today for nothing? The teacher said that you must be tolerant and considerate of pregnant women and make sure to keep them happy.”

"I think you look much better than before. Maybe you'd like to check a mirror?" He said seriously. Yang Wei's brow wrinkled. She lunged for the bowl next to him in an attempt to pour the flour over his head.

When Qi Xiao Yan saw that, he immediately moved the bowl out of her reach. Her plan lost, Yang Wei simply opened her mouth to bite him. Qi Xiao Yan grabbed her hands and locked her in his arms. Though he didn't dare to be too powerful, she still could not escape. When she finally looked up, gasping for breath, to surrender and have him let go of her, she finally realized how close they were standing.

Qi Xiao Yan's gaze hung on her a little while. His eyes softened, and he bowed his head to kiss her lips. Had his tastes changed, or had Yang Wei really become more beautiful after pregnancy? Nowadays he was always wanting to kiss her.

The person in his arms was soft and her kisses sweet. When he thought of the child she was carrying, he wanted to give her everything good in the world.

The two kissed in the kitchen for a long time without stopping. Feeling like Professor Qi might not be able to put the brakes on if they didn't stop now, Yang Wei finally opened a little gap between them. "If we don't start wrapping wontons, we'll never eat dinner."

His eyes full of unconcealed affection, Qi Xiao Yan closed them and kissed her once more before letting her go. "Clean your face first, little cat."

"Not you, though." Yang Wei wiped her face with the back of her hand and added another stroke of flour to his. This time, Qi Xiao Yan did not make a fuss. He bowed his head and wrapped wontons.