Chapter 58: Fifty-Eight Fire

Two hours later, Yan Du felt that the novel experience of watching adult films while doing it wasn’t bad at all, especially that anime. Although the plot of soaking the entire bed was quite exaggerated, she had to admit that the creative power of the island nation’s people was extraordinary, capturing the essence perfectly.

After showering and returning to bed, Ji Ran asked her: “Do you want to watch others in the future?”

Ji Ran could clearly see that Yan Du was interested in these adult films. To satisfy her curiosity, Ji Ran felt he could reluctantly find more for her.

Hearing this, Yan Du’s eyes lit up, “You have other resources? Live-action versions?”

In college, when a roommate downloaded it and everyone watched together, Yan Duo was too thin-skinned to join in, let alone ask for the link. But listening to everyone’s discussions and the various sounds coming from it, Yan Duo wasn’t completely uninterested. Now that she and Ji Ran had reached this point, knowing what she should and shouldn’t know, it would be unreasonable to continue pretending to be reserved. Therefore, Yan Duo had long since let go of her inhibitions, making no attempt to hide her curiosity.

Ji Ran patted her head, “What are you thinking? There’s only the anime version, no live-action!”

How could he possibly let Yan Duo watch another man’s naked body? Not a chance!

Disappointed that there was no live-action version to watch, Yan Duo said, “Fine, download it and send it to me then!”

Ji Ran pulled her into his arms, “No need. When you have needs, tell me. I can satisfy your visual desires, and even more, I can satisfy your physical needs. So, don’t overthink it!”

At first, Yan Duo didn’t understand what Ji Ran meant. After thinking for two minutes, she angrily punched Ji Ran in the chest, “What are you talking about? Do I seem like the type to handle it myself?”

With a man around, why would she need to rely on herself? Wouldn’t that make the man just a decoration? Besides, how could Ji Ran possibly give her the chance?

Ji Ran said with a smile, “I don’t think you are that type either, so there’s no need to save those movies on your phone.”

Having said all that, what else could Yan Duo say? In the end, she gave him a fierce kiss on the neck and fell asleep in his arms.

In the following days, Yan Duo’s life continued to be fulfilling and happy.

On Christmas Eve, Yan Duo specially took a day off to follow Ji Ran to the television station to record a song. The entire recording process went quite smoothly, taking two hours. This was longer than professional singers, but compared to amateur performers like herself, the gala director was already very satisfied.

“Your wife’s singing skills aren’t top-notch, but her attitude is excellent—much better than many artists who just play on their phones when they show up.”

The gala director had seen many spoiled celebrities who were coddled by their fans. They would agree on songs weeks in advance, yet when it came time to record, some couldn’t even hit the right notes. When teachers tried to correct them, they would become impatient. Yan Duo, as the fastest-rising artist this year, was impeccable in this regard.

Ji Ran stood outside the glass room, watching Yan Duo talking with the sound engineer. Though he said nothing, a rare tenderness showed in his eyes, which amazed the director who had a good relationship with Ji Ran. Many people didn’t believe that celebrities who appeared affectionate on camera were truly in love. Before this, the director had also reserved his judgment, but after witnessing the loving interaction between the two today, he was convinced that their affection was completely different from the fake love put on by others.

After the two finished recording separately, they left the television station building together. Today was Christmas Eve, and the usually cheerful An Yixin told them to go home and celebrate the holiday. Therefore, Ji Ran drove Yan Duo back to the Ji family home.

Pushing open the Ji family’s door, the warmth that greeted Yan Duo made her feel as if spring had returned.

“Duoduo.”

“Ranran.”

When the young couple returned, the quickest to react wasn’t An Yixin, but the two parrots that had been delivered early. As soon as they saw the two appear, they began chattering noisily.

Since she was going to stay overnight at the Ji family’s place, Yan Duo wasn’t comfortable leaving the two parrots home alone, so she brought them over before heading to the TV station.

Yan Duo took off her down jacket, ran to An Yixin’s side wearing the teddy bear slippers specially prepared for her, and after sweetly calling her “mom” while hugging her arm, joined An Yixin in playing with the parrot.

Before long, when the kitchen aunt said the food was ready, An Yixin saw that Ji Lang and Chu Tian hadn’t arrived yet and didn’t pay them any mind. After all, since the two got married and moved out, they rarely came back for meals, and An Yixin had long been used to it. She invited Ji Ran and Yan Duo to eat.

Just as the four of them sat down and hadn’t even picked up their chopsticks, they heard a knock at the door. When the housekeeper opened it, the four at the table saw Ji Lang, beaming with joy, helping Chu Tang inside. Chu Tang’s free hand rested on her lower back, looking completely exhausted.

An Yixin got up and walked forward to ask Ji Ran, “Is Tiantian injured?”

Ji Lang carefully helped Chu Tian Sitting on the shoe-changing bench, he said to An Yixin with a face full of joy: “Mom, Tiantian is pregnant, six weeks along.”

When An Yixin heard this, she became excited too, “What? Really? Tiantian, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Are you nauseous? What do you want to eat? Mom will make it for you!”

An Yixin, who was nearly sixty, was suddenly told she was going to be a grandmother, so her excitement was understandable, and this excitement temporarily made her set aside her prejudice against Chu Tiantian.

Chu Tiantian sat on the bench, letting Ji Lang help her take off her thick cotton coat and the flat shoes she was extremely reluctant to wear. She glanced around the living and dining rooms, pointed at the chattering parrots hanging in the living room, and said with a frown: “Mom, these two parrots are too noisy, they’re making my ears hurt. When my ears hurt, my stomach also hurts a bit. Let’s send them outside.”

On such a cold day, taking the two parrots outside would definitely make them freeze. Yan Duo, who was standing not far away, quickly walked over, picked up the bird cage, and headed toward the sunroom. As she walked, she said, “I’ll take them away right now, they definitely won’t bother sister-in-law anymore.”

She could clearly see An Yixin and Ji Changhai’s eager anticipation for their grandchild, and even Ji Lang, who had always pretended to be affectionate with Chu Tian, showed a level of concern that Yan Duo had never seen before. At this moment, even though she felt Chu Tian was being a bit dramatic, Yan Duo didn’t want to confront her directly and quickly moved the parrots away from Chu Tian.

When Yan Duo came out of the sunroom, she saw Chu Tian sitting at the dining table, leaning lazily against Ji Lang. She glanced at the food on the table with some disdain and said, “Lang Lang, I want to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.”

Hearing this, Ji Lang glanced at An Yixin and said, “It’s already very late now, it would be too late for Mom to make it. Should I order takeout for you instead?”

Chu Tian refused, “There’s a lot of gutter oil outside, it’s fine if I eat it, but if the baby eats it, it’s unhealthy…”

Before she could finish, An Yixin interjected, “It’s alright, it’s alright. We happen to have all the ingredients for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at home, I’ll go make it now. Langlang, you prepare some food for Tian Tian first, let her have something to tide her over.”

As she spoke, An Yixin was already walking toward the kitchen.

Even Yan Duo, who didn’t cook much, knew that Buddha Jumps Over the Wall required not only many ingredients but also at least several hours to simmer. At this point, she didn’t say much, just followed behind An Yixin and said, “Mom, let me help you.”

An Yixin didn’t want to delay Yan Duo’s meal, but Yan Duo was insistent, so she didn’t press the matter.

At the dinner table, Chu Ting sat for a while longer before telling Ji Lang that the taste of the food made her nauseous. Ji Lang then helped her to the sofa to sit down and carefully attended to her beside her.

The only remaining ones at the dining table, Ji Changhai and Ji Ran, exchanged a glance, then picked up their bowls and chopsticks and began to eat.

After all the ingredients were placed in the stew pot, An Yixin and Yan Duo finally came out of the kitchen to start their meal.

Before she had taken a few bites, something else came up with Chu Tian. She said the parrot in the sunroom was making her nauseous and asked if it could be moved upstairs.

Yan Duo glanced at the sunroom, which was some distance from the living room and already had its door closed. She wasn’t sure if pregnant women were just more sensitive, but she hadn’t heard any birds chirping at all. However, since Chu Tian said it was bothering her, it must be true. Yan Duo stood up and said, “I’ll take them to our room right now.”

The second floor only had Ji Lang and Ji Ran’s bedrooms plus a study, so Yan Duo had no choice but to take them to Ji Ran’s room.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Ran stood up and said to Yan Duo, “I’ll go, you sit down and eat properly.”

Yan Duo glanced at Ji Ran’s back, then sat back down to continue eating.

Chu Tian said to Yan Duo with a smile, “Duo Duo, please don’t think I’m being difficult. Pregnant women are all like this. You might not understand now, but you will in the future.”

Yan Duo said with a smile, “It’s okay, I understand.”

Chu Tian rubbed her flat stomach and said again, “Look at me, I got pregnant just two months after getting married. You and Ji Ran have been married for a year now, how come you’re not pregnant yet? Is there something you’re not telling me? You really shouldn’t avoid medical treatment out of embarrassment. If there’s a problem, you should get it checked out. By the way, the doctor who examined me this time is the most famous obstetrician-gynecologist in T City. If you need one, I can introduce you?”

This statement directly attributed the reason for Yan Duo not being pregnant to possible health issues for either of them, while showing off and stepping on Yan Duo and Ji Ran at the same time.

Yan Duo kept her smile unchanged, thinking to herself that pregnancy must have made the woman foolish for three years, and there was no need to argue with her. So she took all the blame on herself and said playfully, “That won’t do! I’ve liked Ji Ran for so many years and we finally got married. I don’t want someone trying to steal him away from me so soon!”

This remark was playful and adorable, making even An Yixin and Ji Changhai laugh.

Chu Tian ran into a neither-too-hard-nor-too-soft rejection and didn’t want to talk to Yan Duo anymore, so she turned her head to watch TV.

After finishing her meal quickly, An Yixin went back to the kitchen to personally watch over the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Two hours later, when a rich aroma filled the kitchen, An Yixin brought a bowl to Chu Tian and had her taste it. However, after just one bite, Chu Tian put down her chopsticks in disgust and told Ji Lang that she wanted to go to sleep.

Ji Lang glanced at An Yixin with a troubled look, only relaxing when An Yixin said, “It’s fine, take Tiantian upstairs to sleep.” Ji Lang then helped Chu Tiantian go upstairs.

As the two figures’ backs completely disappeared from view.

The smile on An Yixin’s face faded slightly as she looked at the still half-full bowl.

Yan Duo glanced at An Yixin, then touched the flesh she had gained recently from Ji Ran’s care, and said resolutely, “Mom, is there any soup left in the kitchen? I’m feeling a bit hungry from the smell, hehe, I’d like some.”

An Yixin looked up at Yan Duo, and the smile that had just disappeared returned to her face, “Of course, I’ll get some for you right now.”

Yan Duo quickly said, “No need, Mom, I’ll get it myself. Please stay seated.”

After saying that, she trotted to the kitchen. jinchenghbgc.com

To make An Yixin happy, Yan Duo patted her not-so-hungry stomach, reluctantly served herself a large bowl, and consoled herself that she would exercise in her room after eating, then began to eat heartily.

Halfway through, just when she really couldn’t eat anymore, Ji Ran suddenly said: “Seeing you eat so deliciously, I want to have a taste too.” With that, he took the bowl and started eating.

Watching Ji Ran, Yan Duo knew perfectly well he was helping her out of an awkward situation. She was so moved that she was about to secretly touch Ji Ran’s hand when she caught Ji Lang coming downstairs out of the corner of her eye.

“Ji Ran, Tiantian said the parrot upstairs is keeping her awake. Could you please bring the parrot downstairs?”

Yan Duo immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go get it right now.”

After Yan Duo left, An Yixin and Ji Changhai exchanged glances, then took another look at Ji Ran who didn’t look well, and sighed inwardly.

After returning to her room, Yan Duo kept walking back and forth, hoping that exercise would make her bloated stomach feel less uncomfortable.

Ji Ran gave her two digestive tablets to take and said, “If you can’t eat it, don’t force yourself.”

After taking the medicine, Yan Duo continued walking around the room while replying, “I don’t want to see Mom disappointed.”

After working hard for over two hours only to have her efforts rejected, one could imagine how An Yixin felt. Yan Duo had a soft heart and couldn’t bear to see her unhappy, and the only solution she could think of was to eat it all up to make An Yixin happy.

Ji Ran understood Yan Duo’s good intentions but didn’t agree with her approach. In the future, the only thing he could do was to minimize Yan Duo’s contact with Chu Tian before she gave birth. He couldn’t bear to see Yan Duo being wronged.

Half an hour later, Yan Duo finally felt a bit better. Sitting beside Ji Ran, she asked him, “Have you ever thought about having a child?”

Ji Lang’s performance today made Yan Duo fully understand the tremendous change in a man who usually likes to put on airs after having a child. Regardless of her previous prejudices against him, Yan Duo could now clearly see that Ji Lang genuinely liked the child in Chu Tian’s belly. This made Yan Duo very curious about Ji Ran’s views on children.

Ji Ran glanced at Yan Duo, “I feel the same way you do. I don’t want anyone to disturb our world of two too early.”

Yan Duo glanced at him, “You know full well that I said that intentionally just now.”

Chu Tian was pregnant, so Yan Duo tried to avoid conflicts with her as much as possible. However, this didn’t mean she would let Chu Tian smear their reputation. When it came to deflecting such accusations, Yan Duo would counter them without hesitation.

Ji Ran: “But this is what I truly think.”

Yan Duo pressed: “You really don’t want to?”

Ji Ran looked at her, raising an eyebrow: “Of course, if someone really wants to get pregnant, I wouldn’t mind planting the seed early.”

Yan Duo immediately retorted, “You heard it wrong. Nobody wants to get pregnant!”

Qi Sixian had scheduled all her work until the year after next, so how could she possibly have time to have a child now?

Ji Ran nodded, “Yeah, if someone wants to get pregnant, they can give me a heads-up in advance. After all, I’m still looking forward to a life in bed without any constraints.”

Come to think of it, they had always been taking protective measures. Although Ji Ran knew that condoms were necessary, that didn’t stop him from briefly imagining what it would feel like to skip that step.

Yan Duo heard someone start talking dirty again and quickly stated solemnly, “I’m still on my period, so don’t you dare get any ideas today.”

Speaking of this, Ji Ran found it a bit strange. “Don’t you usually recover in at most four days? I remember it’s been ten days this time. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

Hearing this, Yan Duo turned her back to Ji Ran and lay down, her gaze somewhat unfocused: “It’s nothing, I get like this occasionally. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Would she say it was because Ji Ran had been too ferocious lately, tempting her with adult films every day, making her worry she might be fucked to death and that Ji Ran would ejaculate himself to… well, you know? Of course not. So, she backed down and made an excuse to give herself and Ji Ran a break.

Ji Ran leaned over to glance at Yan Duo, the corners of his mouth slightly curving up, already knowing what she was thinking. He made a mental note to restrain himself more in the future, no longer wanting to frighten the startled little rabbit.