You Mu saw You Rong’s pale face and silence, mistaking it for his continued insistence on divorcing Lin Qinghe.
Madam You frowned and said displeasedly, “You Rong, I’m telling you, you are not to be foolish! Qinghe made mistakes before, but now she is devoted to you and our You family. You must treat her sincerely and live well with her, understand!”
You Rong lowered his eyes, imperceptibly clenching his fists, and tried to feign composure as he asked, “Mother, perhaps you are mistaken. Qinghe is just ill.”
“I don’t think so. Qinghe has always been healthy. Besides, you eat together every day, she eats what you eat, and what she eats, you eat. If she were to eat something bad, you should also feel uncomfortable.”
Madam You thought for a moment, still worried, and said, “If that’s the case, you should find a doctor to examine Qinghe. We’ll be more at ease after the examination. If Qinghe is pregnant, your father’s spirit in heaven will surely be pleased. Our You family will finally have an heir!”
You Rong, however, was completely different from before. He said, “Mother, there’s no need to call a doctor for now! I… see Qinghe has already gone to sleep. If she is still unwell tomorrow, I will find a doctor for her.”
There was a saying circulating among the common folk that it was not advisable to announce a pregnancy prematurely before three months. Moreover, among them, hardworking commoners, women still had to work in the fields even when pregnant, so they did not consider pregnancy to be something particularly precious.
Madam You nodded and said, “Alright, we’ll do as you say. Qinghe is newly pregnant, you need to take good care of her, understand?”
You Rong pursed his lips and said reluctantly, “…Mother, I understand.”
Madam You wanted to go in and see Lin Qinghe, but You Rong used the excuse that Lin Qinghe had already rested and shouldn't be disturbed to send her back to her room.
You Rong stood outside the courtyard, enduring the cold wind for a long time before entering the house.
Lin Qinghe lifted the quilt, intending to get out of bed and look for You Rong. Seeing him enter with a pale face, she couldn't help but worry.
“You Rong, why were you outside for so long? Your face is also not looking well. Did my illness spread to you? Do you feel unwell?”
Lin Qinghe was also full of doubts. Logically speaking, she had a stomach upset, not a cold, so it shouldn't be contagious to You Rong.
You Rong’s eyes flickered, and he pretended to be unconcerned, saying, “I went to look at the pig offal soup simmering in the kitchen… I’m fine, my body feels no discomfort. It’s getting late, and we need to wake up early tomorrow. Let’s rest.”
After You Rong finished speaking, he raised his hand and extinguished the oil lamp on the table.
The room plunged into darkness. Lin Qinghe couldn't see You Rong’s face and didn't suspect anything. She lay down, ready to rest, but You Rong did not get into bed. She frowned and asked, “You Rong? Aren’t you coming to rest?”
You Rong said, “…Coming.”
You Rong got into bed and lay down beside Lin Qinghe. Then, he became silent. Lin Qinghe had been so busy these past few days that she was exhausted and didn't think much of it. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
But You Rong lay on the bed, utterly sleepless. He placed his hand on the left side of his chest, feeling a suffocating tightness and a stabbing pain in his heart.
Since he married Lin Qinghe, they had never consummated their marriage!
The child in her belly could not be his!
Whose child would it be? The person she loved?
You Rong clenched his fists, turned his head to look at Lin Qinghe’s blurred silhouette in the darkness, and felt a deep sorrow in his heart.
If she knew she was pregnant, would she want to find the child’s father?
If she did, and that person was willing to raise the child, would she want to get back together with that person?
These thoughts constantly plagued You Rong, like water weeds at the bottom of a river, entangling him tightly, dragging him down into the water, suffocating him to the point of gasping for breath.
***
The sky outside had not yet brightened, and with a few crowing roosters, Lin Qinghe woke up as usual. She realized You Rong was no longer in bed. She reached out to touch the spot where You Rong usually slept; it was already cold, indicating he had left a long time ago.
Why did You Rong get up so early?
Lin Qinghe got out of bed with a sense of confusion, put on her outer garment, and walked outside. She found that You Rong had already loaded the prepared pig offal soup onto the ox cart. Seeing she was awake, he brought over the warmed buns and said, “Wash up, then eat something. We’ll head to the pier.”
Lin Qinghe smiled, “Why did you get up so early? And these… you could have waited for me to do them together.”
You Rong turned his face away, pretending to lower his head to check if the wooden bucket was covered tightly. “…No need, I can do it.”
After a simple meal, Madam You, who rarely got up so early, also appeared, smiling at Lin Qinghe and telling her to pay attention to her health and not to overexert herself.
Madam You seemed to have something to say to Lin Qinghe at the end, but You Rong interrupted, saying it was almost time and they had to rush to the pier.
You Rong drove the ox cart forward, and Lin Qinghe sat on the cart, vaguely feeling that something was amiss.
What made Lin Qinghe completely feel that something was wrong was You Rong’s absentmindedness at the small restaurant today. He either delivered the wrong food to guests, accidentally bumped into other customers, or sometimes just stood there blankly. Lin Qinghe called out to him several times, but he didn’t respond.
However, the strangest thing was that while You Rong was out of sorts today, he was also exceptionally attentive to her.
She accidentally tripped over a chair and almost fell. It was he who immediately rushed over to support her, anxiously asking, “Are you alright? Did you fall? How are you feeling? Does your stomach hurt?”
Lin Qinghe felt You Rong’s reaction was excessive.
She just tripped, she didn’t fall, why was he acting as if she had suffered a serious injury?
Lin Qinghe said helplessly, “You Rong, I’m fine. It’s you… you’re really strange today? Are you truly not feeling unwell?”
Lin Qinghe reached out and touched You Rong’s forehead. It wasn’t hot; he didn’t seem sick.
Just as Lin Qinghe was about to ask further, more than ten guests coincidentally arrived. Madam Li and Madam Zhang couldn’t handle them alone, so she had to put aside You Rong’s matter for now and quickly attend to the guests.
After busying herself until closing, Lin Qinghe stood in the kitchen of the small restaurant, racking her brain but unable to figure out why You Rong was so strange today. She decided to directly ask You Rong.
She walked into the main hall of the small restaurant. You Rong was tidying tables and chairs with Madam Li and Madam Zhang. She walked over, handed the leftover food from today to Madam Li and Madam Zhang, asking them to take it home to eat.
After thanking her, Madam Zhang and Madam Li left for Xinghua Village.
Lin Qinghe closed the door of the small restaurant, turned around, and narrowed her eyes, looking at You Rong.
You Rong seemed to sense something, lowered his gaze, and said, “I’ll go to the kitchen to get the empty wooden buckets…”
“You Rong! Don’t go! I have something to say to you!”
Lin Qinghe stepped forward, grabbed You Rong’s arm, and directly asked, “You Rong, you’ve been acting strange today. Can you tell me if something is wrong?”
You Rong pursed his thin lips and, after a long pause, replied, “No.”
Lin Qinghe pressed him, “Really nothing? And did Mother have something to say to me this morning? You stopped her, didn’t you?”
You Rong’s face turned pale, and his words were filled with powerlessness. “…No.”
Lin Qinghe’s brows furrowed tightly. Naturally, she didn’t believe You Rong’s words. She said angrily, “Fine, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t. I’ll go ask Mother myself!”
Lin Qinghe turned to leave, and You Rong suddenly grabbed her wrist.