Gu Yitong found herself caught between laughter and tears, yet her heart ached for him. She gently wiped away Afu's tears and rubbed his downturned lips. "Of course, I love him. He's your and my child, how could I not love him?"
"Mmm... just now because..."
Alright, this was indeed her oversight. She had been so focused on Afu that she had neglected other things.
"It was my oversight just now, I almost hurt the baby. Let Daddy punish Mommy for the baby," Gu Yitong said, raising Afu's hand and using her own strength to guide his hand to strike her.
Afu's hand was soft and lacked any force. He was unwilling to exert himself, and merely went along with Gu Yitong's strength, reluctantly tapping her a few times.
"Is the baby satisfied now?"
She didn't know if this was said to Afu or to the baby in Afu's belly. In any case, she looked at Afu, and her voice reached Afu's ears.
Afu's ears might not have been able to handle such words. The tips of his ears turned slightly red. He knew she was speaking to the baby, but his ears still flushed.
Since she was speaking to the baby, he shouldn't answer. Afu thought, and remained silent.
"Is the baby satisfied?"
Another question, and Afu still remained silent, making no move.
"Is the baby satisfied?" The question sounded a little wronged, as if she were extremely upset for not receiving an answer.
Afu raised his eyelids to glance at Gu Yitong, opened his mouth, but still did not reply.
"The baby hasn't answered me yet, is the baby satisfied or not?" Gu Yitong seemed determined to get an answer, refusing to give up.
"Are you satisfied?" Gu Yitong cooed, leaning her body slowly against Afu's back and wrapping her arms around his waist.
Gu Yitong's action clearly indicated that the "baby" she had been calling just now was Afu himself, not the baby in his belly.
Afu, confirming this, felt a surge of sweetness. It felt good to be called "baby."
Finally, under Gu Yitong's persistent questioning, Afu nodded slightly and murmured, "Satisfied."
Afu was successfully coaxed by Gu Yitong once more. He no longer felt sad and thought that the meal should be ready. He got up, intending to go to the kitchen to check on Wang Tian.
"I'll go with you," Gu Yitong said, rising with him.
As they reached the doorway, they heard Wang Tian's voice.
"The meal is ready! You two serve the food, I'll go call Lu Fulang."
Here, when a man married a woman, he would take on the woman's surname. Just as Shen Xuan, although surnamed Shen, would become Lu Fulang after marrying Lu Yu.
Hearing their affirmative responses, Wang Tian took off his apron, put on his cotton coat, and left the house.
Wang Tian walked into the courtyard and paused. He looked back at the two busy figures and after a long while, a smile appeared on his face.
Shen Xuan had called him away not to look at Li Fulang, but to tell him everything about Afu at the courtyard entrance, including Afu's current situation.
"Afu is currently in a state of distress. Please do not provoke him further. And Miss Gu is sincere towards Afu, I can guarantee that. There is also one more thing, I hope you can return with us."
"Before Afu gets married, I hope you can spend more time with him. He really needs your company right now."
These were Shen Xuan's exact words.
Wang Tian knew Afu's current condition. He had experienced a similar situation when he was carrying Afu.
At that time, his wife had passed away, and the young master had been falsely accused of adultery with his wife. The child the young master was carrying was said to be his wife's child. At that time, he had foolishly believed it.
He and his wife had been servants in the original Li manor, without parents or family. It was the young master who had shown them kindness, allowing them to be together and become each other's family.
They had married the young master together, all to protect him, but this situation had arisen.
The departure of his wife at that time had been a great blow to him. He was pregnant and had lost the only family he had in this world. His temperament had changed drastically, and he had no expectations for the child he was carrying, who shared his bloodline.
At that time, he had even resented the child. If it weren't for him, perhaps he would have followed his wife.
But the rumors that spread later, he had no ability to discern their truth. He followed the crowd and believed them.
Perhaps it was the timing, the young master's pregnancy, and their time alone together, all became his supporting evidence. The scales were bound to tip.
He didn't know what to do, whom to hate.
He initially hated the child in his belly, then hated his own powerlessness, and even hated his wife's child. Later...
Later, he believed the rumors. He hated the child in the young master's belly, believing it to be his wife's child with someone else.
Finally, he even came to hate the young master. An inexplicable hatred grew in his heart.
Perhaps without this hatred, he couldn't live. Hatred was the food that sustained him.
Later, when the young master died during a difficult childbirth, he was heartbroken and sad, and then began to hate himself for being heartless.
In the end, all the hatred converged as Shen Xuan grew up, and he finally agreed to Shen Jia's father and son to frame Shen Xuan's reputation.
Looking back now, how terrifying it was. It was just that one moment of wrong judgment that led him to such a state. But it was too late to regret. Now, he could only try his best to atone for his past guilt.
He absolutely did not want his own child to suffer the same hardships he had endured.
Watching the interaction between the two outside the door, watching Gu Yitong's care for Afu, Wang Tian truly smiled from the bottom of his heart.
How many years had it been since he had genuinely smiled? He couldn't remember, perhaps after his wife's death, or perhaps when the hatred began to sprout.
He would no longer dwell on the past. Perhaps the current life was the best.
He knocked on Li Fulang's door. Shen Xuan and Wu Rong were still chatting happily. Hearing the knock, Shen Xuan knew it was Wang Tian calling him home for dinner, so he got up and opened the door.
Li Fulang's belly was larger than other pregnant men because he was carrying twins. His due date was within these two days.
Since Shen Xuan had a serious talk with Li Fulang, Li Fulang's complexion had been improving. Now, there was no sign of his former haggardness.
He had been consistently drinking the medicine prescribed by Lu Yu. Compared to the expected difficulty, this childbirth should be somewhat easier.
During the meal, Gu Yitong repeatedly wanted to serve food to Afu, but she didn't dare to reach out because Wang Tian was present.
Afu also found it difficult to eat. His current physical condition was poor, and he suffered from severe morning sickness. He could barely eat much at each meal.