The pleasant island vacation passed by too quickly. As they boarded the private jet to leave, the children reluctantly crowded by the windows, watching the beautiful island and beaches shrink into the distance.
Gradually, only thick layers of clouds could be seen outside, obscuring the emerald-like beauty of the sea.
Susu looked around the cabin and saw Lan Yu sitting alone, not looking at the sky, her mood seemingly down.
She approached Lan Yu and asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell on the plane too?"
That day, after Susu brought the children back from the amusement park, she had asked Lan Yu about the results of the pregnancy test.
Lan Yu had told her she was pregnant and asked her to keep it a secret for now, wanting to surprise An Jing when he returned.
Susu had agreed, so she hadn't even told Tian Yi about Lan Yu's pregnancy.
"I'm okay, just feeling a bit uncomfortable in my stomach," Lan Yu said with a faint smile.
Susu whispered, "That's how morning sickness starts. After we get back to Lancheng, we can go to the hospital for a thorough check-up, and then we'll know how many months it is."
Lan Yu nodded, a sense of anticipation growing for the child in her womb.
Tian Yi saw them talking about women's private matters and didn't interrupt, choosing to stay with the children.
However, he still felt that even if Lan Yu was physically fine, there might be something else bothering her.
After the plane landed at Lancheng's private airport, Tian Yi first sent a car to take Lan Yu and Ning Yu home.
Their family then took another car back to the villa. After the long flight, the three children were also tired. They didn't make much noise upon arriving home and all went to sleep.
When they returned to the bedroom, Susu, too tired to even unpack, collapsed onto the bed, wanting only to rest.
Tian Yi, still energetic, went to take a shower and change. When he came out, he saw Susu already asleep on her stomach.
He quietly took off her slippers, carefully moved her to lie down on the bed, and covered her with a blanket. Then, he leaned down and gently flicked her cheek, murmuring, "What a little pig, falling asleep in an instant."
In her sleep, she reached up to touch the cheek he had flicked and turned over, still fast asleep.
Seeing her sleeping soundly, Tian Yi didn't disturb her. He left the bedroom and went to the study, dialing An Jing's phone.
After a while, An Jing finally answered, "Tian Yi, are you still on the island?"
"We're back in Lancheng. I just wanted to let you know," Tian Yi said, then asked, "Are you feeling better there? When are you coming back?"
"I'm all better now. I've booked my flight for the day after tomorrow. I wanted to surprise Lan Yu and the others."
"That's good," Tian Yi told him. "Lan Yu got very seasick when we went out to sea. Take good care of her when you get back."
"Seasick?" An Jing sounded a bit surprised. "I've been out with her many times, and she never gets seasick or carsick."
"I'm not sure about that, but she doesn't seem to be in very good health," Tian Yi said. He knew An Jing cared deeply about Lan Yu and thought telling him this would make him more attentive, preventing him from neglecting Lan Yu and their child because of the Xiao Xiao incident.
"I understand. I'll be back the day after tomorrow and will take her to the hospital," An Jing said, indeed sounding concerned.
"Have a safe trip," Tian Yi said before hanging up and starting to deal with the backlog of work.
...
After returning from her trip, Lan Yu had contacted An Jing.
An Jing had told her on the phone that he couldn't confirm his return date, and she had held back from telling him about her pregnancy.
However, in the two days since returning from the island, she had felt a constant emptiness in her heart, distracted in everything she did.
As another day passed, the nanny prepared dinner, and Lan Yu ate with the nanny and her daughter.
Lan Yu was thinking about when An Jing would finally return and whether she should go for a detailed medical check-up. She wanted to go but didn't want to go to the obstetrics department alone and feeling lonely.
She wondered if An Jing would be happy to hear the news or if he would think the timing of the child was inconvenient.
"Madam, is this dish not to your liking?" the nanny asked, seeing her pick up a vegetable, not eat it, and then discard it on the table, only eating plain rice.
Lan Yu snapped back to reality, saying "oh," and saw that she had intended to pick up the vegetables but had put them on the table instead of in her mouth.
"Mommy doesn't like vegetables anymore, but the teacher said even if you don't like them, you shouldn't waste food," Ning Yu pouted, looking at her.
She couldn't help but smile. She picked up the dishes from the table again and put them into her bowl, saying, "Who says I don't like vegetables? I love them the most. I was just lost in thought earlier."
As she spoke, she looked at the nanny, took a bite of the vegetables, and said, "This dish tastes great. See how muddled I am."
The nanny smiled and said, "Madam must be missing Mr. You. Mr. hasn't been away on a business trip for this long before, so he must be coming back soon."
Lan Yu hummed in response, still feeling a sense of loss.
As they continued eating, Ning Yu suddenly put down her chopsticks and exclaimed joyfully, "Mommy, Daddy's back!"
Lan Yu found it impossible. She had spoken to An Jing on the phone yesterday, and he hadn't mentioned returning.
"Ning Yu, Daddy won't be back for a while. That's just the wind outside."
"Daddy is back!" Ning Yu still ran towards the door.
At that moment, the door indeed opened from the outside. Lan Yu stared in astonishment at An Jing, who walked in, almost unable to believe her eyes.
An Jing was wearing a mist-blue casual outfit, pushing a suitcase with one hand and holding a large bouquet of flowers with the other, as he walked in slowly.
Ning Yu happily shouted, "Daddy!"
He put the suitcase aside, scooped up Ning Yu, and said, "Little one, I've missed you so much. Have you been good at home with Mommy?"
"Yes, I've been very obedient," Ning Yu hugged his neck and said affectionately, "Daddy, I missed you too, but where did you go? Why did you take so long to come back?"
"Daddy's back now." An Jing kissed her cheek, then looked at Ning Yu and saw she was still sitting at the dining table, not having moved.
He quickly put Ning Yu down, walked towards her holding the flowers, and smiled, "I didn't tell you on the phone yesterday because I wanted to give you a surprise."
Lan Yu felt her eyes grow warm, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She lowered her head and said, "What's so surprising about this? It's boring."
Saying this, she immediately got up and walked towards the room, a mix of joy, grievance, and sadness overwhelming her, tears already falling.
An Jing quickly chased after her with the flowers in his arms, and Ning Yu also wanted to follow, "Daddy..."
"Auntie, please look after Ning Yu. I need to speak with Lan Yu privately," An Jing instructed the nanny.
"Certainly, Sir."
The nanny picked up Ning Yu and coaxed her, "Daddy and Mommy have something to talk about. Let's eat first, and then we can go find them."
"I want Daddy, I don't want to eat," Ning Yu struggled to break free from her.
The nanny continued to coax her, "Be good, children shouldn't leave so much food. Have you forgotten what your kindergarten teacher said about not wasting things?"
Ning Yu said "oh" and could only sit down to eat, but she also wanted to know what her parents were talking about.