"Julia, don't move. Let me talk to my daughter," Glades Horne said huskily.

Julia lay on her back in bed, her belly raised, smiling softly. When the topic of the baby came up, her pretty face radiated the unique brilliance of maternal love. "Mom secretly spoke to me after dinner. She said to have Dr. Lei check my pulse to see if I'm carrying a boy or a girl. If Mom knew you talk about having a daughter all the time, she definitely wouldn't be pleased."

From the start, her mother-in-law had been hoping for a grandson. Before Julia was even pregnant, her mother-in-law had said she wanted eight or ten of them, and they all had to be boys; it didn't matter if the last one was a girl.

Truthfully, her mother-in-law's fervent hope for a grandson put a lot of pressure on her.

She didn't know if her mother-in-law would dislike her if she gave birth to a girl, just as her mother-in-law didn't seem to care much for the baby in Adele's belly.

Thankfully, her mother-in-law still doted on Adele. She ensured Adele didn't lack any necessary nutrition and paid attention to all the precautions for a pregnant woman.

"People from Mom's generation were still poisoned by feudalistic thinking. Don't mind it," Glades consoled her. "Whether it's a boy or a girl, she's our child, and I will cherish and love her. I swear to you, with my hand raised to heaven, I absolutely don't have any thoughts of favoring sons over daughters." He had already talked to his mother, asking her not to keep bringing up having grandsons, but she just couldn't control her deep-seated longing. He was quite helpless—after all, he couldn't just seal his mother's mouth with tape, right?

Julia laughed, agreeing with Glades's words.

Having a child isn't easy, and being a mother is certainly challenging. Whether it's a boy or a girl, she would love her child thoroughly. She was committed to providing for her child materially and emotionally, ensuring they never suffered the slightest grievance.

Glades gently laid his handsome face on Julia's slightly protruding belly. At three and a half months, because the fetus was developing well, Julia's belly looked bigger than average for that stage.

Glades had already begun to worry secretly whether Julia would have a difficult birth six months later if the baby was too large. However, he was more concerned about the baby suffering from malnutrition. Experienced people all said that nutrients absorbed by the fetus in the womb are far more effective than those supplemented after birth. As an expectant father, he was caught in a dilemma. He wanted the baby to be healthy and meet all nutritional targets, but he also worried that excessive supplementation would burden his beloved wife.

"Daughter, are you being good today? Have you had enough to eat? Mommy ate all of *your* favorite foods, okay? You must eat your fill and be healthy, okay?" Glades whispered lovingly, his strong body awkwardly hunched on the bed, looking a bit ridiculous. If outsiders saw the CEO of Valence Group—a man whose mere foot stomp could shake the stock market—in this pose, they would likely be utterly astonished.

As Julia listened to his murmuring, she couldn't help but laugh.

She ate what *she* liked, so how did it become what their daughter liked?

"Daughter, when will you finally meet Daddy? Daddy can't wait to see what you look like. Hmm, you should be as beautiful as your Mommy—fair-skinned, with lovely almond eyes, just like her. Long hair, a little mouth all pink and tender..."

Heavens, is this really Glades Horne?

Julia struggled to hold back her laughter.

Long hair? A newborn's hair, no matter how long, is still short. Surely she wouldn't be born with hair trailing to the floor; she'd look like a monster! A little mouth, pink and tender... Hmm, that part's true. All newborn babies have pink and tender mouths.

As Glades murmured these sweet nothings, his large hand also lovingly and gently stroked Julia's belly.

He stroked back and forth, his touch filled with an adoration he couldn't relinquish, caressing her ceaselessly.

This was his nightly ritual. He said it would help him bond with the baby, so when she was born, she would be very close to her daddy.

Julia lay there quietly, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes brimming with happiness.

The room was very quiet, with only Glades's murmurs gently rippling through the air.

Suddenly, Julia felt the fetus move lightly. It was like a shrimp's delicate flick, a gentle tap in her lower abdomen. Even though it was just once, she felt it deeply.

Fetal movement! Her baby was moving!

Books said that fetal movement actually began at three months of pregnancy, but it was often so faint that the mother couldn't feel it. Generally, around the four-month mark, the movements became more noticeable. She was three and a half months pregnant now, so it was normal for her to start feeling the initial movements.

Feeling the fetal movement for the first time was a particularly novel experience for Julia. It made her profoundly aware of her baby's presence.

"Julia! She moved!" Since Julia felt the fetal movement, Glades, the expectant father who had been constantly caressing her belly, couldn't possibly have missed the baby's first kick.

He exclaimed in a low, excited voice, his handsome face radiant, like a dust-covered pearl that, once cleaned, shone brilliantly under the sun. His eyes danced with elation, just like when Julia's pregnancy was first confirmed. He was ecstatic, so overjoyed he couldn't find the words to express his feelings.

Julia, also unable to contain her excitement and curiosity, placed one hand on her lower abdomen, quietly waiting for the baby's second movement.

After waiting a while, the baby didn't move again, and she withdrew her hand, a little disappointed.

"In another two weeks, she'll move more often," Glades, who had more experience in these matters, said, soothing her disappointment.

Yet his large hand was reluctant to leave. He continued to gently caress her lower abdomen back and forth, transmitting his love for the baby through his palm, across her skin, to the child within.

To Julia's surprise, under his gentle, rhythmic caress, after a good while, the baby moved slightly again.

"Julia, she moved again! She can feel it; she knows!" Glades exclaimed again in a low, thrilled voice.

At this stage, fetal movements were very infrequent and extremely subtle.

But the baby had moved twice under his caress, proving that his nightly efforts to bond with her were effective. The baby seemed particularly fond of and trusting in his large, steady hands.

"Baby, be good. Daddy won't disturb you anymore. Go to sleep now." Suppressing his excitement, Glades knew that even when the baby started moving frequently, they shouldn't play with her for too long, lest she become overexcited and active all night. Now, when they were just beginning to feel her movements, it was even less appropriate to tease her too much.

Lying back beside his beloved wife, Glades noticed she was looking at him with a completely new expression. He asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Julia didn't speak, just looked at him quietly. As he watched her, puzzled, she suddenly reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered, "The baby's playing favorites. She clearly likes you, her dad, more."

Glades was taken aback for a moment, then laughed softly. "Little one, you get jealous too? That's rare."

Nuzzling her head into his embrace with a playful pout, Julia retorted, "So, there's one rule for you and another for me? You get to be the favorite, and I can't even feel a twinge of jealousy?"

Gently tapping her pert nose, Glades smiled indulgently. "Even when the baby is born, she won't be able to usurp your position. Rest assured, my Julia. You hold a unique and irreplaceable place in my heart that no one can ever challenge, not even in the slightest."

Julia then hugged his sturdy waist, murmuring something unintelligible, but it was clearly a murmur of happiness.