CHAPTER 356: CHAPTER 355: SURPRISE

Two months later, in a mid-range apartment in Massa State across the ocean, Wan Chu’er had been sitting at the desk, staring blankly for three hours. On the desk in front of her lay a diagnosis.

She was pregnant!

For the past two months, she did not have her period, and she thought it was due to stress and overwhelming matters that disrupted her cycle. However, that morning, on her way to school, she suddenly fainted. Her classmates took her to the hospital for a check-up, and she was handed this diagnosis.

She was already three months pregnant!

When she heard the news, what was funny was that the first thing that came to her mind was: Oh no, I missed the time to take folic acid.

The first three months of pregnancy call for folic acid intake. During her last pregnancy, Mrs. Jiang would nag her every day about what to do and what to eat; she was aware of these things.

Only then did she begin to think about what to do next, whether to tell anyone, what if she couldn’t keep up with the nutrition, if she could handle childbirth on her own, if she should return to her country. What would their expressions be if she suddenly went back with a child a few years later...

She thought about all sorts of muddled things, but she never considered having an abortion.

She had already made that foolish mistake in her previous life; if she did it again in this lifetime, that would mean there was something wrong with her brain.

Although she and Jiang Kechu weren’t married, she would not give up this child.

Finally, Wan Chu’er remembered she had to eat lunch, so she quickly opened the fridge to find, to her shock, only a pack of milk, a packet of cereal, and two apples inside.

This won’t do! The baby might become hungry.

After heating some milk in the microwave and soaking some cereal, as well as eating an apple, Wan Chu’er began thinking about what she should do next.

First, she had to improve her nutrition.

After coming here, she was already busy with school, plus she wanted to forget those sad memories, making herself busier, often skipping meals, and had long since forgotten what Jiang Kechu used to say.

She looked at her slim arms and thought to herself that this couldn’t go on any longer. She would post a notice today and hire a cook-cum-nanny.

Oh no!

She had played basketball last month. Wan Chu’er immediately placed her hand on her belly, fraught with worry. Could the baby be affected?

Wan Chu’er was anxious and couldn’t sit still, so she took her wallet and hurried out the door.

After a thorough check-up at the hospital, she sighed in relief; the doctor said the fetus was developing normally in all aspects, but as a pregnant woman, she needed to seriously bolster her nutrition.

Therefore, Wan Chu’er took two days off for a major shopping trip.

The house she was living in now was bought with her money upon her arrival here, taking up almost half of her savings. She used to bike to class, but obviously she could no longer do that, so she bought a new car that was affordable and durable. She also hired a middle-aged Chinese-American nanny to cook for her, and then she went and purchased a bunch of food and necessities.

After she was done with all these, she tallied up her expenses and saw that she had spent quite a bit. In the past, her current amount of money would allow her to live carefree for another decade or so, but now she was not alone; she had to plan for the child in her belly.

She thought it over for a few days and decided to try her hand at the stock market. After all, she had lived for an extra decade and knew some of the major world events to come, such as who would be elected president two years from now, which company would release a product that would shock the world, and which country in the Middle East the U.S. was going to attack. These events had major impacts on the stock market.

Having made up her mind, Wan Chu’er, besides her regular computer courses, borrowed some books and started studying finance.

She told no one about her pregnancy, perhaps out of avoidance, or perhaps she had not yet decided how to face it.

Aside from calling her father once a month to check in, she had not contacted anyone else.

Six months later.

Yan Hui stood in front of MIT’s library, his mind churning.

He had just finished negotiations with a partner in the US and, without a second thought, drove for hours to get here.

During this period, Mr. Yan had mentioned marriage to him, and he knew this was Wan Chu’er’s tactful way of rejecting him, as the elder never concerned himself with such matters.

He could have skipped this round of negotiations; at the last moment, he still boarded the plane. He wanted to see her, even if it was just one glance, to confirm that she was doing well.

Yan Hui did not inquire about Wan Chu’er, but he knew that the library was definitely a place she often visited.

Sure enough, after waiting for two hours, he saw Wan Chu’er walk out heavily wrapped up.

She had gained weight, a smile appeared on Yan Hui’s face, but the next second, his smile froze.

What was up with that bulge on her stomach?

Yan Hui stared at Wan Chu’er blankly as she approached step by step, and disappointment quickly overwhelmed him.

Wan Chu’er was pregnant, so her weight gain was due to pregnancy. It seemed she took good care of herself, and a relieved yet disappointed Yan Hui let out a sigh of relief.

As usual, Wan Chu’er walked out of the library with her swollen belly, thinking about what delicious food Sister Kang had prepared for her at home. When she looked up, she spotted someone standing foolishly ahead.

She blinked once, blinked again, and recognized it was Yan Hui.

Seeing his expression, she probably figured he had seen her and her condition. Wan Chu’er gave a bitter smile and walked over.

"Mr. Yan, long time no see."

Yan Hui still found it somewhat difficult to accept the reality before him, and said in a slightly dazed manner, "You’ve gained weight."

Wan Chu’er: "...Oh, I suppose Sister Kang feeds me quite well."

It wasn’t until Yan Hui followed Wan Chu’er to her apartment, seeing the warmth of the room, the everywhere visible brand-new baby gear, and the busy Sister Kang fussing around Wan Chu’er, that he reluctantly accepted the fact.

After a long while, Yan Hui finally asked leisurely, "Does he know?"

Everyone in Beijing was oblivious, including the only person connected to her, the elder. She had kept her pregnancy a well-guarded secret.

Wan Chu’er paused for a moment, "I want to raise the child on my own."

That meant he didn’t know. Yan Hui felt somewhat relieved, a reluctant smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

After dinner, Yan Hui accompanied her for a walk downstairs. The due date was near and Sister Kang had insisted she walked at least an hour after meals, saying it would facilitate a good delivery.

Yan Hui’s gaze couldn’t help but drift towards Wan Chu’er’s hefty stomach. Each glance made his heart feel a bit more suffocated.

He asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Wan Chu’er smiled, "I’ll continue studying, raising my child. My current studies will take two more years to complete. After that, I plan to study finance. As for the future beyond that, I’ll consider it when the time comes."

In other words, she wasn’t considering returning to China for at least another four years. Yan Hui felt even more disheartened.

He couldn’t help but say, "Your belly is so big; I’ve heard that having a large baby can make delivery difficult."