"I, it's not…" Wu Qiaoyin felt the need to explain in order to prevent everyone from misunderstanding her, so she reached out to grab Ruan Danchen's hand.

Just as she stretched her hand, Qi Youxuan let out a sudden, "Waaaa!" Feeling incredibly fearful, he buried his face in Ruan Danchen's shoulder and said, "Don't come near me. Mom, I'm scared." He sobbed with abandon, then said, "The bad auntie wants to bully me," before continuing his sobbing once more.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared," Ruan Danchen consoled the little boy immediately. Her fingertips felt searing hot when she wiped off his bean-like teardrops.

Xiao Yang shielded mother-and-son behind him and prevented Miss Wu from going near. "Miss Wu, please don't bother them anymore. Our Little Master is already scared to death."

Wu Qiaoyin was not about to let Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan leave just like that. Doing so would cause a big misunderstanding, would it not?

She had even been accused of bullying a small boy!

Unbeknownst to her, everyone else had already labeled her that. Not only was she trying to be a third party in the relationship, she even wanted to take away someone else's child. That was her level of shamelessness.

"I'm didn't… I didn't want to hurt Youxuan. He's Big Brother Qi's son. I didn't even get the chance to care about him, why would I hurt him! I…" Wu Qianyin advanced persistently, but Xiao Yang was blocking her well.

By then, Ruan Danchen had already carried the little boy into the car and closed the car door, leaving Wu Qiaoyin outside.

She tried to feign gentleness by speaking in a soft tone, but it was obvious that her voice could not be heard from within the car.

Xiao Yang pursed his lips. "Miss Wu, who are you to give your affection to our Little Master? In fact, his condition and whether he's good or not has nothing to do with Miss Wu. It's best that you don't make remarks that might cause others to misunderstand you. We can't do anything if people form these misconceptions, but our Young Master Lin values his dignity a lot. The Qi family wouldn't want a misunderstanding to happen."

Wu Qiaoyin's face reddened due to her indignance while her expression turned timid. "You… How could you accuse me like that? I never… You… You're bullying me! I just wanted to help! How could all of you say that about me!"

She covered her face with her hands and cried, though it did not look pitiful.

"Big Brother Qi… Does he know that you're tarnishing his name by being so out-of-control in public?! I was being kind, but you… I can't believe that you…" Wu Qiaoyin wept and lamented, but all she heard was a slam.

She looked up to see Xiao Yang going into the car—he had enough of her complaining. He started the car and drove off, deserting her at the entrance with a ton of people looking on.

Wu Qiaoyin was angry and resentful. She looked down and wondered whether there was anything she could do to regain her image again.

She then heard someone from the group of people talking to their child. "You saw that right? If a lady you don't know comes and picks you up, you must never go with her. Just run into the school. Outsiders can't go into the school, so just give Mommy a call from inside and wait for Mommy to come pick you. You mustn't ever go with those bad ladies."

"Mm, I understand, Mommy."

Someone else then remarked, "Seems like there are even more shameless women at the start of the year. Learn from your friend Youxuan, don't let strangers take advantage of you."

Another voice offered, "Sigh, there's just too many terrible people this year. Putting your guard up isn't going to be much help. Does it really feel good to destroy someone else's family? Doesn't it make you feel guilty?"

Wu Qiaoyin's anger and resentment were unparalleled. She looked down and ran off crying.

…

Within the car, Ruan Danchen looked heartbreakingly at Qi Youxuan's wrist. His other hand was rubbing Ruan Danchen's belly, although Ruan Danchen did not know if that was to comfort her or the baby.

"Mom, I'm actually not in pain. It's the mark that looks scary, but truthfully, it's not painful." Worried that his mother might not believe him, his fat and soft fingers pinched his tummy a few times, causing red marked to form. "I'm just like you. Just a little touch to my skin and it turns red. See?"

As he said that, he pressed again on a few other non-reddened areas, with the red marks forming instantaneously there.

He shoved his short, fat, and fair-skinned arms to Ruan Danchen. "If you don't believe me, you can try."

"I know." Ruan Danchen massaged his reddened areas. "Come on, stop pinching yourself."

"Hehe," the boy giggled. A hint of craftiness flashed across his big eyes. He had cried earlier, and although he was not actually feeling emotional deep inside, he felt that his cries were not sincere. Afraid that someone might see through his ruse, he poked his own eyes to force out his tears.

The redness in his eyes lingered on and so did his tears. Despite the clarity shown by his eyes, his pitiful look tugged at one's heartstrings.

"Mom, how's Lil' Sis today?" The little boy's eyes were sparkling as his little hand drew circles on Ruan Danchen's stomach.

Ruan Danchen knew that there was no use in telling him that she felt nothing. She figured that Qi Youxuan believed that there was a tiny human inside her already.

"She's a good girl today," Ruan Danchen said. During lunchtime, Ruan Danchen made yet another trip to the bathroom and vomited.

It happened in Qi Chenglin's office, fortunately. Qi Chenglin was peeved by the unhealthiness of added oil in outside food, so he ordered delivery from Dynasty.

In spite of that, half of what Ruan Danchen ate was expelled out again.

Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan were heading back to Prestige Residence. Ever since the pregnancy, Qi Chenglin decided that she would not be allowed to do any work at home. Still, Ruan Danchen gave her assurances that cooking was not a problem, saying that normal households would not hire a servant when a woman gets pregnant—she would still be required to cook at home even if she was pregnant.

Qi Chenglin countered by saying that they were no ordinary household, and thus she should not use such strict methods of comparison with him.

Under Qi Chenglin's insistence and Aunt Zheng's fervent cooperation, they took over all of Ruan Danchen's duties at home and forbade her from doing anything at all.

By the time mother and son reached home, Aunt Zheng was already preparing dinner in the kitchen. She came out and said, "Wait a while, yeah. Dinner will be done soon."

Ruan Danchen went into her room to have a change of clothes. Qi Youxuan did the same and changed into more comfortable clothes.

All three of them had dinner, and soon after, Qi Chenglin called Ruan Danchen to ask if she had eaten yet.

"Yes, I've just finished eating. I ate a lot, don't worry." Ruan Danchen sat on the sofa and supported her waist with a pillow. Her waist was not that sore yet since her stomach was still small, but she had a little too much to eat that night.

"Did you vomit?" Qi Chenglin's voice was crisp from the other end.

"I didn't. Aunt Zheng's food is perfect for my taste. Instead of vomiting, I ate a lot." Ruan Danchen watched as Qi Youxuan leaned over and laid his head on her lap. He faced her stomach and began touching it.

Ruan Danchen went blank. She recalled suddenly what Qi Youxuan said that day and was worried that he would say it again.

"Hasn't the dinner ended yet?" Ruan Danchen looked at the time and figured that it would not be so quick.

Little did she expect to hear Qi Chenglin's rich voice saying, "I left earlier. Jiang Yuan will deal with the rest of it. You're pregnant. I don't have the time to accompany those old men."

Ruan Danchen had a hard time trying to keep in her laugh when she heard his rascally tone and thought about how Jiang Yuan would be left behind all pitifully. "Where are you now?"

"I'll reach in about twenty minutes," Qi Chenglin said. "Let's end the call here. Radiation from the cell phone isn't good for you."

Ruan Danchen hung up and saw Qi Youxuan mumbling at her tummy.

Upon listening closely, he was actually singing, "You're so beautiful, so charming. You're such a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful little sis.1"

"…" Ruan Danchen twitched her lip and could not resist flicking his forehead. "What are you singing?"

"I'm praising my little sister," the boy said with a smile. He then continued his singing and humming, but it all revolved around that one sentence.

She wondered whether he forgot the rest of the lyrics or whether he realized they were inappropriate, but all in all, it was nice that he repeated that verse over and over again.

Ruan Danchen became sleepy easily. She covered her mouth to stop a yawn, but the little boy saw it and said, "Mom, if you're sleepy, you should go to bed."

"I'll wait for Dad," Ruan Danchen smiled and caressed the boy's head.

Like a piglet, Qi Youxuan nuzzled in Ruan Danchen's tummy, but after noticing that Ruan Danchen was no longer caressing him, the red-faced boy rolled around in her embrace and said, "Mom, touch my head again.

Although Zhang Mingming said that it was not good to be caressed on the head by a woman, Qi Youxuan really enjoyed it when Ruan Danchen touched his head. It was gentle and very comfortable.

Ruan Danchen continued to touch his head, but as she did so, the two of them fell asleep.

When Qi Chenglin came back, he noticed his wife and son sleeping on the sofa. Ruan Danchen was leaning against the sofa and her head was tilted backward. Her hand even remained on the little boy's head. Meanwhile, Qi Youxuan was hugging Ruan Danchen's waist, sleeping so soundly that his saliva was drooling out.

Qi Chenglin saw that Qi Youxuan had already changed into his pajamas, meaning he was all ready for bed. He then gently lifted the boy up.

Qi Youxuan did not enter into too deep a sleep, so the slightest touch roused him up. Dazed, he looked at Qi Chenglin and was about to call out, 'Dad,' but Qi Chenglin stopped him before that could happen.

"Shh, don't be so loud. Mom's asleep."

The little boy stretched his head over Qi Chenglin's shoulder and saw Ruan Danchen sleeping with her mouth agape. He smiled in secret and allowed Qi Chenglin to bring him into the room.

As soon as Qi Chenglin placed him on the bed, Qi Youxuan turned out swiftly and switched on the light beside his bed.

He pulled his sleeve up to reveal the red mark on his wrist. "Dad! Look!"

"How did that happen?" Qi Chenglin knew it was an adult's hand just by looking at it.

"That Auntie Wu we meet at Grandma's house the other day, she came to school. I don't know how she knew that you had an event at night. She told me she was your friend and insisted on bringing me away. I didn't want to, so she pulled me—hard. Luckily, Teacher Liu came, so Auntie Wu did not bring me away," Qi Youxuan's voice was gentle and pleasing to the ear.

His gaze then shifted to Qi Chenglin. "Dad, why do you attract so many women? Mom's mad. If you keep doing this, what's going to happen if Mom gets tired? You need to be careful. If Mom doesn't want you anymore, don't blame me. I'm siding with Mom."

Seeing Qi Youxuan's displeased expression, Qi Chenglin's lips twitch involuntarily. The boy was still his son though, so he asked, "Did you suffer?"

"Of course not." Qi Youxuan rolled his sleeves back down and reclined on the bed. He pulled his blanket to his chin, leaving only his round face exposed, and said, "Good night, Dad."

Qi Chenglin looked at his blanket and said, "Don't cry so loud when you complain later, or else mom's gonna get worried after thinking that you suffered terribly.

"…" Qi Youxuan did not expect Qi Chenglin to see through him completely. His originally guilty looking face then decided to put it all out in the open.

He took out his cell phone in front of Qi Chenglin and called the manor.

When Qi Chenglin went out, he heard Qi Youxuan's pitiful cries, "Great-Grandma, uhuhuhuhuhu…"

Qi Chenglin cocked a brow and shut the door immediately. In one of his recent dinners, Han Zhuoli mentioned that his company was looking for a new child star, and Qi Chenglin felt that Qi Youxuan fit the bill.

Ruan Danchen was still asleep when he went back to the living room. He proceeded to carry her up.

She was sleeping soundly, much unlike Qi Youxuan who woke up with a single touch. She curled herself into his embrace, but once her nose picked up on his alcoholic scent, her stomach began churning. Frowning, she gradually began waking up. Her face was pale and she wanted to vomit.

"You… Please put me down first." Ruan Danchen tried hard to bear with the ill-feeling inside her stomach, thus making her voice falter.

"What is it? You don't feel good?" Qi Chenglin's face tensed up after seeing her unwell expression.

Ruan Danchen frowned and said in disgust, "The alcohol smell makes me wanna puke."

Qi Chenglin immediately brought her up to the upstairs toilet, whereby Ruan Danchen began vomiting as soon as she faced the toilet bowl. Qi Chenglin wanted to look after her from beside and pat her on the back, but Ruan Danchen waved him off and signaled him to leave.

"You smell of alcohol, I can't take the smell. Don't lean over to me," Ruan Danchen said, followed by some more puking.

Qi Chenglin was feeling very resentful. His wife was already avoiding him after a few drinks. Ever since Ruan Danchen's presence around the house, he refrained from drinking too much whenever he had to entertain clients, perhaps three glasses or so just to keep up appearances. Even so, the smell of alcohol would inevitably cling to his body because others were drinking a lot.

In the past however, Ruan Danchen never avoided him. In contrast, she was attentive enough to prepare a bath for him and the alcohol smell never stopped her from kissing him continuously. Once she was pregnant, he felt that his position in her heart had dropped significantly. If he had known earlier that it would turn out that way, he would not have hoped for her to get pregnant again.

Being on the receiving end of his wife's disgust prompted Qi Chenglin to rush into the bedroom with an angry aura surrounding him. He brushed his teeth quickly and cleansed his mouth of the alcoholic taste before taking a bath.

When he came out, a worn-out Ruan Danchen was lying on the bed, having vomited until her eyes turned red.

Qi Chenglin rushed over. "Smell me. There's no alcohol smell on me anymore."

It was then that Ruan Danchen nestled herself in him, curling her neck like a little puppy. "I don't dislike you. I just can't stand the alcohol smell. I know you don't drink much. Before the pregnancy it was just a faint smell, but when I smell that now, it's very obvious to me."

Qi Chenglin secretly exhaled into his palm and smelled it forcefully. He scrunched his brows and made sure that there was absolutely no smell before kissing her.

"Can you still smell it now?" Qi Chenglin asked hesitantly.

His expression was like an open book for Ruan Danchen, and it seemed as though it would be a severe blow to him if she were to tell him that the smell still lingered. He looked very pitiful, and she did not have the heart to say that.

Ruan Danchen rubbed both hands on his shoulder and kissed him on the lip. "The smell is gone. I didn't mean it. I like all of your smells last time, but I'm not sure why I'm reacting so badly this time around. It wasn't like that with Youxuan last time."

She scrunched her nose. "Maybe our child is being finicky because she's a girl."

"I'm always beside you. You can be as finicky as you want." Qi Chenglin lifted her up to his lap and made sure she was comfortable. "I wasn't there when you were pregnant with Youxuan. I can't make up for my past regrets, but I'm glad that I can take care of you now. That's why I'll take care of you no matter how fussy you are."

Being able to take care of his pregnant wife made him feel very emotional.

"You got angry at Youxuan's school just now?" Qi Chenglin's slender fingers began slowly combing her hair.

"Was it Youxuan or Xiao Yang who told you?" Ruan Danchen narrowed her eyes and smiled. "I think it was Youxuan."

"Mm. He's probably done speaking with Grandma now and moved on to complain about it to Mom," Qi Chenglin said in a warm, husky voice.

Ruan Danchen's soft fingertips drew circles on Qi Chenglin's naked chest. "Speaking of anger, I'm mostly angry about Wu Qiaoyin trying to manipulate Youxuan. Just imagine how frantic we would've been if she brought him away behind our back without us knowing at all. The fact that she could do all that is a clear sign that she doesn't know right from wrong and does things inappropriately. What if some accident happens? Who in the world takes away someone's else's child without even letting the parents know? How is that any different from kidnapping a child? Even if Mom went and fetched him, she'll remember to let us know so we don't get worried. Who does that outsider Wu Qiaoyin think she is?"

Ruan Danchen's pointy lashes seemed to curl up as she stared at him. The hand with which she used to draw circles on his chest poked him forcefully. "I never expected you to be court such disaster!"

"What are you talking about?" Qi Chenglin wrapped himself around her hand. "I didn't want to attract all those annoying people. I'm the victim too, you know."

"Mom's relationship with Mrs. Wu is good, so I'm treating them courteously," Ruan Danchen grumbled.

"Just wait till Youxuan finishes complaining. Mom will be even angrier than you. Next time, you don't need to be hesitant. If the situation is appropriate, just scold her. It was her family who so eagerly came looking for us. I wonder who's the shameless party here." Qi Chenglin twirled a lock of her silky hair between her fingers, finding it incredibly amusing.

"If all she did was offend me, I might probably just watch her acting without getting mad. But once Youxuan is involved, I won't just let her off that easily," Ruan Danchen grumbled.

Having just finished her sentence however, Qi Chenglin pinched her on the waist.

He did not dare to squeeze her waist too hard for fear that it would injure her stomach.

Ruan Danchen tilted her head up dolefully and stared at him helplessly. "Why did you do that?"

"Does that mean you'll be courteous if she drags me into this? She likes me, so you must not treat her with any courtesy at all." Qi Chenglin sported a serious-looking face. He wanted to show her how unhappy he was after feeling that his wife did not attach too much importance to him.

"You're an adult. You've got what it takes and a little lady like her can't do anything to do. Most importantly, I trust you because you love me very much. No matter how many vixens come and lure you away, they'll never succeed. Why must I be angry at her about this? But it goes without saying that if she chooses to be shameless, I won't give her any respect at all. Nobody told her to have such bad intentions toward my man."

Qi Chenglin looked at her proud face and snickered, "No problem if you want to be thick-skinned now."

However, Ruan Danchen noticed that the tips of his ears were red. She immediately leaned over and kissed him there, watching as his entire ear began reddening.

"Behave yourself!" Qi Chenglin roared hoarsely.

Ruan Danchen smiled and gave him a bear hug. Once her face came in contact with his chest, she remained glued there.

"Oh yes, your birthday. All you wanted was to have cake at home, right? Let's invite Ruan Zeer over too," Qi Chenglin suggested out of the blue. His long lashes obscured his gaze and his voice was deeply warm.

Ruan Danchen was confused. She never saw Qi Chenglin being overly friendly with Ruan Zeer when the lad came; on the contrary, Qi Chenglin heaped on a mountain of pressure onto Ruan Zeer. Why was Qi Chenglin being so friendly with Ruan Zeer, to the extent that he would invite the young man over to celebrate something as private as a birthday celebration?

Long ago, Ruan Danchen told Qi Chenglin that she did not want her birthday to be a grand affair. The hubbub of such a birthday celebration was not to her liking. The rest of the Qi family's siblings, like Qi Chengzhi for example, might not care so much about her birthday and would definitely be more interested in their own wife and kids.

This is actually the chorus of a song titled 美 (= Beautiful) by Wang Leehom (王力宏). Addressing a young woman unrelated by blood as 'little sister' is commonplace in Chinese society, much like how Yan Beicheng and co addressed Song Yu and Ruan Danchen as lil' sis. The reason Ruan Danchen was curious if Qi Youxuan knew the lyrics were inappropriate is because the song portrays the singer's romantic affection for that young woman, whom the singer calls 'little sister'. A rough idea of its inappropriateness in the context of siblings is exemplified by two of the verses, which Qi Youxuan did not sing out loud, thankfully: the first is 'You are my favorite concubine' (你是我寵愛的貴妃) and the second is 'I'm willing to exchange my life for a chance to kiss your mouth' (我愿意用生命換一個機會讓我吻上你的嘴). Makes sense for Ruan Danchen to flick the boy's head and question his understanding of the lyrics!