Lu Beichuan's eyes sunk. He seemed as if he was going to kiss her again.

Ye Zhen hastily surrendered. "Hubby, hubby, hubby. Happy?!"

Having heard what he wanted, Lu Beichuan curved his lips into a satisfied smile. He gently kissed Ye Zhen's forehead. "I'm off to work."

Right after these words were said, Mrs. Lu came downstairs. "Ye Zhen ah, I changed my mind. Let's go to the hospital for an examination later. I would feel more assured with a check up done at the hospital. The doctors wouldn't be able to bring all the medical equipment that would be available at a hospital. Are you hungry or cold? Do you want to go back to your room to rest?"

Lu Beichuan straightened his body and his suit jacket, then he quickly strode out of the Lu villa's main doors.

***

Around 2PM, Ye Zhen arrived at a hospital's department of gynecology and obstetric. Mrs. Lu had accompanied her here. The director of the department of gynecology and obstetric would be in charge of Ye Zhen's examination. This doctor was well-known and had a reputation for being the best in the field. This first thing the doctor did was conduct a thorough examination of Ye Zhen.

There were no irregular results from the various general physical examinations as well as pregnancy specific ones. As part of the usual check up routine, the doctor asked Ye Zhen about her eating habits as well as how her body felt normally.

Once the examination was concluded and Ye Zhen was given a clean bill of health, she went to the car while Mother Lu stayed to ask the doctor additional questions.

"Mrs. Lu, there's nothing for you to worry about. Your daughter-in-law and her baby are very healthy. However, pregnant women have to pay extra attention to their diet and exercise in the early months of the pregnancy. I would suggest that she come here every week to get a check up. This is a detailed list of items that pregnant women need to pay special attention too. If there are any other issues, you can contact me." The doctor handed the documents to Mrs. Lu.

Mrs. Lu took the documents. "Thank you so much, Doctor Chen."

"You're welcome."

After thinking it over, Mrs. Lu asked a question. "How long has Ye Zhen been pregnant?"

"She looks to be about a month pregnant."

"A month..." Mrs. Lu mumbled these words aloud as she mulled over this information. "Oh, I see. That will do for today. Goodbye."

"Take care."

***

Inside the car, Ye Zhen was holding the thermos cup and sipping the nourishing soup that Mrs. Lu had cooked for her. Although she didn't know the exact ingredients in the soup, she felt warm after drinking it. It felt quite comfortable.

"Ye Zhen ah, when did you find out you were pregnant?"

Ye Zhen paused. "A few days ago."

"A few days ago? Beichuan also found out a few days ago?"

Ye Zhen nodded.

Mrs. Lu sighed. "Oh, you kids. Why didn't you tell me earlier? This is such an important thing. If you two had told me earlier, I would have prevented yesterday's circus of a wedding. There were so many people coming and going at the wedding. What if someone had bumped into you or knocked you over?"

"Mom... It's okay. It's only been a month. Nothing bad would happen."

"That's because you two were lucky! If something had happened, how much regret would you two be feeling right now?! If I had found out that you were pregnant earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to the wedding!"

Ye Zhen didn't dare to speak.

However, she didn't agree with Mother Lu's logic. After all, she was only one month pregnant. There were women that still went to work when they were five to six months pregnant. Ye Zhen didn't feel she was anymore precious than other women.

"Do you feel like I'm making a big fuss over a minor issue?"

Ye Zhen looked troubled and embarrassed.

"Mom is someone that has experienced pregnancy. I know how hard pregnancy is for women and how dangerous it can be. Back then, I felt the same way as you. I thought I didn't have to be careful when I was in my first trimester. But once something happens, you can't go back. If it wasn't for my negligence, my first baby might not have..." Mother Lu choked up as she mentioned the past.

"Mom, your first... your first baby?"

"My first baby, when I think about it now..." Mother Lu forced herself to smile. "But that's in the past. I had Beichuan... and I got better. So don't blame mom for being too fussy. It's only because I hope that your baby will smoothly and peacefully be born into this world."

There wasn't much written about the Lu's in the novel. What was written about Mrs. Lu was even less. There would occasionally be a few words about how Mother Lu was a harsh woman that clung to her identity as a rich woman.

Since ancient times, the relationship between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws had always been an unsolvable puzzle. In addition to her preconceived impression of Mrs. Lu from reading the novel, there was also Mrs. Lu's tepid attitude towards her when she first came to the Lu's. The combination of those two factors caused Ye Zhen to be wary of Mrs. Lu.

But after the recent period of interactions, she could see and appreciate how well Mother Lu treated her.

***

It was almost 6 PM when Lu Beichuan returned from work. As soon as he walked in through the doors, Mother Lu called him into the study.

"What's going on? Why is Zhenzhen one month pregnant?"

Hearing this question, Lu Beichuan quietly asked, "You didn't saying about this to Zhenzhen?"

Mother Lu rolled her eyes at her son. "What? Do I look like an unreasonable and malicious mother-in-law?" She sighed deeply. "I know what kind of person Zhenzhen is. She's not the type of person that would do something like that. You're my son, and I clearly know what kind of person you are too. If Zhenzhen isn't pregnant with your child, you wouldn't have married her. So tell me, what's going on?"

Lu Beichuan chuckled. He disclosed everything to his mother including how he had woken up from his coma earlier.

***

Since she had become pregnant, Ye Zhen was sensitive to the changes in her body. She felt lethargic and easily got tired. She had gone back to her room to relax after coming back from the hospital. She had picked up a magazine to flip through, but she ended up accidentally falling asleep.

Lu Beichuan pushed open the door and saw Ye Zhen sleeping on the sofa. He walked over and moved the magazine that was covering her to the side, then he leaned over, picked her up, and brought the sleeping Ye Zhen to the bed.

The moment that Ye Zhen was placed on the bed, she woke up. Furrowing her brow, she drowsily looked at Lu Beichuan. Her voice was faint and languid from sleep. She snuffled a few times like a cat before saying, "You're back?"

Lu Beichuan kissed her forehead. His hand was placed on her lower abdomen. There was a little life inside there that hadn't taken shape yet.

The villa no longer felt icy cold. It felt as if cracks had finally appeared on the surface of a lake that had been frozen for many years. This was worth his concern and worth him coming home earlier.

"How was the results from today's checkup at the hospital?"

Ye Zhen yawned. Her entire body felt indolent. "There's no chance they would find anything wrong. I'm only a month pregnant." After saying this, she looked at the clock on the wall and doubtfully asked, "Why did you come back so early? You're not busy at work?"

The Lu's company had gone through the wringer after being managed by Lu Shaoren for a year. When control of the company had been taken back by Lu Beichuan, the company was a big mess. The workload was arduous. Anyone would feel bogged down by the work. His desk was covered with documents that needed his attention.

"I brought the work home with me. Are you still sleepy? You can go back to sleep."

Ye Zhen shook her head. "I'm not sleepy anymore. Work is important, you should go back to it."

Lu Beichuan's phone rang. He walked to the window, answered the call, and listened to it for a while before expressionlessly saying, "Don't ask me about Qin Shao again. He'll be let go once the acquisition process is completed."

There were many subsidiaries under the Lu Group. All sorts of industries were involved with the Lu Group. In the novel, after Lu Beichuan had taken over the Lu's company, there was rapid growth in the subsidiaries. Like a spark that started a prairie fire, he engulfed all these industries.

Lu Beichuan was a person driven by great ambition. He would never do anything useless or futile. If he was going to do something, he had to do his very best.

During those years after he regained control of the Lu's company, he stood at the very top and looked down on others. There wasn't a single company in the same industry as him that didn't get trampled on by him. It was exactly because of his attitude of submit to me and prosper or oppose me and perish that brought him countless hidden enemies and threats. This laid the groundwork and foreshadowing for when the Lu's company would later be destroyed in the novel.