Su Rou felt like she could sleep forever. She had dozed the entire afternoon in Su Yuze’s lounge, and yet back home that evening she couldn’t stop yawning.
Yuze watched her and asked, “Tired again?”
“Mm…” She chewed a slice of fruit slowly. “I don’t want to sleep. Will you stay and talk with me a little?” The idea of falling asleep now made her feel as if she might never wake up.
“Talk…” He considered, then said, “The doctor said increased sleepiness is normal. If you’re really tired, we should just sleep.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to. Hey—didn’t you mention lending money to Aunt the other day? Has she asked you for it yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Impossible. Maybe she just can’t decide how much she wants to ask for.” Su Rou’s lips curled. That woman, Liuru Lan, was exactly the sort who would open her mouth like a lion when she smelled blood.
Yuze thought for a moment. “No. I think she’s busy with something else. Su Hongyu came to the company and stopped my aunt’s IOU from taking effect. They’re probably holding a family meeting right now.”
“If you revealed who you really are,” Su Rou said, “I don’t think Su Hongyu or Su Yue would come to you anymore. They wouldn’t be able to boss you around.”
“No.” Yuze shook his head. “Rou, you forgot what was written in that diary. If Nuanyi’s entries are true, then my parents may not have died by accident. They might have been murdered. They wouldn’t have spared even a baby back then. If I publicly revealed my identity, I’d be exposing myself.”
Su Rou remembered the diary and the image clicked into place. “Oh. I forgot.” The diary had not read like a forgery. It painted a desperate scene—the child given to Nuanyi in a moment of danger. The thought settled in her like a cold stone. “Yuze, if that’s true…then Aunt’s death might not be just a simple accident either.”
“I’ve been thinking the same.” His voice was quiet. Her grandfather had always said Nuanyi ran off with Hai Chen after giving birth and then the two died in a car crash. But that crash happened after the child was taken back. The timing was too convenient; the crash could very well have been staged.
“You have to promise me you’ll stay safe.” She was carrying a life inside her now; if anything happened to Yuze, how would she go on? How would their baby?
Yuze smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re imagining things again. Do you really think something could happen to me that easily?”
Rou felt anxiety tightening in her chest the more she thought. What had started as surprise at learning his true identity had deepened into a sense of danger. Nothing else mattered—only that Yuze be safe.
“Enough talking,” he said, mildly annoyed, and scooped her up in one smooth motion.
The sudden lift made her grab his neck in surprise. “Where are you taking me?”
“To bed.”
“I’m wide awake,” she protested. All that talk had sharpened her, not dulled her.
He carried her into the bedroom anyway, and the mischievous look in his eyes said he had other plans. “If you’re so awake, perhaps we should do some after-dinner exercise.”
She froze for a beat, then cradled her belly protectively. “No—baby…”
“The doctor said after three months it’s fine,” he replied.
“You never know when to stop.”
“This time I’ll be gentle.” He started anyway, sliding his hands along her waist and pinching at the soft flesh there. “Rou has some meat on her.”
That spot at her waist was ticklish; recently she’d been eating more and had put on a little weight. The sensation made her squirm, but she still covered her stomach. “You’re saying I’m fat…”
She felt unfairly accused. She had gained weight in the last months—of course she had—but did Yuze look down on her?
He pried her hands away. “I like it. No dieting.”
She wanted to protest—of course she’d lose it after the baby—but she let him have his way.
The next morning Yuze went back to work. After delivering his lunch, Su Rou went with Xiao Yun to the hospital to visit Yu Fei. Fei’s condition had been steady lately, and Su Rou spent as much time as she could trying to rouse her—maybe a familiar voice or a touch could coax Fei back.
“Wow, Rou, you’ve put on a little more weight,” Xiao Yun said the moment they met.
Su Rou puckered. “I know. You don’t have to point it out.” She replayed last night’s teasing in her head and promised herself she’d slim down eventually—just not now.
Xiao Yun meant it kindly. Rou had always been rail-thin and could eat anything; now, fleshed out and rounder, she looked content and healthy. “You look great. Maybe when Fei feels your belly she’ll wake up and say, ‘Finally, you’ve gained some weight!’”
The idea made Su Rou laugh until her eyes watered—imagine Fei, groggy and confused, patting her stomach and snapping awake. They linked arms and walked into the ward, still giggling.
They stopped short. Several doctors were pacing inside the room, tense and serious. They exchanged a quick, puzzled look and hurried forward, but Guo Yi blocked the doorway.
“Don’t go in yet,” he said.
“What’s happened?” Xiao Yun’s voice tightened.
Guo Yi ran a hand through his hair, clearly unsettled. “When I came in this morning I noticed Fei’s EEG had some abnormal fluctuations. I called the doctors and they’ve been in there ever since. I’ve been waiting outside.”
Abnormal EEG fluctuations—none of them were medical people, so the term meant little beyond the implication that something unusual was happening.
“Is that a good sign or a bad one?” Rou asked.
“Hard to say.” Guo Yi frowned. “We’ll know more when the doctors come out.”