Wanwan stood still on the spot and turned to look at Cheng Mo. Cheng Mo just sighed and said, "He's been like this ever since he was fished out of the water."
While Wanwan was in a daze, Sheng Jiu had already walked up to him, grabbed his hand, tilted his head and looked at him. "Where are you from? You look exactly like the person in my dream."
Wanwan pulled his hand back, took two hasty steps backward, pursed his lips and stared at him for a long while. Finally, he still said nothing. Sheng Jiu frowned. "Are you... mute?"
Wanwan really didn't know what to say, so he just pursed his lips and kept silent. Sheng Jiu smiled. "It doesn't matter. It's okay if you can't talk. The person in my dream didn't talk much either."
Sheng Jiu grabbed his wrist. "Come on. I'll take you to a nice place."
Hearing this, Cheng Mo was taken aback for a moment and quickly reached out to stop him. "Hey! Wait! Are you going there again? No way. Have you forgotten what happened last time when you fell in?"
Sheng Jiu pouted. "But Sister... I haven't been there for ages. I just want to take him there to have a look. Okay?"
Cheng Mo hesitated and looked at Wanwan. "Go later. Sister has something to talk to him about. After we're done, you can take him there."
Sheng Jiu's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?!"
Cheng Mo nodded. "Go out first."
Sheng Jiu reluctantly let go of his wrist. "Come find me after you're done talking."
Wanwan didn't say a word. Sheng Jiu was pushed out by Cheng Mo.
"I didn't want to write to you at first. But... seeing how hard he's been these days, I know he did a lot of wrong things before. But I thought... if you really didn't have any feelings for him, you wouldn't come after seeing the letter. So, whether to write this letter or not was up to me. But since you're here, there must be some affection for him in your heart."
At this point, she paused and looked at Wanwan without saying a word.
Feng Yu's eyes shifted between the two of them. He cleared his throat. "Ahem, Cheng Mo, after staying here for a while, why are you taking sides with outsiders?"
Cheng Mo rubbed her nose and said softly, "It's not that I'm taking sides. I just think he's so pitiful. The imperial doctor said that he..."
Wanwan's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. He asked with a trembling voice, "Said... said what?"
"Said that he... only has about a year to live." Cheng Mo observed his reaction while speaking.
Wanwan looked utterly incredulous. "How is that possible? He just fell into the water and soaked for a while. He was so strong before. How could he not have a year to live? The imperial doctor... must have made a mistake, right?"
Cheng Mo sighed. "After he found out you were gone, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell seriously ill. He became a bit delirious. But at that time, he still had a few years to live. Later, after falling into the water, he almost drowned... His health got even worse."
"If you really feel sorry for him, stay here and accompany him for a while... It's not too late for you to go back after he passes away. Look, even though he's delirious, he still remembers you."
Wanwan held back his tears and slowly closed his eyes. But... he was just a person in a dream.
There was a loud noise in his ears. His body seemed to be falling weightlessly. He couldn't hear anything except the shouts. What did she just say?
Only a year to live?
Who?
Sheng Jiu...?
He curled his lips and sneered. How could this be...
How could it be?
There was a lot of noise in his ears. Wanwan struggled to open his eyes. But when he did, he only saw the canopy of the bed. He cleared his dry and hoarse throat and said in a low voice, "Sister Cheng Mo..."
Hearing the voice, Cheng Mo lifted the curtain and came in. She pressed on his shoulder and said, "Don't move around. Your fetus isn't stable yet. If something really happens, I can't bear the responsibility."
Wanwan turned to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean the fetus isn't stable?"
There was an uncontrollable look of joy on Cheng Mo's face. "You're pregnant. It's been two months. The fetus isn't stable yet. It's really a blessing from heaven. Maybe it's because Sheng Jiu is so pitiful that it bestowed him an heir at this time so that his kingdom will have a successor."
Wanwan couldn't hear anything else. The only thing swirling in his mind was "You're pregnant..."
Wanwan suddenly lifted the curtain and looked at Feng Yu standing beside him. He asked blankly, "Is... is what she just said true?"
Feng Yu nodded slowly. "I didn't expect it either. The men in your family all have special constitutions. You and your brother can both give birth... You know that it's very difficult for the mermaid clan to get pregnant. But aborting the child will cause great harm to your body. So, I don't know what to do now..."
Wanwan tightly grabbed the quilt and said word by word, "So, you mean I have to give birth to it?"
If he had known this news before he left, he would have unhesitatingly given up this child. Because he couldn't imagine what it would be like to raise a child with Sheng Jiu, and he didn't want a child to tie them together and prevent them from getting away for a lifetime.
But now...
He really couldn't make up his mind. He never thought that Sheng Jiu only had a year to live. If this child was not born, Sheng Jiu would have no heir.
Cheng Mo looked at him. "I know he was not good to you before. But he really loves you. His love is clumsy, reckless, and even unforgivable. But... all his deep affection in this life has been given to you."
Wanwan gritted his teeth. "So... because of his deep affection, I have to bear children for him?"
Cheng Mo lowered her eyes. "If your feelings for him are only hatred..."
"I hate him!"
Wanwan grabbed the canopy and squeezed out the words one by one through his teeth. "I hate him for forcing me. I hate him for trapping me... I hate him... But"
"But how can my feelings for him be only hatred?"
The last sentence was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, heavy and depressing.
Yes, if his feelings for him were only hatred, how could he have rushed back so quickly?
Cheng Mo patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, "Cry it out. You'll feel better after crying."
Sheng Jiu burst in. "Hey, are you done? What are you talking about? It's been so long."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on him, extremely complicated. Sheng Jiu didn't care. He directly grabbed Wanwan's wrist. "My lady, come quickly with me. I've already had someone prepare a boat. It's a big one specially prepared!"
Cheng Mo stopped his action. "Hey hey hey, slow down. He's carrying your child in his belly!"