Chapter 66: The Soul of Gossip Burns Bright

Jiang Zao stopped throwing up.

She didn’t know why, but one morning she woke up and, all of a sudden, the nausea was gone.

Aunt Hui was still bustling in the kitchen, worrying about what to prepare for breakfast. Jiang Zao almost rushed in, grabbed a head of garlic, and sniffed it close to her nose.

“Aunt Hui! Aunt Hui! I’m not nauseous anymore!”

Aunt Hui was delighted. “Really? That’s wonderful! After three or four months, you finally stopped vomiting. It means you’re healthy, and the baby is considerate, too.”

Jiang Zao grinned and put down the garlic. “Aunt Hui, are you getting used to sleeping on the tatami? My apartment has just two bedrooms, I really feel bad for inconveniencing you.”

Aunt Hui took eggs from the refrigerator, smiling warmly. “I’m used to it. I grew up in a rural village in Northeast China, sleeping on a heated brick bed since childhood, so tatami is just right. I’ve worked as a nanny everywhere, but I’ve never had such a kind employer like you, Miss Jiang. How could I ever feel inconvenienced? Now go wash your face. Your friend will be here soon, and the kitchen isn’t tidy yet. Out you go.”

“Thank you, Aunt Hui! At noon, Qiao Yuan is coming to make spicy boiled fish, so you can take a break and enjoy yourself.”

With that, Jiang Zao ran to the bathroom to wash her face.

This was the house her mother had left before passing away, the place Jiang Zao grew up in. After her mother died, her grandmother moved in to look after her, staying until Jiang Jingyuan took her away in middle school. Her grandmother passed away in this very house...

She reclaimed the house from Jiang Jingyuan, and before moving back, she had it thoroughly cleaned. Jiang Jingyuan had someone renovate it, so it no longer looked as it did in her childhood, but the layout remained unchanged. The muscle memory that allowed her to find the bathroom with her eyes closed was still intact.

Her leisurely life nurturing her pregnancy passed day by day. Aunt Hui’s delicious meals had improved Jiang Zao’s complexion, making her skin supple and rosy. Every day, apart from browsing the news and chatting with friends online, she walked in the little garden downstairs to exercise and keep her spirits up.

Meng Qiao Yuan, rarely able to enjoy a full weekend off, called ahead to say she would visit Jiang Zao.

Changzhou was a three-hour drive from Jingzhou, and Meng drove alone all that way, which made Jiang Zao a little uneasy. But Miss Meng was unfazed, speeding along to knock at Jiang Zao’s door.

“Knock knock knock~ Guess who’s here~”

Jiang Zao opened the door and hugged Meng Qiao Yuan joyfully.

“Let go, I’m cold, don’t get chilled and catch a cold. I brought you a special gift.”

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“What is it?” Jiang Zao asked.

Meng Qiao Yuan beckoned behind the door, and a shadow darted out, standing before Jiang Zao.

“It’s me! Your beloved Miss Zhou.”

Jiang Zao hugged her excitedly. “How come you’re here too? The New Year is almost here, and you’re not staying home, just running around everywhere!”

The three entered the apartment, and Zhou Jiayan, touring the place, remarked, “How am I running around? After you moved out, I went back to my own place. It’s not like I don’t have a house, why keep living at my uncle’s? Hey, your apartment’s layout is pretty nice, the lighting’s good, and the direction too. Just a bit small, eighty square meters?”

Jiang Zao pulled them onto the sofa. “Including shared space, it’s ninety-three square meters. It’s just right for me.”

Meng Qiao Yuan looked Jiang Zao up and down. “You look well. How’s your health? Is the baby still bothering you?”

Jiang Zao, happiness written all over her face, gently touched her newly rounded belly. “I feel much better now, really relaxed, nothing to worry about. I didn’t throw up at all this morning, I can eat anything.”

“Baby!? Jiang Zao, you’re pregnant?!”

The words stunned everyone in the room, even Aunt Hui washing fruit in the kitchen.

In unison, they exclaimed, “You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know… Wait… When did you get pregnant? Why didn’t you say anything? Do Uncle and Aunt know?”

Jiang Zao laughed at Zhou Jiayan’s bewildered expression, pulling the grape she’d just put in her mouth back out. “You’re so cute, if I don’t tell you, you really wouldn’t know? I throw up eight times a day, eat sour oranges nonstop, and you never suspected?”

Zhou Jiayan scratched her head. “Ah—right… You threw up every day: morning, night, at meals, without meals. I thought it was just your stomach acting up from being tired in the hospital… So why didn’t you tell me? You let me worry, crossing time zones for me and my mom’s issues…”

Jiang Zao gently nudged her. “Are you silly? Your eyes are red, it’s all over now. Hey, you two came empty-handed? Didn’t even bring a little gift?”

Meng Qiao Yuan slapped her thigh. “I couldn’t find fish, and I wasn’t sure what you could eat, so I didn’t dare buy anything else. I figured I’d just bring my cooking skills. What about you, Zhou Jiayan?”

Zhou Jiayan dug through her pocket. “…A single… tissue…”

Jiang Zao held up the trash can. “Here, let the trash can thank you.”

After a few laughs, Meng Qiao Yuan urged Jiang Zao downstairs, and the three of them set off together to buy groceries.

Chef Meng, given another chance to show off, decided to cook several specialty dishes as a treat for the expectant mother who was nurturing new life.

---

Jiang Zao hadn’t had a proper meal in ages, and with Aunt Hui out for a half-day to get her hair cut, the neatly squared kitchen became Meng Qiao Yuan’s battlefield. After a flurry of cooking, the fragrant spicy boiled fish was brought to the table.

Jiang Zao sat at the dining table, waiting eagerly, and finally got her first taste of the steaming fish.

“It’s delicious!”

Meng Qiao Yuan took off her apron and sat down. “Glad you like it. I was worried your nausea hadn’t passed and you couldn’t stand the fishy smell. If you can eat it now, have more.”

Zhou Jiayan placed tissues in front of Jiang Zao, ready at any moment. “I feel so guilty… We lived together for so long, and I never knew you were pregnant. Qiao Yuan didn’t tell me, either.”

Meng Qiao Yuan waved her chopsticks, almost scolding, “With your family getting messier by the day, how could I dare say anything?”

Zhou Jiayan nodded in agreement. “That’s true. Once Jiang Zao left, the house lost its atmosphere. Not only did Qiao Yuan stop visiting, I moved out, too.”

Jiang Zao, satisfied, set down her chopsticks and asked Zhou Jiayan, “So, not happy in the old house?”

Zhou Jiayan’s face turned crimson. “Well, you can’t always stay with elders, right? There’s always some youthful hormones waiting to be unleashed…”

Jiang Zao leaned forward. “Du Bin?”

Meng Qiao Yuan was surprised. “Du Bin? Wasn’t it Li Mingyi? I saw him going crazy on social media. He’s the idle playboy type, and now he’s chasing you so fiercely, it’s public knowledge.”

Jiang Zao was instantly excited. “What! This is so lively, let me see! Which one is Li Mingyi? Have I met him?”

Meng Qiao Yuan patted Jiang Zao. “He’s the one with flaxen hair and blue eyes, the mixed-blood guy. His mother is Russian.”

Jiang Zao covered her mouth in astonishment. “Oh!! I remember, I remember, he’s so handsome, taller than Du Bin.”

“No, he’s not!” Zhou Jiayan jumped up, anxious, “Du Bin is much stronger than Li Mingyi, Li Mingyi couldn’t beat Du Bin…”

“Oh~~”

The spirit of gossip ignited, and this was not something that could pass by so easily.