1146 Little Grand Disciples
“Since we have two children now, what we need to do is to give all our love to them. We will not be biased. You must have confidence in yourself as well as in me. In our family, they will be loved by their grandparents, great-grandpa, their auntie, and us. They will definitely be happy.”
Zhai Sheng felt touched and emotional that he was going to have two children. He could not describe how he felt.
But Zhai Sheng calmed himself down. He knew that given Qiao Nan’s personality, she must be worried and flustered. He had to talk to Qiao Nan personally as he knew that Qiao Nan had a knot in her heart.
As soon as they spoke on the phone, he realized that his wife had indeed worked herself into a dead end.
She was afraid that she would be biased and she dared not face up to it. She longed for a child, but when she knew that she had twins, she was thrown into confusion and panic. She was worried that she would not be a good mother.
Qiao Nan felt this way all because of the Qiao family. Zhai Sheng could not help but be furious with the Qiao family. He felt like doing what he should not be thinking of—to push the envelope and teach the Qiao family a lesson.
Qiao Nan felt much better after talking to Zhai Sheng. She sniffed. Her voice had turned hoarse. “Brother Zhai, I understand. I can’t promise you that I will sort out my thoughts right away, but I will try my best. The doctor at the hospital today mentioned that pregnant ladies would have mood swings, including being angry and feeling like crying. Perhaps I am going through mood swings. I will be better after some time.”
Zhai Sheng felt more assured at Qiao Nan’s words. “If you have time, do visit Old Master Lin. He has no one in the capital besides his disciples and you are his youngest disciple. He is going to have grand disciples soon. Shouldn’t you visit him?”
Zhai Sheng knew that pregnant ladies had mood swings. He had to think of ways to distract Qiao Nan so that she would not have the time to think too much.
“Okay, I understand.” Qiao Nan relaxed at the mention of Lin Yuankang.
It was uncommon for Qiao Nan to cry and get into panic attacks.
After calming herself down, Qiao Nan told herself that it must be due to her pregnancy that she behaved in such a manner. That was why she amplified her worries and ended up worrying herself over nothing.
Qiao Nan feared that she might be mentally unstable, so she kept reassuring herself that everything would be alright.
In the past, she only wanted to have one child as she was worried that she would be biased. But in fact, she might not be biased after she became a mother.
She would be more conscious than any other mother that she must treat her children equally, giving them the same amount of love.
Now that she had sorted out her thoughts, she felt that it must be due to her pregnancy that caused her to feel down and upset.
By the end of May, Qiao Nan took a leave of absence from volunteering at the Palace Museum. Once it was June, she would have to get ready for her exams.
The staff at the Palace Museum understood that Qiao Nan had to prepare for her exams. Actually, they were willing to allow Qiao Nan to go on leave as early as in the last half month of the semester.
Furthermore, as the weather was getting warmer, the number of visitors decreased as well. This was so even for famous places of interest like the Palace Museum.
During summer, people would usually flock to places where there were pools and lakes.
“Your tummy is so large now!” Lin Yuankang, who did not have any children, was surprised and amazed that Qiao Nan’s tummy was growing larger as the days passed by. He could not wait to see her children.
They were the children of his disciples, and there were two of them. They were twins!
He knew that Qiao Nan was carrying twins and her tummy must be larger than that of other pregnant ladies. But it was one thing to know the fact and another thing to see it for himself. It left a bigger impact on him to see it for himself.
Lin Yuankang, who had been through a lot in life, was stunned when he saw Qiao Nan and her protruding tummy. He did not know how he should react.
“There is a bulge over there!” Lin Yuankang was still reeling from the shock that Qiao Nan’s tummy had grown larger since the last time he saw her when he saw a small bulge beneath Qiao Nan’s clothes.
It must be her babies who were moving about in her tummy.
As a mother, Qiao Nan could feel that her babies were up to mischief. She knitted her eyebrows. “They must be similar in temperament as Brother Zhai. They will always kick and throw punches.” To prove her words, Qiao Nan lifted her blouse to reveal her big and round tummy to Lin Yuankang.
There was still a bulge on her tummy.
One could make out the shape of a foot from Qiao Nan’s tummy.
“A foot, a foot?!” Lin Yuankang widened his eyes in amazement. He almost jumped up from his seat. He looked to be as fascinated as Granny Liu[1] when she was first introduced to the Prospect Garden, which was a large landscaped interior garden in the mansion in the novel. He could not help but shout in amazement.
“Elder Lin, I know that it is amazing, but this is my nephew’s or niece’s foot. Please be gentle. Your shouts will alarm them. If they are in shock, I will teach you a lesson.” Zhai Hua, who was with Qiao Nan, helped her cover her tummy. “Nan Nan, although the weather is warm and it is not cold at all, you must keep your tummy warm. Do you understand?”
If Zhai Sheng knew that Nan Nan lifted her clothes in front of other men to reveal her tummy, he would be jealous. “I bought a waist support for you. Why didn’t you wear it to protect your tummy?”
Ever since Qiao Nan was pregnant, Zhai Hua, who used to be a tomboy, had become naggy. She would nag at Qiao Nan and buy all sorts of stuff for Qiao Nan, saying that they were suitable for pregnant ladies.
Qiao Nan did not know what to do with such a sister-in-law. “It is too warm to wear the waist support. Sister Zhai Hua, didn’t Tian Dong come looking for you today?” Tian Dong had been hanging out with Zhai Hua for nearly half a year. Tian Dong seemed to be a good man and the two families hoped that they could settle down soon.
Nevertheless, this was what the two families felt. What mattered was what Zhai Hua and Tian Dong felt for each other.
After observing them for the past half a year, Qiao Nan concluded two points about them.
Firstly, there was no way that Sister Zhai Hua could escape from Tian Dong.
Secondly, Tian Dong might have gained her affection, but it was likely that he was the type of man who listened to his wife. Therefore, if they wanted to get married, they would not be married anytime soon unless Sister Zhai Hua brought it up.
Lin Yuankang did not take issue with Zhai Hua’s attitude. He was still amazed at the size of Qiao Nan’s tummy. “Qiao Nan, you are so slim. How can you have such a large tummy with two babies inside?” Back when he took her in as his disciple, she was still a child. In the blink of an eye, she was going to be a mother and he would soon have grand disciples!
[1] Granny Liu was a character in the Chinese novel ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. She was an elderly country rustic and a distant relative of Lady Wang.