Chapter 546: Chapter 546: The Confused College Boy

"What are you talking about, ’owu’? Yu Xia felt embarrassed, her face flushing.

Xie Qingci chuckled to himself, laughing so hard he couldn’t lift his head.

Only when he noticed her expression did he stop laughing, then he served her some food, directly feeding it to her mouth.

"Can you understand? Maybe it’s because I’ve been abroad for too long without seeing you, so I’m acting a bit crazy."

"You are quite crazy. Hey, I don’t want to eat potatoes, I want bamboo shoots." She turned her head to avoid the food at her mouth.

This gesture somehow struck a nerve with Xie Qingci. He gazed at her intensely, then replaced the food with bamboo shoots and touched it to her lips before seriously feeding her.

"Why don’t you come to my arms and eat?"

"... Go hug a ghost!"

After being scolded, he calmed down.

Both of them were indeed hungry. A bag of butterfly noodles and a small hotpot were devoured completely.

Especially Xie Qingci, who had a big appetite; about eighty percent of the dishes on the table were finished by him. He could finish a box of meat rolls in two bites, and his actions were still quite refined.

Yu Xia several times wanted to take a photo of him with her phone to show Mei, saying that her idol’s jawline was the clearest when he ate meat.

After eating, it was already midnight. Xie Qingci conscientiously cleaned the scene, and when he came out, he saw her standing on the scale and couldn’t help but laugh.

"You gained weight right after eating? Weighing yourself now will just make you worry and unable to sleep well."

"I really feel uneasy. If He finds out I had a midnight hotpot, he’d surely drag me to the gym for a whole day and night."

She stared at the numbers on the scale, frowning tightly, full of concern.

"I really gained weight. I have to wear an evening gown in a few days, and that dress is very form-fitting."

Xie Qingci picked her up and even bounced her lightly: "You didn’t gain weight. Even if you gained a couple of ounces, I can help you lose it in the next few days. Want to pay for a membership card?"

"What kind of card? A bed buyout card?"

He was shamelessly proud, his eyebrows all raised: "Yes, are you interested?"

Yu Xia: "I’ll report you, alright? Put me down, aren’t you hot hugging and holding me like this?"

"Not at all—" He carried her towards the bedroom, his tone filled with the leisure of being full and satisfied, "I want to earn back all the benefits from this past month."

"Don’t press on me; my stomach is still big from dinner... Gosh, get off!"

"Is your stomach bloated? Let me check."

He even lifted her shirt a little.

"It’s clearly not bloated," he closely examined, pressing his palm against it, "Wasn’t it always like this before you ate? It’s not just the feeling of holding your hand..." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Xie Qingci!" She quickly interrupted his nonsense, kicking him on the thigh.

Xie Qingci shrugged: "Okay, I won’t say anymore. But it’s really not bloated, don’t worry now, rest a bit and then sleep."

Yu Xia turned over, ignoring him, her ears burning, still muttering.

"For those who know, they think you went abroad to work; for those who don’t, they might think you went studying someone inappropriate abroad. You better behave and keep your distance from me."

Xie Qingci: "Can’t keep my distance, just want to cling to you."

He lay beside her, turning his head so that his nose could touch her hair.

After not hearing him speak for a while, Yu Xia turned to look at him, meeting his intense gaze.

"What are you looking at? Don’t recognize me anymore?"

"Looking at your beauty."

He blinked slowly, as if unwilling to take his eyes off her for even a second, as he gazed at her, his eyes tracing her features, distinguishing if she had changed at all in the past six weeks.

Yu Xia stopped muttering, allowing him to observe.

After a moment of silence, Xie Qingci suddenly said: "I missed you a lot while I was away. So I can’t understand how my parents could stay away from home for so many years. Wouldn’t having a child make the bond even stronger between a couple? Yet they seem to never feel sorry."

Yu Xia paused, remembering his parents’ professions, and how he lived alone, renting while in high school.

"How do you know they don’t feel sorry? Maybe it’s just because their profession is special, and they had no choice but to make sacrifices."

Xie Qingci disagreed: "During these past six weeks, I’ve been wanting to come back to see you every second. If the work period was longer, I couldn’t stand it; I’d seize every opportunity to come back, even if it required taking a plane for more than ten hours just for a night.

If such a feeling is so intense, how could they stay apart for so many years, and be at ease leaving me alone at home?"

Yu Xia thought for a moment, softly speaking: "There are thousands of families in the world, and one’s contribution to the nation being more important than family is quite normal. I believe they have already tried their best; who would willingly stay away from family? Before making such a choice, they probably experienced a very difficult decision-making period."

Xie Qingci replied faintly with an "Hmm."

"Maybe."

"It’s normal for people to have different thoughts about family; I used to wonder why there are people in the world who value reputation more than life and children. My dad did—when his career failed, ostracized by old friends and mocked, hitting rock bottom, he felt as if the sky was falling, choosing to ruin himself, lying in bed waiting to die."

Yu Xia mentioned her parents for the first time, recalling these memories without any emotional turbulence.

"My brother despised him, even saying in front of his sickbed that it’s better to die early for rebirth. After he died, my brother acted as both father and mother, raising me. Luckily, they left enough money, so my brother didn’t need to work three jobs a day just to support me. I don’t think parents are necessary; when people have an emotional support, it doesn’t matter whether it’s parents, siblings, lovers, children, friends, or relatives."

Xie Qingci wrapped her waist: "So the best way for me to get rid of these tedious thoughts is to regard you as my emotional support?"

"Whatever makes you happy." She felt no sadness, no need for comfort, reaching up to touch his face, comforting him, "At this time, you really seem like a confused college student."

"No need to doubt, I am indeed a male college student, a type favored by female stars."

"..." She rolled her eyes, wanted to turn over to face away from him, but couldn’t move as he held onto her.

Xie Qingci propped his head, suddenly mentioned the day’s events: "Weren’t you at the hospital for a prenatal check-up in the morning? How did it go?"

Yu Xia emphasized with wide eyes: "I accompanied my sister-in-law for the prenatal check-up, not me. Everything’s going very well; my brother is convinced that it’s a daughter inside, he’s over the moon. Besides, I’ve got some good news to share with you."

"What?" His eyelids twitched, involuntarily glancing at her belly.

Yu Xia gave the sweetest smile she could muster from her career, saying word by word: "My brother said, if I want to go home to meet your parents, you have to talk to him first. Once you pass his test, I can come home with you."

Xie Qingci: "..."

His eyelid twitching proved to be quite prescient after all.