Chapter 549: Chapter 549: Why Are You Suddenly Craving Sour Food?

All the private restaurants around the neighborhood have been tried by them.

Xie Qingci suddenly had an idea to visit the university town, and actually dragged Yu Xia with him to drive straight there.

The area near the university town is flooded with food options, with snack streets divided by districts. At lunchtime, the streets are so crowded with people that even bicycles can’t get through.

Xie Qingci parked the car nearby and put on a mask, sunglasses, and hat, then looked at the person in the passenger seat wearing a sun hat.

It was a reversible hat in blue and beige. Yu Xia flipped the blue side out and pinched the brim into a wavy shape, pressing it down to block the sunlight. It looked like a blue flower atop her head.

Xie Qingci watched with interest, and after she finished wearing it, he reached out to give it a pat.

"This fisherman’s hat is really cute."

Yu Xia replied while she opened the door to get out: "Shall I buy you one then?"

He declined: "No need."

He enjoyed seeing her in the cute hat, but wearing it himself was a different story.

They walked hand in hand into the snack street and directly went to a less crowded area. The outer layer was bustling with business, everyone busy looking for food, so no one recognized them.

They were just like a typical university student couple, strolling leisurely hand in hand.

"What do you want to eat?" asked Xie Qingci.

"Something cooler, with fewer people."

Speaking through the mask made the voice a bit muffled. Xie Qingci lowered his head and asked her to say it again, then kissed her through the mask and retreated with a smile.

Yu Xia glared at him, feeling he clearly heard it the first time but was deliberately being playful.

A few students passing by glanced at them casually, and after they passed, they could faintly hear someone whispering, "So sweet!"

Yu Xia smirked as she looked around at the shops.

Finally, they chose a cold dish restaurant that had no customers yet. The owner mentioned the business picks up at night because they also serve barbecue, and the students like to come to this street at night for barbecue and beer. Lunchtime is rather quiet.

The owner didn’t recognize celebrities, and treated them like students, lazily greeting them, and telling them to take whatever they wanted to eat.

Yu Xia wasn’t very hungry and mainly came to keep Xie Qingci company.

As Xie Qingci picked out cold dishes, she slowly served congee and kimchi at a table.

Once the food was served, Xie Qingci ate meat while she ate kimchi and congee. The pickled radish was surprisingly tasty, and she ate half while listening to Xie Qingci talk.

At some point, Xie Qingci paused, looking at her in surprise: "Why are you eating so much kimchi? Isn’t it sour?"

She originally said she’d eat a little bit, but her chopsticks hadn’t stopped.

Yu Xia had just eaten a piece of pickled radish and happily said: "It’s sour and sweet, with a bit of spice, quite tasty."

It’s appetizing and before she knew it, she was grabbing food and drinking congee.

Xie Qingci tasted a piece himself but, disliking the sour-sweet flavor, didn’t find it particularly tasty.

Watching her eat a mix of pickled radish and braised meat, she seemed quite happy, in stark contrast to last night when she stood worriedly on the scale.

"You’re not worried about a bloated stomach anymore? Weren’t you planning to wear a dress?"

Yu Xia’s movements paused.

Indeed, she needed to shine on the red carpet in high-fashion attire. With such indulgence these days, she’d end up regretting it.

But she found some genuinely tasty food, only for him to ruin the moment by pointing it out.

With a blank face, she set down her chopsticks: "You always manage to ruin my mood. Now look, my belly’s already bloated and I can’t enjoy eating anymore."

Xie Qingci had a smile on his lips, about to pretend to surrender and admit fault, when he processed what she said and suddenly looked at her stomach, his smile slowly fading.

Yu Xia ate another piece of pickled radish in mild frustration, then suddenly heard him ask: "Yesterday you accompanied your sister-in-law for her check-up, did you get an examination too?"

"Huh? An examination? No, examinations have specific times."

"Have you been feeling unwell recently?"

"No, I got better ages ago... What do you mean?" She started noticing a different implication.

Xie Qingci rubbed his brow, hesitantly saying: "Your appetite seems great, and you enjoy these sour things..."

From what little he knew of pregnant women, these two points matched quite well.

Yu Xia rolled her eyes: "And then? You were abroad for a month and a half, whose child could it be?"

"...Perchance, has more than a month and a half passed?"

"Then tell me how it happened? Did you secretly poke holes in the little umbrellas?"

Xie Qingci fell silent again, but once a thought of suspicion popped up, he couldn’t suppress it. He thought for a moment, adopting a research mindset.

"These things aren’t one hundred percent protective."

After saying this, he set his chopsticks down, seriously suggesting: "Let’s get a check-up."

Yu Xia had heard his doubts twice already, not surprised anymore. She continued eating her radish, lazily asking: "You seem quite expectant, really hoping for a child before reaching legal marriage age, planning to be killed by my brother?"

"Wouldn’t say I fancy it, I’ve yet to fully enjoy our two-person world," he frowned, "but it affects your health, getting checked would be better."

"Checking means everyone knows, even if it’s not true, it will be spread as truth."

She knew her health well, wasn’t worried, but seeing him so uneasy, she relented: "Get something to test at home. Whether true or not, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight."

Xie Qingci looked innocently: "Why?"

"Because you’ve disrupted my meal enjoyment."

He sighed, and from his phone ordered a pregnancy test kit via same-city delivery, then sat there staring at her in a daze.

Yu Xia kept on eating, softly asking him: "Imagining if it turns out true, how terribly my brother might deal with you?"

"...No, I’m wondering if we can hold a wedding even before reaching legal marriage age."

Yu Xia was speechless.

Seems that this happened twice now, so he wasn’t nearly as nervous or anxious as the first time, surprisingly having space to consider this.

Because of this matter, they didn’t linger long over the meal, and driving back, Xie Qingci sped up, lips pursed and face serious, occasionally checking his phone for the delivery progress.

At the neighborhood entrance, he picked up the package, tossing the bonus snacks aside, hesitatingly handing her the pregnancy test kit.

"This isn’t very accurate; if it’s true, we’ll visit the hospital again."

Yu Xia: "If it’s true, you’d better consider your personal safety."

She took the kit into the bathroom, saying: "Or hurry and transfer all your assets to me, I might help draw some heat away from you."

Xie Qingci wasn’t in the mood to reply, sitting on the sofa, hands clasped, fists against his mouth, teeth unconsciously biting at his knuckles.

He didn’t really want a child; his past twenty-something years hadn’t been pleasant, and he doubted he could raise a child well. Plus, he hadn’t had enough of their two-person world, which was good enough, and didn’t want anyone to intrude.