"Meili, wait a moment."
Jiang Si had already been feeling a bit embarrassed, but seeing Hu Meili waddling back with her pregnant belly to cook for them made her even more uneasy.
"Zhou, take Uncle and the others to their rooms first. I’ll go help Meili in the kitchen."
With that, she returned to her room and fetched the gifts she had prepared.
When Hu Meili saw the two schoolbags in her hands, her expression darkened. "What’s this about, Jiang Si? I just invited you over for a meal, and you’re bringing—"
Before she could finish, Jiang Si linked arms with her.
Once they were outside the courtyard, Jiang Si cut straight to the point. "Meili, these are for Weidong and Weimin."
"That’s even more unacceptable!"
"Why not?"
Jiang Si had a way with words that few could resist, and she didn’t hold back now.
"Meili, when we got married, we didn’t even hold a banquet, but I accepted the gifts from you and Mingjuan without a single word of refusal."
"If you won’t take these, then I’ll have to return everything you gave me."
Hu Meili panicked. "You—how can you be like this?"
Taking back gifts once given—what kind of person would that make her?
Jiang Si pressed her advantage. "When Brother Xiao was on his last mission, he looked after Tingzhou more than once. We haven’t forgotten that."
"Not to mention all the homemade tomato sauce and pickles you’ve shared. Do you think those didn’t take effort?"
After a pause, she added, "In a couple of days, Uncle and the others want to look for a suitable house in the nearby fishing village. I’m not familiar with the area, so I’ll probably need your help."
"If you refuse these gifts, I won’t dare ask you for anything again."
Hu Meili frowned in confusion. "But your place is big enough. Why rent another house?"
It wasn’t something easily explained, so Jiang Si gave a brief summary.
Hu Meili nodded in understanding. "Living separately does give more freedom. It’s not far anyway—you can visit whenever you want."
After a moment’s thought, she added, "Don’t worry about the house. I’ll go with you to the fishing village this weekend."
Jiang Si smiled and handed over the gifts.
Hu Meili sighed helplessly. The schoolbags were clearly high-quality.
"Honestly, you should’ve kept these for your own kids someday."
At the mention of children, Hu Meili’s gaze drifted to Jiang Si’s stomach.
The couple had been married for several months now.
Who knew? She might already be carrying.
If so, they could even go through their postpartum periods together!
Since it was just the two of them, Hu Meili didn’t mince words. "Any good news yet?"
Jiang Si blinked. "You mean… a baby?"
Hu Meili nodded eagerly. She wasn’t one to pressure anyone.
If not for Regiment Commander Huo’s age, she’d have advised Jiang Si to wait a couple of years.
As for herself? Pure accident.
In all her years with Old Xiao, they’d slipped up exactly three times—and hit the jackpot every single time.
Jiang Si shook her head. "Not yet."
Hu Meili’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Her shock was so obvious that Jiang Si laughed. "We’ve been busy. It didn’t feel like the right time before, but now… we’ll let nature take its course."
Ah, so that was it.
Hu Meili had assumed that with someone as… capable as Regiment Commander Huo (even Old Xiao admitted inferiority), conceiving would be as easy as drinking water.
Now that children were on the table, Hu Meili saw no reason to hold back.
Once home, she poured Jiang Si a glass of warm water.
Then she sat opposite her, posture telegraphing an impending lecture.
"Go ahead, Meili." Jiang Si braced herself.
Hu Meili never wasted words. She went zero to sixty in one breath.
"Let me teach you a few positions. Try them tonight."
"Cough—cough—!" Jiang Si choked, her face flaming.
Hu Meili thumped her back in alarm. "You okay?"
Jiang Si fanned her cheeks. "Fine, fine."
She just hadn’t expected the conversation to accelerate quite so… graphically.
Taking in Jiang Si’s blush, Hu Meili chuckled. "Alright, I’ll stop. Just remember this—whatever you do, hold tight at the end. Guaranteed bullseye."
Jiang Si was still scrambling for a response when commotion erupted outside.
"Mom—!"
"Mom, emergency—!"
The twins’ shouting sent Hu Meili’s blood pressure skyrocketing.
One thought eclipsed all others: Please, let this one be a girl.
Three boys were exhausting.
"Do you have to screech like banshees? You’ll give me a heart attack!"
Remembering her doctor’s orders, Hu Meili took deep breaths, chanting internally: They’re mine. They’re young. Don’t murder them.
She’d barely finished the mantra when the boys barreled in.
Spotting Jiang Si, they brightened. "Auntie!"
Jiang Si smiled. "Weidong, Weimin, you’ve both grown so tall!"
"Height’s useless if they act like hooligans," Hu Meili grumbled. "Since winter break started, they’ve been roaming like stray dogs. Never home till mealtime."
She glared at them. "Well? What catastrophe has struck the compound now?"
The boys spoke in unison: "Mom, Auntie Xu’s mother-in-law is here."
Hu Meili frowned. Several "Auntie Xus" lived nearby. "And why does that concern you two?"
The younger pouted. "Last time you said if that Old Wicked Woman came back, you’d rip her mouth off!"
"I never—wait, which mother-in-law?"
"The one who pushed Auntie Xu! The scary one!"
Hu Meili shot to her feet. "That venomous crone! After what she did to Mingjuan, how dare she show her face?"
"Meili, calm down." Jiang Si caught her arm.
The boys clung to Hu Meili’s hem. "Mom, don’t get mad! You’ll scare our baby sister!"
But Hu Meili was beyond reason. She’d been at the hospital when Mingjuan was admitted.
"That Old Wicked Woman timed it perfectly—waited till Lei Zi was away to attack Mingjuan."
"Those babies were smaller than kittens when they were born."
Her voice cracked. "They still had heartbeats… at first."
Jiang Si had heard about Auntie Xu's situation from Huo Tingzhou before.
But it was late at the time, and she didn’t ask for details.
Now, listening to Hu Meili recount all the specifics, she finally understood just how much suffering Auntie Xu had endured over the years.
Still, one thing puzzled her. "Sister-in-law, after she hurt Auntie Xu like this, did she really face no consequences at all?"
