Chuntao shrank back, her voice trembling with tears and a hint of wariness. "No, you need to go..."
Aunt Zhou had been gone for quite a while and still hadn't returned. Was Zhou Zhijun behind this?
"Where is my godmother?" Chuntao squeezed out the words through trembling lips.
The moonlight stretched Zhou Zhijun's shadow long. He crouched by the bed, his rough, large hands grasping Chuntao's cold little hands. His voice was low and deep.
"Tao, my mother knows everything."
Chuntao froze instantly, her tears falling even harder. "Knows... knows what?"
Zhou Zhijun sighed. "I told her about us!"
Chuntao's small face instantly flushed red all the way to her ears. It was absolutely mortifying!
"You... why did you tell her?" Her breathing quickened.
"Tao, I want to marry you. I want to love and care for you openly and honestly, so I had to come clean about this..."
But this was too sudden. She wasn't prepared for this at all.
Zhou Zhijun had spilled everything to Aunt Zhou. What would the old couple think of her? How could she ever have the face to see them again?
And what about the baby in her belly? Having it definitely wouldn't work, but not having it wouldn't work either... Her mind was a tangled mess.
"Tao, you've been dry heaving so much these past few days. My mother says you're definitely pregnant..."
Zhou Zhijun's voice lowered a bit. "After that time we did it in the city, I haven't touched you again. It must have happened then..."
Chuntao had calculated it countless times in her heart over the past two days. That time in the city was only half a month ago; it should have been that time in the water.
She also felt that she was pregnant, but she still clung to a sliver of fantasy, hoping she was just sick.
Hearing Zhou Zhijun say this now, her heart instantly sank to the bottom.
Aunt Zhou had eaten more salt than she had eaten rice, and she had given birth to and raised five children. If she said she was pregnant, then it must be true.
"I really am pregnant. What should we do..." Chuntao sobbed aloud.
Zhou Zhijun gripped her hands tightly, his tone anxious and aching for her. "Silly girl, you've suffered so much in the past. Now you're divorced and free. From now on, there will only be good days. Don't cry!"
"But my belly..." Chuntao choked out.
"Don't be afraid. I came here just to discuss this with you."
Zhou Zhijun took a deep breath and said, "Tao, I originally wanted to take you away, but right now the strict strike-hard campaign is in full swing. Without a marriage certificate, we can't take a single step!
And to get a certificate, it won't work without a household registration booklet.
You'll have to suffer a bit of grievance for a few more months. Go stay at my second aunt's house in Dongshan first, and give birth to the baby.
By the time the baby is born, the strict campaign will have blown over. I'll immediately bring you back to Wangjiazhai in grand style, and I'll never let you suffer the slightest grievance again."
Outside the window, the chirping of insects rose in waves. Chuntao's tears soaked her pillowcase. She bit her lip and didn't make a sound for a long while.
Zhou Zhijun's heart ached terribly. He knew that this step wasn't just wronging Chuntao; even the baby in her belly would have to suffer along with her.
Chuntao's hand gently squeezed his fingers in return.
"Is Dongshan... far?" Her voice was hoarse and thick with a nasal tone, as if soaked in tears.
Zhou Zhijun wrapped her small hand completely in his palm. "Not too far, about thirty or forty miles.
Don't worry. My second aunt is an honest and kind person. She will definitely treat you well.
I'll go see you whenever I have free time. Food, clothes, things to eat and use—I'll get everything ready for you."
Chuntao's eyelashes fluttered, and tears rolled down again.
The moonlight shone on her tear-stained face, casting a faint silver halo.
"Then... then if I go, will someone report me to the family planning office?"
Zhou Zhijun's Adam's apple bobbed, his tone certain. "No!
My second aunt's house is in a mountain ravine. There are barely a few households there in total.
Once the baby is born, I'll go find Wu Mingwei to get the marriage certificate. Then I'll marry you properly and grandly. No one will dare gossip!"
"But the family planning policies are so strict..." Chuntao's voice dropped even lower, and her hand began to tremble.
"Zhang Xiaoxiang from the front of the village got pregnant before getting her certificate, and they dragged her to the commune for an induced abortion... I'm scared..."
"Don't be scared! My second aunt's place isn't in the same commune as ours. They can't control things over there!"
Zhou Zhijun spoke tough, but in his heart, he wasn't entirely sure either.
But besides this path, he really couldn't think of any other way.
He stood up and leaned over, pressing his forehead against Chuntao's, his voice kept extremely low.
"With me here, no one will lay a finger on you or the baby!
Dongshan is remote; no one bothers with other people's business there.
If someone really comes to check, I'll risk my life to protect you."
Chuntao looked up at him. Catching sight of the sheer determination in his eyes through the hazy moonlight, the panic in her heart slowly began to dissipate.
Zhou Zhijun, this normally unsmiling man, truly held her at the tip of his heart and cherished her.
"Then... then you have to come see me often."
She sniffled, her voice softening. "I'll be scared, all alone over there."
"I will!" Zhou Zhijun promised heavily, his eyes red. "I will definitely visit you often, and see our baby."
One large hand wiped the tears from her face, while the other gently caressed her flat lower belly.
"Tao, next year I'll be a father, and you'll be a mother. Just thinking about it is as sweet as drinking honey..."
But in Chuntao's heart, a mix of emotions was churning.
The faint joy that had just begun to surface in her heart was crushed into nothingness by fear.
From pregnancy to childbirth takes eight or nine months. Would these eight or nine months go smoothly?
Would anything go wrong? She didn't know.
Zhou Zhijun picked Chuntao up and moved her further inside the bed, then took off his shoes and gently climbed in.
"Tao, tonight I'm going to hold you as we sleep!" he said, resting her head in the crook of his arm while his other hand gently embraced her waist.
His fingertips, carrying a rough warmth, stroked the side of her waist.
"I'm sorry for making you suffer, Tao. Once this storm passes, I'll definitely give you a good life."
Chuntao shook her head, unable to stop the tears from falling again.
She leaned her head closer into his embrace, her voice frail. "If you marry me later, will the villagers gossip?"
"You're a single woman, and I'm a bachelor. What could they possibly say?"
Zhou Zhijun's voice darkened, carrying a hint of ruthlessness. "If I hear anyone daring to utter a single word of gossip, I'll make them regret ever growing a mouth!
You'll be in charge of having and raising our baby, and I'll be in charge of earning money to support the family. We'll live a prosperous and thriving life..."
Zhou Zhijun's tone softened, and as he spoke slowly, he painted a vivid and believable picture of their future days.
The corners of Chuntao's lips couldn't help but curl up slightly. Amidst the tears in her eyes, a little gleam of light finally rippled through.
The moonlight outside the window spilled in quietly, falling upon the embracing couple.
The room was silent; only the sound of their beating hearts could be heard.
He lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair. A clean scent of honey locust soap drifted into his nose, tickling it slightly.
It had been more than four years. The little woman in his arms finally belonged completely to him, Zhou Zhijun.
His nose stung, and Zhou Zhijun's eyes suddenly grew moist.
In the distance came the shrill, eerie cries of an owl, making Chuntao's hair stand on end.
Suddenly, the door to the east room knocked three times, "thump, thump, thump." The sound was very light, but it startled them both into a sudden shiver.
