âIs your brain not working?â Yan Lv almost had a heart attack. âYouâre so young. How can you have a kid without knowing who the father is? Do you even know this guyâ
âHe doesnât know about the baby, and I donât want him to. The last thing I want to worry about is a custody battle,â said Yan Su in a low voice. âDad, Iâm already four months pregnant. I canât get an abortion now.â
âYou decided to come here now so we couldnât force you into an abortion. You did that on purpose, right?â Jiang Peiying was so disappointed. âYou are beyond bold. You ran away from home with a boy when you were eighteen and came back at twenty-two four months pregnant. Do you us to drop dead of a heart attack right here?â
Yan Su bit her lip, her face pale.
âI knew I shouldnât have come back here. But if I waited a few years and showed up on your doorstep with my son or daughter, you might have found it harder to accept us. After the babyâs born, Iâll focus on my career. I donât care if I ever get married.â
Jiang Peiying sighed, squatted and said, âSu, youâve been through a lot. You donât know whatâs right. But youâve made up your mind and thereâs no going back. If you want to keep your baby, keep your baby. Having it here with us is better than going off and having it in secret. That would be hard. And who would look after you?â
Yan Suâs face was covered with tears.
âDear...â Yan Lv glared at her harshly.
âForget it.â Jiang Peiying waved her hand dismissively and said, âShe will grow up step by step. Sheâs only twenty-two, still in her rebellious stage. You canât expect her to be as mature as a thirty-year-old.â
Yan Lv stomped off angrily, muttering to himself.
âGet up. Kneeling isnât good for the baby.â Jiang Peiying helped Yan Su up from the ground.
âMom, Iâm sorry. I always make you and Dad worry.â Yan Su held her and cried.
âDonât cry,â said Jiang Peiying. âItâs not your fault. We didnât raise you right. Youâre having this baby. So, what about your work?â
âIâve already made arrangements with my manager. Iâll go back a month after I gave birth,â said Yan Su. âIâm an adult now. I need to support myself.â
Jiang Peiying nodded. At that moment, Yan Jin started tugging at his momâs and sisterâs pant legs saying, âMom, Iâm gonna be an uncle?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Jiang Peiying bent over, scooped up the little boy and said, âYes, youâre going to be an uncle. Soon you have to help take good care of the baby.â
âYay! Iâm gonna have a friend,â said Yan Jin happily.
Jiang Peiying smiled wryly and said to Yan Su, âYour brother has been very precocious from the day he was born.â
Yan Su nodded. She could tell he was super smart. She was far less clever as a kid.
âI didnât think Iâd ever become an elder sister...â
Blushing, Jiang Peiying said awkwardly, âAfter you left, your father and I were so upset. Our home was empty, so we decided to try to make another baby and to our surprise, we did it.â
Yan Su owed her parents a lot. Iâll make it up to them by being a good daughter. They will be so proud of me!
...
Xia City.
May. The peonies were in full bloom. All was well.
Jiang Yuningâs hands had nearly recovered.
Nine in the morning, he was at the Driving Test Center waiting to take his road test.
âWhat are you doing? I have the day off,ââ Nian Xi called him.
âIâm taking my driving test,â said Jiang Yuning. âTodayâs the road test.â
âWhen did you pass the written test?â Nian Xi was a little confused.
âTwo weeks ago.â