"Why are you suddenly asking me this?" Chi Chi seemed to realize what was going on, her gaze turning suspicious. "Yaoyao?"
……
Mia Moore grabbed a cushion from the sofa, hugging it to her chest, as if that could hide her dilemma.
"Are you… pregnant?"
If that was the case, Chi Chi instantly understood everything that had happened today.
"I think so. I’ve tested several times…" Mia Moore nodded, looking for all the world like a child who’d done something wrong.
"Really? Let's go to the hospital and check it out tomorrow, just to be sure."
"Mm..."
Chi Chi broke into a smile. "Isn’t this good news? Weren’t you the one always craving our family’s little rice cakes and saying you’d give me a little Tangyuan of my own? Now I'll finally get to be an aunt!"
"...But, I don’t know if Charles Chase even wants a child. We’re not even married, and he hasn’t said anything about wanting to marry me. Hmph."
Imagining the tassels on the pillow as Charles Chase’s hair, Mia Moore viciously tugged at them.
"Besides, I was already freaking out today, and he still dared to talk about breaking up with me. Well, I refuse to bother with him!"
…… Chi Chi was speechless. If her brother knew, he’d be over the moon. "You silly girl, when are you going to tell my brother?"
"I'm not telling him! I’m going to ignore him for three whole days—" She turned to face Chi Chi, reaching out to squish her cheeks. "And don’t you dare tell him. You have to be on my side."
"Alright, alright," Chi Chi agreed, her face scrunched up between Mia Moore’s hands. Deep down, she knew it was best to wait until Yaoyao was ready to talk to the baby’s father herself.
Pulling away, Chi Chi could finally speak properly.
"But you have to listen to me. First, let’s go to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow. Then, take good care of yourself. Once you’ve sorted things out, tell my brother. Don’t let yourself be scared and alone, okay?"
"I know, I know…"
After soothing Mia Moore, Chi Chi set a date to come by in the morning and go to the hospital with her. Then she headed home.
Downstairs, Xavier Foster sat in his car with the interior light on, a laptop on his lap as he waited for Chi Chi and got some work done.
When he caught a glimpse of her coming out the building, he smiled, shut his laptop, and got out to wrap her in his arms.
"How did it go? Everything okay?"
"Mm, everything’s fine now. Or… maybe not just fine—something pretty big happened."
Chi Chi teased, deliberately keeping him in suspense. After all, it really was a life-changing event.
…… Xavier Foster was confused, but he simply opened the car door for her.
Once they were both seated, Chi Chi's heart warmed at the thought of him waiting downstairs all this time.
"Sorry, hubby. Let’s save dinner for tomorrow night, okay?"
It was already past eight, and going out to eat now would be far too late.
Xavier Foster buckled her seatbelt, and kissed her on the cheek. "Why say sorry? There’s always tomorrow. My wife can dine with me every day."
His words made her laugh, and they decided to have dinner at home instead.
"Then how about I cook you some noodles when we get back?"
"Sounds good. With fried eggs—two, please."
"Alright, alright, two it is."
——
They soon arrived at their building. Once upstairs, their little rice cake was still awake and already bathed, with Nanny Xu fussing over him.
Chi Chi washed her hands and took the child in her arms. "Aunt Xu, you should rest here tonight. Thanks for all your help."
"It’s nothing at all, really! Young master was very well-behaved today."
On regular days, after work, she and her child would go home and Aunt Xu could head off as well. Today was special, but a room was always ready for her, so it was never much trouble.
Seeing them come in late, Aunt Xu looked concerned. "You two haven’t eaten, have you? Let me whip something up."
"No need, Aunt Xu. I’ll make some noodles for Zhiye—he’s craving them."
Chi Chi batted her lashes, feigning the look of a wife resigned to her spoiled husband, which made Aunt Xu chuckle.
"Alright, I’ll just head to bed then. I won’t bother you two." Aunt Xu snuck away grinning.
Little Rice Cake stared up at his mother with big, curious eyes, his tiny hands tugging at her hair, babbling as if to scold his parents for being so late.
"Sweetie, don’t pull on mommy’s hair! That hurts, you know?"
He tilted his head, thinking hard about what mom said, and then gently let go.
"Aw, good boy! Our Little Rice Cake is such a good boy!"
Delighted with the praise, he waved his little hands, the bell on his wrist tinkling softly.
Xavier Foster stepped over and scooped up his son. "Ahem, no hogging my wife now—time for bed."
He took their son to play on the sofa; Chi Chi slipped into the kitchen to make noodles.
By the time the food was ready, Little Rice Cake had already been lulled to sleep. Xavier Foster tucked the boy in and returned, eager for the dinner his wife had made him.
——
Early the next morning, Chi Chi took Mia Moore to the hospital instead of her studio.
Sure enough, the test confirmed she was pregnant—just shy of two months. The baby was healthy.
Mia Moore was still in disbelief. The last time she’d gotten this news, it was about Chi Chi, and she’d been shocked. Now, the life growing inside belonged to her.
Chi Chi helped her out of the consultation room, holding Mia Moore’s ultrasound printout. On it, the tiniest little dot tugged at the heartstrings.
She sat Mia Moore down. "Are you alright? Any discomfort?"
Mia Moore shook her head. She’d just seen the baby—a mere speck, not really much to see.
"Chi Chi, there’s really a little one growing inside me…" she whimpered.
Chi Chi laughed, "Yes, really! Look, it’s a tiny little thing right now."
"In another week or two, you’ll be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. In a couple of months, you’ll see its little head and body, too."
"It’s growing in your tummy, bit by bit."
Staring at that tiny dot on the ultrasound, Mia Moore sniffled. "That sounds almost scary…"
But even as she protested, she couldn’t stop gently stroking the dot with her fingertips.
After a short rest, Chi Chi had to leave for her art studio, entrusting Mia Moore to Lao San to take her home.
——
At last, the workday ended, and Xavier Foster tossed aside his documents to pick up Chi Chi from the studio.
He stood at the entrance, perfectly composed, a small bouquet of pale orange champagne roses in hand.
When she emerged, his face lit into a genuine smile.
"Baby, how about a candlelit dinner tonight?"
Chi Chi stopped at the top step, gazing at the tall, handsome man before her, and took the flowers from his hand.