Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 164 Why don't you help me get pregnant?

Wen Yan was taken aback for a moment, then told the truth: "I...I didn't think that way."

Gu Yanci hugged her without saying a word.

The man's arms completely encircled her, his body heat penetrating her skin through the thin fabric of his clothes.

She could clearly feel his presence and his tightening arms, as if he wanted to embed her in his embrace.

Wen Yan said softly, "Gu Yanci, owning my own house is compensation I give myself, not a way out."

This was her explanation to him.

Gu Yanci had to admit that she would make a point of explaining that he was happy.

However, he also knew that Wen Yan's fallback plan was never just a house.

Whether she has a house or not, it doesn't matter if she wants to leave him.

“Zhizhi, you can offer compensation, but—” Gu Yanci kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I will be your way out.”

Gu Yanci didn't know why Wen Yan was unwilling to get pregnant and have a baby that would belong to them.

However, he knew very well why he desperately wanted a child.

Having a child always provides an extra bond, which makes him feel more at ease.

-

News of Qiao Weiwei's miscarriage spread quickly.

Luo Beiqing originally thought that the He family would come to cause trouble for her, but to her surprise, the house was very quiet. No one from the He family came to her door, and there were no rumors circulating in the industry that she had harmed Qiao Weiwei. The news that Qiao Weiwei was pregnant and miscarried was as if it had never existed.

Wen Yan made a special inquiry and learned that He Tingchuan had used swift and decisive methods to suppress all the rumors.

After accompanying Luo Beiqing to her prenatal checkup, Wen Yan stopped by the nearby shopping mall to buy baby supplies.

Strollers, cribs, bottle shakers, parenting books, toys... everything was being sent to Luo Bei's home in a flurry of activity as people eagerly prepared for the baby's arrival.

When Wen Yan went to pay, she was told, "Someone has already paid for your two items."

Wen Yan subconsciously thought it was Gu Yanci, but after thinking about it, she realized it was unlikely—he himself hadn't become a father yet, so how could he be so eager to buy things for other people's children?

Luo Beiqing had a guess in her mind and asked the staff member, "Is it He Tingchuan?"

The cashier shook his head: "I'm sorry, Ms. Luo, I'm not quite sure either. It's an instruction from above."

Wen Yan looked at Luo Beiqing questioningly.

"Whoever wants to pay can pay." Luo Beiqing didn't care and continued shopping with Wen Yan.

As she said this, she looked around, but all she saw were people coming and going, and she didn't see any suspicious faces.

It was as if they had been informed in advance by the mall, because whenever Luo Beiqing and Wen Yan wanted to buy something, they were told that someone had already paid for it.

"How did you know it was He Tingchuan?" Wen Yan asked curiously.

Luo Beiqing sipped his milk tea, raised his fox-like eyes to look at her, as if asking: How did you know it was He Tingchuan?

Wen Yan shrugged: "After your aunt and uncle passed away, apart from He Tingchuan, I've never seen you spend other people's money so comfortably."

Just ten minutes ago, Luo Beiqing spent seven figures at Hermès, even though she doesn't like Hermès at all.

Luo Beiqing looked on and smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Let him pay if he wants to. He's the child's father, he should spend money on the child."

in the office.

He Tingchuan received the shopping receipt from the mall manager. He was stunned for a moment when he saw that Luo Beiqing had purchased Hermes, and then he smiled.

She's deliberately getting revenge on him, making him bleed!

However, this behavior did not annoy He Tingchuan at all; on the contrary, he felt a kind of enjoyment from being tickled.

……

"I'll buy one of these bags too, it'll be convenient to carry my books to class."

"Take one pair of each of these two pairs of shoes, the low-heeled lambskin ones, they'll be easier to walk in."

"Buy more of these cardholders and keychains. We can give them to our classmates after school starts. They say you're obligated to give gifts, so it's good for building good relationships with your classmates!"

As soon as Wen Yan stepped into a luxury store, she heard a familiar female voice coming from inside.

Luo Beiqing recognized who was speaking and his expression changed slightly. He immediately tried to block Wen Yan's gaze, but it was too late.

Wen Yan seemed to have seen something jarring; her expression turned cold, and she turned to leave.

"Know!"

Nan Yun saw Wen Yan first and shouted happily.

Wen Yan tried to pretend she hadn't heard, but Nan Yun had already disregarded her image as a wealthy lady and was running over in her high heels.

"Zhizhi! What are you doing here? What a coincidence!" After her initial joy, Nan Yun was somewhat reserved in front of Wen Yan.

"Sister!" Nan Zhiyi exclaimed happily, "You like this brand too? What do you want to buy? Mom and I will get it for you!"

Wen Yan recalled the interaction between Nan Yun and Nan Zhiyi that she had seen when she entered the room. The mother was kind and the daughter was filial, and they were as close as sisters.

When she faced herself, Nan Yun showed no signs of being a mother, but rather appeared to be filled with obvious guilt.

Guilty?

Why bother.

She doesn't need it now.

It just feels jarring.

Nan Zhiyi's words reminded Nan Yun that she had just been showing Nan Zhiyi shoes when the sales assistant brought over some new ones.

"Zhizhi! These lambskin shoes are so pretty. They'd look great with skirts or pants in the spring. Mommy's going to buy you a pair, okay?" Nan Yun looked at Wen Yan expectantly, eager to make amends.

Nan Zhiyi glanced at the shoes she had originally chosen for herself, feeling a little uneasy, but quickly suppressed it.

The salesperson was a little confused. She looked at Nan Zhiyi, the customer she was supposed to serve, and then at Nan Yun, who was now speaking gently. For a moment, she didn't know who to give the shoes to.

Wen Yan could tell from her reaction who the shoes were originally meant for, and lowered her eyes to hide the cold smile and sarcasm in them.

No one moved.

Therefore, Luo Beiqing's action of picking up the shoes from the shoebox to look at them seemed somewhat abrupt.

“Mrs. Tang, these are size 37.5 shoes, Yan Yan can’t wear them.” Luo Beiqing showed Nan Yun the shoe size engraved under the gold-plated logo on the sole.

Nan Yun was stunned for a moment before realizing that size 37.5 was Luo Beiqing's shoe size.

"Zhizhi, how many layers are you wearing?" Nanyun planned to have the sales associate fetch them.

The salesperson reacted quickly, saying, "Madam, for single shoes, Mrs. Gu usually wears size 36."

Wen Yan doesn't like shopping, but she's a regular customer of major luxury brands. Every quarter, a regional representative selects items and delivers them to Longyu Bay. When Wen Yan is there, she personally picks out the items; if she's not, they all stay at the villa.

The sales representative respectfully said to Wen Yan, "Mrs. Gu, we considered sending these shoes to you when they first came out, but they weren't your usual style, so we didn't send them to you in the end."

Wen Yan nodded, seemingly unconcerned.

Luo Beiqing smiled and said, "Mrs. Tang, Yan Yan doesn't need shoes. You should give the gift you carefully selected to your daughter, Miss Nan."

“Zhizhi is also my daughter!” Nan Yun blurted out urgently.

Just as Luo Beiqing was about to speak, Wen Yan squeezed her hand—she didn't want Luo Beiqing to keep standing up for her and leave a bad impression on others.

Luo Bei swallowed the words that were about to come out and looked at Wen Yan.

Wen Yan looked at Nan Yun and said, "You don't know me as well as a salesperson. You don't know my preferences, or even my shoe size, yet you want to give me shoes. The ones you give me won't fit."

Nan Yun's face turned pale, and she staggered a step due to her injury.

"Yan, how can you talk like that!" Nan Zhiyi helped Nan Yun up, frowning as she said, "Mommy hasn't been by your side for so many years, it's normal that she doesn't understand you. Just tell us what you like, what you need, and we'll remember it!"

Why haven't I been by her side all these years?

Ah.

"I don't need it." Wen Yan's voice was very calm, as if she were talking about something insignificant.

"Zhizhi, what can Mommy do to make you forgive Mommy?" Nan Yun couldn't help but have tears welling up in her eyes.

“I don’t hate you, so there’s no question of forgiveness,” Wen Yan stated calmly. “Clothes, shoes, jewelry, and gifts—I can buy all of these myself now, and people will give them to me.”

She just... doesn't need her anymore.

"You mean Mr. Gu?" Nan Zhiyi said disapprovingly, "What he sent is not the same as what Mommy sent."

"What's the difference?"

A man's voice suddenly appeared, and Wen Yan turned around in surprise to see two tall men walking in side by side.

It was Gu Yanci and He Tingchuan!

Luo Beiqing held her phone: "?"

She texted Gu Yanci, saying that Wen Yan had been bullied, and wondered why He Tingchuan was there too.

Indeed, men are synonymous with bad company and collusion!

"Mr. Gu..."

Nan Zhiyi stared in shock at the man who walked in, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. The next moment, she saw him standing next to Wen Yan.

Gu Yanci asked Nan Zhiyi with a cold and oppressive tone: "Brand, workmanship, style, efficacy, what's the difference?"

Nan Zhiyi opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Gu Yanci turned to Wen Yan and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

"There's nothing I want to buy. I already have these at home, and the tags are still on."

The conversation between Wen Yan and Gu Yanci was like an invisible slap in the face to Nan Yun.

She could tell that when Gu Yanci asked Wen Yan what she wanted to buy, he was deliberately mocking her for offering Wen Yan a gift. And these gifts were not only unwanted by Wen Yan, but her family already had them.

Nan Yun looked at this unfamiliar son-in-law, the son-in-law who had stood opposite her time and time again, turned her face away, wiped away her tears, and quickly returned to normal: "Xiao Gu, why don't we have a meal together? We haven't officially gotten to know each other yet."

Aside from work and matters concerning Wen Yan, Gu Yanci is really not a patient person.

He could tell that Wen Yan didn't want to pay any more attention to Nan Yun, so he said directly, "No need."

The tone clearly implied: There's no need.

……

"Zhiyi, what are you looking at?" Nan Yun turned her gaze away from Wen Yan's departing figure and noticed that her daughter was still looking in that direction.

"N-nothing!" Nan Zhiyi said immediately, lowering her eyes guiltily.

She couldn't very well say that she was looking at Gu Yanci, could she?

Nan Yun looked at her suspiciously.

"Mommy, don't be too sad. We'll be living in the capital from now on, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to spend time with Yan. She'll understand you," Nan Zhiyi comforted Nan Yun.

"I hope so," Nan Yun sighed.

Nan Zhiyi suddenly remembered something and said, "I heard that Yan used to visit the Gu family often and had a good relationship with Madam Gu. Why don't I go and visit Madam Gu to find out about Yan?"

"That's right! Ji Chang used to love Zhizhi so much!" Nan Yun's eyes lit up. She had finally found a way to connect with and understand her daughter. She happily gave Nan Zhiyi a hug. "Zhiyi, you are truly Mommy's little darling!"

……

Whether He Tingchuan appeared or not made no difference, Luo Beiqing pretended not to see him. In any case, Wen Yan had already been handed over to Gu Yanci. After leaving the mall, she got into her car and prepared to drive away.

A figure appeared in front of the car, then walked to the driver's side and knocked on her window.

Luo Beiqing didn't want to pay attention to him, but this person was standing there like a leech, preventing her from moving her car.

After a few seconds of stalemate, she rolled down the car window with a cold expression.

“You’re pregnant, I’ll drive for you.” He Tingchuan was so tall that he had to bend down to see the woman inside the car.

There are still quite a few pregnant women driving in their late pregnancy.

Luo Beiqing was so angry she laughed, and said nonsensically, "Why don't you say you want to help me get pregnant?"

……

Wen Yan was worried about Luo Beiqing and kept looking in the direction where Luo Beiqing had parked his car. She only got into Gu Yanci's car obediently after receiving a text message from Luo Beiqing telling her not to worry.

"Why did you come with He Tingchuan? When did you two become so close?" Wen Yan asked Gu Yanci while fastening her seatbelt.

"A nodding acquaintance".

Gu Yanci would never admit that he and He Tingchuan had been together ever since she and Luo Beiqing left together.

"?" Wen Yan asked, "Why are you nodding so deeply?"

Gu Yanci: "..."