Chapter 9 part 1: Staying overnight

Lin Li was lying on her back weakly. After the two vomiting episodes; in the afternoon and just now; Lin Li threw up everything she had eaten, and she really had no strength now.

After Zhou Han went out to pour some water for her, when he came back in again, this time there was Mother Zhou who came in behind him. Looking at Lin Li who was lying on the bed, Mother Zhou’s expression was a bit tangled, and she looked a little distressed. But this corner of her mouth couldn't help but smile.

Lin Li was a little bitter in her heart, knowing that she just vomited, the misunderstanding was even greater, and whatever explanation she was planning to give was no longer clear.

Zhou Han passed the water in his hand to her, his expression as serious as ever.

(TN: LOL wooden block ML >.<)

"Thank you." Lin Li took it and thanked him politely.

Pulling Zhou Han away, Mother Zhou directly stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled Lin Li's hand and placed it on her lap, patted lightly, and said with a little joy and a little distress: "Look at you, I feel so heartbroken," she reached out and touched her slightly sharp face, muttering on her mouth, "It's too skinny, it's really too skinny."

Lin Li looked at her, the corner of her mouth painted with a faint smile, and could really feel the care and love of the woman in front of her. Although she knew that such care and love was just wrongly dedicated for her, Lin Li still cherished what had touched her heart at the moment.

"You just vomited, now your stomach must be empty, mom will cook some noodles for you, okay?" Mother Zhou asked.

"I don't want it," Lin Li declined in a slight hurry. There was nothing in her stomach to throw up anymore!

Mother Zhou was startled by her response and looked at her fixedly.

Lin Li realized that her emotions had crossed the line, she hurriedly smiled and explained: "I... I really don't have an appetite now." Looking into Mother Zhou's eyes, she hardened her heart and said: "I... If I smell any food right now, I only feel like throwing up." It's already like this anyway, and she didn't care anymore if she get misunderstood more.

Mother Zhou was so happy, she was sure of the fact that Lin Li was pregnant, and she took her hand and said, "When a woman got pregnant is exactly like this. She vomits at the beginning of her pregnancy. When you smell something, you will throw up. But... ah, wait until you see the child. No matter how hard you've suffered, you will feel it is worth it, because the child is a gift sent by the heaven!"

The smile at the corner of Lin Li's mouth slowly faded, and a certain part hidden in her heart seemed to be pricked. She thought of the child who had no destined fate with her, the embryo that hadn't even formed yet, even if it was only more than two months old, she still had some feelings for the child that she could not give up, and she felt a kind of heart-piercing pain whenever she touched it.

Zhou Han raised his eyes and saw her strangeness. He remembered the scene when she was crying in her arms that night. The kind of sadness that came from deep of the heart.

----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

"This kid—"

Mother Zhou wanted to say something, but Zhou Han quickly interrupted her, "Mom, maybe you should ask Auntie cook some porridge. Maybe later in the night, Lin Li will have an appetite."

Hearing this, Mother Zhou reacted and nodded repeatedly, and said: “Oh yes, right, right... You can't eat now, then let's wait for it. You must keep up with nutrition when you're pregnant. I'm going to cook it now, let it boil a little longer, add some glutinous rice, and boil it thicker." As she was speaking, she stood up, smiling in a good mood, "I will go now, I will go now." and as she was saying that, she walked out of the room.

Zhou Han turned around to close the door, and then turned back to see Lin Li sitting on the bed in a daze, with a smile on her mouth, her hand on the quilt gripping tightly, as if restraining something.

He frowned slightly, and only said coldly, "Don't tell me that you'll have this expression whenever there's a mention about a child in the future?"

Lin Li raised her head and looked at him, her eyes were like a knife, and she could pierce a person at a glance.

Zhou Han was not afraid of her gaze, looked straight at her and said: "If you want to cry, just cry it out all at once. After crying, forget all the things that should be forgotten. Don't think of it again. People cannot just live in the past blindly, life is about moving forward, and we must also look forward."

Lin Li fixedly looked at him, her teeth clenched her lips tightly, her hands fisted tightly.

Zhou Han stepped forward and brought the water that she had just put on the bedside table to her again, and said, "Drink some water, it will make you more comfortable."

Without reaching out to take it, Lin Li just looked at him with determination, without turning her eyes away.

Zhou Han also met her gaze and did not avoid it, he held the water glass in the same posture as before.

After a while, Lin Li finally stretched out her hand slowly, took the water in his hand, turned her head, and did not look at him.

Zhou Han didn't miss the tears in her eyes, but he didn't say anything more. He knew that, in fact, everyone already knew the truth. It was just that it needs time.

Zhou Han stayed in the room for a while, and then went out. Lin Li drank the water and lay on the bed with her eyes closed. She pulled the quilt over and covered her head. In the darkness, she felt a flow of heat from the corner of her eyes slipped down.

----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

When she came out of the room, Mother Zhou was still cooking the porridge in the kitchen, very carefully and attentively, using the big spoon to keep stirring in the pot to make sure the porridge was thick and smooth. While Father Zhou sat with Xiao Bin in the living room, holding the child in his arms, as if teaching him to read, but she did not see Zhou Han.

Mother Zhou who was in the kitchen just now, came out and saw her smile and walked towards her, "Why are you already up? Must be hungry, huh? The porridge is almost done."

Lin Li smiled back at her, and said apologetically: "It seems that I am really useless, only causing trouble for everyone."

"Hey, it's a special situation." The smile on Mother Zhou's face was undiminished, and with the thoughts in her heart, even though she was made busy, yet she was happy.

Lin Li knew that she had misunderstood, but she couldn't explain it, and couldn't bear to sweep her excitement away. Lin Li only smiled and turned her head slightly.

Mother Zhou thought she was looking for Zhou Han, and said amusedly: "Looking for Ah Han? He is in the yard outside. You go lah~"

Lin Li was taken aback, and then nodded following her words, "I'll going to find him." That's right, in their eyes, she and Zhou Han are now husband and wife, and it was normal to go find him.

----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

The military compound was a bit like a small courtyard in the north. The house was surrounded by a garden. On the left side of the yard was a grape vine trellis with a stone chair underneath. In summer, it’s perfect to enjoy the cool under the trellis. But sitting here on autumn and winter nights seemed a bit cold.

At the moment Zhou Han was sitting on the stone chair. Compared to the bright hall in the room, it looked a little dim here and she could not see clearly. The reason why she was sure it was Zhou Han was because of the red light that flashed between his fingers.

Moving towards his direction, Zhou Han seemed to hear the sound of footsteps and turned towards her. In the darkness, the two could not see each other's faces clearly, and only looked vaguely at the outline.

Gentleman Zhou Han squeezed out the cigarette in his hand, and Lin Li only smiled and said, "I really don't mind." But it was the first time she saw him smoke since getting along with him.

"I'm afraid that my mother will see and then she'll nag at me." Zhou Han said lightly, with a faint smile in his tone, "After all, you are in a 'special situation' now."

Lin Li couldn't help but roll her eyes, and muttered quietly, "And who's fault is that." She could explain clearly, but he deliberately blurred the problem.

Zhou Han chuckled lightly, and did not answer her words.

----- Please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/

The two sat next to each other like this. The weather this year seemed to be a bit colder, and when the night breeze hit, making Lin Li stretched out her hands and rubbed both of her arms.

Zhou Han glanced at her, he stood up and took off his suit jacket and covered her shoulders.

All of a sudden, a faint light came out from the room. Lin Li stared at him fixedly. He was very close. She could even faintly smelled the tobacco that he had after smoking. He and Cheng Xiang were two different types. Cheng Xiang belonged to the kind of person with strong nerdy learning, while this guy, even though his appearance was not handsome, but he had his own masculine taste.

"What are you looking at?" His dark eyes were shining brightly under the faint light.

Lin Li returned to her senses, turned her head a little awkwardly, not looking at him, only shook her head, and said, "It's nothing."

Zhou Han sat down again and said, "Let's go to the hospital tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Lin Li frowned, turned her head to look at him, and emphasized with great certainty: "I am not pregnant!" They were husband and wife, but they were only contracted husband and wife. If the child belongs to Cheng Xiang, it's been more than 4 months since she separated from Cheng Xiang, how could it be possible to get pregnant!

Zhou Han glanced at her lightly and said, "If you are not pregnant, you should figure out why you keep throwing up."

"I...." Lin Li was speechless, she looked at him for a long time, and turned her head away.

"You... what?" Zhou Han asked, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Hehe." Lin Li smiled bitterly, and then said softly after a while: "You must not believe that I used to be a big stomach king, I can eat everything on the table, and I won't feel stomach ache or even any sort of uncomfortable."

Zhou Han raised his eyebrows in surprise, he really didn't believe it. Because according to his time with her, he can be sure that her stomach was as comparable as a child, and she was picky when she ate, and she even barely moved her chopsticks at all. When he was with Ling Ran in the past, she didn't eat much, but she didn't eat as little as hers. If it changed to other people, he would have thought that she was dieting, but she, she did not have anything to diet anymore!

"I can't believe it myself. The big stomach king in the past will vomit madly if she eats more," Lin Li looked up at the distant night sky. Tonight's sky was a bit lonely, with only a crescent moon hanging high in the sky. There was not even a star by its side. 

Lin Li sighed for a long time. She laughed at herself, trying to relax her voice, and said: "Maybe I ate too much in the past, and now it's time to pay it back."

Zhou Han frowned slightly and wanted to speak, but she had stood up, looked at him and said seriously: "Tomorrow Friday, take some time tomorrow afternoon, and accompany Xiao Bin to the sports meeting."

Zhou Han looked at her for a long time and wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips, the words suddenly changed, "Okay."

(Maybe like this, but instead of sitting across from each other, imagine them sitting side by side on stone chairs)

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TN: Pretty long chapter this time. I like how they are able to converse normally now without being cold / sarcastic towards each other. Hey! Step by step, they're finally building relationship :)