As night fell, the car arrived at the old house.
Gu Qingwu hadn't lived here for a long time. When he stepped through the door, he suddenly felt as if he had walked out of the bustling and superficial world. Facing the familiar surroundings, he felt indescribably at ease and relaxed in his heart.
Unconsciously, she had already regarded this old house as her home.
The housekeeper had already prepared a sumptuous dinner and placed it in the courtyard. The warm orange lights were on, and on the dark blue embroidered tablecloth were plates of exquisite ceramic bowls and plates. The newly planted aster flowers on the wall next to it were also blooming.
Gu Qingwu and He Suichen were sitting here having dinner. She wiped Xiaoli'er's palms with a clean handkerchief. There was wind at night, and when it blew, a few strands of her long, thick black hair fell down, trembling and hanging on the back of her slender neck, against her snow-white skin.
He Sui Chen sat leisurely on the chair, tapping the glass casually with his slender, cold white finger bones. His eyes were always on Gu Qingwu, as if they had been separated for a long time and he had to look at her every moment to make up for the time lost.
Gu Qingwu was smiling, her eyelashes curved in a beautiful arc, seeming to glow under the light, her face was not even as big as his palm, and was still delicate and bright, making people feel that she had hardly changed before and after marriage, and her appearance was not much different from that of the past.
He Sui Chen's gaze fell on the wrist where she was feeding, and his brows furrowed slightly, thinking she was too thin.
As this thought came to his mind, He Sui Chen brought Xiao Li'er to his side and told Gu Qingwu to eat and he would feed her.
Gu Qingwu smiled at him: "My daughter will be done eating soon, so these two bites won't be a big deal."
He Sui Chen personally served her a bowl of chicken soup and whispered, "Did you do a light fast on the set? When I came to see you last month, you weren't this thin. There was almost no flesh on your fingers..."
"Being thinner makes you look younger."
Just as Gu Qingwu said this, He Suichen said seriously, "You are not very old."
She was very funny. In fact, she didn't diet deliberately, but she would look better on camera if she was thinner. At He Suichen's insistence, she drank half a bowl of chicken soup tonight. Before she finished, she whispered something in his ear.
He Suichen suddenly stopped wiping Xiaoli'er's mouth and stared at her beautiful dark eyes.
After staring at each other for three seconds, the clear and smooth voice lowered and asked: "Have you tested it?"
Gu Qingwu shook her head and leaned close to his shoulder: "... Not yet."
Last month, He Suichen came to the crew to look for her. He came right after a business trip. They both lost control and forgot to take precautions. Afterwards, Gu Qingwu was too tired to remember to take the medicine. She only remembered it when her menstrual period was delayed.
It hasn't been tested yet, so she kept it a secret from everyone and only revealed it to He Sui Chen until now.
This made He Sui Chen unable to keep calm. After instructing the housekeeper to take good care of Xiao Li'er, he took Gu Qingwu's hand and stood up. After taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped, stretched out his arms, picked her up, and walked inside.
Gu Qingwu raised her slender arms and hugged the man's neck tightly, her heartbeat quickening. No matter how long they had been married, as long as she was with him, no matter when and where, she would feel nervous and a little shy: "We will be seen."
He Sui Chen quickly carried her into the room without letting too many people see her.
There was no expression on his handsome face, but his eyes were filled with emotion. After putting her in the soft quilt, he gently pressed his palm against her flat belly, not daring to use force: "Here..."
“I don’t know yet if there is one.”
Gu Qingwu was also unsure, so she hugged him tightly and said, "If so, do you want a boy or a girl?"
Ever since she gave birth to Xiaoli'er, He Sui Chen had actually never thought about having a second child. He didn't want Gu Qingwu to endure the pain of giving birth to a daughter again.
Her question made him dazed for two seconds. He pursed his lips and did not answer.
Gu Qingwu observed his expression and it seemed that apart from being overly nervous, his joy was not as great as when she was pregnant with Xiaoli.
"Brother... don't you want it?"
He Sui Chen gently protected her waist and sat up, while he knelt on one knee on the edge of the bed, hugged her slender back with both hands, and his long fingers moved down along the butterfly bones and stopped at the side of the waist, not daring to rub it as hard as before.
After thinking for a long time.
He Suichen leaned over to her side and whispered in her ear, "It's too hard to have a child in the He family... I don't want you to go through it again."
Gu Qingwu raised her eyelashes and looked at his expression quietly.
He Suichen continued, "First, we'll talk about it after the results come out."
Gu Qingwu bought the pregnancy test stick in advance and put it in her bag.
After she took it out and went to the bathroom, He Suichen sat on the edge of the bed and waited, the long-lost feeling of depression came to his mind again, which he only had when Gu Qingwu gave birth.
He subconsciously reached into his trouser pocket, trying to find a cigarette to relieve his stress, but then he remembered that Gu Qingwu would be coming out soon, and gave up the idea.
Time passed by minute by minute, and there was no movement from the bathroom.
He Suichen patiently waited for ten more minutes, and finally stood up and knocked on the door: "Qingwu..."
Gu Qingwu ignored him at first, and knocked again before opening the tightly closed bathroom door, revealing her fair and beautiful face, which looked very innocent under the light. She didn't let He Suichen in, and stood inside and asked him, "Brother, answer me a question first."
He Suichen saw her like this, and seemed to have guessed something, and said, "You say."
Gu Qingwu asked simply, "What do you think if you get pregnant?"
He Sui Chen did not think about this question for too long and gave her two versions: "If the old Chinese doctor has a prescription that is not harmful to your body, I don't want you to suffer."
Gu Qingwu was almost certain that this was the truest thought in his heart.
And He Sui Chen also respected her: "If you want to stay, I will take good care of you until the baby is born... I will take good care of the child like I raised Xiao Li'er, and you can continue to focus on your career."
Gu Qingwu didn't speak for a long time, his eyelashes drooped, looking at the shadows of the two people cast by the light.
He Suichen seemed a little impatient: "Hmm?"
Gu Qingwu then smiled, came out of the bathroom, and fell into his arms: "It was just a false alarm..."
He Suichen raised his eyebrows and put his hand on her belly: "You didn't lie to me?"
Gu Qingwu raised her eyes, carefully observing the changes in his expression, and smiled even more happily: "I'm not lying to you, maybe we don't have the luck with other children, we didn't win this time, really, more real than the pearl tears your daughter shed."
He Sui Chen was not relieved. Seeing her laughing happily, his brows furrowed even more: "So happy?"
Sometimes men's emotions always change. It was him who said he wanted to ask an old Chinese doctor for a prescription that would not harm the body. Now that the pregnancy has not been discovered, he is also the one who is emotional.
But Gu Qingwu liked it very much. She placed her white fingertips on his handsome face and kissed him. She smiled and said, "Because I feel that my brother loves me very much."
He Suichen usually treats Xiaoli'er well enough, and spends all his energy to pamper her, using not only money but also the most precious time to accompany her. And all of this is because he loves Xiaoli'er.
He loved Gu Qingwu deeply, and also loved her little copy to the core.
When comparing the child with Gu Qingwu, He Sui Chen chose the latter without even thinking about it.
Gu Qingwu truly felt this when she mistakenly thought she was pregnant.
In order to prevent her from experiencing the pain of pregnancy and childbirth again, He Sui Chen would rather not have the child.
…
Although Gu Qingwu was not pregnant, the delay of her menstrual period could not be taken lightly. The next day, He Sui Chen invited an old Chinese doctor to come to her home to take her pulse and prescribed some Chinese medicine to regulate her health.
When she doesn't get the next role, she has to stay in the old house and be a rich and idle lady.
The old Chinese doctor didn't leave until the afternoon. As soon as the housekeeper saw him out, the little carp playing in the courtyard jumped up to find He Sui Chen.
At this moment, there was no one in the study room except He Suichen, who was standing in front of the desk. He had just dipped his brush into ink when he heard a series of light footsteps running towards him. It was Xiaoli'er, who ran to the foot of the desk and tilted his head, "Dad."
He Sui Chen responded indifferently, and then he heard Xiao Li'er raise his hand to support the table, just enough to see the white rice paper. When he opened his mouth, he asked a soul-searching question: "Dad, do you want a second child? Do you have another daughter?"
He Suichen's brush paused, and the ink instantly spread out a line on the paper.
His expression did not change, and he chuckled: "Who told you that?"
Xiaoli'er had the same pretty face as Gu Qingwu, and it was obvious that she was emotional. She hummed twice: "Do I still need to listen?"
She is not a little fool. Her father has even asked an old Chinese doctor to treat her mother's health.
He Suichen put down his brush, leaned over, picked up the little girl who was standing on tiptoe beside the table, and sat her on the edge of the table. This way, she didn't have to stand and talk. Xiaoli'er's tone was fast, and every word seemed to be accusing her father of practicing the trumpet: "You and mom are not allowed to have other daughters, I am your sweetheart..."
He Suichen was thinking about how to explain it to her, but Xiaolier directly quoted a line from Gu Qingwu's script: "Cherish your current family, so as not to be lonely..."
"… "
Xiao Lier added: "I will take care of you in your old age, Dad."
He Suichen asked her in a low voice: "What have you learned in the crew recently?"
Xiaoli'er tilted his head slightly and thought for a moment: "Make money."
He Suichen frowned, which made Xiaoli'er misunderstand a little. After thinking for a while, he said, "Dad, are you tired of me? Do you want another daughter to play with you?"
This was very simple. She no longer sat obediently on the edge of the table, but climbed up, took the pen next to it, and pulled over the rice paper.
Xiao Li'er has had the habit of practicing calligraphy since he could read carefully, and his handwriting is much neater than that of his peers.
She scribbled and revised for a while, and then wrote three lines on the rice paper.
The grumpy and talkative little carp
Naughty little carp
Quiet and cute little carp
…
"Dad, I can play any kind of daughter you want." Xiao Li'er stuffed the rice paper into He Suichen's hand, blinking her big eyes and said, "You can also write down the kind of daughter you want most in your mind, and I can play it... Dad, please don't have other daughters, okay? Otherwise, I will be very sad."
Xiao Li'er not only has possessiveness towards Gu Qingwu, but also towards He Sui Chen, but it is not usually obvious.
When He Suichen saw these words, he gently rubbed the little girl's head and said in a gentle voice, "Dad doesn't think of other daughters... Xiaoli'er will only be the only treasure of mom and dad."
Little Li'er's mood was easily comforted, and he pursed his lips and smiled.
After a while, she took the initiative to kiss He Suichen's palm and said softly, "Dad is my guardian angel..."
Her childhood was destined to be more carefree and happy than Gu Qingwu's.
In terms of growing up, he didn't have to suffer from the contempt and discrimination of his family, nor was he punished by his grandmother to kneel in the ancestral hall from time to time, nor was he excluded and isolated by some of his friends.
Because she has He Sui Chen, her protective father, her little world is full of kindness and beauty.
Xiao Li'er's character was well-educated. She was occasionally naughty, but it was all within the tolerance of her elders. She could keep calm, and even when she was with He Sui Chen, she quickly adapted to the life pattern of a little lady.
Reading and writing were not difficult for her, but He Sui Chen had tried to correct her for a long time but could not change her money-loving character.
Xiao Li'er likes to make money. After selling Gu Qingwu's autographed photos on the set, he also had his eye on He Yunjian for a while. After all, his father's autographed photos cannot be bought, so he can't make money from others...
But she could earn money from her uncle. With this idea in mind, Xiaolier took action that same day.
Whenever she saw He Yunjian, she would open her mouth and call out sweetly, "Dear uncle."
After that, she had to serve tea to He Yunjian. When she took a sip of tea, Xiao Lier would stand by her like a lady and quietly remind her, "Dear uncle, the tea costs one dollar."
He Yunjian's bony fingers holding the teacup paused for a moment, surprise showing in his eyes. It's not that he couldn't afford the dollar, but he felt that his own brother's way of education was a little petty.
The tea fee is only worth one dollar
The tea leaves in this cup are all worth a lot.
But Xiaoli'er couldn't tell the difference between one dollar and ten dollars yet, so it might be more. And she was not a greedy kid, so she only took one dollar and was very happy.
She hid all the coins, and He Sui Chen couldn't find them.
But Xie Lanshen's son could be found. Once, He Sui Chen invited several friends from the circle to his home to discuss business. On this day, Xie Lanshen brought his youngest son Xie Zhen.
Everyone knows that Xie Zhen always claims to be Xie Lanshen's favorite son. With his dislike for dogs, few people bother with this young master. He is proud of his status and doesn't bother to mix with those vulgar people.
So Xie Zhen stayed in the courtyard playing very lonely. At first, he was sitting on the swing and swinging back and forth. He even took out a mirror from his trouser pocket. He seemed to be particularly fond of this face that looked like his father, and he made a strange expression from time to time.
Xiao Li'er was busy making money, serving tea to the uncles in the teahouse, and then asking for the tea fee in a reserved manner.
When it came to giving money, Xiao Li'er was very satisfied with Uncle Xie's wealthy appearance. A man like him was a real man. Other uncles gave her a coin, but Uncle Xie gave her a hundred-dollar bill!
After Xiao Lier made some money, he stopped bothering his father to talk about business. Before leaving, he tugged at the corner of He Suichen's suit with his little hand and said in a low voice, "Come on, Dad. Swindle all these people's money!"
Those present who had just paid for tea: "..."
Little Li'er ran away holding the coins in her pocket, and without anyone noticing, she sneaked into the courtyard. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, a gust of wind blew, causing her beautiful eyes to squint. Then, she saw a small figure digging the soil under the tree where the swing was.
A lot of soil was dug out, and there was a very familiar little wooden box next to it, covered in some mud.
Next second.
Another small wooden box was also planed out.