Chapter 63: I Killed Your Aunt

"What should we do then? She has already said it," Jiang Wanyi said with a smile. "Shall I start telling everyone I meet when I go out that my husband is amazing and a mighty man?"

"Just call me husband. No need to say amazing, it's a bit too much like protesting too much."

"You bad little brother, you've learned to take advantage of your older sister."

Chen Yuan chuckled, walked over to the dining table, and picked up the electric heating pad. "Put this on your stomach and press it."

"Mm."

Accepting the heating pad and placing it over her lower belly, Jiang Wanyi apologetically said, "I promised to make you dinner today, but after all this commotion, I didn't get to cook for you. Once I feel better, I'll make those oysters for you."

"If you keep going on about this, it'll really make it sound like I have a problem."

"Heh heh heh... As long as I know what's really going on." Jiang Wanyi laughed heartily. "If something like this happens again in the future, I'll just say the problem is with me so you can save face."

"That plan works."

That evening, Chen Yuan casually ordered some food delivery and made sure Jiang Wanyi ate a bit as well.

By a little past eight o'clock, her condition had improved significantly, and she had no trouble getting up and walking around.

"Lie down for a bit longer."

"I can't, it's getting too full."

Given their current relationship, they no longer shied away from talking about matters of this nature.

"I'll go give her a bath."

"Mm."

The two of them busied themselves with their respective tasks. Once she finished bathing Xiao Mili, Jiang Wanyi also expressed her surplus stock, lulled the baby to sleep, and handed the baby bottle to Chen Yuan.

"Don't leave this for tomorrow morning, just take care of it today."

"And here's your post-meal beverage."

Chen Yuan downed it in one go, then noticed that Jiang Wanyi had changed into the outfit she wore the previous night.

"You're not going to do postpartum recovery exercises again, are you?"

"I'm fully reloaded and revived now, nothing's wrong. I can't let my routine slip."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Then let's start now."

Jiang Wanyi lay down beside the baby, and just like yesterday, the two of them went through the postpartum recovery movements.

Today she changed styles, wearing one made of pure cotton. The design wasn't particularly flashy, but seeing something was better than seeing nothing.

"Ah—"

When pressing down on her pelvis, Jiang Wanyi let out a sharp cry, but quickly covered her mouth.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little, but I can bear it."

"It seems my strength was a bit too much."

"You used about this much force yesterday."

"Yesterday and today are different."

"How are they different?"

"The force used just now was a bit too strong and it killed your period."

"What do you mean killed my period?"

"I literally killed it; your period spat blood, and now I need to flee the scene of the crime."

Chen Yuan turned and walked out. Jiang Wanyi paused for a second to process this, then abruptly stood up, pulled down her shorts, caught sight of the bright red color inside, and looked back at her backside.

It leaked through...

What on earth!

It actually came five days early!

A young married woman still needs to save face, you know!

...

Early the next morning, when Chen Yuan woke up, Xiao Mili was still sleeping.

Her fair, tender little face looked like a soft clump of clouds.

Give her a little kiss on the cheek.

Hee hee hee...

After getting dressed and getting up, Jiang Wanyi was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

She had bought steamed buns, was simmering congee in the kitchen, and had placed a cup of delicious warm milk on the dining table.

"Next time you come over on the weekend, bring all your dirty clothes from the dorm. I can wash them along with mine."

"No need, I can do it myself."

"I've even washed your underwear for you, what is there to be embarrassed about?"

"Those are two different things. You're not my nanny."

Jiang Wanyi hadn't considered it from that angle; she just wanted to help him with whatever was within her power.

"I didn't think that much of it, but you sure think a lot. If you don't bring them, I'll just start washing the ones you're wearing right now."

Chen Yuan instinctively wanted to refuse, but seemed to have no way to decline.

After finishing breakfast, Chen Yuan left.

Jiang Wanyi put the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen sink, getting ready to wash them.

At that moment, the phone on the dining table rang.

"Teacher Xue."

"Teacher Jiang, do you have time tomorrow afternoon?"

"What's wrong?"

"There's a departmental meeting tomorrow afternoon regarding premium courses. You need to come and preside over it. Is it convenient for you to come? If you don't have time, we'll arrange another time, but we have to finalize this matter this week."

"Wait for me a moment, I'll give you a reply shortly."

"Alright."

Jiang Wanyi hung up the phone, intending to ask her mother if she had any plans tomorrow.

If her mother could come over to help look after the baby tomorrow, then there would be no problem. If not, she would have to schedule it for another time...

...

After leaving Jiang Wanyi's place, Chen Yuan went to the hotel to rendezvous with Song Jianian, and the two of them headed to the driving school together.

As the day went on, Chen Yuan grew increasingly proficient; even if he were to take the test right now, it seemed he wouldn't have any problems.

Song Jianian was still a bit flustered and clumsy, but compared to yesterday, she had already made some progress.

Aside from that, she had also received the notification of advancement from Fang Youning.

As for the song she would sing, she had already decided.

"Lubinghua" (Taiwanese Orphan Flower)

The "child-like factor" wasn't overwhelmingly high, and it had even been performed on variety shows before, making it a fairly presentable song choice.

"Little Song, although the driving school's car is a bit beat up, you shouldn't be that rough with it. Two laps and it'll be completely wrecked."

"Coach Zhou, I don't use that much force, I don't even have much strength."

Coach Zhou smacked his lips, thinking to himself that the steering wheel was practically about to be twisted off...

Throughout the day, Chen Yuan made massive progress, while Song Jianian made micro-progress. They ate well, drank well, and the future looked promising.

Concluding a day of practice, the two walked side by side as they emerged from the driving school.

Walking along, Chen Yuan suddenly noticed that Song Jianian was no longer beside him. Looking back, he saw she was on the phone, but had walked far enough away that he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Uncle Zhang, I've finished practicing driving."

"How does it feel today? Any progress? Do you need me to come pick you up?"

"No need, we're heading back together, but could you please make a phone call to the coach?"

"What's wrong? Did the coach give you a hard time?"

The reason he upgraded Song Jianian to the VIP class was precisely because she learned slowly and he was afraid she would be scolded by the coach.

Now that I've spent a huge sum of money on a VIP membership, you pulling this kind of stunt is unacceptable.

"No, but the coach said today that I have a lot of strength, and he also said that I was going to twist the steering wheel off."

"Uh..."

Uncle Zhang thought about it for a moment, and this didn't seem like such a big deal. Their young miss's grip strength really was quite formidable.

"Miss, listen to me, we need to learn to put ourselves in others' shoes," Uncle Zhang coaxed patiently. "He's a driving school coach, so it's normal for him to care about the school's cars. When he says things like that, he's probably just joking with you, a kind of good-natured banter."

"I know, but he said I have a lot of strength right in front of Chen Yuan, and I don't want him saying that. Go talk to him. He can say it to me next time if he wants, but don't say it in front of Chen Yuan."

"Understood, I'll call him right now."

"Mhm mhm, bye-bye Uncle Zhang."

"Miss, don't hang up yet, come over and pick up some fruit, you haven't been here in days."

"Today is the weekend, right? I'll come tomorrow, I won't eat today."

"Alright."

Hanging up the phone, Song Jianian returned to Chen Yuan's side. The two of them leisurely walked to the bus stop and got off at the University Town.

Instead of returning to school, they went to the underground shopping mall in the University Town, looking for some delicious food to change up their palates.

Song Jianian looked a bit gloomy.

"I'm so clumsy. Even with someone teaching just the two of us all day, I still haven't learned it well."

"Didn't the coach say so? Girls just learn to drive a bit slower."

Song Jianian pouted, looking at Chen Yuan with a wronged expression.

"I feel like I'm dragging down your progress. By the time you're ready to take the Subject Two test, I probably won't even be able to sign up."

"What's wrong with that? I can just wait for you, and besides..."

Chen Yuan scratched his head. "Why do your thoughts always wander to these things? Can't we think about things like eating, drinking, making merry, or committing arson? We shouldn't disgrace the rich second-generation title."

"I'm afraid of holding you back."

Learning to drive had completely shattered the child's inner Dao-heart.

This 210-month-old baby possessed an inner sensitivity and fragility far worse than he had imagined.

How should he go about comforting her?

Take her out for coffee and to look at small animals?

That didn't seem quite right; those were two completely different matters.

Just as Chen Yuan was racking his brains, he saw Song Jianian stop in her tracks, staring intently at a poster by the wall.

A carousel.

Looking at Song Jianian's earnest expression, deep down, Chen Yuan had an ominous premonition.

"My auntie's period gave birth to a child and needs to go back to recuperate during her month of confinement, so I'm leaving."

"Chen Yuan."

"Huh?"

"I want to ride this, take me there," Song Jianian said, pointing at the poster.

"This is definitely not meant to be played with, it's way too dangerous. Once it starts spinning, the centrifugal force will gasify all the proteins of No. 42 concrete into mercury. Let's go play something else," Chen Yuan said. "Besides, we don't even have our driver's licenses yet, we can't ride this."

"It's fine, I'm a certified rider with experience."

"Delivery riders aren't real riders."

"I have an equestrian qualification certificate, a level 13 rider."

Chen Yuan: ???

What kind of utterly ordinary little genius is this?

Yet she can ride a horse, but learning to drive is this much trouble?

"I want to ride it, accompany me."

"Fine, let's go..."

Chen Yuan compromised. She wasn't asking for the moon in the sky, after all; he could just stand by and watch.

The two went down to the second basement level, which was an indoor amusement park filled with entertainment facilities targeted at children.

The owner probably never imagined that by opening a small amusement park just to make a little money from kids, a lot of the people coming to play would actually be college students.

However!

Even among college students, it seemed almost no one played on the carousel!

What sane person rides this thing anyway?!

Spending 20 yuan, Chen Yuan bought a ticket for Song Jianian.

"What about you?"

"You still want me to go on? Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Your tone is too harsh, it's going to make me sad and cry."

[Your baby is already three years old. She has developed her own cognition and thinking. Aside from telling the occasional white lie, she is also a little drama queen who loves to act...]

Not a quest, just a pure prompt.

"I am a man with a heart of stone, I'm definitely not riding this contraption."

Song Jianian didn't say anything; she stood right where she was and started shedding little golden teardrops.

Chen Yuan: ???

How come these tears flow even faster than Xiao Mili's?

People walking past cast glances over, pointing and whispering at Chen Yuan.

Raising a child really is difficult!

"If you act like this, it makes me look like a scumbag."

"You're a good man, it's my fault, I'm too willful, it's all my mistake."

The plot seemed to be heading in a completely different direction...

She was acting way too green-tea innocent...

"Stop crying, I'll buy it, I'll buy it!"

Chen Yuan went back to buy another ticket. Song Jianian grabbed his hand with a beaming smile, and the two of them stepped inside the attraction together.

Song Jianian was overjoyed, her smile breaking out before the tear stains on her face had even dried.

If she had known crying was this effective, she wouldn't have bothered acting earlier and would have just cried straight away.

"I choose this unicorn, you stand right next to me."

"Can I just stand beside you? Act as your co-pilot, and we'll spin together?"

Spending money was fine, losing face was fine, but you couldn't make him spend money *and* lose face at the same time.

"If we do that, wouldn't we be wasting our money? We have to be frugal and economical. Hurry up and get on, it's so much fun."

Chen Yuan got on the wooden horse, while some parents nearby glanced over in their direction.

Chen Yuan could only lower his head, pretending invisible. *None of you can see me.*

The carousel began to spin, and Song Jianian excitedly called out to Chen Yuan.

"Chen Yuan, Chen Yuan, look over here, I'll take a photo of you."

"Who's Chen Yuan? Never heard of this person."

With a soul-crushing sense of resignation, Chen Yuan endured the longest, most agonizing five minutes of his life.

Once they got off, Song Jianian was still unsatisfied, looking back at the carousel with lingering attachment as her gloomy mood vanished completely.

Chen Yuan realized something was amiss.

Her act didn't seem to have started when she shed those little tears; it seemed to have begun the moment she first put on that dejected expression.

As for her goal, it was naturally the carousel behind them.

"Song Jianian."

"What is it?"

"I reckon you were just faking it. The moment you saw the carousel poster, you started putting on a nationwide performance."

"No, I didn't."

"How could you not?!"

Chen Yuan felt an itch of pure frustration and wanted to punch her.

Just because she saw a poster for a carousel, she wanted to ride it. If she saw a poster of people kissing, wouldn't she tell him to come give her a kiss too?!

Such double standards!

With big, tearful eyes, Song Jianian looked up at Chen Yuan. "Don't use such a harsh tone, I'll cry."

Chen Yuan: ...

"In front of the bridge in the middle of the street, a flock of ducks swims by. Come quickly, come quickly, let's count them, two, four, six, seven, eight..."

The music of a coin-operated kiddie ride started playing. The old geezer sitting behind it was grinning craftily at him, and Song Jianian froze in her tracks.

"Hurry up and walk!"

"I'm going to cry."

"I'll stand further away, you can cry all you want."

"If you walk away, who am I going to cry for?"

"Cry for the boss, that old geezer deliberately turned on the kiddie ride."

"Fine then, I won't play. The 20 yuan we spent just now was already outside the budget, we have to save money."

"That's more like it."

The two of them walked back to campus together, strolling under the sunset. The flowers were blooming brilliantly and the evening breeze was just right.