Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 75 - Pregnant (part 1)
Chapter 75: Pregnant (part 1)
Chen Die truly experienced what it meant to ‘lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot.’ She and Wen Liang had always taken precautions, but that one casual comment of hers was like a tiny spark that turned into a wildfire—completely consuming him in Wen Liang's eyes.
After everything was over, the two of them lay in each other’s arms.
Chen Die, bothered by the sweat on him and the fact that he hadn’t showered yet, pushed him away like a cold and heartless woman after a one-night stand, saying bluntly, “Don’t get so close to me.”
But Wen Liang, for once, was being clingy. He lazily played with the ends of her damp hair with one hand, while the other rested on her stomach, gently kneading it in a repetitive motion, lost in thought.
His hand was warm, and the massage actually felt pretty nice. Chen Die closed her eyes and enjoyed it for a while before finally reaching her limit and swatting him away. Her voice was a little hoarse from earlier: “Stop rubbing. It doesn’t work that fast.”
Wen Liang chuckled softly.
Only then did Chen Die open her eyes a little.
The dim bedside lamp cast a soft light across Wen Liang’s face, highlighting his features in a way that made him look warm and gentle against the pale pillow.
Chen Die looked at him for a while and smiled. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m wondering if we’ll have a boy or a girl,” Wen Liang said.
A few years ago, hearing such words from him would’ve been terrifying—after all, nothing about him ever seemed related to something like ‘family.’
Chen Die smiled. “So, do you want a boy or a girl?”
“A boy,” he answered without hesitation.
“Why?”
“Girls are noisy.”
“......”
Can you be any more brutally honest?
Chen Die rolled her eyes. “Boys can be noisy too. If you can’t keep him in line, he might end up walking all over you.”
Wen Liang gave a soft snort, clearly unimpressed. “You think I can’t keep him in line?”
“......”
Well, fair point.
Chen Die closed her eyes again. Wen Liang leaned in to kiss her before finally getting up to take a shower.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom but stopped not long after. He came out, wiping his body, casually tossing the towel aside, and getting back into bed before even drying off completely.
What was the rush?
Chen Die kicked him. “No getting into bed unless you’re dry.”
Wen Liang chuckled, properly dried himself off, put on his pajamas, and climbed into bed, pulling her back into his arms.
The heating in the northern hotel was cranked up high. Chen Die slept in a haze and felt increasingly hot, trying to push Wen Liang away, but he held her tightly around the waist and didn’t let go.
They slept in that position all night, and by morning, both were drenched in sweat.
They stayed up north for a few more days but, due to their busy schedules, didn’t travel anywhere else and returned directly to Yan City.
Wen Liang dove back into work at the company, while Chen Die started a new project. Through a previous introduction by Huang Sheng, she had met a senior member of a Yan City drama troupe.
This senior invited her to try her hand at stage acting. Back in her freshman year, Chen Die had been part of her university’s drama club and had taken related classes, so she already had an interest in it. Without hesitation, she agreed and had recently been spending most of her time at the troupe.
Fortunately, the troupe was based in Yan City, so she only needed to attend at set times and still returned to their villa in the western suburbs each night.
Ever since that night when Chen Die mentioned wanting a child, she and Wen Liang had stopped using any protection—conveniently allowing him to act without restraint.
At first, Chen Die was quite mindful of the situation, being extra careful when going out, worried that a test might not detect a pregnancy in the first week. But after several weeks with no sign of it, she went back to her normal routine and stopped dwelling on it.
After all, having a child was always a matter of fate.
Chen Die continued preparing for the stage performance. This time’s play was an entirely new script, carrying high expectations. Her senior even had the ambition to turn the production into a branded work, potentially leading to a national stage tour.
After two months of rehearsals, the first live performance finally arrived.
Chen Die invited Chen Shao and Ye Chuqing to attend.
By now, Ye Chuqing was nearly six months pregnant. Her belly had grown significantly, but her limbs remained slender, making it especially tiring for her to stand.
As soon as Chen Die saw her backstage, she pulled her over to sit down.
Many people backstage recognized Ye Chuqing and greeted her.
“Your belly got big all of a sudden,” Chen Die couldn’t help but crouch down to touch her stomach.
“Don’t even get me started. It happened just in the last few weeks. Now I even need Chen Shao to check the scale for me when I weigh myself, can you believe it?” Ye Chuqing waved her hand. “And this is actually considered the easier part. When I was throwing up the worst—while you and Wen Liang were off on your honeymoon—I couldn’t keep anything down. I seriously considered divorcing Chen Shao back then.”
Chen Die: “…”
Chen Shao, on the side, seemed used to hearing these kinds of things from her. He scoffed disdainfully and didn’t react much.
“Enough about that little troublemaker,” Ye Chuqing changed the topic. “Tossing me around every day—besides my belly, I’ve gotten skinny everywhere else. So, what about you and Wen Liang? Any updates?”
“Not really. I’m still busy rehearsing for the play. Haven’t had the time or energy to focus on that. I’ve basically been holed up in the theater every day.”
Ye Chuqing said, “But I don’t think you and Wen Liang need to rush things so much. Even though you still have a film that hasn’t been released and your theater work is just starting, you’re still young. Look at the entertainment industry—what actress gets pregnant before turning 25?”
She paused, then added, “Oh, forget it. No one in the industry gets married a year after graduation either. Your brain’s completely overtaken by love.”
Chen Die: “…”
Chen Shao casually wandered around backstage, came back with two cups of water, and handed one to Ye Chuqing. He teased casually, “Sure, she’s young. But Wen Liang’s not.”
Ye Chuqing shot him a sideways glance and reminded him, “Brother, you do know you’re the same age as him, right?”
Chen Shao snorted and slung an arm around her shoulder. “I might be the same age, but I already got you pregnant. Look at them.”
Ye Chuqing looked like she wanted to splash the water in his face. “Did you even ask me if I wanted to be pregnant at the time?”
“You were the one who initiated it,” Chen Shao said.
Chen Die: “…”
Conversations between married, expecting couples really hit differently.
She honestly hadn’t expected that these two—who used to be like oil and water—could actually get along so well after getting married.
Soon, the time for the play approached. Chen Shao and Ye Chuqing got ready to head to their seats. Chen Die glanced at the time—Wen Liang should be arriving any minute now.
She grabbed Chen Shao by the arm and warned him, “Don’t say any of that crap to Wen Liang.”
Chen Shao raised an eyebrow, all mock seriousness: “He’s that old already and still can’t handle the truth?”
“….” Chen Die was already very familiar with her dear elder brother at this point and didn’t hesitate to smack him on the back. “Try saying that crap and I’ll kill you.”
Ye Chuqing was laughing her head off and sided with Chen Shao to tease her. “Girl, what’s up with you? Didn’t expect you to be the one babying someone else’s ego.”
“Pfft!” Chen Die shot back immediately and pushed the two of them out of the backstage room. “You’re both the same—get out, get out!”
Once they left, Chen Die touched up her makeup, checked her costume, and mic. Right before going onstage, she got a text from Wen Liang saying he’d arrived.
The theater had announced in advance that Chen Die would be performing, so unlike the usual half-full crowd, this time the place was packed—every seat taken.
She had saved three insider tickets, so now Wen Liang, Chen Shao, and Ye Chuqing were all sitting in the front row—Chen Shao right in the middle, and Wen Liang to his left.
“......”
Chen Die spotted them as soon as she got onstage and immediately began praying that those two wouldn’t talk to each other at all during the performance.
After the play, the cast held hands and bowed together. Thunderous applause erupted, and some fans even came up to the stage to give flowers.
Chen Die returned backstage holding the bouquet, changed out of her costume, removed her makeup, and said her goodbyes. A few older colleagues joked with her a bit before finally letting her leave.
By then, the theater was mostly empty—except for those three, who were still waiting.
Chen Shao and Ye Chuqing were chatting animatedly, looking like they were about to argue, while Wen Liang stood to the side with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, lazily leaning against the wall.
Chen Die suddenly remembered something Chen Shao had told her—how Wen Liang never liked interacting with people when he was in school.
Looking at him now, he really did resemble a lonely, aloof kid.
Her future child better not inherit their dad’s personality…
Chen Die walked down the steps, her high heels clicking on the wood. Wen Liang looked up at the sound, finally straightened up, and walked toward her, reaching out to touch her face.
Chen Die leaned away. “What?”
Wen Liang opened his hand to show her a small piece of tissue. “There was something stuck.”
“Oh, probably from when I was taking my makeup off earlier.” She looped her arm through his and asked quietly, “How’d it go with Chen Shao? Did you two get along?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Get along? What get along?”
Seemed like Chen Shao hadn’t said anything stupid to provoke him.
Chen Die wasn’t actually worried about ‘male pride’ or anything. With Wen Liang’s temper, no way a dumb comment from Chen Shao would get under his skin.
If Chen Shao stirred the pot, she’d be the one suffering when they got home.
She was purely thinking of self-preservation
Wen Liang wrapped an arm around her shoulders, turned his wrist, and pinched her cheek. “Lingling.”
“Hm?”
“What lies have you been telling behind my back again?”
“......”
Chen Die had a bad feeling. “What did he say to you?”
Wen Liang said casually, “He touched his wife’s belly, looked at me, sighed, and said—”
He paused, lowered his eyes to glance at Chen Die.
Chen Die met his gaze, swallowed dryly, her lashes fluttering quickly: “Hmm?”
Wen Liang let out a cold laugh: “Said I shouldn’t worry, no need to rush. He didn’t get into details—apparently because you were worried it would hurt my pride—so you told him to shut up.”
“......”
“He also said if I really wanted to know, he could teach me a few tricks.”
Chen Die: “……”
She looked at Chen Shao, who was chatting with Ye Chuqing not far away, and just hearing Wen Liang’s version of the story was enough to make her blood boil.
She told that man to shut up, and he really found a flashy way to do it.
“I’m going to beat him up right now.” Chen Die immediately declared her loyalty.
As she stormed forward, Wen Liang grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back: “Running away?”
“I’m not running. I didn’t say that—it was all him trying to frame me.”
Wen Liang squinted: “And telling him to shut up wasn’t your idea either?”
“……” Chen Die stiffened her neck and shook her head. “Nope.”
Wen Liang snorted, clearly not buying it.
Fortunately, Ye Chuqing called out to them from the other side: “Hurry up, you two done being lovey-dovey yet? I’m doing the work of two people now. If I starve, is the one in my belly going to take responsibility?”
“Coming, coming,” Chen Die answered quickly.
She grabbed Wen Liang and rushed over—finally escaping the crisis.
At the restaurant’s private room.
The four of them rarely dined together. With Wen Liang and Chen Shao—two men in their 30s who still acted like bickering schoolboys—it was usually only Chen Die who would occasionally meet up with Ye Chuqing.
The pregnant one naturally got to pick the dishes.
Ye Chuqing had bad reactions during early pregnancy and was still sensitive to many smells, vomiting at the slightest whiff. Life was tough.
Soon, the food was served.
The waiter recognized who they were and couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Chen Die: “Miss Chen, what would you like to drink?”
Chen Die looked at the menu. She had no interest in juices or soft drinks today: “Just rice cereal.”
“Alright, one moment please.”
The waiter soon brought it over, and Chen Die thanked him.
Ye Chuqing had studied film and had done research on theater as well, so during dinner, she was still chatting with Chen Die about the play they’d just performed.
Naturally, Wen Liang and Chen Shao couldn’t get a word in.
“Right, we’ll have to see the audience’s response. If it’s good, we might do a national tour.”
Ye Chuqing: “I know the playwright for your show—one of the best in the industry. I remember a touring play he wrote before; it was a hit. There shouldn’t be any issues. Besides, your fan base is no joke.”
Chen Die hummed in agreement and picked up her cup.
But just one sip in, a sudden wave of nausea surged up from her stomach. She quickly covered her mouth with a napkin and gagged once, though the feeling quickly passed.
Wen Liang frowned: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just don’t like the taste,” Chen Die said, pointing at the rice cereal.
“Want me to ask them to bring you plain water instead?”
Chen Die nodded.
Wen Liang was about to call the waiter in, but Ye Chuqing stopped him. She looked at Chen Die with surprise and delight: “How are you feeling right now?”
“I just felt nauseous for a bit. I’m fine now.”
“Do you know why I went out to buy a pregnancy test?”
“......”
Chen Die froze for a second, suddenly realizing something, and asked softly, “Why?”
Ye Chuqing announced, “Because I threw up.”
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