Baona looked at her with puzzled eyes and tentatively asked, "Boss, are you feeling unwell?"
Ye Jiuliang shook her head and pinched her own arm.
It hurt.
Her eyes shone brightly, confirming it was real, not an illusion.
All at once, she was stunned, then she laughed, frightening Baona into losing her color, "Boss, whatās actually wrong with you, speak up."
Immersed in the surprise of having a child, the smile in Ye Jiuliangās eyes was almost spilling over, just as Baona said, it felt quite miraculous.
"Iāll go call Sister-in-Law." Baona still felt that something was not right; her boss was acting too unusual.
"Donāt go." Ye Jiuliang stopped her, then whispered a few words in her ear.
Baonaās eyes gradually widened, joy rising to her brows.
She barely controlled her volume, "Boss, for real?"
Ye Jiuliang nodded, unable to hide the smile on her face.
"Then what are we waiting for, go tell Sister-in-Law right away," Baona said excitedly.
"Donāt tell him yet."
Baona was astonished, "Huh?"
"Keep it a secret for me, will you?" Ye Jiuliang raised her hand to pat her shoulder, the corners of her mouth curling into a wryly mischievous smile.
Baona clapped her hands together, her tone certain, "You want to give Sister-in-Law a surprise, right?"
Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, hummed in acknowledgment, an apparent agreement.
She reached out to her belly, her lips curving into a smile.
Her baby was proving to be quite resilient.
Suddenly, a wail rose from downstairs.
"No way, lost again."
"Sister-in-Law, have mercy please."
"Not playing anymore, got no money."
Ye Jiuliang stood up, "Letās go downstairs and see."
At this moment, the background music from the game echoed from below.
"Captain, donāt go there, come back, hurry back."
"Oh no, lost again."
The noisy voices blended together, enough to lift the roof off.
"Whatās all this noise about?"
A cool voice floated down from the staircase, Lin Yan seeing Ye Jiuliang and immediately picked up his empty wallet to complain, "Boss, Sister-in-Law took all the cash from my wallet, Iām going to be penniless."
"Boss, me too, Iām out of money as well," Liu Cong held up his wallet, which was empty except for cards.
"Me too."
"Same here."
Ye Jiuliang, seeing their empty wallets one by one, taunted with a smile, "How did it turn into a betting game with money?"
To be able to trick this group of money-lovers into betting, her husband Li Mohan truly lived up to his reputation.
"Sister-in-Law said if just one of us wins, sheād double it for everyone," Xiang Tian said with a bitter smile, getting to the main point.
Ye Jiuliang tugged at her lips, so that was it.
Li Mohan set aside the game controller and handed over a thick wad of cash to Ye Jiuliang, "Take this, buy some sweets."
The others looked longingly at the stack of money, wishing they could snatch it for themselves.
That was their money, after all.
Ye Jiuliang took the wad of cash and glanced at them, counting the money deliberately in front of them.
"Counting money always puts one in the best of moods."
"Boss." Lin Yan squeezed his throat, his voice soft and pretentious, winding its way to give everyone goosebumps.
Ye Jiuliangās hand trembled, the money nearly slipping from her grasp.
Meeting their pitiful gazes, she laughed lightly and handed the money to Xiang Tian, "Today Iāll treat everyone to a meal, order whatever you want to eat or drink, and if itās not enough, your Sister-in-Law will cover it."
"Oh yeah!" The others cheered with raised hands.
With spirits lifted from the defeat in the game, everyone gathered to discuss what to order.
Meanwhile, Ye Jiuliang sat down next to Li Mohan, and although it was a single-person sofa, it was more than enough to fit the two of them.
Ye Jiuliang glanced at the chattering group of people and smiled with pursed lips, "Why didnāt you show any mercy?"
Li Mochan was playing with her fingers, "If I donāt win money, how can I buy you a motorcycle, hmm?"
"Alright, Iām quite satisfied with that reason," Ye Jiuliang laughed merrily and leaned into his embrace.
"Boss, what kind of liquor do you want to drink?" Gao Yang turned his head to look at Ye Jiuliang and asked in a gentle voice.
Ye Jiuliang said, "I wonāt drink, just order whatever you guys like."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone looked over with doubtful eyes.
Lin Yan was the fastest to speak up, "Boss, youāre really not drinking?"
Everyone knew their boss could hold her liquor; at their gatherings, she would always drink merrily.
Baona smiled knowingly, well aware of why Ye Jiuliang was abstaining from alcohol.
"Your sister-in-law wonāt let me drink," Ye Jiuliang said lazily, using Li Mochan as an excuse.
Hearing this, everyone looked away.
Alright, their boss had turned into a henpecked husband.
"Little rascal, when did you become so obedient?" Li Mochan looked down at her with a teasing smile in his eyes.
Ye Jiuliang gave him a sideways glance, "Iām always well-behaved, alright?"
Li Mochan kept quiet with a faint smile.
Hmm, she was only well-behaved when she slept.
"Who wants ice cream?" Lin Yan came out of the kitchen, holding several boxes of ice cream of different flavors.
Liu Cong reached out and took a box, "I want one."
"Boss, do you want some?" Lin Yan asked casually.
Ye Jiuliang shook her head, "No thanks, you guys enjoy."
Li Mochan looked at the person in his arms, a spark of puzzlement in his profound eyes.
Was this really his little wolf cub?
The one who never said no to liquor or ice cream?
Turning to face each other, their gazes met, and Ye Jiuliang asked with amusement, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Li Mochan asked, "Why arenāt you having ice cream today?"
"Didnāt you say ice cream is too cold and told me to eat less of it?" Ye Jiuliang replied with his usual words.
Li Mochan frowned, feeling something was off, "How come I donāt see you listening to me like this usually?"
Suddenly the cub had become so well-behaved, and it made him wary.
Ye Jiuliang was both amused and frustrated; was she usually that rebellious?
"Canāt I just not feel like eating it today?"
Before she finished speaking, Li Mochan reached out to touch her forehead, no fever.
Ye Jiuliang tugged at the corner of her mouth and poked his chest, "Hey, Li Mochan, what are you implying?"
He even dared to suspect she had a fever.
He was really asking for a beating.
Li Mochan chuckled quietly, who told her to act so out of the ordinary today.
The place was lively with many people, and the atmosphere during the meal was also very joyful.
Knowing that Xiang Tian and his wife had things to attend to, with the wedding being the next day, everyone didnāt stay long after lunch and dispersed.
...
The spacious suite exuded a touch of vintage charm.
The doors and windows were tightly closed, and the heating was on, so it wasnāt cold.
Returning after finishing a phone call, Li Mochan quickened his steps towards the person nestled on the bed.
"Who was that?" Ye Jiuliang casually asked as he sat down on the bedās edge.
"Wei Bei."
Li Mochan stretched out his iron arm and scooped her into his embrace.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
His little wolf cub was unusually quiet today.
Ye Jiuliang raised her hand to hug his neck, burying her head in his chest, and called out to him in a soft voice, "Li Mochan."
Li Mochan was even more perplexed, "Hmm?"