The first chapter in the book discussed reproduction. The egg and the sperm. How the egg was fertilized.
He raised his eyebrow questioningly. Doesn’t a normal adult know about this kind of thing?
The second chapter talked about how the fertilized egg entered the uterus.
The third chapter discussed the factor determining the gender of a fetus.
The fourth chapter dealt with the changes in a woman’s body during the course of her pregnancy.
The interesting title of the book was the thing that caught his attention because Xinyan was currently pregnant too.
Then, he finally reached the part which he was interested in. However, a few women who were bringing a few children were heading in his direction. Closing the book, he went to the checkout counter to pay before getting into his car.
When he arrived at the hospital, with the book in hand, he walked over to the elevator to go to the ward where Xinyan was.
It was strangely silent.
The bodyguards on the floor saw the person coming out from the elevator and straightened up. “Mr. Zong,” they greeted professionally.
Jinghao nodded.
Arriving at the doorway, he gently opened the door, trying not to wake up Xinyan in case she was asleep. As the door opened, he saw a woman sitting by the window.
She was wearing a loose-fitting white satin nightgown – the type with no waistline. Sitting on a chair, a part of her fair legs was revealed. Long and shapely, it was a beautiful sight to behold.
Her gown was long-sleeved and they were sewn with lace. Her wrists were exposed, and she held a pair of scissors in her hand. She was trimming the branches and leaves of a bouquet. There was an exquisite glass vase on the table containing some stalks of flowers.
He remembered that he had thrown away the flowers Bai Yinning sent to Xinyan into the trash can earlier. On his way to his office, he recalled Xinyan saying that she loved flowers. He immediately backtracked and searched for a florist shop instead. Due to him being a man, he had never paid any attention to flowers and did not even know what meaning roses represented.
He was truly ignorant of the language of flowers until the florist owner taught him that roses represented love.
Recalling that Yinning had gifted five roses, he quickly asked, “What do five roses mean?”
The florist told him, “Roses represent love, and five roses mean ‘no regrets’.”
He almost snorted in derision when he heard that. What does Yinning really mean?
To unconditionally love Xinyan with no regrets?
Hrmph.
Jinghao ended up buying a bouquet of lilies because the florist had told him, “Lilies represent a long and happy life together.”
Well, he would be the one to live a long and happy life with Xinyan.
As for Bai Yinning, let him sulk on that and spectate their happiness as an outsider with “no regrets”!
As he had to go to the office, he requested for the florist to deliver his flowers. Xinyan was sleeping, hence Aunt Yu was the one putting them on the table. When Xinyan woke up, she instructed Aunt Yu to procure a vase for them. Xinyan was, of course, delighted, for she had not expected Jinghao to buy her flowers.
Later, Jinghao came in and stood in front of her. “Do you like them?”
She raised her head, her long dangling hair revealing her pretty face, which showed a surprised look then. After all, Jinghao had been so furious when he threw away Bai Yinning’s flowers. She felt that he was not the kind of man who would buy flowers for any woman. With that, her heart felt warm and she was engulfed by a blanket of joy while she smiled softly. “I love them.”
“Such a cliché.” Zong Jinghao snorted.
If it’s really such a cliché, why do you gift them in the first place?
Such was her thought when she uttered the words, “It may be cheesy, but I still love them.”
She stroked the petals gently, feeling the delicate texture as she enjoyed the faint, floral scent.
The rounded neckline of her nightgown was adorned with lace – folded in several layers. As the gown hung loosely on her shoulders, the neckline exposed her fair neck and seductive collarbone.
Jinghao could not resist but felt as if he were possessed by her beauty. He walked over and planted a kiss on her inviting collarbone. His lips felt slightly cold, but tenderly loving. The moment his lips touched her skin, Xinyan felt like an electric current passed through her body, albeit a pleasant one. Immediately she pushed him away gently, and whispered, “Aunt Yu is still here. She’s currently cleaning the bathroom. If she walks in on us, it’ll be awkward.”
Jinghao refused to relent and tried to bite her with his teeth. He fiddled with the skin of her collarbone gently. Although it was painless and perhaps even pleasurable, she still frowned and hissed disapprovingly.
With a wink in his eyes, Jinghao joked, “I’ll let you bite me tonight.”
Xinyan pushed him away. “Stop playing around and let me finish this.”
As Aunt Yu was still in the bathroom, he decided not to continue, but sat down on the sofa instead and flipped through the book he had just bought.
Glancing at him with the corner of her eyes, she noticed that he had actually bought a book to read, and ended up not saying anything.
As for Jinghao, he had originally wanted to buy a book for Xinyan, but he was too interested in the copy he bought that he had completely forgotten to buy one for her.
Meanwhile, Aunt Yu had finished cleaning and emerged from the bathroom. Taking out the towels that needed to be laundered, she left the room and gently closed the door behind her.
She had overheard the conversations between Jinghao and Xinyan, and deliberately sped up her work so she could leave them alone.
The room became quiet, as Jinghao found the content of his book to be engaging and was soon too engrossed with reading.
In the meantime, Xinyan was busy arranging the beautiful flowers into the vase. She seemed satisfied with her masterpiece. Seeking his approval, she asked, “Does it look good?”
“Huh?” Jinghao looked up from his book and saw her flower arrangement. Putting the book on the sofa temporarily, he walked over. “Do you feel tired?”
Xinyan shook her head. “I’m fine. Just going to wash my hands.”
Picking her up in his strong arms, he carried her to the washroom. After she washed her hands, Jinghao carried her onto the bed. “Did you vomit today?”
Shaking her head, she requested, “Bring that book over. Let me have a look.”
“You sure?” asked Jinghao with a curious glance.
“Why? Is there something in it that I’m not supposed to read? Isn’t it just a book about pregnancy?” What’s there to hide anyway.
Showing a slight doubt in his eyes, he brought the book over and lay on the bed alongside his wife. Embracing her in his arms, he suggested, “Let’s read it together.”
As Xinyan rested her head on his shoulder, treating it like a pillow, Jinghao opened the pages of the book.
However…
…
Lin Xinyan was speechless.
Below every chapters there were sub-sections. The chapter which Jinghao had turned to outlined the changes to a woman’s body during the course of her pregnancy. The first sub-section brought up the question of whether a pregnant wife should have sex.
In fact, he did not know that there would be illustrations in the book.
It was advised that for the first three months of the pregnancy, a woman should not have sex. Even if she could, the act should not be intense. After the fetus stabilized three months later, the copulating couple should be careful not to press or exert any pressure onto a pregnant woman’s abdomen during sex. To minimize endangering the baby in the tummy, the book suggested a number of safe postures to adopt…
It was followed by many examples with illustrations.
Numerous examples of various sexual positions. Illustrated vividly.
…
“After the fetus has stabilized in you, shall we try these?” Jinghao asked cheekily with genuine interest.
Xinyan’s neck was clearly trembling. He was so engrossed reading all these just now? She blushed.
Seeing her reddened face, Jinghao pressed on, “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes.”
As she nestled in his arms, she did not speak. Without knowing why, her mind wandered…
In the past, she had never thought that she needed sex. Even when Jinghao didn’t touch her nor initiate it, the thought would not have crossed her mind. Inexplicably, her mind was full of the notion of sexual intimacy right now.
She tried her best to calm down her wild thought and hypnotize herself to sleep.
Looking at the little frame of his beloved woman cuddling up like a cat in his arms, Jinghao could not help but smile gently.
As he turned to the next page, he reached the chapter which talked about the changes to a woman’s body in the first few months of her pregnancy.
As a pregnancy progressed, a woman’s body will experience tons of transformations. Her body would feel sore and lethargic. Leg cramps might be normal occurrences during the nights. Both the areolas would gradually darken as the pregnancy advanced…
When he dipped his head, he found that Xinyan’s breathing was unsteady. She did not seem to be asleep either. Putting down the book and hugging her, he asked with concern, “What’s the matter?”
She calmly replied, “It’s nothing. Just haven’t fallen asleep.”
As he swallowed the lump in his throat, truth be told, he was even more distressed than her. However, remembering the doctor’s words, he chose to keep his real emotion from showing and to keep his stoic expression in check.
He turned his gaze onto her collar..
Noticing that, she quickly cupped her hand over her neck and asked, “What are you planning to do?”
He laughed. “Let me take a look.”
She was tongue-tied.
His voice sounded a little hoarse, but it was masked by laughter. “The book mentions about body changes. Let me see if yours have changed…”
