Qi Yuwei bowed her head politely as she greeted everyone who was present, "Grandma, Auntie Weng, Auntie Mu, it's nice to see you all again." She clasped her hands together.
"You're finally here." Old Madame Mu nodded towards them. She didn't look as enthusiastic as she was when Ning Qianyu had arrived. She remained reserved as ever.
Weng Bisa, however, was extremely enthusiastic about the arrival of her future daughter-in-law. "Yuwei, you're here!" She stood up and took her hand, leading Qi Yuwei to the space beside her. "Come sit here."
"Thank you, Auntie." She smiled.
While the women continued to converse, Mu Jinbo didn't speak the entire time. His expression was gloomy that no one could tell what he was thinking. He walked to the other side of the room.
"Jinbo! What should you say?" Weng Bisa reminded
"Grandma, Aunt," he said softly, coldly glancing at Qi Yuwei's direction. Her eyes narrowed.
Just then, Mu Zhenghong arrived. "Is everyone here?"
Old Madame Mu frowned. "Where's Zhengsheng?"
"There was a problem at the factory," he explained as he was walking in. "He needed to take care of it. I'm sure he'd be back by later, but he did ask us to continue on without him."
"All right, let's all gather in the dinner table." The female matriarch stood up from the sofa and made her way into the kitchen.
Seeing this, everyone followed after her.
Once everyone was seated, Mu Zhenghong gazed at everyone in the room. "I've asked everyone to come over because I have incredible news to share," he said with a smile. "It is with great spirits that Mu has finally paved its way to an overseas market. We're finally going international!"
"That's amazing!" Everyone complimented the older man as they clapped together. Only Mu Shengchen remained silent as he stared at his plate, seemingly uninterested in their conversation.
Upon seeing how happy everyone is, Qi Yuwei also stood up from her seat. Everyone turned to stare at her with furrowed eyebrows as she announced, "I also have some good news I'd like to share with everyone. I am–"
"Shut up," Mu Jinbo immediately interrupted. "You don't have to say such things now."
As soon as the words slipped past his lips, the smile on her face froze. No one noticed the way her hands trembled in her sides, or how her fingernails dug deep into her flesh. The pain was enough to make her choke.
She gazed at everyone in the room, resisting the urge to shiver. It's too late to back out now. It was now or never. Different thoughts ran through her head as she took a deep breath.
"Jinbo, what are you shouting for?" Mu Zhenghong scowled.
Weng Bisa was unimpressed by her son's outburst. Shooting him a look, she patted the back of Qi Yuwei's hand. "Yuwei," she said gently. "What's your good news? Don't leave us hanging, dear?"
"I..." The young woman slowly pulled out a hospital certificate from her pockets. "I'll be going to the hospital tomorrow for my ultrasound, but this is what the doctor had said in our last appointment."
The coldness in Mu Jinbo's face increased tenfold.
Weng Bisa slowly opened the letter, and her face immediately brightened. "You're pregnant!" she exclaimed. "Our Yuwei is pregnant!"
Her words attracted everyone's attention.
Even Mu Zhenghong couldn't wait to take a look at the paper. As soon as he saw the words in the report, his expressionless face suddenly broke into a large smile. "It seems so," he said simply.
Old Madame Mu stood up from her seat. "Let me see!"
Mu Lingshan grabbed the note from Weng Bisa's hands and handed it over to Old Madame Mu. "See for yourself?"
"She really is pregnant!" The old woman clutched her chest.
While the others were laughing and crying tears of joy, Mu Jinbo didn't share their happiness. Instead, his eyes remained cold and his hands remained clench. To him, the child shouldn't have existed in the first place.
Mu Shengchen and Ning Qianyu were the only ones who didn't carry such a large reaction for the pregnancy. However, they were both slightly surprised, with smiles painted on their faces.
Mu Zhenghong tapped the table. "Bisa, arrange Jinbo's marriage as soon as possible."
Before she could agree, Mu Jinbo interjected, "I don't want to get married."
As soon as his words echoed across the dining hall, Qi Yuwei's face instantly turned pale. She finally had his child, yet he still didn't want to marry her. Were her plans really to no avail?
"Jinbo, what are you saying?" Weng Bisa glanced at her son as if trying to tell him to not disobey his father's orders.
However, he didn't seem to get the memo as he stood up from his seat. "I told you. I don't want to get married yet," he snapped. He gave Ning Qianyu a deep look before leaving the table.
While she didn't notice his longing gaze, Mu Shengchen did. His eyes flashed dangerously in response, but he didn't move from his spot.
The table quickly exploded into chaos with Weng Bisa trying to calm everyone down, "I'm sure he's just scared for the baby. He will get himself sorted out and continue with the wedding."
"You've spoiled him too much," Mu Zhenghong snapped.
"I spoiled him too much?" She arched her eyebrow. "If you think you can discipline him right now, then go on right ahead! Educate your son!"
Everything was getting out of hand that Old Madame Mu had to slam her hands against the table. Once all eyes were on her, she snapped, "Go and find Jinbo. This decision isn't up to him. He'll get married whether or not he wants to."
Hearing this, the couple didn't argue anymore.
"I'm sorry. I should go first." Qi Yuwei slowly stood up, bowing her head in apology.
It seemed that her plan was already falling apart.
Weng Bisa grabbed her by the wrist. "Yuwei, don't be angry. Once I teach him a lesson, he'll be coming back to apologize to you tomorrow."
"Auntie, it's fine. It's my fault anyway." Qi Yuwei shook her head as she slowly pushed the chair back, hanging the bag over her shoulder. "Please, it's not Jinbo's fault. I'm fine."
She had just taken a few steps when she fell onto the floor.
"Yuwei!"
Weng Bisa quickly called on the family doctor. The doctor didn't need to examine her thoroughly to conclude that the woman had fainted because of how emotional she was. "She'd recover quickly, but she has developed symptoms of a cold too," he reminded. "Just get her to drink hot soup, and everything will be fine."
Although it didn't develop to be a large problem, it was still enough to let everyone go into a disarray.
Even the delectable aroma from the dishes wasn't enough to save the family dinner. Nobody had the appetite anymore. In fact, all they wanted was to head out of the dinner table–afraid that they'd just make things worse.
Ning Qianyu and Mu Shengchen were the first ones to leave. As soon as they exited the household, her expression turned ugly as she stomped her foot on the ground. The bitter look on her face didn't disappear even up until they had reached their apartment.
"How could he do that?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Yuwei's carrying his child, and he's just going to leave like that. Who does that? What kind of man does that?"
Mu Shengchen stayed silent, knowing that she needed someone to vent her anger.
"Is he even human? Does he not want children?" she said bitterly. "Even then, does he have no respect for Qi Yuwei? Is that way he just upped and left? What the hell is wrong with the men in the world."
"You don't have to be so worked up." Mu Shengchen slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.
"It's just stupid!" she wailed, burying herself deep into his arms.
"I know." He rubbed her back. "I know, but this is Mu Jinbo and Qi Yuwei's decision, okay? Let's just leave them alone."
She slowly looked up at him. "How about you? If I were pregnant, would you not want to meet your child?"
Mu Shengchen was initially stunned by the question. However, after a few seconds, he calmed down and poked her on the forehead. "What are you even think about?" he said softly. "Of course I'll want to meet our children."
"I'm just disappointed in him, you know?" She smiled. "I never thought that he's that kind of guy."
"I know." He sighed.
There was a short pause when she lifted her head. "Do you think he'll still marry Qi Yuwei? Even after this?"
"Yes," he replied honestly.
"But...how can you be so sure?"
The smile on his face turned mischievous as he leaned in just enough that his lips could brush against her ear. "Change your underwear for me, and I'll tell you," he whispered.
"Scoundrel." She pouted, pushing him away.
"You love me anyway." He grinned.
"Please." She snorted, dodging his hand.