Liang Anya temporarily handed Xiaoxiao to the household assistant and sat on the sofa with the others to chat for a while.

Learning that Jiayi had a blessing in disguise and regained her memory of that year, Liang Tao, his son, and Liang Anya were happy but also deeply moved.

The night on the island fell quickly. After chatting for a while, night descended, and the last rays of sunlight disappeared.

It was only then that Jiayi realized the little meatball wasn’t beside her. Upon looking around again, she noticed Zaizai had somehow already run over to the household assistant and was standing on tiptoes, teasing the baby.

When she first came in, she saw Xiaoxiao but got too caught up chatting with the Liang Family to ask. Now, her gaze shifted, landing on Liang Anya before she smiled at Liang Tao, "Godfather, I’d like to chat more with Anya."

Liang Anya also happened to want to talk to her alone and went over to loop her arm through Jiayi’s. "Hmm, Xiaoyi and I are heading upstairs."

"You two little rascals, must you shut the door and act all mysterious while you chat? Can’t let us listen?" Liang Tao chided playfully.

Liang Jue broke in with a laugh, "Dad, that’s just how women are. Even tiny things are like some international spy mission to them. Go take a rest; you’ve got a wedding to attend tomorrow. I’m going for a stroll around the island."

As the father and son went their separate ways, Jiayi turned her eyes to Liang Anya.

Liang Anya glanced at the baby girl in the household assistant’s arms and let out a sigh of relief, "It’s a girl. Her name is Xiaoxiao."

Jiayi glanced at Zaizai. "Mommy is going to have a chat with Aunt Anya upstairs. Be good and stay downstairs with your little sister. Don’t bully her, okay?"

Oh, so it’s a sister!

Zaizai was slightly taken aback. She was so adorable; he originally thought she must be a boy.

He knew Mommy was carrying two little babies this time, a brother and a sister. He had initially felt a bit of a headache over it, but now he thought, perhaps girl babies weren’t as noisy or annoying as he’d imagined.

...

Liang Anya and Jiayi went upstairs and closed the door.

Liang Anya recounted, down to every detail, how she and her brother had conspired to escape from the hospital in Yunling a few months ago.

"... I was afraid Si Yuheng would still come looking for the child. So these past months, I’ve avoided contacting anyone and stayed in a small city with Dad and my brother just to lay low until things calmed down. Xiaoyi, coming to your wedding this time is a huge risk for me!"

Liang Anya pouted and, remembering the most important matter, asked seriously, "You didn’t invite him to your wedding with Huo this time, did you?"

Jiayi shook her head. "No. Those two aren’t friends—barely even acquaintances. The Huo Family didn’t send Si Yuheng an invitation."

Liang Anya, who’d been worried for so long, finally felt at ease and much lighter.

Jiayi comforted her, "Relax, don’t worry so much. Maybe after you ran away, Si Yuheng didn’t even bother looking for the child. All he cared about was that baby. Knowing Xiaoxiao isn’t his child, why would he waste the effort to search for you?"

Hearing Jiayi’s reassurance, Liang Anya felt even more at ease.

"Alright, alright, just get a good night’s sleep tonight. Put on a couple more face masks, perk up, and don’t overthink. Tomorrow, come to my place early to change and do your makeup," Jiayi said with a smile, steering the conversation elsewhere.

Liang Anya looked at her suspiciously. "Hmm?"

"I’ve saved a spot for you in my bridesmaid group. Don’t even think about slacking off!"

Liang Anya laughed in relief, "Yes, ma’am, future bride!"

The two, having not seen each other for so long, grew more reluctant to stop chatting as the night deepened. She asked the household assistant to take Zaizai home first but still didn’t want to leave.

It wasn’t until Butler Ou came over to the Liang Family’s villa, knocking on the door upstairs with a helpless yet amused smile, that he said, "Miss Jiayi, it’s getting late. You’ll need to wake up early for the wedding tomorrow, and the little one in your belly needs rest too. The young master is asking you to go back early."

Jiayi was reluctant. "It’s still early. Just a little longer. The baby is behaving so well."

"But—"

"Come on, Butler Ou, let me chat a bit more with Anya..." she began to pout. Given that Butler Ou, with his grandfatherly temperament, couldn’t resist this tactic, she acted even more coy.

Butler Ou hesitated when the door was suddenly pushed open by a large, strong hand. A low, slightly hoarse voice drifted in, "Should I bring over a pillow and blanket so you can sleep here instead?"

Huo Zhenyang’s handsome face was tinged with a bit of displeasure as he stood in the doorway, exuding an aura as cold as ice.

Jiayi stuck out her tongue. Seeing as he hadn’t waited long for her and had come to find her himself, she knew he wasn’t happy.

Liang Anya patted her on the shoulder and gave a shrug, signifying there was nothing she could do.

Jiayi could only hold her belly and climb off the bed. Just as she slipped her feet into her shoes, they hadn’t even touched the ground before he strode over, scooped her up in his arms, and headed downstairs.

Maybe it was because he hadn’t been by her side when she was pregnant with Zaizai before, but this time, during her pregnancy, he was overly cautious to a fault.

Jiayi felt that by the time this baby was born, she might become utterly helpless—incapable of doing anything herself.

For meals, he personally cooled the soup before feeding her.

If she took a few steps, worried she might get tired, he insisted on carrying her himself.

Last night was even more ridiculous—and slightly embarrassing. She’d woken up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and even in a half-asleep state, the man had refused to let her go alone, instead carrying her into the bathroom while barely awake.

As they exited the villa of the Liang Family, Jiayi lightly punched his chest twice. "Alright, alright, put me down. I can walk on my own. Aren’t you afraid you’ll strain your back?"

"You have such little faith in my physical strength?" He lowered his face, arching a brow as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"But I’ve really gained quite a bit of weight now. Don’t forget, there are three of us!" she muttered, starting to feel self-conscious about her current figure. She regretted agreeing to his proposal so quickly. Wearing a wedding dress while carrying two "balls" definitely didn’t feel ideal—it was enough to put her in a funk just thinking about it.

"I don’t like women who are all skin and bones. You, right now..." He suddenly lowered his voice, brought his face closer, and lightly brushed the tip of his nose against her forehead, the intimate gesture adding a tinge of ambiguity to the air. "... are perfect, just like last night. I quite enjoyed it..."

As he spoke, his large hand began teasingly roaming over her soft body, using the cover of night and quiet surroundings with zero restraint.

Her cheeks instantly flamed as if ignited. Since she’d regained consciousness, he’d been wary of her body not being fully healed, so he hadn’t touched her much. She’d been cautious about harming the baby and had kept some distance at night.

But last night, seeing him in such visible discomfort, and with her pregnancy past the four-month mark and the fetus stable, she hadn’t refused when he wanted to indulge.

Their actions were careful—tentatively testing. Still, she felt his concern not to hurt her or the baby, finding his gentleness laced with restrained yet unmistakable passion and intensity.

"Why are you blushing?" he teased her, mocking how someone who’d become a mother twice could still blush like an innocent young girl. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I’m not! Pregnant women get hot easily, you know that. And now, with two, it’s even worse," she protested, trying to cover up.

"Even if there are a few more, it doesn’t matter." His voice carried a hint of mystery while his thin lips tilted upward. "For every child you give me, I’ll buy you another island. Bigger than this one."

"Mr. Huo, are you trying to bribe me with money?"