Wei stared at his phone.
His mother's contact glowed on the screen. He'd been staring at it for ten minutes now.
Tell her. Don't tell her.
His thumb hovered over the call button.
Mei was pregnant. His wife, his contracted wife, was carrying his child. That was… that was something a son should tell his mother. Right?
Except his mother hated Mei.
She hates her guts.
Every time Mei's name came up, his mother's face would do this thing, like she'd just bitten into something rotten. And the comments. God, the comments.
"That girl has no class."
"She doesn't belong in this family."
"You could've married someone worthy of the Zhang name."
Wei tossed his phone onto the bed.
Telling her would be like handing her a weapon. She'd find some way to twist this, to make Mei feel small, to turn something that should be happy into another battlefield.
He pressed his palms against his eyes.
The baby didn't deserve that. Mei didn't deserve that.
He didn't…
The door slammed open.
"Wei-ge!"
Wei's hands dropped. He looked up slowly.
Zhang Jun stood in the doorway like he was posing for the cover of some magazine. One hand braced against the doorframe, head tilted, that irritating grin spread across his face.
Wei stared at him the way you'd stare at an uninvited cockroach.
Jun's grin got wider.
He strolled in like he paid the mortgage and dropped into the chair across from Wei's bed, sprawling out like he had all day.
"You've been avoiding me."
Wei said nothing.
"Ever since I got here, you've been dodging me. What, are you too busy being a married man now?" Jun crossed his arms, looking way too pleased with himself. "Speaking of which, I had to hear about your wedding from Zixuan. You remember him, right? Your best friend? The one currently in Europe cleaning up his father's mess?"
Wei's jaw tightened.
"He's pretty pissed at you, by the way, didn't even get an invitation." Jun shrugged. "But me? I'm not mad. I'm used to your whole grumpy, emotionally-unavailable thing you've got going on."
Wei rubbed his temple. "Jun. Not today."
"But seriously though…" Jun leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "You got yourself a beautiful wife. Like, legitimately beautiful. I heard she's not from money, but you'd never know it. She's got this grace about her. Composed. Elegant."
He bit his lip, eyes narrowing like he was about to say something else.
Wei's glare could've melted steel.
Jun raised his hands in surrender. "What? I'm just saying she's pretty. That's a compliment." Then his eyes lit up with realization. "Wait. Oh my God. Are you jealous?"
"Jun…"
"You ARE!" Jun slapped his knee, laughing. "I thought this whole marriage was just some contract arrangement, but my dear cousin is actually catching feelings!"
He kept going, laughing, roasting, enjoying himself way too much.
And despite himself, Wei's mouth twitched.
Just a little.
Jun caught it immediately. "Ha! I saw that! You smiled!"
"I did not."
"You totally did."
Wei shook his head, but the smile didn't quite disappear.
Silence settled between them. The comfortable kind.
Jun studied him for a moment, then his expression shifted. "Hey, I noticed the family doctor came by earlier."
Wei's smile faded.
"You're not sick, are you?" Jun's voice lost some of its teasing edge. Then the grin came back. "Or is this about performance issues? Because if you need recommendations…"
"Stop."
"I'm just saying, there are pills for that now…"
"Jun, I'm not sick." Wei cut him off, his voice flat. "The doctor came for my wife."
Jun blinked. "Oh."
The teasing dropped completely. He sat up straighter.
"Is Mei okay? I noticed she's been looking pale the last few days, but I figured she was just adjusting to living here. The family can be… a lot." Jun frowned. "What's wrong with her?"
He started to stand. "I should go check on her…"
"You don't have to."
Wei's voice stopped him mid-rise.
Jun froze, half-standing, half-sitting. "What do you mean I don't have to? If she's sick…"
"She's not sick." Wei met his eyes. "She's dealing with pregnancy symptoms."
The room went completely silent.
Jun stared at him.
Wei stared back.
"What?"
"Pregnancy symptoms."
"As in… pregnant?"
"Yes, Jun. Pregnant."
Jun's eyebrows shot up so fast they nearly left his face. "Wei, have you been drinking? Did you hit your head? Should I call the doctor back?"
Wei didn't blink.
Jun kept staring. Waiting for the punchline. For Wei to crack a smile, to laugh, to say he was joking.
But Wei just sat there, looking exhausted and really serious.
"Oh my God." Jun sat back down hard. "You're serious."
"Yes."
"Mei is pregnant."
"Yes."
"With your baby."
"Whose else would it be?"
"I…" Jun ran a hand through his hair. "How is she pregnant? She just got here. I mean, I know HOW, obviously, but…wait." His eyes went wide. "Have you two been sleeping together this whole time? How did I not notice?"
Wei grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head.
Jun caught it, laughing. "I'm serious! You act like you barely tolerate each other in public!"
"Jun…"
"Does the family know?"
"No yet."
"Does your mother know?"
Wei's silence was answer enough.
Jun let out a low whistle. "Oh man. When she finds out…"
"She's not going to."
"Wei, you can't hide a pregnancy."
"Not yet." Wei's voice was firm. "I'll tell her when the time is right."
Jun looked at him for a long moment. Then something shifted in his expression. Something softer.
"Hey." His voice dropped the teasing. "Congratulations, man. I mean it."
Wei blinked.
"You're going to be a dad. That's… that's huge." Jun smiled, and for once it wasn't mocking. "I'm happy for you. Both of you."
Something in Wei's chest loosened.
"Thanks."
"Even if you didn't tell me about the wedding."
"Jun, there was no wedding."
"Or introduce me to Mei properly."
"I'm going to throw you out."
Jun laughed and stood up, heading for the door. "I still need details though. Like, when did this happen? How far along is she? Are you freaking out? Because you look like you're freaking out…"
Wei stood.
Jun bolted. "Okay, okay! I'm leaving!"
He pulled the door open, still grinning, and nearly crashed into…
Nothing. The hallway was empty.
But Jun could've sworn he heard footsteps running away.
He shrugged and headed toward Mei's room.
Fang Hua's hand was still on her chest.
She stood in her room now, door locked, back pressed against the wood.
Her heart hammered so hard she could feel it in her throat.
Pregnant.
Mei was pregnant.
She'd been on her way to see Wei, to try one more time to remind him that she existed, that she'd always been there, that she understood him better than some nobody he'd married on a whim.
And then she'd heard voices.
Jun's laugh.
Wei's voice, quieter, saying: "She's dealing with pregnancy symptoms."
Fang Hua had frozen in the hallway.
Pregnancy symptoms.
The words kept repeating in her head.
This changed everything.
A baby meant Mei wasn't going anywhere. A baby meant Wei would protect her, prioritize her, maybe even…
Fang Hua's hands curled into fists.
No.
No, she'd worked too hard, waited too long. She wasn't going to lose Wei to some girl who got lucky.
There had to be a way to fix this.
There had to be.
Her mind raced, spinning through possibilities, plans, ways to make this work in her favor.
A baby.
Wei was going to have a baby.
With her.
Fang Hua's breath came faster.
She needed to think. Needed to be smart about this.
But all she could feel was the panic clawing its way up her throat.
Meanwhile, Jun walked down the hallway toward Mei's room, still processing.
Wei was going to be a dad.
His serious, grumpy, workaholic cousin was going to have a kid.
Jun shook his head, smiling to himself.
He should probably bring Mei some…
CRASH.
One second he was walking.
The next he was on the floor.
Food was everywhere. Soup soaked into his shirt. Rice stuck to his arm. Vegetables scattered across the marble like confetti.
He looked up.
Xiaolan looked down.
Her eyes were wide. Her hair had come loose from its bun. There was soup on her cheek.
For a second, just a second, the world went quiet.
Jun noticed she had freckles. Just a few, across her nose.
He'd never noticed that before.
Xiaolan blinked.
Reality snapped back.
They both scrambled to their feet.
"Watch where you're going!" Xiaolan's face flushed red.
"ME?" Jun stared at her. "You ran into ME!"
"I was carrying food!"
"Then maybe carry it with your eyes OPEN!"
"Maybe don't walk around corners like you own the place!"
"I DO own the place! Well, my family does!"
"Oh, so that makes it okay to just barrel through hallways?"
"I wasn't barreling! I was WALKING! Maybe learn how to balance a tray!"
"Maybe learn how to WALK!"
They stood there, both covered in soup and rice and indignation, voices rising.
"This is your fault!" Xiaolan bent down, trying to salvage the tray.
"My fault?" Jun crouched too, grabbing at scattered vegetables. "You're the one who…"
Their hands brushed.
They both froze.
Xiaolan yanked her hand back like she'd been burned. "Just…just go!"
"I'm trying to help!"
"I don't need your help!"
"Clearly you do, because you can't even walk in a straight line!"
"Get out of my way!"
"You get out of MY way!"
Down the hall, a door opened.
Mei's voice, tired and quiet: "What's going on out here?"
Jun and Xiaolan both looked up.
Mei stood in her doorway, hand on the frame, looking exhausted and confused.
Jun straightened immediately. "Nothing! Just, nothing. How are you feeling?"
Xiaolan shot him a look.
Mei's eyes moved from Jun to Xiaolan to the food splattered everywhere.
"I'm fine," she said slowly. "Are you two…?"
"We're fine!" they said in unison.
Then glared at each other.
Mei looked like she wanted to say something else, but a wave of nausea must've hit because she turned pale and retreated back into her room.
The door clicked shut.
Jun and Xiaolan stood in the mess.
"This is your fault," Xiaolan muttered, picking up the tray.
"You already said that."
"Do you have any idea how much effort I put into this?" she snapped, staring at the mess on her dress. "I even asked the chef to stay behind just so I could prepare it fresh. And now you walk straight into me and ruin everything."
Jun watched her gather the dishes, soup dripping from the tray.
"I'll get someone to clean this up," he said finally.
"I can do it myself."
"You're covered in food."
"It's none of your business."
Xiaolan stood, holding the ruined tray, and gave him a look that could've curdled milk.
Then she walked away.
Jun stood there in the hallway, covered in soup, watching her go.
He looked down at the mess.
Then back at where she'd disappeared.
"Crazy woman," he muttered.
But he was smiling.