Imperfect Desires

Earlier in the day...

Seeing Xiu's unusual nonchalance, Xin Zimen couldn't help re-evaluating what he knew about her. Because earlier he could tell that the sudden news of pregnancy evoked some emotional changes in her but now she was back to being the happy go, lucky person.

"You don't look like someone who was just upset about losing her freedom."

Xiu could hear the undertone implication of his sentence and could even tell why he emphasized on 'freedom'. But she was the person who was easily able to follow the flow of life. At least, that's something she learned from her experiences. Being headstrong or denying the truth won't get her anywhere.

"What else am I supposed to act like?" she wondered. "It's not I can do anything about this. Denial is useless. So, acceptance is the best route for me."

He chuckled heartily, "I wish my wife had this kind of acceptance as well."

"Huh? Why did you say that?" 

Xin Zimen contemplated for a minute before he said, "You know the news of first pregnancy was a huge shock to not just to my wife but to me as well. We were both in college at that time. And it happened just after a year of our marriage."

Xiu curiously asked, "How did she take the news?"

He pursed his lips before replying, "She fainted."

"Huh?" she stared at him dumbfoundedly.

He nodded his head as he said, "She literally just fainted after learning about it."

*Flashback*

He could still recall it very clearly. He had just come out of a lecture when his friend told him that Wen Ai suddenly fainted and was taken to the infirmary. He ran over to see her and found her lying down on the bed with her eyes closed. 

"What happened?" he tried to shake her awake and noticed that she was holding a paper in her hand tightly. He tried to take it out of her hand but even in her unconscious state, she refused to let go. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the people gathered around. Since his wife was quite famous, she had so many friends that it was hard to keep track of and now, everyone was gathered here.

He had pushed them all out before he locked the door and said, "They are gone. Stop pretending now."

It didn't even take a minute before she sat up and glared at him. Finding her gaze strange he asked, "Why did you fake it?"

"I didn't fake it, at first. But when they brought me here, I was already awake. Just didn't want to open my eyes."

"Why not?" he wondered. "Embarrassed? But that can't be right." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "A person like you know nothing about embarrassment."

She took a deep breath and shoved the report in her hand at his face, "If it isn't because of you why would I want to faint and escape the reality?!"

Even though he was confused, he took the report and read it. At first, the 'Pregnancy Report' caught his eyes, and then that bright 'Positive' made his eyes widen in surprise. He stared at the report and then at her face.

"Is this real?" his voice was very soft as if like a whisper.

Wen Ai crooked her head saying, "Oh, no no. It's my new fetish to pretend to be pregnant!"

"That's alright then," he pretended to go along with her sarcasm.

She gnashed her teeth and threw the pillow at his face which he avoided easily. "Is this something to joke about?!" She exclaimed.

"You started it," he replied calmly and came to sit beside her.

"But this is all your fault!" she still stubbornly put the blame on him.

Shaking his head he muttered, "Pot calling the kettle black."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing at all." 

"I heard you."

"Then why are you even asking what I said?"

He looked at the side of her face carefully before voicing out, "I know this is not something we both expected but we can't do anything about it now."

"I know that," she replied.

"If you know that then what's the problem?" he asked patiently. With her as his wife, he had to have patience because dealing with her was not as easy as it seemed. Although she was very easy-going, only he knew how difficult she'd become at times. And let's not forget her temper that was completely beyond anyone's understanding.

"The problem is that..." she sighed helplessly, "I didn't want to lose my freedom so soon."

His lips twitched at her reply as he said, "You really make me question your sanity."

"It's good that I have no questions about your sanity because I know it doesn't even exist. Hehe..." Seeing how silent he was in reply, she didn't feel like joking. She slid closer to him and held his arm saying, "Zi, what are we gonna do?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing. We are just gonna be parents. What else?"

She scratched her ear before saying, "But my freedom..."

Her pitiful eyes made him soften up as he patted her head and said, "You'd still be as free as you're now."

Her eyes brightened as she asked, "Then my only job is giving birth, right? Because you'd be raising the kid, right?"

Xin Zimen squinted his eyes at her. "You just wanted to trap me. Didn't you?" As she grinned in reply, he was left helplessly sighing at her. "I can't believe I always end up saying exactly what you want to hear."

"That's also a talent. You can't have that talent."

"I don't want it either."

*End of Flashback*

At that time, they both really didn't take the news as casually as Xiu was doing. But they both were trying to be each other's support so neither of them showed it. It was different for Xiu who was all on her own and acted so maturely. The more he saw this side of hers, the more he found her admirable.