Imperfect Desires

When Su Xixi's initial shock was over, she looked at Xiu strangely and asked, "How far along are you?" Xiu held up her hand showing her five fingers. "Five weeks?" questioned Su Xixi.

Xiu looked at Xin Zimen, "Ah-Xin, add a finger." Xin Zimen rolled his eyes at her but still held up a finger to make it 6 as she added, "It's 6 weeks almost."

Su Xixi looked at their teamwork for a moment in a daze before pointing out, "Isn't it too early to tell the gender? The embryo is barely about 4-5mm long at this stage. A very basic beating heart and the circulatory system develop during this week. You really can't figure out the gender."

"Are you a doctor?" asked Xiu.

Su Xixi shook her head, "No, but I also gave birth to a daughter." She took a pause before adding, "That's why I know that the earliest you can find the gender of the baby is around week 14 and mostly that's not very accurate. That's why doctors schedule an ultrasound at week 18 to week 21."

Xiu stared at her for a long while before saying, "She knows it all."

"Yeah. Because she's miss know-it-all," replied Xin Zimen. "Xixi, you don't have to go so deep into it. My little lass just believes that it's gonna be a boy because she dreamed about it. You have a problem with that?" Su Xixi opened her mouth but he cut her off by adding, "Keep it to yourself. Your opinion is not needed here."

Su Xixi squinted her eyes at him before saying, "I have no opinion, Zimen. And you know that as well." She turned to Xiu and added, "If you really believe it's a boy, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Xiu smirked at her in reply saying, "I have my ways to convince everyone." Su Xixi's brows raised slightly as Xiu added, "I have learned my deadly charm in this life. Apparently, I can make anyone agree to whatever I want."

"That sounds like a very deadly charm indeed," said Su Xixi as she looked at Xiu in amusement.

Xin Zimen told Xiu to wait there as he was going to get something. But before going he warned Su Xixi to not speak any kind of nonsense before Xiu.

"How long are you staying for?" asked Xiu. Su Xixi frowned in confusion and Xiu elaborated, "Hopefully, you're staying for a while. Ying Jie would like that a lot."

"And how do you know she'd like that?" questioned Su Xixi with interest.

"Because I know Ying Jie," answered Xiu. 

"I don't think you've known her for that long to know her that well," Su Xixi remarked.

"People say it takes a moment to fall in love," began Xiu. "Then how is the same moment not enough to know someone?"

Su Xixi's lips curved up slightly, "That brings me to the conclusion that you're nothing like your parents." She could see it almost instantly that Xiu's demeanor was nothing like either Xin Zemin or Zhao Huan. One could say it was because she didn't grow up with them but she couldn't find any similarity between the girl before her and the Carina Novell she was familiar with.

"Huh?" Xiu looked confused.

"Nevermind," Su Xixi waved it off offhandedly. "You're pretty close to Zimen."

"Yes, I am!" Xiu didn't bother denying it. There was no point in doing so anyway. "Why wouldn't I be? He is the best!"

"I haven't heard someone calling him 'the best' in a very long time now," said Su Xixi as she sighed out.

Xiu looked at her curiously, "Who used to call him 'the best'? His wife?"

Su Xixi shook her head, "His daughter did. I believe you've heard about her?"

"Xiulin," said Xiu, and Su Xixi nodded. "I've heard a little."

"The very first sentence, she ever said was... 'Ah-Xin is the best.' As for where she learned it from, no one could figure it out. But once she learned it, she used to run around the house, shouting the same thing over and over again." Su Xixi chuckled at the memory. 

"She used to call him 'Ah-Xin' as well?" questioned Xiu feeling a strange discomfort in her heart all of a sudden.

"Hmm..." Su Xixi hummed in reply. "Just like her mother, she also learned to call him 'Ah-Xin.'"

"You must have really loved her as well," Xiu commented looking at her. "Since the moment you started talking about her, you had been smiling unconsciously."

Su Xixi touched her face before saying, "Who didn't love her? She was the most hyperactive kid I came across in my life. When she learned to walk, she despised people picking her up like a kid but whenever her Ah-Xin was around, our princess wouldn't even want to step foot on the ground. Not like her father would ever let her." 

"What was she like?" asked Xiu. 

"She was..." Su Xixi thought about it for a long while as her eyes lingered on Xiu's face and eventually, she said, "She was just like you."

"What?" Xiu was taken aback.

"The way you held Zimen's little finger earlier, she also used to do whenever she wanted him to get her something." Xiu's face stiffened as she heard her. "And just like how he seems to fall for whatever you say, he used to fall for whatever she said as well. And just like before he warned me not to say any weird thing to you, he used to warn me back then to not teach anything weird to his precious daughter. So, I must say... I just had a deja vu moment seeing you with him."

Xiu was silent even now. She didn't know what to say or what to think at that time. 

"What did she look like?" 

Su Xixi frowned at her, "You haven't seen her photo?" Xiu shook her head. "That's strange. If Zimen is close to someone, the first thing he'd do is bring out the picture of his daughter to brag. Even if she is gone, his habit is still the same."

"I really haven't seen it though," told Xiu honestly. 

"Just take Zimen's wallet, you'd instantly find her picture," said Su Xixi.

"What are you telling her?" came Xin Zimen's voice who came back with a tray full of cupcakes. There were at least, 12 different flavors.

Xiu stared at him, "How did you get it so fast?"

"As if it was a difficult task for Xin Zimen," Su Xixi chimed in before she extended her hand to take a cupcake but her hand was swatted away by Xin Zimen who glared at her.

"It isn't for you," he said sternly.

Su Xixi gaped at him, "Zimen, I'm the guest here. You shouldn't be treating me like this."

Xin Zimen snorted, "Your status of being a guest ended the day your best friend married me. Now, you're just a family member and I don't have a habit of giving preferential treatment to family members."

Su Xixi pointed at Xiu, "What about her? Isn't she a family member as well?"

"She is a daughter and daughters are in a league of their own. Don't you ever dare to compare!" He looked at Xiu and said, "Little lass, there is no need to share it with anyone. Eat as much as you like."

"Oh, can I take to my room?" asked Xiu with a smile.

"Let me take you there," offered Xin Zimen.

"No, there is no need. Don't make me feel useless now," said Xiu. "I can at least use the controller to get back to the room."

"But how will you take the cupcakes?" he asked.

Xiu patted her lap, "Just place it here."

Xin Zimen nodded and placed the tray on her lap. She smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Ah-Xin! As always, you're simply awesome! Now, I'm gonna go." She maneuvered her wheelchair and steadily went towards her room.

Watching her leave, Su Xixi said, "You're very close to her."

"I am," agreed Xin Zimen. "Don't ask why like everyone else did."

Su Xixi smiled at him, "Oh, I don't have to ask to know. I can already tell she crawled her way into your heart before you could even notice it."

Xin Zimen looked at her strangely, "I still hate you for being able to see through people like that."

Su Xixi took a deep breath, "She doesn't know who attacked her or why?"

Xin Zimen paused because of how abruptly she changed the direction of the conversation. "No, she doesn't know anything about the attack either."

Su Xixi smirked at him, "I like it when you're wrong."

"What do you mean?" asked Xin Zimen.

"That girl is very insightful," said Su Xixi. "Those clear eyes of hers aren't like someone who is confused. She seems very clear about what is going on around her. However, the mask of a smile on her face is making it very easy for her to hide her true self."