Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Mom’s expression shifted slightly.
For thousands of years, we had hidden our true identities and lived with the utmost caution. Otherwise, we might have been beaten to death as monsters – or refined into immortality pills by emperors desperate to prolong their lives.
Unfortunately, technology and the internet were making it harder and harder to stay hidden.
I took the photo and, to everyone’s surprise, admitted it outright.
“The woman in this photo really is Mom.”
At those words, Zhao Qing’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Zhao Peng’s face darkened. “Qianqian, don’t joke around. How could anyone look exactly the same after forty years?”
“What are you two thinking?” I laughed.
“The woman in the photo is indeed my mom, but the picture itself has been Photoshopped. Look – the strands of hair still have jagged clipping marks around them. And commune uniforms from forty years ago didn’t look like this. The uniform was probably lifted from a movie or TV show. You used my mom’s photo to fake a story for clicks. Aren’t you afraid we’ll sue you?”
Before long, the commenter sheepishly deleted the comment.
“Sharp eyes. I saw this beautiful woman while traveling a while back and secretly snapped a picture. It was only a joke.”
Zhao Qing still refused to let it go. “No, something about this place really isn’t right…”
“Shut the hell up!” Old Man Zhao finally lost his temper and snarled, “If you’re going to keep acting paranoid and embarrassing us, get lost! Don’t let the in-laws laugh at us!”
Zhao Qing’s face turned scarlet. He pressed his lips together resentfully.
That evening, Mom prepared an entire table laden with fine food and wine, but Zhao Qing didn’t touch a single bite.
After a few drinks, Zhao Peng was completely plastered. In high spirits, he slung one arm around me and the other around Mom, his hands roaming freely as he enjoyed having a beauty on either side.
“Mom, I’ll start calling you Mom from now on, just like Qianqian does. I promise I’ll be a good, filial son and cherish you! I’ll take very good care of you~”
Mom happily agreed to everything. Then she mixed Mother-Child River Water into his wine and watched him drain the glass in one gulp.
We exchanged delighted smiles.
And just like that, the baby had been planted.
The three Zhao Family men were as happy as mice that had fallen into a vat of rice.
The village had liberal customs, and the women had gone without meat for far too long. When I found Zhao Peng, he was going at it in a patch of reeds. I heard the twin sisters ask him,
“Who’s better, Qianqian or us?”
Zhao Peng’s voice melted into his sweaty panting.
“You two, of course. She pretends to be all pure and innocent and won’t even let me touch her!”
“Such a sweet talker. Why don’t you stay here with us forever, then? Hee-hee.”
I was thoroughly disgusted. Zhao Peng, however, assumed I was secretly heartbroken. When he was done, he pulled up his pants and grinned shamelessly at me.
“What’s wrong, Qianqian? Jealous? A woman needs to learn to be more generous, or she’ll only make herself sick with anger.”
Once he had gone, I irritably poked both girls on the forehead.
“Don’t you know he only just got pregnant? The fetus hasn’t stabilized yet, and it’s his first pregnancy. It’ll be a real mess if anything goes wrong.”
They giggled. “We were only satisfying a craving. We didn’t really put him through his paces. Don’t worry, sis. The fetus is in a perfect position. He’ll start showing soon.”
Sure enough, the moment Zhao Peng returned, he began complaining that he was hungry. He single-handedly devoured every scrap of food in my house, yet still didn’t feel the least bit full.
Once there was nothing left at home, he barged straight into the neighbor’s house, opened their refrigerator, and began wolfing down everything inside.
First the cooked food, then the vegetables, and finally the fresh meat dripping with blood!
The neighbor wasn’t angry. After all, who in the village hadn’t seen a pregnant man before?
Might as well indulge him!
Over the course of a single midday, Zhao Peng swelled up like a balloon. Thinking he’d eaten something bad, he groaned in agony, “Qianqian, my stomach hurts so much I can’t take it! Tell my dad to get the car. I need to go to the hospital right now!”
The abs he had once been so proud of were completely gone, replaced by a swollen mound of soft flesh.
“Does it hurt here?” I placed a hand on his belly, savoring the wonderful movement of the fetus inside.
His entire body jolted as though he’d been electrocuted, and he couldn’t suppress a howl.
“Yes, yes, right there! I-I think something’s moving inside my stomach. What is it? Don’t tell me I have a parasite!”
“It’s nothing.” I congratulated him from the bottom of my heart.
“You’re just pregnant.”