Chapter 6: I’m Married
1264 Words
When she opened the door, it was a delivery guy in his uniform.
“Miss, this is your order.”
She hadn’t ordered anything. “Are you sure this is for me?”
The delivery guy repeated the building and unit number. “Please check if this is your address.”
Qiao Mo was puzzled. “It is definitely my address, but—”
Before she could finish, the delivery guy showed her a note on the order.
“Look, it’s from a Mr. Xiao.”
Mr. Xiao? Could it be Xiao Zheyan?
She remembered that he had wanted to make breakfast for her earlier. Maybe this delivery was his way of making up for the failed breakfast.
Her heart warmed as she took the food. No one had ever cared about her like this before.
But then she thought that they were strangers who only met once. Maybe she was overthinking it. Pregnant women do tend to get emotional, after all.
She checked the time and realized it was about time for her prenatal checkup. She couldn’t suffer—her baby couldn’t suffer.
Luckily, she still had the 50,000 yuan, so she could get by for a while. But she had to find a job soon—she couldn’t live off savings forever.
Qiao Mo made an appointment for her prenatal checkup the next day. After confirming it, she opened a job app and started searching for part-time work.
Being pregnant limited her options. She couldn’t take jobs that were too tiring, dirty, or far from home.
After browsing for a while, she found nothing suitable. Disappointed, she closed the app and decided to look up pregnancy tips to calm her anxious mind.
After a lot of reading, the main advice was clear: pregnant women must rest more, eat nutritious food, and keep a happy mindset.
She needed to find a job but had no savings and was stressed every day.
None of this fit the requirements for a healthy pregnancy, and the more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
If it weren’t for her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t have had this child or gone through all this trouble. Maybe life would have been better otherwise.
She couldn’t say she didn’t regret it—but it was too late to change anything. No matter what, she couldn’t give up on her own baby.
By noon, she had only a little leftover food from the morning delivery. She thought about heating it up just to fill her stomach.
Then she remembered pregnant women needed nutrition, and all she had at home were some noodles from yesterday and a little leftover greens—not much of a nutritious meal.
She glanced at her phone balance. Fifty thousand yuan wasn’t a small amount after all. Maybe she could go out and treat herself to a proper meal.
Putting on her shoes and grabbing the keys from the shoe rack, she prepared to leave.
Though the neighborhood was rundown, there were quite a few people on the streets during the day. After all, there were plenty of people like her—poor and struggling.
Walking past various shops, she saw hotpot places, spicy soup stalls, and BBQ stands—but none seemed suitable for a pregnant woman.
“Forget it, I’ll just cook at home.”
Qiao Mo bought some pork ribs at the supermarket, planning to make rib soup. Passing by a seafood market, she also picked up some live shrimp to boost her calcium.
Back home, she prepped the ingredients and cooked for an hour. Finally, the meal was ready.
Carrying the rib soup to the dining table, she couldn’t resist sniffing it—but the smell hit her suddenly—a strong oily, fishy scent.
She couldn’t hold it and rushed to the bathroom, clutching the toilet and vomiting violently, nearly throwing up her guts.
Could this be the infamous morning sickness? It was truly torturous.
The pork ribs she had painstakingly stewed—just one sniff, and now she had absolutely no appetite. Even looking at it made her stomach churn.
“What a waste,” Qiao Mo thought sadly. She found herself wishing Xiao Zheyan was here—he could have helped her finish it.
Only now did she realize they hadn’t even exchanged contact information. It felt like a missed opportunity.
Making friends with him seemed like a good idea; the more friends, the more options in life.
By midnight, Qiao Mo was starving. She made herself a bowl of instant noodles, added two sausages, and topped it with a fried egg.
Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, holding the noodle bowl, she turned on the TV.
Watching TV while eating instant noodles—that was the kind of life she deserved.
Forget about nutritious pregnancy meals; right now, filling her stomach was what mattered most. She couldn’t let herself or the baby starve.
After eating, she didn’t even wash the bowl. Sliding her slippers on, she went straight to bed.
Before sleeping, she scrolled through her phone until her eyes grew heavy and she could barely keep them open. Then she remembered her prenatal appointment the next day.
She set her alarm, tucked the phone under her pillow, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep.
At eight the next morning, the alarm woke her on time. Qiao Mo really didn’t want to get up and planned to linger in bed a bit longer.
Suddenly she remembered: if she missed her turn, she’d have to start the whole process over. Public hospitals were crowded—it was impossible to say how long the wait would be.
That thought finally gave her the motivation to get up. She tidied up quickly, skipped makeup, grabbed her canvas bag, and headed out.
At the hospital, she went to the registration desk to check in. The nurse told her, “The doctor you booked has an emergency surgery today. Would you like me to switch you to the chief doctor instead?”
Since Qiao Mo had only made a regular appointment to save money, she nodded immediately when offered the chance to see the chief.
“Of course, that’s fine.”
After getting her new number, the hospital announcement called her name. Looks like the chief doctor was free right now.
The nurse told her, “First room on the left—that’s the chief doctor’s consultation room.”
Holding her registration slip, Qiao Mo gently knocked on the door.
“Hello, may I come in?”
“Please.”
A very magnetic male voice replied. But that voice—why did it sound so familiar?
Without thinking, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Her eyes froze in place.
“Why is it you?”
No doubt about it—the doctor attending her was Xiao Zheyan, the very man who had just left her home yesterday.
Her first reaction was embarrassment. After all, he knew there was no man living in her house, and now she was pregnant. Anyone would jump to conclusions.
Xiao Zheyan was equally surprised. He was sure he was a gynecologist, so any patient entering here had to be pregnant.
“You’re pregnant?”
His brows furrowed, disbelief clear in his eyes. To him, Qiao Mo didn’t seem like someone who’d act recklessly.
Never mind whether she had a boyfriend—he couldn’t imagine her being the type to get pregnant out of wedlock.
Not wanting Xiao Zheyan to think badly of her, Qiao Mo had no choice but to confess.
“Actually, I’m already married.”
- Writer
