When he found out about this, he was so angry that he smashed a mug on the ground. He did not why he was even continuing to live in this place. 

During this time, his life had not been going so well. Thus, one day, he had suddenly thought of Lin Chu's younger sister. He knew about the matter between Xu Jiaojiao and Cheng Ziming, so he decided to go for Xu Jiaojiao.

However, he did not expect to fail so spectacularly.

He returned home in annoyance. He quickly poured himself a small gla.s.s of vodka out of frustration and started brainstorming on how to bounce back from this. At this moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Lu Zhenghang impatiently looked at the door. As he stared at it, the doorbell did not stop ringing while even his phone began ringing at the same time. He was confused as he picked up his phone, only to see that the call was from Lu Weining.

Lu Zhenghang pursed his lips and lazily picked up the call, "What's up?"

"Open the door. I saw that the lights in your house are on." Lu Weining also said impatiently over the phone.

Lu Zhenghang raised his eyebrows and teased, "So you're the one pressing my doorbell outside?"

"Why don't you quickly open the door since you've already heard it?!" Lu Weining replied annoyingly. 

Lu Zhenghang exhaled a loud sigh. Only then did he reluctantly get up to open the door.

Lu Weining was waiting outside when he suddenly saw Lu Zhenghang opening the door. She pushed him away in annoyance and walked in, "Why didn't you tell me that you moved here?"

If she knew about it before, then she would have looked for him sooner. Since Yan Beicheng stayed here, she would have immediately moved in with Lu Zhenghang. It would be perfectly acceptable for her to approach Yan Beicheng under the guise of being a friendly neighbor.

Lu Zhenghang glared at her without greeting her. He lifted the gla.s.s of vodka, drank a mouthful of it, then sneered at her. "Why would I want to tell you? So that you can move in?"

"Why not?" Lu Weining walked toward the sofa without asking for permission before flopping down on top of it. "Aren't you the one who finds it disgusting to look at Yan Beicheng and is always out to make him feel uneasy? It just so happens that I feel uncomfortable looking at Lin Chu. If Lin Chu is unhappy, Yan Beicheng will be unhappy. I'd also be benefitting you to a certain degree if I move in here."

"The reason why you came over in such a hurry is so that you could go up and look for Yan Beicheng?" Lu Zhenghang swirled around the alcohol inside his cup as he looked at her coldly. 

Lu Weining did not reply. It was obvious that she was tacitly agreeing.

The corner of Lu Zhenghang's lips curled upward when he confirmed her intentions. "You're too late. Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu moved out long ago."

"What?!" Lu Weining abruptly stood up. "Where did they move to?"

"I don't know." Lu Zhenghang placed the cup heavily on the coffee table. "It's pointless for you to come here since they no longer live here anymore. Hurry up and leave."

Lu Weining slowly stood up, then dashed out the door and used the elevator to go up. Upon reaching the entrance to Yan Beicheng's house, she began repeatedly pressing the doorbell.

However, after a while, it became clear that no one inside was going to open the door for her even if she pressed the doorbell so hard that it exploded.

…

Soon, Lin Chu completed her third full month of pregnancy. However, contrary to what was expected, Yan Beicheng was not the most excited person about this – it was Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan. They reveled at their newfound freedom since they no longer had to restrain themselves nor tremble at the possibility that something bad would happen to Lin Chu's tummy if they accidentally let something slip out. 

Old Lady Yan had even placed a calendar at the headboard. She would mark it with a circle every day, counting down the days to the three-month anniversary of Lin Chu's pregnancy. 

Although her granddaughter-in-law was, by now, visibly pregnant, she could not go out and flaunt it. It had been stifling for her to sit at home and keep her mouth shut over the past month. 

Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu got off from work and returned home that day, but were surprised not to be greeted by the sound of Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan bickering upon entering the house. The two of them were not used to how quiet the house was at all. 

Yan Beicheng had even told her the previous night that they would soon look for a day to move to Sheng Town since she was now three months pregnant and had stabilized. The villa had already been prepared and was in move-in condition whilst even the smell of construction was all but completely gone. 

Lin Chu could not help but think about how different things would be with just her, Yan Beicheng, Aunt Zhuang and Chu Xi in the house. It would be too quiet once they moved to Sheng Town.

Meanwhile, Aunt Zhuang and Aunt Chen were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Aunt Chen came out and saw that the two of them had returned, so she quickly wiped her wet hands on her ap.r.o.n before saying, "Young Master and Young Lady have just returned. I'll make a phone call to Old Master and Old Lady to ask them to come back to eat."

The pair nodded, then sat down nearby. After this, Yan Beicheng changed into his slippers. However, just as Lin Chu was about to kneel down and change her shoes, Yan Beicheng stopped her. "Don't bend down." 

After he finished talking, he squatted down soon to untie Lin Chu's shoelaces. Then, he held the shoes down so that she would be able to slip them off before helping her put on the slippers.

Lin Chu was rather embarra.s.sed as Aunt Chen was still looking on from beside them. 

Though they had been living here for quite a long time, Aunt Chen often witnessed how Yan Beicheng would take care of Lin Chu. She often tormented Yan Beicheng because of her appet.i.te, with the event most commonly taking place in the middle of the night. 

However, having a masculine man kneel down in front of her and lower his status in such a manner only served to make Lin Chu feel simultaneously touched yet apologetic to Yan Beicheng. This was especially so with Aunt Chen around.

Since Aunt Chen had served at the Family Mansion for many years, she could almost be considered as Yan Beicheng's pseudo-elder. Thus, she did not know if Aunt Chen would think that the two of them were too much, or whether she was being too willful with the man.

What she did not know was that Aunt Chen and Aunt Zhuang weren't only ones aware of her antics toward Yan Beicheng, Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan knew about them as well. Nevertheless, Lin Chu thought that she was being very secretive about the whole affair and that she had helped preserve Yan Beicheng's dignity in doing so.

Now, when she turned to look at Aunt Chen, she saw that Aunt Chen had already raised her head and was staring at the ceiling, pretending as though she had not seen a thing.

Feeling Lin Chu's embarra.s.sed and awkward gaze on her, Aunt Chen chuckled. "The ceiling seems to be slightly dirty. I wonder why my vision is blurry? I seem to be seeing black dots!"

Lin Chu, "…"

Yan Beicheng straightened his back and asked Aunt Chen, "Where is Old Master and Old Lady?"

"…" Aunt Chen had a strange expression on her face as she slowly replied, "Isn't today the third-month anniversary of Lin Chu's pregnancy? Old Master and Old Lady had struggling to keep it in for so long that the two elders rushed out right after you two left to go to work this morning."

Yan Beicheng, "…"

Lin Chu, "…"

"Old Master went fis.h.i.+ng first. He went there and simply squatted, waited for his old buddies for nearly the entire morning, then bragged about Lin Chu's pregnancy. He returned carrying a bucket afterward." Aunt Chen said, "I feel like a person's luck changes when a joyous incident occurs. In the past, Old Master could never catch any fish when he went fis.h.i.+ng, but this time he returned with a very big catch in tow."

Aunt Chen motioned with her hands to show them the size of the fish. If Old Master Yan's fis.h.i.+ng buddies found out about it, they would no doubt say in disdain, "Bah! He went to the market and bought it at the last moment! I bet he even took the trouble to insist on buying one that wasn't too big or too small so that it would seem realistic and let people believe that he had caught it himself. He's simply too naive! Too young! Too naive!"

"On the other hand, Old Lady made a special visit to the Wei family, and then to the Qi family, spending an hour in each house. She's so impartial that she subsequently went to the Han family, Wei family, Chu family, and Zhao family. She even went to the Qi family! Old Lady only returned right before you two got back. Old Master still didn't know about this; he's gone to the lakeside as is busy handing out wedding candies to people now. He said that he'll make proper phone calls to the other families and have a heart-to-heart chat with the Old Masters when he returns tonight." When Aunt Chen thought about Old Master's smug look, she sighed to herself. What a handful.

If anyone told Old Master that Old Lady had already shown off in advance while he was gone, who knew how much shock he would be in.

Yan Beicheng, "…"

Lin Chu, "…"

She was getting pregnant, not married. Why did he give wedding candies? 

"Then where did Old Lady go now?" Yan Beicheng asked as his face twitched. 

Aunt Chen replied whilst looking very sorry, "She brought Chu Xi to the Nan family next door. She's now chatting with Old Lady Nan!"

She felt sorry for Old Lady Nan, who had somehow got grouped up with the world's best neighbors despite doing nothing wrong. It must be true love that she could persevere until now and not move somewhere else. 

Old Lady had become down-right deranged. Not only was she incessantly bragging about her great-grandson who was not even born yet, but she had also taken the foster great-grandaughter, Chu Xi, out to show off. 

Before Lin Chu's third month of pregnancy, Old Lady Yan had held back with all her might. 

Old ladies in groups of three or four could be seen in the courtyard as they brought their grandsons and granddaughters outside to play. Some were already two or three years old as they walked about nimbly; others were about one year old and could not really walk well, so they simply sat inside their strollers peacefully. There were also children who were just a few months old being held in their grandmothers' arms.

They had gathered into groups, as they chatted and shared interesting stories about their children's antics. 

An old lady said happily, "Goodness me, look at your child, he has a very good-looking face. How is his nose so straight?"

At that moment, Old Lady Yan was ready to risk it all, including her lower back. She carried the chubby Chu Xi up, who was already 28 kilograms, and went to speak to the old ladies, "Look at our Chu Xi. Its mouth is powerful, and its nose is so sharp. It can detect the smell of something from very far away. Take a look at its eyes, look at how bright they are."

The crowd of old ladies, "…"

Henceforth, whenever an old lady who brought their grandsons or granddaughters out to play saw the silhouette of Old Lady Yan walking Chu Xi from a distance, they would turn around with their grandchild in tow and return home without saying a word. 

Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu did not know about this. Even Chu Xi, who was often involved, was not treated with fondness whenever it went out for walks. Hence, it preferred staying at home and sleeping soundly. 

There was once when Lin Chu had asked Yan Beicheng, "Is Chu Xi sick? Why is it not very energetic?"

Chu Xi whined, "Ao wu!"

The poor baby was suffering!

"Old Master mentioned when he returned in the afternoon that he doesn't have time today. So, he said he'll make a schedule tonight and go from house to house to make his rounds tomorrow according to the schedule. The first one he has planned seems to be Old Master Nan. Apart from giving out wedding candies, Old Master went to the lakeside earlier today to incidentally inquire about when Old Master Nan will be at home."

Yan Beicheng, "…"

"…" The corner of Lin Chu's lips twitched. "Grandfather is truly… truly doing his best!"

Aunt Chen smiled at her awkwardly. "Exactly!"

Even Yan Beicheng felt sorry for the Nan family and reminded Aunt Chen, "It's better to give the two elders a call first. Ask them to come back and have a meal."

After eating, they would have more energy to continue their visits, no?

Aunt Chen almost forgot about this and nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes. I'll ask them to come back immediately.

…

Nan family.

Old Lady Nan sat on the sofa and was getting so angry that she began sweating all over. This was despite it being late autumn, almost winter! She felt the beads of sweat racing down the side of her face and had the sister-in-law at home help her look for a fan. With a contorted expression, she sighed to herself at the fact that she could not kick Old Lady Yan out! 

"Hey, I know that the two of us are so close, so I originally should've immediately told you about such a good occasion. However, you know it's bad luck to tell people outside the family before the third month of pregnancy. So, I restrained myself from speaking of it and had a very hard time holding myself back. I hope you aren't offended." Old Lady Yan beamed and said happily, like she was bathed in the spring breeze. Her expression was one of absolute warmth.

Old Lady Nan, "…" 

"Do you remember when I was previously sitting at the doorway to the courtyard and drinking tea with my Old Yan? You even asked me before why was I so happy, right? Though I didn't directly tell you, I did give you a hint. However, the fact that you didn't figure it out saddens me. Where's the subtle connection we share as friends of many years?" Old Lady Yan sipped the tea she was holding, moistening her mouth.

Old Lady Nan, "…" It had been fed to the dog!

Old Lady Nan shot a glance at the chubby Chu Xi who was scratching himself by Old Lady Yan's feet.

Chu Xi suddenly quivered and stuck its tongue out as it looked at Old Lady Nan with an innocent and muddled face.

"Actually, I came and tell you about it the second the ban was lifted today." Old Lady Yan said, "Lin Chu's bodily response to getting pregnant is pretty unique - she loves to eat sour food. She loves to eat pickled cuc.u.mber with vinegar whereby half a bottle of vinegar can be doused over the plate of cuc.u.mbers. I'm happy as long as she is eating, regardless of how weird her cravings are. You'll experience it when your granddaughter-in-law gets pregnant in the future. Eh, sorry. You don't even have a granddaughter-in-law yet. What exactly is going on with Jingheng? He needs to hurry up! Why are you still not helping him look for a wife to get married to?"

Old Lady Nan, "…"

She really wanted to relocate!

At this moment, a pa.s.sionate and high-spirited voice could be heard calling out from the doorway, "Grandma, your well-behaved grandson has returned!"

Subsequently, Nan Jingheng was seen running into the house before running beside Old Lady Nan and hugging her for a brief moment. However, Old Lady Nan did not smile or stroke his head and say, "Clever grandson, you've worked hard today," like she usually did.

Nan Jingheng was extremely surprised and baffled when he was pushed away by Old Lady Nan in a heartless manner.

Nan Jingheng's mouth hung wide open in shock; his heart was wounded badly. Once he turned his head, he saw Old Lady Yan beaming whilst sitting opposite them.

The more they spoke, the colder Old Lady Nan's expression became whereas the kinder and more amiable Old Lady Yan's smile got. 

Nan Jingheng, "…"

What did Old Lady Yan tell his grandma this time?!

This old lady was simply too evil!

"Grandmother Yan, you're here as well?" Nan Jingheng's face broke out into a cold sweat as a bad premonition brewed in his heart. He secretly counted the months with his fingers as he started breaking out into a cold sweat. His face looked increasingly confused as well. 

When Old Lady Nan looked at her grandson, who shared the same chubby appearance as Chu Xi's, her heart sank.

"I'm here, I'm here." Old Lady Yan nodded and grinned so warmly that her eyes turned into slits., "You already know about the happy occasion regarding your Brother Cheng and sister-in-law, right?"

Nan Jingheng, "…"

He felt that Old Lady Yan was too evil! How could she set such a cruel trap for young people like this!

If he said that he knew about it, then it meant that he had known about Lin Chu being pregnant earlier but had hidden the matter and kept Old Lady Nan in the dark. Old Lady Yan was calling him out such that he was doomed regardless of his answer. Once Old Lady Yan left, he… he would get beaten for sure!

However, if he said he was unaware, Old Lady Yan would seize the opportunity to repeat the story again. Then, he… he would still get beaten!

Nan Jingheng weighed the two options and made a judgment call. His big eyes twinkled with confusion and ignorance as he looked up and asked innocently, "What…what happy occasion?"

Old Lady Yan exclaimed in surprise, "You didn't know? Your sister-in-law has been pregnant for three full months today!"

Then, Old Lady Yan started repeating everything from the beginning. 

Old Lady Nan, "…"

"Look at the time! Beicheng and Lin Chu must have already returned home, right?" Old Lady Nan gnashed her teeth and pointed at the cuckoo clock that had been brought back from Germany hanging on her wall. 

No wonder Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu had recently returned to live here!

Old Lady Nan glanced angrily at Nan Jingheng. 

Pretending again, huh? I do not believe that you were unaware!

"I've already told Xiao Chen to give me a call when they return. In any case, I feel better being able to talk to you here." Old Lady Yan chuckled. From Old Lady Nan's point of view, she was being intentionally stubborn!

Just as Old Lady Yan was about to speak again, Aunt Chen's phone call came through. Old Lady Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

After Old Lady Yan hung up, she got up and said, "Alright, I ought to leave. Cheng'er and Lin Chu have returned. You don't need to keep me here anymore. I'm not staying, I'm not staying!"