The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

She instinctively looked at both of the paintings for confirmation and the realization baffled her. It wasn't that she had not noticed herself gaining the slight weight around her tummy area but she had thought it was because she had temporarily dropped her workout routine.

"I did gain some weight…" The words felt wrong when she thought about it. Was there something else to it?

He was looking at her meaningfully. Her phone buzzed before he could state what was on her mind. She signalled for him to wait a minute and answered. The call was from Xiaoshi.

"Shishi!" She answered it jovially.

"Hey Lanni." Xiaoshi sounded embarrassed of whatever she was about to say.

Her tone reminded her. "How is Yue? I'll pick her up in about two hours."

"I could drop her off on my way to the airport. That's what I was going to say." She suggested.

It was a good idea so Lanni agreed. "See you soon, then."

When the call ended, she took one glance at her husband and it reminded her what they were about to discuss before the call happened.

"That…. Uh…" She rubbed her tummy and her eyes squinted. She didn't remember when she last had her period and it was regular most of the time. She hadn't even realized how late it had been. Her eyes widened and they met his.

He belatedly tried to hide his excitement.

She blinked and looked down at her belly for confirmation. "Honey, I think I might be pregnant."

"We should confirm it in hospital or with a test before jumping into conclusions." He cleared his throat and acted calm, but he had barely completed his statement when he broke into an uncontrollable dance.

"Woohoo!" He yelled and jumped, punching the air with his fists.

She burst into laughter at his excited theatrics. At least she was not the only one who was a little too excited about the unconfirmed news. Xiehan looked like he was about to whip out a pink notebook to write down girl names and a blue one for boy names.

"I'll order a test kit online." She grabbed her phone, but he beat her to it.

He had grabbed his car keys before she could process it and the next thing she knew, he was dashing out the door. She laughed and let him. Who could blame a man for being overjoyed at the possibility of a little one growing inside his wife's belly?

The only worry was that he might be too excited to follow traffic rules. The best outcome was getting tickets.

Luckily, there was a pharmacy nearby so he was back in just a few minutes. He had also dropped by the convenience store so although he had gone to buy a pregnancy test kit, his arms were full of different colored bags, all containing fruits, vegetables and snacks. When she checked, she almost laughed at the assortment. He had gathered at least one of the foods that were said to be good for pregnant women.

He was so adorable.

"Thank you so much, hubby." She kissed his cheek only to burst his bubble. "But what if you brought all of these and it turned out that I merely gained weight? What if I'm not pregnant?"

His face fell. "Can you not jinx it?" He joked, then turned serious when he cupped her face. "Honey, we are both excited about this and we know the news we are hoping for. But I need you to know that if it's not the case, although something will change, it will not be my feelings for you. Nothing will ever make me love you less. I can only love you more."

"You are so sweet." She hugged him emotionally, reassured because she knew that he meant it.

He hugged her for longer than usual and let go reluctantly, taking out the box containing the test kit. Seeing the nervousness on her face, he hugged her again to reassure her.

"You are not under any rush or pressure to take it. You can have the test when you are ready and if you are too uncomfortable to do so, you can leave it as well." He left the option to her.

"You are spoiling me too much." She purred.

His response was to smile and look at her as if trying to read what her choice would be.

After an intense mental debate, she decided to take the test. It was easy to ignore it but that would only make her assume that there was a baby growing inside her and if it ever turned out that there was none, her heart would break yet again. She gripped the test kit in her hands and took a deep breath. "I'm going to do this."

"Okay. I'll be here if you need me." He braced himself and rubbed his palms together as if that was going to generate some confidence. He had never felt so nervous in his life. Not when he participated in the contest whose winning would make his parents let him make his own decision about his career, not when he waited for the results to be announced. Not even when he proposed to her and waited for her response that was either the most important word or the death sentence.

He waited outside the bathroom door and it was barely a few seconds when he called her. "Honey, are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"Yes, I need you to shut your mouth and stop making me anxious." She called back.

He chuckled and stepped away, only to return after barely a minute. "Honey?"

Lanni laughed at his antics. He was impatient. She was just as impatient so she knew how it felt, but she needed him to calm down so she would calm down too—no matter how odd it sounded.

"My love, could you run me a bath in the guest bathroom, please? I need to take a bath after all this." She gave him a task so he would leave.

But before he did, the doorbell rang.

She breathed a sigh of relief and exited the bathroom just as he went to open the door. Shishi was here. She just had five minutes left before she could find out whether she was becoming a mother or preparing to start trying again, but it felt like the difference between the two was like life and death. It probably was. She couldn't bear the meaning of one strip.

She skipped past Xiehan, who tried to grab her and slow her down.

"Be careful." He called in a hoarse voice and surprisingly, he felt just as relieved by Xiaoshi's arrival as Lanni did.

As soon as the door opened, the little girl was the first to jump onto Xiehan. "Uncle!" She called adorably.

"Hello princess." He held her up above his head for a while, making the girl giggle. Then he brought her back for a hug and adjusted her hair clip that was sliding down her forehead. He then proceeded to kiss her cheeks and only gave her to Lanni after Yue reciprocated the gesture.

"You look so cute." Lanni complimented her outfit. She was wearing a purple princess dress and a matching hair clip that had a little star near her ear.

She kissed Lanni's cheek in response, and the latter melted.

It was odd but she felt closer to Yue today. Maybe it was because it had been more than a day since they last saw, or because she had finally pinned the pieces of her life back in place? She had no idea but she hugged Yue tightly.

"I guess I should take off? I'm sorry but I can't stay for too long." She apologized, her face slightly flushing as she explained that Xichen would arrive soon.

"Go ahead. Yue is in good hands." Lanni urged.

"I never doubted that." Xiaoshi gave the overnight bag she had carried for Yue to Lanni, and waved at her daughter. Alas, the latter had already run off to play with her uncle and was too busy to see her mother. Xiaoshi smiled dotingly and left.

It was only after Xiaoshi left and she settled down that she remembered her test kit. Her eyes bulged and she made a beeline for the bathroom.

Xiehan knew she was finally ready to check. He had tried not to push her but now that she had remembered it on her own, he couldn't help going after her.

But when she left the bathroom in tears, he shut his eyes.