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The smile on my mother-in-law's face created deep lines at the corners of her eyes as she approached me, cheerfully continuing, "You went to see your parents, right? You must be tired. Next time, let Wang Xu handle these things. You should rest at home more. Have you eaten? Are you hungry? Come on, let's go home. I'll make you something delicious."
She reached out to grab my arm, but I stepped back first, leaving her grasping at air. Her smile faltered for a moment, and I quickly declined, saying, "No, I want to go home and pack some things."
"Oh dear, packing is easy and will be done quickly. It would make me feel better if you stayed at home tonight. It's dangerous for you to go back alone. Don't refuse; come on, let's go home."
My mother-in-law insisted that I stay at her place, and Wang Xu chimed in repeatedly in agreement, making it clear they wanted me to return home. I had no choice; if it were just Wang Xu, it would have been one thing, but with my mother-in-law also involved, I could only comply and went back home.
As we entered the community, we happened to run into a security guard who greeted us warmly and asked why he hadn't seen me around lately.
Unintentionally spoken but keenly heard, my mother-in-law's expression instantly soured as she sharply replied to the guard, "What do you know? Our Zhuang Jun is pregnant and needs to take care of herself!"
"Yes, yes, I've heard about that. Mrs. Wang, please take care of yourself. How many months along are you? Why isn't your belly showing yet?" The guard's voice grew quieter as he spoke, almost murmuring.
Both my mother-in-law and Wang Xu's expressions changed slightly. I was taken aback as well and suppressed my panic as I replied simply, "Everyone's situation is different; some gain weight faster than others. I'm almost three months along now. In a little while, it should start showing. It won't be convenient to move around then."
"Mrs. Wang needs to be careful; there are too many miscarriages these days. You know there was a child who lost theirs in our community; it's quite alarming!"
The guard was merely chatting and didn't consider the impact of his words. My mother-in-law exploded in anger, scolding him sharply, "What business is it of yours? Do you need to worry about our family's matters?"
"Exactly! Do you even know how to speak? Saying there are too many miscarriages sounds like you're cursing our child!" Wang Xu also snapped back fiercely.
The guard was an honest man who spoke without thinking; seeing how agitated my mother-in-law and Wang Xu were made him quickly wave his hands in explanation: "No, that's not what I meant! I just wanted to remind Mrs. Wang to take care of her health. Mrs. Wang is blessed; I spoke out of turn."
This incident made for an unpleasant entrance into the house. Even before we got home, my mother-in-law was still complaining about the guard's remarks. Wang Xu and I walked alongside her feeling uncomfortable until Wang Xu directly stopped her: "Alright, Mom, enough already! Zhuang Jun is back now; her emotions are already fluctuating a lot—just stop nagging."
Upon hearing this, my mother-in-law looked at me warily and then at Wang Xu before swallowing her words that were on the tip of her tongue. She changed her tone: "You need to cooperate more with Zhuang Jun and understand her; she is pregnant now, so everything should revolve around her. Do you understand?"
Wang Xu nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, I know. I'm just letting her have her way now. Zhuang Jun even bought you something, take a look."
Before we even stepped inside the house, my mother-in-law excitedly pulled out the items I had bought to show Wang Xu. Her face was initially filled with joy, but after hearing Wang Xu mention the price, her expression changed and her tone shifted, "This stuff is so expensive..."
Wang Xu seemed not to notice and continued enthusiastically, "Isn't it? This is even after a discount; it was more expensive before. Look at this, it was specially picked by Zhuang Jun."
"Even so, it shouldn't be sold for this much. There’s so little of it; is it really worth this price? You must have been cheated. How could you buy something so expensive? Money is already tight, and you just lost your job," my mother-in-law kept murmuring.
I ignored my mother-in-law's complaints about me and feigned surprise, "What? You lost your job? Wasn't Wang Xu the one who resigned voluntarily?"
Wang Xu's expression darkened, "What are you talking about! I resigned voluntarily; being fired is what losing a job means. Zhuang Jun, don’t listen to my mom. She's getting old and can't tell these things apart, so she just talks nonsense."
Wang Xu was in a bad mood because of his mother’s comments, and my mother-in-law was unhappy because the items I bought were too expensive. Once we entered the house, both of their spirits were low, but I felt quite pleased. Buying those items was intentional on my part; my mother-in-law's change in attitude towards me was also due to the child, but her original temperament remained unchanged.
Buying expensive things never feels good to her; her thoughts are still the same—what I spend is their hard-earned money. I no longer care what she thinks and let her be.
Rarely did my mother-in-law prepare dinner that night. I sat in front of the television watching and found the current scenes amusing. I recalled how things were when our positions were reversed; I could feel the joy of being in this position.
Wang Xu chatted with me, his mood gradually improving as he started peeling apples for me to snack on before dinner.
I casually took one and heard Wang Xu say, "Honey, are you feeling okay? You didn’t have any discomfort? About earlier today—I just can’t shake off my worries. Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up; it’ll put my mind at ease."
I straightened up and refused, "Keep your voice down so Mom doesn’t hear you. Do you want her to worry? What time is it now? How many doctors are available at the hospital? It’s not a good time to go; let’s wait until we get back home and see a doctor there."
Wang Xu disagreed, "The doctors back home are unreliable; they’re all quacks. What can they diagnose? The hospitals here are more legitimate and professional."
"What doctor?" My mother-in-law suddenly came out of the kitchen upon hearing our conversation and repeated curiously, "Are you talking about going to see a doctor? What doctor?"
"Mom." Wang Xu's face showed a bitter expression, unsure of what to say, and he cast a confused glance at me.
I took over the conversation: "I was fine during my check-up at the hospital, but Wang Xu was worried and wanted me to get another check-up. But Mom, you know that hospital equipment has some radiation, and too many checks aren't good for the fetus. I thought I could wait until we go back home and see the local doctor. After all, it's a place you're familiar with, and the doctors there won't harm me, right?"
Upon hearing this, my mother-in-law pondered for a moment and replied, "Yes, of course. Most hospitals are just out to make money; they really can't find anything significant during check-ups. I think it's better to go back home for another check-up. Zhuang Jun is right; Wang Xu, don't meddle when you don't understand."
"Mom, what level can the doctors back home have? They can't diagnose anything; won't it waste time if something happens?"
"How could anything happen! Didn't you hear Zhuang Jun say she was fine during her check-up? Now you're dragging her back to the hospital; what if the radiation affects the baby? The local doctor is fine; I gave birth to you there too. Look at you now; are you suffering?"
"Alright, alright, Mom, I'm not arguing with you. It's New Year's, and we're all worried about Zhuang Jun's health. Since you say it's fine, then let's go back and check first. If there are any issues, we still need to go to a proper hospital."
"What problems could there be? Can you watch your mouth? My grandchild is a blessed child; stop saying nonsense." My mother-in-law scolded and cut off Wang Xu's words.
I was quietly peeling sunflower seeds while listening to their argument like it was an interesting play. When they finally stopped discussing that issue, they turned the topic back to me, asking if I felt unwell anywhere.
I shook my head and hesitated: "Mom, I don't know what's wrong. Recently I've been craving things I never wanted before. Sometimes when I'm hungry, I even want to eat durian. You know I never liked it before; I really don't know what's going on. I feel like my emotions have changed too; I get angry easily. You have experience; can you tell me what's happening?"
"Yes, yes." Wang Xu nodded in agreement beside me, seeming to relate deeply to my change in temperament.
My mother-in-law chuckled and teased, "Oh dear, since it's your first pregnancy and you don't know yet, you should ask me. This is normal; everyone experiences this during pregnancy. If you want to eat something and it's suitable, then go ahead."
"Oh?" I became interested and deliberately asked, "What about longan? Can I eat longan?"
Sitting in the same unchanged house in this living room spot where I once took out a longan only to have it thrown on the floor by my mother-in-law—this marked the beginning of my estrangement from this family and left a deep imprint on my heart.
Since it all started with longan, I truly wanted to ask her again if I could eat longan like before.
Not knowing whether she was pretending or truly didn't hear the hidden meaning in my words, my mother-in-law immediately interrupted, "Of course not! How can a pregnant woman eat longan? You need to be careful. Look at you, you don't know anything and yet you won't go home to stay. With me around, I can keep track of what you should and shouldn't eat. Luckily, I'm telling you now—remember, you absolutely cannot eat longan!"
Proud of herself, she boasted about how significant her role was, claiming she could easily distinguish what I should eat and what I shouldn't, like a living dictionary.
I pretended to listen intently as she recounted her past achievements over and over again, then seized the moment to interrupt her.
"Mom, if pregnant women really can't eat longan, then why did you buy a bag of it before?"
"Huh... What?" My mother-in-law looked confused.
"Longan! Mom, you bought a bag of longan before. I wanted to eat some back then but couldn't get any. Now that I think about it, I'm craving longan; maybe it started back then."
Some things that were once unattainable become even more desirable. The love that was previously out of reach is often abandoned after being sought in vain.
My mother-in-law's expression slowly changed as if she remembered something, exchanging glances with Wang Xu.
This trip home seemed to be going quite well.
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