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Three months had passed since Xie Lian found out he was pregnant, carrying Hua Cheng’s—his sweet and doting husband—child. It had been three months of a rapidly growing bond between Xie Lian and their little flower, as Xie Lian used to call their baby, even if Hua Cheng wasn’t too fond of the name—well, that was something that was yet to be discussed. It had also been three months of learning about his body anew and getting to know how to care for it to keep their baby safe and healthy.
Three truly beautiful months.
“I will call you that in secret when San Lang isn’t around,” Xie Lian whispered to the baby and tenderly caressed his belly with a broad smile on his tired face as he walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the gardens behind Paradise Manor. As he walked through the manor’s corridors, his hand rested protectively on the small baby bump, even though there was no one around him at the moment. It was a habit Xie Lian quickly learned and one he couldn’t—or didn’t want to—get rid of, even though he knew Hua Cheng’s manor was one of the safest places in the world, as no one in their right mind would dare to come here and disturb Chengzhu’s wife’s rest.
As soon as Xie Lian left the building and entered the garden, he sat down on a comfortable cushion on the bench in front of his favorite flower bed that Hua Cheng had recently created for him—the one with the purple-white calla lilies. Xie Lian loved flowers and he could gaze at them for hours, but unfortunately, while pregnancy itself was a beautiful time and he really enjoyed it, it also came with some small... inconveniences. One of them was the difficulty in tolerating strong and sweet smells, which made the nausea he frequently experienced more and more bothersome.
As soon as Hua Cheng had learned of this, he had purchased and planted these less fragrant flowers so that his beloved could admire them every time he grew bored of the manor and wanted to spend some time outside.
“Aiyoh, how can I not call you xiao hua when your baba is so fond of flowers?” Xie Lian asked in a whisper, absentmindedly caressing his belly. He stretched his legs, feeling a pleasant ache in the places where the muscles were most tense, and let out a long sigh. A content smile still played on his lips as his gaze wandered over the white flowers. “Ah, if you were like San Lang, my little one, then maybe I could still call you my little flower... San Lang was such a sweet child, you know? Even if my memory isn’t the best, I still remember how round his cheeks were and how big his uncovered eye looked when he peeked at me..."
Xie Lian swayed his legs in no rhythm, enjoying the pleasant gusts of wind.
“Ah, but please don’t worry, my sweet little flower. No matter who you resemble, me or your baba, we will shower you with so much love that you will grow tired of us,” Xie Lian chuckled, his eyes crinkling into crescents.
The red glow of the lantern reflected on Xie Lian’s cheeks, which had recently become rounder.
“I never thought the prospect of being parents would make us so happy… But ah… now I feel so fulfilled as a husband. Our little family is growing just like you in my belly, my xiao hua.”
A silly thought crossed Xie Lian’s mind, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch in silent laughter.
“I wonder if you will become as mischievous as my San Lang. I can imagine you and your baba coming to Heavens to visit me during a meeting. Oh, and the terrified expressions of all the Generals when they see you!” Xie Lian laughed fondly, holding his belly. “Like father, like child, they say. The question is which father, haha… Mu Qing said that San Lang’s genes might take over, though. I wouldn’t be surprised…”
Xie Lian patted his belly lightly, his eyes still taking in the sight of the flowers. Not even ten minutes had passed since he left the manor, yet he already felt tired.
“Ah, my little flower, you are so small, but you take so much energy,” Xie Lian admitted with a soft yawn escaping his lips. He was about to get up, but hesitated upon feeling a sudden surge of fatigue come over him. He shook his head. “I better let San Lang know so we can, ahem, share some spiritual energy to help you grow healthy.”
“There’s no need for gege to tire himself out.”
Hua Cheng’s deep voice echoed from somewhere behind Xie Lian, making the latter’s heart skip a beat. As soon as Xie Lian perceived his presence and turned around, flustered, Hua Cheng smiled fondly, yet somehow mischievously. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Xie Lian caress his belly, then walked towards his pregnant husband at a leisurely pace, his boots and jewelry jingling with every movement.
When Hua Cheng was close enough, he stopped behind Xie Lian and kissed his cheek sweetly, placing his hands on his shoulders.
In an instant, Xie Lian felt a pleasant tingling throughout his entire body, and all his exhaustion vanished in the blink of an eye.
“Ah, San Lang…” Xie Lian smiled sheepishly, moving aside a bit to make room for his husband. Hua Cheng, once he was comfortably seated, wrapped his arm around Xie Lian’s shoulder to embrace him, and rested his other hand on the baby bump. “I didn’t realize when you came…”
“I just arrived.”
“Oh,” Xie Lian leaned into the touch, resting his head against Hua Cheng’s shoulder. “So you didn’t hear–”
“Mm, I hope our little one will be just as mischievous as me. Maybe even more so,” Hua Cheng admitted before bursting out laughing at Xie Lian’s embarrassed whine. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, gege. See the butterfly over there?” He pointed at the flowers in front of them. “It just happened to check on you while I was away.”
“Ahahaha… Well. I didn’t realize…”
Hua Cheng’s warm smile turned mischievous again. “Gege seemed completely engrossed in his conversation with our little flower. You really like calling them that, don’t you?” He smiled and began to rub his belly, his single eye twinkling at the sight of the visible baby bump. In his usual taoist robes, Xie Lian could easily hide his pregnancy, but in the privacy of the manor, he preferred to wear only his inner robes. “If gege really insists, we can name them that.”
Xie Lian leaned back, facing his husband, and smiled brightly. “Can we? Really?”
“En,” Hua Cheng mirrored Xie Lian’s smile and kissed the tip of his nose. “It seems very important to you. And it’s not like this will be our only child… So I’d love to think of a name for our next one,” he said, then tapped his chin pensively, as if something had just crossed his mind. “Unless gege is carrying twins. Then I’d better come up with another name soon.”
Xie Lian looked at him with his lips slightly parted, thinking about Hua Cheng’s words. “Do you think it’s possible? My baby bump is bigger than the books describe, not to mention my severe nausea. But I’ve never really thought about it…”
Silence.
Then:
“SAN LANG, DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TWINS?”