“I’ll just have two pieces; I still want some chicken cartilage. Go easy on the chili powder, just a tiny bit is enough,” Qiaoqiao said after finishing her steak.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you usually like spicy food?” Liu Banxia asked.

“Aiya, I’m afraid of getting pimples. Hurry up and roast them,” Qiaoqiao urged.

Liu Banxia could only obey, dusting just a tiny bit of chili powder on the chicken cartilage. Once they were done, he brought the plate over to Qiaoqiao.

He felt a bit helpless. Teasing him a little was probably Qiaoqiao’s way of acting cute. He hadn’t been home in a long time again. The last time he’d seen her was when Qiaoqiao had come to the Emergency Center for a quick bite.

Liu Banxia was also genuinely hungry. He split the remaining steak with Tang Dou and then started on the barbecue skewers.

Tang Dou was thoroughly enjoying the skewers. It was all meat, after all, so the more it ate, the happier it became. It had reached the pinnacle of doggy existence. As a pregnant dog, it even had the privilege of not needing to fetch its own food bowl; the meat just came right to its mouth.

Sipping a small beer and munching on the skewers he’d grilled himself, Liu Banxia felt very satisfied with his late dinner.

“Do we need to prepare anything for visiting Brother Qiu’s house tomorrow?” When they got back to the house, Qiaoqiao threw herself onto the sofa, and Tang Dou took the other side.

“No need. His place has everything, so buying anything would be redundant. He also said he’d call Ming Yuan back too,” Liu Banxia said, squeezing in between them.

“I heard from Old Qiu that Ming Yuan is studying really hard now. He’ll probably get into Binhai University of Science and Technology without any issues. Actually, that kid usually does pretty well in his studies; he just misled me before.”

“By the way, do you want to watch a movie or something? I can’t accompany you to the cinema, so we can only watch it at home. How about we find some time to go tomorrow afternoon?”

“Let’s skip it. Isn’t it much better to spend that time at home with Tang Dou? Do you want to see the delivery room I’ve set up for Tang Dou?” Qiaoqiao asked excitedly.

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Let’s go. I’ll carry you upstairs; we’ll let Tang Dou walk on its own,” Liu Banxia said, getting excited too.

Tang Dou glanced at the two walking ahead, hesitated for a moment, and decided to follow. Couldn’t it just have some peace and lie on the sofa for a while?

It had to be said, the delivery room Qiaoqiao and Liu Yiqing had set up for Tang Dou was quite elegant. Not only had all of Tang Dou’s bedding been replaced with new items, but there was also a fluffy, large dog bed beside it, along with a row of small food bowls.

“Why did you stick so many pictures of puppies on the wall?” Liu Banxia asked with a laugh.

“So Tang Dou can see them. The puppies she gives birth to in the future will all be this cute,” Qiaoqiao said matter-of-factly.

Liu Banxia said nothing, letting her be. After all, this was Tang Dou’s first litter, so paying a bit more attention was perfectly normal.

“When they’re just born, we’ll put them in the large dog bed. Once they open their eyes and can wander around, we’ll set up these fences to control their activity area,” Qiaoqiao explained.

“Isn’t that a bit small?” Liu Banxia asked.

“It’s big enough. Otherwise, if they run around wildly, they might fall down the stairs. Tang Dou fell once when it was little and lay on the ground for over ten minutes before it recovered,” Qiaoqiao said.

Liu Banxia glanced at Tang Dou, who was following beside them. He hadn’t expected it to have played such a risky little game when it was young.

He hadn’t really cared much about having pets before. Supporting himself was already quite an effort; where would he find the time to care for a small pet?

But then he met Qiaoqiao, and Tang Dou was so well-behaved. If it were a mischievous dog, he really might not have the patience for it.

Tang Dou was genuinely well-behaved. Most of the time, it understood what you said. It could even help pull a cart for groceries; a real little helper in life.

“Alright, if you don’t want to watch a movie, then let’s wash up and go to bed,” Liu Banxia said seriously.

“I’m not sleepy yet. You go to bed first, I’m not in a hurry,” Qiaoqiao said.

“You’re not in a hurry? I am! If you don’t sleep, what am I supposed to do sleeping?” Liu Banxia said, exasperated.

“Aiya, can’t we chat for a bit? We had so much to say during video calls, how come you don’t know what to say now? Hurry up and go take a shower,” Qiaoqiao said, glaring at him.

Liu Banxia could only obey. But he felt Qiaoqiao was a bit strange today.

Her temper seemed a bit short. She wasn’t usually like this. Normally, when he came home, they’d go to bed early. Today’s routine felt off.

Even while showering, Liu Banxia couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“Qiaoqiao, did something go wrong with your business? It’s alright. We’re seeing Old Qiu tomorrow anyway. If it’s really a problem, he can give you some advice,” Liu Banxia said after his shower.

That was the only thing he could think of that might affect Qiaoqiao’s mood. Otherwise, for the current Qiaoqiao, she wouldn’t easily care about such things.

“Business is great. Everyone’s been so tired after the New Year rush. Recently, Lang Taosha’s business has been even hotter than Jin Bao’s,” Qiaoqiao said.

“Then what’s wrong? You seem a bit unhappy. Tell me, what grievances have you suffered? Let Tang Dou bite them first, then I’ll deal with them,” Liu Banxia said.

“Aiya, you’re overthinking. Who could possibly bully me?” Qiaoqiao said irritably.

“That’s true. As long as we don’t easily bully others, that’s good enough,” Liu Banxia nodded, deeply feeling this.

“Nonsense,” Qiaoqiao snapped, swatting him.

“What kind of child do you think we should have? A boy or a girl? One or two? Look, even Tang Dou is about to be a mom.”

Liu Banxia pinched her nose. “We can’t rush this. It’s best to let things develop naturally. We can’t compare with Tang Dou. If she’s happy, who knows how many she’ll give birth to.”

“Tell me, is a boy better, or a girl? One or two,” Qiaoqiao swatted him again.

“A boy or a girl, either is fine. One or two, it’s up to you,” Liu Banxia said.

“Perfunctory,” Qiaoqiao said, then turned over, her back to him.

“It’s the truth. We can’t set rigid targets. Boy or girl, they’re our kid, both are the same,” Liu Banxia said helplessly.

“I’m pregnant.”

Qiaoqiao said, her voice rather low.

Although her voice wasn’t loud, the destructive power it carried was immense. Liu Banxia was stunned for a long moment, unable to recover his senses.

“Qiaoqiao, you… you’re not pranking me, are you?” Liu Banxia asked nervously, finally pulling himself together.

He wanted to pull Qiaoqiao over, reached out his hand, but didn’t dare to use any force.

Qiaoqiao rolled over again to face him. “The last time I went to the Third Hospital with Liu Yiqing for a check-up, the doctor said I was pregnant. What should we do? I haven’t even figured out how to be a mom yet. What if I can’t teach the child well?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t worry. Definitely don’t worry. Stay steady, calm down,” Liu Banxia started talking nonsense.

“Hehe, good, really good. I’m going to be a dad too! HAHA, that’s great. Tang Dou is a good Tang Dou. Tang Dou’s pregnant, and you’re pregnant too, it’s perfect! Let me feel… no, it’s still just a tiny thing now, I can’t feel anything at all.”

“Tell me, what if I can’t teach the child well in the future?” Qiaoqiao asked, pinching Liu Banxia as he rambled on to himself.

“It’s fine, we don’t need to teach them. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, let them grow up however they want to be. By the way, where’s the lab report? Let me see it,” Liu Banxia said quickly.

Qiaoqiao reached out and retrieved the lab report from the bottom of the nightstand.

Liu Banxia didn’t exactly read it word by word, but close enough. He carefully reviewed it twice, then sat there grinning foolishly.

No wonder Qiaoqiao was acting a bit abnormally. This was a huge surprise she had prepared for him! He hadn’t expected that even with their limited time together, she’d gotten pregnant. This was truly great.

“All you do is grin, you don’t even care about me anymore,” Qiaoqiao pinched him.

“I care, how could I not care?” Liu Banxia said hurriedly.

“I think you’re amazing. By the time your belly starts showing, I’ll have also stepped down as chief resident. Then I can come home and accompany you on walks and have fun.”

“Why don’t you stay at home during this period? The early stages are crucial for taking care. Don’t touch cold water. No, I have to call Sister Huang and ask.”

Just as Liu Banxia was reaching for his phone, Qiaoqiao pulled his hand back.

“Why are you calling her in the middle of the night? I’ve already asked the doctor. You don’t actually need to be that careful,” Qiaoqiao said.

“Okay, then I’ll ask when I’m at work,” Liu Banxia said obediently.

“That won’t work either. People say you shouldn’t let others know before three months have passed,” Qiaoqiao spoke up again.

“Fine, I’ll ask secretly, so they won’t know. By the way, did you have an ultrasound? How come I don’t see an ultrasound report?” Liu Banxia asked.

“I didn’t. After the blood test said I was pregnant, I got flustered. Um, do you particularly want a son? I don’t know if it’s a son or a daughter,” Qiaoqiao said, her mood dipping again.

“What are you thinking? Just listen to me on this. Son or daughter, they’re our kid, I’ll love them both,” Liu Banxia said.

“When the baby comes, you’ll really have a tough time. I wonder if they’ll be mischievous. Fortunately, we have many people in our family to help with the baby. We can call my mom and Auntie Tong over then. Let them take care of the baby, and we can enjoy ourselves.”

“How can we do that? I want to take care of the baby myself. I’m just afraid I won’t be able to teach the child their studies in the future. What do I do? If I had known, I would have studied harder back then,” Qiaoqiao said pitifully.

Liu Banxia now understood. So, this was what she was worried about.

He gave Qiaoqiao’s face a little pinch. “I think this is the last thing you need to worry about. I’ll have so many interns under me in the future. I can just send a few over; they’re all top-notch.”

“Don’t underestimate them. In many schools, they are ‘study god’ level figures. I can also tutor a bit when I have free time, no problem.”

“Aiya, how could I trouble others? But when the time comes, we could also have Qing Kewa teach the child Russian. Then, even if they don’t learn anything else, they can still be a tour guide,” Qiaoqiao said.

Then the couple, with Tang Dou alongside, began to discuss future educational issues. Actually, it was mostly Liu Banxia coaxing Qiaoqiao to be happy. Pregnancy can cause significant psychological fluctuations, and problems can easily arise.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep