Chapter 4 Your soup tastes amazing

That evening, Nan Xiao got a call from Old Mr. Xie, who invited her over to the ancestral mansion for dinner. She went straight there.

When she stepped inside, she was surprised to find Xie Chengyu already present—something that never happened before. Every time she’d come by in the past, he’d vanished like smoke. Probably still avoiding her.

She didn’t acknowledge him. Instead, she walked straight up to Old Mr. Xie and said, “Grandpa, I’m here.”

“Oh, Xiao Xiao! Come here, let Grandpa take a look…” Old Mr. Xie reached out his hand.

“Just now, Uncle Wang brought over a Guanyin statue of fertility. I thought it looked nice, so I kept it. When are you two going to have a baby? I’m dying to hold my grandchild!”

A child?

Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks, but suddenly Nan Xiao felt a wave of nausea rise in her throat. She quickly pushed it down.

She stared at the statue on the table—the carved figure of Guanyin, serene yet heavy with expectation. A faint, bitter smile tugged at her lips.

They were getting divorced. How could they possibly have a child?

“Grandpa,” she began, steeling herself. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Cutting ties cleanly—now was as good a time as any, especially since Xie Chengyu was right there. “Actually… we’ve already started the divorce process…”

“Cough! Cough! Cough-cough—!”

Old Mr. Xie suddenly erupted into violent coughs, as if trying to hack up his own lungs.

Both Nan Xiao and Xie Chengyu jumped in alarm. They rushed him back to his bedroom.

“What’s wrong, Grandpa? Where does it hurt?” Nan Xiao asked, voice tight with worry.

“I’m fine… I’m just lonely. After your grandmother passed, this big empty house has been just me. Stay here with me for a while. Perfect time to start preparing for a baby—get ready to carry one.”

“…”

The intensity in Old Mr. Xie’s eyes was overwhelming. Nan Xiao couldn’t bring herself to say no. She lowered her head.

Later, in their room, she turned to Xie Chengyu. “When should we tell him about the divorce?”

It had all been handled through Zhou Wen, who’d delivered the papers for her to sign. They’d never actually spoken about it face-to-face—this was the first time.

Xie Chengyu leaned against the doorway, half his face bathed in light, the other half swallowed by shadow.

“Wait until we get the results of his checkup. He’s been unwell lately.”

“Okay.”

Old Mr. Xie was the only person in the three years since she’d married into the Xie family who’d ever shown her kindness. She genuinely cared about his health. She had no objection.

…

That night, under Old Mr. Xie’s watchful eye, they ended up sharing the same bedroom.

The room held only one bed and one blanket. No chance to sleep on the floor. But the bed was large enough—plenty of space between them if they wanted to avoid touching. Not too awkward.

After brushing her teeth, Nan Xiao slipped into her pajamas and lay down.

In the silence of the night, her heartbeat seemed unnaturally loud. The presence of someone else on the other side of the bed made her nerves jittery. Still, she forced herself to clear her mind, to shut everything out.

Then—movement.

A shift on the far side of the bed. A man’s breath drew near. He must’ve turned toward her.

Her heart pounded.

“Nan Xiao.”

His voice, low and smooth, cut through the quiet.

“You made that du zhong pigeon soup before—it was delicious.”

“…”

Her voice betrayed surprise. “You… drank the soup?”

“Yes.”