He leveraged his body to pull back, simultaneously kicking Lu Shiyan in the abdomen.
Lu Shiyan dodged to the side, and a punch grazed Xiao Han's ear.
The two instantly became entangled in a fight.
In the small space of the study, there was only heavy breathing, the sound of bodies colliding, and the occasional crash of items knocked over.
Xiao Han was initially a bit disheveled, but he quickly adjusted; his movements were more cunning and focused on technique.
The two knocked over chairs, their leather shoes scraping an ear-piercing sound on the carpet.
Lu Shiyan grabbed Xiao Han by his collar and slammed him violently against the wall.
"Thud!" The wall seemed to vibrate.
He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. "So angry?"
Xiao Han's voice was hoarse, laced with mockery. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Because she's carrying your child?"
"Or is it... because she's carrying your child?"
Lu Shiyan didn't answer, merely taking a step closer.
"Don't be in a hurry, Lu Da Shao."
Lu Shiyan's hand clenched, his knuckles cracking. He raised his leg and kicked Xiao Han hard.
The intense sounds of fighting did not disturb the sleeping Su Wan. It was hunger that woke her.
She groggily opened her eyes; the room was only lit by the faint moonlight seeping through the curtain gap.
She propped herself up by the edge of the bed, her movements very slow.
Her bare feet touched the floor, the cold sensation waking her up a bit.
Leaning against the wall, she slowly made her way downstairs, where a dim nightlight glowed in the living room, and a figure was curled up on the sofa.
It was Zhang Ma.
Hearing the movement, Zhang Ma immediately sat upright, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, you're awake? I just figured you'd be hungry in the middle of the night." Zhang Ma's voice was hoarse with sleep.
She quickly walked towards the dining room, "Come quickly, it's all kept warm for you." On the dining table were already several light dishes, a bowl of warm soup, and spicy chicken.
The aroma of food permeated the air, warm and comforting.
Zhang Ma handed her the bowl and chopsticks. "Eat slowly, there's more if it's not enough." Looking at the steaming food in front of her and listening to Zhang Ma's continuous chatter about precautions during early pregnancy, Su Wan's eyes suddenly felt warm.
In this cold, calculating place, this was the first warmth she had felt since transmigrating into the book.
This maid, who in the original story was the first to seek refuge with the female lead after her death, ultimately met a tragic end.
She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of a dish, and put it in her mouth. It tasted so good.
Her stomach felt warm, and the empty feeling was quickly filled.
She ate quietly, with Zhang Ma watching over her, occasionally adding more soup. "Eat more, there are two of you now, can't let yourselves go hungry."
She ate an unusually large and delicious meal this time, an unconscious, subtle curve appearing on her lips.
Zhang Ma looked at her and smiled along. "That's right, relax and take good care of yourself."
In the deep shadows of the stairwell, Lu Shiyan stood there. He saw Zhang Ma's busy figure and heard her gentle admonitions.
How long he stood there, perhaps only a few seconds, perhaps longer. In the end, he made no sound and turned back to his room.
...
Ever since a little one was added to her body, Zhang Ma's menu completely changed.
Three meals a day were meticulously prepared, and nourishing soups were never absent.
Today, boiled fish was added to the table, with red oil bubbling and bright red chilies.
When Zhang Ma brought it up, she specifically placed it closer to her.
"I noticed you've been liking this lately, so I added a bit more spice."
She indeed started with that dish, picking up a piece of fish and eating it slowly, delicately.
Zhang Ma watched from the side, chuckling as she went into the room. When she came out again, she was holding a stack of small clothes. "Here, look, I've had them ready for a while."
They were baby rompers, in soft yellow and tender pink, with a soft fabric. "In this day and age, it's hard to find good fabric, luckily I stocked up quite a bit before." Zhang Ma chattered, spreading out the little clothes one by one on the empty seat next to her.
Tiny cuffs, delicate snap buttons. She put down her chopsticks, her gaze falling on the soft fabrics.
Lu Shiyan also looked over, then averted his gaze.
Zhang Ma picked up the smallest one, "When the baby comes, it'll be just right to wear."
"Zhang Ma, you've prepared too much."
"Too much? Where's too much!" Zhang Ma caressed the little clothes, her eyes drifting off into the distance.
"Me, when I was young, I also had one." Her voice deepened, carrying an unspeakable pain.
"I couldn't keep it. Life was hard then, and I had no experience... it just slipped away." She sighed, her eyes a little red.
"Later, I never got pregnant again. My biggest regret in this life is not being able to have my own child."
She looked at Su Wan's belly, her tone becoming gentle and firm. "So, when I look at you, it's like I'm looking at my own hope. It wasn't easy for you to get pregnant with this child, how could I not know? Poor appetite, not sleeping well... I was the same back then. But no matter how hard it is, you have to hold on. For this little one, it's all worth it."
She patted Su Wan's hand, "You rest assured and take good care of yourself, don't think about anything else. With me here, I'll definitely take good care of both you and the baby."
She looked at Zhang Ma's reddish eyes, and at those soft little clothes.
That warmth in her stomach instantly rushed to her heart. "Zhang Ma..."
"Oh, why talk about all this, hurry and eat more." Zhang Ma continued to tidy up the little clothes.
Su Wan picked up her chopsticks again and took another piece of fish soaked in red oil.
Fragrant, spicy, stimulating her taste buds. She ate a full bowl of rice in one go, then added a second bowl.
Xiao Han, standing not far away, watched and couldn't help but click his tongue. "This is truly..."
His gaze swept over her still slender waist. "One person eats, two people supplement, huh. Such a thin waist can eat so much."
Across from her, Lu Shiyan's fingers gently tapped the edge of the table.
Xiao Han immediately fell silent, rubbing his nose, no longer speaking.
She seemed not to have heard. She completely ignored Xiao Han; she had already discovered that he was accustomed to saying unpleasant things.
She finished the second bowl, then the third, and even the fourth. Her chopsticks reached for the boiled fish again, picking up a piece and putting it into her mouth.
Her stomach was unusually stable today, so she had to eat more.
She couldn't shortchange herself for anything.
Her morning sickness was still very severe; her stomach always felt like something was burning, surging up in waves.
Sometimes she could eat most of a bowl of food Zhang Ma brought, other times just smelling it made her dry heave.
The medicine Lu Shiyan brought back this time was on the bedside table, a jumble of colorful boxes and bottles. She swallowed the pills daily as Zhang Ma instructed.
The medicine seemed to have little effect. Morning sickness, it seemed, wasn't something a few pills could easily resolve.
When it was time to vomit, her body didn't hold back at all.
Most of the time, she slept. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and her consciousness was hazy. When she curled up in bed, she was even reluctant to expend the energy to turn over.
When she woke up, she was hungry, a heart-pounding hunger.
Eat, vomit, sleep.
Her days were cut into a simple, recurring cycle.
Three A.M.
Lu Shiyan abruptly sat up, the sheets soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his skin.
In the darkness, he could clearly feel a strange energy surging within him, like countless tiny electrical currents coursing through his veins, bringing a burning sting and a sense of unfamiliar power.
"Finally..." he murmured, his voice hoarse from just waking up.
He spread his right hand, palm up.
The air seemed to twist for a moment, and a faint, orange-red flame slowly condensed and pulsed in his palm, emitting a weak but real heat that illuminated the distinct outline of his finger bones.
Fire. Just as he had expected.
Outside the corridor, extremely light footsteps approached from a distance.
Lu Shiyan's fingers suddenly clenched, the flame silently extinguished, leaving a scorching warmth in his palm.
The door was twisted open from the outside, and Xiao Han peeked in.
"I felt it." In Xiao Han's hushed voice, there was an uncontrollable tremor. "You've awakened again?"
Lu Shiyan didn't speak, merely spread his hand again. The flame leaped up once more, more stable than before, and its light even brighter.
"Excellent!" Xiao Han almost clapped his hands. "We can go now!"
Lu Shiyan, however, drew his hand back, allowing the flame to dissipate into the air. "Not yet."