Could it be I’ve encountered a master of PUA?

"Probably not." Wu Xuehan shared the details she had noticed with Tang Li: "Earlier, Yu Sui asked me to go shopping, and she bought a tie for 1700. Later she left the crew for two days, came back, and I found that the tie was still in her bag. In the restroom, she muttered to herself saying, ’Who is your comrade, leave if you don’t want it.’

Based on Tang Li’s personal experience, this might not be a romance.

So, when Yu Sui returned from the restroom and picked up her fruit tea, Tang Li asked: "Are you pursuing someone?"

Holding a glass cup, Yu Sui: "..."

She rolled her eyes and said to Wu Xuehan with a tone of despair: "I only left for a few minutes, and you’re already making up rumors about me!"

Wu Xuehan felt guilty from being accused, "I was just chatting casually with Ah Li."

"Casual chatting, you’re teasing me?" Yu Sui decided to retaliate: "Then we should also talk about you getting flowers from the heir of the Wanyang Group."

Wanyang Group, Tang Li was familiar with.

After all, the heir of Wanyang was once her prospective brother-in-law.

Tang Li looked at Wu Xuehan: "Are you still in contact with Qin Yansheng?"

"He and some friends came to Lingan for skiing, and happened to stay at the same hotel as our crew." Speaking of Qin Yansheng, Wu Xuehan suddenly seemed restless, squirming in her chair: "That day I wrapped up filming early and ran into him in front of the hotel elevator. He asked me how the movie was going, and I told him it was almost done. Later, he sent me a bouquet of flowers."

"I think that Young Master Qin is quite interested in her."

Yu Sui added fuel to the fire from the side: "If it wasn’t for considering you, Ah Li, she’d have jumped at the chance."

Wu Xuehan was angry: "Stop slandering me!"

Tang Li said: "If Qin Yansheng is indeed pursuing you and you quite like him, it’s not impossible to give it a try."

Wu Xuehan stopped arguing with Yu Sui and turned to look at Tang Li.

Seeing Tang Li’s calm demeanor, not seeming to speak in jest, Wu Xuehan slightly pursed her lips before saying: "Ah Li, what you said before was right. The gap between him and me is too large; even if I, as an actor, can earn some money, the family background is still different. My parents in the Capital earn twenty thousand a month, an income that would be envied in our Pingxiang. But, the wealthy only see my parents as servants that are shameful."

During the New Year, she and her parents returned to their hometown.

Using the payment she received for filming "Lofty," she made a down payment on a 95-square-meter apartment.

Her mom said she didn’t need to worry about the mortgage afterward.

For their family, a house in a county-level city was once unthinkable.

Little people’s lives can be easily satisfied.

Whenever she falls in love, it’s with the intention of marriage.

In the entertainment industry, this thought may seem absurd, but that’s indeed her plan.

Female celebrities dating rich people seldom have good outcomes.

Either the man’s family thinks the woman is an actor, or the man is an empty-shell businessman.

Moreover, she has self-awareness.

Her looks are not on the same level as Ah Li.

Ah Li marrying well is just an exception.

Besides, it proves Ah Li is not an ordinary background female star.

"What if Qin Yansheng doesn’t care about your background?"

Tang Li originally advised Wu Xuehan not to have too much contact with Qin Yansheng because Lai Shengxia’s previous divorce ended that way. With Lai Shengxia being such a savvy person, even she couldn’t handle the Qin family, let alone the somewhat naive Wu Xuehan.

Lai Shengxia said that she divorced because she couldn’t get pregnant for years.

So, back then, Tang Li couldn’t help but wonder—

If Wu Xuehan couldn’t have children, would she face the same result?

However, a year passed, and Qin Yansheng did not get engaged as she thought he would.

She had subconsciously assumed the worst.

Qin Yansheng and Ouyang Hua are ultimately different.

She should not apply the same standards used to evaluate Ouyang Hua to other people.

Tang Li spoke again: "No matter what I say, it’s your life, and I’m not necessarily right. There are many exceptions in this world."

"Never underestimate yourself, nor should you overestimate others."

"Exactly!" Yu Sui nodded repeatedly: "You’re not even bothered by him being a second-hand option!"

Tang Li: "..."

Wu Xuehan: "..."

As for Yu Sui’s rumored partner, the person also clarified.

"That was a fitness coach I hired for myself."

While saying this, she pulled out her cellphone: "See for yourselves if you don’t believe me!"

On the cellphone was a chat interface.

Tang Li noticed the contact’s name was ’Glory Years,’ and the profile picture was an image of a snow mountain, definitely not the style of a young kid. As for the chat history, it was still at last night’s conversation at half-past seven.

The other person asked Yu Sui: "Saturday morning, a ten-kilometer weighted mountain-climbing training, are you in?"

Yu Sui hadn’t replied to the person yet.

"You haven’t responded?" Tang Li asked her.

Yu Sui curled her lips before answering: "I’m still considering."

Tang Li: "..."

It was also this afternoon when Tang Li felt the fetal movement.

In that instant, she distinctly felt a life growing vigorously.

After Yu Sui and Wu Xuehan left, Tang Li returned to the main bedroom. Since she was no longer living on campus, Song Baiyan had sent her that mock villa, which she moved into Tan Palace before the New Year, along with the glass jar of paper stars.

A jar full of paper stars was her birthday gift prepared for Song Baiyan.

In late February, Tang Li finally gave it away.

Now this jar of paper stars was displayed in the President’s Office showcase.

The news of the fetal movement, she shared with the child’s father that night.

Just as Song Baiyan placed his hand on the baby bump, the child seemed to sense it and kicked again, more clearly than in the evening.

Tang Li curled her lips: "It’s alive." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"What do you mean it’s alive." Song Baiyan chuckled silently and corrected her: "Of course, the child is alive."

Then, he gently caressed the round belly, "It’s a lively little creature."

Tang Li suddenly mentioned: "I want to do an amniotic fluid test."

An amniotic fluid test carries certain risks.

However, Tang Li had reasons she couldn’t avoid.

Among pregnant women, her fetal movement was considered late.

A child who isn’t very active can invite bad thoughts.

An amniotic fluid test can check if the fetus’s chromosomes show abnormalities, including genetic disorders, metabolic diseases, and neural tube defect diagnosis.

"Back in Diannan, I saw children born with issues who, at thirty-five or thirty-six, still couldn’t take care of themselves, always relying on their parents. At that time, I wondered what would happen to him after his parents die? Even if he moved into a nursing home, would he be mistreated because of his intelligence?"

She didn’t want her child to follow down that path.

Even with Song Family and Li Family’s conditions, they would never lack care.

But who can guarantee that accidents won’t happen?

Tang Li paused, expressing her concern: "I don’t want, after we’re gone, our child to be bullied by others."

Song Baiyan seemed persuaded by her: "Then we’ll arrange for it soon; it won’t be suitable to do it two weeks later."

Tang Li raised her eyes: "If the child has a problem, what then?"

"There will always be a way." Song Baiyan switched to hold her hand, his tone comforting: "At worst, when we are old, we could move the entire family to Northern Europe."

Northern European countries permit euthanasia.

Tang Li also detected—

No matter the test results, Song Baiyan did not want to give up on this child.

The amniotic fluid test was scheduled for two days later.

That day, Tang Li learned that the person performing the amniotic fluid test on her was the head of obstetrics at Ruihe Hospital, currently the most experienced obstetrician in the country.

From the doctor’s words, Tang Li understood that the same doctor would be the one to deliver her baby in the Capital.

The puncture procedure took just three to five minutes.

It would take ten to fifteen days to receive the results of the fetal chromosome test.

After the amniotic fluid was drawn, surprisingly, Tang Li wasn’t as worried.

In the following days, she ate and drank as usual.

As her belly grew bigger again, the examination report was placed on Song Baiyan’s desk.

"The child is healthy in all aspects." Pei Shiyu smiled, also conveying the obstetrician’s original words: "As for the late fetal movement, perhaps the child was too full to want to move."

It seems to be a child with a strong sense of self.

Song Baiyan also smiled, holding the report, "Scaring her mother all the time, a genuine troublemaker."

——

Good night!