After the elders had left, the couple quietly lounged on the sofa in the living room with Zhao Chengningâs hand wrapped around Shen Jingbinâs shoulders. It was if they were just enjoying the peace and quiet.
A long time passed like this before Zhao Chengning heard Shen Jingbin say, "Letâs move back tomorrow."
Zhao Chengning was momentarily caught off guard before a radiant smile blossomed on his face.
"Alright."
They discovered that Shen Jingbin would be having twins when she was two months pregnant. That was also the time when she was expressly forbidden from playing games. Thankfully, she still had Jiang Weiwei, Grandmother Shen and Mama Zhao who werenât busy, so they could keep her company. The time spent this way wasnât all that boring for her.
When Shen Jingbin was six months pregnant, Zhao Chengan and Jian Cishu returned from Africa. Zhao Chengning immediately got his brother to take over for him at work, and he freed up all his time to spend with his wife at home.
Zhao Chengan obviously wasnât happy about this.
"Lil bro, you have a wife, but I have a girlfriend too!"
Zhao Chengningâs lips curled in disdain. "Hmph, my wifeâs pregnant! Pregnant women are the most important!"
"Cocky little shit."
Zhao Chengning jittered his leg. "Get Jian Cishu pregnant if youâve got what it takes."
Zhao Chengning silently turned to look at his girlfriend. Mm, looks like he could pick up the pace. That little shit Zhao Chengningâs getting too full of himself!
Just looking at Zhao Chengning got him annoyed!
When the members of Jade Sea Pavilion found out that Shen Jingbin was pregnant, they kicked up a fuss and went on and on about wanting to visit her. This was especially so for members that lived in B City.
Zhao Chengning thought about it, and came to the conclusion that since he and his wife didnât have much to do at home anyway, they might as well have a gathering. Who knows, it might even help to brighten up Shen Jingbinâs spirits.
And so, on one fine day, the members of Jade Sea Pavilion who lived near B City came over to the Zhao familyâs residence. The residence was huge, and there was more than enough space to accommodate them.
Mama Zhao and Old Master Zhao knew that a group of youngâ uns were coming to visit and were worried that they might be on edge due to their presence, so theyâd long since gone out.
Shen Jingbin remained just as beautiful as ever even after getting pregnant. In fact, she became even more eye-catching because of the faint motherly air she had about her now. In the past, while beautiful, she seemed somewhat distant. Anyone who looked at her would feel like they were gazing up at a celestial fairy in the sky. Now, she felt more personable, and it was easier to interact with her.
Worried that a noisy environment might not be suitable for a pregnant woman, everyone subconsciously lowered their voices. It was as if they were worried theyâd scare the baby in Shen Jingbinâs belly.
Whilst chatting with one another, National Treasures suddenly thought about a thread that had received a lot of attention lately and brought it up. "Hey Nutty, did you know that woman who was always at odds with you, Nine Ballads, was actually the artiste, Xue Sijia who was very popular in the past? You know, the one who did an advertisement with you."
"Nine Ballads is Xue Sijia?" asked Shen Jingbin in surprise.
No wonder they looked so familiar, they were actually the same person! She could finally understand why Xue Sijia was so hostile towards her.
There was animosity between them to begin with. When Shen Jingbinâs identity was exposed after the event, Xue Sijia must have found out about it and began hating her, to the point where she even put herself at risk just to go against Shen Jingbin.
That woman had it rough too. She just couldnât let bygones be bygones, and instead chose to pursue old grudges.
"Howâd you guys find out?"
"Everyone in-game knows about it now. The exposé is posted on the forums. Rumour has it that Yijuâs technological department tried to have the thread deleted but failed," answered Lingering White Clouds.
"She brought it upon herself. It was her fault for provoking people she shouldnât be provoking." Descent Of Rain And Snow said with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Someone she shouldnât provoke? Did something happen?"
"Hereâs what happened: isnât Xue Sijia past her prime? Rumour has it that sheâs being thoroughly sidelined. And, sheâs even being overshadowed by that now artiste from her company... Eh, speaking of which, the celebrity from Xue Sijiaâs company that recently debuted looks very similar to you, Nutty. But, she lacks that X factor that you have... Ah, thatâs not the point... The point is, Xue Sijia probably wasnât very happy about being sidelined, so she vented her frustration by going around beating people up in-game. A majority of her kills were PK. Itâd be fine if she PKed regular players since they knew how strong she was. All they had to do was bear with it since they couldnât beat her. But, she even started going after newbies that just entered the game..." said National treasures
National Treasures was going on for too long, so Lingering White Clouds decided to cut in. "A newbie that just entered Novice Village and lost their newbie protection was cut down by her. That newbie actually turned out to be some godlike hacker in the real world, and they were the type to hold a grudge. After they were killed by her, they began digging out information about her. Yijuâs security is pretty good, but that newbie was even better. They easily bypassed Yijuâs security and retrieved Xue Sijiaâs personal information. They also hacked her computer and found all of the underhanded things sheâs done from her debut till now and released it online.
"This caused quite a stir on not just the gaming forums, but also only platforms like Tianya and Zhihu. Everyone is denouncing her now. In the leaked post, there was lots of information detailing how her personality was just a farce, and how sheâd stolen resources and roles from her colleagues in the company. Sheâs basically lost her image as a cold and aloof goddess. But, thanks to this, sheâs shot up in âpopularityâ once again." said National Treasures.
Lingering White Clouds sighed. "I donât think anyone wants this kind of âpopularityâ."
National Treasures spread out her hands in a shrugging motion. "It canât be helped. This was all her own doing."
Shen Jingbin silently listened to everything they said without expressing her own opinion. All she thought was that nothing ever remains the same.
"Ah, thatâs right. There was that thing too. Rumour has it that Crying Fish and Neverending Journey have extended their relationship to real life. Now that I think about it, they do seem quite compatible," said Descent Of Rain And Snow.
"Yeah, I think so too..."
Yet another round of gossiping...
National Treasures and company left after dinner. Shen Jingbin and Zhao Chengning were lounging on the sofa and cuddling when Shen Jingbin said, "I havenât played for a long time. I donât think Iâll be able to catch up to their pace."
"Donât worry about it. We can play together once youâve given birth and youâre feeling better. When our children are a little older, we can play together with them too," replied Zhao Chengning.
Shen Jingbin tilted her head upwards and looked him in the eye. "Is that how you really feel?"
Zhao Chengning kissed her forehead and said, "Yup. We made so many memories in-game. I know you canât give it up, and neither can I. In the future, Iâll tell our children that this is where I met their mother. Back then, she was ugly, but that didnât matter to me. Your father didnât snub her for it..."
Zhao Chengning received a punch to the stomach before he could finish. He smiled through the pain and caught his wifeâs hand...
When Mama Zhao and Old Master Zhao returned home, they saw the young couple sitting on the sofa with their backs towards them as they watched TV. The elders smiled.