Chapter 38
“Yuanyuan? Yuanyuan?”
Lin Mu called twice, but still couldn’t wake Meng Xueyuan, who had fallen asleep in the nanny van. He had no choice but to get out, open the door, and gently push Meng Xueyuan’s arm. “Yuanyuan.”
“Hm?” Meng Xueyuan’s head bobbed. He jolted awake, his fingers grabbing at his pant leg as if duckweed finding roots. “Are we there?”
“We’re here. It’s 10:09.” Lin Mu glanced at him with concern. Recently, that tearjerker BE drama of the year had started frequent night shoots, and they’d reached the point where the male and female leads would never see each other again in this lifetime. Meng Xueyuan was required to slim down as much as possible.
Not sleeping well and unable to eat properly, Meng Xueyuan looked extremely weak now—so weak that even falling asleep in the nanny van, he couldn’t be woken. He used to be easy to rouse from naps. Was he getting too frail lately?
Lin Mu said, “Later, I’ll find a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to take a look at you.”
Meng Xueyuan rubbed his eyes, got out of the car briskly. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier? Hurry, let’s go in—time’s up.”
Lin Mu thought that being a “big shot” ten minutes late wouldn’t matter anyway—besides, they weren’t even late. Meng Xueyuan just liked to arrive early.
“Have you been feeling extra sleepy lately?”
“Seems like it,” Meng Xueyuan said. “Night shoots messed up my body clock. Once this stretch is over, I’ll adjust back.”
Today he was shooting a promotional ad for a xianxia mobile game. The prop was a long sword with real heft—not plastic—and it felt weighty in his hand.
He twirled it a few times. Not bad—not too strenuous.
“Mr. Meng, please take a breath in.” The costumer held a length of white satin waist sash edged in red, fastening it around Meng Xueyuan’s waist. “Alright, you can breathe out now.”
The sash was just the right length. Once fastened, there was only room to slip in a single finger. A palm-wide band cinched his already slim waist until it was almost impossible to grasp.
Meng Xueyuan was tall and fair, ethereal and otherworldly. Only that ring of red edging at his waist added a touch of vivid color to the holiness.
The set was a green screen. All he needed to do was hang from wires and mimic the game character’s movements.
One moment sparring swords on a sacred mountain, the next strolling through Chang’an, then riding a blue bird and soaring away on the wind.
Makeup, styling, filming—one full round, and it was already 3 p.m. by the time they finished.
Lin Mu held a bowl of icy double-skin milk pudding. As soon as Meng Xueyuan finished removing his makeup, he handed it over.
Meng Xueyuan pressed a hand against his lower abdomen, which had been tightly bound by the sash for three hours. It felt heavy and faintly painful—probably tied too tight today.
Seeing the crushed nuts and overly sweet strawberry jam on the pudding, he suddenly didn’t feel like eating. “You have it. I don’t want it.”
“Huh? You don’t even want dessert?” Worry colored Lin Mu’s eyes. “Then what do you want to eat?”
Meng Xueyuan thought for a moment. “Fresh orange and passion fruit tea, no ice.”
Lin Mu took out his phone. “I’ll order it right away. Let’s wait in the van.”
Ten minutes later, Lin Mu brought the fruit tea back. Meng Xueyuan took it, bit the straw, and sucked up a huge mouthful. His groggy, sleepy state cleared instantly.
At noon, to keep his waist slim, Meng Xueyuan had only eaten two bites of bread. It wasn’t even 3:30 yet, but Lin Mu was already checking nearby restaurants, planning to take him out for dinner.
Before leaving, Lu Xiao had specifically told Lin Mu not to let Meng Xueyuan get tired. Instead, he was not only tired—he’d gotten thinner.
The driver had been hired by Lu Xiao, and his driving skills were personally certified by “ace driver” Lu Xiao himself. He drove extremely steadily. If there were no cars behind them, he wouldn’t rush through even if the green light only had a few seconds left.
Ahead was a 60-second red light. Lin Mu seized the time to ask, “Do you want sashimi, steak, or grilled fish, or stir-fry?”
This determined whether they’d turn left or go straight.
Meng Xueyuan took a sip of the sweet-and-sour fruit tea. He had no appetite—better to go home, make some soy milk powder, and sleep.
“I—”
A luxury car pulled up quietly beside their van. The rear window rolled down, revealing a handsome side profile.
Meng Xueyuan glanced over casually and realized it was Shen Ning. The other party had clearly recognized his van.
So he rolled his window down as well. “Hello, Uncle Shen.”
As soon as he said it, Meng Xueyuan bit his lip—he’d used the wrong form of address. After all, the last time he’d met Lu Xiao’s parents, it was under the pretense of putting on a show.
Shen Ning smiled when he heard that. What was this—Lu Xiao wasn’t around, and the address had already reverted to “uncle”? That kid really hid Meng Xueyuan too well, making him unfamiliar with the family.
“Yuanyuan, would you like to come over for dinner?” Shen Ning invited. “It’s just me at home today. If you have time, keep me company for a meal.”
Emotionally and logically, it was hard for Meng Xueyuan to refuse an invitation from a good-looking person. “Alright.”
“There’s a spot to pull over just ahead. Come ride in my car.”
A minute later, Meng Xueyuan opened the door and sat beside Shen Ning.
Shen Ning placed an exquisite dessert box on his lap and untied the ribbon. “These are rose cakes a friend gave me. Want to try one?”
“Thank you.” The aroma of baked roses lingered at his nose. Meng Xueyuan took one of the flower cakes, accidentally crushing a bit of the flaky crust and dropping crumbs onto the leather seat.
“I’ll pick it up,” Shen Ning said, stopping Meng Xueyuan’s hand. “You eat.”
“Thank you.”
“Your body temperature seems a bit high?” Shen Ning caught his wrist to check, frowning. “Feeling unwell?”
“No. Maybe I just naturally run warm.”
“That’s good, then. Any work tonight?”
“No.” He’d shot night scenes last night and filmed the ad this morning. No matter what, he couldn’t work overtime tonight.
“Why not stay over? You can sleep in Lu Xiao’s room. Have a look around.”
Meng Xueyuan was a little tempted. Lu Xiao’s childhood room must hold so many memories. And he hadn’t seen Lu Xiao for a month.
“Okay.” He felt his own skin was pretty thick—Lu Xiao wasn’t even home, and he still dared to sleep in the Lu family’s bed.
Shen Ning curved his lips slightly. Willing to stay over meant his son had truly won his wife. He didn’t deliberately remind Meng Xueyuan to call him “Dad.” “What do you want to eat tonight?”
“Simple dishes are fine.”
“How about seafood mee sua soup?”
“That sounds delicious.”
It really was. Meng Xueyuan added twice as much vinegar as Shen Ning.
“You like sour food that much? Just like when I was pregnant with Lu Third.”
Meng Xueyuan blurted out instinctively, “No wonder Lu Xiao is so jealous.”
After saying it, he flushed. “I didn’t mean anything else.”
Shen Ning had been about to say something, but after hearing that, he forgot and laughed. “Haha, Lu Third is just petty—an immature brat who ran away to the southwest because he couldn’t beat his older brothers when he was little.”
Meng Xueyuan: “……”
Sitting across from Shen Ning in this warm family atmosphere, he suddenly wondered—Shen Ning’s eldest and second sons probably weren’t such terrible people, right?
That night, Meng Xueyuan stayed in Lu Xiao’s room. He even looked through Lu Xiao’s photos, finally seeing with his own eyes how Lu Xiao had grown from a cute kid who shared snacks into a heartthrob with hundreds of millions of female fans.
He sat on Lu Xiao’s bed and video-called him.
Lu Xiao complained to his wife that he’d been too busy lately to have proper video calls. Then his gaze froze—he suddenly realized his wife was sitting on that golden nanmu bed at his own home, looking extremely noble.
Damn… he really wanted to go home and “honor” his noble wife every day—even with just his fingers.
“Wife, open the first cabinet on the left. There are your clothes inside.”
“Huh?” Meng Xueyuan opened it skeptically and found a set of clothes he’d once thought he’d lost in the training dorm.
“Lu Xiao, you—”
“I stole them,” Lu Xiao said righteously. “Just so you could see. There are new clothes and underwear next to them—your size. Don’t wear the old ones anymore.”
Meng Xueyuan: “……”
After the video call, Lu Xiao made another call to Shen Ning to thank him for bringing his wife home.
From his observation, Meng Xueyuan didn’t have many friends after filming, almost no social life. He said he liked playing mahjong, yet hardly ever did. He always slept alone on the bed in Lu Xiao’s apartment, waiting for him to come back—just thinking about it made Lu Xiao feel sorry for him and want to drop everything.
He sent Meng Xueyuan another message, telling him to stay at the Lu house more often, talk more with Shen Dad, treat Shen Ning like an NPC and farm daily interactions—lots of lore about his past would drop.
When he came back, each unlocked “fragment” could be exchanged for one request. Any request at all—even asking him to return to the entertainment industry.
When Meng Xueyuan saw the message, it was already the next morning. His first thought was: I’ve already unlocked one fragment—when Shen Dad was pregnant with you, he really loved sour food. A major vinegar king.
“Ugh…”
Suddenly, Meng Xueyuan’s face changed. He rushed into the bathroom, one hand bracing on the sink, the other pressing his chest, retching violently into the basin.
His face turned red from retching, but nothing came up.
He straightened up, leaning against the gray-toned tiled wall, closed his eyes, and took a moment to recover.
Then he suddenly opened his eyes, incredulously touching his lower abdomen—
Sleepiness, nausea, craving sour food, occasional heaviness in the lower abdomen… pregnancy?
Was he going to have a baby with Lu Xiao?
No, no… it had to be pseudopregnancy. Meng Xueyuan rinsed his hands under the faucet.
It wasn’t that easy to get pregnant. Even those who could get pregnant often experienced pseudopregnancy first, as the body tested the waters.
Drying his hands absentmindedly, Meng Xueyuan decided that whether it was real or not, he had to get checked as soon as possible. As a public figure, he couldn’t go to a hospital himself. And before he was sure, he felt awkward asking Shen Ning to arrange a private consultation.
The Lu household had prepared a lavish breakfast. Meng Xueyuan forced himself to eat more, not letting anything seem off.
After leaving the Lu house, he immediately had a runner buy him a pregnancy test.
He used it in his apartment bathroom.
Two red lines.
Meng Xueyuan licked his dry lips. At the very least, he was experiencing pseudopregnancy.
In pseudopregnancy, the body prepares as if for early pregnancy, adjusting itself to a state suitable for nurturing a child. Progesterone and hCG levels increase; blood tests and pregnancy tests look just like a real pregnancy.
But whether there was a gestational sac in the abdomen couldn’t be faked—an ultrasound would make it clear.
A queen bee’s nuptial flight is a major event for the hive; carrying offspring is the same—real or not.
Meng Xueyuan immediately notified Lin Xilan and Bai He. “Do you have time to accompany me for an exam?”
“Yes.”
In a certain office.
Lin Xilan stood up from his desk, removed his badge, closed his files, and walked straight out.
“Chief assistant, where are you going?” The junior secretary hugged her documents, completely confused. Their Lin Chief Assistant was a notorious workaholic—he didn’t sleep if the moon didn’t. And President Lu was still in his office right now!
“Family emergency. Help me ask President Lu for leave.”
“Yes.” It must be something urgent.
Lin Xilan met Bai He in the elevator. As usual, the two avoided suspicion at the company and didn’t speak. Even in the underground garage, they drove separately. Only after reaching a certain distance outside the company did Bai He get out and switch cars.
Lin Xilan drove to Meng Xueyuan’s apartment. Bai He, meanwhile, called the previous generation’s queen bee.
The former queen had extensive hospital connections and could find a facility with high confidentiality for the current queen.
“Go to Bo’ai Hospital and find Director Gao from obstetrics,” the old queen instructed. “He’ll be waiting at the hospital entrance. Yuanyuan’s identity is special—bring more people. If there’s any crowd disturbance, make sure he’s protected.”
“Don’t worry, Uncle.” Bai He hung up, entered the hospital name into navigation, and forwarded the address to the group chat.
[Group message @Nan Cheng Branch: Come immediately.]
By the time Lin Xilan picked up Meng Xueyuan and arrived at the hospital, the other five worker bees in Nan Cheng had already arrived.
Seven young worker bees assembled in an imposing formation—the vanguard Meng Xueyuan had brought from the southwest to Nan Cheng to work and get rich. Each excelled in their own field, diligent and outstanding.
Meng Xueyuan felt a bit embarrassed. “There’s a 99% chance it’s pseudopregnancy. I said there was no need to make such a big fuss. If you have things to do, you can go back.”
Everyone shook their heads. Nothing was more important than Meng Xueyuan. Besides, they were here to act as bodyguards.
Meng Xueyuan thought: eight of us going in and out together actually draws more attention—after all, everyone’s looks are pretty good.
Director Gao from obstetrics was a kind woman in her fifties, unfazed. “Come with me.”
She led Meng Xueyuan through several turns to a VIP ultrasound room. The entire floor was nearly empty. Lin Xilan, Bai He, and the other five sat neatly in a row outside.
All of them were nearly in suits, straight from work. Sitting there, it felt less like an ultrasound room inside and more like the final round of interviews at a Fortune 500 company—any applicant would feel immense pressure.
A young nurse came out and called, “One family member may accompany.”
Seven heads turned toward her at once.
Nurse: “…” That’s a lot of people. Which one is the kid’s dad?
In the end, Fang Furong—the forensic doctor with some medical background—stood up. “I’ll go.”
Meng Xueyuan first had two vials of blood drawn, then lay down for the ultrasound.
The moment his body touched the blue disposable sheet, he had a premonition—this had to be pseudopregnancy.
Sure enough, after scanning his lower abdomen, the director said, “No gestational sac found. It’s pseudopregnancy. Your reactions are fairly strong, though—I’ll take a look at your other organs while we’re at it.”
For Fang Furong, the result was expected. The blood test report came out; he flipped through it, frowning slightly.
Director Gao glanced at it. “Your progesterone levels are still quite high. The pseudopregnancy will probably last three months. If the discomfort is mild, there’s no need to worry—just endure it. If the reaction becomes severe, you can come to me for medication.”
“When the body goes through all this work for no reason, it definitely consumes the adult’s nutrients. Pay attention to a balanced diet.”
“Mm.”
Accompanied by Fang Furong, Meng Xueyuan walked out of the ultrasound room. Facing everyone’s gazes, he scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“Even pseudopregnancy is already impressive.”
“Yes. Male pseudopregnancy rates aren’t high—one in ten thousand.”
“Our Yuanyuan really hasn’t had it easy. Please take good care of yourself.”
Fang Furong announced that the queen bee would continue pseudopregnancy for three months. “Now, we need two nurse bees.”
Lin Xilan and Bai He exchanged a glance and stepped forward without hesitation.
Worker bees, from days 3–6 after emerging, are responsible for incubating eggs and cleaning the birthing chambers; from days 6–12, they feed larvae and the queen—this stage is called nurse bees. Only after day 18 do they leave the hive to collect pollen. (1)
Thus, nurse bees are taken from young worker bees. Among them, 001 Lin Xilan and 002 Bai He were, by numbering alone, the youngest.
When the queen bee lays eggs, two worker bees are also needed at her side—to feed her royal jelly.
Although Meng Xueyuan felt it wasn’t necessary, this was a long-standing custom. Breaking it would make the worker bees feel there was unfinished business, leaving them unsettled.
Better to let them take care of him for a few days and fulfill their duty. Besides, worker bees really did know how to care for a queen.
Meng Xueyuan didn’t plan to tell Lu Xiao about the pseudopregnancy. Lu Xiao was far away; during last night’s video call, he’d complained about being extremely busy. Telling him would only make him worry and lose focus. After such a big fuss just to find out it was pseudopregnancy, Meng Xueyuan also felt a little embarrassed—it wasn’t real pregnancy after all. If Lu Xiao knew, he’d definitely have the experienced Shen Ning help out. That would be too much trouble.
Since he was hiding it from Lu Xiao, he had to hide it from Lin Mu and the cooking aunt as well.
Lin Mu had already asked several times yesterday about his odd condition.
Meng Xueyuan arranged, “You stay at my place; I’ll stay at Lu Xiao’s. It’s next door—there are enough rooms, everything’s there. You don’t need to prepare anything.”
“Oh right—can you get leave easily? If it’s difficult, then—” Lu Xiao’s two older brothers were both workaholics. It probably wasn’t easy for Lin Xilan and Bai He to take leave as their secretaries.
Lin Xilan and Bai He said calmly, “It’s easy.”
Meng Xueyuan was relieved.
In reality, it wasn’t easy at all. In such a huge group, other people’s leave didn’t require the president’s approval—but Lin Xilan and Bai He both needed their superiors’ consent.
From experience, they would be questioned. They had to keep the queen’s matter strictly confidential.
Might as well resign.
In the Lu Group’s internal OA system, in a section visible only to the presidents, two resignation letters appeared simultaneously.
A bolt from the blue. The presidents’ vision went dark—they were completely caught off guard. They couldn’t sit still and immediately went out to the workstations to find them.
The secretaries were still in black slacks and white shirts, impeccably dressed, professional and composed—no sign at all of intending to jump ship.
Lu Lou asked, “Not satisfied with the pay?”
Bai He replied respectfully, “Lu Group’s compensation is already the highest in the industry.”
Lu Lou reminded him, “Starting next year, you’ll be eligible for profit-sharing.”
“I know.”
For the first time, Lu Lou felt his considerate secretary was utterly unyielding. “Then why resign?”
Bai He lifted his gaze from the computer. “To have time to complete a major life event.”
Lu Lou felt so suffocated his chest ached. As the president of the Lu Group, he’d never imagined his personal secretary resigning.
Accustomed to Bai He, faced with his sudden resignation, he didn’t even know which foot he should step into the Lu Group building with tomorrow.
He refused.
The same conversation happened one floor below, in the legal department.
The smile in Lu Yushu’s peach-blossom eyes behind his glasses faded slightly, though he still looked amused.
After a moment, he took off the low-prescription glasses he used for reviewing contracts.
“Reason.”
Lin Xilan stood before the president’s desk, posture straight, neither servile nor arrogant. “I want to change to a different kind of job. It won’t violate the non-compete agreement.”
“Heh.”
Lu Yushu directly printed out the secretary’s internal browsing history from three minutes ago and laid it on the desk, jade-like fingers tapping it lightly.
Lu Yushu smiled. “The ‘different job’ you’re talking about—is it enrolling in a maternity nanny training program?”
Lin Xilan answered calmly, “Yes.”
Lu Yushu put one hand on his waist and laughed in disbelief.
