Chapter 900

Li Luo heard his phone ring and thought it might be Ying Chanxi or Xu Youyu calling.

So he temporarily withdrew his hand from the piano and pulled out his own phone from his pant pocket.

Yan Zhusheng, sitting on his lap with her back to Li Luo, immediately frowned and couldn't help saying, "It's definitely your sister again, always calling at the worst moment to interrupt us."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help laughing and held up his phone for Yan Zhusheng to see the caller ID.

The next second, Yan Zhusheng fell silent, leaned back against Li Luo's chest, and gently bumped her head against him.

Li Luo held her close, then answered the call, saying to the other end, "Mom, what's up?"

"Where are you right now?" Lin Xiuhong didn't get straight to the point but asked first.

"At home," Li Luo said, tapping a few keys on the piano with his left hand. "Practicing with Zhusheng in the piano room."

"Oh." Confirming Li Luo was at home and not out somewhere, Lin Xiuhong nodded and said, "Good, since Zhusheng's there too, I'll tell you both something."

"What's going on?" Li Luo asked curiously. "What's it about?"

"Turn on speakerphone."

"Done."

"Mm, cough—cough—" Lin Xiuhong cleared her throat twice before continuing, "So, your dad had dinner today at a hotpot restaurant with Uncle Ying."

"Oh?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, surprised by this turn of events. "And what did Uncle Ying say?"

In Li Luo's view, after being rebuffed here, could Ying Zhicheng be trying to find a breakthrough through Li Guohong?

Was he still not willing to accept their four-person situation?

Thinking of this, Li Luo furrowed his brow.

But Lin Xiuhong didn't rush to mention their matter; after a moment of thought, she finally said, "Zhusheng, you're listening, right?"

"Mm, I'm listening."

"It's like this," Lin Xiuhong said. "Today at the hotpot restaurant, Uncle Ying said that Wanqing might be pregnant—she's already been to the hospital for a checkup, and if her health permits, she wants to have the baby."

"—What?!"

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng froze for a few seconds, then both exclaimed in shock.

Then Yan Zhusheng couldn't help asking, "Lin Yi, is this true?"

"Probably," Lin Xiuhong nodded. "Li Luo's dad came home and told me right away—it's definitely not fake. You can call your mom later to confirm."

"Alright, I'll call her later," Yan Zhusheng nodded, agreeing.

"Oh, by the way, don't tell Uncle Ying, Li Luo," Lin Xiuhong added. "He said today's conversation at the hotpot restaurant is supposed to stay secret from you."

"Huh?" Li Luo exclaimed again, dumbfounded. "What's Uncle Ying's deal? Why can't I know Aunt Yuan's pregnant?"

Because I beat him up once, he's holding a grudge?

Is he asking for another beating?

"No, no, it's not because of that," Lin Xiuhong chuckled. "There's another good piece of news I haven't told you yet."

"According to him, he plans to wait until after that meeting, then let Chanxi go back to you herself."

"He won't say anything else—consider it tacit approval. You'll understand his meaning when the time comes."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help raising an eyebrow; beside him, Yan Zhusheng beamed with joy.

"Really? Is your dad really saying this?" Yan Zhusheng quickly confirmed again.

"Of course," Lin Xiuhong said. "After Li Luo's dad came home, he specifically told me. He promised not to tell Li Luo, but I didn't promise anything, right? So I rushed to tell you both."

Hearing this, Li Luo barely held back a laugh, thinking: Uncle Ying finally got his comeuppance.

Back then, Ying Zhicheng accidentally revealed to Chanxi that he was still writing novels.

He'd planned to tell Ying Chanxi himself during that year's New Year, but ended up arguing with her anyway.

Hmm—maybe it wasn't even an argument, since Chanxi was too easy to soothe; she apologized after crying.

But back then, it still threw him into a panic.

Now it was Ying Zhicheng's turn to be kept in the dark—fitting retribution.

Thinking of this, Li Luo couldn't help suppressing his laughter, then said, "We understand. We won't tell Uncle Ying."

"Alright, then I'm done here," Lin Xiuhong chuckled, then added, "Uncle Ying's settled, but what about Uncle Xu? How's it going with him?"

"Uncle Xu?" Li Luo smiled. "He's already agreed, but he still needs to convince Aunt Cui. I don't think it'll be too hard—just wait for good news."

"Good, good, good!" Lin Xiuhong's whole demeanor brightened, her face glowing with happiness. "You've got to push hard—if you need my help, just say it. Should I invite Aunt Cui out for a meal to talk things over?"

"No, no," Li Luo quickly stopped her. "Just stay home and relax. Aunt Cui has Uncle Xu handling it—I think it's fine. Don't worry yourself."

"Mainly, I haven't dared to call her to play mahjong or go shopping lately—" Lin Xiuhong sighed.

"Don't worry," Li Luo smiled. "There'll be plenty of time for you two to hang out later. Just bear with it for now—I think it'll be just a few more days. I'm going to their house for dinner this weekend."

"That's good," Lin Xiuhong relaxed, then cheerfully added, "You've got to push hard—I'm waiting to hold my grandchild."

"Got it, got it," Li Luo nodded repeatedly, chatted a bit more with his mom, confirmed there was nothing else, then hung up.

He set the phone aside and met Yan Zhusheng's gaze; both could see the joy in each other's eyes.

The next second, Yan Zhusheng turned and pressed a quick kiss to Li Luo's lips: "How did you convince Dad? He just agreed like that?"

"I beat him up."

Hearing this answer, Yan Zhusheng shot him a skeptical glance—she didn't believe it for a second.

Li Luo didn't mind, only chuckled and said, "Call Aunt Yuan first—check in on her."

"Oh right, I'll call her," Yan Zhusheng nodded and immediately pulled out her phone to dial Yuan Wanqing.

"So what's your feeling?" Li Luo asked softly, holding Yan Zhusheng in his arms while the call was still ringing. "Your mom's pregnant—how do you feel?"

"Happy," Yan Zhusheng turned to him with a puzzled look. "Why are you asking?"

"Usually, when a mother has a second child, kids worry their parents' love will be split between them and the new sibling," Li Luo said carefully. "What about you?"

"Why would you think that?" Yan Zhusheng looked even more confused. "I live with you every day—I don't even live with Mom. Why would I worry about my parents' love being split?"

"I don't mind if Xixi and my senior split your love—how could I mind this?"

"Aren't you overthinking things a bit?"

Hearing this, Li Luo froze, suddenly realizing it really was the case.

But in his past life, Yan Zhusheng had always had a bad relationship with the family—wasn't that because Yin Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing remarried and then had another child?

? ttkдn? ￠o

So in this life, because he was by her side, Yan Zhusheng no longer cared whether Yuan Wanqing would have a second child?

As Li Luo thought of this, Yuan Wanqing on the other end had already answered the call.

"Hello? Zhusheng, what's wrong?" Yuan Wanqing asked over the phone.

Yan Zhusheng didn't rush to confirm the situation; she remembered Lin Xiuhong's warnings and asked first, "Mom, where are you right now?"

"Me?" Yuan Wanqing blinked. "I'm at home. What's up?"

"Is Dad beside you?" Yan Zhusheng asked again.

"He's in the shower," Yuan Wanqing said. "Just say what you need to say."

"Oh." After confirming it was safe, Yan Zhusheng asked directly, curious, "Mom, are you pregnant?"

"Huh?" Yuan Wanqing was startled by the question. "You already know?"

"Mm-hmm." Yan Zhusheng nodded. "I just found out—are you having a baby?"

Yuan Wanqing smiled helplessly. "I was planning to tell you after the final test results came out. Since you already know, I won't hide it."

"We still can't confirm whether to go through with it—the hospital's final evaluation hasn't come out yet."

"If the results are normal and my health is fine, I plan to have the baby."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded, having no objections—she even added cheerfully, "Then Mom, you've got this. If conditions allow, you absolutely must have the baby."

Hearing this, Yuan Wanqing was pleasantly surprised; she'd been worried Yan Zhusheng might disagree, and had been struggling over how to break the news.

Now that she knew her daughter's feelings, Yuan Wanqing exhaled in relief, her mood instantly brightening.

But the next second, Yan Zhusheng couldn't wait to say, "Mom, if you're having a baby, you'll need to rest for ten months, right?"

"Mm, yes."

"Then you won't be able to sing Li Luo's new song, right?" Yan Zhusheng added, sounding smug. "So Mom, just rest well—I'll take care of the new song."

Yuan Wanqing: "————?"

So that's what she was waiting for?

"Li Luo has a new song?" Yuan Wanqing asked curiously.

"Don't ask so much," Yan Zhusheng immediately cut off the topic. "Just rest well, Mom. You'll know when I release the song."

Yuan Wanqing laughed, shaking her head—she never imagined her own daughter would guard against her this fiercely; she wouldn't really steal it.

"Let's drop this for now," Li Luo interrupted helplessly, quickly reminding Yan Zhusheng of the real matter. "We haven't asked yet."

"Oh, right." Reminded by Li Luo, Yan Zhusheng remembered the real question and asked quickly, "Mom, do you know what Dad talked about when he went out to dinner with Uncle Li today?"

"Huh? How did you find out about this?" Yuan Wanqing asked, puzzled.

"Lin Yi just told us," Yan Zhusheng said directly. "She said Dad has already agreed to our relationship—but he doesn't want Li Luo to know yet. He plans to tell him after Sister comes back from the meeting."

"Mm—he did think that way," Yuan Wanqing's expression turned strange. "But if he said not to tell Li Luo, how did you find out?"

"Because Uncle Li only promised not to tell Li Luo—he didn't say anything about Lin Yi," Yan Zhusheng said with innocent sincerity. "But Mom, you can't let Dad know that Li Luo already found out Dad didn't want him to know."

Yuan Wanqing: "————Stop. My head hurts."

Li Luo chuckled beside her. Once he managed to hold it in, he said behind Yan Zhusheng, "Aunt Yuan, take good care of yourself. Let us know if you need anything."

"Mm, thank you for your concern," Yuan Wanqing smiled softly. "But for now, I'll have to cancel all my work—I won't be able to return until next year."

"The studio's supposed to sign under your company by the second half of this year, but I still have over half a year before I can—"

"That's not how it works," Li Luo interrupted halfway. "What kind of relationship do we have? Aunt Yuan, you're being too formal. The baby's the most important thing. Work and money can wait—we've got plenty of time ahead."

Li Luo held a pile of great songs—he wasn't worried at all that Yuan Wanqing would lose her popularity after a year's break.

Besides, there was Yan Zhusheng.

Perfect timing—use Yuan Wanqing's break to launch Yan Zhusheng, then when Yuan Wanqing returns, the mother-daughter duo will maintain—and even boost—their momentum.

Thinking of this, Li Luo made his decision: "As for the new song, Aunt Yuan, don't worry about it. I'll leave it to Zhusheng—but I'll need Aunt Luo Fei's help."

"No problem," Yuan Wanqing laughed. "She's been begging you to write new songs every day."

The three chatted a while longer, reiterated their advice about Yuan Wanqing's health, then Yan Zhusheng hung up.

Immediately, she turned to Li Luo, wiggling her hips. "The song—sing it now. I can't wait."

"Alright, don't rush," Li Luo chuckled. "What kind do you want to hear?"

"I can pick the genre myself?"

"Of course."

"Then—give me a few love songs first?"

"A few? You've got quite the appetite," Li Luo laughed, pinching her cheek. "A little greedy, aren't you?"

"Just tell me if you have them—don't tell me you don't have that many."

"Underestimate me?" Li Luo snorted, placed his hands on the piano keys, and began playing softly. "Let's start with one."