She kept her marriage a secret for three years, then divorced and was forcefully pampered by a power

Shao Yan's smile was captivating, but her words were so enigmatic that Huo Xiao couldn't decipher them.

"We're husband and wife, of course I care about you."

There were no affectionate terms of address, nor a warm embrace. The starlight in her eyes was not from excitement at seeing him, but rather from an indescribable sadness.

Huo Xiao had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it or what the problem was.

Perhaps he and she didn't experience the joy of a long-awaited reunion that he had imagined.

Huo Xiao frowned, not wanting her to get away with it so easily.

"Shao Yan, you know what I mean."

Shao Yan smiled very calmly.

"Whatever you mean, you shouldn't be asking me."

The problem returned to Huo Xiao like a football being passed around, leaving him speechless. Even if he wanted to get angry, it was like hitting cotton.

His departure without saying goodbye, and his stay away for nearly a month, means he has no right to ask Shao Yan.

Shao Yan also refrained from dwelling on the details or blaming him as a wife.

Besides, she, as a pregnant woman, should be the one being cared for; Huo Xiao felt ashamed.

Have you chosen a name for the child yet?

Huo Xiao changed the subject too quickly, and Shao Yan's mind hadn't caught up with his train of thought yet, but he did manage to prevent Shao Yan from taking the lead, which made the atmosphere much more relaxed.

"Not yet. Who names their child before they're even born?"

"No, we don't, but we can."

Huo Xiao was filled with lingering fear; he was afraid that Shao Yan would even take away his right to choose a name.

Huo Xiao hugged Shao Yan, and she did not break free from him.

After all, it hadn't been long, just a few months. In those few months, she and he were completely gone.

She was a woman who longed for love and craved his tenderness, but there was nothing she could do; he didn't belong to her, or rather, he would never belong to her alone.

He still has a million choices. Even if he really loved her that much in the past, he already has Lan Yan.

So don't spout nonsense about treating Lan Yan as her.

"The boy's name is Huo Dong, and the girl's name is Huo Siyan."

Shao Yan plays with the girl's name.

She asked, almost as if possessed, "Is it the 'Yan' in 'Shao Yan'?"

It's still the "Yan" in Lan Yan's name.

She didn't ask the last question, but Huo Xiao finally caught the jealous look in her eyes, and his mood improved. He hugged her and kissed her.

"Of course it's the 'Yan' from Shao Yan. Huo Xiao misses Shao Yan."

As he said this, Shao Yan smiled faintly, seemingly taking it to heart, yet also seemingly not.

"Once your pregnancy is stable in two months, we'll hold our wedding ceremony. We'll choose a sunny, calm day, when it's neither too hot nor too cold."

It's been a bit cold these past two months, and it's snowing outside. He carefully put her hands inside his clothes to warm them up.

Even though the heating was on in the room, Shao Yan's hands were still ice cold.

He couldn't bear to part with it.

Huo Xiao plans to put his work aside for a while and spend time with Shao Yan to make up for the psychological discomfort caused to her by his absence these past few days.

Shao Yan still did not respond to him.

She didn't refute him, but listened silently as he recounted everything, neither too warm nor too cold.

Huo Xiao said helplessly, "I know you're upset, it'll make you feel better if you talk about it. Keeping it bottled up inside will make you sick. You're pregnant, you should think about the baby."

Shao Yan sat on the sofa, propping her head up with her hand and quietly watching him. After a few seconds, she spoke.

"Are you still cooking? If not, I'm going to rest."

Huo Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then gave in.

Watching him busy himself in the kitchen, Shao Yan's eyes slowly welled up with tears.

Everything is fake.

but--

Please give her one last bit of warmth, she stared at his retreating figure with almost greedy eyes.

She loved two men, one was Meng Yu, and the other was Huo Xiao.

But if, as Qu You said, Huo Xiao really did impersonate Meng Yu back then, then the only person she loved from beginning to end was Huo Xiao.

How ridiculous!

After going around in circles, she couldn't figure out who had deceived whom.

From this perspective, it's not entirely Meng Yu's fault if he doesn't love her.

So who should she blame for wasting her youth, her future, and her entire life?

It was as if she had no right to blame anyone.

She could only blame herself, blaming herself for deceiving herself and putting on a show of deep affection that no one cared about.

While Shao Yan was still lost in thought, Huo Xiao had already brought out two large bowls of noodles.

Looking at the steaming noodles in front of me, there was a bowl with a few specks of chili oil floating on top, and it smelled delicious.

"Here's a bowl without chili peppers for you, with two poached eggs in it. Eat this first to fill your stomach, then you can have dinner later."

Huo Xiao meant that he would cook dinner as well.

Shao Yan swallowed hard at the aroma, but her stomach growled loudly.

She thought it wasn't that she didn't care about saving face, but that the baby in her belly needed to eat.

Of course, she would also carefully hide her true feelings, at least not letting Huo Xiao know that her real intention was to run away.

Because she couldn't escape under his watchful eye, she had no choice but to leave openly and disappear from his sight and world.