Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Wang Changgui was speechless for a moment, then coughed awkwardly twice and quickly tried to save face:

"Well... Lin Chen, it's a great thing that you're willing to take on this responsibility and kindly help your family! It's all for the child's good, so it's settled then!"

After the meeting, Lin Chen went through the entire process clearly, leaving no loopholes, and had Xie Xiaomei accompany Xie Dajiao to handle all the errands.

First, obtain a certificate of marital and reproductive status from the women's director and register the pregnancy as conceived during marriage. The pregnancy was only discovered after the divorce.

Then, I went to the town hospital for an ultrasound to verify the gestational age. The timing was definitely before the divorce, so it was completely compliant. Finally, I went to the town's family planning office to complete the birth registration.

Li Fu had already signed to relinquish all rights without any objection. In addition, her gestational age was completely in line with the policy. The family planning office only casually reminded her to handle it in time next time. She was not fined a penny, and the whole process went smoothly.

After the child is born, the birth certificate will only need to be filled with Xie Dajiao's personal information, and the household registration will be directly under her household registration book, just like a normal child born in wedlock. It will not affect the child's future at all. Of course, this is all for later. Just a heads up.

……

This morning, Ivory Mountain has been in constant turmoil.

The news of what happened at the village committee meeting spread quickly, and the whole village was in an uproar after others found out.

The villagers gathered in groups, chatting amongst themselves, all praising Lin Chen for his righteousness and sense of responsibility. Only Wang Xiaomeng felt a tightness in her chest ever since she heard these words; she couldn't breathe properly and couldn't calm down.

No one knows how frustrated she felt.

She remembered every single detail of how Lin Chen helped and protected her during that time.

She was a young woman, running that tofu shop from dawn till dusk, working tirelessly. Countless times when she was about to give up, Lin Chen would quietly step forward to encourage and help her.

People are all made of flesh and blood. Wang Xiaomeng was genuinely interested in him. In fact, a few days ago, she secretly talked to her mother, wanting to ask Xie Dajiao to act as a middleman to clarify her relationship with Lin Chen and settle things down properly.

They were all excitedly anticipating good news, but their hopes were dashed by the village committee's announcement.

All morning, she sat in the tofu shop, her mind filled with images of Lin Chen and the scene of him publicly acknowledging Xie Xiaomei as his girlfriend.

The more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she became. In the end, she couldn't sit still any longer; the overwhelming feeling in her heart made it hard for her to breathe.

She gritted her teeth, took out her phone, and dialed Lin Chen's number, her voice trembling without her even realizing it:

"Brother Chen, are you free right now? Come to the stream near your house, I have something I need to tell you in person."

Lin Chen sensed something was off about her tone, but without asking further, he simply replied:

"Okay, I'll go back right now."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiaomeng headed towards Lin Chen's house first.

This place is remote; you can't see a soul in a day. It's so quiet you can only hear the rushing water. That's perfect, too. No one will bother her, so she can ask all the questions that's been weighing on her mind.

Not long after, footsteps came from behind.

Wang Xiaomeng didn't dare to turn around for a long time. Only when Lin Chen walked up to her did she turn around. Her eyes were red and she was holding back tears. Her aggrieved yet stubborn appearance was heartbreaking to see.

She stared straight at Lin Chen, her voice hoarse, and without beating around the bush, asked directly:

"Brother Chen, I just want to ask you one question: what you said at the village committee this morning, is it true? Are you really dating Sister Xiaomei?"

Lin Chen looked down at her reddened eyes and saw how she was trying to hold on. He knew in his heart that it was time to resolve this matter.

He nodded and said frankly:

"It's true."

Just those three words made Wang Xiaomeng's head buzz, and she felt all the strength drain from her body.

Before she could even catch her breath, Lin Chen threw another sentence at her:

"I came here specifically to see you because I don't want to lie to you, Xiao Meng. The child in Xie Dajiao's belly is mine."

Wang Xiaomeng was completely stunned, staring at Lin Chen in disbelief.

She swayed slightly, her footing faltering as she nearly fell. She quickly reached out and grabbed the tree trunk beside her, the bark digging painfully into her palm, but she felt nothing.

She bit her lip, held back for a long time, and then asked in a hoarse voice with a thick nasal tone:

"Then what am I?"

"You were so good to me before, helping me and taking care of me in every way. In the end, you just pitied me, didn't you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up again and streamed down her face.

Lin Chen felt bad seeing her cry. He took a small step forward, deliberately avoiding touching her to prevent further resistance, but his eyes were resolute, every word from his heart:

"It's not about pitying, absolutely not."

"At first, I did treat you like a younger sister. I felt it was too hard for a young girl like you to run a tofu shop, and I wanted to take care of you. But later, I really started to care about you and genuinely liked you."

"I watched you grow your business step by step, without being pretentious or complaining. I admire your indomitable spirit and your down-to-earth and kind nature."

He laid bare all his struggles and difficulties to Wang Xiaomeng without any concealment:

"I wanted to set you up with Liu Yishui before because I knew in my heart that I wasn't a monogamous person and couldn't give you that kind of unique feeling. I was afraid of holding you back and making you feel wronged, so I didn't dare to break the ice."

"But then I realized completely, I can't let you go at all!"

"Stop talking, you're still lying to me!" Wang Xiaomeng squatted down and broke down in tears.

Lin Chen patted her shoulder and whispered:

"I didn't lie to you, Xiaomeng. I thought I loved you rationally and with restraint, but actually I loved you very cowardly. I like you so much, how can I entrust you to an unknown man? So even if I have many women, I will not give up on you. I am sure I can give you a better future."

Wang Xiaomeng had never heard such words before. Overwhelmed with mixed feelings, she threw herself into Lin Chen's arms and burst into tears, gently patting his back.

"The reason I haven't told you the truth or confessed my feelings to you is because Big Foot came into the world so suddenly. The people in the village are gossipy, love to talk behind people's backs, and have ulterior motives. If I hadn't paved the way in advance, this child would have been looked down upon from birth, and Big Foot would have been drowned in the spittle of the whole village."

"I publicly acknowledged Xiaomei as my boyfriend so that I could give her and her child a stable place to live. Only in this way could the villagers find no fault with me and I could live a peaceful life in the future."

Wang Xiaomeng lowered her head and asked in a muffled voice:

"So, your relationship with Sister Xiaomei... is also real? And it wasn't just a lie to cover things up?"

"It's true."

Lin Chen did not deny it, and was frank and sincere:

"Xiaomei and I are not acting. Xiaomei is a good girl, gentle, sensible and generous. I treat her sincerely. I feel responsible towards Dajiao, and I genuinely like you. You will always have an important place in my heart. All three feelings are real, without a trace of falsehood."

Lin Chen softened his tone, giving her the full choice, and said softly:

"I've told you all the truth today, not to force you to agree immediately. If you feel uncomfortable or can't get over it, we can still be the same as before. You can be my sister, and I'll still protect you and help you. We don't need to be distant."

"But if you care about me and can't bear to part with me, I will do everything in my power to make sure you never hear any gossip or suffer any injustice in the village."

Wang Xiaomeng left Lin Chen's embrace, hugged her knees, and watched the stream swirl and flow forward.

Are you wronged? I feel so wronged.

Are you unwilling to accept this? Absolutely unwilling.

But she had liked Lin Chen for so long, and her feelings for him were genuine; she really couldn't bear to let go.

She squatted there for a long time, until she had cried enough, before raising her hand to wipe away her tears haphazardly. Her eyelashes were still wet, and her voice was still heavy with sobs.

"Brother Chen, let me sort this out. My mind is a mess right now, and I can't understand anything."

After saying that, she didn't dare to look at Lin Chen again, afraid that she would lose control again. She stood up, turned around and walked home, her steps heavy, full of struggle and helplessness.

Lin Chen stood there, quietly watching her figure disappear into the distance, neither chasing nor shouting.

He took out a cigarette, lit it, and the smoke slowly dissipated; he wasn't in a hurry.

They have a long time together, and what he wants is for her to accept him willingly and steadily, not just a momentary impulse or a forced compromise.

Back home, Lin Chen didn't hide anything and told Xie Dajiao and Xie Xiaomei everything about his heart-to-heart talk with Wang Xiaomeng by the stream, including how she cried and struggled.

After listening, the aunt and niece exchanged a glance, and Xie Xiaomei sighed.

"Xiao Meng is too shy and has too many worries. She has you in her heart 100%, but she is held back by the gossip in the village and worldly concerns. It's not that she is unwilling, but that she is afraid."

Xie Dajiao gently touched her lower abdomen, her eyes soft and full of heartache:

"Yes, anyone would be confused and upset in this situation. We can't force her, but we have to take the initiative to reach out to her, gradually untangle the knot in her heart, and pave the way for her so that she can feel at ease to stay."

Xie Dajiao, being a matchmaker, was quick-witted and immediately came up with an idea. She whispered something to Xie Xiaomei, and the two quickly agreed on it.

Xie Xiaomei found an excuse to send Lin Chen away.

As soon as everyone left, she immediately picked up the phone and called Wang Xiaomeng, her tone intimate and gentle:

"Xiao Meng, what are you doing? Stop staying home and overthinking things. My aunt made some soup, it smells amazing. Come sit down for a bit. Chen isn't home, it's just the three of us girls. Let's chat for a while, no one will bother us."

Wang Xiaomeng's mind was in complete turmoil, and she really wanted to have a good chat with them to find out their true thoughts, so she agreed and headed to Lin Chen's house again.

(Fourth update finished, I'm exhausted)