At dinner, the Johnson family gathered together. Even the old lady, who had been secluding herself, ca.
The bountiful dinner was mainly prepared by Pauline Briggs, with Adrian Desmond’s help. Even Curly participated in making dumplings.
"Curly, that’s not how you make dumplings." Sienna Johnson watched her daughter’s strange dumplings and pulled her over to teach her, but Curly dodged away.
"No, these are Curly-brand dumplings!" she declared confidently.
"What Curly-brand? You clearly ssed them up."
"Just let her play..." the old lady said dotingly.
Curly stuck her tongue out at her mother, looking smug.
Sienna grabbed so flour and sared it on her daughter’s face. Curly tried to fight back but was pulled into Adrian’s arms. "No ssing around!"
"Dad, you’re biased! It was your wife who picked on first."
"She’s pregnant; you should cut her so slack."
"I’m just a kid! Why doesn’t she cut so slack?"
Pauline watched them bicker, a constant smile on her face. The once quiet Johnson ho had beco lively.
"Mom, you should go and rest. We’ll take care of everything," Pauline said.
But the old lady was still angry with Pauline and ignored her. Pauline felt awkward and didn’t dare to speak again.
The old lady learned about Pauline’s suicide attempt afterward. By then, Pauline was already fine. However, the old lady was so angry that she had skipped dinner and complained to Sienna that Pauline was thoughtless.
Pauline knew she had made a mistake and had been very cautious around the old lady. Sienna felt this couldn’t continue, so she decided to play the diator.
"Grandma, Mom knows she was wrong. For my sake, please forgive her and let’s end this cold war."
"..."
"Grandma, don’t you always say that a united family prospers in everything? We all feel bad when you and Mom are at odds..."
The old lady looked at Pauline and admonished her, "Pauline, you’re a grandmother now. You can’t be so headstrong anymore."
Pauline looked embarrassed. "Mom, I know I was wrong. I won’t do anything so foolish again."
Hearing this, the old lady didn’t reprimand her further. The family then enjoyed a harmonious al together.
Once the dumplings were made, a servant was asked to cook them.
The family gathered together, chattering and rry, just like during Lunar New Year.
The Johnson family had always been small, so the old lady was happier than anyone to see it grow.
"Didn’t you have a prenatal check-up yesterday? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?" The old lady actually wanted a grandson but didn’t want to pressure Sienna too much.
Adrian chid in, "The hospital doesn’t allow gender checks because they’re worried about selective abortions. Many parents here terminate the pregnancy if the baby isn’t a boy, so doctors won’t reveal the gender."
As an Abyanabad native, Adrian couldn’t understand the local people’s thinking.
He liked sons too, but he was overjoyed when he found out Curly was a girl. He spoiled her rotten, to the point that she beca quite lawless. When Curly was unhappy, she acted just like her mom, giving him attitude.
"I really can’t understand them. How can they only want boys and not girls?"
Sienna explained Orienta’s national situation to her foreign husband. "It’s because in Orienta, you can only have one child! If you were only allowed one child in your lifeti, would you choose a boy or a girl?"
"Why can you only have one?"
"Because Orienta has family planning."
"Why do they have family planning? In Abyanabad, the governnt encourages won to have children. They even receive rewards for having more."
"Because there are too many people in Orienta. Haven’t you seen how congested the streets of Sileria City are? If Orienta didn’t have family planning, your Abyanabad would be overrun by us Orientals!"
Samara chid in, "My classmate’s mom was pregnant with a baby brother. She was six months along when they forced her to induce labor. It’s so sad."
Adrian’s gaze fell on Sienna’s belly. "Then what about you?" he asked. "They won’t force you to induce labor, right?"
"No. The baby will take your last na, and we’ll register its birth in Abyanabad."
Sienna and the old lady had discussed this. They decided that regardless of gender, the child would take Adrian’s last na and carry on his family line.
The old lady agreed, but Sienna still needed to keep trying for more children.
That was an agreent made privately, and Adrian didn’t know about it.
"Yes, it’s better that way. In Abyanabad, you can have as many children as you want."
"Alright. After this one, let’s have a few more. Otherwise, it would be a waste of our rights," Sienna said, seizing the opportunity.
Adrian felt like he had fallen into a trap. Realizing he had misspoken, he quickly tried to backtrack, "Two is enough. We wouldn’t be able to take care of more than that."
Sienna just smiled and didn’t reply.
In this matter, she had the final say. After all, she was the one who would get pregnant. She didn’t believe that if she really conceived, he could actually force her to have an abortion.
They also had a Twin Flavor Hotpot for dinner.
Adrian cooked items from the hotpot for Sienna. He knew full well she loved spicy food, yet he deliberately gave her items from the mild broth, making Sienna frown.
"Eat it yourself. You don’t need to cook for ," Sienna said.
Adrian’s lips curved into a smirk as he watched her mischievously. "Eat so more. Don’t starve my son."
It was another piece from the mild broth, a tasteless vegetable. Sienna got upset. She deliberately cooked sothing in the spicy broth and fed it to Adrian. He looked at the bright red slice of at, caught between a rock and a hard place—to eat or not to eat.
"What’s wrong, Sixth Master? You wouldn’t dare refuse , would you?" She held the chopsticks to his lips, pressing him.
His wife was rarely so enthusiastic and proactive in feeding him. Adrian couldn’t bring himself to refuse her. He braced himself and took a bite. His face imdiately started to change color, and he frantically chugged ice water while Sienna giggled.
The old lady saw the young couple’s antics and shook her head. "Sienna, why are you bullying Adrian again?"
"How am I bullying him? Wasn’t I just feeding him? Adrian, tell her, wasn’t I?"
What could Adrian say? Say yes? If he did, Sienna would banish him to the guest room tonight. The bed in the guest room was so hard, and it didn’t co with Sienna, his personal, auto-adjusting, human-shaped pillow for all temperatures. He definitely didn’t want that.
"Grandma, Sienna didn’t bully ."
"You! You deserve to be bullied by her!" the old lady said with exasperation.
Adrian didn’t mind. He turned to look at Sienna and found her smiling at him too. He thought, with a sense of helpless affection, that even if this woman bullied him to death, he would willingly accept it.
"Oh, right, I have an announcent to make," Sienna said suddenly.
Everyone put down their chopsticks and looked at Sienna. She scanned everyone present and said, "Adrian and I originally planned to go to Abyanabad. But now, I’m thinking... I want our whole family to go..."
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