"Thank you!." Chen Lihua said happily as she stretched her hands to hug him, forgetting the baby bump in between.

"Oh Oh! I guess our baby doesn't want to be left out." Chen Lihua said as she chuckled softly.

​​

Liu Longwei gave a low laugh as he kissed her forehead. "Sleep, it's late already."

The next morning, Chen Lihua woke up with puffy eyes. Her eyes looked like panda 🐼 eyes.

Liu Longwei saw how swollen they were, and his heart was filled with guilt. He kissed her eyes as rubbed her cheeks slowly as he said while staring into her eyes.

"Sweetheart, promise me that you will not cry anymore. See how swollen your eyes are."

Chen Lihua was silent as she gazed at him.

"Come on, let me help you wash up." Liu Longwei said as he helped her out from the bed.

"I can still wash my body myself." Chen Lihua said as she went into her washroom.

"Careful of your steps." Liu Longwei reminded with unease in his tone.

"I know, thank you!." Chen Lihua said from the bathroom.

Liu Longwei finally left for his bedroom after standing guard for some minutes. He freshened up and came back to his wife's bedroom to look for her.

"Are you ready?." He asked as he watched her move from one corner of the room to the other.

"Yeah." Chen Lihua replied as she glanced at him with her bag in hand.

"How is my face, how do I look now?." Chen Lihua asked as she walked closer to him, so he could have a good look at her face.

"Your eyes look terrible. Why don't you stay at home today?." Liu Longwei suggested?

Her eyes still looked puffy.

"No, I have to go to work, I have many appointments with my patients today, and I don't want to disappoint them.

"You are thinking of seeing patients today with your panda eyes?." Liu Longwei asked with an unbelievable expression on his face.

"Whose fault is it?." Chen Lihua asked as she walked back into her walk-in closet. Within the next minute, she was out with a pair of flat white sandals in her hand.

She sat on the made and stretched one of her legs, next, she bent it towards her other leg 🦵 (she kept one leg on top of the other).

Liu Longwei watched her from the side in amazement. She could wear her sandals herself, without needing anyone to help her even in that condition.

"Sweetheart, please stay back. When someone sees your face, they would think you were probably beaten up by me." Liu Longwei tried to persuade her again.

"Are you ashamed? Don't worry about it, I will take care of it. I will apply more concealer to it after breakfast. Right now, the baby and I are very hungry." Chen Lihua said as she made her way out of the room.

Liu Longwei quickly followed her out. He was scared that she might slip and fall.

She even left her back and coat in the room... 🤦‍♀️

When Chen Lihua and Liu Longwei stepped into the dining area, they saw an unexpected visitor.

"Mum?." Chen Lihua called out in surprise.

"Mum, what are you doing here?." Liu Longwei asked with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm here to bring breakfast for Lihua." Madam Liu replied before gazing at her daughter-in-law with a kind smile on her face. But suddenly, her facial expression changed.

She hurried towards Chen Lihua, as she placed a hand on her jaw and peered at her face in curiosity.

Seeing her panda eyes, Madam Liu raised an alarm.

"Lihua dear, what happened to you?!."

Chen Lihua touched her cheeks awkwardly, then she unconsciously glanced at Liu Longwei.

Madam Liu caught them exchanging glances, so she was shocked as she had a premonition.

She turned to Liu Longwei to ask as she pointed a finger at him with a shock-filled face.

"Did you hit her?!."

"No, mum, I didn't hit her!." Liu Longwei replied in surprise.

How did his mother think he would ever lay a finger on his wife?

"Mum, he didn't touch me. You can rest assured that he has never laid a hand on me before." Chen Lihua said as she held onto her mother-in-law's hands.

Madam Liu looked between the two of them, to see if they were lying.

"Mum, you know me very well. I will never hit my wife." Liu Longwei said in all sincerity.

Madam Liu calmed down as she took Chen Lihua's hand and led her to a seat.

"Lihua dear, tell me the truth, what happened to your eyes?." Madam Liu asked as she gazed into her eyes.

Chen Lihua lowered her head as she fiddled with her fingers. Then she said in an inaudible voice, "I cried."

"You cried? Who made you cry?." Madam Liu asked in surprise.

'Who would make her cry and cause her eyes to turn out this way?.' She thought to herself.

Chen raised her head and glanced at Liu Longwei.

"He made you cry?." Madam Liu asked as she pointed at her son.

Chen Lihua nodded in response.

Madam Liu turned to her son to say with a disappointed look on her face. "I thought you were different. How could you make your pregnant wife cry? What difference does it make if you didn't hit her?. You made her cry, so it is equivalent to hitting her."

Liu Longwei heaved a sigh. Honestly, he was guilty. He made his wife cry even though he didn't lay his hands on her, but what difference does it make if he didn't hit her? The outcome is still the same!.

"Sweetheart I'm sorry."

"Mum, I'm very sorry, it will not happen again."

Liu Longwei apologized to both women.

Madam Liu glanced at him without saying anything. She sat down and dished some food for her daughter-in-law.

Liu Longwei glanced at the two women, none of them paid any attention to him. He felt bad. But because he was strong at heart, he controlled himself.

He walked towards his wife, leaned in, and kissed her cheeks.

"I'm off to work." He announced to both women.

"What about your breakfast?." Chen Lihua asked worriedly.

"I am ten minutes late for my meeting, I will have breakfast later, goodbye."

"Mum, see you later." Liu Longwei said as he walked away.