Chapter 108: Apocalypse 23

That day, the weather was clear and sunny. Le Yixian was dozing off in a rocking chair, basking in the sunlight, when Madam Chen came over and said, "Miss Meimei, Young Master Lin Jingyu is here."

"Hmm?" Le Yixian was a bit surprised. Why had he suddenly come to visit?

She returned to the living room and saw the coffee table piled high with an array of gifts. She was speechless.

"You're giving me all these things to try to gain my favor? At least give something a young woman would like!"

Toy cars, infant formula, diapers—what on earth were these?

Le Yixian silently grumbled as she sat down and poured herself a glass of water.

"Don't overthink it. I'm no longer interested in you, especially since you're officially with Ke Yuandao," Lin Jingyu said as he sat down. "I'm just trying to build a good relationship with you."

Le Yixian twitched the corner of her mouth. "Build a good relationship? By giving me these things??"

"For the child in your belly," Lin Jingyu said bluntly, living up to his name with a startling remark.

"Cough! I'm pregnant? Who said that?" Le Yixian nearly spat out her water, utterly shocked.

"You're not? Everyone at the base knows you're carrying Ke Yuandao's baby," Lin Jingyu said, equally surprised. His gaze unconsciously dropped to Le Yixian’s stomach. "Many people are talking about it."

Le Yixian clenched the glass tightly in her hand. "I'm not."

Lin Jingyu studied her expression and thought she didn’t seem to be lying. "Someone mentioned it the night of the banquet, and it spread throughout the base shortly after."

The night of the banquet???

Le Yixian recalled the next morning when she got up to have breakfast, Xia Linlin had spoken with a strange, sarcastic tone, saying things like:

— Don’t get too happy, we won’t know who the winner is until the end.

— Think you can be smug just because you’re pregnant? Hmph.

— You’re not even engaged yet and already doing this, what a disgrace to the Xia family.

At the time, Le Yixian thought it was because she and Ke Yuandao had been showing too much affection and snapped back, “If you dare, come and try.”

Looking back, General Xia and Xia Liang had looked at her with complicated expressions. Finally, General Xia sighed, "I’ll discuss your marriage with Captain Ke soon."

So everyone thought she was pregnant???

Le Yixian’s brows twitched. "Who started this rumor?"

Lin Jingyu pondered, then said with a hint of glee, "I think it was Wang Qiang from Ke Yuandao’s team. I suspect it was on Ke Yuandao’s orders."

Le Yixian shot him a glare. "Take your toy cars, infant formula, and diapers and get lost."

"Don’t be like that. Even if it’s not now, it will happen eventually," Lin Jingyu tried to persuade her.

“Nonsense. By the time I have a child, it’ll be long expired!” Le Yixian said, picking up a can of formula and checking the date—it was indeed years past expiration.

“Right, and they’re expired,” Lin Jingyu suddenly realized, looking at the cans on the table. "All of these are expired???"

“Get out!”

Le Yixian went to Ke Yuandao’s team villa. At the entrance, she saw Ke Yuandao squatting by a bare, damp patch of ground. She called out.

Hearing her voice, Ke Yuandao looked up, his eyes lighting up as he quickly approached. "What brings you here?"

“I came to see you and to look for Wang Qiang,” Le Yixian said.

Ke Yuandao frowned. "What do you want with him?"

“You don’t know?” Le Yixian glanced at him angrily. "I’m pregnant with your child."

“What???” Ke Yuandao was stunned, then froze.

After a long moment, he cautiously looked at her flat stomach with a complicated expression. "You really are pregnant..."

“Pregnant my foot! We only kissed a few times. Did you sneak attack me in the middle of the night?” Le Yixian snapped.

Ke Yuandao shook his head. "I didn’t."

Le Yixian laughed bitterly. “Maybe I was sleepwalking and somehow did it to you.”

Ke Yuandao nodded first, then solemnly said, "Impossible. I have no recollection."

Wang Qiang was soon found and, after hearing the whole story, protested loudly.

“It wasn’t me who started it. Captain Li told me!” Wang Qiang insisted, feeling wronged.

—

"I'm pregnant???" Le Yixian sat on the sofa, expressionless as she stared at the original rumor starter.

Li Ziqing looked shocked. "You’re not pregnant?"

“Pregnant my foot! We only kissed,” Le Yixian rolled her eyes.

Li Ziqing, angry at her words, pointed at Ke Yuandao, who had remained silent beside Le Yixian. "Then why was his face red and nodding when I asked him if you two had gotten more intimate that day?"

Le Yixian was speechless.

She turned to look at Ke Yuandao.

He remained expressionless. "You kissed me a few times and hugged me."

“See? You’re not even on the same page,” Le Yixian sighed, then looked at Li Ziqing. “How did you even come up with the ridiculous idea that I might be pregnant?”

“You’ve been sleepy all the time, right? When my neighbor was pregnant, she also slept a lot and ended up having a big, healthy baby,” Li Ziqing said. "I can’t be blamed for this. Maybe I should clear things up for you."

“Forget it,” Le Yixian waved her hand. The rumor had spread throughout the base; it would be hard to clarify.

—

But, on the bright side, maybe it would keep away some wild admirers, Le Yixian thought quietly as she glanced at Ke Yuandao.

Ke Yuandao pondered for a moment. "Let’s hold the wedding soon."

Le Yixian: "Alright."

Li Ziqing: "…"

What was going on? Why suddenly jump to marriage?

“No, not yet. We have to wait!” Ke Yuandao suddenly remembered the sunflowers he had planted hadn’t sprouted yet; blooming would take months.

He grew anxious, wondering why the seeds hadn’t sprouted after so many days.

Ke Yuandao didn’t notice that as this thought crossed his mind, the ceiling distorted slightly but quickly returned to normal.

“Huh?” Le Yixian was a little surprised.

Ke Yuandao said awkwardly but seriously, "I need to prepare something first."

Le Yixian smiled, guessing he wanted to surprise her. She didn’t expose him and reached out to hold his hand. "Okay, I’ll wait for you."

“Mm,” Ke Yuandao squeezed her hand back, and they smiled at each other.

Li Ziqing: "…"

Damn it, she was full and didn’t want to eat any more dog food.

She got up and left without a word, fed up.

Not long after stepping out, she ran into Yang Zhengqi, who awkwardly said, "Captain Li, haven’t seen you for a few days. You’re looking more beautiful."

Captain Li: "Mr. Yang, enough compliments, thank you."

"Is Captain Li upset?" Yang Zhengqi asked.

"Nothing," Li Ziqing replied perfunctorily.

"I heard Captain Li and Xia Meimei have a good relationship."

Li Ziqing narrowed her eyes. "Don’t even think about it. Meimei already has Ke Yuandao."

"No, I heard she has some unusual abilities. I was just curious."