Shen Li rushed into the kitchen, his face still red as his heart thumped against his chest. He raised his trembling hand and touched his lips, he could still feel the warmth of Yu Dong's lips on his lips. His wife was still the same as ever she was worried that they will get insecure because of the arrival of another mer, so she deliberately kissed him and maybe the others to show that their place in her heart was still the same as ever. Shen Li swallowed and placed his other hand on his abdomen, and his mood that was uplifted suddenly fell. There was no moment in his stomach even after so many months, even though he knew that Yu Dong wasn't worried about having another child soon but that wasn't the case for him—— even though he wasn't worried in the beginning, slowly he was getting anxious because of the silence in his tummy.

  Though he didn't know what was wrong with him, he couldn't help but get worried what if something was indeed wrong with him?

  Shen Li wasn't the only one who was anxious about the constant silence in his stomach, Ye Liu was the same. He didn't show it on his face and with his cold expression that no one can decipher, nobody knew that he was just as anxious as Shen Li or maybe even more than him, Ye Liu knew that he was young and his cinnabar was the brightest among the three of them but compared to Chen Mi whose cinnabar was two shade lighter than his, he was a disappointment. Chen Mi married in the household after him but he got pregnant first, yet he was still without news. As he washed Yu Dong's shirt, he couldn't help but place his hand on his stomach. What was going on with him? After sleeping with Yu Dong so many times, there should have been some moment in his stomach right? So, why was it that he couldn't feel anything? Even his cinnabar didn't turn brighter.

  When mers got pregnant the lotus-shaped cinnabar on their forehead would turn a shade deep, showing their pregnancy. But the bright red cinnabar that he was so proud of was just the same as ever. If this goes on what will happen to him? Though Yu Dong wouldn't mind having any kids but he still wanted a child that was his dream! He wanted to hold his son or daughter in his arms, no mer would be willing to be an eggless chicken. Ye Liu stared at his reflection in the water and looked at the cinnabar that was still the same as ever, he gritted his teeth and dumped the entire pile of laundry in the vat and squashed the pile of clothes with his hands.

  Why? Why was it that he wasn't pregnant yet?

  Was something wrong with his body? But how can that be when he was young, his daddy was worried that he wouldn't be able to sell him off and thus repeatedly had his body checked by a doctor. Back then his doctor said that he was even more fertile than the mer in their village who gave birth to ten kids——so how come, he wasn't pregnant yet?

  The more Ye Liu thought the more frustrated he became, as he took out a random piece of laundry and started beating it with a wooden bat. In the past he didn't care about getting pregnant after all there was no feeling between him and Yu Dong and he would have rather died than given birth to that irresponsible woman's child because he knew both he and his child would have starved to death. But now the situation was different, he liked Yu Dong and wanted to have a child with her.

  This month he has taken a few more initiatives to get together with Yu Dong and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't actually looking forward to a moment in his stomach. But as the saying goes, the greater the expectations the bigger the disappointment when his cycle left and his cinnabar remained the same, he was really disappointed in his body.

  " Liu, stop washing the clothes and come eat breakfast first." Shen Li called through the kitchen.

  " Coming!" shouted back Ye Liu as he dumped the clothes that he was washing and walked inside. What he didn't see was that the clothes now had a big rip in them because of the extreme force that he was applying to them.

  ———————————-

  " Oh, this is a nice feast," said Yu Dong as she sat at the dining table, she wasn't aware of the unspoken worries of her husbands. She has, after all, told them that she wasn't looking for a child anytime soon, it was alright if they can get pregnant with a child but if they couldn't it was alright too. At the moment, Little bun was enough for her to worry for.

  " Of course, it's Chi's first meal at our house as a family member. How could I slight him by making a non-sumptuous breakfast?" said Shen Li as he hid the gloom that was settling in his heart. He knew that his worries were unfounded, he was still young and can always get pregnant in future but with Fang Chi marrying over, he couldn't help but wish that his stomach starts making movement as soon as it can or else, what will the villagers say?

  It didn't mean that he was jealous of Fang Chi, he was just worried about himself, for a mer, a child was like a firm foothold in the house. Even though Yu Dong always said that she would never change her feelings towards them no matter what….as her husband, he wanted to crystallise her love and give birth to a child as proof of their love.

  Fang Chi didn't notice anything wrong with how Shen Li was acting, he shyly smiled and embarrassingly said, " Brother Li there was no need for you to trouble yourself so much."

  And Fang Chi wasn't saying it out of goodwill alone, the entire table was laden with porridge, meat buns, bacon and the special jam that Yu Dong has just made for her family at the moment. This lavish breakfast was enough to fill the stomachs of ten people, looking at the huge spread on the tabletop, Fang Chi placed a hand on his own tummy. But his worries were different from Shen Li and Ye Liu's, he was worried that he was going to get fat!