"Lay all your cards and let him know what you want, Qian." Sister Moyu told her.

  "Don't let him get the upper hand by giving you something expensive again." Li Meili insisted.

  Sighing at herself, she slipped out of her car and locked it behind her before walking slowly, giving herself enough time to think about what she should tell Xu Wenyang.

  She and Li Meili had frequently dined at this restaurant because it was near Li Meili's workshop, but she'd never eaten at this place with her husband.

  How could she have the courage to invite him when she'd never seen him dine at any fast food chains nor restaurants for commoners like her?

  Li Meili was a different matter, because the woman only cared about the cleanliness and the taste of the dishes the establishment had to offer. However, for Lin Qianrou, her meals should be based on how much she could spend. This was her before she married Xu Wenyang.

  She opened the glass door and she had immediately noticed her husband, who was sitting at the empty left corner of the restaurant, wearing his usual three piece suit which made him appear out of place and different from the usual patrons of the restaurant.

  "You're early." Lin Qianrou blandly commented as she took a seat across him.

  "Yes, I've been waiting a bit for you to arrive." Xu Wenyang admitted.

  'Good. How does it feel to wait while being uncertain if the person you're waiting for will arrive?' Lin Qianrou wanted to ask, but instead, she bit her inner cheek to stop herself.

  Thank goodness she decided to invite him after lunch hour, so there weren't many people around to witness such an awkward meeting between them.

  A waiter arrived, offering them the menus. Xu Wenyang glanced over his copy of the menu, his face filled with curiosity. He'd never been here before and wondered why his wife had chosen this place when they could just dine at any of the five star restaurants they had tried before. In fact, she could have set a reservation at Li Yuanyi's restaurant for some privacy.

  However, Lin Qianrou was set on making him realize that she wasn't like those other socialite women he'd met before. If he couldn't accept this, then perhaps she and her baby didn't need to stay with him anymore.

  Lin Qianrou didn't need to check the menu as she had already memorized it by the number of times she and Li Meili had been here.

  "Just the usual. Chicken Chow Mein, egg drop soup and some pork dumplings."

  Xu Wenyang lifted his head from the menu and looked at her with surprise.

  "I'll have the same, but please add the Peking Roasted Duck." He told the waiter.

  "Are you sure it's safe to eat here, Qian?" Xu Wenyang looked around them suspiciously. Since when did his wife start coming?here? They'd been married for three years, and this was the first time Qian brought him here.

  "You know, Wen. You shouldn't judge a place based on how it looks. If I look shabby, would you also look at me with displeasure?" Qian countered.

  Xu Wenyang was clearly taken aback by her words.

  "Qian, how can you say that? Of course not. You are you whether you are wearing expensive dresses or not." His mouth flattened with disbelief. How could Qian say something like that to him?

  Lin Qianrou didn't say anything and silently sipped her tea instead. She suddenly realized that she might have sounded too harsh to him, but she couldn't find it in herself to regret it. The cup on her hand felt so cheap and had a little discoloration, so different from the tea cups she had back at home.

  "I'm glad you agreed to meet me, Qian. I missed you," she heard her husband say in a low voice.

  She raised her head and stared at his face for a moment, noticing the dark circles below his eyes and how dull his skin looked. Hadn't he been eating well since she left their mansion? Had he been neglecting his health since then?

  A pang of guilt hit her then Qin Jiran's words replayed inside her head.

  "Tell him what you want. Most men are oblivious to what's going on in a woman's mind. He's no fortune teller, Madam Xu. If you don't tell him what you want or what you need, the two of you will forever be playing the guessing game, making assumptions of each other,"

  "You should be thankful Meili and Sister Moyu convinced me to meet you, otherwise I wouldn't even be here." She sighed in response.

  Sister Moyu? Did she mean the empress? Xu Wenyang wondered. Didn't Tang Moyu say she didn't want to get involved with their problems and wanted their meeting to be strictly for business? So how did his wife end up being acquainted with the empress?

  She then remembered the sonogram in her bag, which also reminded her of the reason why she was here with him. Taking it from her bag, she slid the manila envelope towards him and gave him a serious look.

  "Before anything else, you have to see this first."

  Xu Wenyang eyed it for a moment before deciding to see what it was. His hand shook as he read what was written on the paper.

  Qian was pregnant.

  He opened his mouth to say something but he realized he couldn't think of anything at all. His heart hammered hard in his chest and an indescribable wave of bliss filled his entirety.

  Twelve weeks pregnant and he'd wasted two weeks by not going after her. He was such an idiot.