“It’ll be New Year in a few days, and we’ll be busy preparing for it then, where would we find the time? It just so happens that I have nothing to do today, so I might as well clean now. It saves you all the trouble too,” Zhang Ke said. “Breakfast is on the table. Your mom went out early in the morning to buy it, including the rice cakes that Zhenguan loves. Your mom queued for more than ten minutes to buy them.”

Wang Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment. “Zhenguan didn’t sleep well last night, so let’s not wake him up for breakfast today. Let him sleep a bit longer.”

“Did he get cramps again?” Zhang Ke stopped his work and asked with some concern, then speculated, “When I was pregnant with you, it wasn’t this severe. Is he lacking some element? You can ask the doctor again at your next prenatal check-up.”

In fact, even today, although Wang Zhao had accepted the fact that men could get pregnant and had gradually adapted to Li Zhenguan’s growing belly, she still felt a strange sense of incongruity when she heard Zhang Ke talk about giving birth to her with a big belly.

This strange feeling was called dissonance.

Wang Zhao suppressed this discomfort and smiled, “We asked the doctor, it should be normal. Zhenguan has trouble turning over in his sleep at night, and after a long time, his legs easily go numb. It gets better after a few massages.”

She walked towards the dining room, unwrapped a breakfast, and not having time to drink porridge, she took a bottle of soy milk and a youtiao, ready to leave.

However, not long after she left, Li Zhenguan also woke up. He felt the side of the bed, which still had some warmth. The room’s heater and humidifier were on, probably turned on by Wang Zhao when she got up in the morning. He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed.

When he went out, he found Zhang Ke cleaning. Seeing Li Zhenguan, he straightened up and said, “Breakfast is in the dining room. Your mom bought your favorite rice cakes today when she went out. They should still be warm.”

Li Zhenguan nodded, still habitually asking Zhang Ke if he had eaten breakfast.

“I’ve eaten, you go ahead and eat first,” Zhang Ke said. “After you finish eating, I’ll clean the kitchen and dining room as well. New Year’s is in a few days, and Wang Zhao and her mom are usually very busy, getting home late. It’s not good to trouble them on the weekend.”

Li Zhenguan nodded, “Dad, I’ll come help you after I finish eating.”

Zhang Ke smiled, “With your current body, you’d better not join in. After this, go back to your room and tidy up your and Wang Zhao’s wardrobe. Check all the clothes, take out the ones you don’t want, and I’ll donate them together later.

By the way, I’ll also clean your room later. It’s been a whole year, and although we have a big cleanup every month, there must still be many places that harbor dirt and grime.”

Li Zhenguan didn’t think much of it and nodded. After finishing breakfast, he didn’t go directly to the room but did some household chores within his capabilities with Zhang Ke. Just imagine, two months ago, he didn’t even know how to use a vacuum cleaner, and now he was basically proficient.

If Yang Jin saw this scene, he would probably be a bit angry again, telling these two young people to go live in the hillside villa where someone would take care of their food and daily needs. But neither of them was willing, insisting on suffering and toiling here.

After cleaning the floor, Li Zhenguan felt a bit tired and sat on the sofa to rest for a while. Zhang Ke cut some fruit and brought it over, placing it on the tea table.

“Your aunt sent these over by express yesterday, they’re still very fresh. Especially these cherries, not bitter at all,” Zhang Ke said. “Try some.”

Li Zhenguan made a sound of agreement. He took off his shoes and sat on the sofa, while Zhang Ke took off his outer clothes and came over. The two of them sat together in the living room watching TV.

The TV program was a parent-child variety show. It seems that no matter which world, the core of variety shows never changes.

Because of his own pregnancy, Li Zhenguan was also more interested in these parent-child variety shows than before. Seeing the children on the screen no longer disgusted him as before. It should be noted that he had no love for children and infants, these fragile and particularly noisy creatures.

However, Zhang Ke, looking at the children on TV, couldn’t help but sigh, “Wang Zhao was this cute when she was little. Really, whenever we went out, passersby would all can’t help but exclaim a word or two. This child, she was beautiful even when she was little.”

As he spoke, he sighed, picked up a cherry, and said, “It’s just that she was too quiet.”

“Such a small baby, we don’t know how she grew up like that. Your mom and I didn’t do or say anything to her. We usually encouraged her to go out and play with the neighbors’ children, but she didn’t listen at all. When she went to school, she was always alone, with a sullen face all day long, looking like a little adult.”

Hearing this, Li Zhenguan became interested. This was the first time he had heard stories about Wang Zhao’s childhood. He couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, was Wang Zhao like this when she was little too?”

Zhang Ke recalled for a moment and chuckled, “That was even more so. She was popular with the boys in the neighborhood and at school even when she was little. After school, our house had the most children, mostly boys. They all came to play with Wang Zhao, and when playing house, they all wanted to play the role of her groom.”

Li Zhenguan’s smile faded a little, but Zhang Ke didn’t notice. He was still lost in memories, saying, “But at that time, Wang Zhao didn’t think much of anyone. Who knows how she grew up like that, not at all like my or her mother’s personality. She was so dull, even more than now, especially towards those boys. Her attitude was very cold, not at all like a young lady should be.”

“But this is also our fault, mine and her mother’s. Wang Zhao was a bit strange as a child. When she was about five or six years old and just starting school, something happened. Wang Zhao seemed to have some gender identity issues at that time. The little child believed that only girls could have babies, and boys couldn’t.”

Li Zhenguan was truly surprised now. His jealousy over Zhang Ke’s earlier description of Wang Zhao as the dream bride for other little boys in their play-house games had somewhat dissipated.

“Dad, you’re talking about Wang Zhao?”

Zhang Ke said, “Yes, it’s Wang Zhao. That child, I don’t know if it’s because she learned to read too early. You know your mother is a teacher, right? As soon as Wang Zhao could talk, your mother started pre-school education. She had Wang Zhao read and write things like the Three Character Classic and ancient books every day. As a result, Wang Zhao was much smarter than average children at five or six years old, able to read some simple books.

I don’t know what books this child read somewhere, or what she heard someone say, but she stubbornly believed that only girls could give birth, and boys couldn’t have children. In her understanding, the status and physiology of men and women were completely reversed.”

Even now, talking about that incident, Zhang Ke couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious: “At that time, your mother and I were frightened. Back then, times weren’t as open as they are now. Children like Wang Zhao would be said to have a disease, a mental illness, or be considered idiots or lunatics. They wouldn’t care that Wang Zhao, though only five years old, could already do addition and subtraction.”

“Your mother and I took Wang Zhao to see several authoritative psychological counselors before we could correct this perception of hers.”

“You don’t know, she was stubborn even as a child. Unless she decided something for herself, she wouldn’t necessarily listen to what others said. It only got a bit better when she grew up. As a child, she was just a stubborn little brat.”

Although he was complaining, Zhang Ke had a smile on his face, clearly very satisfied and loving towards Wang Zhao.

Li Zhenguan was very curious, and with a slightly red face, he made a request: “Dad, are there any childhood photos of Wang Zhao at home? I’d like to see them.”