Huo Zheng helped Lin Xiaowan put on her hat and gave her another jacket before letting her out of the car.
"Come back quickly."
Lin Xiaowan had only taken two steps when she almost slipped. Frightened, she quickly slowed down her pace.
Huo Zheng, who saw this from the car, frowned. He placed his hand on the car handle and began to tap on it restlessly.
When the mother saw Lin Xiaowan, she was slightly surprised. "What a coincidence. You haven't left either?"
Lin Xiaowan pointed at the car with the blinking indicators and said, "I saw you so I came to ask if you need me to send you back. The traffic here is really bad, and it's cold."
The mother looked hesitant. She felt embarrassed to accept Lin Xiaowan's offer since they might not be going the same way, but at the same time, it was truly not easy to get a cab here. The cab-hailing app showed that there were more than 100 people waiting for cabs.
Lin Xiaowan said, "Let's go. It's fine. It's inconvenient for you to stay here with your baby."
The mother was also tired from carrying her child and no longer refused. She said, "Then I'll have to trouble you. I'm really sorry."
"It's okay, it's okay," Lin Xiaowan said as she led the mother to the car.
"By the way, how should I address you?" the mother asked, "I don't even know your surname."
"My surname is Lin. My name is Lin Xiaowan. What's your name?"
"Song Mengjuan, but my friends call me Dujuan."
The driver was standing by the car. When he saw Lin Xiaowan return, he immediately opened the car door for her.
Lin Xiaowan entered the car and even helped Song Mengjuan carry her large bag.
This was the first time someone had opened the car door for Song Mengjuan, and she felt very flattered. After getting into the car, she discovered that there was a dignified and aloof man in the car. Just like that, she became nervous again.
The MVP was spacious with two rows of seats and a large empty area in the middle. Song Mengjuan sat unnaturally stiff with the child in her arms.
This was the first time someone had opened the car door for Song Mengjuan in her life. She was very flattered. After getting into the car, she realized that there was a man with a dignified and cold face in the car. She became nervous again.
The MPV was spacious with two rows of horizontal seats and a large empty space in the middle. She sat up unnaturally with her child in her arms.
Lin Xiaowan allowed Huo Zheng to remove her coat for her as she asked, "Where do you live?"
"I live at Fengjing on Xinyang Road in the eastern district," Song Mengjuan replied. Then, she asked tentatively, "Is it on the way? If not, it's good enough if you drop me off at a good spot."
Lin Xiaowan knew the road, but she did not know where it was. However, she nodded decisively and said, "It's on the way."
At this moment, Huo Zheng put away the coat and said with a straight face, "Don't run next time. The road is slippery when it's snowing. Don't cry to me if you fall."
"I know." Lin Xiaowan knew he must have seen her when she almost fell. She leaned over and held his arm before she snuggled up to him.
Huo Zheng did not say anything and only squeezed her hand. He really did not think Lin Xiaowan would watch her steps next time. He knew she would forget about his reminder. At most, she would remember for a day or two before repeating the same mistake again.
At this moment, Song Mengjuan's daughter was awake. She looked around and amused herself. She was very beautiful. She had a pair of big eyes, thick dark hair, and red lips. When she pouted slightly, her lips looked especially beautiful just like her mother's.
Lin Xiaowan leaned over to have a look at the child, and Huo Zheng held her waist, worried she would fall.
The two women talked about the child for a while before the topic turned to themselves.
Lin Xiaowan exclaimed in surprise, "You're only 26 years old? Wow, you got married so early!"
Song Mengjuan was very young, but her elder daughter was already in the second grade of primary school. This meant that she had her first child when she was about 19 years old.
In Shangxia, the legal age for marriage for both men and women was 18. Even then, very few people would get married and give birth at such a young age. After all, at 18, most people had just graduated from high school.
Huo Cheng, for example, was 32 years old, and his two sons were in the second grade of primary school. He was considered young among the fathers of the children in the second grade.
The mothers who attended the afternoon tea took care of themselves very well, but quite a few of them were already almost 40 years old.
When Lin Xiaowan mentioned the word 'marriage', Song Mengjuan's tense body seemed to relax as a sweet smile appeared on her face. She said, "I fell in love with him so I wanted to marry him as soon as I could. He's really good to me."
Seeing that Lin Xiaowan kept looking at her child and teasing her child, Song Mengjuan asked, "Do you like children?"
Then, Song Mengjuan sighed and continued to say, "In fact, I didn't like children when I was in school. I thought they were too noisy and caused a lot of headaches. However, after I got pregnant and gave birth to my eldest daughter, I was just suddenly overcome with maternal love."
Lin Xiaowan listened attentively and said, "Children are really magical." Then, she added, looking troubled, "Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. I'm also afraid of them crying non-stop, but they're really cute. Perhaps, I only like obedient children who don't cause trouble?"
Song Mengjuan stole a glance at the man sitting at the side. He was focused on watching Lin Xiaowan play with the child. His gaze was gentle, making her feel that the aloof man she had seen when she got into the car was just an illusion. It was not difficult to see that Lin Xiaowan and the man's relationship was very good. Hence, she said playfully, "You should give birth to a child and experience it for yourself."
Lin Xiaowan immediately waved her hands and said, "No, no, no. There's a big difference between playing with a child and raising a child."
After giving birth to a baby, it was not like she could return it. She knew she was not ready to have children.
In fact, before meeting Huo Zheng, Lin Xiaowan did not think about getting married or having children. Her original life plan was to return to Beicheng after graduation and find a job there, living out the rest of her life there. She planned to save and buy a small house for herself. Then, when she retired, she would raise a kitten or puppy and spend her days gardening.
Unexpectedly, she met Huo Zheng, got married young, and died young in her previous life. She did not want to get married young in this life and planned to date for a few more years.
Earlier, Huo Zheng's expression was rather grim when the two women were talking about children. He only felt relieved when he heard Lin Xiaowan express that she was not ready to have children. He was determined to take good care of her health for the next two years. He would not let anything go wrong.
During the journey, Song Mengjuan's phone suddenly rang. Her husband had just gotten off work and seeing that she was not home yet, he had called to check on her.
When Song Mengjuan spoke to her husband, she changed completely. Her voice and words were both sweet; she spoke like a girl in love. When she ended the call, her mood was much better than before. She said, "Please drop me off at the intersection up ahead. My husband will pick me up."
When the car stopped at the intersection, Song Mengjuan bundled up her daughter tightly and thanked Lin Xiaowan a few more times before getting out of the car.
A silver car with both indicators on was parked in front of them. A slightly thin handsome man of medium height got out of the car immediately. He helped Song Mengjuan button her down jacket and adjusted her hat for her before he took the big bag she was carrying. The two chatted as they walked to the car.
Before getting into the car, Song Mengjuan turned around and waved at Lin Xiaowan.
Lin Xiaowan returned to sit next to Huo Zheng. She felt a little emotional after seeing the loving family of three so she said, "It seems like having a child is not a bad idea…"