C23 Swimming

The eleventh deck was not even comparable to the lower decks. The walls were lined with expensive oil paintings and the suites had big French windows. The outside view boasted of the endless blue sea.

Xiang Dongnan ran into a business partner on the cruise and was forced to socialize with them.

So he had no choice but to ask Lu Yao to take care of Tian tian.

Lu Yao understood his dilemma and smiled. "Don't worry, take care of your business. I will look after Tian Tian."

Locking her room, she led Tian Tian to a walk around the cruise ship.

The cruise ship had a huge restaurant that served delicacies from various countries. Being two months pregnant, Lu Yao liked eating anything sour, but she especially loved Spanish cuisine. She and Tian Tian ordered themselves a Spanish meal. Lu Yao ate till her stomach was full.

After they were done, Tian Tian pulled at Lu Yao's clothes.

"What's the matter?" Lu Yao asked. Following Tian Tian's gaze, she saw that a few children were walking into the restaurant wearing swimsuits. They looked like they planned on going for a swim after dinner.

Lu Yao asked Tian Tian with a smile, "Do you want to go swimming?"

Tian Tian nodded, her eyes shining.

Lu Yao asked the staff where the swimming pool was. Before she left, she asked the waiter to pack her a box of sour plum cakes.

The swimming pool was open air on the deck. There were quite a few kids playing around. The cabinets had all kinds of swimsuits and swimming rings.

Lu Yao was not sure if Tian Tian would be able to swim and tried to give her a swimming ring. However, Tian Tian simply jumped into the water and surfaced a few seconds later, giving her a sweet smile.

Seeing this, Lu Yao was relieved and let Tian Tian swim on her own. She was pregnant and so felt sore standing, so she found a beach chair to sit on. She ate the sour plum cake that she had ordered earlier. It was the most relaxation she had had in a while.

Some time later, she saw young women coming to swim, wearing all kinds of stylish swimsuits that showed off their great physique.

Lu Yao looked at them and then looked down at her arms and thighs that had gained weight from eating too much. Her stomach was round and plump. The thought of how she looked upset her.

Her figure was so out of shape after she got pregnant. Would she look like she has aged several years after the birth of her child?

Lu Yao stuffed the sour plum cake into her mouth angrily. Her ears caught a familiar female voice that sounded rather coquettish. It sounded like Shao Yunchen's assistant.

Lu Yao looked in the direction of the voice. Fu Xuezi was holding a man's arm, sitting on a beach chair not far away from her.

"Mr. Shao, wouldn't you please give thought to the development of the western suburbs?"

"All right, I'll consider it."

Once she made sure that no one was looking, Lu Yao took out her phone to record a video of the two of them secretly. Somehow, she was a bit furious. She did not know that Shao Yunchen's taste in women was so mediocre.

She had been wondering if Shao Yunchen had found a good woman. Ha! It turned out to be just another desperate socialite.

The two of them seemed to be talking intimately for quite a while before they finally got up and left. Neither of them noticed Lu Yao looking at them. Lu Yao unblocked Shao Yunchen's number and attached the recorded video in a message to him.

However, she hesitated in sending it.

She had divorced Shao Yunchen. If she sent this video to him, would he say that she was hung up on him?

To send it or no?

As Lu Yao mulled over this question, she raised her eyes and saw Shao Yunchen in the distant crowd. He had changed into casual clothes and was walking straight toward her in large strides.

Lu Yao closed the message window and stuffed her phone into her bag. She rested her back against the chair and pretended to read a magazine.

Shao Yunchen walked over and sat down beside her. Crossing his arms, he asked in a casual tone, "Where's Xiang Dongnan?"

"Talking business with someone."

Hearing this, Shao Yunchen frowned. "He's talking business, leaving you alone here?"

Lu Yao frowned. This was odd.

How come she never saw Shao Yunchen around when they were married? They barely talked before. But now, after the divorce, it seemed as if she saw him every few days. He also went out of his way to start a conversation with her.

"I'm resting. I'm comfortable," Lu Yao retorted coldly. "He's much better than those men who only come home once a week and treat their houses like a hotel room they come to sleep in."

Lu Yao's sarcasm made Shao Yunchen's face turn darker. He glanced down and saw her clothes hugging her round stomach. The suspicion in his eyes was obvious.

Since talking to her that day in the washroom, the more he thought about the ordeal, the more he felt that something was not right.

They had been divorced for less than two months. It was impossible for Lu Yao to get into a relationship with Xiang Dongnan so quickly. And even if they were in a relationship, it was unlikely that he got her pregnant. Shao Yunchen guessed that the child was most likely his own!

His gaze was so intense that Lu Yao felt as if his eyes were burning holes into her stomach. She covered her stomach with her hands.

Surely he was not wondering if the child is his own?

Shao Yunchen asked her casually, "When did you move into Xiang Dongnan's house?"

"After the divorce," she said, smiling.

"After the divorce?" Shao Yunchen frowned. "And when did you discover that you were pregnant?"

The smile on Lu Yao's face instantly died.

She knew what he was doing. The way he was asking her, it was like an interrogation. He was leading her step by step into a trap.

Of course, Lu Yao was not so stupid that she would fall for it. She replied calmly, "This has nothing to do with you, Mr. Shao. After all, we don't even know each other very well."

"Lu Yao, how many months along are you?" Shao Yunchen was obviously impatient so he got to the point.

"Mr. Shao, this isn't very good," Lu Yao said. "Last time, you caught hold of me in the washroom. But now I'm asking you, aren't you bored already? Why are you doubting me? I still remember clearly what was stated on our previous contract."

Shao Yunchen stared at her, the corner of his mouth slowly curving down.

Yes, he said he would not have children for four years because he knew of the impending divorce. But he never said that he would not be responsible for the child if Lu Yao were to really get pregnant.

He hoped from the bottom of his heart that the child belonged to him and not to some other man. Although he had said that after the divorce they should never disturb each other, he found that he had become even more agitated afterward.

Whenever he returned to their previous apartment, the emptiness of it hit him hard. There was not a single trace of her in it. Her clothes, her makeup, her belongings... not a single trace of life. He heart felt strangely empty too.

Each time Lu Yao mentioned Xiang Dongnan, the anxiety in his heart grew and he felt irritated.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shao. I think I'll be leaving now." Lu Yao knew he was smarter than her and that she could not beat him. She was afraid that if she said anything more, she would reveal something by mistake. Before that could happen, she found an excuse to leave.

She waited for Xiang Dongnan to come back around eight o'clock and went with him to the restaurant for another meal.

It was especially easy for her to get hungry after becoming pregnant. She often had to eat more than a few meals a day. Sometimes she would get up in the middle of the night to eat before going back to bed.

Xiang Dongnan had some wine with his business partner earlier. He did not feel like eating anything and just watched Lu Yao and Tian Tian eat.

Lu Yao was once again having sour noodles and sour soup. Even though they were separated by a table, he could smell the sour food. Xiang Dongnan said jokingly, "You keep eating all kinds of sour food. Are you by chance pregnant?"