1.27

My new grandpa was not joking when he said our suite was one of the best, it felt even more luxurious than my penthouse.

There was even a jacuzzi in the bathroom, that I was taking full advantage of, trying to avoid Jianyu in the bedroom.

"You alright in there?" Jianyu eventually asked, stirring me from my accidental slumber.

"Yeah," I grumbled, climbing out, my fingers and toes wrinkled like prunes.

When I left the bathroom Jianyu entered to shower, leaving me to dress and climb into bed in peace. I was exhausted. Meeting the elders had drained me more than I thought it would.

I stirred, feeling the weight on the bed shift with Jianyu's weight.

"Does it get any easier?" I asked, half asleep.

"Does what get any easier?" he asked, moving close enough that his breath tickled the back of my neck.

"Living a life for everybody but yourself," I sighed.

"Who says you cannot live for yourself?" he asked, cautiously putting a hand on my shoulder to roll me to face him.

"System says I have to make Zhiyue happy enough that she is willing to reincarnate if I want to claim her soul," I tried to avoid his curious gaze, those piercing eyes were too distracting.

"Why can't you do both?" His fingertips brushed against my cheek, pushing away a still damp strand of hair, "Luna, whilst it's important to gain your strength, you need to remember that it's you who has to continue living with the choices you make."

"Oh," speechless I could only stare at him, my lip quivering whilst tears fell.

"Shh…" he pulled me close for an embrace, kissing the top of my head, ignoring my displeased expression, "get some sleep, you need your rest."

***

"Come on," Meilin dragged me along the hallway to the lift. We were going to the penthouse a floor above to meet her father and stepmother. My uncle and aunt were staying with my grandpa.

"Slow down," I laughed, "you need to be more careful now."

Grandfather Mo's penthouse was at a much higher level than mine, with staff floating about wherever I looked. One of which showed us into a living room.

"Lin'er," my new uncle, Mo Lingyun called out from the sofa, standing up.

"Daddy," Meilin jumped up and threw her arms around the neck of a well-built middle-aged man.

"Uncle," I politely greeted him.

He gave Meilin a quick squeeze then released her to then pull me into an equally familiar embrace.

Unlike grandpa Mo, his touch did not make me feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, it felt reassuring, just like it did with Meilin.

Though there were other branches of the Mo family, this man had been the one I'd been most worried about being the culprit behind my assassination attempts.

According to the novels and TV dramas, situations like this were usually about inheritance issues.

"Xiao Yue," he smoothed out my hair, then rested his hands firmly on my shoulders, "you've grown so much."

I smiled weakly compared to his wide grin.

"You're scaring the poor girl," a heavily pregnant woman walked into the room, caressing her bump, "sorry, he's just very excited to greet you, hard to believe the famous Wei Zhiyue turns out to be our own niece. We're both fans of your music."

This was Li Chao-Xing, the daughter of the previous Li Clan head, and also Li Wang Lei's cousin, and my Aunt. Though she was young, I guessed roughly a decade older than Meilin, she'd married the widowed Mo Lingyun whilst Zhiyue and Meilin were young and helped raise them both.

"Aunt," I blushed slightly uncomfortable at her praise of Zhiyue's hard work that I had absolutely no claim to gain credit for, but still I replied, "I'm pleased you like my work."

"Sit, sit," Meilin interrupted, looking at her stepmother's bump fondly, "it's hard work carrying my baby brother about."

We sat around the coffee table drinking tea. Meilin mainly led the conversation as they told me stories about Zhiyue's childhood.

By the end, I was quite pleased with these new family members, despite finding it hard to shake the guilt over the fact the person they truly loved was long dead now.

"Luna, your grandfather wants us," Jianyu walked in, grabbing my hand and leading me up the stairs to a study.

"There they are," Grandfather Fu stood to greet us, as Grandpa Mo remained seated drinking his tea.

"You wanted us?" Jianyu asked, pulling me to sit beside him on the small sofa opposite the two armchairs the old men sat at.

"Yes, yes," Grandpa Mo set his cup down, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion but one of the maids let me know the news."

Both Jianyu and I looked at the elders confused. "What news?" I asked, pulling my hand out of Jianyu's finally, it felt clammy.

"The baby," Grandfather Fu laughed, "how long were you going to make us wait?"

"Yes, the next generation of all three clans combined, never thought we'd live to see the day old Fu," Grandpa Mo gave a broad grin.

Jianyu flinched, then looked at me, then at my lower stomach.

"A baby?" He sounded just as panicked as I felt.

"You didn't know?" Grandfather Fu nervously chuckled, scratching the tip of his nose, "sorry Xiao Yue to ruin the surprise."

I found myself unable to speak, sweat dripping down my back.

"I'm not pregnant am I?" I asked System internally. It was supposed to prevent me from ovulating, acting like built-in contraception, there shouldn't be anything there.

"No, likely they found Meilin's test you tossed in the bathroom bin," it replied calmly disrupting my scattered thoughts.

I let out a sigh of relief, then frowned, they'd gone through my rubbish.

"Are you okay?" Jianyu asked, his hand touching my forehead.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered, unsure of how to continue.

None of the elders were aware of Meilin and Dr. Wu's relationship. Would it be wrong of me, to tell the truth, or would that get Meilin into trouble?

I needed to find her and figure this out.

"Actually no, I, I need some fresh air," I wasn't lying, the pressure of all three men staring so intently at me had my chest feeling constricted.

"I'll take her out if that's all?" Jianyu asked.

"Yes, yes, we just wanted to let you know we've decided to move the wedding date earlier than planned, before Xiao Yue begins to show," Grandpa Mo spoke as if it was his wedding to decide upon. Though we'd gained the certificate, as rich families they just loved to show off with a grand event.

Jianyu clasped my trembling hand before the elders noticed, "sure, we'll see you this evening then," then pulled me along to the lift.

Once the doors closed he turned towards me, holding both hands, "are you really pregnant?"

I shook my head, making him let out a heavy sigh. Why did he look so relieved? And why did his relief make me feel so angry? Didn't he want a baby? Wasn't that why he told me to come off contraceptives before? This two-faced, lying bastard of a man.