Nothing To Give But My Heart

This silly girl… Xiao Su stepped close to tidy the strands of her hair, saying, “How can I ever bully you? Ever since we’ve been together, aren’t you the one who keeps on bullying me?”

Jiang Xiaobai blinked. She turned around to stare at Xiao Su and snorted lightly. “Good. Just so you know, only I can bully you, but you’re not allowed to bully me. Also, you can’t let others bully you. Only I’m allowed to do so.”

“Alright, I promise.” Xiao Su embraced her. The two were originally prepared to leave their hotel room, but the atmosphere between them changed with the romantic exchange. Without waiting for Xiao Su to kiss her, Jiang Xiaobai took the lead, tiptoeing to wrap her arms around his neck. It wasn’t long before their kiss turned into a raging fire, and their clothes were discarded and forgotten. And so, the couple spent their second day in Thailand at the hotel, yet again.

Night had fallen, and Jiang Xiaobai was lying in bed scrolling through her phone when she saw a message from Fang Tangtang. Fang Tangtang was asking after her honeymoon, and if they had taken any photos.

Jiang Xiaobai chuckled as she read the message. What photos? They had spent the past two days in the hotel, and they were so tired that they were resting most of the time, only waking up to eat. They hadn’t even gone shopping.

‘We didn’t take any photos.’ Jiang Xiaobai typed out a short and sweet reply.

But Fang Tangtang did not let her off the hook so easily, and continued to pester her by sending more messages. ‘How is it possible? You’ve been in Thailand for two days, so you must’ve at least taken some beautiful pictures. Stop hiding and send them over. Your editor wants to see it too.’

Upon hearing about her editor, Jiang Xiaobai immediately wrote back. ‘How did you guys get acquainted?’

‘We added each other on WeChat when we were your bridesmaids. Now there’s nothing we don’t talk about. We even made a bet on how many times you and your husband have done it in the past two days.’

Looking at the messages, Jiang Xiaobai’s lips twitched, and she was at a loss for words. ‘So asking for photos is just another way for you to ask me about this?’

‘Don’t put it that way. We’re all good friends, and we really do want to see your beautiful photos you’ve taken.’

Jiang Xiaobai gave a cold laugh. ‘As if I’d believe you. You said the both of you are betting on it, right? Alright, go ahead and make a bet. I won’t reveal anything.’

‘Xiaobai, oh, Xiaobai, don’t be such a spoilsport. Your editor and I have betted 1,000 on this. I’ll invite you to our group chat later, so you have to tell us about it.’

‘1,000?! Will our upstart Miss Fang even notice if she lost the 1,000?’ Fang Tangtang’s habit of chasing after celebrities usually cost her tens of thousands; even Jiang Xiaobai could feel the pain just from seeing her spending habits. It was also because she had a nouveau riche father that the family could afford her spending habits.

Shortly after, she was added into the group chat and was bombarded with questions. Jiang Xiaobai saw both of them chatting enthusiastically, so she had to cut off their conversation. ‘Can both of you pull your heads out of the gutter? You’re not even married yet. Also, since you two are so concerned about my married life, why don’t you book a ticket and come over to Thailand too?’

‘We’d love to, but will you be okay with it?’

‘Go away.’ In the end, Jiang Xiaobai did not reveal anything since it was something that she wanted to keep to herself. Moreover, she knew her friends all too well. If she said too much, they’d make fun of her. But if she revealed too little, they too would tease her relentlessly, and they might even comment on how incapable Xiao Su was.

After giving it some thought, Jiang Xiaobai decided that it was not a good idea to reveal anything. She told them that she was going to sleep and left the group chat immediately, content to let the both of them continue chatting. As she put down her phone, Xiao Su had just finished washing up, with water droplets still clinging onto his hair and body. As he walked over, Jiang Xiaobai called out to him. “Shall we go downstairs for a stroll?”

Xiao Su was stunned after hearing her question. “Do you still have the energy for that?” Xiao Su’s reply was casual. It was only later that he noticed how much it sounded like he was teasing her. Without warning, Jiang Xiaobai threw a pillow at him. “Of course I do!”

Shortly after, the two of them went for a stroll. The hotel they were staying in was by the sea, with a wide road separating the beach and shops. Although it was already late, there were still many people on the beach. As they walked past a shop selling flip-flops, Jiang Xiaobai bought matching pairs for Xiao Su and herself.

There was a lot of street food and snacks. Jiang Xiaobai tried out a few kinds, and all the food that she couldn’t finish she gave to Xiao Su. As they strolled on, Jiang Xiaobai was half full, but Xiao Su was so full that he couldn’t eat another bite. Seeing that Jiang Xiaobai wanted to buy something else to eat, Xiao Su gave a light cough and held her back. “I don’t think I can eat any more.”

Jiang Xiaobai hadn’t really given it much thought. In fact, she didn’t even realize she was giving Xiao Su all the food that she couldn’t finish. She wanted to try out something new, but never expected Xiao Su to graciously eat all the leftovers she had given him.

“We still have plenty of time. How about we continue our stroll tomorrow?” Xiao Su was doing his best to talk to Jiang Xiaobai in a level-headed manner. Even though he could not eat any more food, he made his tone calm and gentle.

This made Jiang Xiaobai realize how loving and tolerant he was. She clutched onto his arm. “Alright, let’s go back. We can always continue this tomorrow. You don’t have to finish everything if you’re too full, silly. Even if you don’t finish all the food, I won’t get angry at you.”

Xiao Su was embarrassed at her words, as he really did think she would get angry at him. He reached out to pinch Jiang Xiaobai’s nose. “Let’s go back then.”

In the following days, Xiao Su accompanied Jiang Xiaobai everywhere. He even hired a photographer to take pictures of them, capturing many beautiful memories of the both of them visiting countless tourist destinations, duty-free shops, amusement parks and even water activities.

…

Eight months passed, and Yan’s child was born. Jiang Xiaobai’s stomach was also getting bigger every day, and she was about to give birth soon. Jiang Xiaobai’s movements became restricted and it had been very inconvenient for her. She suffered a lot during the pregnancy, with both her legs swollen and a lack of sleep. She couldn’t even move on her own; she got easily tired from every few steps that she took.

Jiang Xiaobai felt aggrieved and helpless. It was because of her pregnancy that they had to put a stop to their honeymoon. Xiao Su and her traveled for nearly half a month, and just as they were prepared to fly to Maldives, Jiang Xiaobai’s mother gave her a call. Both mother and daughter chatted and soon talked about menstruation.

The conversation went well at first, but after the topic came up, Jiang Xiaobai realized that she hadn’t had her period for some time. She was lost for a moment. It was also Jiang Xiaobai’s mom who requested her to return home that very instant and put an end to their travels, to prevent the unborn child from getting hurt.

After Jiang Xiaobai told Xiao Su about her situation, Xiao Su was silent for a moment before proceeding to book their return tickets. Then, he hugged her and calmly said, “There’s still a lot of opportunity for us to travel in the future. Let’s listen to Mom first and return home for a checkup.”