Chapter 412: On Purpose

The nightgown was rather long, but it already had the most conservative style out of all of her gowns. Now that Xia Ling was pregnant, she could not wear ordinary pajamas to sleep as she was afraid she would strangle her baby. Thus, she had no choice but to wear this sort of nightgown.

"I'm too lazy to change." She said. Although he was holding on to her, she was still looking carefully at the steps and whispered. "Why is it so difficult to walk down this staircase?"

Pei Ziheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. She was complaining about how hard it was to walk down the stairs, but she was the one who renovated the house in the past. Who was the one who prevented him from giving suggestions? He really wanted to remind her of those past events, but after taking into account that Xia Yu was still there, he did not mention it.

However, Xia Yu was shocked. Oh god, did she see wrongly? Was Brother Ziheng personally holding a woman's hand and carefully guiding her down the stairs? Her sister did not even receive this treatment in the past!

As Xia Yu stared at them in bewilderment, there was a sour and bitter feeling in her heart. She did not even notice that she had overturned the strawberry cake slice in her hand.

After some time, Pei Ziheng finally supported Xia Ling down the stairs slowly.

Xia Ling looked up and saw that Xia Yu was staring at her with a pair of delicate yet resentful eyes. She said, "This staircase was designed and built by my sister. What right do you have to say that it is not good?!"

"Xiao Yu." Pei Ziheng frowned.

Xia Ling looked at the sister in front of her and slowly forced a smile. "I said that the stairs are not very convenient. Why do you care? I'm living here now, Miss Xia Yu, not you." She swore on her conscience that she did not deliberately provoke Xia Yu. Instead, Xia Yu was the one who voluntarily looked for trouble, so she did not have the patience to tolerate her.

"You... What right do you have to live in my sister's room?!" Xia Yu was so angry that she quivered when she spoke and then turned to look at Pei Ziheng. "Brother Ziheng, how could you let another woman tarnish my sister's things like that?"

"Xiao Ling is the same as your sister."

This sentence stunned Xia Yu. What sort of potion did this woman feed Brother Ziheng such that he considered her of equal importance as her sister? She was not worthy!

After seeing Pei Ziheng's hand around Xia Ling's waist, Xia Yu had an unprecedented feeling of crisis. In the past, even if Brother Ziheng had many women outside, he would never bring any of them home. Those women were just substitutes for her sister, and they were only used as a distraction from his loneliness. However, this substitute in front of her was not the same. There was a huge possibility that she would replace her sister and become the mistress of the house!

"Brother Ziheng, do you not want my sister anymore?" Xia Yu burst into tears.

Xia Ling looked at her tearful act and silently awarded her the best actress award in her heart. She yawned, feeling bored, and said, "You two can talk." She gently let go of Pei Ziheng's hand and was about to walk forward.

Pei Ziheng pulled her back. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the kitchen to see Nanny Zhou." Xia Ling was somewhat unhappy. "The boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili is not ready yet. I'm starving." She was experiencing heartburn from hunger, which was common when pregnant women got hungry. That was why she could not sit straight after instructing Nanny Zhou to prepare the fish and could not help but go downstairs to take a look.

The kitchen was not far away from the dining hall. Nanny Zhou heard the commotion and had already walked out. "Miss Ye, the boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili requires some effort to make. I'm sorry, but you have to wait some more. How about I prepare something else for you in the meantime?"

Pei Ziheng was about to make Xia Ling sit down at the dining table. "What a coincidence. Xiao Yu brought over a cake. You can eat some first."

"I..." Xia Ling looked at the sweet-smelling cake on the table and was about to reject him.

Before she could say anything, Xia Yu was already exclaiming in indignation. "Why are you offering her the cake that I made? Brother Ziheng, this cake was made in memory of my sister to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the day we met!" As she spoke, she glared at Xia Ling in protest.

Xia Ling really wanted to tell her that she was actually her sister, but she could not bring herself to do it. She hated it when people threw a tantrum in front of her. Ambitiously, she stretched out her hand to take a piece of cake.

"You aren't allowed to eat it!" Xia Yu cried.

Xia Ling looked at the small piece of cake in her hands. She could not help but admit that Xia Yu's skills were not bad. The snow-white cream was smooth and attractive, and the strawberries and mint leaves were a beautiful combination as they gave off a fresh aroma. She was starving, with every cell in her body clamoring for something to eat. She did not think too much as she took a bite of that piece of cake. Suddenly, in a flash, she groaned as she spat it out.

"Xiao Ling!" Pei Ziheng quickly handed her a cup of water.

"You!" This time, Xia Yu really cried. How could that b*tch ruin her cake like that?! Did she know how much effort she put into making this cake? She started her research a few months ago and even hired a famous western-style pastry chef to teach her. She personally beat the eggs and dough and experimented many times such that the skin of her hands became rough before she could make such a sweet and delicious cake.

Today, she got up especially early in the morning and spent an entire day to make the cake. She even carefully dressed before she came looking for Pei Ziheng to give him a surprise and have a special night with him. Unfortunately, her plans were all ruined by that b*tch! "You're too much!" Tears flowed down. She looked pitiful and beautiful when she cried. "Ye Xingling, you can just tell me directly if you look down on what I've made. Why did you have to spit it out after taking a bite? I've never seen anyone as insulting as you!"

Xia Ling was not in the mood to comfort her.

Her stomach was overwhelmingly uncomfortable and felt like vomiting. However, she could not vomit because if she kept vomiting, her baby would not get enough nutrients. She spent a lot of effort to resist the uncomfortable feeling as she rested her head on the table and breathed deeply.

On the other hand, Pei Ziheng glanced at Xia Yu and said, "Don't yell at Xiao Ling."

He knew that she was vomiting because she was pregnant, and he was extremely worried, but Xia Yu was being very noisy at the side. Suddenly, Pei Ziheng felt that Xiao Ling's sister thought too highly of herself.

Xia Yu also felt that something was wrong and hurriedly shut up. Brother Ziheng was a very domineering and a man of his word. Once he made a decision, even an emperor could not change his mind. Now that he was biased towards that b*tch, even if she continued to protest, he would just dislike her more.

Xia Yu's heart was broken as she bowed her head. She did not want to look at the way he was showing concern for Xia Ling and cried in silence.

Pei Ziheng took care of Xia Ling for some time. After seeing that she was fine, he finally remembered that there was another girl present. Looking at the sad look on the face of someone who resembled Xiao Ling slightly in the past, he could not help but reassure her. "Xiao Ling did not spit out your cake on purpose. Recently, she's not feeling well because she's preg—"

"I spat it out on purpose." Suddenly, Xia Ling interrupted him.

Pei Ziheng was a little shocked and turned around to look at her. When did Xiao Ling become so aggressive?