Inviting the Moon to the Farmhouse

Chapter 168 Li Tao is Pregnant

Early in the morning, Xia Lanyue was awakened by a knock on the door before she had even gotten out of bed.

Xia Lanyue assumed it was Dai You, so she didn't ask any questions and got up to open the door.

However, the person who appeared at the door was not Dai You, but Li Tao!

Xia Lanyue looked puzzled, but before she could ask a question, she saw Li Tao push her arm away, walk straight into the house, and sit down at the table.

Seeing her angry expression, Xia Lanyue actually felt a little better.

However, Li Tao's words soon made Xia Lanyue's smile completely disappear.

Li Tao threw the small bag on the table. "Give this bag of money back to Xia Yao. Tell him I will not have an abortion, and he can forget about getting rid of me."

Xia Lanyue froze upon hearing this. She understood the implication of Li Tao's words, but the content was too shocking for her to accept, and she couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about?"

"I told Xia Yao I was pregnant with his child," Li Tao said to Xia Lanyue, word by word.

Xia Lanyue was completely stunned. Her mind went blank, and all she felt was a sharp, stabbing pain in her heart.

Li Tao's lips curled into a mocking smile, her voice laced with defiance, "What, you didn't know? Didn't he tell you?"

Xia Lanyue remained silent, feeling as if she had lost her ability to think and could not comprehend Li Tao's words.

Li Tao poured herself a glass of water, drank it, and waited for Xia Lanyue's reply.

Xia Lanyue snapped out of her daze and walked towards the table. As soon as she reached the stool, she slumped down on it. She looked at the smug Li Tao, calmed herself down, and asked, "When did this happen?"

Li Tao glanced at her. "Are you asking how old the baby is? Almost two months old."

Two months—wasn't that the point when she and Xia Yao came here? At that time, she and Xia Yao weren't together yet. Xia Lanyue breathed a slight sigh of relief, as if things had calmed down a bit.

But they ended up together?

"More than two months? Or less than two months?" Xia Lanyue asked.

Li Tao snorted coldly, "Is it that important? The important thing is that I have his child."

Xia Lanyue thought about Li Tao's words and felt they made sense. Since they knew each other before her, they shouldn't be so concerned; Xia Yao's feelings now were more important.

As for the child, she didn't want it to be born, because once there was any entanglement, Li Tao and Xia Yao would be unable to sever their ties. Xia Lanyue looked up at Li Tao, "Let's get rid of the child."

With a cold laugh, Li Tao moved the money bag on the table closer to Xia Lanyue. "I came here today to tell you this. I'm going to keep it."

Xia Lanyue asked, puzzled, "You're a widow, isn't it strange that you have a child?"

"Haha, you mean... you care about me? Then why don't I marry your man? I wouldn't mind sharing a husband with you," Li Tao said, raising her eyebrows.

Xia Lanyue felt embarrassed and, fearing that others might overhear her words, quickly got up and closed the door.

She returned to the table. "You said you didn't care about titles or status," Xia Lanyue recalled Li Tao's words from yesterday.

"Little sister, those were just random words, how could you believe them? Are you really that naive or just plain stupid?" Li Tao looked Xia Lanyue up and down, her eyes full of contempt.

"But Xia Yao won't marry you, and he doesn't like you."

"Don't be silly. If he didn't like me, would he go on a date with me? Would you dare let him confront me?" Li Tao looked Xia Lanyue up and down and asked, "He chose you only because you're clean and easy to fool. But you don't understand men. In their hearts, they prefer someone like me."

Xia Lanyue's face darkened even more from the sarcasm, but she remained defiant, saying, "Then he still won't marry you."

"Yes, I am a widow with a bad reputation, but I am carrying his child. He can't deny it; he has no choice but to marry me."

"Flesh and blood," Xia Lanyue suddenly remembered. She recalled Jiang Di telling her that Li Tao and Zhang Mazi were having an affair. How could she have forgotten that?! In that case, the father of the child was still up for debate. "How can you be so sure that the child is Xia Yao's? I've heard about Zhang Mazi."

Li Tao was embarrassed by Xia Lanyue's words. "My child, of course I know, this child is Xia Yao's."

"But others don't know that. Just based on what you say, some people have to believe it."

Li Tao seemed surprised that Xia Lanyue could refute her, "So I want to give birth to it, perform a blood test to prove kinship, and make his father unable to deny it."

Seeing Li Tao's resolute gaze, Xia Lanyue felt a pang of doubt. If she wasn't certain, Li Tao probably wouldn't have made such a big decision.

Li Tao noticed Xia Lanyue's wavering gaze and smiled. "He came to my place last night and gave me this bag of money, saying he wanted me to have an abortion. Guess why he gave me money if it had nothing to do with him? What is he feeling guilty about?"

Xia Lanyue's heart clenched. Yes, if it had nothing to do with him, why would he feel guilty?! There was no need to argue anymore. "Perhaps you two had some contact before, but that's in the past, it's all over," Xia Lanyue lowered her head.

"Hmph, you can't get through this with a child involved," Li Tao sneered. "Anyway, now that you know about this, you should make plans as soon as possible, no matter what."

"What are you planning?" Xia Lanyue asked, looking completely bewildered.

“Let me in,” Li Tao said.

Seeing Li Tao's confident demeanor, Xia Lanyue suddenly had a strange thought. "Did Xia Yao send you to tell me this?"

"How could he dare let you know? I came here on my own initiative. You'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Xia Lanyue felt a little relieved knowing that it wasn't a test instigated by Xia Yao. "I will not allow him to marry another woman."

Li Tao wasn't surprised by this. "Don't be stubborn. You're just a woman, your words don't carry much weight. Whether you agree or not is up to Xia Yao. Why don't you persuade Xia Yao to marry me? Otherwise, it will be awkward for everyone."

"What do you want to do?"

"Of course, the news spread, and everyone is curious about who the father of my child is," Li Tao laughed.

To Xia Lanyue, the laughter was extremely grating. "Adultery is a crime punishable by imprisonment. Is it really necessary to be so ruthless? Can't we all leave each other a way out?"

“I didn’t want to either, but Xia Yao has already done it, so he has to take responsibility. I’m not as easy to fool as you. If he refuses, don’t blame me for disregarding our past relationship. At worst, we’ll both go down together,” Li Tao said, her expression changing as well.

Having said all that, Xia Lanyue felt that saying anything more was pointless.

Li Tao said nothing more, got up and tried to leave, but after a few steps she turned back, picked up the money bag on the table, and said, “Tell Xia Yao that I’ve accepted this money, but it’s not for an abortion, it’s for the baby’s health. I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but we’ll know after the baby is born.”

Li Tao let out a smug laugh and then left.

In the room, only Xia Lanyue remained, sitting at the table in a daze.

During those half-hour periods, she felt that time was both fast and slow. She thought about many things, including Li Tao's words and the bits and pieces of her past with Xia Yao.

She knew it might not be Xia Yao's fault, but she couldn't stop feeling sad. She didn't know how to balance this feeling and the hurt it caused.

Before long, the waiter appeared at the door, and the knocking interrupted Xia Lanyue's thoughts.

"Miss, I've brought you breakfast," the waiter said as he entered the room and placed the breakfast on the table. "This sweet cake was brought over this morning by the local official. He was worried it wouldn't taste good if it got cold, so he asked me to fry it in hot oil before bringing it up. Eat it while it's hot."

Xia Lanyue nodded without saying a word.

Seeing Xia Lanyue's gloomy face, the waiter quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.

No sooner had the waiter left than the sound of a bowl breaking came from Xia Lanyue's room.

The waiter pursed his lips, shook his head, and walked downstairs.