Chapter 114

Everyone in the department could tell that Song Anan had been in high spirits these days. Of course she would be happy after being promoted from resident doctor to attending physician. But everyone knew this wasn't the main reason why Song Anan was so elated.

After all, promotions like this in the hospital system never came out of the blue. There were various criteria to meet. So whether or not one could get promoted, people were mentally prepared.

Take Song Anan's promotion for example. Not only she herself, but many others in the department also expected that she could smoothly get the promotion. Among the doctors being evaluated in her batch, her qualifications and expertise were far ahead of others. It was almost guaranteed that she would be promoted.

Therefore, what really made Song Anan so happy must be something else.

Recently, a TV drama with medical theme was being filmed in a subsidiary building behind their hospital. The male lead happened to be Song Anan's husband, the famous actor Pei Kuang.

Speaking of Pei Kuang, in recent years, all the doctors and nurses in the cardiovascular surgery department of B University Affiliated Hospital were very familiar with him.

Whenever he was free, Pei Kuang would come to the hospital to pick up Song Anan after work. Even when he was away shooting, he would still frequently order fruits and snacks to be delivered to the hospital, as if afraid that Song Anan would go hungry. This made many in the department very envious.

Some unmarried female doctors and nurses even jokingly asked where they could find such a handsome and considerate husband.

That day, after getting off work, Song Anan was going to the crew behind the hospital to pick up Pei Kuang.

The two had just contacted each other. Pei Kuang still had one more scene to shoot that day before he could wrap up. It would be perfect for them to go home together.

During this period, Pei Kuang would usually finish work earlier and come to pick her up. This was the first time that she went to get him instead.

When Song Anan walked past the nurse station, several young nurses were whispering to each other, clearly gossiping about something.

Nurse Xiaochen greeted her with a smile, "Doctor Song, off work? Your husband didn't come to pick you up today?"

Song Anan was used to being teased like this. She smiled back, "He hasn't finished shooting yet. I'll go over and wait for him."

After leaving the main hospital building, she went straight to the subsidiary building in the back, where they had filmed the variety show last time.

The crew was shooting on the second floor. Song Anan looked around for a while but couldn't find Pei Kuang.

Just then the director of this TV drama saw Song Anan and quickly waved her over. Song Anan walked up and politely greeted, "Director Li."

The director's surname was Li, his full name being Li Luyan. He had attended her wedding with Pei Kuang before. Pei Kuang had introduced them.

According to Pei Kuang, Li Luyan had taken good care of him, and the two were best buddies. Naturally Song Anan also respected him a lot.

Li Luyan laughed and asked, "Here to wait for Pei Kuang to finish work? He went to the dressing room to change clothes. There's just one more scene left. Wait here, okay?"

As he spoke, he gestured to his assistant to move a small stool over, and handed it to Song Anan.

Song Anan took the stool with a smile, "Okay, thanks Director Li."

She sat down against the wall so as not to block the way for other crew members.

Li Luyan happened to be free at the moment too. He chatted with Song Anan casually.

"I heard from Pei Kuang that you got promoted to attending physician recently. Impressive!" Li Luyan said.

Song Anan didn't expect Pei Kuang to mention this to others. To her, this was just a routine promotion. She didn't think it deserved the word "impressive".

She scratched her head, a little embarrassed, "No, it's just the normal career advancement at the hospital. Everyone's the same."

But Li Luyan thought otherwise. Their drama was medical themed, so he knew about these promotion systems at hospitals. For someone her age and years of experience, she was indeed quite remarkable.

When Pei Kuang came out of the dressing room, he saw Song Anan chatting and laughing with Li Luyan from afar.

Seeing Pei Kuang, Song Anan stood up right away.

Pei Kuang asked with a smile, "What were you two talking about, so happily?"

Song Anan shook her head. Before she could say anything, Li Luyan jumped in, "Anan was secretly checking up on you, fishing around to ask if you had any kissing scenes today."

Pei Kuang was stunned for a second, but soon realized this must be Li Luyan joking on purpose.

Given Song Anan's personality, even if she did care, she wouldn't ask others directly at most she would fish around behind his back.

Song Anan was taken aback. That wasn't her intention at all!

She just happened to ask what scenes they were shooting next. How could Li Luyan get the wrong idea?

"I...I didn't mean that," Song Anan explained hurriedly, "I was just casually asking..."

Before she finished, Li Luyan was called away by the deputy director.

Well, it was even harder to clarify now.

"I really didn't mean it that way," Song Anan turned to Pei Kuang, "or to check up on you."

Of course Pei Kuang knew she didn't mean it, but he still wanted to tease her, "Don't worry, I'll report voluntarily from now on."

That still sounded distrustful! Song Anan was speechless.

The deputy director called the actors to start shooting on the other side. Pei Kuang pinched her cheek with a smile, "Wait for me. We'll go home after I shoot this scene."

Before leaving, he couldn't help teasing her again, "Don't worry, I promised you, so I won't go back on my word, no kissing scenes for me."

Even someone as dense as Song Anan understood now that Pei Kuang was just messing with her, and she felt half amused, half exasperated.

This guy really didn't care about occasions when joking around.

She noticed the crew members around them trying to stifle their laughter. Those who didn't know better would think she was super strict with him.

In fact, Song Anan really didn't care about these things. Pei Kuang was an actor. Kissing or bed scenes, if the script called for them, she could understand.

But the fact was, ever since they got together, he had stopped taking such roles.

Song Anan didn't know at first. Later, Li Dong let it slip that it was at Pei Kuang's request.

She specifically talked to Pei Kuang about it then, telling him he didn't have to do this, it was his job, she would understand.

But Pei Kuang insisted. In his own words, no kissing or bed scenes didn't mean no roles to take on. His acting range was broad, so what was there to worry about?

Song Anan couldn't change his mind, so she just let him be.

But deep down, she knew Pei Kuang was doing this for her sake as well.

He always put her feelings first, afraid she would overthink, afraid she would feel uncomfortable seeing those scenes.

This hadn't changed over the years.

Pei Kuang had been shooting this drama for over four months. The two of them got to experience the fun of commuting to work together.

On the day he wrapped up shooting, Song Anan happened to be off work. So they decided to celebrate by going to their favorite private kitchen.

Song Anan had specially ordered a small cake with "Wrap Party" written on it.

Over the years following Pei Kuang she had learned that every occasion worth celebrating should be celebrated properly.

As Pei Kuang put it, having a sense of ritual was still important in life.

The dishes they ordered came out quickly. Song Anan couldn't wait to dig in. For some reason she felt really hungry today.

Pei Kuang scooped her a bowl of chicken soup and handed it to her, "Don't rush, drink up the soup first."

Having some soup before the meal was good for health.

"Oh," Song Anan took the bowl, about to drink. But for some reason, just as the bowl reached her mouth, the smell of chicken soup made her nauseous instantly.

"Ugh~" She really couldn't hold it in and gagged.

Seeing this, Pei Kuang immediately got up and walked over to her, "What's wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?"

Song Anan waved her hand, "It's fine, just the smell of the chicken soup made me nauseous."

Pei Kuang frowned, picked up the bowl of chicken soup on the table and sniffed it, "Could the ingredients be not fresh?"

Song Anan said, "Shouldn't be. The ingredients here have always been very fresh. Never had issues before."

She still couldn't resist another sniff of the chicken soup, but no, the nauseating feeling instantly came back.

Pei Kuang paused, as if struck by a sudden thought. His eyes lit up, "Could you be pregnant?"

Song Anan was stunned. Pregnant?!

Her period was usually very punctual, but it was already a week late this time. It was very possible.

The two looked at each other, and Song Anan asked, "So what should we do now?"

Should they continue eating or go back and buy a pregnancy test to check?

Pei Kuang hesitated and said, "Let's eat first and talk about it when we get home."

After saying that, he took away the chicken soup and put some lighter dishes on Song Anan's plate for her to eat first.

Although the two had agreed to talk after the meal, neither of them was in the mood to continue eating. After hastily eating some food, they went to a nearby pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and returned home.

Sure enough, there were two lines.

Song Anan stood there in a daze, still not quite reacting.

She really was pregnant.

The two had been married for three years, and they hadn't planned on having a child after getting married. Mainly because at that time, Song Anan had just started working, and it wasn't a good time to have a child.

But recently, the two did have plans to conceive.

One reason was that Song Anan had basically stabilized at work. Advancing as a doctor required a certain number of years of experience, so there was no rush and they could take it slow.

As for the second point, it was that both of them were not that young anymore. Pei Kuang was still fine, but he was more concerned about Song Anan. As she grew older, getting pregnant would become more difficult for her, and he couldn't bear to see her suffer. Actually, Pei Kuang didn't care whether they had a child or not, but Song Anan loved children very much. Therefore, since they were going to have one, it would be best to do it sooner rather than later.

This time, after discussing it a month ago, the two decided to stop contraception and also started preparing for pregnancy.

However, they were not in a hurry and wanted to let nature take its course. If Song Anan got pregnant, then they would have the child. But neither of them expected that she would get pregnant so quickly.

Outside the bathroom, Pei Kuang paced back and forth by the door, "Anan, are you done?"

Song Anan opened the bathroom door in a daze and silently handed Pei Kuang the pregnancy test stick.

Seeing the two lines, Pei Kuang was a little slow to react. "This means you're pregnant?"

Song Anan nodded, "Yes, it should be."

A fleeting ecstasy flashed across Pei Kuang's face. He wanted to hug Song Anan but stopped abruptly for fear of hurting her.

"No, I have to call Li Dong and tell him not to arrange any more work for me. I want to stay home with you, otherwise I won't feel assured."

Song Anan was stunned for a moment.

She wanted to say there was no need. She could take care of herself even though she was pregnant, and he should focus on his work.

But Song Anan knew that she probably couldn't persuade Pei Kuang, so she could only say, "Don't rush, pregnancy tests have a certain false positive rate. We'll go to the hospital tomorrow to get checked before deciding anything."

The next day, the two went to the hospital for a checkup, and it was confirmed that Song Anan was indeed pregnant. The two were overjoyed.

But for new parents, apart from being happy, nervousness followed closely after.

Even though Song Anan was a doctor herself, she couldn't avoid it, let alone Pei Kuang.

Since confirming the pregnancy, he had become very tense. He directly told Li Dong not to arrange any more work for him because he wanted to stay home with Song Anan, otherwise he wouldn't feel at ease.

That wasn't all. Around the 6th week, Pei Kuang even developed "pregnancy nausea", and it was pretty severe.

Everyone was shocked at the time. Song Anan hadn't experienced much as the pregnant one, yet he had such intense "pregnancy nausea".

Only after going to the hospital did they find out that this was called Couvade syndrome.

It referred to when some husbands experience pregnancy-like symptoms when their wives have pregnancy reactions, due to excessive mental stress. This is known as Couvade syndrome.

That day, Pei Kuang happened to have a brand endorsement event to attend. Li Dong came early in the morning to pick him up.

Recently, Li Dong had postponed all the work he could, but some things arranged beforehand couldn't be canceled. This brand event was one such example.

Fortunately, the event was in City B, relatively speaking, this kind of event was more relaxing, Pei Kuang just had to show up.

The event was going smoothly, but no one expected that during the Q&A session with reporters, Pei Kuang suddenly vomited.

Li Dong hurriedly went on stage to hand him a bottle of water to barely suppress it.

Although the vomiting stopped quickly, the incident caused quite a stir online.

[Oh my god! What's going on, what's wrong with Pei Kuang, is there some health issue?]

[F**k f**k! Are my eyes playing tricks or does Pei Kuang seem much thinner this time?]

[The one above is right, he has clearly lost a lot of weight and doesn't seem to be in good health.]

[Ahhhhh, no, Pei Kuang you have to be okay, don't let anything happen!]

[It'll be fine, don't scare yourselves sisters, it was just an accident.]

[That's right, it was probably food poisoning. I've had food poisoning and was vomiting and had diarrhea too.]

While fans were busy reassuring themselves, netizens began all kinds of "Dr. Baidu" diagnoses for Pei Kuang.

Seeing the various online speculation about Pei Kuang's health, Li Dong really couldn't help but shake his head.

Sigh!

Who would believe it if he said this was Couvade syndrome?

As the incident continued to ferment, Pei Kuang could only personally post a Weibo to clarify.

@Pei Kuang: Thank you everyone for your concern. There are no health issues, I get regular checkups, this is just normal "pregnancy nausea". The doctor said it'll get better after some time.

[Waaa, you scared me to death, so it's just pregnancy nausea!]

[Pat pat, as long as you're okay, remember to get regular checkups!]

[F**k! Seeing those online speculations earlier really scared me half to death. As expected, Dr. Baidu diagnoses are unreliable!]

[Hey, wait a minute, you call this normal "pregnancy nausea"? Haha, what's normal about it!]

[Pfft hahaha, this can be considered Pei Kuang's belated fatherhood right, it's understandable to be under great mental stress]

[Poster above, don't exaggerate, Pei Kuang is only 35 this year, still in his prime]

[Tsk tsk, with Song Anan and Pei Kuang's heavenly good looks, their child is going to be so gorgeous]

[I know right, super looking forward to it! Their whole family will be high in looks, they'll turn heads just walking down the street!]

[Ahhhhh, can't wait for the baby to be born and go on daddy-baby variety shows with dad! I'm shallow, I really want to see that happen!]

[My god, what an eye-opener, Pei Kuang must really care deeply about Song Anan to stress himself to this extent]

[Waaa, crying, Pei Kuang really loves her so much!]

...!