After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 29

Facing Ning Qi’s gaze of pure admiration, Qin Shi was silent for a brief moment before saying, “It’s nothing special. Almost all newborns are like that.”

“But still, you’re so amazing!” Ning Qi instantly transformed into a little fangirl. She knew Qin Shi had younger cousins and was incredibly well-read, so she naturally knew more than Ning Qi did. But even so, Qin Shi was an only child; she surely couldn’t have had much experience raising babies!

“Ahem,” Qin Shi cleared her throat, looking a bit self-conscious. “Let’s head back to the hall.”

“Okay.” Ning Qi tucked her arm back into Qin Shi’s as they entered the living room.

The Jiang family already held a high status in C-City, and with their alliance with the Huo family, this newborn baby was essentially the darling of the heavens. The hall was crowded with guests, and the pile of gifts was substantial. Ning Qi’s gift had been prepared by Qin Shi well in advance and had already been presented to Huo Han alongside Qin Shi’s own.

Stepping back into the hall, the atmosphere was lively and bustling. As soon as Ning Qi stood still, she was surrounded by a group of people—young men and women she didn’t recognize at all. Ning Qi could only return polite smiles and nods of greeting, but they immediately began firing questions at her.

Qin Shi, having just finished a brief conversation with someone else, turned around to find her cousins and friends surrounding Ning Qi in a tight circle.

“Qin Shi,” Ning Qi let out a sigh of relief when she saw her friend approaching. Dealing with such a crowd was truly beyond her strength.

Most of their questions were: “Did you come here with Sister Qin?” or “Are you with the one who usually treats banquets like they’re radioactive?”

Realizing they were all referring to Qin Shi, Ning Qi looked everyone in the eye and said gracefully, “I came here with Qin Shi.”

Then, the questions doubled. They surged toward her like a tidal wave. To be honest, Ning Qi couldn’t even hear what they were asking anymore.

As soon as Ning Qi called out her name, Qin Shi walked over. Ning Qi noticed that the people surrounding her immediately took a step back, orderly clearing a path for Qin Shi to reach her.

“What are you all chatting about?” Qin Shi asked.

Suddenly, no one spoke. Ning Qi was surprised by how quickly they went mute, but as she looked around, she saw that everyone had a different expression on their face.

It was… complicated. Ning Qi couldn’t find the words to describe it. “We were just chatting casually,” Ning Qi said when no one else would speak. Qin Shi said nothing, clearly unconvinced.

“Cousin, we really were just chatting casually, like Miss Ning said.” The speaker was a young man in his early twenties. His eyes were still fixed on Ning Qi, though his gaze was friendly and didn’t make her feel uncomfortable.

“Yes, exactly,” Ning Qi echoed.

“See? I told you so! Cousin, why don’t you believe me? We might be a bit gossipy, but—”

As he said the word “we,” he failed to notice that everyone else had turned their heads away or shaken them at Qin Shi, signaling that they were not on his side at all.

Their synchronized reaction made Ning Qi burst into laughter. Her laughter didn’t just stun Qin Shi; it made everyone else freeze for a moment too.

Ning Qi had a very beautiful laugh, though she didn’t know it herself. Her smile was infectious; looking at her radiant face, you couldn’t help but smile back.

The young man who had been speaking so animatedly also stopped. Ning Qi didn’t notice anything amiss, but Qin Shi leaned down and whispered in her ear, “This is my cousin, Huo Xuan.”

Huo Xuan. Ning Qi remembered that Qin Shi had a cousin named Huo Yan—the second male lead of the book. Could this be his younger brother? Ning Qi whispered her question back to Qin Shi.

Qin Shi nodded, only then remembering to wonder how Ning Qi knew who Huo Yan was. Meanwhile, Ning Qi had already greeted Huo Xuan with a smile.

“Cou—” Huo Xuan started to say “Cousin-in-law” but quickly changed his tune under Qin Shi’s sharp gaze. “A friend of my cousin is naturally a friend of mine. Miss Ning, if there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, just ask me.”

Ning Qi gave him a polite, sincere smile and thanked him. This made Huo Xuan quite shy; he scratched his head, looking a bit lost, and managed to stammer out, “It’s… it’s only right.”

“Only right, my foot!” A woman with short, ear-length hair beside him kicked him and whispered something Ning Qi couldn’t catch clearly, though she caught bits like “that’s her” and “girlfriend.”

The woman then looked up and greeted Ning Qi. Ning Qi didn’t understand what they were whispering about, but since they were Qin Shi’s friends, she considered them her friends as well and greeted her warmly.

“If you have any more questions,” Qin Shi said directly to the group, “I’m standing right here. You can ask me.”

“No, no, nothing!” Even the talkative Huo Xuan waved his hands and slipped away. “Cousin, you and this lady enjoy your chat. We have no more questions.”

“Did they scare you?” Qin Shi asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Huo Xuan grab a wine glass and nervously gulp down the entire contents in one go…

“Qin Shi, do you think I’m a little white rabbit?” Ning Qi joked. “Getting scared just by going out?”

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing if you were,” Qin Shi murmured softly.

“What?”

“Nothing. Do you want to go sit over there for a bit? It will be a while longer.” Qin Shi found a relatively quiet corner.

“Sure!” Ning Qi agreed readily. As she looked up, she saw the short-haired woman from before raising her glass to her with a smile. “Qin Shi, is that lady a relative of the Jiang family?”

Qin Shi looked up as well and asked in a low voice, “How did you tell?”

“I just took a look at the young master and thought they looked quite alike.”

“She is his younger sister.”

“I see.” Ning Qi asked curiously, “Did you all grow up together?”

“Yes,” Qin Shi told Ning Qi a few stories about their past, then added, “Huo Han grew up with us as well.”

As they were talking, Huo Han walked over. “Neither of you usually comes out for these things. Is it a bit boring for you?”

“With such great hospitality from Miss Huo, how could it be boring?” Ning Qi replied with a smile.

Huo Han laughed. “That’s good to hear.”

“Miss Huo, how long do babies usually sleep?” Ning Qi asked after a bit of small talk.

Huo Han clearly hadn’t expected Ning Qi to still be thinking about Guo Guo. She glanced at Qin Shi and replied with a smile, “Newborns sleep about twenty hours a day. Plus, he just finished a big fuss, so he’ll likely sleep until midnight.”

“They sleep that much?” Ning Qi was a bit surprised, then realized her reaction might be too big. She quickly said to Huo Han, “My mother always said I could sleep all day when I was little; I thought she was just teasing me!”

“It’s normal for you not to know. Though Guo Guo is a month old, he’s a bit noisier than most babies. I was worried he would bother you!”

“Not at all! Guo Guo is so cute.” This was the first time Ning Qi had seen such a tiny baby; she only felt the beauty of new life and didn’t notice anything else.

Just as Ning Qi was about to ask more about babies, Qin Shi interrupted her, whispering a reminder: “Miss Huo has other guests to attend to.”

Oh, right! She had forgotten. It was a full-moon banquet; how could she keep pestering the hostess with so many questions? The woman had duties to perform! Ning Qi quickly apologized.

“Miss Ning is too polite. Those things aren’t urgent, and they don’t take much effort—” Huo Han started to say, but Qin Shi let out a small cough.

“Qin Shi, are you unwell?” Ning Qi turned around immediately. She had heard Qin Shi cough earlier, and now it had happened again.

Without waiting for a reply, Ning Qi’s small hand reached up to Qin Shi’s forehead. After feeling it, she touched her own forehead to compare. “No fever.”

Thank goodness, Ning Qi thought. A fever in the summer would be miserable. She asked with concern, “Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?”

This series of actions didn’t just stun Qin Shi; Huo Han, sitting nearby, was also dazed. Not to mention all the guests who had been secretly watching the two of them.

“No…” Qin Shi’s hand touched the sofa, her fingertips sliding gently across the fabric. “I’m fine.”

“My throat just felt a little uncomfortable for a second, that’s all.”

Ning Qi listened to her answer, looked her over carefully, and decided it wasn’t anything serious, so she didn’t press further.

Qin Shi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Huo Han smiled and changed her tune: “However, there are indeed a few things I need to look after. I’ll leave you to it. Miss Ning, if there is anything you need, please just let me know.”

She walked away with a hurried step. Ning Qi didn’t pay much attention to that; her mind was still on Qin Shi. “Even if it’s nothing serious, you should still prepare a bit. A bad throat is usually caused by—”

Having been sick so much in her past life, Ning Qi had picked up a lot of medical knowledge. But Qin Shi didn’t hear a single word of her advice; she just kept nodding and saying, “Okay.”

After talking for quite a while, Ning Qi remembered what had happened before. “By the way, Qin Shi, thank you for earlier.”

“Otherwise, it would have been so awkward if I had kept talking,” Ning Qi whispered.

She was Qin Shi’s guest; Miss Huo wouldn’t have refused to talk to her, but she would surely have been annoyed deep down.

It took a moment for Qin Shi to realize what she was referring to. Guessing her thoughts, Qin Shi said, “You’re overthinking. Miss Huo didn’t mind at all.”

“Even so,” Ning Qi leaned closer to Qin Shi, whispering in her ear, “Qin Shi, if I do anything inappropriate later, you must remind me.”

“Are you that worried?”

“Mm-hm.” Ning Qi nodded without hesitation.

The corners of Qin Shi’s mouth curled upward as she offered a suggestion: “Then stay close to me for the rest of the evening. If anything happens, I’ll tell you immediately.”