Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On Friday, I was packing up to leave work as usual when a message popped up in our work group from our boss: "We're meeting with President Xie this weekend to discuss a cooperation deal. How much your year-end bonus is depends on this deal. Is anyone willing to volunteer to host President Xie?"

Cooperating with Alex's company would be a huge deal for ours. If it went well, our year-end bonuses would double—so everyone was eager to volunteer.

"Mrs. Xie should be the one to go!" a colleague typed in the group. "President Xie is famous for listening to his wife. If you ask him, he won't say no!"

"Yeah! For the bonus—go get 'em, Mrs. Xie!" Everyone started cheering me on.

Our company wasn't big, but our boss was really considerate—he never forced us to go to work dinners. That was one of the main reasons I loved working there.

"Alright, everyone—don't push Xiao Shi if she doesn't want to go," our boss typed to calm everyone down.

Seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, I couldn't refuse. Our boss was so nice to me, and I wanted to do something for the company too. "I'll go," I typed back. "But I'm pregnant, so I can't drink alcohol." I wasn't afraid of the dinner itself, but with the baby, I had to be clear about that upfront.

"Oh—Xiao Shi, you're pregnant? Congratulations!" the boss replied. "It's fine—you just focus on chatting tonight. The guys will handle the drinking."

Everyone in the group congratulated me. I figured I'd have to tell them eventually, so it was better to get it over with.

The dinner was at a nearby resort that had everything—food, drinks, entertainment. We arrived early to set things up. When Alex got there, he greeted everyone politely, but when he saw me, he froze—he clearly hadn't expected me to be there.

In the past, Alex had never let me go to work dinners alone. At most, I'd go to a few cocktail parties with him, but I'd never drunk alcohol.

Everyone urged Alex to sit next to me. Once he sat down, we started eating.

"President Xie, we're honored you could make it," our boss said after a while, raising his glass. "I'd like to toast you—and congratulations on the little angel on the way. You're going to be a dad!"

I didn't expect the boss to say that outright. Alex turned to look at me, his eyes filled with shock. The whole room went quiet.

"I hadn't told Alex yet—I wanted to surprise him," I said quickly, sensing the awkward tension.

"Ah, right! My bad for ruining the surprise!" the boss laughed. "I'll punish myself by drinking three glasses!" Everyone started laughing and cheering to lighten the mood.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex whispered to me amid the noise.

"I was afraid it would upset you," I said. "I wanted to wait until you got your memory back." Alex looked at me with those beautiful eyes—filled with regret.

After dinner, we sat down in the courtyard. The bonfire crackled, sending sparks dancing against the dark sky. Alex sat next to me. "When did you find out you were pregnant?" he asked.

"Right after you had the accident—the doctors told me then," I said, turning to look at him. His features were sharp and handsome, even in the dark—striking enough to turn heads anywhere. Gradually, warmth filled his beautiful eyes.

"Quit your job," he said, his full lips parting slightly. "Stay home and rest—for the baby." I knew he'd say that. We'd talked about this before—Alex had insisted that if we ever had a baby, I should quit work to rest. He'd always loved kids. On our wedding night, he'd even joked about wanting to have a baby right away. Who would've thought our baby would come on our first wedding anniversary?

Alex had drunk a little too much that night. His eyes weren't as clear as usual, and they were filled with an emotion I couldn't name. The bonfire party started, and the atmosphere heated up—everyone was cheering and dancing. Suddenly, the sky lit up. We all looked up to see beautiful fireworks exploding overhead.

Alex leaned in close to me. "Lately, I've been having dreams—about scenes like this," he said softly. "But they're all blurry. And whenever I try to remember them clearly, my head hurts really bad." He frowned as he spoke.

"It's okay—take it slow," I said quickly, afraid of upsetting him. I gently smoothed the furrow between his brows. I was so excited—did this mean he was starting to remember me?

The crowd got more and more crowded. Alex noticed I was getting uncomfortable—I was scared of someone bumping into my belly, so I inched closer to him. He looked around for a moment, then put his arm around me to shield me from the crowd. I leaned into him, breathing in his light woodsy scent—a smell that always made me feel safe.