She didn't want to spoil the perfect moment, so a smile bloomed on her face. Spotting a pretty seashell, she picked it up and asked, "Is it beautiful?"
"It's quite common. There are many here. I'll go find some for you," Gu Yunting said, already collecting other shells. As he mentioned, the beach was littered with shells, most of them broken. Ye Wan didn't mind, and soon they had gathered a good number.
Ye Wan wrote their names on the sand, then carefully arranged shells around them to take a picture as a memento. After a moment's thought, she drew two intertwined hearts around their names, encircling them together.
"This way, we'll be together forever!" Ye Wan beamed, looking at the man beside her.
"And the baby too," Gu Yunting came over, embracing her and placing a hand on her rounded belly.
With no one else around, Ye Wan no longer bothered to conceal her pregnancy. Her light, sleeveless, ankle-length white dress gave her an ethereal look. The breeze accentuated her growing bump, yet instead of appearing cumbersome, it lent her a unique beauty.
Gu Yunting couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Have you thought of a name for the baby?" Gu Yunting mused. Even if the child had some imperfections, it was the fruit of their love. Perhaps having the baby with her after he was gone would be better.
After all, he would leave her an astonishing fortune, enough to ensure they would never have to worry about food or shelter for the rest of their lives.
"Not yet. Shouldn't the father name the baby?" Ye Wan said, looking at him with a hint of grievance.
He had been insistent on her aborting this child, even going so far as to claim there were problems with it. If she hadn't fought with all her might, the baby would likely not be alive today.
Let alone naming it.
She had deliberately not named the baby, hoping that Gu Yunting would take the initiative. In her heart, that would signify his acceptance of the child.
"Nonsense. You're the baby's mother; you have every right to name it." Gu Yunting didn't understand Ye Wan's thoughts. He felt that everything should be her decision.
But Ye Wan insisted he should name it.
Gu Yunting knew he wouldn't live to see the child's birth. He didn't know if it would be a boy or a girl. He looked at her, lost in thought. Whether it was a boy or a girl, he hoped the child would be like her, gentle and warm.
But he worried if it was a girl, what if she were bullied? She wouldn't have a father to back her up.
Therefore, a boy might be better. A boy, when grown, could protect her.
These thoughts brought a pang of sorrow to Gu Yunting's heart, and tears almost welled up. He blinked and smiled, saying, "It'll be more meaningful if we choose a name together. Shall we go back and look through the dictionary now?"
"Okay!" Ye Wan was more than happy to oblige, yet his change of heart made her uneasy.
What was happening to him?
They returned to the seaside villa, and Gu Yunting actually retrieved two dictionaries from his study, one large and one small. They settled onto the comfortable sofas, flipping through the pages to find a name.
"Do you want the baby to be a boy or a girl?" Ye Wan asked casually.
"A boy," Gu Yunting blurted out.
Hearing his answer, Ye Wan, though not entirely surprised, felt a pang of discomfort. She fell silent, diligently flipping through the dictionary.
Sensing her unhappiness, Gu Yunting asked, "What's wrong?"