Chapter 475: 446 Wen Qichen
Song Lili was very familiar with the President Mansion, but she was not quite used to living her life openly as the President’s wife.
And what she was least accustomed to was...
"What’s wrong?"
After finishing a day’s work, Wen Nian returned to the residential area and saw Song Lili gritting her teeth on the living room sofa.
Song Lili flipped her tablet around to show him,
"Look at what these netizens are saying about me."
Wen Nian frowned, walked over, leaned next to her, stretched his arm around her neck, and seriously looked at the top comments on the tablet,
"A seductress... Hmm!"
"...Hmm what?"
"They’ve got a point."
"..."
Song Lili looked at him with a silent gaze.
"Sleeping her way to the top..."
Wen Nian murmured as he read the comment that topped the most popular spot.
"More than ten thousand likes."
Song Lili said coldly.
Wen Nian exclaimed in surprise, "Madam, you’re quite popular."
"Thanks a lot."
The three words popped out between Lili’s clenched teeth. Wen Nian quickly put down the tablet, his hands circling the now significantly thicker waist and abdomen,
"Don’t be angry, it’s not good for you, and it’s not good for the child either."
"Wen Nian, I’m now having second thoughts about whether we should have gone public with our secret marriage. I saw a netizen survey a few days ago, and the President’s approval rating has hit a historic low."
"You don’t need to worry about such sloppy surveys."
Wen Nian said offhandedly.
Perhaps online opinion polls were indeed not very official, but the fact that the President’s approval rating had dropped due to their marriage being made public was indisputable.
"Didn’t you say that in our previous lives, I was hiddenly married to you for thirteen years, and I never became the real President’s wife until you died?"
"..."
"Even if you don’t stay President, I can’t let you be wronged again."
Wen Nian said, with a touch of stubborn defiance.
Song Lili couldn’t tell whether this was good or bad.
"Alright, let’s call Xiao Xun and go have dinner together."
Wen Nian took Song Lili’s hand, and they walked side by side toward the dining room.
Indeed, their marriage had caused quite a stir on the online platforms, with most of the attacks aimed at Song Lili.
Lili didn’t take these netizens’ comments to heart, but completely blocking out such messages was quite difficult; out of curiosity, she would stealthily go online to take a peek, only to end up frustrated and closing the page.
However, gradually, Lili noticed that the topics about her began to shift in both angle and sentiment, as several highly popular public figures took the lead in revealing Song Lili’s identity and past experiences.
People then discovered that she had been mixing in the army under another name.
They learned that she was the captain of the "Osprey" assault team, and more and more people started idolizing her.
Next came the release of photos from her missions, from Xilin to the Navy Corps, from domestic to international. Prince Chiluo publicly expressed at a national press conference that eradicating the Chuhai Mountain rebel army was largely thanks to the President’s wife of Country G.
"Actually, upon closer inspection, doesn’t anyone think the President’s wife is particularly beautiful?"
"Mr. President’s taste can’t be mistaken..."
"Mr. President, you must take good care of our goddess..."
Such comments gradually overshadowed the negative ones.
The next day, when Wen Nian came back, he approached her with a smile, "How come you’re not checking the hot topics anymore?"
Song Lili had long seen through such extremely indirect hints and self-congratulations.
She knew in her heart that controlling public opinion was also part of the President’s job.
Life at the President Mansion turned out to be more peaceful and comfortable than she had imagined. She thought she would never be willing to live in this cage that had locked her up for thirteen years.
But this place was the closest she could get to Wen Nian.
Song Lili held Wen Nian’s hand over her stomach,
"When we have some time, let’s name the child; one for a boy and one for a girl, just in case."
————
Six months later, on the first day of the New Year in the early hours of the morning, Song Lili gave birth to a daughter in the President Mansion.
She was two weeks early.
So much so that after the child was born, Wen Nian and Lili still hadn’t thought of a name.
"I told you to pick a name earlier, and you kept saying we had time, look now..."
Song Lili lay in bed, weak but still able to speak.
Wen Nian sat by the bed, holding her hand, tears of joy rolling down his cheeks, "I’ll think of it now, right now!"
Song Lili looked at him, amused, the corners of her mouth curling up.
"You’ve worked hard, Xiao Li..."
Wen Nian kissed her hand, left and right, tenderly clinging to her.
Song Lili reached out to touch Wen Nian’s head, gently grabbing his soft hair.
She stared at the ceiling; everything... was different...
The trajectory of this life was completely different from her previous one.
The domestic chaos in the country had subsided under the military pressure of the government army; without Qing Luo leading the rebel army, they truly were just a disorganized mess. Prince Chiluo gained merit by quelling the rebellion, not just as a Prince of the Royal Family, but also as the Great General of the country.
The baby’s cries echoed in her ears...
Song Lili turned her head slightly to look at the lively infant in the incubator beside the bed, tears of joy and satisfaction streaming from her tired eyes.
In her previous life, that short-lived child was a boy; in this life, it turned out to be a girl.
"Qichen."
"What?"
"Let’s name her Wen Qichen, alright?"
"Admiring the exotic, they come to present their treasures..."
"Yes, this little girl is our treasure."
Wen Nian pressed against her forehead, stars twinkling in his eyes, "Rest for a while; Dad should be coming over, I’ll go fetch him."
"Okay."
Song Lili lay there, slowly closing her eyes; childbirth was painful, but Wen Nian had hired the best obstetricians in the country, and everything that could ease her pain had been provided.
In any case, the process was much more bearable than the miscarriage in her previous life.
Just as her eyes were barely closed for a while, her father’s anxious voice came from outside the door,
"Is it done? How come it was so quick? I rushed over as soon as I got your message..."
"Take it easy!"
Song Jiayu hurried upstairs, nearly stumbling but fortunately,Wen Nian was there to catch him.
"Keep it down, Lili just fell asleep."
"Right... shush..."
The door was gently pushed open, Wen Nian and Song Jiayu tiptoed in; Song Jiayu was a bit hasty, one of his legs was inconvenient, and Wen Nian quickly caught him,
"Slow..."
Song Jiayu immediately nodded, but as he stared at the baby crib beside the bed, his eyes shone with excitement.
Song Lili watched him, smiling gently,
"It’s okay, Dad, come see your granddaughter."
"Xiao Li, you’re awake?"
Song Jiayu hurried over, touching Song Lili’s head, his face full of doting and concern.
"I’m fine, really well. Ah Nian just named the child Qichen."
"Qichen..."
Song Jiayu walked over to the baby crib, looking at the already bathed and tucked in little girl with a wrinkled face, overwhelmed with joy.