When the middle-aged woman saw Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei, her eyes clouded over. She tried to sit up, but Mrs. Xie gently pressed her back down, leading the couple over to the newborn.
"Isn't the baby adorable?" Mrs. Xie asked them.
"Adorable," Qin Mei agreed. Jie Jingchen remained silent. Both of them stared at Mrs. Xie with evident confusion.
"She's a girl," Mrs. Xie said.
At the mention of the word *girl*, the middle-aged woman's eyes filled with deep regret and sorrow.
Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen exchanged bewildered glances. Reaching out, Qin Mei gently poked the baby's blanket and lied through her teeth, "She's quite pretty."
Truth be told, a freshly born infant had absolutely nothing to do with the word *pretty*.
"Xiao Mei, do you like her?" Mrs. Xie smiled at her daughter-in-law, her eyes harboring an expectation that Qin Mei couldn't quite fathom.
"Mom, whether I like her or not isn't really the point, is it?" Qin Mei deflected.
