(A beautiful picture of Ju Zi)
The door stood ajar, and the faint scrape of metal drifted out from inside.
Lin Ye pushed the door open and entered. Ju Zi sat at the workbench, a heap of parts and half-finished Soul Tools spread out before her.
She held a fine engraving knife, concentrating on carving a blank for a Core Formation.
Today, she wore loose, light gray work clothes, her hair tied casually behind her head with a few stray strands falling over her forehead.
The light on the workbench fell across her profile, lending an especially gentle glow to the faint rosy flush brought on by her pregnancy.
She seemed not to notice Lin Ye coming in. Her engraving knife moved steadily over the metal, producing a soft, continuous rasp.
Lin Ye stopped beside her without a word, simply looking down at her profile.
After a while, Ju Zi seemed to sense something. Her hand paused, and she turned her head.
Her gaze landed on Lin Ye's face. She froze for a moment, then quickly looked away, the tips of her ears turning crimson in an instant.
"You... what are you doing here?"
She still held the engraving knife, while her other hand instinctively nudged the pregnancy-testing Soul Tool on the table into the pile of parts.
Lin Ye reached out, retrieved the Soul Tool from the pile, and turned it over in his hand. His voice was very gentle.
"Nana told me."
Ju Zi blushed even harder. She lowered her head and wrung her hands together, her voice growing quieter.
"I tested this morning... and... and found out I was pregnant."
By the last few words, her voice was barely more than a murmur in her throat, but she couldn't suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
Lin