Feng Yue returned to the bedroom, Li Ranqiu had yet to awaken. He sat by the bedside, looking down at her beautiful face, contemplating the actions she had previously taken, his handsome features gradually becoming distorted.
He did not wake Li Ranqiu directly but instead reached out and gently placed his hand on her abdomen, striving to feel the life that was being nurtured within.
Before Bai Ye and the others left, he had taken the opportunity to discreetly seek confirmation from Meng Qingluo, wanting to know if Li Ranqiu was truly pregnant. He was reluctant to believe that the woman he had always cherished would disregard even his child!
Meng Qingluo had assured him that Li Ranqiu was indeed pregnant, but for specifics, a thorough examination would be required. He lightly touched her still-flat abdomen, imagining the son or daughter developing inside, and his expression unconsciously softened.
However, suddenly, he remembered something! When he had first been intimate with Li Ranqiu, although she had seemed inexperienced, there had not been the expected sign of virginity, which had mattered a great deal to him. Men prefer their partners to be pure virgins, untouched by anyone else, and he was no exception.
Thus, at that time, he had felt quite upset upon discovering this. But Li Ranqiu, with tears in her eyes, had explained to him that intense physical activities could cause the hymen to tear. She had been learning dance since childhood, and falling during practice was common, so that was why there was no blood.
They had just been tender with each other, and his feelings for Li Ranqiu were quite strong. Seeing her pitiful state, he had believed her. Later, he had asked others, some did not know, while others said that it was indeed possible. He had subsequently consulted the doctors at the Base, accepting their affirmative response as conclusive.
But now, he suddenly felt that Li Ranqiu was lying! Since witnessing Li Ranqiu’s pretense in front of Bai Ye, she was no longer the pure and wonderful woman in his eyes. He felt blinded and found himself uncontrollably doubting every word she had said and every action she had taken!
Once this suspicion arose, he could no longer see the child in her womb the same way. Was it truly his child? Or was it someone else’s illegitimate offspring?
Feng Yue did not know.
He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up from the bedside, called in a subordinate from outside, and commanded, "Go invite Doctor Zhou here, tell him there is a patient."
His subordinate dared not speak any further, and did not even dare to glance around. Feng Yue’s temper was not pleasant, and at this moment, he was like a volcano ready to erupt, not to be provoked!
Doctor Zhou was the village clinic’s doctor and a retired traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from a major city hospital, skilled in his profession. Had he not chosen to spend his later years in his hometown, many hospitals would have been eager to employ him.
Previously when Li Ranqiu had severe morning sickness, it had been him who helped by providing massages to ease her symptoms. Now, without equipment and unreliable Western medicine, Feng Yue could only think of him. He had heard that experienced traditional Chinese practitioners could determine the duration of the pregnancy by feeling the pulse, although he wasn’t sure whether it was true.
Feng Yue, being the leader of the Base, was someone none dared to disobey. Soon, Doctor Zhou arrived. Feng Yue did not allow the subordinate to enter but had him wait outside, then personally escorted Doctor Zhou to the bedroom, instructing him to take Li Ranqiu’s pulse: "Check how long she has been pregnant."
Doctor Zhou carried a small aluminum medical case. He opened it, took out a cushion, placed it under Li Ranqiu’s wrist, then sat by the bed, pressing his fingers to her pulse, feeling it attentively.
Feng Yue stood beside, his expression calm, yet his heart churned, fearing that the child in Li Ranqiu’s womb was not his.
A minute passed, yet it felt much longer to him. As Doctor Zhou retracted his fingers, he immediately asked, "Doctor Zhou, how is it? Can you tell?"
Doctor Zhou pondered for a moment. He had been in the village when the apocalypse occurred and had survived, witnessing everything that unfolded. Knowing Li Ranqiu came with Feng Yue and they were a couple, he said, "She has been pregnant for a month and a half. Times are hard now, you should be cautious..."
At this point, he suddenly saw Feng Yue’s complexion turn dark, veins popping, and eyes red. His heart skipped, sensing something was amiss. He had always thought Li Ranqiu and Feng Yue were a couple, possibly even married, but Feng Yue’s reaction suggested he might have been mistaken.