Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lu Bancheng lowered his head and glanced at the paper bag questioningly. Then, as if he had encountered something unbelievable, he lifted his gaze and looked at Xu Wennuan. Even though he was trying his best to control his emotions, some semblances of happiness could be heard in his words. “Nuannuan, is this a gift for me?”
Xu Wennuan remained where she was with an expressionless face. She showed no sign of wanting to talk; she just held the raised paper bag for Lu Bancheng to take it.
When Lu Bancheng saw her gesture, he hurriedly reached out, retrieved it, and impatiently tore it open. He suddenly froze, voicelessly staring into the bag, stuffed full of cash.
The corner of Lu Bancheng’s lips twitched as he suddenly understood Xu Wennuan’s intentions. He initially thought that Xu Wennuan was taking the initiative to approach him, and his chest had swelled with joy, but it instantly vanished. He stared at the money for a long time before his gaze landed on Xu Wennuan’s face again, who appeared to still be unwilling to talk to him.
Ignoring his disappointment and sadness, she turned around and headed back to the guest room, still expressionless. She took two steps before recalling something, and her footsteps halted. With her back to him, she said in a cold, calm voice, “That’s $100,000. I still owe you $900,000.” With that, she continued walking.
Lu Bancheng’s fingers were trembling from holding the paper bag. When he heard the door to the guest room slam shut, he lowered his head again to look at the paper bag full of cash.
Six weeks… I thought she was finally willing to talk to me after so long, but it turns out she just wanted to return some money…
…
After locking the door, Xu Wennuan shut her eyes and leaned against it for a moment, before dragging her fatigued body to the bed.
Her hand brushed the plastic bag the moment she laid down on the bed. It was only then that she was reminded of the pregnancy test kits she had purchased from the pharmacy on her way home. She turned her head, stared at the bag for a second, and sat upright again. Then she grabbed both pregnancy test kits, stuffed them into the pocket of her pajamas, and walked out of the guest room once more.
Without any acknowledgment, she passed by Lu Bancheng, who was still standing before the balcony in the living room, and entered the bathroom without glancing back. Once the door was locked, Xu Wennuan walked to the toilet, took two deep breaths, and then sat on it to unwrap the pregnancy test kits.
After taking both tests, she had to wait a few minutes for the results. She remained seated on the toilet, holding a test strip in each hand, and stared fixedly at them waiting for the results. The longer she waited, the more uneasy she felt. At last, when each test strip displayed two red lines, she grew frantic.
As she had been so busy with work lately, she had not paid much attention to herself. If she had not met Qin Zhi’ai that afternoon and the latter had not made a joke about her being pregnant, she would nearly have forgotten about how her period had not arrived since the night that Lu Bancheng had raped her.
She knew her body best. If Qin Zhi’ai had not reminded her, she wouldn’t have thought of this. But the moment Qin Zhi’ai had said that, she couldn’t stop suspecting that she might be pregnant.
I did not expect myself to really be—
Xu Wennuan pursed her lips while remaining seated on the toilet in a daze for a long time before she stood up again. She wrapped up the pregnancy test kits, packaging, and instructions with toilet paper and hid them in her pocket before she left the bathroom.