Afterwards, Shi Che would never hold her so tightly again, never kiss her so deeply... Everything tonight, was for the last time.
Ling Chuxia’s hands were powerless to push Shi Che away. She opened her eyes slightly and looked at Shi Che hovering above her, looked at his face deepened with desire. Her hands slowly rose, hooked around his neck, pulling him down a bit, and she kissed him proactively.
Shi Che shuddered uncontrollably, feeling as though he were floating in mid-air, weightless, unable to touch the ground.
This was the first time Ling Chuxia had taken the initiative in such matters, and the first time she had responded to him in this way.
Even a gesture as simple as this was enough to drive him mad.
Shi Che leaned down, seized the initiative, and captured her lips with his.
That night, Shi Che was all tenderness and passion, while Ling Chuxia gave herself entirely and sincerely.
She had not expected that the first time she willingly made love with Shi Che would also be her last.
It was like the moment she realized she had fallen in love with him, she knew she would never be able to tell him.
The next day, Ling Chuxia awoke first.
She lay in Shi Che’s arms, encircled by his strong and firm arms. She slowly turned her head and looked at Shi Che.
He was asleep, quiet and peaceful. Even in slumber, his handsome face had a stunning quality in the morning light. At this moment, his lips were unconsciously curved upwards, and there was a hint of satisfaction between his brows.
Ling Chuxia’s lips, unconsciously, mirrored the curve of his, bending into a smile. She slowly stretched out her hand, a finger gently resting on his brow, tracing the contours of his eyebrows then gliding over his high-bridged nose, and finally resting on his thin lips.
They say people with thin lips are heartless, but... he clearly was not.
He loved his elder sister, unwaveringly, from beginning to end.
For her, it was time to wake from the dream, to face reality.
Ling Chuxia’s hand lingered on Shi Che’s lips for a long time before reluctantly pulling away. She reached for her phone on the bedside table and switched it to camera mode.
She nestled gently into Shi Che’s embrace, one hand raised, the other resting on her lower abdomen, trying hard to bend her lips into a smile, then looked at the camera and pressed the shutter.
She couldn’t let Shi Che know about the child’s existence, but at least, for her, him, and the child, they could have one family photo.
After taking the photo, Ling Chuxia looked at the frozen image, her finger slowly extended, caressing it gently, and finally, her fingers curled bit by bit, clutching tightly.
She got up, changed into fresh clothes, stood by the bed, and watched Shi Che for a long time. Then, resolutely turned around and left the bedroom.
The surgery had been arranged. After a brief examination, the doctor asked Ling Chuxia to change clothes and lie on the hospital bed. Soon after, a nurse wheeled the bed into the operating room.
The moment she entered the operating room, Ling Chuxia’s hands clenched involuntarily, gripping the blanket beneath her fiercely at her sides.
The operating room lights came on, and Ling Chuxia squinted her eyes against the brightness. A doctor in a white coat approached her bedside, his voice professional yet cold, "Are you sure you don’t want this child? There’s still time to change your mind. Otherwise, once the surgery begins, there will be no opportunity to stop it."
Ling Chuxia’s grip tightened even more, the veins on the back of her hands standing out clearly one by one.