Fu Shinian laughed lightly:
"I’ve spoken to you about the issue of having children more than once. I mentioned it to you when I just got back from a business trip. What did you say then? You said you were willing and accepted my actions. The suspension later on was only because Qiao Yu said to stop the medication for a while. What I really want to know is, what exactly happened that made you change your mind so quickly, or were you lying to me from the start?"
Su Mu was very calm, and at this point, nothing Fu Shinian said could stir the slightest ripple in her:
"I did lie to you. I thought about having a proper talk with you about this after the fact, especially since there was a three-month medication break for me to think about how to discuss it with you. But then, after the incident with borrowing money from Wen Han happened, things became cold between us for a long time. I thought there wouldn’t be any change regarding the matter of the child, but just one month after stopping the medication, you began..."
"If I don’t say it now, I think I’ll never have a chance to say it again." Su Mu looked at him: "I didn’t say I didn’t want to have children. I just wanted to delay it. Is that so hard to understand? Which sensitive nerve of yours did I touch for you to treat me in this way?"
Fu Shinian looked at Su Mu and remained silent for a few seconds. When he spoke again, there was no change in his voice:
"What if I insist on having a child?"
"Do you think that with my current state, the child could be born healthy?"
"They say that once you become a mother, you develop feelings for your child. Maybe after you get pregnant, you’ll change your current state." Fu Shinian smiled faintly: "I believe you will be a good mother. You have such patience with Wen Shaoyuan; you can’t be partial to your own child. Otherwise, what would you have me think?"
Su Mu frowned slightly, not understanding why Fu Shinian would bring up Wen Shaoyuan at that moment, but after a moment, she also began to grasp:
"You think... think there’s something between me and Wen Han?"
Fu Shinian shook his head:
"I’m not that stupid, nor am I as tolerant as you think. If Mrs. Fu really had something going on with Wen Han, I wouldn’t be sitting here having a decent conversation with you. You would have been long gone."
"Then you clearly know..."
"I’ve said before, I just want a child."
Su Mu gave a bitter smile, seemingly unable to reason with him: "So, my thoughts don’t matter?"
"All I remember is that Mrs. Fu also wanted a child before."
His resolute attitude made Su Mu feel there was nothing left to say between them. She gave a bitter smile:
"In your dreams!"
Su Mu’s voice was so light that Fu Shinian wasn’t sure what he had heard. He asked, "What did you say?"
"I said..." Su Mu suddenly yelled with all her might. Her voice was already hoarse from not drinking water for several days, and now as she faced Fu Shinian, she roared like a fierce beast trapped by iron chains: "In your dreams! I will never have your child. Even if I am pregnant this time, I will abort it!"
After her voice had broken from the strain, Su Mu began to cough desperately, as if she wanted to cough out all her internal organs. And Fu Shinian just sat there, watching coldly, watching her discomfort, watching her weakness, watching her gradually settle.
Auntie Lin pushed the door open just as Fu Shinian had stood up from his chair. He stood by the bed, watching coldly as Su Mu untied her necktie. Su Mu knew what he intended to do by his actions, but her body wouldn’t let her utter another word, so she could only scoff.
"Mr. Fu..." The thing Auntie Lin had been worried about still happened. Seeing that Su Mu’s face was even paler than before, she was worried and wanted to come over to help her catch her breath but was promptly stopped by Fu Shinian’s timely command, "Leave."
Auntie Lin stopped in her tracks, almost in disbelief:
"Mr. Fu, the madam, she..."
"Get out!"
Having worked in the Fu family for so long, just like what Fu Shinian had said downstairs, she was a veteran of the Fu family, there was nothing she couldn’t say. She had never been yelled at so sternly by Fu Shinian, and for a moment, she was stunned, unsure of how to react.
Fu Shinian didn’t notice Auntie Lin’s hesitation and looked at her with dissatisfaction:
"Didn’t you hear what I said?"
Auntie Lin saw the look on Fu Shinian’s face at this moment and knew that he was truly angered, but if she left, what would happen to the madam? As she hesitated, Su Mu suddenly looked at her, gave her a reassuring smile, signaling that she was fine.
Auntie Lin’s eyes suddenly reddened, and she couldn’t hold back her tears. She just thought of her own daughter, Tang Jia. If Tang Jia were to get married and encounter such a situation, as a mother, she would be heartbroken. Although Su Mu wasn’t her own daughter, Auntie Lin couldn’t forget the kindness Su Mu had shown her these past two years.
Thus, she didn’t leave. She stood in front of Fu Shinian, her eyes red as she looked at him:
"Mr. Fu, you really can’t treat the madam like this. Can’t you see how weak she has become? You are going to kill her with your actions."
At her words, Fu Shinian’s brows furrowed slightly, and his anger didn’t lessen but escalated further. He coldly watched Su Mu on the bed and sneered:
"Look at what you’ve achieved. Even though they are all people by my side, in the end, they all speak up for you. Tell me, do you really possess such a genuine personal charm that everyone thinks I’m the bastard, or is your acting so refined that you’ve fooled everyone?"
Su Mu simply smiled, a smile as carefree as the breeze, as if no venomous words could hurt her anymore.
Fu Shinian hated her attitude the most. He bore down on his teeth, pushed Auntie Lin out of the room, locked the door, and started undressing as he walked back to the front of Su Mu, only to see that she had closed her eyes and was no longer looking at him. He grabbed her chin forcefully, making her tilt her head up to face him:
"Open your eyes and look at me!"
Su Mu remained unmoved, letting him create pain on her chin. She couldn’t help thinking that he should apply more force, enough to make her faint from the pain, but Fu Shinian seemed to have seen through her thoughts and did not comply with her wish, loosening her chin.
"You want to faint?" Fu Shinian sneered. "Fine, but just remember, each time before, you fainted because of what I did. This time will be no exception."
Fu Shinian then pressed his body on top of hers, staring intently at Su Mu’s face that showed no emotion. Su Mu’s indifference caused Fu Shinian a moment of confusion. He couldn’t help but examine why he had returned this evening, was it just to cause Su Mu deeper injury?
No, he had come for reconciliation, to have a proper talk with her.