"How much have you put in?"
"I scraped together three hundred thousand. Zhong Minghui also contributed a hundred thousand."
"Whose name is on the house?"
"It’s in Zhong Minghui’s name. He is a Ph.D. with a respectable job, so he could be the main borrower on the loan. I originally wanted to add my own name, but his mother disapproved. She argued that since the mortgage payments would primarily be deducted from Zhong Minghui’s provident fund, and he was contributing the largest share, the house should be in his name alone. I thought it wouldn’t matter since we were getting married anyway. Besides, I wanted to avoid creating unnecessary disputes over the matter and potentially damaging our relationship. I believe that since I’ve been so good to him, he wouldn’t treat me too cruelly."
All Yan Xixi could do was offer a bitter smile. What did Zhong Minghui have that was so special? Why did he deserve Xu Xiaoya’s unwavering devotion? Yet, she knew she couldn’t convince Xu Xiaoya otherwise.
"Xixi, is it true that Wan Donglin is getting married to another woman? Is what Zhou Xiaoxuan said true?"
"Zhou Xiaoxuan said Zhou Ting is a very formidable woman. Xixi, you should make a decision early, or else you’ll be at a huge disadvantage. People like us, with no influential backgrounds, can’t afford to provoke someone like Zhou Ting." Check latest chapters at NoveI[F]ire.net
"I have it under control."
Xu Xiaoya stammered, "Huang Xiaojue, has he been in contact with you?"
Yan Xixi shook her head.
As she stepped out of the café, she saw the setting sun. It hung low in the sky, red as blood and just as cold.
For several days, Yan Xixi felt constantly disoriented and dizzy, with no appetite for anything. Initially, she thought it was just the aftereffects of the fright from her ’midnight escape’ and didn’t pay it much mind. However, after a week, the feelings of drowsiness and nausea intensified.
One day, a realization struck her with alarming clarity—her period was seriously overdue. In the past, due to malnutrition and stress, her period had occasionally been delayed by ten days or even half a month, but this time, by her calculations, it was almost a month late.
Startled and fearful, she furtively bought a pregnancy test on her way home from school. Once home, she immediately locked herself in the bathroom. When she took the test, two stark lines appeared.
It struck her like a bolt from the blue. She couldn’t believe it. How could this possibly happen? She had never missed a single birth control pill. Logically, this shouldn’t have occurred.
Overwhelmed, she collapsed onto the toilet seat, all strength draining from her body, as if her spine had been ripped out, leaving her like a boneless creature.
She lay awake the entire night, unable to close her eyes. Unwilling to accept it, she kept suspecting it was a mistake. Still clinging to this shred of denial, she rushed to a women and children’s hospital first thing the next morning.
The results were unequivocal: she was pregnant.
The HCG blood test, the most definitive measure, provided irrefutable proof.
Clutching that thin slip of paper, Yan Xixi barely registered how she walked out of the hospital.
In a complete daze, she hailed a taxi, got out, and then hailed another. It was already afternoon by the time she arrived home.
The maid, Xiaoping, had dinner ready and called for her to eat. Yan Xixi merely shook her head, returning to her bedroom in a daze and collapsing onto the bed. She didn’t know how long she slept. When she groggily awoke, she wasn’t hungry but felt desperately thirsty. Slipping on her slippers, she went out to get some water.
In the hallway, she saw that all the lights in the living room were on. Wan Donglin was sitting on the sofa. He looked up at her, his expression quite peculiar.
He stared at her for a long moment before finally speaking, "Yan Xixi, come down here."
Her heart lurched. She hesitated for a moment before slowly making her way downstairs.
Wan Donglin held a piece of paper in his hand, scrutinizing it repeatedly. Then, he held it out to her. "Yan Xixi, can you tell me what this means?"