After that failed attempt to seduce Lu Shaoting while she was sick,
Gu Xia completely abandoned her plan to change her family’s fate through Lu Shaoting.
After she recovered from her illness, she kept waiting for Lu Shaoting to come knocking on her door and take her to get an abortion.
Unexpectedly, instead of Lu Shaoting, it was his second older sister, Lu Xiaoyan, who showed up.
“Gu Xia.”
Gu Xia was somewhat surprised to see Lu Xiaoyan arrive.
Lu Shaoting had forbidden her from going to the Lu family home and had arranged for her to live alone elsewhere precisely to prevent her from having any contact with the Lu family.
The fact that Lu Xiaoyan was able to find her here meant Lu Shaoting must have given her the address.
Gu Xia opened the door and let Lu Xiaoyan in.
“I don’t know why you’re here. Come in and tell me.”
Lu Xiaoyan walked into the room and looked around at the clean, tidy rental apartment.
There was very little inside—just some greens on the table; there wasn’t even rice, flour, or eggs.
“Aren’t you pregnant? Why haven’t you bought anything nutritious to eat?”
“Didn’t Shaoting give you any money? He really is something. No matter what, he should have given you some money.”
Gu Xia looked at Lu Xiaoyan, who was suddenly showing such concern for her, and felt a bit bewildered.
If she remembered correctly, the last time Lu Xiaoyan saw her, she had been urging her not to pursue Lu Shaoting.
She’d said Lu Shaoting was already going on blind dates and advised her that it would be best to terminate the pregnancy while it was still early, so it wouldn’t cause too much harm to her.
So why was she suddenly showing such concern for her now?
Lu Xiaoyan kept talking to herself as she set the items she was carrying down inside the room.
Only then did Gu Xia ask, “How did you find this place? Did Uncle Lu tell you?”
Gu Xia suspected that Lu Xiaoyan’s sudden concern was likely a last-minute pang of conscience before taking her to get an abortion.
Lu Shaoting wouldn’t be coming himself, so he’d sent his older sister, Lu Xiaoyan, to take her for the abortion.
Gu Xia thought to herself that this was for the best; once the abortion was over, she would have absolutely no further connection to Lu Shaoting.
She wouldn’t be able to use Lu Shaoting’s status as a military officer to help her parents and older sister anymore.
Gu Xia felt flustered, but she also knew that Lu Shaoting was a tough nut to crack.
With her limited wit, she simply couldn’t think of any way to get Lu Shaoting to pay attention to her.
Lu Xiaoyan gave a soft “mm-hmm,” seeming quite torn, and even when she spoke of Lu Shaoting, she stammered and hesitated.
Gu Xia didn’t want to ask any more questions.
“I’ll do as you say and have the abortion. But these are twins, so there might be some risks. I hope that after the procedure, you can stay with me for a while. I…”
She wasn’t afraid of dying; she just wanted to try her best to find another way to help her parents and older sister.
When Lu Xiaoyan heard Gu Xia mention twins, her eyes widened as she looked at her.
“What did you say? You’re having twins? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“We’re not going to terminate this pregnancy—you’re keeping the babies. Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of you. Don’t worry about Shao Ting. We have to keep these babies—just listen to me.”
Gu Xia stared at Lu Xiaoyan in disbelief.
“Uncle Lu promised me that the next time he came, he’d take me to get an abortion. Was it his decision to keep this baby, too?”
That’s strange.
If Lu Shaoting wanted to keep this baby, why didn’t he come in person? Why did he send Lu Xiaoyan to find her instead?
Lu Xiaoyan said, “Just trust me on this, Gu Xia. Don’t worry—whatever conditions you set, I’ll do my best to meet them. But this child must stay.”
“These are twins, after all. I can tell they’re quite fond of Shaoting, so it only makes sense to keep both of them.”
Twins—surely one of them must be a son.
Given Shaoting’s current situation, he absolutely must have an heir…
Lu Xiaoyan spoke with Gu Xia for a while, set down the things she’d brought, and as she was leaving, she gave Gu Xia fifty yuan. Her behavior was strange in every way, making Gu Xia feel that something was very off.
Gu Xia didn’t ask too many questions on the surface. Lu Shaoting wasn’t coming to see her now, but Lu Xiaoyan had come instead—and was even urging her to have the baby.
Gu Xia was currently in the city. To have a safe abortion, she would have to go to a hospital, but she didn’t have any connections in Beicheng. Lu Shaoting, however, did. His plan was to only inform his doctor friend of Gu Xia’s existence on the very day he took her to have the abortion.
Unless it came to an abortion, he would never let anyone close to him know that Gu Xia was carrying his child.
Since Lu Shaoting had a safe plan and Gu Xia had no better alternative, she naturally agreed to follow his arrangements.
After Lu Xiaoyan left, Gu Xia stared blankly at the nutritional supplements on the table.
She was certain that Lu Xiaoyan’s sole purpose in coming this time was to persuade her to have the baby—and she’d done so without even knowing that Gu Xia was carrying twins.
Why had Lu Xiaoyan suddenly come to persuade her to carry Lu Shaoting’s child to term?
Gu Xia felt there must be something fishy going on.
With these doubts weighing on her mind and nothing else to do, she later returned to the military housing compound where the Lu family lived. She didn’t intend to go inside; she just hoped to run into someone and ask what was happening with the Lu family.
Before she could ask anyone, she spotted someone she recognized.
It was Zhou Liyun, the woman who’d gone on a blind date with Lu Shaoting last time, and she was accompanied by a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties.
“Auntie, didn’t Uncle say it already? Lu Shaoting’s injury is serious—he’s still in the ICU at the hospital. Why would I go to their house? Haven’t we all already been to the hospital?”
Zhou Liyun had already been to the hospital—she’d gone the very next day after Lu Shaoting’s accident.
She hadn’t actually seen Lu Shaoting herself, but the area outside the hospital was packed with people. She’d heard that Lu Shaoting’s accident had occurred while he was driving home that night; the exact cause, however, was classified as a military secret.
The driver who had been behind the wheel for Lu Shaoting was also covered in blood, though he wasn’t seriously injured—he’d only suffered a graze wound from a bullet on his arm. He cried out that he wanted to wait for the commander to wake up and refused to let anyone treat his injuries.
It wasn’t until he was scolded by the arriving officials that he was finally held down and taken away.
As Zhou Liyun listened to the hospital staff and several officials discussing Lu Shaoting’s condition, she immediately felt a surge of frustration.
She had always harbored feelings for Lu Shaoting. Now that she’d finally gotten her chance—the Lu family had arranged a blind date between him and her—she’d been convinced that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she would soon be marrying Lu Shaoting.
She never expected an accident to happen right at this moment.
“Auntie, tell me, why is my life so miserable? I finally found someone I really like, and now he’s injured down there. I’d heard before that Lu Shaoting was a bit cold, but now look—he’s completely out of action…. ”
Zhou Liyun’s aunt, Wang Fenlan, glanced at her niece.
She then said, “Let’s go take a look first. If he really can’t perform, do we even need to bring it up ourselves? The Lu family will announce it on their own.”
Zhou Liyun thought that made sense. Just as she and Wang Fenlan were heading toward the staff compound, she spotted Gu Xia standing outside the gate with her sharp eyes.
Gu Xia’s pretty little face was hard to forget.
“Why are you here again? Looking for Lu Shaoting?” Zhou Liyun asked as she walked up to Gu Xia.
Seeing that Gu Xia didn’t respond, Zhou Liyun stared at her pretty little face and, driven by a desire for revenge, said:
“You probably don’t know this yet, but Lu Shaoting had an accident the night before last. He was rushed straight to the intensive care unit. The doctors say there’s a high probability his lower body is paralyzed. Even if it isn’t, he’ll never be able to function as a man for the rest of his life.”