Before Lu Shaoting could finish speaking, Gu Xia immediately said:
“Impossible. If you don’t fulfill what you promised me, there’s no way I’ll listen to you and get an abortion now.”
“Lu Shaoting, I know I’m insignificant and my words carry little weight. Even though I’m pregnant, you have plenty of ways to deal with me. But before I die, I’ll definitely drag a few people down with me.”
Lu Shaoting detested being threatened the most.
The look in his eyes suddenly turned cold and stern.
“Do you think I care about the reputation you mentioned? Gu Xia, you’re being too naive.”
Gu Xia straightened her back, her face full of stubbornness and determination.
“Then let’s try it. I have nothing left to lose, so what am I afraid of?”
For some reason, Lu Shaoting saw a kind of fearless resolve on her youthful face.
It was exactly like that of a young soldier who had just joined the army, filled with fervent patriotism and a desire to defend the country.
To be precise, Gu Xia was indeed quite young, still at an age where she naively held beautiful expectations for the world.
Lu Shaoting softened his tone.
He said in a low voice, “Get in the car. I’m discussing this with you, not forcing you to make a decision.”
“Gu Xia, if you get an abortion now, it can minimize the risks to your health. You’re still young. If I remember correctly, you just turned eighteen, right?”
Lu Shaoting remembered because the Gu family had prepared a coming-of-age ceremony for her, and Lu Ye had attended it.
As an elder, Lu Shaoting had no reason to celebrate a junior’s birthday, but he happened to be back at the time.
He saw Lu Ye going out, carrying something in his hand but looking unhappy.
He asked and found out that it was the second daughter of the Gu family from the neighboring teachers’ residential compound celebrating her birthday.
She had invited some familiar young people to liven things up.
Listening to Lu Shaoting’s elder-like tone, Gu Xia clearly knew that he was just saying nice things to make her obediently go for an abortion.
As soon as she got rid of the child, Lu Shaoting would definitely ignore her completely.
Gu Xia opened the car door to sit in the back seat, but Lu Shaoting said, “Sit in the front.”
Gu Xia opened the front passenger door and obediently sat down.
Lu Shaoting glanced at the silent Gu Xia and asked her:
“Is there anything you want to say, or is there something I need to do for you to get an abortion now? Gu Xia, you need to understand one thing clearly: you were the one who drugged me, so you were in the wrong first.”
Lu Shaoting also felt that, although Gu Xia had drugged him, as a man, he hadn’t exactly suffered a loss.
Gu Xia’s innocence had been given to him.
Lu Shaoting was very restrained when it came to desires. He usually didn’t indulge in them, mainly because he found it uninteresting.
But when he touched Gu Xia that day, he couldn’t deny that his heart had been filled with an uncontrollable urgency.
If anyone had truly suffered a loss, it was Gu Xia that night—she had endured quite a lot.
Thinking about that night, Lu Shaoting immediately felt that the way he looked at Gu Xia had become awkward.
He didn’t even know where to rest his gaze on her…
Her smooth forehead, fair oval face, delicate and upturned nose, and her soft, moist, full lips…
Lu Shaoting’s eyes held a kind of fluster he had never experienced before.
Seeing Lu Shaoting staring at her, Gu Xia thought he was waiting for her to speak.
After hesitating for a moment, she said, “If you don’t help my parents and sister solve their work problems, there’s no way I’ll listen to you and get an abortion.”
“I still stand by my previous words. As long as you arrange things for them, I’ll go with you to have it done immediately.”
Lu Shaoting’s gaze fixed on Gu Xia’s eyes.
He couldn’t understand why Gu Xia only fought for job opportunities for her parents and sister, yet never asked him for anything for herself.
“You drugged me and got pregnant with this child just to use the baby in your womb to exchange for job opportunities for your parents and sister?”
Gu Xia raised her eyes to look at him, answering very seriously, “Exactly!”
“You!”
Lu Shaoting was indeed angered by her words.
If Gu Xia had drugged him and deliberately gotten pregnant just to return to the city herself, that would have been somewhat understandable.
But she did it only for her family.
“How old are you? Have you ever considered that the consequences of your actions will ruin your future?”
“Gu Xia, as your elder, I shouldn’t lose my composure like you, but what you’re doing now is absurd. This is a wrong path. What you need most right now is to turn back from this misguided course.”
Gu Xia said, “You’ve said so much, but aren’t you still just trying to persuade me to have an abortion?”
“I still say the same thing: if you agree to my conditions, I’ll listen to you.”
After speaking, she fell silent, avoiding eye contact with Lu Shaoting and turning her face to look out the window.
Seeing Gu Xia so stubborn and single-minded, Lu Shaoting angrily started the car and drove away.
Gu Xia didn’t know how Lu Shaoting managed to get a hotel room. After settling her in, he turned to leave.
Seeing him go, Gu Xia instinctively felt that Lu Shaoting was trying to run away…
Panicking, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed his clothes.
“Where are you going? Are you leaving me here, planning to run off and abandon me? Lu Shaoting, if you don’t take care of me, I’ll go make a scene at your house again. After causing trouble at your home, I’ll go to your workplace. I heard what Lu Ye said—you’re about to be transferred soon, and you’re definitely getting a promotion…”
Lu Shaoting looked at Gu Xia with a cold sneer.
“You have sharp ears.”
“Stay at the hotel for now. In three days, I’ll send someone to pick you up. Listen, Gu Xia, if you behave and don’t cause trouble, I might help your family. But if you make a fuss, you won’t like the consequences.”
Gu Xia loosened her grip on Lu Shaoting’s hand slightly.
The tension on her face also eased a little.
Her tone lost its previous aggressiveness.
“Alright, I’ll listen to you. But you have to keep your promise and help my family. Lu Shaoting, leave me a phone number so I can contact you. If you really abandon me, I won’t be able to stop myself from causing trouble at your house.”
Since she put it that way, Lu Shaoting didn’t give her too hard a time.
For him, the best solution was to handle this absurd situation that should never have happened peacefully, steadily, and quietly.
Borrowing pen and paper from the front desk, Lu Shaoting quickly wrote down a string of numbers.
Holding that piece of paper, Gu Xia finally felt a bit more secure.
But she was still afraid that Lu Shaoting might truly abandon her.
Gu Xia originally wanted to say a few harsh words fiercely.
But she noticed that Lu Shaoting seemed to prefer her obedience.
So she looked at him meekly, her bright, clear eyes gazing at him moistly:
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
After leaving the hotel, Lu Shaoting got into his car but didn’t drive away immediately.
Instead, he sat inside, smoking several cigarettes.
Her mind kept replaying the look in Gu Xia’s eyes when she said she would wait for him.
How could she pretend to be so innocent and pure, even saying she would wait for him forever?
If Gu Xia were truly innocent and pure, how could she possibly drug a grown man—one old enough to be her father, no less?