In the dim room, soft, broken moans mingled with low, ragged panting.
The man’s features were cool and refined, a faint flush spreading across his exquisite face.
His dark eyes fixed on the young woman. His voice was sensual and hoarse. “Tell me, who are you?”
“Lin Qiqi…” The girl’s voice was soft, tinged with tears.
Unable to help herself, she clasped her hands around his neck, rubbing her lovely little face against him helplessly. “It’s unbearable…”
Her lingering movements and soft, desire-laden murmurs finally proved too much for him. He bent down and sealed her red lips with his own…
“Knock, knock, knock—”
The sudden knocking roused the sleeping girl in bed.
Lin Qiqi gasped and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her temple.
The man’s deep, muffled groans still seemed to echo in her ears.
Her fair little face was already flushed. She had lost count of how many times she’d dreamed of that outrageous night.
Her thoughts drifted back to a few months earlier.
Lin Qiqi had only just arrived in this world then, and the original owner of this body suffered from a severe heart condition.
Even she, a medical genius, couldn’t diagnose its cause. She had been on the verge of death.
With no other choice, she’d gone out to try her luck, hoping to stumble upon an opportunity.
And as it turned out, she really did.
He was a man covered in wounds, barely clinging to life.
Lin Qiqi had made the astonishing discovery that simply staying near him eased her heart condition, while physical contact with him could cure it.
So she’d promptly saved the man and forcibly kept him by her side.
She had planned to let him go once her heart condition was cured.
Who could have guessed that something would happen, and she’d end up sleeping with him…
Afterward, while he was still unconscious, Lin Qiqi had run away like a coward.
Her heart condition had been almost completely cured by then, after all. She could manage the rest with medicine.
She’d assumed that she and the man would have nothing more to do with each other for the rest of their lives. But plans never kept pace with fate.
A little over a month later, she suddenly discovered she was pregnant.
For various reasons, Lin Qiqi had no choice but to travel a thousand li to the capital to find the child’s father.
Outside, the knocking continued.
Lin Qiqi ran a hand through her tousled hair, put her thoughts aside, and got up to open the door.
A tall, well-dressed young man with handsome, refined features stood outside.
He was her older paternal cousin, Lin Mubei.
On her first day in the capital, Lin Qiqi had sought him out.
After all, she didn’t know the city at all. Finding the child’s father would be no easy task.
And given her current condition, she couldn’t afford to wait.
Lin Mubei looked at her pale little face, his eyes full of concern.
His little cousin was the only girl in the entire family and had been adored from birth.
But she was frail. From the day she was born, she’d barely survived thanks to all manner of rare and costly treasures lavished on her.
Doctors at home and abroad had examined her in countless numbers, but none had helped.
Her heart condition was so severe that, at any moment, she might…
The thought made Lin Mubei ache for her all the more. He looked at Lin Qiqi and smiled gently. “Just got up?”
“Mm.” Rubbing her bleary eyes, Lin Qiqi swayed toward the sofa.
She sat down carelessly, her head drooping. She hadn’t slept well and felt awful; she didn’t want to say a word.
Lin Mubei followed her inside and set the lunchbox he’d brought on the coffee table. “Mom made some of your favorite breakfast foods. Go wash up and have some while it’s still hot.”
Lin Qiqi’s almond-shaped eyes were hazy, and she looked utterly listless. “Mm, I’ll eat in a bit. Thanks, Fifth Brother. And thank Second Aunt for me, too.”
Lin Mubei ruffled her hair. “Silly girl, no need to be so formal.”
He sat down on the sofa nearby and asked with concern, “How are you feeling? Do you want to get it checked out? There’s an elderly traditional Chinese medicine physician at a hospital in the capital. I’ve heard he’s quite good.”
Lin Qiqi shook her head. “I’m all right. I won’t go.”
The original owner’s heart condition was bizarre beyond belief. No matter how many doctors she saw, it wouldn’t help.
Only that man could cure it.
Thinking of him, she looked up at Lin Mubei and couldn’t help asking, “Fifth Brother, have you found out anything about the person I asked you to look into?”
“I was just about to tell you.” Lin Mubei paused, then took a document envelope from his briefcase and handed it to her. “I found him…”
At that, Lin Qiqi was instantly wide awake. “You found him?”
That was wonderful.
She took the envelope excitedly, opened it, and began looking through the documents inside.
Seeing her little face come alive, Lin Mubei asked curiously, “Qiqi, what do you need him for?”
“…” Lin Qiqi’s hand holding the papers stiffened. She forced a guilty smile. “N-no reason. Qiao Dandan asked me to help find him.”
Qiao Dandan was one of the original owner’s close friends, and now one of the few friends Lin Qiqi had herself.
If her family found out she was pregnant, they’d surely go and kill that man.
To keep them from getting even the slightest suspicion, she had to let her best friend take the blame for now.
At that, Lin Mubei seemed to think of something and tactfully warned her, “Lu Beicheng is a pretty good person, but… there are some things that just aren’t appropriate.”
Lin Qiqi nodded. So that man’s name was Lu Beicheng.
It was a nice name.
But what did he mean by “aren’t appropriate”?
She glanced at her cousin, tempted to ask, but worried it might arouse suspicion. In the end, she held back her curiosity.
Lin Mubei had to go to work, so he didn’t stay long.
Before leaving, as usual, he reminded Lin Qiqi again and again, “Be sure to take good care of yourself. Whatever happens, tell us. If you can’t manage, come home and stay…”
Lin Qiqi listened obediently, warmth spreading through her heart.
In her previous life, she had been an orphan. No one had ever fussed over her like this.
After coming to this world, she’d met so many people who cared for her. She was truly happy.
After seeing her cousin off, Lin Qiqi quickly got ready and went out to look for the child’s father.
Following the address on the documents, she arrived at— the Capital Compound.
Thanks to Second Uncle, she got in without having to register.
She made her way to the Lu residence.
Looking at the imposing estate before her, Lin Qiqi began to lose her nerve.
Even though she wasn’t from the capital, she had heard of the illustrious Lu family.
If she could, she truly didn’t want to get involved with a powerful family like theirs.
But it seemed she had no choice now!
Taking a deep breath, Lin Qiqi steeled herself and knocked on the courtyard gate.
A woman soon came to open it. She looked at Lin Qiqi and asked, “Comrade, who are you looking for?”
Lin Qiqi smiled politely. “I’m looking for Lu Beicheng. Is he here?”
The woman appeared to be a housekeeper or a servant.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “Wait a moment,” then closed the gate.
It looked as though she had gone to report to the family.
Lin Qiqi waited outside. She reached down to stroke her belly and couldn’t help smiling.
Soon, someone opened the gate from inside again. It was the same woman.
She looked at Lin Qiqi. “Comrade, please come with me.”
Lin Qiqi thanked her and followed the woman into the courtyard.