The Lu family’s living room.
The Lu family had something going on today, so nearly everyone was home.
At that moment, the sofas were full. Seated at the head were Old Master Lu and Old Madam Lu.
Below them, in order, were Father Lu and Mother Lu, then Second Uncle Lu and his wife…and so on.
When the woman led Lin Qiqi inside, she saw that the room was full of people.
She pressed her lips together and discreetly scanned the room, but she didn’t see the familiar figure.
That made her already uneasy heart even more unsettled.
And the pain was becoming impossible to bear.
Old Madam Lu looked at her with a kindly smile. “Young lady, I hear you’re looking for our Chengcheng?”
Lin Qiqi nodded, forcing down the pain. “Yes, Old Madam. Is he here?”
Like the woman who had brought her in, Old Madam Lu didn’t answer the question. Instead, she asked, “What do you need him for?”
Lin Qiqi’s brows drew together slightly, and the pain in her chest grew worse.
Even breathing was becoming difficult.
Lately, her heart condition had been acting up more and more often, and each episode lasted longer.
It felt as if her heart might stop at any moment.
Steadying her swaying body, she took a deep breath and said, “I’m pregnant…”
A flicker of surprise crossed Old Madam Lu’s eyes. The young woman looked so small; she hadn’t expected her to be married and already expecting a child.
Old Madam Lu nodded, but what did any of that have to do with her Chengcheng?
It couldn’t possibly be his, could it?
As Old Madam Lu wondered, the young woman seemed to steel herself and continued, “The child is Lu Beicheng’s.”
The moment she said it, the spacious living room fell silent.
Then came a succession of sharp intakes of breath.
Everyone in the room stared at Lin Qiqi.
Their gazes shifted from her face to her belly.
Shock, astonishment, disbelief—one complicated expression after another flashed across their faces.
Good heavens, what had they just heard?
Could it be true?
Was it even possible?
Even Old Master Lu, who rarely let his feelings show, nearly sprang to his feet.
That little bastard Cheng had actually taken advantage of such a young woman.
And—and now he’d gotten her pregnant, and she’d come right to their door!
How could this be?
Everyone knew that no woman could get within ten feet of Cheng boy. Only his mother and grandmother were allowed to get close to him.
Old Master Lu regarded Lin Qiqi with mixed feelings.
But the young woman had come all this way, and she sounded so certain. Could it really be true?
The thought immediately lifted Old Master Lu’s spirits.
He waved a hand and turned to his son. “Go call that brat and tell him to come back.”
Father Lu answered and hurried upstairs to make the call.
Old Madam Lu discreetly composed herself, then beckoned Lin Qiqi over. “Come sit down, dear.”
Lin Qiqi did as she was asked and sat beside her.
Everyone’s dazed gazes followed her as she moved.
Lin Qiqi lowered her eyes, pretending not to notice them watching.
Before she said it, she had been nervous. But once she’d spoken, she felt calm instead.
Her pregnancy might have come as a complete surprise to them.
But she hadn’t lied. She was pregnant, and the child was Lu Beicheng’s. Both were facts.
So she had nothing to fear.
Soon, the sound of a car came from outside the courtyard.
A few minutes later, familiar footsteps approached, coming closer and closer until they reached the doorway.
Lin Qiqi instinctively looked up.
The man’s sharply defined features were almost impossibly handsome, and his eyes held a faint air of refined coldness.
His alluring military uniform seemed made just for him.
Simply standing there, he made everything around him fade into the background.
She had seen that face countless times, yet she still lost herself for a few seconds.
Lu Beicheng already knew what had happened from his father.
His deep-set eyes narrowed as he stared at Lin Qiqi. “I hear you’re pregnant. The child is mine?”
His indifferent voice held no warmth, and his cold face showed no trace of familiarity.
The heartache she had just managed to suppress surged back, so intense she nearly choked.
Without thinking of anything else, she stood and walked toward him.
On the sofa, everyone watched, unable to stop themselves from holding their breath for her.
The last woman who had dared to get that close to Lu Beicheng had needed the courage of a few drinks to make her move.
Of course, in the end, Lu Beicheng had still “shown her out.”
Ever since, whenever she saw him, she went out of her way to avoid him.
As soon as Lin Qiqi got close to the man, she felt the pain ease considerably.
She bit her lip lightly and nodded. “Yes.”
Looking at his handsome face from up close, she felt it was both the same as in her memories and somehow different.
But she couldn’t quite tell what had changed.
At her approach, Lu Beicheng’s brows knitted together. He instinctively started to put some distance between them.
But the moment he moved, he abruptly realized that being close to this woman wasn’t triggering his usual physical revulsion.
This had never happened before.
Whenever a woman came near him, he couldn’t help feeling sick.
Lu Beicheng stopped. He lowered his eyes and fixed his dark gaze on Lin Qiqi.
For the first time, he hadn’t avoided a woman’s approach.
On the sofa, everyone stared at them, so shocked their jaws nearly hit the floor.
They exchanged furtive glances.
Could what the young woman had just said really be true?
They looked away from each other and continued watching the pair in secret.
A moment later, Lu Beicheng walked past Lin Qiqi and over to the sofa.
He leaned casually against it, stretching one long arm along the backrest, his posture languid and relaxed.
He raised his eyes and looked at Lin Qiqi, his dark gaze devoid of emotion. His voice was low and cold. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
He’d been single for nearly thirty years, and he had no idea when he could possibly have fathered a child.
Lin Qiqi’s heart sank at his words. It was true that she’d been the one who couldn’t help herself that night and had pushed him down.
But she had saved him, after all. And though she’d never taken care of anyone before, she had personally looked after every one of his needs.
Aside from clinging to him, she had done just about everything he wanted.
And she had cared for him with all her heart.
Lin Qiqi fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “I know.”
If she didn’t, why would she have come all this way to find him?
“You do?” Lu Beicheng gave a cold laugh. His deep eyes fixed on her belly, and a flicker of bitterness passed through them. “How ridiculous!”
He had a secret that no one else knew.
He simply wasn’t interested in women at all…
How could a man like him have gotten a woman pregnant?
Especially a woman he didn’t even know!
Lu Beicheng studied her with an impassive expression. “Go on. Who put you up to this?”
The only explanation he could think of was that those people had resorted to such a low trick to pin the charge of illicit relations with a woman on him.
They could use it to undermine him and get what they wanted.
And if they were lucky, they could even plant a pawn at his side.