Lu Li's stomach churned violently, and she couldn't help but vomit—directly onto the man.
Ji Zhichen's cold, sinister expression froze instantly.
He looked at the vomit on his clothes, his gaze fierce and murderous as he stared at her.
Lu Li covered her mouth to explain, though inwardly she felt a flicker of satisfaction. "My body hasn't been feeling well these past few days."
Ji Zhichen, disgusted, tore off his shirt and tossed it into the car, his lean, muscular build fully exposed.
Before walking out of the study, he warned Lu Li in a cold voice.
"Move back to Feicui-yuan. If Grandma finds out you've moved out, I won't let you off easily."
Lu Li couldn't possibly move back to Feicui-yuan right now.
She had one most important thing to do.
Find a safe place to get an abortion—otherwise, she'd live in constant fear of being discovered.
Once Lu Li made up her mind, she acted with fierce determination.
She booked a flight to a third-tier city.
That very night, she caught the plane, then took a taxi to a small county town, where she checked into a small inn near Guangrong Yiyuan.
As soon as dawn broke and the doctors at Guangrong Yiyuan started their shifts, she went to register.
Lu Li's skin was a bit thin at times like this, and she specifically requested the nurse, "Gynecology outpatient, please book me with a female doctor. Thank you."
The nurse was very impatient. "If every patient demanded to see a female doctor like you, what would that even be? Right now, only Dr. Qin has openings. Do you want it or not?"
Lu Li said, "…Yes."
That nurse was quite fierce.
She went to the second-floor clinic to wait. When there were only two numbers left before hers, Song Qiang called.
"Secretary Lu, why didn't you come to work again today?"
"I've already submitted my resignation. I'm on annual leave right now."
Lu Li added another line. "Secretary Song, I'm already traveling outside. I'll be back in a week to hand over my work. Sorry for the trouble during this time."
She hung up the phone crisply.
Song Qiang was speechless.
He relayed Lu Li's words to the busy man.
"BOSS, Secretary Lu went on a trip. She'll be back in a week. She said she'd return to hand over her work then."
Ji Zhichen furrowed his brow, picked up the coffee on the desk, took a sip, and wasn't satisfied with the taste. "Who brewed today's coffee? Make a fresh one."
Song Qiang took the coffee away and had the assistant secretary brew a new cup.
Just one cup of coffee—it was replaced four times in a row.
Only then did the big boss grudgingly stop demanding another.
Song Qiang muttered inwardly—BOSS was probably used to drinking the coffee Lu Li brewed.
"Book a Chinese restaurant for tonight. I have a date with Yaoyao. Also, order a bouquet of roses for me."
Ji Zhichen's words gave Song Qiang a shock.
Ordering flowers too?
Could he have guessed wrong—was the one he loved most still his ex-girlfriend?
Song Qiang steadied his thoughts and acknowledged with a "yes."
Before leaving, he looked at the man at work. "Zhichen, Lu Li has always done a great job. You… I hope you won't regret this later."
Song Qiang and Ji Zhichen were college classmates.
He was speaking to Ji Zhichen now as a friend.
Ji Zhichen raised his eyes, cold and clear. "Why would I regret it? The person I've always loved is Yaoyao."
Why would anyone think he'd regret it?
Ji Zhichen scoffed dismissively.
**
Lu Li knew nothing of the conversation between Song Qiang and Ji Zhichen.
The nurse opened the door. "Number 30, Miss Lu?"
Lu Li nodded and walked in.
Just as she stepped inside, she heard another nurse say shyly, "Dr. Qin, you're so naughty."
So coy, so sweet and clingy.
Lu Li's heart gave a little tremble.
She glanced at the doctor who was enjoying such fortune. "…"
This time, she could say he looked familiar.
The man she'd met in the elevator was actually a doctor?
The man in the white coat stood tall and straight, broad-shouldered and long-legged.
He stood at the sink, washing his hands meticulously, finger by finger.
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong, muscular arms, both tattooed with a black mamba.
The black mamba coiled around a rose.
Lu Li was speechless.
It was the first time she'd seen a doctor with such a terrifying tattoo on his arm.
Qin Zhi, wearing a mask, saw Lu Li and raised an eyebrow.
Why had she come to such a small place to see a doctor?
He sat back down, slowly wiping his hands, and asked lazily, "What's bothering you?"
After waiting a moment and seeing the patient wasn't cooperating.
Qin Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Sore throat? Can't speak?"
Lu Li kept her composure and said in a low voice, "I'm here to… get an abortion."
Qin Zhi was speechless.
Lu Li blinked. "…"
She just hadn't expected it.
"How many times have you been pregnant? Have you given birth before?"
"First time. Never given birth."
"When was your last period?"
"Seems like late April."
"Did you test with a pregnancy test stick yourself?"
"Yes."
Qin Zhi then asked about Lu Li's medical history before saying, "I'll do an ultrasound for you."
Lu Li nodded. Since she'd come all this way, she didn't want to waste too much time.
She followed the nurse behind the curtain.
She took off her shoes and lay down on the examination bed, pulling her clothes up to her abdomen.
The man put on gloves and walked in.
He applied gel to her abdomen, and a cool sensation spread across her belly.
He was performing an ultrasound on her.
Lu Li's skin was very fair, smooth as cream. The cool gel spread across her belly, and her stomach rose and fell with tense breaths.
Qin Zhi said flatly, "Relax a little."
After the ultrasound, he spoke slowly, dragging his words, "You have two options: surgical abortion or medical abortion."
Lu Li had looked this up before. She said coolly, "I'll go with the surgical abortion."
Her voice was cold and clear, but her fingers trembled slightly.
Qin Zhi glanced at her trembling fingers and raised an eyebrow. "The surgery can be done tomorrow afternoon."
Lu Li pulled out a few tissues and wiped the gel off her belly. "Okay."
He noticed her hands shaking even more and, for once, played the good guy. "If you don't want to abort it, you can keep it."
"The father would be abusive. The child would only suffer if kept."
Lu Li calmly straightened her clothes.
"…That's rough."
The man's words were plain, simply stating a fact.
Lu Li said, "…Yeah, it's rough."
Qin Zhi pulled the curtain aside and walked out.
Lu Li watched his broad-shouldered, long-legged figure retreat and thought of the erotic dream she'd had a few nights ago where his face had been swapped in. "…"
Did she have the potential to be a heartbreaker after all?
Qin Zhi entered data into the computer while explaining the precautions for the surgical abortion in detail.
Lu Li listened attentively.
Qin Zhi stared at the name "Lu Li" for a second, thinking.
So he finally knew her name—Lu Li.
He suddenly said in a leisurely tone, "I have a nephew. His wife's name is also 'Lu Li.'"
Lu Li was speechless.
He was just mentioning it offhandedly. He'd overheard the second branch of the family mention the name "Lu Li" during their conversations.
He wasn't close to the second branch, and he didn't know his cheap nephew well either.
Lu Li stared at him, her beautiful eyes wide.
His surname was Qin, and Ji Zhichen's mother's surname was also Qin.
The Qin family was in the capital. Lu Li had never met anyone from that circle; in the years she'd been with Ji Zhichen, she'd never met any of the Qin family members either.
It couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it?
She felt a vague sense of unease.
"Dr. Qin must be joking. I'm not married."
Lu Li had written "unmarried" on her medical records.
She couldn't afford to slip up now.
He gave her an unreadable glance.
Counting the dates, the child in her belly could also be his?
Lu Li didn't know why, but that glance from Dr. Qin made her scalp tingle.