Those past events were like a thorn in Zhong Yi’s heart. Every time she recalled them, the pain was unbearable.
She hardened her heart, determined to save herself.
“I know what I’m doing. I won’t let myself follow in your footsteps. I know you suffered a lot of grievances giving birth to me, and I understand you. From childhood to now, I’ve endured your resentment and anger, but what about me? What did I do wrong by being born?”
“So you’re saying it’s all my fault?”
“I’m just begging you not to force me anymore. Give me some space for my own life!”
“I’m forcing you? You think I’m forcing you? Everything I do is for your own good. I’ve provided you with food, clothing, and put you through university. Do you think it’s easy for me? And in the end, all I get is ‘you’re forcing me’?”
Tears fell from Zhong Yi’s eyes: “You didn’t force me. When you scratched my face before, when you cut my hair into a mess, when you made me wear boys’ clothes—did I ever cry once?”
Back then, Zhong Yi was exceptionally beautiful and often received many love letters. Cao Chufen, as if provoked, took a knife and made a cut on Zhong Yi’s face. The wound wasn’t deep and healed without leaving a scar.
Although the wound on her face healed, the wound in her heart festered and became a lifelong shadow.
She wept bitterly: “I didn’t have the right to choose my birth, but I have the right to choose the life I want to live.”
“I’m staying in the capital. I won’t go back with you.”
After saying this, Zhong Yi opened her suitcase and hung up all her clothes.
…
Jin Chen didn’t go to the company but went straight back to the Jin family home.
Jin’s Father and Jin’s Mother were both at home, keeping Old Madam Jin company and chatting. The couple had recently heard about their son’s involvement with Zhong Yi and had bombarded him with phone calls. But this kid kept his mouth shut, not letting a single word slip, and didn’t even come home on weekends.
Today was Thursday, and he swaggered back home.
The couple pressed him from both sides.
“How are things with Zhong Yi?”
“Has Zhong Yi agreed to be with you?”
“What stage are you at now?”
“What exactly are your plans?”
Jin Chen had come back specifically to talk about this. He said unhurriedly, “I’m going to marry Zhong Yi. You don’t have any objections, do you?”
Jin’s Father and Jin’s Mother naturally agreed wholeheartedly, saying in unison, “No objections! As long as you’re willing to get married!”
Old Madam Jin was delighted: “That girl Zhong Yi is beautiful and kind-hearted. If she marries into our family, we couldn’t be happier.”
Jin Chen nodded.
He also knew the elders wouldn’t object.
“Then that’s settled. As for when we’ll get married, I’ll let you know after she agrees.”
After all that talk, he hadn’t even secured the person yet.
Jin’s Mother’s smile faded, and she threw a pillow at him in annoyance: “If you can’t even get married yet, why bring it up? What if she doesn’t agree? We’ll have gotten our hopes up for nothing.”
Jin’s Father added, “Exactly, are you even capable?”
Jin Chen: “…”
He wasn’t capable?
He’d already made a child.
Jin Chen held back from saying it. He noticed a pile of gifts on the table, labeled “for pregnant women.”
Curiously, he asked, “Who are these for? Who’s pregnant?”
Jin’s Mother explained, “Your cousin. She’s pregnant, so I bought some things to send to her.”
There were massage devices, lumbar support cushions, stretch mark oils, and some skincare and cosmetics specifically for pregnant women.
Jin Chen casually picked up a box of skincare: “Can pregnant women use these skincare products?”
“Of course.” These were specially selected by Jin’s Mother, and she wouldn’t dare be careless. However, she looked at her son strangely, “Why are you so curious?”
“I’m just looking.” Jin Chen put them back nonchalantly.
After sitting at home for a while, while the elders were not in the living room, Jin Chen picked out a few boxes of skincare products and cosmetics and took them away.
When Jin’s Mother was about to go out to deliver gifts, she noticed that half of the packaged skincare products were missing.
After searching around and finding nothing, she asked her husband in confusion, “Who took my skincare products?”
Jin’s Father was clueless, “Just now, only our family was here. Could it be that A-Chen took them?”
Jin’s Mother, “He’s not pregnant. What would he do with my skincare products? He doesn’t need them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you ask.”
Jin’s Father called Jin Chen to ask if he had taken the skincare products.
Jin Chen said no.
Jin’s Father had unwavering trust in Jin Chen’s character, “Maybe you remembered wrong.”
…
At noon, Jin Chen had a business lunch to attend. Just as he was about to leave with Lu Zhe, he received a call from Aunt Liu, saying that Zhong Yi hadn’t asked her to deliver lunch today.
Jin Chen immediately called Zhong Yi twice, but no one answered.
His expression darkened, and he grabbed his keys to leave.
Lu Zhe called out from behind, “Mr. Jin, where are you going? We have to meet with Mr. Liu!”
“We’ll go another day.”
Zhong Yi wasn’t answering her phone, and he was frantic with worry. Nothing was more important than her.
It wasn’t that Jin Chen was overreacting, but after the last incident where Zhong Yi was harassed by Lin Hengchuan, he instinctively worried that something similar might happen again.
In his eyes, the place where she lived was no different from a slum, lacking even basic security measures. If something happened, no one would know.
It seemed he needed to find her a new place to live as soon as possible.
Jin Chen drove straight to Zhong Yi’s residence and, relying on his memory from the last visit, found the apartment where she lived.
The door was closed.
He knocked a few times, but no one answered for a long time. Instead, the neighbor’s door opened, and someone cautiously peeked out.
“Who are you to her?”
The person’s tone was unfriendly, and Jin Chen’s expression turned grim, “What’s the matter?”
The neighbor sneered, “I suggest you stay away from her. I heard she got involved with her boss and is pregnant. Today, she had a huge fight with her mother at home, throwing things around for a long time. It was terrifying!”
“Apparently, she’s also an illegitimate child. She’s been restless since she was young. The girl looks gentle and refined, but who would have thought she’s like this in private? She has no self-respect. These girls who work as secretaries for their bosses are all the same—none of them are clean. Who knows if they have any diseases?”
Jin Chen’s face darkened, his eyes cold as knives, sharp and menacing, carrying a heavy sense of oppression, “I am her boss. What about it?”
“She is my fiancée. We are together. Do you have a problem with that?”
The neighbor hadn’t expected to run straight into trouble and, not daring to provoke Jin Chen, awkwardly shut their mouth and went back inside.
Then, Zhong Yi’s door opened.
She timidly looked at him, her eyes rimmed red, her porcelain-like face still marked with tear stains, as if she had just finished crying.
Her pitiful appearance tugged at the heartstrings, evoking sympathy and a desire to hold her gently in one’s hands and care for her.
Noticing the slap mark on her face, Jin Chen frowned, “What happened? Who hit you?”
Zhong Yi turned her head away, her voice still trembling with tears, “It’s nothing, it doesn’t matter.”
“Mr. Jin, please come in.”
Jin Chen entered the house only to find it in complete disarray, with no trace of the originally warm and cozy layout.
“What exactly happened?”
“My mother found out I’m pregnant, and she’s furious.”