Only after he said this did Shi Xing belatedly realize.
Her previously pale face flushed pink. Her eyelashes fluttered lightly, her eyes like autumn waters, somewhat shy. “I haven’t done anything yet, how come you already…”
Her gaze drifted downward. “Like this.”
Before she could see anything, his warm palm covered her eyes.
His tone was helpless. “Don’t look around.”
Shi Xing’s eyelashes brushed against his palm, sending tingling sensations. He paused briefly, then chuckled softly. “Besides, what exactly is wrong with me?”
He grew even more troubled. “You were hugging me, acting coquettish and kissing me, yet you expect me to have no reaction at all? Do you really think I’m as incapable as He Sheng?”
“?”
Shi Xing fell silent.
It seemed this topic about He Sheng wasn’t going away anytime soon.
So she thought for a moment and only asked, “Then what should we do?”
After a pause, she whispered, “Should I help you?”
Qi Chenyan’s hand covering her eyes trembled slightly.
Help…
His lips moved slightly, and his gaze fell upon Wenzhou outside the car window, standing with his back turned not far away.
There were also pedestrians coming and going along the roadside.
Clearly, this wasn’t an appropriate place.
Qi Chenyan cleared his throat. “What nonsense are you thinking?”
He said, “Can’t that little head of yours hold some cleaner thoughts?”
Ever since last night, she had been teasing him, even dreaming about having children with him. What was he supposed to say about her?
Shi Xing: “?”
She pushed away the hand covering her eyes, pouting angrily. “Is it me who’s unclean, or you? You’re already… standing at attention, yet you talk to me about cleanliness!”
“?”
Qi Chenyan’s ears grew slightly warm. He frowned and pinched her cheek. “Speak properly.”
Shi Xing huffed and turned her head away. “I’m not bothering with you anymore.”
Qi Chenyan looked at her delicate profile and curved his lips slightly.
Well, her stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, and she’s full of energy again.
“Mm, Xingxing doesn’t need to bother with me.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and chuckled lightly. “Just let me hold you.”
Shi Xing bit her lip, then turned back to wrap her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder and mumbling, “You’re really so annoying.”
“Yes, I’m annoying.”
Qi Chenyan’s fingers gently combed through her hair as he spoke softly with a smile. “But I’ve never been in a relationship before either. I don’t know how to make Xingxing feel less annoyed. So, Xingxing, please be patient with me and give me some time to learn?”
The word “relationship” made Shi Xing’s heart flutter.
Last time, they had been entangled in constant push-and-pull; there was never any talk of relationships or marriage.
This time, they went straight to the marriage hall, and only now were they talking about being in a relationship.
Thinking about it, it was quite amusing.
“Then let’s learn together.”
Shi Xing curved her brows, turned her face, and kissed his cheek softly and sweetly. “Boyfriend, please guide me.”
Qi Chenyan turned his face to meet her gaze, pinched her chin, and kissed the corner of her lips, whispering with a smile, “Girlfriend, thank you for your understanding.”
After saying this, both of them laughed.
However, perhaps this laughter tugged at something again, as Shi Xing frowned, and the pain that had just subsided surged back.
Almost simultaneously, Qi Chenyan’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he pressed his lips together.
He held her tighter. “Does it hurt again?”
Shi Xing nodded with a frown. “Mm.”
How come the painkiller only worked for such a short while? That shouldn’t be.
Qi Chenyan grew somewhat panicked and quickly called Wenzhou to come up and drive them to the hospital.
The pain came suddenly and intensely, quickly churning and tearing inside her, just like before.
Cold sweat instantly covered Shi Xing’s forehead. She curled up in Qi Chenyan’s arms, whimpering, “It hurts so much…”Qi Chenyan was also suffering, but he couldn’t show the slightest sign. He could only hold her tightly, trembling as he stroked her hair, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, Xingxing. We’re almost at the hospital…”
Fortunately, the hospital wasn’t far, and they arrived within minutes.
Before coming, Qi Chenyan had called Liang Zeheng to arrange things. As soon as the car stopped, Qi Chenyan rushed into the hospital with Shi Xing, who was on the verge of passing out from pain again.
Liang Zeheng was waiting for him at the hospital entrance. Seeing the situation, he frowned, “Why is it so serious?”
He quickly instructed Qi Chenyan to take Shi Xing into the treatment room for a painkiller injection.
In just those few minutes, Shi Xing had already slipped into a semi-conscious state from the pain, moaning “It hurts” repeatedly.
Qi Chenyan was in pain too, but his heart ached even more for her.
He held her tightly, constantly wiping the cold sweat from her forehead and face, softening his voice to soothe her, “Don’t be afraid, baby. The injection will help. It won’t hurt anymore. Be good, don’t be scared…”
Liang Zeheng and the nurse administering the injection glanced at him, their expressions mixed.
Liang Zeheng looked resigned, while the nurse seemed surprised and envious.
But Qi Chenyan paid them no mind. His attention was entirely focused on Shi Xing in his arms.
As the needle pierced Shi Xing’s arm, he felt the sting too, though compared to the pain in his lower abdomen, it was almost nothing.
The painkiller took effect faster than the medication. Within minutes, the pain began to subside.
Qi Chenyan closed his eyes and took a shallow breath.
The doctor then took the opportunity to have Shi Xing’s blood drawn for tests. Seeing that her condition had stabilized somewhat, he asked Qi Chenyan to carry her to the examination room.
By then, Shi Xing seemed to have fallen asleep, curled up motionless in Qi Chenyan’s arms.
When Qi Chenyan placed her on the examination bed, she didn’t react.
“Xingxing?”
Qi Chenyan leaned down and called her softly. Although he felt the pain had lessened, seeing her like this still frightened him.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
She didn’t speak, but it proved she was still conscious. She had heard him, just too weak to respond.
Qi Chenyan breathed a sigh of relief, brushing his thumb across her forehead, his voice as gentle as could be, “Be good and let the doctor examine you. I’ll wait outside for you, okay?”
“Mhm.”
A soft sound escaped Shi Xing’s throat.
Qi Chenyan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Though uneasy, he turned and left.
He leaned against the wall, his long legs propping him up, hands tucked into his suit pants pockets, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the examination room door.
Liang Zeheng stood beside him, raising an eyebrow. “Are you not feeling well either?”
“Hmm?”
Qi Chenyan looked at him. Liang Zeheng studied his face. “You’re pale and sweating. Your symptoms look quite similar to your wife’s.”
Qi Chenyan swallowed a few times, explaining, “I’m just worried about her.”
Liang Zeheng didn’t question it further, reassuring him, “Don’t worry. She just had a full checkup yesterday. There shouldn’t be any major issues with her health.”
Right, no major issues. So why the severe pain in her lower abdomen?
Why did even the painkillers wear off so quickly?
Qi Chenyan lowered his gaze and suddenly asked, “Do you have any candy?”
Smoking wasn’t allowed in the hospital, and Liang Zeheng had a sweet tooth, so he usually carried lollipops with him.
He handed a lollipop to Qi Chenyan, analyzing his condition. “Besides being worried, are you feeling down too?”
Qi Chenyan took the lollipop, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. He pressed the candy against his tongue with the tip before speaking after a few seconds, “Do you think there’s anything unusual about Qi Xingxing?”
Qi Xingxing?Liang Zeheng looked at him with a complicated expression.
However, even without Qi Chenyan asking, Liang Zeheng could tell something was off about Shi Xing.
Although he hadn’t known Shi Xing well before, he was generally aware that her relationship with Qi Chenyan had been extremely hostile.
Overnight turning into a lovesick fool was indeed quite baffling.
Still, Liang Zeheng shook his head. “You know, I examined and assessed her yesterday. There were no signs of memory loss or confusion, and her brain CT was completely normal.”
In other words, even if Shi Xing wasn’t acting like herself, it wasn’t due to any brain-related issue.
As for what exactly was off, Liang Zeheng naturally had no idea either.
Qi Chenyan lightly bit down on the lollipop, the cloying sweetness spreading down his throat, yet somehow leaving a bitter aftertaste.
“She said she dreamed that she was pregnant with my child in her dream, and I forced her to have an abortion. She cried even in her sleep, begging not to hurt her child…”
Qi Chenyan paused, then asked softly, “Do you think it was really just a dream?”
Liang Zeheng replied, “If it wasn’t a dream, then what? Did you two actually have a child?”
Qi Chenyan slowly shook his head.
It was precisely because they hadn’t that he felt trapped in a dead end, unable to make sense of it no matter how he thought about it.
Liang Zeheng thought for a moment and tried to reassure him. “Maybe you’re overthinking it. You care about her so much that you’re obsessing over every little detail, when in reality, things might not be as complicated as you imagine. Perhaps she really did just have a dream, and as for her feelings toward you, maybe she’s simply had a sudden change of heart.”
“Is that so?”
Qi Chenyan’s gaze flickered slightly, and he was about to say more when the examination room door opened. The doctor emerged, her expression grave.
Qi Chenyan’s heart sank. He glanced into the examination room and saw Shi Xing still lying motionless.
Suppressing the urge to rush in and hold her, he bit down and swallowed the lollipop, lowering his voice to ask the doctor, “How is she?”
The doctor shook her head, her voice equally hushed. “It’s strange.”
Qi Chenyan instantly felt his palms grow clammy with sweat.
The doctor frowned and said, “Miss Shi’s body shows no issues at all.”
Liang Zeheng clicked his tongue lightly. “If there’s nothing wrong, why scare people like that?”
Looking at Qi Chenyan’s face, he seemed on the verge of passing out from fright.
The doctor continued to frown. “No, Director, don’t you think the fact that there’s nothing wrong is the biggest problem of all?”
She analyzed, “Her body is perfectly fine, yet it’s rare to see someone in such severe pain. I think there’s only one possibility—her pain is psychosomatic.”
Psychosomatic?
The doctor looked at Liang Zeheng. “The Director would know this best. Just like how anxiety can manifest physically, Miss Shi might be experiencing pain in her lower abdomen because of psychological stress and repression, making her believe she’s in pain, and thus she truly feels it.”
Hearing this, Qi Chenyan’s brow furrowed tightly.
He suddenly recalled the dream Shi Xing had during her pain—the one where he forced her to abort their child.
Could it be because of that?
Liang Zeheng agreed with the doctor’s assessment. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Alright, let’s wait until she wakes up and is in better spirits. I’ll talk to her then. For now, you two should stay. Let her spend the night in the hospital so we can handle it promptly if the pain returns.”
Qi Chenyan pressed his lips together and nodded, following Liang Zeheng’s arrangements to carry Shi Xing to a hospital room.
After settling her back into bed, Shi Xing, who had recovered from the pain, grabbed his hand and asked, “How am I?”Qi Chenyan sat down beside her and sighed softly. “The doctor said you’re in perfect health, with no issues at all.”
Shi Xing breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
She still had to have children with him, after all—nothing could go wrong.
Thinking of what the doctor had mentioned about possible psychological stress she might be experiencing, Qi Chenyan fell silent for a moment before asking, “Are you tired? Do you want to sleep for a while?”
“That might be good.”
Shi Xing was indeed quite tired; enduring pain was mentally draining.
She felt utterly weak and limp all over.
“A Yan, stay with me.”
She wrapped her arms around his, insisting he keep her company.
Qi Chenyan didn’t refuse. He lay down beside her, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her forehead. “Sleep. I’ll stay with you.”
Shi Xing hummed in response, leaning against him as she quickly drifted off to sleep.
But Qi Chenyan remained wide awake. He watched her quietly, afraid she might suddenly be in pain again.
After a long while, certain she was sound asleep, Qi Chenyan slowly released her and tried to get up to find Liang Zeheng for another talk. However, the moment he let go, she began to sob.
Panicked, Qi Chenyan hurriedly pulled her back into his arms, thinking she had woken up.
But her eyes remained closed, her lashes trembling densely as she choked out a low, tearful whisper. “Qi Chenyan.”
She called his name.
Qi Chenyan’s outstretched hand froze. He stared intently at her, watching her lips part slightly as she uttered three hoarse, indistinct words.
She said, “I hate you…”
In that instant, Qi Chenyan’s heart felt as if it had been brutally pierced.