The two of them seemed to be enjoying this ambiguous atmosphere. Under the excuse of delivering documents, Sheng Yanqing pressed Chi Ruanli against the large executive desk.
His big hand curled a strand of her hair and twirled it around his fingers as he leaned down closer.
“Secretary Chi, my tie seems to be crooked again.”
“Oh, it does seem so.”
The two of them acted as if nothing was going on. Just as Chi Ruanli placed her small hand on his tie, Jing Xun pushed the door open.
“Old Sheng, I was just telling you—”
The moment he saw what was inside, Jing Xun’s eyes widened. “Holy sh*t.”
Then he immediately covered his eyes. “I didn’t see anything, you two continue.”
But his fingers were spread wide enough for him to peek through, staring at them without blinking.
Chi Ruanli’s face turned bright red from embarrassment. She suddenly pushed Sheng Yanqing away and ran out of the office.
Sheng Yanqing adjusted his tie, frowned, and looked at Jing Xun. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
Jing Xun grinned shamelessly. “Did I interrupt something good?”
The man looked at him like he was an idiot. What do you think?
“Tch. So you two are officially together?” Jing Xun gossiped excitedly.
“I haven’t told her yet,” Sheng Yanqing replied—meaning he still hadn’t told her he was the man from that night.
“Hah. Old Sheng, you really know how to play,” Jing Xun teased, winking. “Office forbidden romance—I get it!”
Sheng Yanqing gritted his teeth and pretended to throw him out.
“Where is Secretary Chi?” Sheng Yanqing frowned when he saw someone delivering lunch instead of her.
“Secretary Chi went out to deliver a contract. Assistant Jing arranged it,” the employee replied nervously.
At this, Sheng Yanqing’s brows furrowed even deeper. What was Jing Xun doing? He wasn’t helping—he was acting like a traitor.
They were in the stage where their relationship was warming up, and he wanted Chi Ruanli by his side 24/7. Now Jing Xun had sent her away.
Annoyed.
He dialed Jing Xun immediately, his tone unpleasant. “You sent her out?”
“Tch. Old Sheng, didn’t you realize you’ve become a lovestruck idiot? You can’t even be apart for a moment?” Jing Xun replied while negotiating a deal—he had forgotten the contract, so he had asked Chi Ruanli to deliver it.
“Hah. You forget your contract and now you’re lecturing me? Why don’t you just forget your brain at home too?” Sheng Yanqing mocked mercilessly.
Jing Xun sighed. He didn’t argue. Forgetting the contract was indeed careless—he could only accept that his brain had short-circuited.
He checked his watch and said, “Secretary Chi should arrive in about ten minutes.”
It had already been over ten minutes since she left.
But Sheng Yanqing waited and waited—until the sky turned dark—and still there was no sign of Chi Ruanli.
After delivering the contract, Chi Ruanli had just reached the roadside and was about to call a taxi when a sudden wave of dizziness hit her.
Her vision spun—and she fainted.
A kind passing aunt helped her call an ambulance.
When Chi Ruanli woke up again, she was lying in a hospital bed.
“Doctor, what’s wrong with me?”
“You’re pregnant.”
The doctor dropped a bombshell.
“Eight weeks already.”
Chi Ruanli was stunned. Her deer-like eyes were full of disbelief. She had taken medicine.
She had taken it that very night after returning home!
How could this be…
She voiced her confusion, but even the doctor, encountering such a case for the first time, could not explain it and only left her with one sentence:
“If you don’t want it, you should get a procedure as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more painful it becomes.”
Hearing this, Chi Ruanli felt a little angry. Where did the doctor get the idea that she didn’t want it?
But she also couldn’t firmly say: I want it.
Her thoughts were in chaos. Her small hand rested on her lower abdomen as she tried to figure out what to do.
In the end, she only said, “I’ll think about it,” before leaving the hospital.
She did not return to the company. She didn’t know how to face Sheng Yanqing.
If she told him directly—she was pregnant, and she was the woman from that night—
she was afraid it would scare him. Or push him further away.
If she told the truth, what would he think of her?
Would he think she was calculating? That she had deliberately approached him?
Chi Ruanli covered her face in pain and took a taxi home.
During that time, she received calls and messages from Sheng Yanqing, Jing Xun, Yang Yang, and Sister Linda—but she didn’t reply.
In the end, she simply turned off her phone and slept until nine in the evening.
Looking at the moon rising above the treetops, she gradually calmed down. After a moment, as if thinking of something, she got up and opened the medicine box.
The pills were still there. She picked them up and looked.
Expired. Scam product.
Frustrated, she ruffled her hair and slumped onto the sofa, thinking about what to do next.
Just then, the TV switched to a travel channel. She decided on impulse to take a leave and go on a spontaneous trip to clear her mind.
That same night, she booked a flight to Harbin.
After landing, she met a local guide she had arranged in advance and got into a car.
The Northeastern locals were straightforward and humorous, making her laugh the whole way and easing the heaviness in her heart.
They even gave her a nickname—“Southern Little Potato.”
It sounded quite cute.
Chi Ruanli was indeed from the south, so she accepted it cheerfully.
She had studied in Beijing for both university and graduate school, so although she wasn’t as excited as other southern tourists at seeing snow, she was still deeply impressed by the endless ice sculptures.
She ate sweet-and-sour pork, hearty iron pot stew, and even tried frozen pears. However, thinking about the baby, she didn’t eat much.