Chapter Nineteen: My Fiancée

The next morning, Wen Zhi saw Bo Ye again.

The man was a man of his word.

Helpless, she looked down at the tiny unborn child within her, lamenting the cruelty of fate—that such a fragile life was being extinguished before it even had a chance to glimpse the world.

Yet, she was also somewhat relieved that it never came into this brutal world. Her own mother was a woman powerless to control her own life, so how could this child have a chance?

Her face was pale and expressionless, but her fingers clenched tightly around the door handle, whitening from the pressure.

On either side of her stood the same as the day they first ascended the mountain—their hearts, it seemed, had never truly drawn close.

He made a phone call, his words hinting that his visit to the villa today was merely to collect a document and remind her of the surgery; that life was the least important matter.

From the moment he picked her up to their entry into the operating room, no communication passed between them.

Before entering the operating room, she underwent a brief physical examination, the results arriving swiftly.

Her health was broadly acceptable, but she was anemic and severely underweight.

Wen Zhi sat stiffly on the cold hospital bench, clutching the test results.

She had conceived in confusion, and now she was losing the child just as blindly...

“Take her over there. There’s something new going on,” someone said.

The “over there” must have referred to Zhuang Sui’s side, and upon hearing this, Wen Zhi’s face stirred ever so slightly.

Numbly, the man strode away quickly, as though her presence were a wild beast to be avoided, never once casting her a glance.

“Miss Wen, this way please,” Rang Wu said with a hint of sympathy as he looked at her.

He knew all too well the dangers of abortion for women. From the first day he saw her, Wen Zhi appeared fragile and vulnerable. Wen Fu’s visit to Bo Ye had been motivated solely by greed for the money lost because of Bo Ye, with no concern for Wen Xiao’s predicament.

Wen Zhi closed her eyes, donned the surgical gown, and lay on the hospital bed, staring up at the glaring white surgical light.

She had hoped, at least, that a new life might be within reach...

Turning away, the doctor’s needle approached her skin to administer anesthesia, and Wen Zhi closed her eyes completely.

She resigned herself to fate.

—

“Doctor, how is she?”

“She’s out of danger now. She’ll just need a few more days of observation in the hospital.”

“Good.”

Bo Ye nodded and walked into the ward.

Looking at the girl lying on the bed with a normal complexion, he tried to soften his expression so as not to appear too intimidating.

“How do you feel?”

[“A bit dizzy.”]

“It’s okay. Take it slow. That’s because you’ve been unconscious for several days.”

[“Several days? What about my sister?”]

“Sister?” Bo Ye asked.

“You mean the woman who poisoned you?” Bo Ye responded nonchalantly.

[“What poison? The doctor said it was an allergy. I didn’t even know what I was allergic to and forgot to tell her.”]

Bo Ye froze while tucking in the blanket. “What did you say?”

Zhuang Sui picked at her fingers. [“Actually, I know who ‘sister’ is—it’s my sister-in-law. After your engagement, I started looking for her.”]

“Why did you go looking for her?”

[“You never let me go outside... I saw the news about your engagement. You never told me anything, so I went to see for myself...”]

“You…”

Bo Ye suddenly stood and ran out.

Too late, too late...

Halfway through, he bumped into Rang Wu.

“Boss?”

“Has she gone in?”

Bo Ye panted heavily. “She has. I arranged for a maternity nurse to wait outside.”

Rang Wu said.

Bo Ye’s legs went weak. Without thinking, he dashed toward the operating room.

The light above the door labeled “Operating Room” had already been turned off.

Was it over?

Was she alright?

Step by step, Bo Ye approached the door.

“Sir, this is the operating room. You can’t go in.”

“I just want to see my fiancée.”

The doctor sneered, “Every year, a certain number of girls come here for abortions... I don’t believe any of them do it lightly. Why is a grown man coming here playing the hypocrite?”

“I…”

Bo Ye was left speechless.

He was wrong. Everything was wrong.

The doctor was startled by Bo Ye’s despondent look.

“Fine, you can go in. I was about to give her anesthesia when I noticed how scared she was—her body trembling. I asked if she was sure about this, and she grabbed my hand like it was a lifeline, begging me not to go through with it...”

The doctor’s eyes grew more disdainful as he spoke.

Bo Ye had no time to respond and entered.

The girl lay resting on the bed, eyes open, lost in thought, her eyes red and swollen—broken and heart-wrenching.

—

The sight made him recall that night when she cried in her sleep, as if sleepwalking through her anguish.

Wen Zhi’s gaze was consumed by the black suit pants in front of her. When she looked up and saw him, she recoiled in fear, shaking her head repeatedly.

[“Please let me go.”]

Bo Ye reached out to comfort her, but Wen Zhi quickly dodged. Seeing her on the verge of collapse, he withdrew his hand, giving her space.

Her eyes still held tears, like a frightened bird caught in a trap.

“Where do you want to go?”

His words surprised her.

[“What do you really want?”]

“You want to go to France, right? I’ll take you.”

Suddenly, he remembered the ticket he had torn to pieces, and the girl he had hurt.

Clearly, his credibility with her was completely depleted.

[“Are you playing me again?”]

“Zhuang Sui has woken up... I know everything now.”

Wen Zhi smiled, tears sliding down her face from the corners of her eyes—a strange and painful smile.

Bo Ye’s heart ached, just as it had the day he hurt her outside the operating room. That time he had held back.

This time, he lifted his hand to gently wipe away her bitter tears.

“Don’t cry anymore.”

Only then did he realize her face was colder than his hand.

His heart fluttered with panic.

[“Let’s end this, Bo Ye.”]

[“Let’s break off the engagement. You’ve always thought I only stayed close to you because of the child, right?”]

[“I don’t want it anymore. Can’t I just take the child and leave?”]

[“The surgery... it hurts too much, it hurts too much.”]

[“I’m scared at the sight of the needle.”]

As she spoke, tears fell like broken strings.

No matter how much he wiped them away, they only grew more numerous. Impulsively, Bo Ye’s lips pressed against hers.

It was a gentle kiss, without further entanglement—just a soft touch.

Only after the kiss did the man realize what he had done. Both their bodies stiffened, unable to believe what had just happened.

The girl stopped crying, and a crisp, sharp slap echoed in the air.

[“What do you take me for?”]

“My fiancée.”