Xing Zheng couldn't guess. "Just tell me."
"Because of Wen Ke," Lan Lan said. "She saw you talking to Wen Ke and felt uncomfortable. You shouldn't be too close to Wen Ke in front of her anymore, at least not until her PTSD recovers."
Xing Zheng couldn't believe it. "Did she tell you?"
In the past, he had already asked Wen Ke to explain their relationship to Lin Mei once. Later, Lin Mei and Wen Ke got along well. He never thought that she would start overthinking now.
"She knows there's nothing between you and Wen Ke, she's just sulking with herself," Lan Lan said. "No woman would be happy with so many scars on her face. She's always cared about her appearance, and now she thinks she's disfigured, and you won't want her anymore."
"I never thought that." He hadn't even minded the scars on her face. Even if she didn't have surgery and let the scars remain for a lifetime, he would still love her.
"What you think doesn't matter," Lan Lan said. "The problem now is that she thinks that way, so we have to solve the problem based on this situation."
Xing Zheng said, "Okay. I understand. I won't contact Wen Ke during this time."
"Did you mention the issue of her scars in front of her?" Feng Feng asked seriously again. "Think carefully."
Xing Zheng fell into deep thought. After a long time, he said, "I said I would take her to have scar removal surgery."
"That's it then," Feng Feng said. "She thinks you find her face unattractive. She's extremely sensitive right now. Every word you say to her needs to be carefully considered. You might find it very tiring."
Xing Zheng shook his head and said nothing. If anyone was tired, it should have been her who was with him before. "Thank you for telling me this."
"There's one more thing I think I should tell you," Feng Feng said. "Last time, the child in her womb wasn't lost by herself."
Xing Zheng's eyelids twitched. He thought of Aunt Wen's words again. Could her guess be true?
"She fell because she was extremely angry, had a sudden drop in blood sugar, and hit a cabinet when she fell, which caused the miscarriage," Feng Feng told Xing Zheng the truth. "The doctor only saw the impact marks on her abdomen and didn't know why she fell."
The cup in Xing Zheng's hand was about to shatter. The truth hit him like a bomb, leaving him utterly defeated. No wonder she had that expression when he negotiated with her using the lost child. How was his behavior any different from rubbing salt in her wounds?
He owed her too much.
After the fetal abnormality screening, it was a foregone conclusion that the child would be kept. The next day, following Xu Shengyi's advice, Lin Mei went downstairs for a walk twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
In the early summer evenings, the temperature had already risen. Nanjiang City had exceeded thirty degrees Celsius. Lin Mei went downstairs and walked around the community for more than an hour. She was also wearing a mask and had sweated a lot. When she reached the apartment building, she took off her mask and was wiping her face with a wet wipe when a tall figure suddenly appeared before her, blocking the setting sun.
The familiar scent of cypress roots allowed her to identify the person without looking up. Lin Mei saw his shoulders, enveloped by the afterglow of the sunset, giving him a golden halo. "I brought beef noodles and yuanzi soup."
Lin Mei heard him and saw the bag in his hand. The next moment, he hugged her, and they entered the elevator together without another word.
Back at the apartment, Xing Zheng found slippers and changed into them. He acted as naturally as if he lived there. "Do you want to eat in the kitchen or in the living room?"
"What do you want?" Lin Mei couldn't understand his intention and reminded him, "We broke up."
"But the child in your womb is mine," his gaze focused on her abdomen. "Since you've decided to keep it, I have an obligation to take care of you both."
Lin Mei's fingers stiffened for a moment. Did his words mean... he agreed to her keeping the child?
"Let's eat first. After you finish, we'll talk properly." Seizing Lin Mei's moment of hesitation, Xing Zheng hugged her and led her to the dining room.
Lin Mei's appetite had improved after her walk. She ate in small bites while Xing Zheng sat opposite her, watching her with great patience. After she finished, he asked, "Was it delicious?"
"What do you want to say?" Lin Mei asked instead of answering.
"I will take care of you from now on. It's not suitable for you to be alone during your pregnancy." Xing Zheng apologized to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept the child a secret from you at first. I also want him to be born safely, but your safety is the most important thing, so I will take care of you during this time."
These were heart-stirring words. Lin Mei believed them for a second, but then she remembered the past lessons. When he was in Anning City, he was also gentle and accommodating to her, but in the end, he wanted to kill her child while she was unaware of the truth.
A gentle embrace was the sharpest knife; she couldn't indulge in it anymore.
Xing Zheng saw the doubt in her eyes and promised her, "I will never do anything to harm the child again. If I do, you can kill me, okay?"
"Why?"
She was asking why he had suddenly changed his mind. Xing Zheng understood. "I want you to be happy."
Lin Mei gripped the dining table. A sharp pain came from her fingertips. She was so moved by his clumsy words that she wanted to cry. In her despair, she covered her eyes. Xing Zheng stepped forward and hugged her. Perhaps she was too heartbroken, as she didn't resist, and they held each other like that.
After an unknown amount of time, her sobbing finally subsided. Xing Zheng stroked her hair. "Do you want to go back to Zhuhua Villa? Jiaozi and Lanlan are waiting for you."
Lin Mei shook her head, refusing to go back. Xing Zheng didn't force her. "Alright, I'll stay here with you."
Xing Zheng kept his word and stayed the night. Lin Mei had gotten used to sleeping alone, and having someone next to her felt very strange. Xing Zheng held her in his arms, and since she didn't struggle, he held her tighter.
In the dim room, it was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard. She couldn't sleep, so Xing Zheng patted her back, coaxing her to sleep like a child.
Even so, Lin Mei had nightmares several times at night. Each time, she dreamed of a man slashing her face with a knife. Upon waking, she would touch her face.
At four in the morning, Lin Mei woke up from the same dream again. She cried and touched her face. When she felt the hideous scars, she screamed. Her emotions became more and more distressed, and she cried uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "I don't want to look in the mirror, don't let me look in the mirror... it's so disgusting."
Hearing this, Xing Zheng felt as if his heart had been pierced by a sharp blade. He held her tighter and comforted her, "It's not disgusting. You're always beautiful."
"You're lying to me. My face is disgusting." She insisted stubbornly, as if she hated herself deeply.
Xing Zheng grabbed her chin and kissed her forcefully, his tongue prying open her teeth.