113 Placed His Face Against Hers Affectionately

"Let me have a look," said Jin Qingyan as he reached his hands out to pinch her cheeks and leaned forward for a closer look. "Where are your eyebags? I can't even see them."

"You must be blind," An Xiaoning sneered at the fact that he was lying through his teeth while she squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

"You're getting more and more brazen of late. Watch out, I'm going to punish you now," he reached a hand out to tickle her underarm, and she quickly shunned him.

"You're a man, yet you're bullying a weak woman like me. Haven't you got any shame at all?" An Xiaoning chastised, shoving the toothbrush into her mouth.

"You, a weak woman?"

"Mhmm."

"No matter how hard I try, I just can't find anything weak about you at all," he scoffed.

"Like I said, you're blind, how could you possibly tell that I'm weak?"

"…"

After washing up, they headed downstairs for breakfast.

Fan Shixin stood by the door, hesitating to say what he had on his mind. He resisted the urge and waited until they were finished with dinner before heading inside to break the news to them.

"Young Sir and Madam, Ms. Chi is acting all hysterical, demanding to see Young Sir."

Jin Qingyan rose from his seat and wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, out of habit; after which he said calmly, "Let's go have a look then."

Seeing that An Xiaoning had remained in her seat, Fan Shixin asked in curiosity, "Young Madam, aren't you going to go?"

"Let Young Sir handle it himself, I'll give it a pass."

"Got it."

Fan Shixin followed closely behind Jin Qingyan as they made their way to the room Chi Rui'er had been locked up in.

Upon sight of their arrival, the guard on shift, Xiaobai, greeted them immediately, "Young Sir, Chief."

"Open the door," Fan Shixin instructed.

"Alright," Xiaobai hurriedly unlocked the door with his key, allowing them to enter.

They were greeted with the sight of Chi Rui'er sitting on the bed. As soon as they entered, she gripped tightly onto the blanket, feeling a little ashamed to face Jin Qingyan.

However, she forced herself to speak up, for she did not want to spend another minute in this living hell, "Qingyan, I'm sorry."

Jin Qingyan stared at her with a stern and sullen expression on his face, seemingly reminiscing the past vicariously through her.

He began to wonder when she had become so different from the Chi Rui'er he used to know.

Was she still the same woman he was in love with?

She no longer deserved him.

Noticing how he had been staring at her without uttering a single word, Chi Rui'er mustered up the courage to look him in the eye as she broke the silence, "Qingyan…"

"Rui'er, you may leave. I won't take the house back since I've already given it to you. We'll live our lives separately, from now on."

The smile on Chi Rui'er's face was short-lived as, after processing what she had heard, she soon began to realize what he had meant. "Will it be hard for me to see you again, in the future?" she asked forlornly.

"It seems I didn't make myself clear earlier." After a brief moment of silence, he continued, "You'll have nothing to do with me in the future, and I'll be washing my hands off your matters. The house and the million dollars I had given you should be enough to last you a lifetime, if you live frugally. Go live your life on your own."

"You…" Chi Rui'er stuttered in shock of what she had just heard, appearing incredibly upset. "We'll be going our separate ways from now on, is that what you meant?" she said, finally letting out the words she had been suppressing.

"Yes."

Loosening her grip on the duvet, she swung her body and said, throwing a fit, "Is this all I get from saving your life?"

"A life is worth a few million dollars, at most. Although my life is indeed valuable, I've spent a hefty sum on providing for your life expenses all this while, which I'm not going to be calculative about. Besides, you've even caused Xiaoning to almost lose her life. Isn't that enough? Rui'er, you're too selfish, so much so that it's absolutely repulsive."

"But I did it all for you…"

Before she could even finish her sentence, he interrupted, "You should know clearly whether you did it for me or for yourself."

"I know I shouldn't have done what I did or said those things. But please don't act like this, Qingyan, you're making me feel worse than dying," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Bring her a fresh set of clothes and take her away as soon as she gets dressed," instructed Jin Qingyan as he turned to look at Fan Shixin.

"Yes, Sir."

After Fan Shixin exited the room, Jin Qingyan added, "Rui'er, you should know very well how I had been treating you in the past. Go about living your life properly."

Just as he was about to leave, Chi Rui'er yelled abruptly, "Qingyan, I'm pregnant!"

Noticing that he had stopped in his tracks, she continued, "The doctor said that I may never have the chance to get pregnant again, should I choose to abort this one."

Jin Qingyan froze in shock. The first thing that came to his mind was An Xiaoning's readings about Chi Rui'er's fortune. He recalled that she was destined to be married once, with two children, one of which had already been aborted; she was fated to be childless for the rest of her life if she aborts this one too.

"Who… does the child belong to?"

Chi Rui'er burst into tears as she cried out loud, "Please forgive me…"

"I'm asking you, who is the father of the child!?!" he bellowed, his anger evident from the stern expression on his face.

"I'm not telling you. Although I don't wish to have this child, I have no choice but to give birth to it. Qingyan, please help me," she cried, shaking her head profusely.

"How do I help you? Clean up after the mess you created. Become the child's father then divorce Xiaoning? Chi Rui'er, do you take me for a fool?"

He was overwhelmed with fury as he stood rooted to the ground. All of a sudden, he began to realize the reason she had spiked his drink — she had planned to inform him of her pregnancy a few months later, claiming that he had fathered the child.

"Qingyan, I'd like the child to have a father and a complete family."

"Go look for the child's father then. Rui'er, you've gone completely overboard. In fact, you've gotten from bad to worse. Do you still remember the person you used to be?" he said, after which he quickly strode out of the door.

"Qingyan!" Chi Rui'er shrieked, but to no avail, as Jin Qingyan continued in his tracks, completely ignoring her. She stared at the door in despair and watched as his figure faded.

"Ms. Chi, hurry and put these on, then leave," said Fan Shixin, handing her the set of clothes.

Chi Rui'er took the set of clothes from his hands and got dressed as soon as he left. She then wiped the tears and mucus off her face with the duvet before walking towards the door.

Fan Shixin led the way while she followed behind him.

Chi Rui'er was deeply filled with regret as she observed her surroundings, finally coming to terms with the fact that she had completely been defeated. She could not fathom why she had been reduced to such a sorry state, despite having gained the upper hand initially.

What am I going to do with the baby I'm carrying? she thought to herself.

She had no idea if she should even keep the baby, now that her initial plan had already gone up in smoke.

If she kept the baby, she would have to be involved with the child's father for the rest of her life; but if she chose to abort it, she may never have the chance to be a mother again.

Just what should I do?

Perplexed and vexed, she was clueless about what her next move should be.

Besides, things have already come to this.

What else could she do about it!?!

——

An Xiaoning bumped into Jin Qingyan at the door just as she had put on her shoes.

She remained silent and stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

Jin Qingyan leaned in towards her and placed his face against hers affectionately, with no qualms about the servants around them. Pressing his forehead against hers, he said softly, "We didn't get to go on our honeymoon trip after our wedding. I say we should make up for it now. What do you think?"