Chapter 20: Aren't you afraid of aborting the child if you get out?

He took a clean shirt from the closet and gave it to her.

Youzhen glanced at it, then pushed it away. She didn't need anyone's pity; she had brought it on herself. Tears blurred her vision. All she wanted was to escape from here, to run forward and forward, just to reach a place where no one was around.

"Put them on." Qin Lingchuan brooked no refusal, but still offered a few words of explanation, "I'll take you back; you wouldn't want to be seen like this, would you?"

Youzhen waved it away, he put it on again, and she threw it away again.

She had an inexplicable temper, and a surge of anger was brewing within her, with no clear direction for it.

Her new cheongsam was now in disarray, and a wave of grievance washed over her. Youzhen curled up slightly and said, "Get out."

Qin Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, picked up the white shirt from the ground. It was a little wrinkled, and he couldn't help but click his tongue. He then casually draped it over her shoulders.

She stood stiff as a log, only flinching slightly when Qin Lingchuan's hand accidentally touched her skin.

Qin Lingchuan suddenly picked her up and carried her to her room, opened the door with one hand, and strode towards her room.

Youzhen was both angry and embarrassed: "Let me go! What if someone sees us!"

She was really disobedient, and the more she made a fuss, the tighter he tightened his arms. Neither of them noticed that Youzhen's arms were marked with red welts.

Tao Bei, who was standing guard outside the door, was stunned. In his mind, his master had always been aloof from women, even somewhat traditional, and once he made up his mind, he was devoted to her. He rarely expressed his feelings openly, much less in a way.

When did he start embracing a woman in such a sensual way?

When Zhou Yuanli saw her come out wearing a man's shirt, the shoulders and sleeves of which were noticeably larger, making her appear petite.

He had just informed the guests that Youzhen had suddenly fallen ill with a chronic condition, and it seemed that today's engagement banquet would have to be canceled.

He had been keeping a close eye on Qin's stock, and sure enough, the price plummeted.

Youzhen's small waist was supported by his pregnant belly, making it seem as if the two of them were holding her together.

Oh right, she hasn't asked yet whether it's a man or a woman...

Thinking of this, Youzhen's nameless anger subsided by a third.

Once in the room, Youzhen finally struggled to get down from his arms. She immediately grabbed a few books from the table and threw them at him with all her might.

Qin Lingchuan tilted his head, and the hard corner of the book hit his chest and lower abdomen.

He leaned against the bookshelf and coughed a few times, unable to contain himself: "Youzhen, I've really spoiled you."

Youzhen continued to hit him: "Why are you treating me like this? Did I provoke you first? What right do you have to treat me like this!"

Qin Lingchuan caught a book and leisurely flipped open the title page to read a few lines; it was a rare, out-of-print English book.

With a "snap," he slammed the heavy book cover shut and sneered, "Aren't you afraid of aborting the child?"

"I couldn't be happier!"

The sudden silence calmed them both down a bit.

With a sharp pain in his abdomen, Qin Lingchuan leaned back, not daring to move for a long time, as any movement caused his face to turn pale with pain: "I'm asking you, are you really planning to marry that boy?"

"So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

"I won't allow it." That sounded familiar.

Youzhen found it utterly unreasonable and rolled her eyes at him: "Don't you have any fresh tricks up your sleeve?"

Qin Lingchuan leaned against the wall with one hand, looking at her helplessly: "If I had any other tricks up my sleeve, would you still be here making a scene with me?"

Youzhen's tone and expression clearly regarded him as a wolf or tiger. Light and shadow intertwined on his face, and his slightly parted lips froze: "Xia Youzhen, if you really marry Zhou Yuanli, I promise you, I will definitely get my hands on all of the Xia family's assets."

"Haven't you already done that?"

Youzhen had nothing left to throw away, so she covered herself with the blanket, leaving him with only the back of her head.

With each cough, the baby's abdomen felt like it was being pumped by a bellows, causing excruciating pain.

My behavior today was so tactless. Will it make her think of me even worse?

The way she covered her head and slept soundly, unwilling to say anything, stung him deeply.

He didn't know where to put his hands, which were braced against the wall. He silently withdrew them and looked at her stunningly beautiful face so close to his, and suddenly felt a strong urge to kiss her.

Qin Lingchuan took a step forward, saw her tightly furrowed brows, lowered his head, and ultimately held back.

As he turned to leave, his heel accidentally bumped into a book on the ground. He carefully squatted down, silently picked it up, arranged it neatly, and then closed the door behind him before leaving.

Tao Bei was still waiting outside. As soon as he saw him come out, he started talking non-stop: "Hey boss, Dr. Huang just told you not to get angry this afternoon, but you couldn't help it again..."

Doctor Huang dared not say anything to Qin Lingchuan. If something went wrong, he would be the one scolded by Doctor Huang.

Once there was no more noise outside the door, Youzhen slowly sat up.

My sister is so gentle, so tolerant, so outstanding, so extraordinary. She can't compare to her at all, so why should she greet guests with a smile?

If she hadn't died, she wouldn't have to live in this empty shell, pretending to be someone else.

Qin Lingchuan's excessive behavior towards her today was simply because he believed she had tarnished his sister's image.

Didn't he insist that she was Youzhen? Didn't he keep pressuring her to admit it? If he were dealing with her older sister, he wouldn't have treated her like this at all.

Youzhen washed her face, changed her clothes, put her hair up, climbed out of the window, and walked out of the Zhou family's gate with a bare face.

The guests hadn't left yet, but no one expected that today's protagonist would publicly 'escape' from their sight.

Right next to the Zhou family's old house, in the alley, separated by a wall, there is a small courtyard house.

The most dangerous place is the safest place.

Youzhen pushed open the door and went in; Jinyu was already waiting for her.

Jin Yu had her hair in a braid and was wearing an apron as she shaped a piece of porcelain.

She looked up and saw Youzhen, then relaxed her guard and pulled a USB drive out from under the mud beside her.

"Sister Youzhen, how did it go? Was it all right?"

Youzhen glanced at the corner of the eaves visible on the other side of the wall: "To be honest, it wasn't all smooth sailing, but I managed to get out on time. But to be honest, Qin Lingchuan seems a bit off..."

Jin Yu patted her on the shoulder: "Then that means it went smoothly, right? Let's begin."

Youzhen looked at her gratefully: "Jinyu, I'm sorry to have you living here all this time."

As Jinyu took off her apron, she said, "Sister Youzhen, please don't say that. I know you need to endure hardship to find the real culprit who killed the young lady. I'm worried because you're in that house every day. Isn't it just like the old courtyard here? You should buy it quickly, and then I'll take you to meet someone."

Youzhen quickly transferred the data from the USB drive to the computer; the sharp drop in Qin's stock was within her expectations. This was Zhou Yuanli's doing.

The large-scale acquisition of Xia family assets was expected, as Qin Lingchuan had assured them.

She hadn't expected that Qin Lingchuan, after being provoked, would still be able to keep an eye on the Xia family's business development.

But what about this other sum of money that was transferred in?

She originally intended to reap the benefits and lock in Zhou Yuanli's 30% stake, but due to sudden market changes, she lost 3% of it.

Zhou Yuanli, who was just a wall away, hadn't expected this either. Today's plan wasn't successful enough; Qin Lingchuan had secretly taken action, not only stabilizing the stock price but also purchasing a large amount of Xia family assets again.

What's even worse is that Butler Liu reported that the person who had been in the ICU had disappeared this morning.

The three of them were all in a state of panic, which made Tao Bei even more anxious.

"Boss, we've already sold off most of our overseas assets. Are we really going to gamble everything we have?"

Five minutes later, Qin Lingchuan finally looked away from the fluctuating lines on the screen, rubbing his temples with one hand and idly stroking his pregnant belly with the other, muttering to himself, "I'm afraid all my wealth won't be enough."

"Huh? What about T then?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to pay the price too." Qin Lingchuan stood up, politely declining Tao Bei's offer of help. "Do you know who has that 3%?"

Tao Bei connected the dots and suddenly realized, "Could it be from Miss Li?"

Qin Lingchuan's silence had clearly given him the answer.

Tao Bei said unwillingly, "Master, you've done so much for Miss Xia, and she still wants to marry that man. These past few days, not to mention how many injuries you've suffered, I've seen how much you've endured while pregnant with this child. Why don't you explain everything to her? I really don't understand."

Don't you understand? He's hesitant to act rashly, because he's unsure how much feeling Youzhen still has for Zhou Yuanli, and he doesn't want to hurt her.

Moreover, he had lived alone for nearly thirty years before finally finding his grandfather and younger brother. Even in such circumstances, he occasionally lost himself in the illusion of family affection, like a poppy.

Tao Beizhong was loyal; he knew that.

"You'll understand one day." Qin Lingchuan gazed out the window. The weather was fine and sunny. In the distance, several courtyards lay quietly in the alley, peaceful and beautiful. It was just like the two months he spent at Youzhen's guesthouse, far happier than living in a secluded mansion.

He turned to look at Tao Bei: "Abei, I haven't been feeling well lately, so I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Tao Bei was flattered and repeatedly waved his hands in thanks—he noticed that whenever his boss had a long talk with Miss Xia, his boss always seemed to soften up, and that 'saintly' aura would reappear.

Although the 3% stake is not yet finalized, Youzhen's anxiety has finally eased somewhat.

She destroyed the USB drive, erased all the files from the hard drive, and then looked up at Jinyu and asked, "Who did you say you wanted to see just now?"

Jin Yu smiled mysteriously, pushed open the wooden door, and saw a woman who looked to be around fifty years old sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her expectantly.

The next second, Youzhen rushed over: "Auntie!"

She never imagined that she would see her again in this lifetime.

The once spirited aunt has now lost both legs and can only sit in a wheelchair.

"Auntie, how come you... Where is my sister?"

Aunt Xia shook her head, tears streaming down her face, and helped her up, making sure she and Jin Yu sat down. As she stroked You Zhen's hair, she slowly said, "If it's true, she really won't be coming back."

Although Youzhen was prepared, and her sister's illness had been going on for a while, she still couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in her heart upon hearing the news.

“Youzhen, the accident that day wasn’t an accident. It was all orchestrated by Zhou Yuanli, as you’ve probably noticed lately. He’s been keeping me under house arrest in the ICU, and I only escaped today.”

It seemed the truth was right before her eyes. Youzhen grasped her aunt's wrist: "I realized it. I've been staying by his side because I wanted to find evidence."

"Yes, Jin Yu told me all of this too. It's my fault for passing on the curse of revenge to you. Now, I am the proof."

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Author's note: Coughing is fine now, just don't cough in the delivery room, or you might scare one of the babies, Youzhen, or Dr. Huang to death [doge emoji]

Tomorrow's update will be at 11 PM, and afterwards it will be the same old time of 9 PM~ [Let me see][Sprinkling flowers]