0158 Regret

"Taiqing, did you and Jifan have a fight? I noticed she even left the group chat and hasn't replied to my messages..."

Before this, Tantai Qing had gone to the underground wine cellar alone to drown her sorrows in alcohol, and had gotten so drunk that she was unconscious. She was just woken up by her phone call.

After being with Jiang Jifan, he never got so drunk again.

Feeling as if her head had been struck with a hammer, Tantai Qing pinched the bridge of her nose in discomfort, and it took her a while to recover.

Faced with her question, he didn't know how to answer, and he was even more unwilling to reveal the fact that "Jiang Jifan has already broken up with him."

"Brother Taiqing?" Seeing that he did not respond, Xiang Nannan asked again in confusion.

Tantai Qing sighed softly, wearily supporting her forehead with her hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "We broke up."

Xiang Nannan exclaimed in surprise on the other end of the phone, "Huh?" clearly not having reacted yet.

She immediately pressed for an explanation.

Tantai Qing recalled the reasons that led to their breakup and felt somewhat embarrassed to talk about them.

"It's my fault," he said simply, refusing to elaborate.

Xiang Nannan guessed that he might have some secret he couldn't tell her, and planned to have Song Yuchang find out later.

Upon learning that he still had thoughts of getting back together, she encouraged him, "Taiqing, don't be discouraged. Maybe after we give you some advice, Jifan will change his mind?"

Despite feeling that her words of comfort were somewhat weak, Xiang Nannan still forced herself to continue.

Song Yuchang chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, maybe Jiang Jifan will come back in a few days when he's in a better mood."

Tantai Qing didn't discourage them, and responded softly with a downcast expression.

After resting for a few days and feeling almost fully recovered, Jiang Jifan decided to return to work.

When she was leaving get off work at noon, Xiang Nannan called her, and she hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Jifan, are you free after get off work today? Let's go shopping together." On the phone, Xiang Nannan pretended to be nonchalant, treating her as affectionately as before.

Jiang Jifan declined her invitation, making an excuse that he had something to do after get off work.

Fortunately, Xiang Nannan was already prepared. Upon hearing this, she immediately feigned pitifulness and said, "Jifan, I know you and Taiqing broke up, but one thing is one thing. You're not really going to abandon me, your good friend, because of him, are you? I'll be very sad if that happens."

Jiang Jifan was still soft-hearted when facing her, and after hearing what she said, he felt embarrassed to refuse her again.

It's okay, it's not like I'm meeting him anyway, she told herself to comfort herself.

However, she remained cautious and made a request to Xiang Nannan: "I only agree to meet with you."

Xiang Nannan understood her unspoken meaning and immediately agreed, saying, "Of course! I guarantee you will only see me."

"Jifan, over here!"

Xiang Nannan got up to greet her, and as she approached, her gaze unconsciously fell on her stomach.

She already knew the reason for their breakup from Song Yuchang, and she became even more careful in her actions.

Jiang Jifan smiled at her, trying to appear as natural as possible.

Xiang Nannan pulled her to look at clothes. During this time, although she thought she had concealed it well, her words still revealed a hint of wanting to reconcile them.

This made her regret agreeing to the meeting.

Jiang Jifan tried to make his tone sound as calm as possible: "Niannian, if you've come here to mediate, I'm sorry, I can't agree."

Seeing her resolute attitude, he awkwardly stuck out his tongue at Nan Nan and said, "Okay, okay, you found out again."

She made a sealing gesture by tracing two fingers across her lips and said with a forced smile, "I won't say anything more, let's talk about something else."

Fearing that this might upset her and cause the date to end, she quickly changed the subject.

"Taiqing, I sounded out Jifan this afternoon, and she seemed very resistant..."

Tantai Qing hadn't had high hopes for this outcome and had already anticipated it. Nevertheless, he still thanked her.

After hanging up the phone, he transferred some money to Xiang Nannan as payment for their date that day.

After transferring the money, he leaned against the headboard and opened the photo album. Looking at the woman with a bright smile in the photo, he gently stroked her face with his thumb through the screen, and a sense of sadness welled up in his heart.

He, who was always adept at everything, became completely clueless after meeting her.

Although he felt quite frustrated, Tantai Qing kept telling himself not to rush things, lest he further arouse her resentment.

On the day of the surgery, Xing Yeye took a day off to be with Jiang Jifan.

Across from the abortion room is the obstetrics outpatient clinic, and the corridors are packed with pregnant women and their accompanying family members.

Jiang Jifan and Xing Yeye waited on a bench outside the crowd control room.

"Do you think our baby is a boy or a girl?"

A young couple sat on the bench opposite, looking very loving and sweet, their faces revealing their anticipation and tenderness for the new life.

Jiang Jifan heard their conversation intermittently. She glanced up at the red light that had illuminated the reception room, her heart filled with complex emotions.

"Don't touch me, we've already broken up!"

Hearing the sound, everyone looked over and saw a man and a woman struggling at the entrance of the abortion room. The young and beautiful woman was pale and clutching her stomach, struggling to walk forward while holding onto the wall.

Jiang Jifan's gaze fell on her trembling legs; clearly, she had just come out of the abortion room and hadn't had an epidural yet...

While admirable, it also gives me the creeps.

She pursed her lips, and her previously indifferent heart suddenly felt a little scared.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here with you." Xing Yeye noticed her fear and put her arm around her to comfort her. "I heard it's quick, it'll be over when you wake up..."

"Hmm." Jiang Jifan nodded, but his heart was still filled with unease.

It will be her turn soon.

The operating room was very cold, and Jiang Jifan got goosebumps all over her body. She lay down on the operating table as instructed by the nurse.

"Put both legs up."

She did as instructed.

"Don't be nervous. You won't feel any pain under anesthesia. It's just a minor surgery. It will be over when you wake up after a nap..." The anesthesiologist was a gentle and pretty young woman who softly comforted her after noticing her nervousness.

Jiang Jifan took a deep breath, lying on the cold operating table in an extremely shameful position, his mind a blur, flashing through many images he couldn't quite grasp.

Just as the anesthesiologist told her that the medication was about to be administered, she suddenly opened her eyes and sat up from the operating table.

"I'm not doing it anymore."

Five minutes later, the lights in the abortion room went out.

"I'm so sorry to have caused you trouble."

"What's wrong?" Xing Yeye was waiting for her at the door. When she saw her walk out unharmed, she went up to her with a puzzled look on her face.

"The surgery is canceled." The middle-aged female doctor's face still showed the helplessness and frustration of being forced to stop working.

Actually, performing this kind of surgery is very bad for one's karma, and many doctors are unwilling to perform it. However, when she saw that she had changed her mind, the female doctor was actually relieved and kindly advised her: "Young lady, think carefully before making a decision next time."

Xing Yeye stared wide-eyed at Jiang Jifan with an incredulous look.

Jiang Jifan smiled awkwardly and apologized to the female doctor again.

On the way back, Xing Yeye drove while laughing at her, "Jiang Jifan, this isn't like you at all. You're usually so decisive, yet you went to the operating table and then ran off. What? You haven't really fallen for that man, have you? You're not really going to give him…"

"Shut up! You're so annoying!" Jiang Jifan rolled his eyes, frowned, and leaned against the car window.

Xing Yeye's smile faded, and she glanced at her sideways. "Hey, seriously, what are you going to do with this child?"

Jiang Jifan was agitated and said coldly, "I don't know."

"If Tantai Qing knew you wanted to keep the child, wouldn't she be overjoyed?" Even though she knew she was unhappy, Xing Yeye couldn't help but say something sarcastic.

"What does it have to do with him? I didn't do this for him..." She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, then glared at him after realizing what she had said.

Xing Yeye laughed so hard; without her realizing it, she had tricked her into revealing her true feelings.

Jiang Jifan knew he had fallen into her trap. His face turned as black as charcoal. He didn't say a word on the way home and refused to speak to her again.