Qiao Wanwan's lips twitched. "Why bring this up all of a sudden? Didn't I give them all to you?"

"They were given to me. Those lingerie were also prepared by me because I wanted you and Master Zhan to share a room, and ideally, for you to get pregnant, so Master Zhan wouldn't suffer so much..."

Qiao Wanwan was taken aback. "Why is he in pain?"

"That night at the auction was the first time you and Master Zhan had a fight. I don't know what you argued about, but you said something that caused Master Zhan great pain."

Qiao Wanwan tried hard to recall, but couldn't remember at all. "What did I say?"

"You said that Master Zhan makes you feel suffocated."

"...I think I said that."

"It was because of that sentence that Master Zhan was helpless against you. Later, he left early and returned late to avoid you, just so he wouldn't make you angry. Until he instructed me to have the chef secretly put the medicine in your food, I guessed his purpose."

“Madam, Master Zhan had no other choice but to resort to this tactic; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been willing to lie to you.”

Qiao Wanwan pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Later, you got married because of the child. I thought you should get pregnant as soon as possible so that everything would be fine. So I prepared those sexy lingerie for you. But I didn't expect that Zhan Ye didn't touch you and even scolded me the next day."

“At the time, I told him that women are emotional creatures. Once you have sex, it’s very easy to cultivate feelings for each other. So even if the fake pregnancy comes to light, and you find out the truth, nothing will happen.”

"But Master Zhan scolded me. Although he didn't say it, I knew he wouldn't do it, and I also knew he was waiting."

Qiao Wanwan asked instinctively, "Waiting for what?"

"He will only take that step when you fall in love with him and are willing to consummate the marriage with him because you love him."

Qiao Wanwan was stunned.

“Madam, I have served by Master Zhan’s side for many years and have seen him use the most despicable means to deal with some enemies. He is incredibly wealthy and a master strategist. He can control anything he wants to control. But he is different when it comes to you.”

"Master Zhan doesn't want to control you. On the contrary, he's even willing to be bound to you, as if it would be a great favor if you could have him."

“Madam, Master Zhan has always been high and mighty. Even the elders of the Zhan family have to obey him unconditionally. I have never seen him so humble before.”

Qiao Wanwan was stunned for a long time. Jiang Dong's words shocked her greatly. She never knew there were so many things behind a fake pregnancy.

"Why?" Qiao Wanwan asked, confused. "Why would he be... so humble?"

"Madam, do you really not understand? Even someone like me who has never been in a relationship can see that Master Zhan loves you!"

Qiao Wanwan suddenly remembered what Zhan Jingting said when they confronted each other that night.

【Wanwan, you've never loved anyone.】

She was angry at the time and didn't pay attention to what he said, but it was obvious that Zhan Jingting meant he loved her.

But for her, love was too heavy a word. She felt that Zhan Jingting liked her, but not to the extent of love.

Could it be that her perception is wrong, and Zhan Jingting is truly already deeply in love with her and unable to extricate himself?

Qiao Wanwan couldn't believe it.

"Madam, the night you met Master Zhan, he was poisoned and barely survived. The Zhan family was superstitious and arranged a funeral to bring good luck, and eventually bought you as their bride."

“I always thought it was a close call but no real disaster. But I gradually realized that since that day, Zhan Ye has become different. In the past, he was always cold and indifferent to everyone and everything. But since you appeared, Zhan Ye has become a vibrant person. I’m not exaggerating when I say that he’s like he’s been reborn.”

"So, Madam, I beg you to give Master Zhan a chance. If someone has to bear the consequences of this fake pregnancy, then you can punish me. I bought the medicine, and I instructed the chef to administer it. As long as you and Master Zhan can reconcile, I would be willing to fire you."

“I’m not that unreasonable.” Qiao Wanwan collected her thoughts and said, “I want to be alone for a while. You can go out first.”

"yes."

The door to the side hall was closed, and silence fell instantly, with only the sound of rain pattering outside the French windows.

Qiao Wanwan leaned back in her sofa chair, lost in thought. She didn't know how much time had passed when a rapid knocking on the door pulled her back to reality.

"Young Madam!" came Zheng Ma's anxious voice from outside the door, "Young Master is calling for you!"

Qiao Wanwan hurriedly got up and went out to the master bedroom. The man on the bed was still asleep, but he was indeed calling her name.

"Wanwan...Wanwan, don't go..."

Qiao Wanwan felt a sharp pain in her heart, and the piercing pain instantly spread to every part of her body, making it hard for her to breathe.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, leaned over and hugged him. "Zhan Jingting, I'm here. I won't leave."

The sleeping man immediately hugged her tightly.

Seeing that Zhan Jingting had calmed down, Zheng Ma quickly closed the door and left.

The man held her tightly, and Qiao Wanwan tried to change her position, but she couldn't move at all.

She had no choice but to kick off her slippers, climb into bed, and snuggle into his arms.

The clean, pleasant scent of pure male hormones immediately enveloped her.

Qiao Wanwan looked at the handsome sleeping face so close to her and couldn't help but reach out and poke his cheek.

"Zhan Jingting, I really can't see through your heart. What do you like about me?"

"But that doesn't seem to matter that much, right?" the girl muttered to herself. "The important thing is that I'm actually quite happy being with you. You're different from Gu Xulin; there's no resistance or disgust in your eyes when you look at me. I can feel that you genuinely accept my physical imperfections..."

As Qiao Wanwan spoke, tears streamed down her face. "Actually, I wanted to tell you that my face is all healed, and I'm very beautiful now. As for my legs, with one or two more surgeries, they should be fully recovered, and I'll be just like a normal person again."

"Zhan Jingting, I don't know what our future will be like, but I'm sure that right now, I want to be with you. It would be nice if we just lay here like this forever and ignored all the noise and chaos outside."

"If this world brings me many storms, at least when I turn back to you, I can feel a sense of peace, and that is already very precious."

Qiao Wanwan's face rested against his chest. "But let me make this clear first: if you ever dare to bully me again, I will never let you off easily, understand?"

The next second, a deep voice suddenly came from above, "I heard you, I will listen to Madam."

Qiao Wanwan was startled and looked up sharply. She saw that the man had opened his eyes and woken up, his smiling eyes gazing intently at her.

"How could you... um..."

Qiao Wanwan had barely opened her mouth when the man's thin lips silenced her...