Chapter 53 You can't starve yourself while trying to conceive...

Huo Lan took off his shirt and turned his back to her.

The broad shoulder line tapers downwards, outlining a narrow waist, with firm muscles and smooth lines, making the figure almost perfect.

Jiang Shiyuan's mind was not yet clear, and her gaze remained fixed blankly.

No matter how you look at this body, it always manages to arouse desire, and she was no exception. She had to admit that many times, her pleasure was no less than his.

"You really like it?"

Huo Lan's voice brought her back to her senses, and Jiang Shiyuan quickly looked away, not wanting to watch him change clothes.

Huo Lan tied the belt of his bathrobe, walked over, bent down, grabbed her neck, and kissed her.

The "pop" was loud and clear, with a malicious intent.

"Then why did you refuse just now? Were you playing hard to get?" Huo Lan's eyes were deep, hiding some unspeakable emotion. "I'll let you go for now. After all, I still have a lot to do today."

It wasn't until the sound of running water in the bathroom that Jiang Shiyuan realized what was happening, got out of bed, and poured herself some water.

I had a high fever last night, and now my throat feels dry and tight.

Huo Lan simply took a quick shower to extinguish the lust that had been aroused by Jiang Shiyuan's body that morning.

After tidying up, he quickly came out of the bathroom and saw Jiang Shiyuan sitting on the sofa by the bed, lost in thought.

"Didn't you say you were hungry?" Huo Lan had already changed into a loose, casual shirt and trousers, wiping the water droplets from her hair as she walked. "I asked Aunt Qing to make you some stomach-soothing porridge. Come downstairs to eat in a bit."

Jiang Shiyuan then came to her senses and, seeing Huo Lan's attire, knew that he would not be leaving Huo Garden today.

"Aren't you busy with work lately?"

Huo Lan half-squatted by the bed, looking up at her, and laughed, "Do you think I would leave you even for a moment after I just found you?"

Jiang Shiyuan didn't speak, pursing her lips, unwilling to pay him any attention.

Huo Lan chuckled softly, poured a glass of warm water, and took out the brown medicine box that was placed on the bedside table.

"These are the medicines you need to take over the next two days. They've all been allocated and placed in different compartments. Take one compartment a day."

Jiang Shiyuan nodded and obediently drank the medicine from the box with water.

Huo Lan was worried that her ankle was still hurting, so he carried her downstairs. A variety of breakfast dishes were already laid out on the table in the restaurant downstairs.

Besides the stomach-soothing porridge, there were also crab roe xiaolongbao and some whole grain milk and eggs.

She obediently sat down at the table, but although her stomach was empty, she had no appetite at all. She only drank a few mouthfuls of porridge and ate a custard bun before she didn't want to eat anymore.

Huo Lan placed a crab roe xiaolongbao on Jiang Shiyuan's plate and said casually, "Eat more. You can't go hungry while trying to conceive. You also need to pay attention to a balanced diet."

Jiang Shiyuan's hand holding the chopsticks froze, and she looked up at him with a frown.

He ignored her resentful gaze and continued eating his breakfast, subtly threatening her, "Professor Cheng Yinghua of the Wancheng Archaeological Institute seems to be approaching retirement age, right?"

"I heard she's been very good to you lately. We should thank her for taking care of you. Working on the construction site is too hard; you should go home and enjoy your retirement."

Jiang Shiyuan knew what he meant by saying these words, so she swallowed the anger that was rising in her throat, silently picked up the steamed buns from the plate, put them in her mouth, and tasted nothing.

Huo Lan then smiled with satisfaction, "You should start taking folic acid in a couple of days. You're still taking cold medicine, so you don't have to take it yet."

He paused, then said, "Of course, I'll go with you."

Jiang Shiyuan reached her limit, put down the spoon in her hand, and resisted, "I don't want to get pregnant. I still need to take the postgraduate entrance exam. I want to study archaeology at Beijing University."

"But you promised me..." Huo Lan looked at Jiang Shiyuan with feigned innocence. "Have you forgotten? You said that day that you would give me a sense of security."

"As for your studies, I will arrange the best resources and teachers for you after you have given birth and recovered your health."

“I can’t wait that long, I want to take the exam now! Besides, I never promised to have your child.”

Jiang Shiyuan acted shamelessly; she was lying to him all along, just to lower his guard.

Huo Lan wasn't annoyed. He simply put down his chopsticks, moved his body back slightly, grabbed Jiang Shiyuan by the waist, and pulled her onto his lap, kneading her through her clothes.

"Baby, you can't go back on your word, especially..."

Huo Lan's eyes were terrifyingly gloomy. He suddenly lowered his head and captured her lips, gently biting them between his teeth.

"Besides, you owed me one, and all I'm doing now is bringing our child back."

Jiang Shiyuan's eyes reddened again, and her breathing became rapid. "No...no, it's my own body. I can do whatever I want. I don't owe you anything!"

Huo Lan seemed amused by Jiang Shiyuan, but his smile was cold.

"I hope my health is almost fully recovered, and I even have the energy to argue now."

He kissed her gently again, but she kept her mouth tightly shut, her lips trembling with anger.

"Shouldn't I be the one who's angry?"

He tightened his grip on her waist, making her wince in pain.

“This is our child, and you aborted it without saying a word.”

Huo Lan's heart still ached as if he could not breathe when he thought of this, and his eyes were filled with intense pain and resentment.

He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Jiang Shiyuan, I have the right to know about your pregnancy, and I also have the right to interfere with your decision!"

Jiang Shiyuan was burned by the undisguised pain in his eyes, her heart clenched, and she struggled to avoid his gaze.

"So what? The consequences are the same, aren't they? Even if you knew, you'd still make me get an abortion, right?"

Huo Lan was quite angry with her, and his breathing became heavier. "Why are you so sure?"

Jiang Shiyuan blurted out, "Because I'm your secret lover, I'm not your wife, and the child I gave birth to is an illegitimate child!"

"What makes you think that?" Huo Lan was so angry that his mind went blank, and he was almost on the verge of collapse. "I gave you the best of everything, built you the Bell Pavilion, and took you to travel the world. Anything you even glanced at would be delivered to you intact the next day. I did so much for you, and all I got in return was a 'shady lover'?"

His voice gradually choked up, "Jiang Shiyuan, please have some conscience before you speak."

Jiang Shiyuan felt her nose stinging, but she managed to suppress the tears that threatened to spill, and tightly gripped the wrist that was still holding her waist.

They were arguing fiercely, yet they maintained an intimate posture, which made her body stiffen, as if she were sitting on his legs instead of his, a burning hot iron.

"Let me go!"

Huo Lan snorted coldly, instead pulling her even tighter into his arms. "Why don't you dare answer me? Are you feeling guilty?"

“What do I have to be afraid to answer!” Jiang Shiyuan struggled, but to no avail. “I just want you to let me go.”

He lowered his head and buried it in the crook of her neck, closing his eyes. "I can never let go of her in this lifetime, Jiang Shiyuan."

Jiang Shiyuan gave up struggling and said coldly, "Back then...didn't everyone think I was your lover?"

Huo Lan slowly raised his head and looked at her quietly. He was so angry that the veins on his forehead throbbed. He just wanted to know how many more infuriating things she could say from that venomous mouth.

"Three million a month, available at any time, sleeping with you and having fun... what else could it be but a mistress?"

Jiang Shiyuan didn't think that what she said was intentionally meant to anger him; she only felt that what she said was true.

Her voice grew increasingly choked with emotion, “There are so many people in this Huo Garden, who doesn’t know that I’m a plaything you brought back from outside, someone who has been with you for two years without any status?”

In her heart, Huo Lan never gave her much security. During the two years she spent with him after graduation, they would avoid the media and buy out all news of their trips together. He never said she was his girlfriend, nor did he ever promise her a future.

A canary's life is only a few years long; if it stays by his side forever, it will eventually be abandoned.

In order to avoid losing Huo Lan's favor so quickly, she had to act extremely obedient every day, acting coquettishly and clinging to him, and never going against any of his decisions.

She always did a great job, and he was always infatuated with her.

Jiang Shiyuan thought that after she left, Huo Lan would soon find another fresher and prettier replacement.

For some reason, three years later he kept looking for her and even tried to force her to marry him.

"I thought our relationship didn't need much explanation..." Huo Lan's expression grew increasingly pained. "Has that always been your belief? That's why you didn't hesitate to abort my child and leave me back then?"

Huo Lan continued to explain, "That's because my uncles and aunts were eyeing me covetously. It wasn't just my second uncle, but also those branch families who had been holding Huo family shares. They were all trying their best to make me make a mistake. I wasn't powerful enough back then to ignore their obstacles..."

His expression was somewhat agitated. "So, if I had explained back then, you wouldn't have left me, you would have kept our child, right?"

"No way!" Jiang Shiyuan replied quickly, "Because I don't want to be by your side at all. I can't stand your controlling nature, and I can't stand having someone watching me and controlling me all the time!"

She lowered her eyelashes and whispered again, "I don't like you..."

The voice was very low, yet it reached Huo Lan's ears clearly.

Huo Lan's heart instantly calmed down, feeling utterly hopeless. All the words he wanted to say—explain, coax her—were swallowed back down.

"So what? You still have to stay by my side and bear my children."

Huo Lan wiped away the tear that was about to fall from the corner of her eye, and chuckled lightly: "Don't you consider yourself a lover? Then so be it, I will never marry you."

After hearing Jiang Shiyuan say "I don't like you," Huo Lan suddenly stopped being afraid that she would leave him because of his coercion. In any case, he had plenty of ways to keep her by his side.

He pulled Jiang Shiyuan into his arms, gently rubbing his chin against the top of her head.

"Not only that, I will marry other women. I will keep you locked up in Huo Garden, watching us be very loving and watching our children grow up around us."

Feeling Jiang Shiyuan trembling uncontrollably in his arms because of her words, he felt a morbid pleasure.

"It's good that you're afraid. Just keep being a good and obedient girl, and I'll always treat you well and I won't marry anyone else."

The breakfast on the table had long since gone cold, and the sound of a servant announcing something came from the doorway.

"Sir, the maternity team has arrived outside the residence." The maid stood at the entrance. She knew that Huo Lan had brought the team back last night, so she didn't dare to go in.

"Should we let them in now, or arrange for them to stay first?"

Huo Lan released his grip on Jiang Shiyuan and straightened her disheveled clothes.

“They’ve come at just the right time.” Huo Lan looked at Jiang Shiyuan’s incredulous expression and continued, “We should get down to business. We need to get our children back as soon as possible.”

Jiang Shiyuan said, "Huo Lan, do you want to have a child with me, or do you want to use a child to tie me down?"

He affectionately pinched her nose, as if the two of them had never confronted or argued.

"Of course, it's to keep you here." Huo Lan laughed, a laugh that sent chills down her spine. "I've tried everything—monitoring you, locating you, tracking you—but you still managed to escape. I can't think of any other way."

"But if we have children, we will have a blood connection that can never be erased. No matter where you are or when, we will always be the people with the deepest bond..."

"When we have children, others will know that you belong to me."

At this point, Huo Lan was so excited that he hurriedly called the servants at the door to bring in the maternity team.

"Good boy, cooperate well, and we'll have it soon."

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Author's Note: Huo Lan: I will never marry you.

Jiang Shiyuan: Oh

Author: Oh [indifferent image]

P.S.: Oh my god, I accidentally stayed up all night again... If I can get up smoothly tomorrow, I should be able to update again before midnight tonight. Wish me luck [laughing and crying emoji]

Don't worry, I'll update with over 21,000 words this week. Even if I take a break, I'll make up for the lost word count later.