established facts

"Give birth to it."

These three words, like a final judgment, hit Lin Xueyin's heart hard, completely crushing her last bit of struggle.

She stopped crying, raised her head, and looked at the man in front of her with tearful eyes. His expression had returned to a stern state. There was no joy on his face as a new father, only the calmness of someone who had taken control of the situation, and a kind of concentration... as if he was examining a valuable asset.

"No..." She resisted almost instinctively, her voice hoarse, "I can't..."

"You can't?" Song Zhiyuan interrupted her, his tone calm but full of force, "This is an established fact."

He stood up and walked to the window with his back to her. The sunlight stretched his tall figure very long, casting a thick shadow that completely enveloped her who was shivering on the hospital bed.

"I'll arrange the formalities." His voice was not loud, but it reached her ears clearly, with an unquestionable plan, "You just need to take care of it with peace of mind."

Procedures? What procedures? Lin Xueyin's mind was in a tizzy. Were they the marriage procedures? Or... merely the procedures to legitimize the child? She didn't dare ask, and she had no way to resist. Her wishes seemed laughably insignificant before his absolute power.

The doctor came in again, this time with a more respectful attitude, even a hint of cautious congratulations, and explained in detail the precautions for early pregnancy. Song Zhiyuan listened silently, nodding occasionally.

Lin Xueyin lay on the hospital bed, like a soulless puppet, letting the nurse adjust her IV drip. Hearing the words "fetus," "nutrition," and "rest," she felt a profound irony. This child, born during her most painful memory, was now endowed with such "legitimate" and "important" significance.

That afternoon, she was transferred to a small building at the back of the hospital, which was quieter and had better facilities, saying she needed to "rest."

The room was spacious and bright, with a private bathroom and a lush garden outside the window. It was a world away from the noisy ordinary ward she had been in. However, these superior conditions did not comfort her at all. Instead, they felt more like a more refined and difficult-to-break-out cage.

---

Lin Xueyin stared blankly at the ceiling, her hand unconsciously resting on her belly. It was still flat, but already pregnant with a life that would completely bind her to that man. Despair washed over her like an icy tide, leaving her without the strength to even cry.

The ward door was gently pushed open, and footsteps were heard softly.

Lin Xueyin didn't turn around until a gentle female voice sounded beside the bed: "Comrade Xueyin, are you feeling better?"

She then turned her head and saw a middle-aged woman in simple clothes and a graceful temperament standing by the bed. Her features bore some resemblance to Song Zhiyuan, but her expression was much gentler. It was Song Zhiyuan's mother.

"Auntie..." Lin Xueyin struggled to sit up, her voice hoarse.

"Don't move. Lie down quickly." Mother Song quickly held her down and sat down on a chair beside the bed. Her eyes fell on her pale and haggard face with obvious concern. "Zhiyuan told me everything. You, child, have suffered."

Lin Xueyin's nose felt sore, and she turned away. Suffering? More than just suffering.

Mother Song sighed softly, her voice softening: "Zhiyuan has always been cold-tempered, quiet, and incapable of expressing himself.

His father was very strict with him, so he was used to treating everything, including relationships, as tasks and goals to be completed. The methods he used were... sometimes direct, even inhumane.

She paused, observing Lin Xueyin's reaction. Seeing that she still had no expression, she continued in a gentle voice, "But in his heart... he's not as cold and hard as he appears. He just doesn't know how to be kind to others. This time, he was a jerk and wronged you. But I can see that he cares about you, he just used the wrong method."

Lin Xueyin closed her eyes. "Cared?" Was she expressing "cared" through coercion and control? She was now immersed in immense grief and humiliation. Mother Song's gentle persuasion was like scratching an itch, unable to reach her frozen heart. She even felt that it was just another form of comfort and pressure from a powerful family.

Seeing her like this, Song's mother knew that it was useless to say more at this time, so she just patted the back of her hand gently and said, "Take good care of yourself and don't think too much. The child is innocent and it is also the fate between you." She gave her a few more instructions for precautions and then got up and left.

After leaving the ward, the gentleness on Song's mother's face faded a little. She said to Song Zhiyuan who was waiting outside, "See? The girl is feeling very aggrieved! Your tyrannical tactics might work elsewhere, but if you use them on someone who truly wants to spend their life together, it will only push them further away."

Song Zhiyuan frowned, looked at the ward door, and remained silent.

"She won't listen to anything now. She just thinks our whole family is forcing her." Mother Song said in a reproachful tone, "If you really care about her and the baby in her belly, you should think carefully about how to treat her instead of just giving her orders and arranging things."

Song Zhiyuan still didn't say anything, but his tense jawline showed that he had listened.

His mother's words were like a fine needle, piercing his ingrained mindset. He was accustomed to control and efficiency, believing that providing the most generous material conditions and the most rigorous protection was "good." But Lin Xueyin's despair and resistance, and his mother's reminders, made him vaguely realize that some things couldn't be obtained simply by power and command.

From that day on, Song Zhiyuan's behavior began to show some extremely subtle but real changes.

He still came to the hospital every day, but he stayed longer. He no longer just stood by the bed and asked the doctor questions. Sometimes he would sit silently by the side, watching the nurse change her dressings and watching her frown as she felt uncomfortable with morning sickness.

The things he brought were no longer just expensive supplements. Once, he noticed that she glanced twice at the sparrows chirping in the tree outside the window. The next day, a small and exquisite birdcage was added to her bedside, which contained a pair of brightly feathered hibiscus birds, adding a touch of life to the dull ward.

He was still a man of few words, but when she couldn't eat due to pregnancy reactions, he would frown and say to the nurse, "Try something lighter." Although his tone was harsh, it was the first time he had asked about such a trivial matter.

He even began to flip through those pregnancy health books that he would never have glanced at before. Although his actions were covert, Lin Xueyin still noticed something from his focused and complex gaze that occasionally fell on her belly.

These changes were clumsy, abrupt, and even barely noticeable, completely at odds with his powerful aura. For Lin Xueyin, who was deeply grieving, these subtle changes didn't immediately melt the ice in her heart. She remained resistant and silent.

But the seeds have been planted.

In his silent and clumsy way, Song Zhiyuan is trying to step out of his closed emotional world, trying to understand how to treat the woman he considers his "wife" and their child, beyond "possession" and "control." This path is unfamiliar and difficult for him, but he has begun.

Song Zhiyuan didn't stay with her the whole time. He seemed very busy and left after answering a few phone calls. But he left the young man named Chen Mo to guard the door and also arranged for a special nurse to take care of her.

Lin Xueyin lay alone on the soft hospital bed, her hand unconsciously caressing her lower abdomen. It was still flat, with no sign of life, but the cold test results were etched in her mind like a brand.

This child...what should she do?

Fear, confusion, helplessness, and a complex mix of emotions, even a hint of disgust at her own maternal instinct being forced upon her, battled fiercely within her. She had never imagined becoming a mother at this time, in this way. Especially... with his child.

In the evening, Song Zhiyuan returned with a thermos in his hand, which he placed on the bedside table.

"This is the soup I made in the kitchen at home. Drink it while it's hot." His tone remained flat, but his actions revealed a care that could not be refused.

Lin Xueyin turned her face away and did not move.

Song Zhiyuan didn't force her. He sat down on the sofa next to her, took out a cigarette box, and seemed to want to smoke, but after looking at Lin Xueyin, he silently put the cigarette box back.

"I've already asked for leave for you from your workplace," he told her, as if discussing a trivial matter. "I also asked Chen Mo to give Comrade Jiang Weihong a heads-up. He told her you're feeling unwell and need to rest for a while."

Lin Xueyin turned her head sharply to look at him. He had even taken care of Sister Jiang? Was he going to completely isolate her from the outside world?

"You..." She wanted to question, to protest, but when she met his deep and calm eyes, which seemed to have everything under control, all the words were stuck in her throat.

"You'll be staying here for the time being," Song Zhiyuan continued, his tone unquestionable. "If you need anything, tell the nurse or Chen Mo."

He stood up, walked to the bedside, and looked down at her. His gaze lingered on her pale, haggard face for a moment, then slowly moved down to rest on her still flat stomach. His gaze was no longer pure scrutiny; it seemed to carry a subtle, indescribable concentration.

"Take care of yourself," he said in a low voice, "and take care of him."

This "he" refers to the child in her belly.

After saying that, he turned around and left the ward without stopping.

The door was closed gently.

Lin Xueyin stared at the door that cut off the outside world, a sense of despair engulfing her once again. He not only controlled her work and her life, but now, even her body and the unexpected life in her belly were completely under his control.

"An established fact"... those four words he uttered lightly set an unchangeable trajectory for her life and for the unborn child in her belly.

She closed her eyes and tears fell silently again.

This summer, because of this sudden thunderclap, felt especially long and heavy. Trapped in this well-equipped ward, she felt like a carefully guarded female animal, pregnant with precious offspring. All her joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, all her independent will, seemed so pale and powerless before the absolute power of that man.

As the news spread quickly in a small area, more undercurrents began to surge quietly beneath the seemingly calm surface.

The identity of the eldest grandson of the Song family carried a weight far beyond what Lin Xueyin could imagine at the moment. She simply instinctively sensed a larger, more invisible net slowly closing in on her.