As I stood by the tea machine, intending to boil water, I heard Gao Ya's words and my hand froze in mid-air for several seconds, completely unaware of what was happening.

Judging from Gao Ya's words, it seems I've unexpectedly become a father.

Ever since I woke up in the hotel, I think about Gao Ya every day, but all I see are the things that happened between us in our student days. Just thinking about her being with Gao Qiang still makes me feel disgusted.

Thinking about it carefully, the reason I can think of elegance doesn't seem to be because of feelings, but because of guilt.

After all, we had no relationship whatsoever, yet we ended up having a relationship.

At that moment, Gao Ya suddenly came to me and said that she was pregnant with my child and that the child could not be aborted, which really gave me a headache.

It's not that I don't want to take responsibility, but the thought of her being with Gao Qiang for so long makes me feel really uncomfortable.

Isn't this just a sucker taking over someone else's business?

Before I could speak, Gao Ya said, "Don't worry, I came to find you not to make you take responsibility, nor to put pressure on you, or rather, I don't want to be with you."

I snapped out of my reverie and turned my gaze to Gao Ya: "So, what are you thinking? You're not going to abort this child, are you? After all, it's a life!"

"Of course I don't want to abort this child, and this is my only chance to be a mother."

Gao Ya licked her lips: "I don't expect you to take responsibility for me, but I hope you can take responsibility for this child."

The pawnshop door wasn't closed, and the roar of cars outside drowned out her elegant voice. Even so, I still heard her say, "You mean, you want to give birth to the child and let me raise it?"

"Impossible, this is the last child I can have in my life."

Gao Ya shook her head: "On the flight back from the south, I kept thinking about how much criticism I would face as an unmarried mother. My answer was that I probably couldn't bear that kind of pressure. So I came up with a plan: you give me some money, and I'll go far away and live abroad! I promise that from now on, I will never enter your world again or interfere with your normal life. What do you think?"

Upon hearing those elegant words, my eyes twitched twice.

Gao Ya said she was pregnant. We clearly had many solutions, but she chose the most straightforward dialogue about interests.

This made a thought pop into my head.

Gao Ya approached me not for Gao Qiang's sake, but for her own.

From beginning to end, she never believed that the company the monkey represented belonged to my relative.

If that's the case, then her initial purpose in approaching Gao Qiang probably wasn't for feelings, as she claimed.

To confirm my suspicions, I pretended to be hesitant: "You can see my little shop's business is doing poorly. The money I earn all year is barely enough to make ends meet. I still have tens of thousands of yuan in my account. I'll transfer it to you first. You should take care of yourself."

"Tens of thousands of yuan? Are you kidding me! That's not even enough for a plane ticket to an overseas destination!"

Gao Ya revealed a disdainful expression: "I've already thought it over. You give me five million first, and then one million every year as child support. I don't think that will be a burden for you, will it?"

Seeing Gao Ya's elegant expression, I was completely certain that the woman in front of me was no longer my ideal woman from my student days, but had become a complete gold digger.

She initially approached Gao Qiang because she was attracted to his family background. However, after I exposed Gao Qiang's true identity, this woman set her sights on me instead.

Even so, I still held onto a sliver of hope: "I really can't come up with the money, but neither of us is married. If you don't mind, I can get married to you! In the future, I will definitely work hard to give you and our child a good life!"

"Duan Shenxing, stop pretending."

Gao Ya looked at me coldly, with an expression that said, "I don't want to play along with your act: I've already checked your household registration through a friend. Your father became a missing person years ago, so your household registration is with your grandfather. And your Duan family doesn't even have any relatives, so how could a relative from abroad suddenly appear? I know better than anyone how big your business is!"

And then there's Monkey. He's been your follower since he was a child. If this business really involved you acting as a scapegoat for someone else, how could that person possibly trust Monkey to be the company's legal representative? Don't try to fool me! When you were discussing cooperation with Gao Qiang, I was working as a secretary at his company. I handled all these documents; you can't fool me.”

Seeing that Gao Ya had completely abandoned her facade, the last shred of hope in my heart was shattered: "So, all of this was a trap you set, including that drinking party that day, right?"

"Yes, I put something in your drink that day, but unfortunately it's been so long that nothing can be detected now, and it's true that you had sex with me."

A hint of resentment flashed in Gao Ya's eyes as she looked at me: "I didn't have such a vicious heart before. It's all because of you. At first, I just wanted to find a boyfriend from a wealthy family and live a life without worries about food and clothing! But you ruined all my efforts over the years. This is your retribution!"

I stared in disbelief at the girl who had once haunted my dreams, now transformed into a scheming, manipulative woman. I was utterly shocked: "I truly can't believe you've become like this. In your eyes, is our past really not worth the slightest lingering affection?"

Gao Ya replied expressionlessly, "People don't live in the past. Besides, we were just students experiencing our first crushes back then. We were all immature, so what's there to reminisce about? By the way, let me remind you, I still have the underwear I wore the day we had sex, and I sent it for testing the next day. If I use these things as evidence to accuse you of rape, it shouldn't be a big problem."

At that moment, Gao Ya's elegant expression suddenly disgusted me: "Do you really think I can be your long-term meal ticket?"

He looked at me with an air of superiority and composure: "Your company has an annual revenue of at least tens of millions. The money I need is just a drop in the ocean for you. If you find me troublesome, you can give me 20 million in one go, and I promise I will not bother you anymore."

Twenty million!

When I heard the price that Gao Ya quoted, I was so angry that I laughed.

I originally thought she was just a pitiful person who had been abandoned by Gao Qiang, but I never expected that after she learned my true identity, she would play such a deep trick, even going so far as to drug me and sell her body.

However, to be honest, 20 million at once, let alone elegance, even a year ago, I might have gritted my teeth and sold myself.

Before I could respond, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Twenty million, that's quite a sum. I doubt even paying for a top-tier celebrity would cost that much."

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiang Man walking in. I stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

After we parted ways in the Far East, I went to get Jiang Man's contact information. I never expected that this incredibly resourceful woman would actually find Shenyang.

Gao Ya frowned slightly when she saw Jiang Man enter: "Who are you?"

Jiang Man smiled and said, "It's really hard to introduce myself in front of you. After all, you are the mother of Duan Shenxing's child, so you seem closer to me than to me, your official girlfriend."