Chapter 16 You're so worried about him? At worst, you can just give birth there...
Tao Bei watched Zhou Yuanli's hypocritical demeanor from the side, unable to hide his contempt.
If it weren't for his interference, would the employer have suffered such a serious miscarriage last time?
The old man took a breath and Zhou Yuanli considerately helped him sit down: "I know whose child this is. She is now your sister-in-law. Such a scandal must never be exposed."
"Grandpa!" Qin Lingchuan stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking. He couldn't reveal Youzhen's identity yet; he had to ensure her safety before dealing with Zhou Yuanli.
This has always been the Zhou family tradition, dating back to his father's generation. If it were just for a woman, it would be fine, since it doesn't involve marriage, and the old man would just turn a blind eye.
But if they actually have a child and start arguing about it, Youzhen's situation will probably be very difficult.
"Grandpa! The child is Youzhen's." However, he couldn't let people frame him.
"Oh? Not Ruozhen, but Youzhen? Aren't you engaged to Ruozhen?" The old man was a little confused.
Zhou Yuanli's expression changed along with the old man's emotions.
"Alright, alright, if that's the case, things are easier to handle. Now that Youzhen is dead, the child in your womb is a posthumous child. No matter what, we must first give it a proper status."
Zhou Yuanli chimed in, "Yes, brother."
Then, Zhou Qingyue revealed his true purpose: "How about this, there is an order of seniority. Before your second brother gets engaged, your matter needs to be settled first. I will step in and get your matter with that girl from the Li family settled as soon as possible."
After the old man finished speaking, he prepared to leave; he hadn't come to discuss anything.
Qin Lingchuan stepped forward and took over from Zhou Yuanli to help him up, saying with some determination, "Grandpa, the Zhou family doesn't need marriage alliances to consolidate its power right now. Since I was already engaged to the Xia family, whether it's my older sister or younger sister, I can't just get engaged to someone else in less than half a year. If outsiders find out, they'll say we treat marriage like a game, which would be even more detrimental to the Zhou family's reputation."
The old man is very concerned about his reputation, and these words really struck a chord with him.
"So, what do you mean by 'what should we do'?"
Qin Lingchuan felt a wave of nausea rise up, so he pressed his fist against the corner of his lips to calm himself down. He then said nonchalantly, "In short, I assure you that this child will not be unacknowledged before he is born, and he is definitely not an illegitimate child."
"How can you guarantee that you can conjure Xia Youzhen back to life? Besides, how are you going to get through these next few months? You have no one to take care of you; you're just asking for trouble!"
Zhou Qingyue deeply resented men getting pregnant, feeling inferior to them. Now that his eldest grandson, whom he had valued and returned to revive the Zhou family, was also pregnant, how could he not be furious?
Seeing that the old man hesitated to speak, Qin Lingchuan earnestly comforted him, "Aren't you happy to have a great-grandson?"
A glimmer of light finally appeared in Zhou Qingyue's gray eyes: "Are you sure it's a boy?"
"This... is probably it."
Tao Bei stepped forward and reminded him, "Boss, the media have all arrived."
Qin Lingchuan helped the old man downstairs, and sure enough, the courtyard was full of media from all walks of life, holding microphones and carrying cameras.
Today is the day the Zhou family's research team sets off for the Arctic region, where rare porcelain clay can be found.
Moreover, the Zhou family also wanted to take the opportunity to promote their charitable cause and jointly run projects with local residents.
Zhou Yuanli knew that his morning sickness hadn't subsided, so she specially arranged an interview early in the morning to embarrass him in public.
Originally, the old man was supposed to punish him first, preferably by making him abort the child, but to everyone's surprise, he calmed him down with just a few words.
Modern high-definition cameras can even see the pores on a face. Those horizontally positioned phones are probably live-streaming.
Although they received news that President Qin was pregnant, no one believed it.
Reporters both hoped that he was really pregnant, as such explosive news would guarantee a lot of clicks; but secretly they didn't want him to be pregnant.
They could hardly imagine what it would look like if President Qin, with his impeccable appearance, had a ball hanging in front of him.
They will not allow such a thing to happen.
Besides, someone like President Qin shouldn't lack women eager to have his children.
They've already started treating that unfounded rumor about President Qin's girlfriend as a potential enemy, even though it's completely baseless.
Qin Lingchuan straightened his tie and strode out.
He knew the cameras were all focused on his lower abdomen. The custom-made suit looked fantastic on him; the cinched waist and stiffened fabric visually deceived the eye.
However, he knew perfectly well that no matter how expensive the suit, beneath it was no longer a smooth, flat surface, but a taut, undeniable curve. A physiological fact that was meticulously concealed by carefully tailored fabrics and optical tricks, yet could never be erased.
Photos of President Qin riding a horse with his eight-pack abs are circulating online; everyone knows he has a great physique.
A flat stomach and firm shoulders and back—he looks more like a pregnant man than a pregnant man.
He can just spout off without thinking.
Without even having breakfast that morning, Zhou Yuanli generously used other people's money to have the housekeeper bring over the prepared mutton soup, intending to treat the media to breakfast after the event.
Qin Lingchuan announced the start of the new project in an orderly manner, but a sudden soreness rose in his throat, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge of the podium.
He keenly noticed that a camera was panning down to his left rear, pointing at his clenched fist, and then casually relaxed it.
He was about to gag, and Qin Lingchuan paused in the middle of the sentence.
In reality, no one noticed under everyone's watchful eyes. He himself was exceptionally sensitive and tried his best to hide it, pretending to cough in the wind and readjusting his expression.
He tried to keep his speech short, and as the last word fell to the ground, the discomfort seemed to dissipate.
Qin Lingchuan stood behind Zhou Qingyue, and then the old man announced the personnel selected for this business trip.
Xia Youzhen, who had been watching the live stream from inside the house, ran straight to the second floor as soon as she heard that her senior brother was going.
Outside, there was a great deal of noise, mostly polite greetings and congratulations.
Qin Lingchuan never did such futile work, and it was simply too much for him to handle. The moment the applause began, he turned and went into the hall.
Cold sweat seeped out. Seeing this, Tao Bei immediately turned his back to block the camera and helped him into the house.
When no one was watching, Zhou Yuanli unintentionally revealed a triumphant smile.
The old man naturally didn't want to make a fuss, only saying that his eldest grandson had been working hard for days, thus sending the media away. He was even more dissatisfied with Qin Lingchuan.
Qin Lingchuan himself didn't know what was happening; it felt like a dull knife was cutting back and forth inside his abdomen.
Tao Bei helped him lean against the headboard and tried to untie the bandages: "Master, I've already told you. It's been almost five months, you can't keep him tied up like this."
Before she could finish speaking, Xia Youzhen suddenly came running over.
Qin Lingchuan reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, quickly pulling the blanket over her pregnant belly.
"Qin Lingchuan, why did you send my senior brother again? He can't go!" Youzhen said anxiously. The Arctic Circle is nearby; what kind of environment is that? Besides, she'd heard that the charity project's headquarters didn't even have electricity or running water.
Qin Lingchuan asked in a deep voice, "You watched the live stream?"
Youzhen nodded: "Senior brother has already been punished by the family law, and his injuries haven't healed yet. He's already been traveling for many days. Now, before he can even catch his breath, he's going to go to such a harsh place again. How can that be allowed?"
“Our boss is also not well…” Tao Bei began to speak, but Qin Lingchuan raised his hand to stop him.
Qin Lingchuan silently dressed, carefully adjusting the angle so she couldn't see the curve, and got off the bed.
He approached Youzhen step by step, and only then did Youzhen smell the medicinal odor in the room.
Qin Lingchuan asked, half mocking and half resentful, "You're so worried about him?"
For some reason, Youzhen suddenly felt a little guilty, as if the answer to this question was very important.
She said it was neither "yes" nor "no"; in that moment of distraction, she noticed the medical supplies and medicines by the bedside, and his pale lips.
Is he also feeling unwell?
In his eyes, her hesitation was already the answer.
Qin Lingchuan said defiantly, "Fine! I'll go myself then. You don't care anyway. I'll just give birth there."
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