Shen Muzhi's face was grim. "How do you know that our marriage will be the next mistake?"
Xiang Zhilan looked at him with a puzzled expression. Was there even a question? Wasn't it obvious? There was no affection between them, and they had such a terrible start.
“We really don’t need to be tied together for the sake of the child. If you want, the child can still call you Dad. You can come to see him or take him back to live with you if you want.” Xiang Zhilan thought she was being reasonable. Seeing his face getting darker and darker, she even said, “You can have him take the surname Chen if you want.”
This is already her biggest concession; apart from having custody of the child, she has given up on everything else.
"Do you think it would have been better if I hadn't come back from Syria?" When Shen Muzhi heard that she would rather make concessions step by step than marry him, he gripped the wheelchair tire so tightly that he almost crushed it, his knuckles turning white and protruding, which was somewhat frightening.
"How could that be? I never thought of it that way." Hearing him say that, Xiang Zhilan felt like he was stabbing her in the heart. In the days since she learned of his accident, she had been so guilty that she hadn't slept well, always feeling that she was the one who killed him.
Now that she saw him back, the weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted.
Seeing that she hurriedly denied it, Shen Muzhi's expression softened slightly. At least she didn't want him to die, and things weren't at their worst yet.
"I did accidentally drink the medicine on the cruise ship that day, but it wasn't to the point of being uncontrollable." Shen Muzhi didn't want to blame the medicine, although that might have been part of the reason. But the main reason was that he saw Xiang Zhilan's deep and tender love for Feng Jingxian.
His anger fueled the drug's effects, making it even more potent, but as he entered her, he was acutely aware of his own will, her despair, and her resistance. It would be despicable to blame everything on the drug.
"What do you mean?" Xiang Zhilan had already found a reason not to hate him so much. She only hoped that they would never cross paths again. Why was it so difficult?
“At the time, I thought that this might be the only way to keep you by my side.” He felt that if he didn’t do this, he might see her marry Feng Jingxian and have children, and then have nothing to do with him anymore. So he took advantage of the situation and forced her to have sex with him.
With his level of self-control, it was impossible for him to be truly manipulated by the drug and lose his rationality. When he did it, he had already considered several possible outcomes.
"Heh," Xiang Zhilan scoffed sarcastically. She didn't know whether to call him shameless or admire his sense of responsibility and willingness to take on challenges.
Shen Muzhi pushed the wheelchair closer to her, raised his hand to her belly, and gently placed it on it. With this child, she could no longer sever ties with him. "The child needs a birth permit to be born. You have no choice but to marry me."
"Who said that?" Xiang Zhilan disliked the feeling of being forced into this situation. She bit her lip, raised her chin slightly, and looked at Shen Muzhi with a stubborn and unyielding gaze, saying, "Do you believe that if I wanted to, even with a pregnant belly, I could find many men who are truly willing to be the father of my child?"
"You dare?" Shen Muzhi's face was as cold as an icy pool, and his whole body emanated a chill.
“What do I have to be afraid of?” Xiang Zhilan retorted angrily, she hated being coerced the most.
"Hehe," Shen Muzhi actually suppressed his coldness and chuckled twice.
Xiang Zhilan felt that the laughter was mocking her for overestimating herself, and she was so angry that her face turned red. She picked up the basket and ran away.
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