“Nuan’s pregnant?” Shen Shixiu froze. He had heard Shi Yunsheng’s entire conversation with Shi Nuan earlier. A complicated look appeared on his face for a brief moment, but he immediately broke into a smile after that. “That’s great. Has the pregnancy been confirmed?”
“Nuan says Yan will take her to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow. This girl… She’s had it rough all her life, so as her grandfather, I’m happy that she’s found herself a man who loves her.” A gentle smile formed on Shi Yunsheng’s face at the mention of his beloved granddaughter. Then, he beckoned Shen Shixiu over. “Are you sure you don’t want Nuan to find out who you are? After all—”
“I’d prefer if she didn’t. I’m just relieved that she’s doing well now. Besides, I’ll be returning to the capital soon, and we may not even see each other ever again. So what’s the point in her knowing?”
Hearing that, Shi Yunsheng shook his head. “Alright then. That’s your choice. But if Nuan ever finds out…” He could already imagine the consequences if Shi Nuan were to ever find out the truth.
“Why worry about the future, Granddad? At least Nuan’s doing great now. That’s what matters the most!”
“You’re right. By the way, does Nuan’s grandpa know you’re back?”
Shen Shixiu nodded. “I’ve met him.”
“And?” Shi Yunsheng knew how much Jiang Shizheng disliked the Shen family. The man would choose not to meet Shen Shixiu if he could. Jiang Shizheng and Shi Yunsheng had gotten into a huge argument back when Shen Shixiu became Shi Yu. Jiang Shizheng had only let the matter go after knowing that Shen Shixiu didn’t harbor any ill intentions against Shi Nuan.
“Honestly, it has nothing to do with you. It’s my fault for dragging you into this, to begin with.” Shi Yunsheng still felt guilty thinking about it. After all, this whole incident really had nothing to do with Shen Shixiu from the start.
Yet, Shen Shixiu’s eyes twinkled slightly. “I willingly agreed to it back then, Granddad.”
“Then what do you intend to do about Shen Qianan?”
“I’ll take her back. She’s part of the Shen family, after all. It’s just that…” Shen Shixiu paused for a moment. “Qianan has no idea, so…”
“I know. In fact, Shen Qianan is a victim too.” Shi Yunsheng couldn’t help but let out a sigh again. “In that case, take her with you. Remember not to let anything happen between her and Nuan.”
Shen Shixiu nodded. “Don’t worry, Granddad.”
Jiang Zhan waited for Shen Shixiu outside Shi Yunsheng’s place. Upon seeing the man come out, the former hurriedly opened the door for him.
Shen Shixiu tossed his coat into the backseat and rubbed his temples upon entering the vehicle. “Fu Chengyan is currently looking into you, Sir,” he heard Jiang Zhan saying.
A cold glint flashed in Shen Shixiu’s eyes, but it disappeared almost instantly. “Let him do whatever he wants,” he responded with a smirk.
Jiang Zhan glanced at Shen Shixiu, who was seated behind. He looks especially tired today. “Ms. Lin came back from France a few days ago. She…”
Shen Shixiu opened his eyes and gave Jiang Zhan a profound glance, causing the latter to swallow whatever words he had thought of saying.
“How has Qianan been?”
“Ms. Qianan hasn’t left the house for a few days ever since she found out. What do you think, Sir?” Jiang Zhan looked at Shen Shixiu with concern. Yet, Shen Shixiu calmly switched on his tablet and asked, “How’s it going with the investigations in C Country?”
“According to the information provided by Yu Lin, Ms. Qianan rarely interacts with anyone else, but some things seem rather suspicious. For example, she had a stranger by her side back when she gave birth.” Jiang Zhan carefully observed Shen Shixiu while speaking.
Shen Shixiu raised his head slightly. “A stranger?”
“Yes. There’s also a number in her call history, but the other party seems to be extremely apt at counter-reconnaissance. Furthermore, the number’s been encrypted, so we’re currently unable to solve this. I’m sorry, Sir.”
Shen Qianan’s eyes narrowed. “No matter. Keep looking into it.” The more measures they take, the more suspicious they seem. ”Are there no leads at all on what happened to Shen Qianan in Jiang City three years ago?”
“No, Sir. After the kidnapping incident, Fu Chengyan did look into it for a while. But then, it seems like Ms. Qianan eventually didn’t want the investigations to continue. She even had Fu Chengyan destroy all the necessary evidence. That’s why we’re having a hard time figuring things out now.”
“We’ll have to find out what happened no matter how difficult things get. Keep focusing on C Country, and look into anyone whom Shen Qianan has ever come into contact with.”
“Yes, Sir.”
…
The next day, Fu Chengyan brought Shi Nuan to Su Shaoqing’s hospital for her checkup. Su Shaoqing had long made all the arrangements for them. Fu Chengyan waited outside while Shi Nuan took a blood test.
This was the first time Fu Chengyan felt time seem to pass incredibly slowly. He stood outside, constantly paying attention to what was happening inside the room and waiting anxiously like a complete newbie. It was also Su Shaoqing’s first time seeing Fu Chengyan pace up and down like that.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see this day, Chengyan!”
Fu Chengyan glanced at Su Shaoqing and scoffed upon seeing that playful demeanor of his. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s not like you have a wife,” he remarked in a tone so haughty that he didn’t sound nervous at all.
Hearing that, Su Shaoqing couldn’t help but get worked up. “Hey, hey, hey. How could you say such a thing? Besides, you’re in my hospital now. I could mess things up for you, you know?” he threatened with an innocent smile.
Fu Chengyan snorted. “You wouldn’t dare! Honestly, Ling would’ve been better off asking me for help directly instead of going through you.”
“You…” Su Shaoqing raised a fist a waved it in front of Fu Chengyan. “You must feel so great about being married, huh? Just wait till I get married too!”
“You?” Fu Chengyan eyed Su Shaoqing from head to toe. “Who’s your woman?”
Upon being roasted by Fu Chengyan, Su Shaoqing’s face turned grim. “Isn’t it Ling?”
Fu Chengyan continued to smirk coldly. The sneer in his eyes made Su Shaoqing extremely agitated. “What’s with that look?”
Fu Chengyan retracted his gaze and put a hand inside his pocket. Despite looking nonchalant, his sweaty palms reflected how frantic he truly was. However, Su Shaoqing didn’t seem to notice that at all. All he felt now was chagrin after being provoked by Fu Chengyan.
“Nothing.” Fu Chengyan shook his head and paused. “Are you sure you’ll be able to take care of Ling?”
“You don’t need to bother with my affairs. I think you should be worrying about yourself! You haven’t even settled matters with Shen Qianan. Are you sure the Fu clan will accept Shi Nuan?”
Su Shaoqing’s concerns weren’t unreasonable. Fu Zhengyun alone was already a tough opponent to deal with; what more to say for a woman like Song Zhenyan?
Fu Chengyan glanced at Su Shaoqing indifferently. “You don’t have to worry about that.” Truthfully, he didn’t really care about how the Fu clan felt. It was just a matter of whether they were satisfied or not. Even if they weren’t, it didn’t matter to Fu Chengyan.
Shi Nuan exited the room in the middle of their conversation. Fu Chengyan immediately ditched Su Shaoqing, walked toward Shi Nuan, and held onto her. “How did it go? Are you feeling tired?”
“Not at all.” Shi Nuan smiled hopelessly. “Stop worrying! It’s just a checkup.”
“We still have to be careful. Do you want some water?” While speaking, Fu Chengyan picked up a huge bag from the seat next to him, opened it up, and handed Shi Nuan a thermos flask. “Here. Have some warm water. It’s not very hot.”
With a faint smile, Shi Nuan took the flask and drank a few sips. “The checkup’s all done, right?” Shi Nuan asked Su Shaoqing.
Yet, the whole time, Su Shaoqing’s eyes remained on the huge bag Fu Chengyan was holding. He then gazed at Fu Chengyan before turning to the bag once again, his lips twitching. “What’s with that, Chengyan? Why did you prepare all that stuff? You don’t even know if she’s pregnant yet!” Yet, Fu Chengyan stared at Su Shaoqing as though he was an idiot, infuriating the latter. “Even if Shi Nuan really is pregnant, it’s still way too early! You won’t need all that stuff!”
“What do you know? It’s not like you’ve ever been a father. You have no right to tell me any of this.” Fu Chengyan dealt another blow to Su Shaoqing, causing the latter’s face to darken. “No, wait,” Fu Chengyan added. “First of all, you’d have to be married.”
Su Shaoqing was rendered speechless.
So was Shi Nuan.
The woman looked up at Fu Chengyan. For the first time, she realized that her husband was a little too sharp-tongued.
Fu Chengyan gazed at her softly. “What’s wrong?”
Shi Nuan shook her head and handed the thermos flask back to him. “Since the checkup’s all done, when will the results be out?”
“Honestly, a pregnancy checkup is but a simple process. Chengyan here is just being a drama king, insisting on having you go through every single test.” Su Shaoqing glanced at Fu Chengyan with disdain. The man was all smiles the moment he turned to Shi Nuan. “Don’t you worry, Shi Nuan. I’ll pester them for you. You should be able to get your pregnancy test results ASAP, but I can’t say the same for the other tests.”
As he spoke, Su Shaoqing saw the attending doctor of the obstetrics and gynecology department exit the room. “Dr. Yu!”
Yu Qing stopped in her tracks. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes upon seeing Su Shaoqing, but she walked over to his side anyway. “Is something the matter, Dr. Su?” She observed Shi Nuan and the man next to her. Fu Chengyan, who was standing beside Shi Nuan, had a formidable presence, looking especially protective of his wife. Yu Qing’s instincts told her that this man was extremely dangerous.
However, the way he cared for Shi Nuan was the complete opposite of the powerful aura he exuded.
Su Shaoqing nodded. “When will Shi Nuan’s test results be out?”
“It’ll be ready right away.” While speaking, Yu Qing’s gaze fell on Shi Nuan.
While inside the examination room, she had already felt that Shi Nuan was especially good-looking. But now, the woman appeared even more beautiful than before.
“Well, according to my experience, I can confirm that Ms. Shi is expecting.”
