novelraw Chapter 60 A Difficult Choice
Chapter 60 A Difficult Choice
"Hmm." Lu Xiran nodded gently in his arms, snuggling closer to him. "I've also done some research privately. My mom and my grandfather... probably trusted my dad too much, and didn't leave any loopholes in the legal procedures. Now, whether from a legal or moral standpoint, I can't decide the ownership of that land on my own. If we go to court, we might get a little more, but it's time-consuming and exhausting, and it might also affect your project."
She sighed, a hint of resigned acceptance in her voice: "Fine. As long as the small plot of land next to Yunyuji, the one my grandfather gave me for my eighteenth birthday, can be saved, that's enough. As for the rest, let's just consider it... a way of putting an end to things for my mother and grandfather."
The more sensible and yielding she was, the more Gu Yanshen felt a dull ache in his heart, as if something was blocking it. He tightened his arms, holding her firmly in his embrace, as if this could make up for something, and assured her in a deep voice, "Ranran, don't worry. What belongs to you, I will definitely protect for you. Yunyuji, and that piece of land next to it, I will never let anyone touch it."
"Okay," Lu Xiran leaned against his chest and replied softly.
When Lu Xiran received Jin Qiqi's call, the voice on the other end was hoarse and broken, completely lacking its usual vitality. She rushed to Jin Qiqi's house, pushed open the door, and the scene before her made her heart sink.
The curtains were drawn, the light was dim, and a sense of despondency permeated the air.
Jin Qiqi was curled up in the corner of the sofa, still wearing a wrinkled silk nightgown. Her usually carefully styled chestnut curly hair was disheveled, and she had no makeup on. There were obvious dark circles under her eyes, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was streaked with tears.
Where is the Jin family's eldest daughter, who always had impeccable makeup, was bright and flamboyant, and seemed to have her own spotlight?
"Qiqi?" Lu Xiran called softly, walked over quickly, and first pulled back a corner of the curtain to let in some afternoon light.
Jin Qiqi just stared blankly at her movements until Lu Xiran brought her a glass of warm water and placed it in her icy hands. Only then did she flinch as if burned, raise her head, and look empty in the eye.
"Ranran," she began, her voice dry and hoarse like sandpaper, "I've gotten into trouble."
Lu Xiran sat down beside her and took her other cold hand in hers: "What happened?"
In Lu Xiran's memory, Jin Qiqi was a fearless little sun who could smile and bear even if the sky were to fall.
But at this moment, she was shrouded in a layer of gray despair.
Jin Qiqi's lips trembled a few times, as if she had used all her strength to squeeze out a few words from her throat:
"I am pregnant."
Lu Xiran's pupils contracted sharply, and her grip on her hand tightened involuntarily: "...Gu Yanxu's?"
Jin Qiqi closed her eyes, nodded, and large tears rolled down her cheeks without warning.
Does he know?
Jin Qiqi shook her head, raised her hand and wiped her face haphazardly, but the more she wiped, the wetter she became. "We... broke up the day before yesterday."
"Why?" Lu Xiran pressed, a bad feeling already creeping into her heart.
"Why?" Jin Qiqi repeated, then suddenly forced a smile that was more like a grimace. "We agreed from the beginning that it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, no feelings involved, and certainly no future. He's a notorious playboy, I know that..." Her voice began to tremble. "But the night before last, someone sent me photos... He was at Su Wanqing's private dinner party, embracing another woman, laughing so happily... At that moment, I realized I couldn't take it, I fucking couldn't take it!"
She choked back tears, her words incoherent: "I must be crazy! No... it's hormones! It must be the hormones from pregnancy that's making me so irrational! I only found out last night... I'm pregnant..." She finally broke down, covering her face, her shoulders trembling violently, suppressed sobs leaking from between her fingers.
Lu Xiran tenderly embraced her, letting her lean on her shoulder and gently patting her back: "Don't cry, Qiqi, don't be afraid... Let's not think about those things for now. Now, what do you think? Do you want this child?"
Jin Qiqi cried for a long time before she gradually calmed down, but her eyes were even more swollen.
She pulled away from Lu Xiran's embrace, leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, her voice hoarse yet unusually clear:
"It's gone."
Lu Xiran's breath hitched: "Have you thought this through? After all, this is..."
"Of course I've thought it through!" Jin Qiqi sat up abruptly, her tone agitated, yet tinged with a defiant ruthlessness. "I refuse to have a child with that spoiled brat, that heartless, fickle bastard! He doesn't deserve it! Why should my life, Jin Qiqi's life, be hijacked by an accident and a scumbag!"
But after she finished speaking, she deflated and slumped back, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her nightgown, where a life was quietly taking root, even though it was still flat.
Lu Xiran noticed the struggle beneath her forced composure and didn't immediately refute her. Instead, she asked, "Then... did you make a reservation? I'll go with you."
Jin Qiqi nodded silently, and after a while, she said in a low voice, "We made plans for the afternoon. Ranran... will you come with me? I'm a little scared to go alone."
"Okay." Lu Xiran held her hand, offering silent support.
Jin Qiqi, holding the appointment slip, sat with Lu Xiran on the soft sofa in the waiting area, but her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the promotional posters hanging on the wall. The images included close-ups of mothers tenderly gazing at newborns, fathers awkwardly but lovingly holding swaddled babies, and silhouettes of families of three snuggling together... Sunlight streamed through the glass frames, casting a warm glow.
As she looked around, her fingers quietly touched her still flat stomach. She could feel nothing there, yet her palm seemed to sense a faint pulse belonging to another life. A strange and surging emotion swept over her without warning—not hatred or resentment towards Gu Yanxu, but a pure, almost instinctive pity and reluctance to part.
This is her child, a tiny life quietly growing inside her.
This realization made her heart clench, and her eyes welled up with tears again.
"Qiqi?" Lu Xiran noticed her unusual behavior and called out softly.
"I...I'm going to the restroom." Jin Qiqi stood up abruptly, almost fleeing in panic.
In the bathroom, she locked the door, leaned against the cold tiled wall, and slowly slid down to the floor. Finally, she no longer needed to pretend, and tears streamed down her face. She pressed her hands tightly against her lower abdomen, imagining that a tiny heart might already be beating inside, tiny hands and feet taking shape... The urge to protect this life almost overwhelmed all reason and anger.
"I'm sorry..." She buried her face in her knees, weeping silently, murmuring to the unborn life she had never met, "I'm sorry... I don't know what to do..."
Meanwhile, at the other end of the corridor.
As Xue Jingyan passed by the obstetrics and gynecology waiting area, his gaze swept across the room and he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure—Lu Xiran.