Before he died, my grandfather forced me to marry the richest man in the capital.

Lan Family Manor.

After Lan Yunxi finished dinner, her mother spoke to her indirectly for a few minutes, implying that she should tell Han Yue as soon as possible.

After talking with her mother, she asked her sister-in-law Yan Na. Yan Na also said that she shouldn't have kept it a secret, and that her high level of anxiety was just because she was overthinking things. With Han Yue around, that anxiety might not be there.

The scales were starting to tip, so she called her friend Tong Xuxu.

As soon as the video call connected, Tong Xuxu, wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt and boxer shorts, touched his buzz cut and smiled at Xixi, "What's up with you calling me today? I almost thought you'd forgotten about me."

Lan Yunxi grinned, though she wasn't in a very high mood. She curled her legs up and rested her chin on her hand. "Hehe, I just got back to Lan City yesterday. What are you doing?"

"I just finished showering and was about to listen to music, but what happened? Did you have a fight with your Yue-ge? You look so listless, all your energy is gone, have you been drained dry?"

"No, um, Xuxu, I have a question for you, can you help me analyze it?"

On the screen, Tong Xuxu casually jumped onto the bed, sat up, and raised an eyebrow at the screen. "Just say it. What's there to be hesitant about? If you think it's easier to talk to me because I'm a woman, then treat me like a woman. If you think it's easier to talk to me because I'm a man, then treat me like a man. With my gender, is there anything difficult for you?"

After hearing this, Lan Yunxi chuckled. "Then I told you not to be loud later, in case you attract your mother's attention."

Tong Xuxu readily agreed, "Okay, go ahead and tell me. I'll be working in Lancheng during the summer vacation. I'm currently renting a place outside. How's the environment? It's alright, isn't it? I'm planning to stop living on campus next year because I'll be working part-time and getting home quite late at night."

As she spoke, Tong Xuxu adjusted the camera and turned it around the room. The environment was quite clean. Despite being a boy, Xuxu was very particular about hygiene.

Tong Xuxu was originally supposed to graduate with her bachelor's degree this year, but Lan Yunxi suggested that she take the postgraduate entrance exam. She said that if she wanted to develop her career in a big city, there would be many bachelor's degree holders, making the competition more intense, as half of the applicants would be bachelor's degree holders.

Xuxu's family is not well-off, and her family will definitely not give her living expenses after graduation. Even now, they give her very little. Xuxu has to find her own way, either by working part-time or installing computers for others to earn extra money.

Lan Yunxi: "You didn't go home for summer vacation? Why didn't you go home?"

"Hey, it's all because my family disagreed with my plan to pursue a master's degree, and they broke up with me. They think I should earn money to support my brother and his family." Tong Xuxu calmly recounted the bitterness in her heart.

"I'm sorry, I..."

Tong Xuxu interrupted, "What are you apologizing for? You're right, I should rely on myself. Even if I go out to work now, it's fine if I can support myself, but if I can't, then I'll have to pay for my mother's upbringing. Maybe I'll have to give her a certain amount every month. I'll go to the capital with you in the future. I'll be your dowry maid or a bodyguard. In a big city like the capital, it's safer to be a graduate student, otherwise you won't even be able to pay the rent."

Lan Yunxi also felt that it was better for Xuxu to stay away from her family. "Okay, then. After you graduate, you can apply to my brother-in-law's company or Yue Ge's company."

Tong Xuxu is quite principled and doesn't plan to go to either of these two companies. They're practically relatives of him, and he can't let Xixi keep taking care of him. "That won't do. I've already graduated with a master's degree. If you arrange for me to go to these companies, I won't be able to continue studying. If you just arrange it for me directly, I can save some tuition fees."

"Okay, you're right, I was wrong."

Getting back to the main point, Tong Xuxu knew that Xixi meant well and wanted to help her, but she wanted to rely on herself. "What were you about to say to me? You've gone off on a tangent."

After a few seconds of silence, Lan Yunxi licked her already moist lips and said, "I'm pregnant."

The phone went silent, without a sound. Lan Yunxi looked up, thinking the line had dropped, but found Tong Xuxu frozen in place for a long time before she came to her senses. Lan Yunxi didn't call her during that time.

"Did I hear that right? You're pregnant? No, how did you get pregnant? Didn't you say that your brother Yue wouldn't let you get pregnant? Have you changed your mind?" Tong Xuxu had specifically asked this question before. What did Lan Yunxi say back then? She said that Han Yue was very careful and wouldn't let her get pregnant, and that he had taken all the necessary precautions.

Then, how did she get pregnant even with all the precautions in place? Did the sperm escape?

Speaking of this, Lan Yunxi coughed lightly and shyly explained the little tricks she had done, which took about two minutes to explain.

After hearing this, Tong Xuxu immediately gave Xixi a thumbs up through the screen, "Xixi, you've really impressed me after just one summer vacation. You're amazing."

"No, you're pregnant. What are you doing in Blue City? Where's your brother Yue?"

"You didn't know you were pregnant, did you?"

Lan Yunxi sighed and reiterated her concerns to Tong Xuxu, asking her to help analyze them.

"Can I ask you what you saw that made you nervous? I always need to ask you what you ate before seeing a doctor so I can prescribe the right medicine," Tong Xuxu asked half-jokingly.

Lan Yunxi rested her chin on her hand and answered honestly, "I watch TV dramas, and I also watch a lot of real documentaries, as well as some information online. It's about older women who have had miscarriages before their babies were three months old, for example, when the fetal heartbeat stopped, when the progesterone was too low, or when the baby was not fully developed. Anyway, the doctors and information online all say that the first three months are the most vulnerable time for miscarriage."

Tong Xuxu didn't understand any of this and was completely bewildered. There were so many points of knowledge involved; it was indeed quite dangerous. No wonder Xixi was so nervous; excessive focus can turn into tension.

"It would be a loss to the medical community if you didn't become a doctor. You've practically learned everything about obstetrics and gynecology just by getting pregnant."

Tong Xuxu, half-lying down, seemed to have found the problem. Looking at her crossed legs, she kept swinging them. "Actually, I don't think you need to think so much. How should I put it? I think your Yue-ge is quite reliable. I've never been in a relationship, so I don't know what you think between men and women, but I think you should tell him. Think about it, if he only finds out you have a child a few months later, if he really loves you, he'll definitely feel guilty for not spending enough time with you before. I think he'll have regrets."

After she finished speaking, Lan Yunxi looked up at her best friend, who had never been in a relationship and had a buzz cut, and suddenly realized that what she said made a lot of sense. "But..."

During our chat that evening, I could tell my friend was nervous and cautious, always thinking the worst because she cared too much. Tong Xuxu interrupted, "I know what you're worried about. You're afraid that the baby in your belly is unstable, afraid that something might happen. Have you forgotten what your family does? Besides, there aren't that many 'what ifs'. You're just overthinking it. In your situation, you should have told Yue-ge earlier. With him by your side, you'd feel safe and all these messy thoughts would disappear."

"Really, don't look at me like that. Getting pregnant isn't something that happens overnight. You said 'what if, what if,' can you guarantee that after three months it will be perfectly stable and there won't be any problems? I'm just using your 'what if' analogy, not about the baby's condition. Anyway, I just think you should tell him that even if there really is a 'what if,' he was involved."

"Also, like you said, what if something happens? He wouldn't even know anything about it, and it would definitely make him sad. That's how I see it. Of course, I'm thinking from a boy's perspective. Ultimately, it's up to you."

Tong Xuxu genuinely thought so. If he were a boy, he wouldn't want a girl to keep it a secret. If nothing goes wrong, it's fine, but if something does, it's something he'll never get over and it will become a regret.

Her mother and sister-in-law only mentioned it to her indirectly, not so directly. She was too concerned about her belly and focused on the possibility of something going wrong, on the failed documentary. Suddenly, she realized, "I think you're right. Before, I simply wanted the surprise to grow stronger first, but now I think the surprise might need Yue Ge's nurturing to grow faster."

Tong Xuxu: "Anyway, that's what I think. I don't know if it's right or wrong. You can ask your mother and your sister-in-law."

"No need to ask anymore. My mom and sister-in-law thought the same way as you, and now I think the same way as you. I'm no longer weird."

Tong Xuxu was amused by Lan Yunxi's renewed liveliness. "What's so weird about you? I think you've been very brave. You just go for what you want. It's just that you were a little timid this time. If you've thought it through, just say it. When did you become so hesitant? It's not like you at all. Pregnancy has made you timid. Besides, you two are already engaged. If your brother Yue knew, he would probably be overjoyed."

Lan Yunxi glanced at her phone screen; it was already quite late. "I'll tell him tomorrow morning. If I tell him now, he can come over tonight. Xu Xu, thank you."

"Don't mention it, I was just saying it casually from a guy's perspective. You should go to sleep now, pregnant women shouldn't overexert themselves, bye."

"Okay, bye-bye."

After figuring it out, Lan Yunxi felt much better. She put down her phone and said to her belly, "Baby, be strong. You'll see your dad touch you by tomorrow at the latest. Goodnight."

Lan Yunxi decided to check more frequently in the future, so that she could find problems earlier. This is not something that can be done carelessly; it is better to be more cautious.

This is the Han family villa area.

Han Yue lay on the bed, tossing and turning, thinking over and over again about what Ji Hancheng had said to him before he got in the car. He felt that there was a deeper meaning in it, but he just couldn't figure it out.

She sat up abruptly. It was the middle of the night, and it wasn't a good time to call the girl to ask. She figured Ji Hancheng wouldn't tell her either. She had never felt so frustrated before.

I rubbed my hair haphazardly, went straight to the bathroom, washed my face, and prepared to take a cigarette from the bedside table. After shaking it a few times, I found that the cigarettes were empty, so I opened the drawer to get a new one.

He casually grabbed a pack of cigarettes, but when he held them in his hand, he noticed they were greasy. Han Yue looked down at his hands, frowned, and squatted down to pull the drawer out a little to see what had been knocked over.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked. When he did, he was shocked and completely stunned. The balloon was defective. It wasn't leaking when he bought it.

Could it have been damaged inside the packaging and gone unnoticed?

That shouldn't be the case. This has been going on for so long without any problems, and this brand was one that he carefully selected.

Han Yue searched his mind for clues, trying to grasp every possibility. He felt a little flustered, unsure whether he was expecting or nervous. If more than one of them was leaking, then what about the ones he used with the girl before... He was so engrossed in squatting by the drawer that he forgot to get up.

The girl's return was rather rushed this time, and combined with what Ji Hancheng said that evening, Han Yue suspected that the girl might be pregnant. But if she was pregnant, why would she run away? This was something he couldn't understand.

My heart was pounding, I felt like it was going to jump out of my throat, and my hands were shaking as I held the cigarette pack.

Lan Yunxi was clever. Instead of switching the packaging, she bought something from the same brand as Han Yue's, and then disassembled and modified it. In the dark, it looked exactly the same, so Han Yue naturally couldn't tell.