Yu Qian has been having severe bouts of nausea these past few days, and her period is almost eight days late.
Reminded of two weeks ago, the night the man returned from Hong Kong, he was eager and aggressive. The precautions were not fully in place, and she fears she might be pregnant.
Considering the gossiping coworkers at the hospital, after work, Yu Qian made a detour to an outside pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test stick.
After returning home, Yu Qian headed straight to the bathroom.
Waiting for the results in the next few minutes, Yu Qian was highly tense. At this moment, the phone in the other room suddenly began to vibrate relentlessly –
'Buzz, buzz, buzz...'
A knot tightened in Yu Qian’s heart, but she paid it no mind, bending her head down to check the results of the pregnancy test.
The pregnancy test stick typically gives the most accurate results after five minutes. Yu Qian checked the time. Anxious, there were still two minutes left.
At the same time, the phone from the other room kept ringing non-stop. The buzzing vibration and the ringing irritated Yu Qian more, making her restless.
Worried that it might be something important, Yu Qian went and picked up the phone.
Seeing the caller ID, Yu Qian resisted, not wanting to answer, but it seemed like the other party would not give up until it was answered. Eventually, Yu Qian pressed the answer button, tiredly saying, "Mom."
The sound of Liu Wanmin crying came from the other side of the phone: "Qian Qian, your uncle's illness has flared up again, he attacked me with a glass and burnt me with fire, there's so much blood on me, it hurts...please come back quickly to the Li family..."
Yu Qian tightened her grip on the phone abruptly: "Find a place to hide as quickly as possible, ensuring your safety, I will immediately..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the call was abruptly interrupted on the other side.
In the final moment before the call was cut, Yu Qian clearly heard a chilling scream.
Yu Qian's heart sank, and without bothering about anything else, she rushed out of the door without even changing her slippers.
Not long after she left, the pregnancy test on the washbasin showed a result.
...
The ride back to the Li residence was a long one.
By the time Yu Qian arrived at the Li residence, dusk had set in and the skies began to shower lightly.
As she pushed opened the car door, the biting cold air hit her straight on. Without a hint of color on her face, she ran into the house against the harsh showers.
She quickly found the door to Liu Wanmin's room. Seeing the door slightly ajar, a bad premonition began to rise in Yu Qian's heart.
She reached out and pushed the door open abruptly, only to be faced with a scene that made her blood run cold.
"Qianqian is back."
Liu Wanmin, lying on the couch shelling pumpkin seeds, looked up to find a disheveled Yu Qian standing in the doorway. Throwing away her pumpkin seeds, Liu Wanmin sat up, "Don't just stand at the door, it's cold outside. Come in."
As soon as she opened the door and saw Liu Wanmin calmly lying there, Yu Qian realized she was duped.
All the stories about getting cut by glass, getting burned were lies to trick her.
Yu Qian suppressed her rising anger, her face stern. Taking a step inside, she asked, "Mother, why did you lie to me like this? Do you realize..."
"Ah, stop making a big deal about it. You see, my trick worked. I called, you came." Liu Wanmin poured a hot cup of tea and handed it to Yu Qian. "You're not happy to see your mother safe and sound?"
Liu Wanmin's face was radiant with a beaming smile. Having born a son and a daughter, Liu Wanmin still maintained a decent figure, especially her taut skin that didn't reveal her middle age.
Yui Qian withdrew her gaze, numbly accepting the cup of hot tea.
Li Wan Min touched Yui's ice-cold hands and quickly held onto them: "Why are your hands so cold?"
Only then did Li notice that Yui's hair was also wet: "You're a grown woman, shouldn't I have to remind you to use an umbrella when it's raining?"
While speaking, she took a handkerchief to wipe Yui's face.
Yui evaded: "I was worried about you, so I rushed back."
Li's hand that was extended into mid-air froze and her face was embarrassed: "I didn't mean to deceive you. See how many times I have called you, and you never came back. I had no choice but to use this method to trick you into returning."
Actually, Yui was not as calm as she seemed on the outside. She was furious inside, but the person in front of her was her mother who had given birth to her and raised her, so what could she say?
Suppressing the bitterness within her heart, Yui put the hot tea back: "Since you're fine, I'll go ahead and leave."
She turned to leave.
Behind her, Li's reprimanding voice came out: "Go back? Where do you think you're going? Isn't the Li family your home?"
Yui stopped in her tracks: "It's your home, not mine."
Her birth father's surname was Yui, thus she was Yui Qian; she should have grown up in the Yui family. It was only when Li Wan Min remarried into the Li family that she followed.
When Yui was eight years old, Li insisted on having Yui's custody rights, that's why Yui always thought that Li loved her very much.
"Yui Qian, stand right there!" Li, infuriated and distressed, caught up to her.
But Yui didn't listen. As she was about to leave the room, she heard Li's desperate voice—
"Yinglou has returned to the country."
Yu Qian paused her steps, stopping herself at the doorway.
Liu Wanmin came around to Yu Qian, placing her hand on the door and closing it. She noticed Yu Qian's expressionless face, bringing discomfort to her heart, "I don't believe that you've truly forgotten what happened that night."
Old memories, they either bring a sense of melancholy or leave you feeling ashamed.
Clearly, the night Liu Wanmin mentioned was the latter for Yu Qian.
Yu Qian closed her eyes tightly, "Mom, it has been a long time since that incident, I believe that big brother should have forgotten it too."
"Forgotten? Li Yinglou took advantage of my innocent daughter and fled overseas without taking any responsibility. He has been gone for three years, now that he has returned, do you think I can just let it go?"
Her harsh words and stern expression intensified to the point where she was almost spitting in anger.
If there were others present, they would certainly believe that Liu Wanmin was an extraordinary mother, heart set on supporting her daughter in order to seek justice for her.
However, Yu Qian calmly retorted, "Wasn't it you who gave me that cup of tea that night, mom?"
Liu Wanmin's agitation was immediately stopped, "I…"
Yu Qian replied word for word, "That night, I cried and begged you to take me away, but you sent me to Li Yinglou's room. He is my cousin in name."
Liu Wanmin was flustered, "QianQian, I didn't know that was Yinglou's room either, I thought it was the rest room, I sent you to the wrong room."
Yu Qian corners of her lips curled up with a touch of sarcasm, "Yes, sent to the wrong room."
Liu Wanmin didn't dwell on the deeper meaning behind those words.
In short, her initial objective had been reached - it was a done deal that her daughter had slept with Li Yinglou!
Initially, with such a bargaining chip, Liu Wanmin planned to publicly force Li Yinglou to marry Yu Qian. But unexpectedly, Li Yinglou left the country the day after the incident, leaving Liu Wanmin's plan in vain.
But Liu Wanmin didn't give up just like that.
She had been waiting for a solid three years.
Now, Li Yinglou has finally returned to the country!
Charged up like she was injected with adrenaline, Liu Wanmin immediately pushed Yu Qian: "Qianqian, don’t speak of this, hurry and go change your clothes, I have prepared the fruit plate ahead of time, you take it up to Yinglou."
Yu Qian abruptly turned around, a face of disbelief staring at Liu Wanmin, her voice shattered: "Mom, he is my cousin, besides, that incident has been so long ago."
Yet Liu Wanmin reminded her: "Remember that your last name is Yu, you need to realize your own identity, in the Li family, you're an outsider, you don't carry the Li family bloodline."
Yu Qian was taken aback, without a comeback.
Liu Wanmin didn't feel she said anything wrong: "Also, since both of you have slept together, are you willing to have nothing to show for these three years? Don’t you want a title?"
