Chapter 43

Chapter 43

These reassuring words indeed comforted Pei Yuming, and he finally stopped trying to harm himself, slowly calming down.

He took the tissue handed by another Officer Gu, cleaned his face, and in the process, his reason began to return bit by bit.

He felt that Cao Lei was right: finding the murderer was the police’s job, and what he needed to do was provide them with as many clues as possible.

As it stood now, almost everyone at the dinner table tonight had been hiding something from him, except Su Jin.

Thinking of Su Jin, Pei Yuming’s emotions grew complicated. He had been far too impulsive earlier. Not only had he hit someone without clarifying the matter, but he had also beaten Lu Zixuan so badly. Although Lu Zixuan was Lu Dong’s son, he was also Su Jin’s son. Even if he didn’t care about Lu Dong, he should have considered Su Jin’s feelings.

Fortunately, he had come back in the end, and still had a chance to make amends. He silently resolved that the next time he saw Lu Zixuan, he would properly clarify everything and not act impulsively again.

It was that familiar white light again. Standing in the crowded subway, Pei Yuming actually felt a strange sense of security.

If the Flashback was giving him a chance to do things over, then it wasn’t unacceptable.

He got off the subway early again and took a taxi straight to that hospital.

He first went upstairs to look around. After confirming that his daughter hadn’t arrived yet, he waited by the side door of the lobby downstairs.

After less than ten minutes, he saw two figures enter. Lu Zixuan was holding his daughter’s hand, their behavior intimate and natural. It seemed they had been together for some time.

Pei Yuming took a few deep breaths, then followed them upstairs.

“Don’t be impulsive, don’t be impulsive…” Pei Yuming muttered to himself as he walked, but the veins on his forehead were still bulging.

The two young people entered the examination room without noticing anything. Pei Yuming hid by the door, which was slightly ajar, and he could clearly hear what was being said inside.

“When was your last period?” the doctor asked.

His daughter’s tone was uncertain. “I think it was the second of last month.”

“Are your periods usually regular? How many days is your cycle?”

“…Not very regular. Sometimes twenty-something days, sometimes over thirty. It’s not very punctual.”

“Then how do you know you’re pregnant? Did you test with a pregnancy test kit?”

“Mm.”

“Two lines?”

“Yes.”

“How many times did you test?”

“Three times.”

Pei Xiaobei’s voice was very low. Lu Zixuan hadn’t spoken since entering the room. Pei Yuming was about to push the door open when he heard his daughter ask again, “Doctor, I want to deal with it as soon as possible. Is it better to use medication or have surgery?”

“That will have to wait for the test results,” the doctor’s voice was calm with the tone of someone who had seen it all before. “Let’s do an ultrasound first, and also a blood test. We’ll decide after we’re sure.”

For a moment, there was silence in the examination room. Pei Yuming listened to the sound of keyboard typing, knowing that the doctor was writing up the orders. He clenched his fists and finally reached out to push the door open.

Although he deliberately made his movements gentle, the sudden intrusion still caused all three people inside to look over in surprise.

Pei Xiaobei recognized her father immediately, and her face turned deathly pale from fright, unable to utter a single word.

But Lu Zixuan, standing beside her, forced himself to greet him, stammering, “Uncle Pei… you… why are you here?”

Pei Yuming glared at him fiercely, then beckoned to his daughter and said in a deep voice, “Come with me. I have something to ask you.”

Pei Xiaobei’s first instinct was to obey her father, but to her surprise, the shock had made her legs so weak that she couldn’t stand up on the first try.
But how could Pei Yuming understand a young girl’s delicate thoughts? He only thought that at a time like this, she still wouldn’t listen to him. The anger pent up in his chest flared up instantly, and he couldn’t help roaring, “You disgraceful thing, get over here now! Do you want me to beat you in front of everyone?”

Lu Zixuan saw he was about to lunge forward and quickly stepped in front of Pei Xiaobei, pleading, “Uncle Pei, please calm down!”

“Get lost!” Pei Yuming shoved him aside forcefully, pointed at his nose and cursed, “You have no right to speak here. I’ll settle accounts with you later!”

Saying this, he turned around, grabbed Pei Xiaobei by the arm, and dragged her out the door.

In the hallway, there were many patients waiting for consultations and accompanying family members. Not knowing what was going on, they curiously craned their necks to look over. As soon as Pei Yuming dragged his daughter out, they became the center of attention.

Lu Zixuan followed closely, but dared not get too near, only trailing three steps behind them.

Pei Yuming dragged Pei Xiaobei to a less crowded corner and growled under his breath, “How did I raise such a shameless, self-disrespecting thing like you! Tell me, is this child his?”

Pei Xiaobei was terrified. She had never imagined her father would find out. She had originally planned to take advantage of the summer vacation to secretly get an abortion, then find an excuse to rest outside for a few days before going home. She’d checked online that it took about half a month to recover after an abortion, but she thought she’d always been physically tough, so a week’s rest would probably be enough.

But now that her father had discovered it, she felt like the sky had collapsed. A beating and scolding were unavoidable, and he would only control her even more strictly from now on. Apart from going to school, he might not even let her step outside.

She believed that, knowing her father’s temperament, he would absolutely do that.

And this incident would become a lifelong handle for her parents to hold over her. Whenever she disobeyed them in the future, they would undoubtedly bring this up again and again.

Thinking this, Pei Xiaobei was nearly desperate. She couldn’t help shedding tears, too choked up to say a single word.

“You still have the nerve to cry!” Pei Yuming’s face and neck were flushed red with agitation, but his voice was low, clearly trying to suppress it. “You thought you could do this without anyone knowing? Do you know how many eyes in this hospital can recognize you? Even if I hadn’t come today, did you think I’d never find out? Word spreads fast. Soon everyone will know that Pei Yuming’s daughter, just after graduating high school, came for an abortion. Where do you expect me to show my old face?”

Pei Xiaobei never expected that her father, upon learning this, would be most concerned about his own face. She hadn’t seen that coming.

She had thought he would at least first scold her for disobeying and doing wrong, lecture her with those big principles of his, and make her truly recognize her mistake deep down. Then, he would make a phone call, summon her mother, and completely dump the matter of her pregnancy onto her mother to handle.

Pei Xiaobei didn’t know if she had overestimated her father’s maturity or he had underestimated her sensitivity. In any case, one second she was scared to death of being found out by him, and the next second she only felt absurd. It was as if she suddenly saw clearly her father’s selfish side as a real person.

They say online that parental love is conditional. She could understand that statement, but only as an abstract concept.

But now, she seemed to truly understand it.