Chapter 58
Chapter 58
“Doctor, I’d like to have some tests done.”
Zhu Yin calculated the timing. It did seem about right.
She looked up at the woman before her. Liu Ruyan’s cheeks were rosy, and happiness seemed to radiate from her entire being, making her almost glow.
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?” Zhu Yin asked as a matter of routine.
Liu Ruyan shook her head. “I haven’t had a period in almost two months. I want to know whether I’m…”
She could have bought a pregnancy test herself, but she still chose to come in for a thorough examination.
Zhu Yin wrote up the test orders for her.
Excited and expectant, Liu Ruyan covered her lower abdomen. She desperately hoped she was carrying a child–her child with Nanfeng.
Zhu Yin propped up her chin. The fingers of her right hand moved slightly, making a pen dance in intricate patterns.
Unlike the anxious Liu Ruyan, she knew for certain that Liu Ruyan was pregnant.
And this child would bring about the most insane plotline in the entire world’s course of events.
At the private hospital dedicated to serving the Li family, the Young Madam’s test results naturally came back quickly.
Liu Ruyan was ecstatic and called her husband on the spot.
The two of them were deeply in love at the moment. Li Nanfeng arrived quickly, traces of joy on his habitually expressionless face. Clearly, he was looking forward to this child too.
Zhu Yin wondered in confusion: if that was the case, why would he do something so outrageous later?
Even a vicious tiger would not devour its own cubs. Never mind a human with a soft heart of flesh and blood–even the monsters born evil that Zhu Yin had encountered knew to cherish their young.
“Doctor?”
Zhu Yin came back to herself and saw the male lead staring fixedly at her. His voice was stern. “Take good care of my wife throughout this pregnancy. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you responsible!”
Zhu Yin drawled, “Don’t worry, Mr. Li. As long as you keep your emotions under control and spend more time with your wife, nothing will go wrong with this pregnancy.”
After all, the female lead was the sort of person who could survive any hardship in the world as long as she had the male lead’s love.
Li Nanfeng felt as though she was making another veiled jab at him. But the moment anger rose and he met the doctor’s pitch-black eyes, his scalp prickled and his feet instinctively wanted to flee.
…Forget it.
Because she treasured this pregnancy so much, Liu Ruyan visited Zhu Yin particularly often.
The doctor was only a tool who existed for the sake of the plot. Although the private hospital where she worked did not forbid ordinary people from seeking treatment, its fees were outrageously high. Under normal circumstances, whenever the Li family had no medical needs, Zhu Yin had no work to do.
After becoming pregnant, the female lead finally stopped beginning and ending every sentence with “Nanfeng.” She often consulted Zhu Yin about pregnancy precautions and prenatal education, and occasionally mentioned her family.
She still had not found the Lius.
Zhu Yin discovered a new source of amusement.
When Liu Ruyan was six months pregnant, Zhu Yin discovered a tiny, faintly glowing soul inside her belly.
The soul was still weak and had yet to develop complete awareness. Every now and then, a few nearly invisible specks of light drifted from it, probing at the world beyond the womb.
Since Zhu Yin had overseen every examination throughout Liu Ruyan’s pregnancy, she could be said to know the child better than his own father did.
When the little fellow once again reached out unconsciously to explore the world, an impulse stirred in Zhu Yin’s mind. A dark orb of light–a colossal object to him–gently poked him.
Zhu Yin watched the tiny point of light startle and vanish with a whoosh.
“Ah!” Liu Ruyan suddenly covered her abdomen and cried out from her chair.
Zhu Yin innocently looked toward the ceiling. “What is it? What happened?”
The furrow in Liu Ruyan’s brow gradually smoothed out, and her face filled with delight. “He just kicked me. So hard, too.”
It had been a little uncomfortable at first, but once she realized what had happened, her maternal joy took over.
Zhu Yin said, “Mm-hmm. He’s very healthy, and very lively.”
After that first contact, the little fellow stayed quiet for several days.
But his lively nature soon revealed itself. Half a month later, when Liu Ruyan came for another examination, Zhu Yin found the little fellow probing outward again.
This time, she restrained her power with greater precision and successfully touched the hazy little soul.
“Haha, that was so much fun!” Zhu Yin shared the delightful experience with Barbara.
The system looked utterly blank. ?
Touching a soul that had yet to fully form and communicating with it? What was this? Was that something a mortal was supposed to be capable of?
It grew uneasy. “Host, that won’t hurt it, will it?”
“Of course not!” Zhu Yin puffed out her cheeks. “Barbara, are you looking down on me?”
In truth, not only had she left the amusing little fellow unharmed, but whenever the mood struck, she even fed it a little energy.
The little thing did not know fear. Once, when Zhu Yin fed it energy, it actually expressed a vague desire for the first time. “Want… want… the kind from last time.”
It had even become picky about the flavor!
Zhu Yin was petty. “No! Keep being picky and you won’t get any flavor at all!”
Under the doctor’s secret feeding, the child in Liu Ruyan’s womb developed exceptionally well.
Had he been born in a world governed by powerful martial arts, a test of his innate aptitude would undoubtedly have marked him as a rare prodigy seen only once in a century.
In this modern world, if he grew up safely, he was certain to become a little genius with exceptional health and remarkable intelligence.
The ten months of pregnancy passed in the blink of an eye.
Liu Ruyan was admitted to await delivery. The little fellow caused his mother no suffering at all and was born smoothly in less than an hour.
Unlike ordinary wrinkled newborns, his skin was fair from the moment he emerged. He opened his large, black, grape-like eyes and gazed brightly at the world.
Liu Ruyan adored him from the bottom of her heart. Even Li Nanfeng’s parents, who had always looked down on their daughter-in-law, were extremely fond of the child.
Honestly, this was the first time Zhu Yin had seen the male lead’s parents despite being in this world for so long.
Clearly, they were tools with even fewer scenes than she had. Their only role was to appear whenever the female lead needed to be tormented.
Because of the child, their attitude toward Liu Ruyan became much friendlier than before.
The servants at the Li residence had probably also realized that the young master’s birth had secured the madam’s position. None of them dared slight her as they once had.
Liu Ruyan was deeply moved. She believed her efforts had finally borne fruit and that the entire Li family had at last accepted her.
Liu Ruyan felt her life was close to perfect. Once she obtained her parents’ forgiveness, she would have no regrets at all.
Unfortunately, no one knew where her parents had moved. With all the Li family’s power, how had they failed to find even the slightest clue?
Zhu Yin, who accidentally overheard her wish: … Better that they remain unfound. Once your parents learn what happens later, I’m afraid they’ll die of rage.
A gentle touch brushed Zhu Yin’s finger. The little fellow in Liu Ruyan’s arms was reaching for her with all his might.
At the sight, Liu Ruyan grew jealous. “Doctor, I think he likes you more than anyone else–even us.”
The child became particularly lively every time Liu Ruyan brought him to the doctor for examinations or vaccinations.
The little one smiled at Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin smiled back, then suddenly asked Liu Ruyan, “Where’s Mr. Li? I don’t seem to have seen much of him lately.”
Liu Ruyan rarely heard Zhu Yin mention Li Nanfeng of her own accord. After a moment’s surprise, she replied, “His company has been rather busy lately.”
Zhu Yin regarded the chubby little fellow with some regret. “You have a very adorable son. Make sure you protect him.”
She had tried to do something before, such as preventing the child from being born, destroying Li Nanfeng’s virility, or disrupting some other part of the plot.
But apparently she could not. She had received a warning before she could act.
She could have ignored the warning, but after thinking it over, there was no need.
Clearly, inconsequential plot details could change, but the pivotal “plot points” had to occur exactly as written.
Zhu Yin discovered a loophole. “Barbara, if I can’t change this plot point, then the female lead’s wish is to have her child returned to her. But losing the child is a pivotal plot point. If an ordinary task-taker were here, how would they complete the mission?”
Barbara said, “The missions in our Supporting Role Division aren’t that hard. There’s actually a very simple solution. The female lead will be reborn. Since she can be reborn, isn’t it perfectly reasonable for the child she lost to be reincarnated into her womb again?”
Zhu Yin said, “I don’t think that’s very reasonable. I have a better solution.”