Witnessing the struggle on the girl’s small face and her expression of self-loathing, Qin Nanfeng’s heart ached with pain.
He wanted to explain, but opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to utter a single word.
It was his fault. He had promised to protect her forever…
But he had fled at the critical moment, causing the girl to end up in such a state.
Therefore, Qin Nanfeng felt there was no need for hypocritical explanations; that would only deepen the rift between them.
Lin Xinyuan looked at the man who still remained silent, and the erosion in her mind intensified. She wanted to leave this place.
‘I wish… I wish I had never existed…’
‘Then… it wouldn’t hurt anymore, right?’
Thinking almost self-torturingly, she tried to push herself up under Qin Nanfeng’s gaze.
But at that moment, she forgot her situation.
As she struggled to stand, her center of gravity became unstable and she was about to fall.
Fortunately, Qin Nanfeng was quick-eyed and caught her in time.
“Don’t touch me…”
Lin Xinyuan muttered, instinctively slapping his arm away, a look of terror on her face.
Even though she knew Qin Nanfeng meant well, she couldn’t control her emotions.
“Where are you going?” Qin Nanfeng’s expression was dark and unreadable as he tightly grasped Lin Xinyuan’s hand.
“It’s none… none of your business…”
Lin Xinyuan’s expression was pained. The entanglement and merging of memories, all kinds of past events, made her mind ache.
She didn’t want to lose her temper at Qin Nanfeng, but thinking of his face in her memories, filled with disgust, her heart burned as if roasted on a fire, hurting so much she couldn’t even groan.
Seeing that Qin Nanfeng had no intention of letting go, she was about to get angry.
But at that moment, a wave of nausea swept through her mind, making her body tremble uncontrollably.
“Ugh…”
Stomach acid churned as Lin Xinyuan dry-heaved violently, unsure if it was self-disgust, morning sickness, or both.
It was only then that she gradually remembered a fact…
She… she was pregnant…
‘I can’t… I can’t let anything happen…’
‘I can’t let the child get hurt…’
For a moment, Lin Xinyuan’s thoughts were chaotic, unable to stop recalling those memories.
Her expression shifted between gloom and uncertainty. She pressed her hands firmly against her head to make herself feel better.
“Mm… hmm…”
Nausea, self-loathing, and various negative emotions clung to her mind like stubborn poison, torturing her spirit…
But in the end, all of that was suppressed by the guilt in her heart and the maternal love for her child.
Watching the girl in such pain, Qin Nanfeng’s heart bled and throbbed.
He could no longer control himself and pulled her into his arms, as if to ease her suffering.
“Xiaoyuan, no matter what… don’t hurt yourself… okay…”
His tone was full of pain and pleading, instantly making Lin Xinyuan’s struggling movements pause.
At that moment, memories of this life—the man and her, every detail—flashed through her mind, temporarily covering the painful ones.
Even though she had been shattered by the hurt, for some reason… she didn’t want to leave his embrace.
‘Am I being pathetic?’
Lin Xinyuan laughed bitterly inwardly, but her hands instinctively wrapped around the man’s solid waist. Clingingness and fear made her not want to let go.
And so, who knows how long passed, the thunderstorm outside subsided, and her emotions seemed to gradually calm down. The nauseous feeling weakened.
She didn’t want to say anything more. She just weakly nestled in Qin Nanfeng’s warm embrace, like a tired doll, with no energy left to struggle.
Even when Qin Nanfeng subsequently carried her back to the bed and covered her with the blanket, she still had no reaction.
She silently closed her almond-shaped eyes, and her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly.
Seeing this, Qin Nanfeng breathed a sigh of relief.
As he had expected, after fully recovering her memories, perhaps deeply affected by the emotions in those memories, Lin Xinyuan’s reaction was intense.
But even so, it was a temporary calm, still within controllable limits.
Qin Nanfeng knew that his Xiaoyuan hadn’t truly moved on; she was just compromising for the time being, tethered by the child.
He knew this method worked, but precisely because he knew it, he found his plan disgusting.
But… at least it was useful, right? So that was enough.
So, disgusting or not, he was never a good person anyway… just a selfish bastard…
The night passed without words. When light streamed in through the window, a new day began.
Last night, Qin Nanfeng had practically watched the girl finally fall asleep from exhaustion, while he himself had not slept again.
Now that it had come to this, he had no heart to go to work.
He temporarily handed over affairs to his subordinates and decided to accompany his wife for the time being.
At least until the child was born…
No matter what, he couldn’t rest easy…
First, he called his mother, telling Mother Qin not to come today—he could take care of things.
Then he got up to prepare breakfast for Lin Xinyuan.
“Xiaoyuan, get up and eat.”
Qin Nanfeng’s tone was no different from before, still as gentle, as if last night had been a dream.
Lin Xinyuan was startled awake, her expression dazed and cute.
But as soon as she saw Qin Nanfeng, her face immediately turned strange.
In the end, she barely managed to stay calm. With Qin Nanfeng’s help, she slowly sat up and softly responded, “Mm…”
“I know…” As if remembering something, she couldn’t help adding, but her tone was noticeably colder than before, as if she didn’t want to see the man either.
Yet despite appearing so calm, her hands were tightly clenched, and her eyes were evasive.
“Good girl.” Qin Nanfeng had no sense of boundaries.
He casually tousled her hair, causing Lin Xinyuan to lose focus for a moment.
She gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the urge to act spoiled as usual, but she couldn’t help muttering subconsciously, even letting out a comfortable soft hum, as if the bad emotions had dissipated a little.
But even so, she still didn’t speak to Qin Nanfeng, nor did she want to exchange another word.
She just silently lowered her head, supporting her sore waist, and headed for the bathroom.
Seeing this, Qin Nanfeng just smiled and didn’t find it strange.
There was still time; he believed Xiaoyuan would forgive him one day, though who knew how long it would take…
As he thought, he followed her a bit worriedly, afraid she might trip.
The atmosphere at the dining table was very strange, unlike the playful closeness before.
In this situation, Jiang Ningyue soon arrived at the house. Although Qin Nanfeng had called, she was still worried.
Her intuition was sharp, and she immediately sensed something was off between the two.
Seeing her daughter-in-law’s face even more haggard than before, seeming to be in a conflict with her son, she suspected Qin Nanfeng had done something to wrong the girl.
So, after helping the girl back to the bedroom, she came out and asked Qin Nanfeng quietly.
“Really nothing?” Mother Qin finally asked suspiciously.
“Mom, I said there’s nothing. There really isn’t.” Qin Nanfeng smiled lightly, his expression unchanged.
Jiang Ningyue still trusted her son, so she just thought it was the pregnant woman’s unstable mood causing trouble again.
She shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with you young people. You’ll have to sort it out yourselves!”
Qin Nanfeng nodded, but his eyes were extremely complex. His gaze involuntarily turned toward the bedroom.
‘I hope we can sort it out…’
‘No matter what…’