The examination was completed quickly.
The doctor’s calm words completely shattered the fantasy that Shangguan Xiyue had just built up in her head.
“The gestational sac is positioned normally—no signs of ectopic pregnancy.”
“The fetal heartbeat is normal, and the development is progressing well.”
“You’re currently around six weeks pregnant.”
I stepped down from the examination table.
“Thank you, doctor.”
The doctor pulled out a sheet of paper and started writing.
“You’ll need to undergo more detailed routine tests later.”
“The next check-up should be in another six weeks. Be sure to come on time.”
“Nausea during pregnancy is a very common physiological reaction. Try to eat more light foods.”
The doctor then called Shangguan Xiyue over.
“During pregnancy, the mother’s emotional state is also extremely important. As for what you can and cannot eat, don’t hesitate to ask if you’re unsure.”
I just stood there like a puppet, my head drooping as I mechanically nodded in response.
“I’ll prescribe you some folic acid. Make sure to take it regularly.”
Shangguan Xiyue was far more attentive than I was, carefully jotting down every important point.
Although her face appeared calm, in her heart she had already cursed a certain scumbag hundreds of times.
Outwardly, she held back from saying anything too harsh in front of me, worried that it would affect my mood.
She took a moment to glance at her phone. On the screen was a single reply:
[Stay with her for now. I’m not on campus, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.]
As we stepped out of the hospital, the blazing sunlight poured down.
The feeling was completely different from the cold, bone-chilling atmosphere inside.
I looked up at the sky peeking through my fingers and suddenly felt a sense of surreal relief, as if I had just returned from another world.
“Who dumped who?” Shangguan Xiyue chose her words carefully.
“Who’s the father of the child? Tell me, and I’ll go chop him up right now.”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Six weeks pregnant.
Didn’t that mean she had still been underage when she started dating Si Xinyan?
What a complete animal.
Not only did he go after a minor, he didn’t even bother using protection.
To think the person she cherished with all her heart was treated like this behind her back—what exactly did he take her for?
My jet-black eyes looked blank.
Seeing the dumb look on my face, Shangguan Xiyue nearly wanted to shake the mush right out of my brain.
“You didn’t plan to keep the baby from the beginning… right?”
“Did he tell you it was your safe period so you didn’t need protection, and you just believed him?”
“My little Yan… can you please… not be so naïve?”
“Or did he say he didn’t want to wear one, and you just foolishly agreed?”
She had already imagined a dozen different scenarios in her head—classic scumbag sweet-talking an underage girl.
“Did you not take emergency contraception afterward?”
My gaze gradually turned vacant.
Now really didn’t feel like the time to review what happened, and besides—what are you even saying?
Shangguan Xiyue kept going, caught up in her own train of thought.
The fact that Si Xinyan had never once mentioned the guy told her everything—things between the two must’ve ended terribly.
It was probably the pregnancy that broke her spirit completely, and that’s why she had suddenly said she liked cute girls.
“I didn’t do any of that,” I exhaled a soft breath.
“Do I really look like… some silly, clueless girl?” That kind of sweet talk only works on kids around fourteen or fifteen, doesn’t it?
Shangguan Xiyue’s mind was in chaos.
Everything that had happened lately had been one twist after another.
First, the online friend she’d felt so spiritually connected to turned out to be a soft-spoken girl.
Second, that same friend, not only was she a girl, but she’d also been completely tricked—body and heart—by a scumbag, and now insisted on keeping the baby like some romance-obsessed fool.
Clearly, Shangguan Xiyue didn’t believe a word of my explanation.
Her eyes were filled with frustration, as if she couldn’t understand why I was being so stubborn.
I tugged gently at her arm, my other hand hidden behind my back.
My light, skipping steps grew a little brighter as I led her to a bench where we both sat down.
Finally, some liveliness returned to the girl’s face.
Seeing my soft smile, Shangguan Xiyue felt some of the gloom lift from her heart.
“Relax.”
“I’m not some dumb, lovestruck girl who got played by a scumbag.”
“And I’m not really unhappy either. My body’s just uncomfortable, and the physical stuff is dragging my emotions down.”
“As for the guy you’re talking about?”
I pouted slightly. Shangguan Xiyue didn’t come from a prestigious family; she didn’t understand how the world really worked.
How could I even begin to explain it to her?
“Is he dead?” Shangguan Xiyue followed my thread and tried to fill in the blank.
“Huh?” I blinked blankly again.
“Uhh… something like that.”
Shangguan Xiyue let out a small sigh of relief.
Just a small one, though.
There was still one big question left.
With a serious tone, she continued, “Are you really planning to keep the baby? Being a single mother is not easy, especially when you’re still just a freshman. When it’s time to give birth, are you going to take leave or skip class altogether? After the baby’s born, who’s going to take care of them? Who’s going to take care of you? Have you thought through all of this?”
Shangguan Xiyue was far more mature. She had already considered everything from all angles.
“I’ve thought about all of that.”
“I’m definitely going to have the baby.” My tone was unwavering.
Shangguan Xiyue drew in a sharp breath.
She said all that because, deep down, she wanted to persuade me to get an abortion.
Giving birth at eighteen, raising a child so young—and especially being unmarried—how would I ever get married in the future?
Even if I didn’t plan to marry and just dated girls, what would a girlfriend think?
No matter how you looked at it, it really wasn’t a wise decision.
I suddenly stood up and pretended to be angry.
“Don’t ever say something like that again. No matter what happens, I won’t give up on this baby.”
I walked off on my own, while Shangguan Xiyue stood frozen in place.
She never imagined that I would be as stubborn as a mule—insisting on going through pregnancy alone during my freshman year, even without the child’s father in the picture.
“Xiaoyan…”
She frowned, eyes downcast, and quickly chased after me.
“This is a life-altering decision. Let’s not act on impulse, okay?”
“You’re still so young, with a long, beautiful future ahead of you—you shouldn’t tie yourself down with a child.”
“There are so many stories of unwed mothers. Even if they manage to raise their children, you don’t know how much suffering they had to endure.”
I looked at the girl in front of me and tilted my head slightly.
“I actually understand… everything you’re saying.”
“But…”
“She already has a heartbeat.”
I slowly placed my fingers on my abdomen, a look of tender affection appearing on my face—far beyond what someone my age should wear—as if I were envisioning some warm, happy future.
“I can feel it… the faint sound of her heartbeat.”
“That means she’s already a living being.”
I blinked and gently interrupted whatever Shangguan Xiyue was about to say.
“I have my reasons for wanting to give birth.”
“Kitty, you know what kind of person I am.”
“I only make a decision like this after thinking it through very carefully.”
Shangguan Xiyue sighed inwardly.
As a friend, she would try to guide me—but if I had truly made up my mind, she would also support me without question.
That’s what a real friend does.
“You’ve become… even gentler than before,” she suddenly said to me.
“Really?” I pressed my lips together, eyes curving into a smile.
“Mm. And there’s another thing…” Shangguan Xiyue added, “You’re glowing with maternal radiance?”
My cheeks turned slightly red.
I wonder if what I just said managed to raise her affection level.
“You knew for a while, didn’t you?” Shangguan Xiyue said as we strolled through the forest.
“No wonder you said you didn’t want to participate in military training.”
“Yeah.” I explained, “Because… I hadn’t figured out how to tell you yet.”
Knowing that I had already been aware seemed to put her mind at ease.
Then, as if suddenly struck by a thought, Shangguan Xiyue’s tone turned cheerful.
“Just a few more months—I want to be the first one to get kicked in the face by the baby.”
“……”
Although our hands had touched once before, that time it was because of her ghostly aura materializing.
My voice was soft and gentle, but not annoyed at all.
“Alright, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer for that.”
“Don’t forget to take regular walks—and no strenuous exercise…” Shangguan Xiyue began nagging beside my ear, and I suddenly felt like she was an old mother hen.
“You don’t need a man to give birth.” Shangguan Xiyue looked at me with a smile.
“You’ve still got me, your bro. I’ll take good care of you, little mama.”
“It hasn’t even started showing yet. The hardest part comes later.”
Her straightforward choice of words made my cheeks flush a little again.
But… the feeling of having a friend is truly wonderful.
No matter how absurd something sounds when spoken aloud—
A true friend will always take your side without hesitation.
“Xiaoyan!”
Su Liumeng stopped her bike, breathless, and shouted from a distance.
Ever since she found out I wasn’t feeling well, she’d dropped all her awkward pride and hurried over without pause.
Between her beautiful brows, there was an unmistakable look of worry.
It was obvious—
These past few days hadn’t been easy on her.
Shangguan Xiyue gave her a meaningful glance and quietly stepped away while I was still dazed.
Su Liumeng had left school this time to deal with the person behind that message… and secretly take care of something big.
I unconsciously pinched the hem of my skirt.
Deep down, I’d already guessed it.
Everything happens for a reason.
It was impossible for Su Liumeng to suddenly become distant for no reason.
Thinking backward from the result, the cause was easy to infer.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied.”
“Are you alright?”
We both spoke at the same time.
Two crisp, girlish voices… followed by a moment of silence.
I shifted my gaze slightly—staring at Su Liumeng’s hand, the one that had suddenly gripped mine tightly upon seeing me.
I instinctively tried to pull my hand back… but it didn’t move.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Su Liumeng suddenly looked very happy.
“I know… you just didn’t want me to overthink things, so you told a little white lie.”
Even though Su Liumeng said that out loud, the little knot in her heart had instantly unraveled.
She understood, sure.
But as long as I didn’t say it myself, there’d always be a bit of unease lingering inside her.
“It’s just a bit of morning sickness, nothing serious.”
Her carefully manicured French nails looked beautiful in the sunlight.
I could clearly feel the warmth coming from the pads of her fingers.
“The baby’s okay, right?”
Seeing that I wasn’t struggling anymore, Su Liumeng simply kept pretending to be clueless and continued holding my hand, wanting to enjoy the moment a bit longer.
The gloom from the past few days seemed to melt away like morning frost.
The soft, boneless feel of my delicate hand wrapped in hers, the smooth touch against her palm—Su Liumeng’s heart was in turmoil, completely forgetting about the cold indifference she’d sworn to maintain earlier that morning.
“I’m fine, the baby’s definitely fine.” I gazed into the distance, voice full of melancholy.
“Being pregnant is so exhausting…”
One minute later—
I looked at her guilty expression and casually pulled my hand back with a faint smile.
“How long were you planning to keep holding on? Compensation time is over.”
Huh?
So Xiaoyan knew the whole time?
Su Liumeng suddenly felt a sense of emptiness inside.
She wailed inwardly like a ghost, wishing desperately that she could finally make something happen between them.
Such pretty hands… just imagining doing things with them felt like it would be pure bliss.
Su Liumeng’s face flushed bright red.
Her mind was flooded with explicit thoughts.
She was about to lose control and pounce.
Aaaahhh, it was compensation time?!
If only she’d known—she would’ve kissed her on the spot!
Damn it, another missed chance.
I looked into Su Liumeng’s expression, having no idea that her mind was running wild like that.
Most of the time, the things girls imagine alone go way beyond what boys think they’re capable of.
And me—a socially awkward guy who’s been single for eighteen years—how could I possibly guess what she was imagining while staring at the pale joints of my fingers, when all I saw in her eyes was a slight flicker?
As I looked at her, she was naturally looking at me too.
Su Liumeng’s eyes lingered on the bright, radiant face of the girl before her, then inadvertently drifted downward.
That snow-white, almost blindingly pale cleavage that couldn’t be hidden no matter what…
Her gaze froze, captivated.
“What—are you looking at?” My voice was unnervingly calm, laced with a bit of teasing.
“Nothing.”
“I wanna bury my face in it.”
As soon as Su Liumeng said that, she slammed a hand over her mouth.
Crap.
She’d accidentally said what she was really thinking out loud.