Chapter 3: The Road Back to Beijing

Xu San and I landed in a place ridiculously far from Beijing. I figured that with Zhou Jingnan in the condition he was in, there was no way his sick body could handle the long journey all the way here to find me.

Xu San’s phone kept vibrating nonstop until she finally gritted her teeth, snapped the SIM card in half, and tossed it into a trash can.

Her eyes were red as she asked me, “That bastard really got back together with Zhao Wanyi?”

I gave a bitter little smile. “Probably. For all I know, they’re already preparing to announce some good news.”

Xu San was about to suggest we call eighteen male models to cheer ourselves up when I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach and murmured, “You can keep all eighteen for yourself… I’m pregnant.”

“JIANG YIFU!!!”

Her scream nearly blew the roof off the airport.

She was furious and terrified at the same time, because if Zhou Jingnan found out, he would absolutely lose his mind.

I explained to Xu San that I had chosen this myself. Before leaving him behind to follow the original plot, I wanted to leave that sick man with a little piece of himself.

Xu San drew in a deep breath, her voice trembling.

“You’re in love with Zhou Jingnan, aren’t you? Fufu, Zhao Wanyi is incredibly calculating. If she finds out about the baby, she’ll never let you go. We need to leave. Now!”

But before she could finish, the crowd ahead suddenly parted as a group of black-clad bodyguards pushed their way through.

A tall, cold figure appeared.

It was Fu Tubai.

The entire airport exit had been completely sealed off.

He gave me a cold smile. “Run. Why’d you stop? And keep your mouth shut. I’m not Zhou Jingnan. I have no interest in listening to you put on that sweet, clingy voice.”

Strangely enough, Xu San remained completely calm.

She pulled Fu Tubai aside to speak with him privately.

When she came back, she handed me a new plane ticket and gently coaxed me, “Think about the baby. I have to go back with him.”

My eyes blurred with tears as I threw my arms around her.

“No! If you go back with him, what are you going to do?!”

Xu San smiled, her eyes red behind her sunglasses.

“You idiot. We can’t both go down with the ship. With the way your lovesick brain works, that man will eat you alive until there’s nothing left. But I’m different. This time, think of it as me giving my life back to you.”

Fu Tubai gave me one last icy look.

“Jiang Yifu, don’t make me change my mind. If your man finds out about this, I won’t have a peaceful life either.”

He took Xu San away.

I stood there, staring down at the plane ticket in my hand.

From here on out, I was on my own.

But it was okay.

I still had my baby.

This time, I would protect my child no matter what.

The little city had springlike weather all year round, making it the perfect place to take care of my pregnancy. Luckily, I found a charming little house at an absurdly good price because the owner was in a hurry to leave.

I’d been poor since childhood. I might not have been particularly sharp about much else, but the moment I saw a bargain, my eyes lit up like high beams.

My quiet life gradually became warmer thanks to a few kind neighbors: a retired head of obstetrics and gynecology, a nutritionist, a retired soldier, and the owner of a Sichuan restaurant whose food was exactly my kind of thing.

But the peace lasted only a month.

For the first time since leaving Beijing, I heard news about Zhou Jingnan.

And it was terrible news.

He had been rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night.

The entire city of Beijing seemed to explode.

Everyone was saying that this time…

Zhou Jingnan probably wasn’t going to make it.

I was frantic with worry, scrolling through the internet all night looking for updates.

Anonymous posts kept popping up, each one more vicious than the last:

• “The Zhao family’s heiress quietly left the country. When Zhou Jingnan was on the verge of death, she decisively called off the engagement.”
• “Poor Mr. Zhou. His parents died young, his relatives are already waiting to divide up his fortune, and he still doesn’t have any children to carry on the family line…”

Every word felt like a needle stabbing straight into my heart.

Why was he suddenly this sick?

He had been recovering so well before I left!

I called Shen Wei—the undisputed queen of Beijing gossip.

There was a long silence on the other end before she finally sighed.

“Fufu… My husband said he really isn’t doing well this time. The Zhou family has already started preparing the funeral. You… should think about what comes next. Find someone new.”

I didn’t want to hear another word.

I immediately booked the earliest flight back to Beijing.

That night, I barely slept.

It wasn’t until just before dawn that I finally drifted into a dream about him.

In the dream, I saw myself three years earlier—poor, awkward, and completely out of place in the middle of a lavish ballroom.

The socialites laughed at me for eating too much and whispered that the cinnabar mole between my brows was an omen of an early death.

I slipped outside and secretly cried until my face was a complete mess.

That was when Zhou Jingnan found me.

He draped his suit jacket over my shoulders and scooped me up in his arms in front of a room full of stunned onlookers.

He said,

“Jiang Yifu. As long as I’m here, you’re not going to have a short life.”

Then he lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss against that little cinnabar mole.

Maybe that was the exact moment I truly fell for him.

The dream shifted again, taking me back to our first night together.

I was nineteen, so frightened that I scratched his face hard enough to leave a streak of bright red blood across his sharp cheekbone.

I curled up with my arms over my head, convinced he was going to hit me like the brutal men I had known as a child.

But Zhou Jingnan didn’t.

He took my hand, his warm palm gently wiping away my tears, and asked in a low voice,

“Did that hurt just now? I’m sorry. I don’t have much experience… Did I make you uncomfortable?”

I jolted awake.

My pillow was soaked with tears.

Zhou Jingnan…

You have to wait for me.