Never in my wildest dreams, however, did I expect that when my “husband” cheated, I’d be assigned to nurse the other woman through her postpartum recovery.

Song Yan and I had returned to his villa with armfuls of snacks. We were sitting on the plush carpet in his bedroom, using his phone to project a horror movie onto the wall. I’m the type who’s easily terrified but secretly addicted to the adrenaline rush. Less than half an hour in, I was already huddled tightly against his side.

Right as the film reached its absolute terrifying climax, the live comments on the screen began wildly flashing warnings: JUMP SCARE AHEAD. I clutched Song Yan’s arm, my eyes glued to the wall, steeling myself to scream my lungs out.

Right at that exact second, two pop-up WeChat notifications flashed across the projection:

[I’m pregnant.]

[My due date is in a few days.]

The room plunged into dead silence. I stared blankly at those two lines of text, my mind completely short-circuiting. Even the ghost on the screen didn’t seem frightening anymore.

After what felt like an eternity, my brain finally registered the massive balance sitting in my bank account. I swallowed hard and asked tentatively, “Should I… go over and help nurse her through her post-baby month?”

Song Yan’s arm instantly went slack around me.

“Sure,” he said, his voice dropping to a freezing chill as he looked at me. “Why don’t you go over tomorrow and help her deliver the baby too? Otherwise, I doubt you’ll feel like you’ve earned your paycheck.”

“Okay… I can do that. Let me go get things ready.”

I quietly grabbed my tote bag, walked out of the villa, and hailed a cab to the nearest mall to buy supplies for an expecting mother and her newborn. Halfway through shopping, tears started streaming down my face out of nowhere.

I didn’t even remember what I’d picked out. All I knew was that my hands were weighed down with endless shopping bags full of baby clothes, and I was sitting dazed in the middle of a bustling mall concourse.

“Yu Sisi?” A familiar voice called out.

I blinked up to find Jiang Yifan standing in front of me. “Senior…”

I frantically wiped at my cheeks.

“What are you doing here?” He gestured toward the pile of bags beside me.

I tried to brush it off while dabbing my eyes. “Oh, nothing… I’m just buying stuff for a close friend.”

Jiang Yifan blinked in shock. “Xuanxuan is pregnant?”

Hearing that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I completely lost it, burying my face in my hands and sobbing hysterically. “It’s not either of them! It’s Song Yan’s girlfriend!”

Jiang Yifan stared at me, utterly lost. “But aren’t you his girlfriend? Did you two break up?”

“We didn’t…” I hiccuped through my tears. “But now I have to go nurse the other woman through her postpartum care! Senior, why is my life so miserable? Waaah…“

I grabbed onto Jiang Yifan’s arm, crying like the sky was caving in.

Flustered, he hovered awkwardly, completely unsure of what to do with his hands. Ultimately, he just sat beside me, offering gentle, random words of comfort for half an hour until I finally ran out of steam.

Once I quieted down, he looked at me carefully. “Feel a little better after letting it out?”

“Yeah…” I hung my head, replaying my embarrassing meltdown in my head and wanting nothing more than to dig a hole and crawl into it.

Thankfully, Jiang Yifan didn’t press the matter. He quietly picked up all the heavy shopping bags and walked me back toward my dorm area.

“Should I walk you upstairs?”

“No need.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure passing by in the distance. It looked like Song Yan.

“Yu Sisi.”

“Huh?” I snapped out of my daze.

The soft, warm glow of the streetlight fell over Jiang Yifan’s face, making him look even gentler than usual. “If Song Yan isn’t treating you well… you could always consider me.”

I looked down at the baby supply bags at my feet, biting my lip before answering softly, “Actually… Song Yan treats me pretty well.”

Jiang Yifan offered a polite, somewhat distant smile. “Yeah, I understand. I respect your choice.”

He was always like that—gentle, considerate, and impeccably respectful of boundaries. But after that unhinged crying fit, a realization hit me with crystalline clarity: I had actually fallen for Song Yan.

Even if I was just a hired hand in his complicated romantic web… so be it. At least now, spending his money wouldn’t feel so guilt-free—it felt earned.

By the time I returned to the villa, Song Yan was already asleep. I took a quick shower and crawled into bed.

At the end of the day, this was just a business transaction. What right did I have to be throwing a tantrum? That sudden breakdown earlier… was probably just the last fragile sliver of hope in my heart getting crushed to dust.

Early the next morning, I loaded the baby supplies into Song Yan’s car, ready to fulfill my duties as “postpartum support for the side-chick.” Stopping outside the hospital room door, Song Yan paused. “Go in first. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and pushed the door open. The woman inside was asleep. She looked about twenty-three or twenty-four, with skin so fair it seemed to glow. It was the same girl I’d spotted at the mall back then.

I tiptoed over, placing the bags down as quietly as humanly possible. Yet, the slight sound still woke her. She slowly sat up, blinking at me. “Hey sweetie, why are you here? Where’s Song Yan?”

A wave of bitterness surged in my chest. She called me “sweetie” with the exact same casual intimacy I’d used when referring to her as “that girl.” Wealthy men really knew how to foster female solidarity.

“Hi there,” I bowed my head politely and poured her a glass of water. “Song Yan said he’ll be back in a minute. He asked me to come in and take care of you first.”

“Oh, no, no, don’t be silly,” she waved her hands hastily. “You’re a guest! How could I let you wait on me?”

“It’s really no problem,” I offered a strained smile.

Just as I was tidying up the room, the door swung open. A strange man walked in. He headed straight to the bedside, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her forehead. “How are you feeling today? Any discomfort?”

The woman wrapped her arms around his neck, pecking his cheek affectionately. “Much better, sweetie.”

I stood rooted to the spot, completely paralyzed.

I froze like a statue, afraid to utter a single sound.