She reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling hard in an attempt to clear her head.
This matter is quite serious; we cannot make any decisions lightly.
Knowing Xiang Yuan's nature, once he finds out she's pregnant out of wedlock, he'll definitely drag her home, lock her up, and torture her to find out who's the father. She'll lose her freedom; she'll have to report when she goes shopping, and forget about going abroad. Even worse, he'll work with her parents to financially restrict her until he thinks she's become obedient.
Xiang Lan shuddered. No, no, this is too terrifying.
Given Liu Nanyang's personality, he's rather carefree and has progressive ideas. He doesn't care about being unmarried or childless, and occasionally he'll use all sorts of strange things to broaden her horizons. However, because his mother is in charge, he only talks a big game with Xiang Lan; he certainly wouldn't dare to actually encourage her to do anything outrageous.
Therefore, Liu Nanyang is not steadfast; once pressured by his mother, he instantly becomes a traitor, so he must not be allowed to know the truth.
Xiang Lan bit her fingers anxiously, mentally listing the two men who had direct jurisdiction over her, and then turned her gaze to the only unrestrained woman in the family, her sister-in-law Hu Li.
If we consult Hu Li about this, she will definitely be very generous and help us keep it a secret until the end. Then she will take her to get rid of any worries, settle her down, help her have a good postpartum period, and in the end, everything will be fine and everyone will be happy.
She took out her phone, dialed Hu Li's number, and her hands trembled as she tried to call him. But why did her heart ache at the thought of losing this little guy?
Xiang Lan put down her phone; there must be other, better ways.
As the sun began to set and the clouds turned white, Xiang Lan sat for two hours until evening, but still couldn't come up with a better solution.
The phone rang, a series of numbers, an international number, from Fang Zidu.
Xiang Lan stared at her phone screen, her eyes reddening. She longed to throw herself into his arms and tell him about her grievances, but she silently turned off her phone.
She didn't eat dinner. She went back to her dormitory, climbed into bed, and wrapped herself in the blanket.
When Deng Yifan returned to the dormitory, he saw that she had gone to bed early. He reached out and touched her forehead. "Are you sick?"
"without."
Why are you going to bed so early?
"I'm done drawing, I'm tired."
"Do you want something to eat? I'll go buy you something."
"No." Xiang Lan shook her head instinctively, but then suddenly remembered that she had a little one in her belly, and hurriedly said, "I want to eat an egg pancake."
"I'll go buy it for you, just wait here!"
Deng Yifan went out. Xiang Lan sat up, her hair disheveled. She thought to herself, "I'm doomed. I've actually evolved directly from a teenage girl to someone with maternal instincts."
Xiang Lan cried as she ate the egg pancake that Deng Yifan had brought back for her.
"Girl, what's wrong?" Deng Yifan asked helplessly. "Is it those online doxxing guys bothering you again? Don't worry, the chairman and I have almost finished dealing with it. The person who spread the rumors has been caught, and he will issue a public apology by tomorrow or the day after at the latest."
"Thank you." Xiang Lan said, swallowing between sobs.
Deng Yifan took a towel and wiped her face. "Don't worry, you'll be back to normal life soon."
It can never be recovered.
“We have not only video evidence but also online evidence, so there’s nothing we can do even if he doesn’t admit it.”
She didn't want to acknowledge it, but the little thing was indeed growing inside her, day by day.
"The president really stepped up this time. He missed several classes, and Xu Na even hates him for it." Deng Yifan put the towel back. "If you hadn't come up with a plan, I would have advised you to give him a chance."
No one has a chance anymore.
Thinking of this, Xiang Lan burst into tears. Deng Yifan was dumbfounded; her comfort seemed to have no effect.
"Girl, what's wrong?"
She said sadly, "I want to eat one more."
"Don't cry, I'll go buy it for you—"
After finishing two egg pancakes, Xiang Lan felt a tightness in her stomach, as if it had swelled up again. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her phone rang on the bedside table, but she had no desire to pick it up. Deng Yifan peeked out from the upper bunk several times, so she finally grabbed her phone. Fang Zidu's call went unanswered, so he sent a text message: "Xiang Lan, are you not available to talk right now?"
Overwhelmed with grief, she fiercely wiped away her tears.
"I have an hour now and I'd like to talk to you. We haven't finished talking about what we were discussing last time."
"The roses I've been growing have bloomed, they're so beautiful, I wanted to give them to you, would you like to see them?"
A series of pictures of fresh flowers glistening with morning dew.
"Okay, it seems you're busy tonight. Let's talk again tomorrow!"
She turned off the phone and buryed her head in the sand like an ostrich.
Xiang Lan had a dream in which she was being chased by a monster. She ran desperately, but her belly was too big to run fast, and she was about to be caught. She fell to the ground, but she was still carefully protecting her belly. The monster pounced on her, and she could see its golden eyes. Then the monster opened its big mouth and called out, "Mommy."
Terrified, she plunged her hands into the monster's eyes, and the monster vanished. Before she could even feel relieved, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw that her stomach had split open, and a beast's claw was emerging from the flesh.
"ah--"
Xiang Lan woke up screaming, covered in sweat, and then stayed awake until dawn.
The next morning, Xiang Lan silently changed her clothes, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and went to find Liu Nanyang. He was in the office helping someone else with their graduation project, and she sat obediently to the side and waited.
After a while, Liu Nanyang finished his work and sent all the students away. He asked curiously, "Why are you being so well-behaved today? Have you learned to wait?"
“Uncle, I’ve never asked you for anything, have I?” Xiang Lan said sternly.
Liu Nanyang looked at her. In just a few days, the girl's chin had become more pointed, her round, chubby face had lost some of its baby fat, revealing softer, more delicate features. Her eyes were no longer the clear, bright black and white they once were, but rather held a misty, watery sheen. He inwardly thought that his niece was probably gradually transitioning from an innocent girl into a woman. This period was when she was beginning to form her initial ideas for her future, and it was also the most important stage in an artist's life.
"Not really."
"I need your help with something, and you must agree."
"You go first."
"You agree first."
"No, I need to know what it is."
"You agree first," Xiang Lan insisted.
"I have to take responsibility for you."
Xiang Lan stood up. "Fine, I'll figure it out myself."
Liu Nanyang remained unmoved, and Xiang Lan walked straight out of the office. A moment later, his voice of compromise finally rang out behind her.
"Fine, fine, I'll agree."
Xiang Lan didn't laugh. She turned back, sat on the stool, and stared at him intently. "Uncle, I'm going to America."
"when?"
"immediately."
“But you have to do your graduation project, so I even gave you my phone.”
"That's not enough. I can't finish my graduation project without going to see my boyfriend."
"What happened? Did that kid cheat on you?"
"No, but there are people who covet him, and I'm worried about them, so I have to go and see for myself."
Liu Nanyang had a headache; young people always think of things on a whim.
“My brother took my passport. Go tell him you want to take me to America to experience life there.” Xiang Lan had already made the arrangements. “I remember you were going to America to personally invite Mr. Ma to your art exhibition, right? Let’s use that as an excuse—”
Liu Nanyang guessed that something serious had really happened. If he refused, the girl would find a way to cause trouble and who knew what kind of chaos she would create. If he agreed, he would be aiding and abetting a wicked person, and his sister would definitely make him suffer a lot afterward.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Xiang Lan stood up and said, "Uncle, please give me an answer before noon today."
As Xiang Lan walked out of the office building, knowing she would succeed, she slowly headed towards the logistics office when her phone rang again.
Fangzi called, but he didn't answer; he texted, but didn't reply.
Fang Zi stared blankly at his phone. For two days in a row, she hadn't answered his calls, replied to his texts, or opened his emails. This wasn't normal. In just over twenty days, he had grown accustomed to this girl occupying all his leisure time, and to her relentless pursuit of him. He loved seeing her smile and listening to her chatter in his ear.
Surprisingly, he made the same mistake with her again.
The first time, due to a doxxing incident, he lost her contact information, and the two were briefly out of contact. They were able to reconnect with each other through the internet.
This time, he didn't even know why he was cut off from her, and he had no way to contact her except through her phone and email; she didn't answer his calls, didn't reply to his texts, and didn't read his emails. The thread that Xiang Lan had been trying to maintain had broken.
He was careless; he didn't have any way to contact or control the girl he liked. He was helpless as long as she cut him off unilaterally.
Fang Zi was good at correcting his mistakes, and he thought that this was a huge mistake that had to be corrected immediately.
Xiang Lan took a deep breath, adjusted her expression in front of the small mirror, and restored her usual carefree demeanor before knocking on Xiang Yuan's door.
"elder brother--"
She opened the door for Xiang Yuanlai, gave a lazy greeting, and took off her shoes to enter.
Xiang Yuan followed behind her, helping her get her slippers and tidying up her shoes, being extremely attentive.
"Where's my sister-in-law?" She sat down on the sofa, looked at the fruit on the coffee table, picked and chose, and picked up a banana.
"I'm changing clothes, I'll be right out." Xiang Yuan sat down next to her, carefully examining her complexion, and said, "Why do I feel like you've lost weight?"
"Yes, I'm on a diet."
"It looks better when you're a little chubby."
"Are you cursing me?" Xiang Lan took a bite of her banana.
A glamorous woman in loungewear came out of the bedroom and said, "You two, please stop rushing, okay?"
"It's mainly because my brother has a bad mouth."
"You're pretty impulsive too," Hu Li said, sitting down beside the two siblings. "Why did you come back today? Didn't you say you didn't want to see your brother?"
Xiang Lan glared at Xiang Yuan and said, "How is that possible?"
Xiang Yuan chuckled twice, "Lanlan, your brother has already apologized."
Xiang Lan didn't speak to him, but said to Hu Li, "Sister-in-law, my passport is here, find it and give it to me."
"What are you going to do?" Xiang Yuan asked warily.
"Didn't your uncle tell you? He's going to America to personally invite Mr. Ma, and I'm going to go with him for a visit. I can also see an exhibition." Xiang Lan looked at Hu Li expectantly. "Sister-in-law, this is a rare opportunity, you definitely can't miss it."
Hu Li glanced at Xiang Lan, then at Xiang Yuan, "Xiang Yuan, do you want to confirm with your uncle?"
"She must have already talked to her uncle." Xiang Yuan said somewhat sullenly.
"Why don't you take me there?" Xiang Lan threw the banana peel into the trash can. "But if I can't graduate, you'd better figure something out."
Hu Li chuckled, "I've never seen anyone keep such a tight rein on someone like you guys. When I was her age, I was running all over the mountains and fields. Besides, my uncle was there to watch over me!"