The midday sun blazed as fiercely as ever, and with the hospital lights on, everywhere was bright.
The two women chatted and laughed together.
Fan Yaobai said something that made Cheng Zhanya’s eyes crinkle with laughter—so infectious.
It had been ages since Lin Hanbing had seen Cheng Zhanya laugh like that: so relaxed, so sweetly.
She bowed her head, her bangs falling to veil half her eye. Her wing-like lashes fluttered faintly, tinged with bitterness.
She gripped the corner of her laptop for a moment before slowly releasing it.
“Yaya.”
Lin Hanbing called softly.
It was as if their little world had hit pause. Everything fell silent.
Cheng Zhanya looked at Lin Hanbing in surprise. “You haven’t left yet?”
She had only just resolved to keep the child, and now here was Lin Hanbing. The calm she had regained stirred with faint ripples.
Like a stone plummeting into a still lake—heavy and forceful.
Once the words were out, she realized they sounded off.
With a light cough, she adjusted her tone. “Is Grandma asleep?”
“She is.”
“Oh.” Cheng Zhanya paused. “How is Grandma doing?”
“Much better. She can be discharged in a few days.”
Cheng Zhanya murmured another “oh” and tightened her grip on Fan Yaobai’s hand, panic flickering through her.
She was truly afraid that Lin Hanbing would find out.
Lin Hanbing couldn’t stand kids—she remembered that clearly.
They had come this far, and she didn’t want to hurt the child now.
“Then we’ll be going,” Cheng Zhanya said softly.
“I’ll drive you.”
“…” When had Lin Hanbing become a full-time chauffeur? Every time they met and parted, she insisted on driving them.
Wasn’t she busy?
Why was she suddenly so eager?
Cheng Zhanya couldn’t make sense of it. In the past, this would have thrilled her for hours.
But some things lost their shine after being longed for too long.
Straightening her expression, she refused firmly. “No need. Go take care of your work. Don’t waste time here.”
She knew full well how precious Lin Hanbing’s time was.
Lin Hanbing gazed deeply into her eyes. “I’m finished with work.”
“I’ve been waiting here especially for you.”
The hospital lights illuminated her face, her fallen bangs casting shadows. Her eyes gleamed with sincere light, impossible to refuse.
Lin Hanbing was stunningly beautiful.
Her features were exquisitely perfect—peach-blossom eyes, a petite and perfectly straight nose, thin and sensuous lips. Her brows and lashes were naturally flawless, without a single imperfection.
Her hair was impeccably neat, every strand perfect to an absurd degree. She had a slender waist and proud curves, with long legs accentuated by high heels. She could command attention from any corner of a room.
Fan Yaobai had always found Lin Hanbing beautiful, and that hadn’t changed.
No wonder Cheng Zhanya had loved her for so many years.
Gazing at such a beauty, even she felt reluctant to refuse.
“Why wait for us?” Cheng Zhanya asked incredulously.
Lin Hanbing smiled faintly.
“To drive you.”
Cheng Zhanya was speechless. She opened her mouth to protest, but Fan Yaobai tugged gently at her sleeve. “Don’t bother arguing. Let’s just go.”
“Let Hanbing drive us.”
Fan Yaobai winked at her.
“Fine.”
Prodded by Fan Yaobai, Cheng Zhanya didn’t resist further.
Lin Hanbing was incredibly stubborn. Arguing with her was endless, like when she’d first arrived—and it would only trouble others. Besides, this would give the child a brief moment with her other mother.
She wasn’t a cruel person. Despite all the earlier anguish, she couldn’t bring herself to end it in the end. She planned to keep the child’s existence from Lin Hanbing while still creating chances for them to interact—even if Lin Hanbing remained oblivious, harboring not the slightest expectation.
But this was the very best she could offer the child.
In the past, she had always claimed the front passenger seat.
That way, she could admire Lin Hanbing’s profile and her focused expression.
Habits were terrifying things. Trying to break them abruptly was nearly impossible. Cheng Zhanya’s hand reached for the passenger door handle, hesitated, then slowly withdrew toward the back seat.
She fastened her seatbelt with care. Lin Hanbing caught the earnest motion, and the corners of her lips curved upward in a subtle, captivating arc.
Cheng Zhanya looked up right then and saw it. Flushing with annoyance and embarrassment, she turned away.
She stared out the window, sensing the IV tube on the back of her hand twitch.
The scenery outside blurred past. Cheng Zhanya rested her hand on her abdomen casually, in a way that wouldn’t draw notice.
The car was utterly quiet.
Lin Hanbing, who usually enjoyed piano music, played none. Only the muffled hum of traffic filtered in.
They arrived home just before four o’clock.
Cheng Zhanya stepped out of the car. Having eaten nothing all day, a wave of dizziness suddenly hit her.
She steadied herself against the door.
Fan Yaobai panicked and leaped out from the other side without closing the door. She rushed over and caught Cheng Zhanya just in time.
“You need to be more careful!” she said, her heart racing.
Cheng Zhanya thought Fan Yaobai was overreacting.
She was only pregnant, not injured. Still, the excessive worry was a sign of love, and it touched her deeply.
Lin Hanbing hadn’t driven off yet. From inside the car, she watched their interactions, a flicker of loneliness crossing her eyes.
That should have been her role.
But now it belonged to someone else—and she didn’t even have the right to feel jealous.
Had her girl fallen for another woman?
Fan Yaobai?
They were living together now, with endless opportunities to grow close…
Lin Hanbing didn’t dare dwell on it. Her eyes reddened slightly.
After a few seconds, she composed herself, pushed open the door, and got out. “Yaya, what exactly is wrong with you?”
“I think I can help.”
Cheng Zhanya blinked in surprise and shook her head. “You can’t help with this.”
She would recover soon enough.
“You should go,” she added.
Lin Hanbing’s heart twisted in pain. She had driven them all the way home, yet she wasn’t even invited upstairs for a seat?
Before she could think further, Cheng Zhanya and Fan Yaobai had already headed into the building, leaving her with only a forlorn view of their backs.
How wonderful.
How utterly heartless.
Lin Hanbing smiled, the expression full of bitterness.
She climbed back into the car and sat there for a very long time, until the lights flicked on in Fan Yaobai’s apartment. Only then did she slowly start the engine and drive away, her car filled with solitude.
Once home, Fan Yaobai immediately set about making dinner.
Cheng Zhanya had skipped lunch for the checkup, and pregnant women couldn’t go hungry.
She didn’t dare let her linger in the living room, worried that Fan Jiujiu might pounce on her and harm the baby.
It wasn’t even three months yet.
After all that earlier turmoil, she was on high alert about everything.
While waiting for dinner, Cheng Zhanya took a nap.
In less than an hour, she had three dreams—utterly exhausting.
The dreams were too fleeting to remember.
When she woke, her whole body ached, a real torment.
Perhaps from hunger; as soon as she sat up, her stomach churned with acid. She bolted to the bathroom and began dry-heaving.
She moved so fast that she startled Fan Jiujiu, which leaped away with a bounce, letting out a milky, fierce meow.
Fan Yaobai watched with heartache. She hadn’t realized pregnancy could be so grueling.
Standing at the door, she asked carefully, “How are you? Feeling any better?”
Cheng Zhanya waved her off.
Another bout of retching followed.
With no lunch to bring up, only sour bile emerged.
Fan Yaobai frowned and quickly searched online. The results said vomiting varied by person—some severe, some nonexistent—and it typically lasted two or three months, easing afterward.
Judging by Cheng Zhanya’s ordeal, it might drag on to four or five.
A little frightening.
She looked up remedies for morning sickness, took screenshots, and saved them to buy some after work tomorrow.
After throwing up once more, Cheng Zhanya finally emerged from the bathroom. Her legs felt weak, so she steadied herself against the wall as she walked.
Exhausted, she sank into a chair, her appetite completely gone.
“Still, you should eat something,” Fan Yaobai urged. “After all, you’re not alone in this anymore.”
Cheng Zhanya murmured in agreement.
She hadn’t eaten much for lunch anyway, and she barely managed any now.
Soaking her rice in soup, she forced down a bowl.
After a shower, she felt more like herself. She lay in bed scrolling on her phone and ordered a book on pregnancy online.
The next day, she returned to the office and sat down, pondering how to tell Lu Ting about the pregnancy.
Xiao Xiao had come in early that day. The moment Cheng Zhanya settled at her desk, Xiao Xiao scooted over, a mysterious expression on her face. “Sister Zhanya, you’re back!”
“Yeah. You’ve got something to say?”
Cheng Zhanya could tell from Xiao Xiao’s face that gossip was coming, so she asked half-jokingly.
“How’d you know?” Xiao Xiao looked astonished.
“It’s written all over your face.” Cheng Zhanya smiled.
Xiao Xiao touched her cheek self-consciously.
Was it that obvious?
She cleared her throat and hemmed and hawed for a good while before continuing. “Yesterday afternoon, you left early, right? I heard from Jing Min…”
The rest seemed hard to spit out. Xiao Xiao paused for a long time, the picture of someone wanting to speak but holding back.
Cheng Zhanya found it strange. She logged into her software and prompted her with a chuckle. “What is it?”
“She said…”
“Hm?”
“She said Hu Changying saw you at the hospital. You were getting a gynecological exam… and it looked like… like you might be pregnant.”
“Now the director knows about it too.”
Cheng Zhanya stared in shock.
She hadn’t expected the gossip mill to churn its way right back to her.
After a stunned moment, Cheng Zhanya suddenly burst out laughing.
She’d been agonizing over how to break the news to Lu Ting, and here her colleague had preemptively softened everyone up for her.
Xiao Xiao blinked in confusion at the laughter.
Even as an outsider, she’d been livid hearing it.
Surely Cheng Zhanya would be furious too—at the very least, she’d issue a stern denial. But she was grinning ear to ear. Clearly, this was the last thing she’d expected.
“Sister Zhanya, what are you laughing about?”
Could it really be true?
“Nothing,” Cheng Zhanya shook her head. “Just get back to work.”
“Sis, deny it!”
“Don’t let that nasty gossip get the best of you.”
Xiao Xiao grew urgent, grinding her teeth.
“It’s fine,” Cheng Zhanya said, shaking her head again. “Whether it’s real or fake, it’ll come out eventually.”
“…You’re right,” Xiao Xiao said, pursing her lips. “I just can’t stand her. Always stirring up trouble.”
Cheng Zhanya smiled and said nothing more, diving into her workday.
Lu Ting didn’t return until noon, by which time everyone else was on lunch break. Only Cheng Zhanya had come straight back after eating.
Her pregnancy symptoms had come late—she was nearly three months along before the nausea hit.
And when it did, it hit hard.
Feeling helpless, she rubbed her belly and popped one of the preserved plums she’d bought on her morning commute. Only then did the sour queasiness in her stomach subside.
“Zhanya.”
The office door stood half-open. Lu Ting paused in the doorway and called softly. “Got a minute? Let’s talk.”
Cheng Zhanya paused, then nodded. “Sure.”
She tidied her desk, setting the plums atop her computer tower. She knew this conversation was inevitable. Even if Lu Ting hadn’t sought her out, Cheng Zhanya would have cornered her that evening.
She was the one at fault here.
The pregnancy and her decision to keep the baby had blindsided even her—let alone her boss.
She stepped into the office and took the seat across from Lu Ting.
Both women remained calm.
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
Lu Ting glanced at Cheng Zhanya’s belly before speaking slowly. “I’ve heard some rumors…”
“Yes, I’m pregnant,” Cheng Zhanya finished for her.
Lu Ting fell quiet.
“It’s true,” Cheng Zhanya said. “I went to the hospital yesterday too. I’ve decided to keep the baby.”
“I was still figuring out how to tell you.”
Cheng Zhanya smiled, a touch helpless. “Didn’t expect someone else to beat me to it.”
“From your ex-wife?”
“You’re the only one I’ve ever been with.”
“Planning to remarry?” Lu Ting fixed her with an intense stare, watching for the slightest shift in expression.
Cheng Zhanya shook her head. “I can raise this child on my own.”
“Have you decided for sure?” Lu Ting asked.
Discussing personal matters with her boss at the office felt awkward; thin goosebumps prickled Cheng Zhanya’s arms.
“This affects your career.”
“You’ve got real traction in the industry right now. Not everyone hits over two hundred thousand collections and nearly a million views just four chapters in. Only you.”
“Yes,” Cheng Zhanya nodded firmly, her eyes gleaming with resolve. “The moment I made the decision, I went all in.”
“Good,” Lu Ting said with a nod.
She understood Cheng Zhanya’s choice.
Jobs came and went, but a child was a living, breathing life. Even if she married again someday and had more children, they wouldn’t be this one.
“Your comic can update at a slower pace. Switch from twice a week to once every two weeks. It’ll lighten the load.”
“I’m sorry,” Cheng Zhanya sighed.
“This baby came so suddenly.”
She looked at Lu Ting with genuine remorse. “I’ll update the comic as best I can. Lately everything’s piled up—the serialization, the art book, all at once.”
“I hope I don’t disappoint you too much.”
“Your health comes first,” Lu Ting countered. “The art book was just greenlit. It can wait a year.”
“Just update when you can. You’re talented. The fans will wait, and so will the company until you’re ready to come back.”
“Thank you,” Cheng Zhanya said, touched.
She’d only been with the company a month, and suddenly life had forced her to hit pause.
They talked a little longer, but work hours arrived right on cue. The lights flicked on outside. Cheng Zhanya nodded and headed back to her desk.
Lu Ting approved a full month of leave for Cheng Zhanya, giving her time to rest and nurture the pregnancy.
Early complications had left the fetal heartbeat unsteady, so on her first day off, she went straight to the hospital for medicine.
Fan Jiujiu now spent its days confined to a cage, meowing pitifully and looking utterly forlorn.
It felt deeply wronged.
Cheng Zhanya felt terrible for it too, but Fan Yaobai wouldn’t budge. For the sake of the baby, the cat would just have to make do.
