Chapter Sixty-One: Untitled

Wen Jianan turned and walked toward her workstation, while Liang Jing headed downstairs.

Downstairs at the main entrance, a black car had been parked for a long time, seemingly waiting.

Jiang Wenfei stood beside the car. The second Liang Jing appeared, she immediately straightened up and walked toward Liang Jing with a bright smile.

"Cousin."

Liang Jing glanced at her indifferently, her gaze passing over her to look at the car behind her.

"Where is Ah Xiu?"

Jiang Wenfei suppressed a fleeting trace of awkwardness on her face.

Her palms were already sweating, but she still feigned composure. "President Shang, I don't understand what you mean."

Shang Jin tapped two fingers against the desk to remind her, "If not Yin Wanwan, it would be someone else. But if you dare to harbor thoughts you shouldn't, you simply aren't qualified. Understood?"

Jiang Li immediately understood. He must have assumed she had run into Yin Wanwan, felt unhappy, and was throwing a tantrum.

Yet what qualification did she have to throw a tantrum?

Shang Jin was her boss, her deity. Everything she possessed today was given to her by Shang Jin. The moment she provoked him, she would no longer find a foothold in Ningzhou.

She had figured this out a couple of years ago. On the surface, she remained conscientious and dedicated, fulfilling her role as a secretary, while privately performing the duties expected of a compliant bed partner.

That was why Shang Jin had been thoroughly satisfied with her services over the years.

She stood there frozen without responding. Shang Jin had no intention of wasting any more time and issued his final ultimatum. "In short, know your place, do your job, and get out."

However, he had made up his mind not to approve Jiang Li's leave request.

Stepping out of the president's office, Jiang Li looked ashen-faced.

For a moment, she had no idea what to do. Even if an abortion could be done quickly and she could spare the time, the subsequent recovery and medical treatment would require time.

If she really waited until these three months were over, she might have lost her life long ago.

It wouldn't hurt to tell Shang Jin about her illness, but the crucial point was that once he knew about the illness, the pregnancy could certainly not be kept secret.

After turning it over in her mind, Jiang Li decided to take time out first to undergo the procedure.

She hid in the stairwell to book an appointment and called the doctor she had consulted yesterday—her college classmate, Song Ling.

Upon hearing that Jiang Li temporarily had no time for medical treatment, Song Ling flew into a rage and cursed Shang Jin outright. "Isn't your boss a total beast? Do capitalists never rest until they've squeezed the very last drop of blood and sweat from the working people?"

"..."

Jiang Li could not think of a rebuttal for a moment, given that Shang Jin had indeed heavily exploited her over the years, not just at work, but in bed as well.

Fortunately, though, he had never shortchanged her.

Song Ling tried to calm her anger. "Then the child in your stomach—does he not want to take responsibility for that either?"

Jiang Li covered her mouth and lowered her voice. "No, I haven't let him know about this. You must help me keep it a secret. Don't tell a single soul, understand?"

Song Ling had no idea what game she was playing, but her condition truly could not be dragged out any longer.

"I can stay out of this matter, but I cannot ignore your health."

"I know. I'll resolve this issue first, and then figure something out."

She had to get rid of the time bomb in her belly before Shang Jin found out.

Song Ling was out of ideas for her. "Then you must still undergo some interventional treatment. How about this? I have a senior martial brother from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who is an expert in cancer research. Come out at noon, and I'll introduce you to him."

"..."

Song Ling had already mentioned yesterday that given her current condition, Western medical treatments could not guarantee a hundred percent cure. However, having spent recent years by Shang Jin's side and dealing extensively with the upper class, Song Ling had witnessed cases where conditions untreatable by Western medicine were ultimately healed by traditional Chinese medicine.

Jiang Li thought about it. At worst, she could treat a dead horse as a live one, and she agreed.

Song Ling was finally satisfied. "See you at noon then. I'll send you the address later."

Jiang Li acknowledged, pushed open the fire exit door, and stepped out, failing to notice that someone was standing on the upper landing.

At noon, Jiang Li prepared lunch for Shang Jin. Under the pretext of needing to use the restroom and after instructing Xiaochen on the precautions, she had Xiaochen deliver the meal into the president's office.

Generally speaking, unless it was exceptionally busy, nothing major would happen during the lunch break, so Jiang Li left the company with peace of mind.

Fortunately, the location Song Ling had chosen was not too far away; two hours would be plenty of time.

-

Six-Flavors Fusion Restaurant.

It wasn't until Jiang Li reached the entrance that she saw the message Song Ling had sent halfway through, stating that she had an emergency patient and couldn't make it, but that her senior brother had already arrived, so Jiang Li could go in and meet him by herself.

"..."

With a helpless reply of agreement, the moment she lifted her gaze, Jiang Li saw a bespectacled, mild-mannered man in a white shirt looking toward her from inside the restaurant.

As if confirming her identity, he immediately raised a hand and beckoned.

"Ms. Jiang?"

Jiang Li walked forward, nodding with a smile. "You must be Song Ling's senior brother, Shen Yanqing, Dr. Shen?"

Shen Yanqing adjusted his glasses and smiled in return. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Yanqing."

Jiang Li did not stand on ceremony. After sitting down, Shen Yanqing asked her to order, and she symbolically chose a salad.

Shen Yanqing frowned. "How can you survive on just this little bit? And it's cold, too."

Jiang Li smiled. "My stomach isn't well, I can't eat much. Didn't Song Ling tell you about my condition?"

"It's precisely because you haven't eaten properly for a long time, or have eaten far too little per meal, that your stomach gradually deteriorated, Ms. Jiang. This is a vicious cycle."

"Uh..."

Seeing Jiang Li's unnatural expression, Shen Yanqing realized he had spoken out of turn. He immediately raised a hand in gesture. "Apologies, I wasn't trying to lecture you. It's just that from a physician's perspective, I truly hope my patients don't treat their bodies with such a lack of care."

Jiang Li twitched the corners of her lips in understanding.

Shen Yanqing said no more and called the waiter, adding a bowl of warm soup and a piece of Chinese-style steamed cake to complement Jiang Li's salad.

While waiting for the food, the two discussed Jiang Li's condition.

Jiang Li had brought her medical reports along and handed them to Shen Yanqing to review.

Shen Yanqing scanned them page by page. A moment later, he raised his eyes in surprise. "You're pregnant?"

Jiang Li was even more surprised than he was. "Didn't Song Ling tell you?"

Apparently not.

Shen Yanqing was startled for a moment. Regaining his composure, he asked her to extend her wrist so he could check her pulse.

Jiang Li complied.

Shen Yanqing felt the pulses on both her wrists with a serious expression. After a moment, he spoke gravely, "Given your situation, you cannot keep this child. If you force it, your body won't last until delivery, Ms. Jiang. I think you'd better discuss this with your husband and consider it carefully."

Jiang Li replied tactfully, "I don't have a husband."

"A boyfriend is the same."

"I don't have a boyfriend either..."

Shen Yanqing stared at her for a moment, understood something, and withdrew his hand.

Jiang Li sheepishly stated that she had already decided against keeping the child and had scheduled an abortion procedure for the day after tomorrow.

Shen Yanqing thought it over. After confirming that Jiang Li did not have to work tomorrow, Saturday, he told her to come to their traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

"I'll prescribe some medicine for you to take first. After you finish the procedure and rest for a week, we'll see how things go before considering switching to herbal remedies and acupuncture for auxiliary treatment."

Jiang Li agreed.

After the meal, it was already getting late, and she hurried to take her leave.

Throughout the entire process, Jiang Li had no idea that someone had been watching her all along.

Rushing back to the company, the secretary's office was unusually lively and relaxed, filled with cheerful laughter.

As Jiang Li walked in, the others reined it in slightly upon seeing her.

"Oh? Who's treating?"

"Sister Jiang, it's not a treat. Ms. Yin is here and bought pizza to reward us."

Xiaochen smiled, picking up a box of beef pizza and handing it to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li had eaten a semi-fulfilling lunch, and the taxi ride back had left her with an unpleasant odor in the air, making her already prone to nausea. The greasy scent of the beef pizza rushed straight into her nasal cavity, and she simply could not hold back her retching.