Chapter Forty-Four: "He loves, yes, he loves with a depth both profound and humble."

“Seriously? What is it you want from me at this hour?” Shen Dongleng looked at Cheng Yunting with a face full of resentment, asking as if he had lost all hope.

“Check Xiao Zheng’s health,” Cheng Yunting said, carefully placing Leng Zheng onto the bed and covering her with a quilt.

“Alright.” Shen Dongleng nodded in resignation. Even without considering Cheng Yunting, Leng Zheng’s identity alone was enough to make him wary.

Shen Dongleng was a doctor versed in both Eastern and Western medicine, but given the circumstances, he could only check Leng Zheng’s pulse.

“Damn it! Cheng Yunting, are you out of your mind?” Shen Dongleng suddenly looked at Cheng Yunting. “Xiao Zheng isn’t even twenty and you already…”

He didn’t finish, but the implication was obvious to anyone.

Cheng Yunting seemed unable to believe it. “Is that true?”

“I can’t be completely sure from her pulse alone. I’ll draw some blood and send it to the hospital for testing.” Shen Dongleng gritted his teeth. If Qin Cheng and the others found out, he wouldn’t live to see another day.

Cheng Yunting nodded, gently cradling Leng Zheng, his eyes rimmed red as he gazed at her.

Shen Dongleng sighed. He knew about Du Ruoyan and Cheng Yunting’s situation, but there was nothing he could do to persuade them. He could only watch them suffer. After all, once Cheng Yunting was separated from Leng Zheng, he practically lost his mind—drinking day and night, hurting himself… all things he was capable of doing.

“By the way, Xiao Zheng cannot withstand emotional turbulence right now. Her moods must be kept in check. If you let her get upset, you might lose the child,” Shen Dongleng reminded before leaving. These two… each one is more stubborn than the other. Difficult to deal with, incredibly obstinate.

“Alright,” Cheng Yunting replied, as if he hadn’t heard, focused entirely on caring for Leng Zheng.

“Ah, what a pair of star-crossed lovers,” Shen Dongleng muttered, shaking his head as he returned to the hospital.

…

“Xiao Zheng…” Cheng Yunting placed Leng Zheng toward the inside of the bed, lay on the outer edge, and gently embraced her. “Don’t leave me, please? Xiao Zheng…”

He kept softly calling her name, as if he had returned to those four months when they were separated.

Leng Zheng was never by his side…

He went to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, and looked at his reflection, feeling utterly disheveled.

“Xiao Zheng…” The name lingered endlessly on his lips. He stepped outside to the bedroom door, smoking one cigarette after another, sitting there in despair.

His girl was pregnant, but it felt as though she no longer belonged to him… her heart wasn’t with him anymore…

After finishing a pack of cigarettes, he went to the bathroom in his study for a shower, then returned to the bedroom.

He sat beside Leng Zheng, simply watching her, not daring to move for fear of waking his girl.

His love was humble and profound; apart from Shen Dongleng and himself, it seemed no one else knew just how deeply he loved Leng Zheng.

Perhaps there were others who knew, but they were few.

His entire body trembled as he stood, slowly supporting himself against the wall to go downstairs and cook porridge for Leng Zheng.

He shakily made his way downstairs. Though he was cooking, his attention remained fixed on the movements upstairs, afraid something might happen to his girl.

He loved her, but he never wanted her to get hurt…