They sat facing each other, eating their meal in silence, not a single word exchanged.
Late at night, after a long and exhausting day, she was finally lying in bed.
The next day, she slept until ten o'clock.
She dragged her nearly broken body out of bed. Thankfully, the swelling on her face had gone down a lot, but the pain in her hands was still irritating; even brushing her teeth hurt.
She changed into casual clothes and went out.
Yu Zhan was still sitting on the living room sofa, a pillow on his lap with a laptop on top of it, his rimless glasses on as he attended to his affairs.
And next to him was a neatly folded blanket.
He... slept here last night?
"Morning," said Luo Shu.
"Morning."
He looked up, finally giving her a proper look, but then quickly averted his gaze.
"Go downstairs for breakfast. After you eat, we'll do the check-up, and then we'll go get the certificate."
He lowered his head and continued with his work.
"...Okay." Luo Shu tugged at the hem of her shirt and walked downstairs.
He was moving so fast; Luo Shu's head was still buzzing.
"Good morning, Miss Luo!" said the maid.
"Morning."
Breakfast was a congee with Chinese yam and lean pork, which was very appetizing.
After breakfast, she wandered around the first floor, finally taking in the appearance of his villa.
The front yard was a retro-style small courtyard with some flowers and plants. The backyard was like a farmhouse courtyard, with a stone path, a square pavilion, and a man-made fish pond that wrapped halfway around the wall, giving it a unique style.
She observed it quietly, a strange feeling in her heart.
[My legs are about to break from climbing 16 flights of stairs.] A message from Shen Yan from earlier that morning.
[Did you offend the elevator, so it won't let you in?]
Luo Shu remembered him running in, out of breath, last night.
[I wanted to take it, but I got your call right as I reached the elevator bank. It was crowded at that time, and the elevator had just gone up. The boss was worried something would happen to you, so he just ran up the stairs. It wouldn't have been right for me to wait for the elevator.]
They... ran up the stairs?
Sixteen floors…
At some point, Yu Zhan was standing beside her.
"Let's go."
She was stunned for a moment. "Okay."
——
Today, it was Butler Li, who had originally been on leave to visit his hometown, who was driving. She had seen him once or twice when leaving work.
Shen Yan sat in the passenger seat, handling documents.
This time, they were in a different car, one with a partition. As soon as they got in, the partition in the middle rose.
Luo Shu felt a bit awkward. The two of them sat primly in the back, a clear boundary between them.
"If I'm not pregnant..." Luo Shu only said half the sentence.
"If you're not pregnant, then next time. Don't feel too much pressure."
Next time…
Oh my, her face turned red again.
"Did you bring your household registration book?"
"I did."
"Do you have any requirements for me?" Yu Zhan turned his head to look at her.
Luo Shu glanced at him, then quickly looked away.
"I... I'm still not used to it..."
"It's okay. Take your time."
——
At the hospital, they picked up the pre-prepared forms from the nurses' station and went directly to the ultrasound room, completely bypassing the queue.
Luo Shu followed behind him the entire time, like a puppet, with nothing to do.
Until she was lying on the examination bed, Yu Zhan stood by her side, waiting.
"Why don't you go out first?" Luo Shu asked shyly.
"No need, it'll be quick. Just take off your pants," the female doctor said with a smile. She had probably been briefed beforehand.
Luo Shu clutched her clothes, her face beet red. "Yu Zhan, you should still go out first..."
"Okay."
So embarrassing, it's a transvaginal ultrasound—
Less than two minutes later, Luo Shu walked out.
Yu Zhan took her directly to his aunt's office.
"Auntie."
Yu Zhan walked to his aunt's desk, pulled Luo Shu over, and gestured for her to sit down.
Luo Shu obediently sat down. "Hello, Auntie."
"Hello!" His aunt was all smiles. While looking at the computer and opening the files, she said, "I heard you came for Grandpa's birthday a few days ago, but I didn't see you come upstairs later. What a pity. I never thought I'd see you here!"
"..." She gave an awkward laugh.
Did the whole family know they had a 'fight'?
"You're not pregnant, Shu'er. You've probably been eating irregularly lately," his aunt said with a frown. "Have you been skipping meals again?"
Luo Shu was stunned. The huge weight in her heart was finally lifted! Thank goodness she wasn't pregnant!
But it was true that her diet had been a bit irregular lately. Because of the whole situation with Qin Heng, she sometimes couldn't even eat.
"Yu Zhan, this is your fault! Last time, she starved herself until she had a stomachache, and now you're letting her go hungry again!"
His aunt muttered, "If you don't eat on time, your stomach will protest and send signals. Everyone's body is different, so dry-heaving is normal. But remember to eat on time and stop eating junk food."
"You're right, Auntie. I'll be more careful next time."
Yu Zhan placed his hands on Luo Shu's shoulders and patted them.
"Since you're here for a gynecological check-up, let me just add a couple of things. Before you try to conceive, take some folic acid first. You're only twenty-two, so there's no rush. Take it for a month or two, then consider having a baby." His aunt's words were quite open, but Luo Shu didn't dare to listen to another word.
Finally escaping from her office, Luo Shu felt a sense of relief.
"You haven't been eating much lately?" Yu Zhan asked, casually taking her hand.
Luo Shu didn't hide it. "I've been dealing with some personal matters lately and haven't had much of an appetite."
She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on even tighter.
"Mm." Yu Zhan didn't press for details.
Luo Shu had been hesitating for a long time, but she felt she had to tell him about her ex-boyfriend. She mustered up her courage and stopped at the hospital entrance.
"Yu Zhan, you know Qin Heng is my ex-boyfriend. The person we ran into at the hospital yesterday was..."
Yu Zhan looked at her, like a child who had done something wrong. He stroked her head, interrupting her.
"It's in the past, so don't think about it. I don't care about your past; that doesn't belong to me. But in the future, you are mine. That's what I care about."
Luo Shu looked up at him. For a moment, she thought Yu Zhan was incredibly handsome.
"Don't dwell on it, little one. Let's go eat," he said with a slight smile, then took her hand and walked towards the street.
He smiled! He actually smiled at her!
Luo Shu's mood instantly brightened, and she felt less nervous.
——
He took her to "Shi Fu."
They sat at the same window seat as last time. Luo Shu couldn't help but ask, "Who was that you were having dinner with last time?"
"My ex-girlfriend."
"Huh?"
After ordering, Yu Zhan looked up at her seriously.
"She just came back from abroad. I treated her to a meal. But don't worry, it's impossible between us."
"So, that night... do you remember how you got home?" she asked, feeling a little guilty.
"I wasn't drunk," he said in his usual ice-cold tone.
"..." Luo Shu awkwardly took a sip of water, not daring to look at him.
So, he had been faking it. He knew she had hit him, and he probably also heard all the things she had cursed him for.
Sigh, could this get any more awkward—
"Yu Zhan," said Luo Shu.
"Go ahead."
"It's just... at the company, can we not make it public? I'm afraid it will affect your work."
After stammering through her request, she suddenly felt she was being unreasonable.
She wasn't afraid of affecting his work; she was afraid of affecting her own.
If people in her department found out she was married to the boss, how could she possibly get along with them in the future?
He was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
She could tell he didn't seem very happy about it.
"Then, do you have any requirements for me?" Luo Shu quickly changed the subject.
"Just don't break the law."
His answer was quite surprising.
The steaks arrived. Yu Zhan didn't let her do it herself. He cut her steak for her and passed it to her, letting her eat first before cutting his own.
Luo Shu ate while watching him intently.
Actually, maybe being married wasn't so bad after all.
During the meal, Luo Shu told him about her family situation. As expected, he still didn't care. It seemed as long as it was Luo Shu, nothing else mattered.
This made Luo Shu's favorable impression of him grow even more.