"Guopeng, I'm starting to see it now. Your eldest daughter usually seems so innocent and pure, but behind our backs, who knows what kind of people she's messing around with outside?" Li Lingyi, Xia Guopeng's wife, fanned the flames from the side. "If we don't teach her a good lesson, she might even lead our Xingkong astray."
"Mom, what are you saying? I would never be like my sister… No, I mean, I would never mess around with boys, let alone get pregnant. I definitely wouldn't bring such shame to the Xia family." Xia Xingkong lowered her gaze, her voice soft and gentle. Yet her words were like adding fuel to the fire.
Xia Xingchen's eyes flickered coldly.
"Xia Xingkong, can you just shut up?"
"I… I'm sorry." Xia Xingkong's eyes reddened with an aggrieved look. "Dad, I shouldn't have interrupted and made my sister sad."
Xia Guopeng's face instantly darkened with anger. He stood up and slapped Xia Xingchen across the face.
"You did something wrong, and you're still giving your sister that attitude! Xingkong wasn't wrong. You've truly shamed the Xia family!"
The slap was not light. Immediately, Xia Xingchen felt a buzzing in her ears, her small face flushing red. However, she just gritted her teeth, straightened her back, and knelt there, refusing to admit her mistake.
She wasn't wrong at all. This slap was unfair, but as long as she had a chance to meet that man again, she would definitely get it back.
"Get rid of this child immediately!" Xia Guopeng finally issued his order.
Before leaving, Xia Xingkong sighed, "Sister, Brother Xu Yan is so good to you. You really shouldn't have…"
Xia Xingchen's heart ached as if pricked by needles, but she also knew that now, she was no longer worthy of Xu Yan.
Xia Xingchen took a leave of absence from school to go to the hospital to abort the child. Afraid of any unforeseen circumstances, Li Lingyi went with her.
"Xia Xingchen!"
The nurse called her name.
She stood up, feeling that everything was like a dream — a nightmare. Soon, she would close her eyes, wake up again, and the nightmare would disappear.
"Take off your pants and lie down. Prepare for anesthesia!" The doctor's voice was cold.
Xia Xingchen climbed onto the operating table, having mentally prepared herself, thinking she could face all this calmly. But now, she still felt cold, shivering.
She hated it.
She deeply hated the person who made her pregnant.
But what was ridiculous was that she didn't even know who that man was. How could something so absurd happen to her?
While she was lost in thought, the operating room door was suddenly pushed open.
A group of people in white coats rushed in, their expressions grave, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Director!" The doctors and nurses collectively stood up to greet the person leading them.
Xia Xingchen lay on the operating table, too listless to care.
"Xia Xingchen! Which one is Xia Xingchen? Has the surgery started?" The director asked several times, his tone filled with fear and panic.
Xia Xingchen frowned and slightly propped herself up.
The nurse pointed at her.
"Director, are you looking for this Xia Xingchen?"
The director pulled out a photo, carefully compared it to her face, and nodded quickly.
"Yes, it's her! Has the surgery started?"
"It's about to begin!"
"Don't touch her! No one is allowed to perform surgery on her!" The director's command left everyone bewildered.
The director's assistant leaned into the doctor's ear and whispered, "We just received a call. The instructions were clear — no hospital or anyone is allowed to perform an abortion on Miss Xia. Otherwise, they will bear the consequences!"
The doctor asked in disbelief, "Whose call?"
The assistant leaned closer and lowered their voice even further. When a name was uttered, the doctor was shocked, her mouth hanging open for a long time. Her attitude toward Xingchen was no longer cold but respectful and awestruck.
"Miss Xia, please come out with us!" The director personally invited her. Someone had already helped her down from the operating table carefully. "Please be careful. Don't hurt the baby."
Xia Xingchen frowned.
"Why can't I get rid of this child?"
"Miss Xia, please don't ask for the reason. As for this child, it absolutely cannot be removed. Not only will our hospital not perform the procedure, but in the entire S Nation, no hospital or doctor would dare accept you. If you don't mind, you might as well recuperate here. Please come to my office, and I will personally examine you and prescribe some nutritional supplements."
"Was the person who called you the child's father?" Xia Xingchen stared at the director. After so long, her mood was surprisingly calm, her eyes cold. "Director, who exactly is he, and what right does he have to stop me from aborting this child?"
She had vaguely heard the assistant mention a name earlier, surnamed Bai, but she couldn't make out the character that followed.
The director shook his head helplessly.
"Miss Xia, I hope you won't make things difficult for me. I don't know if he is the child's father, but in short, if you're not willing to give up, you can try other hospitals."
Xia Xingchen naturally wouldn't give up. She couldn't keep this child, so she immediately went to other hospitals.
However, at every hospital, after comparing her to a photo, a group of people would respectfully invite her into the director's office. No surgery was performed. Instead, she was sent back with a large amount of nutritional supplements.