"Lu Cheng is truly a scumbag!"
"Qingcheng! Look closely! He's keeping a university student outside! Forcing her with money! Playing with her feelings!"
Lin Fan pointed at the blurry image on his phone screen, his eyes filled with fervent righteousness.
"Wake up! Don't let him deceive you anymore."
"Come with me! I'll take you away from this den of iniquity!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, as if he truly were a knight come to rescue a princess from suffering. The self-pitying pathos in his voice almost moved him to tears.
And Gu Qingcheng, at the head of the conference table?
She merely cast a fleeting glance at the battered phone on the table and the few photos on it, which indeed vaguely showed Lu Cheng's profile and a petite figure nestled in his arms…
Her delicate brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
This scoundrel… which foolish woman has he ensnared now?
Truly… he doesn't even spare university students.
Thinking of Lu Cheng, complex emotions stirred within her.
Disappointment? Not really.
She had known for a long time that Lu Cheng didn't have only her.
With his status, his charm.
And… that kind of body, how could he possibly have only her?
Regarding this matter, she was even unexpectedly calm.
A subtle tension, like facing competition, even subtly emerged.
Before Lu Cheng, her pride and reserve had long been crushed and melted away by his domineering and irresistible methods.
She knew very well that she couldn't leave him now.
Only by his side could she feel that sense of security, of being able to rely on and be protected, which she craved so much.
That feeling was a warmth she had never experienced growing up in the cold, rigid Gu Family, where she was treated as a tool for marriage alliances.
Three years ago, Old Master Gu completely disregarded her feelings, simply because Lin Fan presented an ancient marriage contract, and he wanted to tie her life to this useless man.
It was Lu Cheng!
Lu Cheng gave her more say in the Gu Family; it was Lu Cheng who freed her from that cold life full of power struggles.
Facing these few photos, she was already secretly calculating how to gain more of Lu Cheng's favor.
Lin Fan looked at Gu Qingcheng's calm expression, completely devoid of the shock, anger, or tears he had expected.
In fact.
There wasn't even a hint of surprise on her face.
As if these were just trivial, commonplace matters.
This calmness chilled Lin Fan more than any violent reaction would have.
This was his last trump card; he couldn't give up like this!
"He's just a liar who plays with emotions! You can't be fooled by him anymore!"
"He has who knows how many women outside!"
Gu Qingcheng finally looked directly at Lin Fan.
Her gaze was cold and indifferent, with a hint of mockery and pity, like watching a clown show.
"I know."
Her voice was flat, like still water.
"So what?"
Just six simple words.
But they struck Lin Fan like six bolts of lightning.
What did she mean?
She knew Lu Cheng had other women outside?
She… how could she react like this?!
Lin Fan was completely dumbfounded.
He stared at Gu Qingcheng in disbelief, his mouth agape, but no sound came out.
Why?
Gu Qingcheng looked at the twisted, shocked, and collapsing expression on his face, a flash of impatience in her eyes.
Not wanting to waste another second on this person, she coldly delivered another blow:
"Lin Fan."
"Stop dreaming your unrealistic daydreams, okay?"
"What 'Medical Immortal'? Why don't you say you found the Rulai Divine Palm manual? Do you really think this is a fantasy novel?"
"Who do you think you are? No one needs you to save them."
"Sign it."
She pointed to the document on the table.
"Three million yuan is more than generous."
Lin Fan felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water from head to toe.
No! Not ice water!
It was sulfuric acid!
Burning his heart, burning the air, leaving him desperate, suffocating.
All his so-called truths were denied.
He hadn't expected Gu Qingcheng to be so far gone, completely unmoved by the evidence he had gathered… Meanwhile.
At an amusement park in Modu.
Lu Cheng, dressed in casual clothes, wearing a roguish Nick Wilde hat and narrow-framed sunglasses, was watching a puppet show with Xia Qinghe.
Xia Qinghe, wearing a cute Judy Hopps hat, a pure and innocent smile on her face, was excitedly taking selfies with Lu Cheng on her phone.
"Brother Lu Cheng, over here, over here! Look at the camera! Smile!"
"Okay."
Lu Cheng naturally put his arm around Xia Qinghe's waist and, facing the phone camera, displayed a warm and slightly doting smile that could make countless young girls scream.
This drew frequent glances from several girls playing nearby, who whispered enviously:
"Wow! Look at that handsome guy in the fox hat! He's a catch!"
"His girlfriend is so cute too!"
"Wuwuwu, I'm so jealous! Where do people find such handsome and gentle boyfriends? Does the country issue them? Why didn't I get one?"
Just as Xia Qinghe pressed the shutter button.
[Ding! System prompt: Son of Destiny Lin Fan encountered verbal admission + soul interrogation from the female lead, his belief suffered devastating damage! Villain Value +5000!]
The curve of Lu Cheng's smile remained unchanged, but he was amused inside.
Five thousand points? Not bad.
This also meant that the female leads he had captured were indeed completely devoted.
He looked at Xia Qinghe beside him, set their joint photo as his screensaver, and couldn't help but pat her head.
This feeling of controlling everything.
Tsk tsk.
It was truly delightful… Gu Corporation conference room.
Lin Fan stood there, his face twisted in an extreme, inexpressible agony.
He was still unwilling to compromise like this.
Just then.
Gu Qingcheng suddenly felt her stomach churn.
Her face instantly turned somewhat pale; she instinctively raised a hand to cover her mouth and dry-heaved a few times.
This feeling… it had been like this for the past few days, especially when she smelled greasy or pungent odors.
She suppressed the discomfort, her gaze towards Lin Fan growing even more impatient.
She didn't want to spend another second with this man who made her nauseous.
"Sign it!"
Her voice suddenly rose a few octaves, carrying obvious urgency and unconcealed disgust.
Lin Fan looked at Gu Qingcheng's pale face and her dry-heaving.
And as a physician, he keenly noticed the subtle abnormality in her brow.
His gaze fixed intently on Gu Qingcheng's abdomen.
Impossible… Absolutely impossible… How could this be… His face instantly turned ashen, even paler than Gu Qingcheng's.
He opened his mouth, his voice as dry as if sanded.
"Let… let me take your pulse."
"Then I… I'll sign this non-disclosure agreement."
He stared at Gu Qingcheng, his eyes holding an almost insane stubbornness.
Gu Qingcheng looked at him with disgust. What was he trying to do by making such a request?
But she had indeed been feeling unwell lately, and she wanted to quickly get rid of this plague.
"Suspended thread pulse diagnosis."
She spoke coldly; she didn't want Lin Fan to touch even a single finger of hers.
In less than a minute, the secretary entered from outside and handed Gu Qingcheng a spool of silk thread.
She draped one end over her wrist, letting the other hang down.
Lin Fan, with trembling hands, pinched the thin thread.
He began to take her pulse… He hadn't expected that the first time he practiced medicine after his release from prison would be on Gu Qingcheng… and it was to… confirm a guess that made his heart tremble with fear… Although his state of mind was unstable and his medical skills were greatly compromised, the instinct for pulse diagnosis remained.
Following the thin thread, he probed Gu Qingcheng's pulse.
Just for a moment.
Lin Fan's face instantly drained of all color, and his body swayed, as if he might collapse at any moment.
There was no mistake.
It was a pregnancy pulse.
He gave a bitter laugh and tossed the thread aside.
His fiancée, whom he believed was forced and deceived, was now pregnant with another man's child.
His last glimmer of hope completely vanished at this moment.
At this moment, he felt like a clown, stripped naked and deprived of all dignity.
A despair and humiliation more intense than all previous blows combined completely engulfed him.
"Congratulations…"
"Miss Gu."
"It's a pregnancy pulse."
"You… are going to be a mother."
His face pale, he forced out a smile uglier than a cry, his eyes devoid of any light.
He picked up the pen from the table and signed his name on the non-disclosure agreement.
Then, he stood up, without looking at Gu Qingcheng or taking the three-million-yuan check.
He just walked towards the conference room door like a zombie.
His steps staggered, and his back looked as if he had aged decades in an instant.