Halfway through his cigarette, suddenly, Zhou Si remembered something. He quickly stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.
Then, he said casually, "Sorry, I forgot you're pregnant. You probably shouldn't be exposed to second - hand smoke."
Jiang Xixi shook her head, looking dazed. "It's okay. Do as you like."
Hearing this, Zhou Si couldn't help but take a second look at her. "I heard second - hand smoke can cause birth defects. You're okay with that?"
"Yeah." Jiang Xixi replied with a single word in a low voice. Then she looked up at him steadily. "Why are you so concerned about my baby? You shouldn't be hoping for it to be born."
Zhou Si was taken aback. He rubbed his chin and scoffed. "Seems you're not as stupid as you look. You do understand the stakes."
He brushed the ash off his palm and glanced up at the attic study. His voice was light. "It doesn't matter whether you give birth or not. It won't change the outcome."
Anyway, what he wanted wasn't the Lin family.
What he wanted was the destruction of the Lin family.
"I know." Jiang Xixi replied casually. She lowered her head and stroked her belly. "Lin Chuluo can't compete with you. You're more patient."
Just from watching the fight coldly earlier, the difference between the two was obvious.
Zhou Si was very flexible and knew how to use his advantages to win secretly.
Lin Chuluo was different. His greed was clearly shown.
Originally, Zhou Si had no feelings for Jiang Xixi. But after hearing what she said, he suddenly became interested in her. "Shouldn't you be on his side? You're his wife and the mother of his child."
Jiang Xixi suddenly fell silent.
After a long time, she softly said, "If there wasn't this baby, it would be easier for you to take over the Lin family, right?"
After saying that, she stared at him blankly and let out a couple of laughs. "Take me to the hospital and abort this baby."
Zhou Si's pupils suddenly constricted, and his face turned ashen!
"Are you crazy?" Zhou Si looked at the haggard woman in front of him. He wanted to smoke a cigarette to calm down, but found his hands were shaking.
This woman was not normal.
Jiang Xixi squinted her eyes and laughed. "If you don't take me to the hospital, I'll stab this knife into my belly right now and say it was you who did it to me."
Saying this, she took out a fruit knife from somewhere.
It was shiny and very sharp.
Zhou Si closed his eyes. His face was gloomy. "Even if I take you to the hospital, can't you still claim that I encouraged you to have an abortion?"
He suspected that this was a conspiracy planned by Lin Chuluo and Jiang Xixi.
"Little girl, don't ruin yourself for Lin Chuluo. Think more about yourself." His voice was unexpectedly gentle. "Didn't I remind you last time?"
Stay away from Lin Chuluo.
Jiang Xixi's smile became brighter, but it was indescribably pale. "I'm doing this for myself. That's why I want to abort this baby."
"As long as you take me to the hospital to have the baby aborted, I'll tell everyone that I deliberately lied to you that I had a stomachache and that I voluntarily had the abortion."
The sincerity in her eyes didn't seem like she was lying.
After a long time, he suddenly stood up, rushed over and grabbed her wrist. He squinted his eyes. "Are you sure? This baby is your foundation in the Lin family."
He was referring to the baby in her belly.
Jiang Xixi blinked. Her eyes were dull. "You know, if I lose this baby, I'll be of no value to the Lin family. They'll kick me out."
Zhou Si looked at her for a while and suddenly understood her intention. "Are you sure you want to leave here and leave Lin Chuluo?"
Jiang Xixi nodded without any hesitation.
She had made up her mind.
...
On the way to the hospital.
Zhou Si looked at Jiang Xixi sitting beside him, calm - faced. He had a strange feeling in his heart.
Originally, he looked down on Jiang Xixi.
A woman reduced to a pawn, both stupid and pitiful.
But this time, he suddenly felt a bit of admiration for her.
A woman who could calmly extricate herself from the mire and choose to be free was really worthy of respect.
Facing what was about to come, she was very calm. There was not a trace of fear in her eyes. There was even a bit of anticipation.
"Do you have any friends?" Zhou Si suddenly asked. "You may need someone to take care of you after the abortion. It's better to call a friend over."
Friends?
The face of Ning Anmiao flashed through Jiang Xixi's mind.
"Miao..." She said one word and then suddenly swallowed it back. She shook her head bitterly. "I have no friends."
She was proud. Ning Anmiao was her only friend from childhood to adulthood.
But she didn't cherish this friendship and had tried every means to hurt her.
Zhou Si heard the word and, associating it with the information he had obtained before, silently took out his phone from his pocket.
He still had Ning Anmiao's contact information.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he still sent her a text message.
...
During this period, Ning Anmiao and Lu Yan were preparing for their wedding next year.
The wedding ceremony was much more complicated than the engagement ceremony. Besides inviting relatives and friends, they also had to prepare wedding favors, find groomsmen and bridesmaids, and get familiar with the wedding process in advance.
Busy as she was, Ning Anmiao even lost a little weight.
One day, Ning Anmiao was still looking through the brochure sent by the wedding planner. Looking at the dizzying content inside, she was so entangled that her head hurt.
But since she finally had a chance to start over, she didn't want to be as hasty as the first time.
Her perfectionist problem resurfaced. She carefully considered several plans but wasn't satisfied with any of them. She had pushed herself into a dead end.
Lu Yan was cooking in the kitchen. From time to time, he could hear the little woman's sighs from the living room.
"This one won't do."
"This one won't do either."
"This one is too complicated. It will take too much time."
"This one is too old - fashioned. It has no originality."
"..."
When Lu Yan finished cooking, the little girl was still sitting on the sofa with a frown. Her frown was so deep that it couldn't be smoothed out.
Lu Yan said, "Come and have dinner."
Ning Anmiao pouted, put down the brochure in her hand, and sat down at the dining table. Looking at the table full of dishes, she had no appetite.
Seeing Ning Anmiao stirring her chopsticks in the bowl, Lu Yan frowned slightly. He pinched her wrist with his well - defined fingers. "What difficulties have you encountered?"
Ning Anmiao looked up at him. Her eyes blinked. "What wedding favors should we prepare for the guests when we get married?"
After all this entanglement, it turned out that this was what she was worried about.
Lu Yan's gaze fell on her. "We can prepare jewelry for the female guests; for the male guests, watches and belts are good choices."
Anyway, the Lu family was not short of money. They could afford to choose high - end brands.
Ning Anmiao shook her head. "That's too unoriginal. People won't remember it."
The things she cared about always made Lu Yan laugh and cry. "We should give something special, something that will make people think of our wedding as soon as they see it."
"So, what do you think is suitable?" Lu Yan asked her with a smile.