The abandoned daughter of the Lu family turns around and marries a celibate tycoon.

Lu Xiran gently pushed open the door. When Xue Jingyan saw her, a hint of apology appeared on his face. He said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Miss Lu, it was my oversight. The information was incorrect. I have already explained it to Yan Shen."

Lu Xiran nodded slightly to him.

Xue Jingyan tactfully stood up, patted Gu Yanshen on the shoulder, and quietly left the office, gently closing the door behind him.

The room returned to silence.

Lu Xiran walked to the sofa and slowly sat down next to Gu Yanshen. He didn't move, still maintaining that slightly curled-up posture, his eyelids lowered, his thick eyelashes casting small shadows under his eyelids, as if he hadn't completely recovered from that extreme emotional storm, and his whole person exuded a rare, fragile kind of fatigue.

Lu Xiran reached out and carefully took his hand into her warm palm. His fingers were a little cool, but he obediently let her hold them.

There was no response, nor did they withdraw.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered, her voice as soft as a feather. She turned her head and gently rested her cheek on his taut shoulder. "I made you worry, and... feel sad."

Gu Yanshen's Adam's apple bobbed, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and almost broken, carrying a sense of powerlessness bordering on exhaustion: "No... I misunderstood. I..." He forced a self-deprecating smile, but failed to achieve a proper curve, "I've made you laugh."

Lu Xiran shook her head, straightened up, and turned to face him. She bent her legs and knelt directly on the soft carpet in front of him, tilted her head back, and looked into his lowered, still dark eyes with her clear eyes. She held his hands even tighter, as if to transfer all her strength to him.

"It's not a joke." She corrected herself earnestly, her tone filled with heartache and self-reproach. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have... hidden the medication from you. I was too selfish, I didn't try to understand what you truly wanted."

Gu Yanshen's eyes flickered slightly: "Lin Chen... told you everything?"

"Hmm." Lu Xiran raised her hand, her fingertips gently tracing the deep wrinkles between his brows, trying to smooth them out. "It's my fault... for not understanding you enough. But, Uncle," she leaned closer, her voice softer, tinged with shyness and frankness, "after you got drunk last time and said you wanted a child... I haven't eaten since."

Gu Yanshen's body trembled almost imperceptibly. He abruptly raised his eyes to meet her frank and gentle gaze: "What...did you say?"

"I was saying," Lu Xiran's cheeks flushed slightly, but she still bravely met his gaze, "I originally planned to wait until I finished my studies before seriously trying to conceive. But you said the other day... you wanted one. So I was thinking, if... if fate brings us together and the baby wants to come, we'll welcome him/her, okay?"

Gu Yanshen seemed struck by this sudden, overwhelming surprise, momentarily at a loss for words. He quickly reached out to help her up from the carpet, pulling her to sit beside him. His fingers unconsciously tightened, gripping her so tightly they hurt slightly. "You...are you willing?" he asked, his voice still trembling with disbelief, "Willing to have my child?"

"Of course I'd like to." Lu Xiran wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against his warm chest, her voice tinged with a hint of coquettishness, "Have you forgotten? I told you—"

She paused, then looked up and repeated, word by word, the solemn promise clearly:

"Lu Xiran will always belong to Gu Yanshen. Since you want a baby, I'll give birth to one for you."

Gu Yanshen was completely stunned. The dull pain in his chest that had not yet subsided was instantly replaced by a surge of hot, warm current that made his eyes well up with tears, leaving him speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth, but only hugged her tighter, buried his face in the crook of her fragrant neck, and took a deep breath.

"I thought..." His voice was muffled, filled with lingering fear and grievance, "I thought you didn't want to... I thought you..."

Lu Xiran felt a slight dampness on the nape of her neck, her heart ached, and she hugged him even tighter. "I'm sorry, I made you sad."

After a while, she stepped back slightly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the buttons on his shirt, muttering softly with a touch of cute annoyance, "But... it seems getting pregnant isn't that easy. It's all..."

She was too embarrassed to continue.

Gu Yanshen understood. The heavy gloom was finally completely dispelled, and his heart softened terribly, filled with an immense joy of something lost and then regained. He pulled her into his arms again from behind, his arms encircling her waist, his chin resting on the top of her head. His voice returned to its steady tone, even carrying a barely perceptible hint of aggrieved and mischievous grievance that he only revealed to her:

"Silly girl. Your willingness to have my baby... makes me happier than if I were actually pregnant." He paused, his warm breath brushing against her ear, his tone suddenly lowering, carrying a hint and determination only the two of them could understand, "Besides, this... still depends on me, doesn't it? I need to 'try harder' a little harder, right?"

Lu Xiran's face instantly turned bright red, and she nudged him lightly with her elbow, embarrassed and annoyed: "Stop it! We're still outside..."

Gu Yanshen chuckled softly, a laugh that finally dispelled the last trace of gloom, filled with doting affection and a hint of triumphant slyness. He tightened his arms around her and whispered in her ear:

"Alright, as you wish, madam. Then... let's go home and 'make a scene' again."

After that day, Gu Yanshen seemed to be injected with a silent yet enduring drive, becoming even more enthusiastic about his "baby-making plan." Often exhausted by his antics, Gu Yanshen would sometimes find himself drowsy and unable to help but feel a vague sense of regret—should he have told him about stopping the medication so soon…?

At first, Jin Qiqi only experienced a barely perceptible change in the softness of her lower abdomen. Then, a piece of news that had been leaked from who-knows-where caused an uproar in the glamorous socialite circle of Haicheng, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

[I heard Jin Qiqi is pregnant out of wedlock!]

Yes! Someone saw her in the OB/GYN!

[Really? She changes boyfriends faster than the seasons. How can we be sure whose boyfriend she is?]

[Playing this big? Where does the Kim family put their face?]

I heard from an insider that it might be the second young master of the Nie family...

Various speculations, sarcasm, and gloating rumors spread. Jin Qiqi's phone was almost completely flooded with messages of "concern" and inquiries, so she simply turned it off, but she couldn't escape her mother's direct visit.