Chapter 189: Unexpected Discovery

Lin Shutong appeared in the ward; Shen Xun, sick and listless, lifted his eyes, and his first words were: "How did you come here?"

He seemed not to welcome her appearance.

Lin Shutong's face turned pale, yet she softened her voice and stepped forward: "Ah Xun, are you alright? I came as soon as I heard you were sick."

"Who told you?" Shen Xun looked at Xie Yongsi.

Xie Yongsi quickly shook his head; it wasn't him.

Speaking of this, Lin Shutong also felt doubtful; she had thought it was the hospital, but upon opening the message she discovered that this number had sent her news of Shen Xun's drunkenness a month and a half ago.

She called the number, but no one answered.

Just then Shen Xun asked, and she readily handed over her phone.

Shen Xun immediately recognized it as Jiang Lai's phone number; he had been texting this number frequently lately and had memorized it.

Thus he blurted out: "Jiang Lai?"

Jiang Lai told Lin Shutong that she was sick and hospitalized; did that mean she still cared? Otherwise why would she notify someone to come see him?

Shen Xun dwelled on this thought.

Lin Shutong was also surprised: "Jiang Lai? A month and a half ago, when you got drunk at a social event, it was this number that notified me to come pick you up."

Shen Xun's body instantly stiffened.

Jiang Lai didn't care about him; she had stopped caring from that time, which is why she ignored his drunkenness, ignored his stomachache hospitalization, and even notified another woman.

Realizing this, Shen Xun felt a fresh pang of anguish; the combined physical and psychological stimulation made him break out in a cold sweat again.

The doctor looked at Xie Yongsi and Lin Shutong, suggesting they register Shen Xun for psychiatry to rule out organic lesions; it was likely psychological.

Lin Shutong's chest felt as if pressed by a boulder—was the divorce from Jiang Lai really this painful!

Xie Yongsi received a call, went downstairs to get porridge, then returned; Lin Shutong, eyes red, left his side.

He paused for a moment, then entered and asked: "What did you say to Shutong?"

Shen Xun: "Tell her, the person I like now is Jiang Lai."

Xie Yongsi: "She's still pregnant with your child."

Shen Xun: "This child cannot be kept; keeping it would be bad for both of us."

Xie Yongsi was momentarily speechless, handed over the porridge: "Eat something."

"No appetite." Shen Xun slowly closed his eyes, leaning against the headboard, looking utterly devoid of will to live.

……

Jiang Lai sat quietly on a bench near the obstetrics and gynecology department, her hair loose, wearing an ordinary blue medical mask, resembling someone waiting for an electronic display to call a number.

The difference was that she occasionally glanced at the two escalator entrances above and below, betting on whether Lin Shutong would come to the obstetrics and gynecology department to check on her unborn child.

Even if no one appeared for a long time, she was neither annoyed nor anxious; patience is what researchers have most.

Jiang Lai sat quietly; before long, Lin Shutong's figure indeed appeared at the escalator entrance.

Lin Shutong looked at the words "obstetrics and gynecology," her steps halted again and again; she had intended to leave directly, but as her foot was about to step onto the escalator, she turned back.

Shen Xun did not want her to bear this child, but she insisted on giving birth.

Jiang Lai had already divorced Shen Xun, and Shen Xun had fallen for Jiang Lai again; if she didn't have this child in her belly, what could she use to bind Shen Xun? What could she use to shut up the Shen family demanding repayment?

If Jiang Lai truly sued for property, with this child present, Shen Xun would certainly not ignore her.

Lin Shutong quickly registered on her phone, then sat on a bench outside the obstetrics and gynecology department.

Just then, not far away, Jiang Lai's heart also rose and fell; the heart that had been suspended sank at this moment.

Half an hour later, Lin Shutong's number was called.

Jiang Lai watched her walk into the obstetrics department.

Those who are pregnant go to gynecology for abortion, and go to obstetrics for prenatal check-ups and registration.

Whether Lin Shutong went to obstetrics or for an examination, Jiang Lai took photos.

Lin Shutong entered the ultrasound room; Jiang Lai walked a bit farther to wait, and suddenly saw an acquaintance.

Not really an acquaintance, but a senior she had met when accompanying her mentor to an academic conference years ago.

Her mentor had told her to address the man as "Uncle Lu."

Uncle Lu was in his forties, stout and broad; when he smiled his eyes narrowed into slits. In his youth he too had been a researcher, later leaving the institute to start a company, becoming its boss, developing products related to Crystal Core, focusing on the intelligent medical field.

However, it was somewhat strange: Uncle Lu, after all a company president, came to the hospital without an assistant beside him.

As she wondered, Uncle Lu also saw her.

The moment their eyes met, Uncle Lu smiled and walked toward her; this person was a senior, so Jiang Lai promptly stepped forward and politely said, "Uncle Lu."

"Jiang Lai? I thought I was mistaken; what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to find someone." Jiang Lai saw Uncle Lu folding the paper in his hand—likely a test report—quickly, as if afraid of being seen.

She averted her gaze and asked: "How is your health, Uncle Lu?"

"Pretty good, I'm accompanying someone for a check-up." Uncle Lu smiled, glanced at his watch, and said, "There's still a meeting this afternoon at the company; I'll go first."

"Goodbye, Uncle Lu."

"Eh, okay."

Jiang Lai watched the person walk away; while reaching into her pocket for her phone, the report slip originally in her pocket was pulled out and fell to the ground.

The hospital forbids loud noise; Jiang Lai strode over to pick it up, intending to catch up, but Uncle Lu had already gone far.

At that moment, Lin Shutong emerged from the ultrasound room.

She had no choice but to put the test slip away and walk farther off, to avoid being seen by Lin Shutong.

Perhaps Uncle Lu had folded it hastily and imperfectly; when Jiang Lai lowered her head, she saw a line of small text exposed on the report slip.

(TP-Ab/TPPA): Positive (+)

Jiang Lai's hand trembled.

She found it hard to believe, just about to take out her phone to search and verify, when Uncle Lu turned back again, his face somewhat anxious, his eyes scanning the ground.

As she looked up, Uncle Lu suddenly called to Lin Shutong ahead.

Lin Shutong saw the person before her clearly, her pupils trembled slightly, and the next second she softly called, "Uncle Lu."

Do they know each other?

It seemed more than just an acquaintance; after exchanging a glance, they walked toward a less crowded place.

Jiang Lai followed inexplicably, but she didn't dare get too close, until she saw them enter the stairs of the safety exit.

The door was slightly ajar, and Jiang Lai stood behind it.

The voices of their conversation came from inside, faint and intermittent.

Uncle Lu: "The ultrasound report? You're pregnant? It's not mine, is it?"

Jiang Lai's mind went blank for an instant.

Lin Shutong: "No, it's only a little over a month."

"Indeed, it's not mine; if it were two months, I couldn't be sure." Uncle Lu asked, "Whose is it?"

Jiang Lai opened the voice recorder on her phone.

Lin Shutong didn't answer directly, but countered: "Uncle Lu, what are you doing at the hospital?"

Uncle Lu: "That's also not your concern; your… examination report, is anything wrong?"

Lin Shutong found that a bit odd, but didn't think much of it: "I only had an ultrasound, waiting for the doctor to look; nothing else yet."

Uncle Lu: "Hmm."

They seemed not intending to continue, and Jiang Lai stepped away.

Uncle Lu and Lin Shutong were more than acquaintances; they had a sexual relationship, and from Uncle Lu's tone, it seemed they had been together once before returning to the country.

Jiang Lai gripped the report in her hand, pondered for a moment, then opened it.

Syphilis spirochete-specific antibody (TP-Ab/TPPA): positive (+).

It is known that Uncle Lu is positive; Uncle Lu and Lin Shutong have had sexual relations, and Lin Shutong and Shen Xun have had sexual relations.

Shen Xun and she have not had sexual relations, but they once lived under the same roof.

Jiang Lai's lips turned pale, and she immediately decided to go draw blood for an infectious disease screening.