Chapter 238: Lin Shutong Collapses

Lin Shutong snatched the report before him, clearly carrying a hint of anger.

Xie Yongsi thought it must be that pregnant women have larger emotional swings and are more sensitive.

He didn't mind.

He was about to look at the report when Lin Shutong suddenly pressed it against her chest; her face drained of color, and the hand holding the report trembled slightly.

Lin Shutong saw the "positive (+)" mark.

Xie Yongsi was startled by her sudden action: "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the report?"

"No problem." Lin Shutong answered quickly, then quickly calmed herself and said, "My stomach just hurt again suddenly; I'm going to see the doctor to find out what's going on."

Lin Shutong gripped the paper report tightly and hurried toward the doctor's office.

Xie Yongsi followed closely behind.

He felt Lin Shutong's condition was a bit strange.

Arriving at the doctor's office door, Lin Shutong said, "You don't need to stay here with me; otherwise the doctor might get the wrong idea. Go check on A Xun."

The office door closed.

Xie Yongsi was left outside, and he frowned.

Forget it; it made it seem like he loved to meddle.

Inside the office.

Before Lin Shutong could hand over her report, the doctor had already seen it in the system.

The doctor said in a calm tone: "Your syphilis antibody screening in the four-item immune panel of this prenatal check is positive."

Lin Shutong's hand shook even more, her whole body tensed, and she kept wondering when she might have contracted it.

She wasn't completely ignorant about this; after a one-night stand she would take medication.

Except for that night with Lu Hongyuan before she returned home.

Although Lu Hongyuan didn't pursue academia, going into business instead, he still had students under him who wrote academic papers.

To make her entry into the Self-developed Chip Project Team more natural, she had Lu Hongyuan give her the first authorship of a paper.

At the time, busy preparing to return home, she momentarily forgot about it.

How did she end up infected!

Seeing her nervous, the doctor poured her a cup of hot water and then said: "A positive screening doesn't necessarily mean infection; it could be a false positive or a past infection. We need to do further confirmatory tests."

"Don't panic; I'll order a confirmatory test. The RPR titer will be ready today, while the TPPA must be sent to the lab and will be out tomorrow afternoon. We'll see after the results come."

Lin Shutong recalled seeing Lu Hongyuan at the hospital that day.

Could Lu Hongyuan have come for an infectious disease check?

Lin Shutong: "I want it rushed, no matter the cost—I want it rushed!"

Without the confirmatory test report, she felt every minute as if she were in a frying pan.

After the rush, Lin Shutong received the full set of reports that same night.

It was confirmed.

She had an active infection.

All color drained from Lin Shutong's face.

Doctor: "With current medical standards, proper treatment during pregnancy can mostly prevent transmission to the child; you now..."

She could no longer hear what the doctor was saying, only feeling a buzzing in her ears like a bee, irritating her.

Lin Shutong tore up the report like a madwoman.

How could she have contracted such a shameful disease?

How could she possibly get such a shameful disease!

This is a shameful disease!

Not only would it make her body emit a foul odor, it could also infect her child; if those around her found out, what looks would they give her!

Disdain, disgust, mockery?

These were what Lin Shutong could not accept the most.

As a child, her budding intelligence saw her accompany her grandfather to meet many important figures, none of whom failed to praise her.

Who knew that after middle school she gradually became mediocre, and everyone's gaze toward her changed.

She had already gone through this once; how could she endure it again!

Lin Shutong's inner self had already collapsed.

She immediately called Lu Hongyuan, opening with: "You got the disease—why didn't you tell me!"

From the phone came Lu Hongyuan's surprised voice: "You're infected?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

"What's there to worry about? It's not untreatable." Lu Hongyuan said offhandedly, as if he didn't consider this a big deal, and it wasn't HIV infection.

Lin Shutong couldn't accept the thought of her body rotting and stinking; she gritted her teeth and asked, "Where are you?"

"What's up?"

"I'm asking where you are!"

Lu Hongyuan couldn't get Jiang Lai, so he settled for Lin Shutong, a half-baked person, to be in charge of the new project, mainly out of respect for Ji Lao.

Whether Lin Shutong had real ability didn't matter; what mattered was that Ji Lao had real ability, and Lin Shutong could get him to act even when she couldn't summon him herself.

So he still didn't want to fall out with Lin Shutong.

Lu Hongyuan sent over his location.

Lin Shutong headed straight to the bar, deliberately letting her hair loose, wearing a mask and sunglasses, wrapping herself up tightly.

After entering the private room, she directly smashed her bag into Lu Hongyuan's face; the flesh on his face twitched, and his gaze toward Lin Shutong already carried anger.

Other women were still smugly provoking, looking at the fully armed Lin Shutong, and looking at her they didn't seem like the original wife.

"What are you looking at! Hurry up and go to the hospital for an infectious disease screening!"

Lin Shutong's one sentence scared the women in the private room so much that they all turned pale and fled.

Only the two of them remained in the private room.

Lu Hongyuan said impatiently: "What do you want to do? I still have clients coming later."

Lu Hongyuan, do you know you're trying to kill me!

Lu Hongyuan looked at her, calmly said: "Speak, what do you want? Money? I know you've been short of cash lately, selling things everywhere."

Lin Shutong suddenly froze.

She had just been dominated by fear and anger, forgetting that she could use this matter to blackmail Lu Hongyuan for a sum.

Lu Hongyuan instead reminded her.

"Fifty million." Lin Shutong made a lion's demand, "If you don't give it, the news of your disease will soon spread."

Lu Hongyuan, who had weathered many ups and downs in the business world for years, laughed.

Yellow-haired girl, ignorant of what's good for her.

I'll give you at most five million, considering how you once made me comfortable, and also considering our future cooperation, not a cent more; if you spread the news, your disease will also be exposed.

Little girl, don't always be so impulsive, so impatient; isn't it just to return a large sum of money to President Shen's original wife? No need to be desperate.

Lin Shutong's pupils contracted: "How do you know?"

"There's no secret in the circle; even confidential data is stolen by someone with all means; you three's little matter has long been spread, it's just that everyone out of respect for Ji Lao's face doesn't talk about it." Lu Hongyuan reached out and pulled her, bringing her into his embrace.

Lin Shutong sat on his lap, trying to struggle.

"How about I give you an idea?" Lu Hongyuan reached his hand into Lin Shutong's clothing, his palm lightly rubbing her lower abdomen.

This disease is contagious; the child can't be born, and even if born likely has problems; you might as well let the child's father unintentionally get rid of the child, and out of guilt wouldn't you then have whatever you say be law? You want how much, I'll give how much.

Lin Shutong stared blankly at him.

She actually felt it made some sense.

She had originally planned to exploit Shen Xun's guilt, but she could never grasp the true vital point.