Chapter 326: Shen and Lin Harm Each Other

Chi Ce slowly took the phone, pressed the power button, and, pretending to be calm, said, "Sorry to embarrass you, I've found another job."

Planning to bluff his way through.

Aunt Mo is well‑versed in all the books; there's nothing she doesn't understand.

Ke Zhongyu, being a man, already knows about him and Fu Youqing, knows what the earlier words meant, and his mind is as clear as a mirror.

The three share an unspoken understanding.

The only one being bluffed is Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai isn't one to meddle, so Chi Ce works two jobs whenever he wants to.

Chi Ce, after changing his medicine and about to leave, is called back by Ke Zhongyu.

"How did you manage that?" Ke Zhongyu doesn't really want to ask, but he truly thinks Chi Ce has suddenly turned his luck.

He originally thought Chi Ce would stay single forever, just watching Fu Daxiaojie from afar.

Chi Ce once watched Fu Youqing dance with someone at a ball, suppressing a painful expression, and quoted the Northern Song scholar Zhou Dunyi: "Fragrance that spreads far becomes purer; a lofty, clean plant can be admired from a distance but not defiled."

It was then that he finally understood Chi Ce's thoughts.

Chi Ce knows he can't hide it from Ke Zhongyu and has no intention to, yet in front of Jiang Lai he seems unable to be too blunt.

Ke Zhongyu asks his questions so formally.

"Accident." He sums it up in two words and sits down again.

"From a non‑academic networking event, under the influence of some chemicals, to another non‑academic gathering where we had an in‑depth exchange, I found that we were somewhat compatible in certain respects; or rather, some of my actions and viewpoints were approved by her, which resulted in a certain reward. However, I don't want that reward; she has her own code of conduct, and if I don't accept the reward, we cannot continue this cooperative relationship."

Very official.

Then, still in an official tone, he says: "According to my understanding, this isn't suitable for you, Director Ke; the counterpart's personality is different, so the approach must be different."

"Done speaking."

Now it's Aunt Mo's turn to be vague.

Jiang Lai pretends to understand, but doesn't really.

Ke Zhongyu hums a "mm," indicating he may leave.

Chi Ce grabs the medicine box and darts away; if he stayed any longer, even his thick skin would melt.

A cold breeze blows, and he calms down considerably.

He pulls out his phone and sees that Fu Daxiaojie has removed him from the blacklist again; reading the line "Living well," he can't help feeling proud, but seeing the ten‑thousand‑yuan transfer makes his smile turn helpless.

The next second, he sends a message: "Will you cover me long‑term?"

He thinks, the more ties we can build, the better.

Chi Ce's front foot leaves, while Ke Zhongyu's driver returns from Hexin Yiyuan and brings news of Shen Xun's situation after heading to Hexin Yiyuan.

One and a half hours earlier.

Shen Xun, with a dark expression, arrives at Lin Shutong's ward.

It's mealtime, and Gu Zhiyan goes to buy dinner.

Now Lin Shutong receives no one's care; her parents went to the Northwest, her grandfather is still under investigation, and the Ji Family's uncle and aunt would love to tear her apart.

Aside from Gu Zhiyan, no one looks after her.

Seeing Shen Xun appear, Lin Shutong feels no joy, only a sudden thump in her heart, grateful that Gu Zhiyan is out buying dinner and not in the ward; what if Shen Xun spills everything to Gu Zhiyan?

Shen Xun, even while ill, can tell Xie Yongsi; Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu also know, so leaking to Gu Zhiyan isn't impossible.

The guilt she feels toward Shen Xun because of the child and her body won't last long.

"How did you get here?" Lin Shutong's face is pale, her whole body weak.

At this moment, Shen Xun feels she's no different from a female ghost.

He flings the documents at Lin Shutong's body, as if he could slap them onto her face.

"You took the abortifacient early."

That simple sentence makes Lin Shutong's blood run cold.

He knows.

Lin Shutong's skill at deceiving people has long been honed; despite a flash of panic in her eyes, she stubbornly says, "What nonsense are you spouting."

He stares at her, his gaze icy: "You've known for a long time that you're infected with syphilis, that the child can't be born, or if born will carry the virus. You chose not to have a child, but if you abort outright, isn't that exactly what the Shen family wants?"

"You think it's not acceptable, so you devised a plan to frame me for the abortion, thereby deepening my guilt toward you; in court I could still protect you, and later return a huge sum of money—maybe I'd keep helping you."

"Is that so?" He snarls the last two words.

Lin Shutong's body instinctively leans back, but she's covered in wounds and can't move at all.

"Lin Shutong, how can your heart be so cruel!"

Looking at Shen Xun's snarling face, Lin Shutong is terrified.

Though she thought while driving into Jiang Lai that either Jiang Lai would die or she would, when she crawls out of the car covered in blood, she now fears death.

She's now constrained everywhere; if Shen Xun wanted to kill her, wouldn't it be easy?

Lin Shutong begins frantically ringing the call button.

Shen Xun turns and slams the ward door shut; today he must get an answer.

"Shen Xun, what are you doing?"

"The child's matter—was it intentional on your part?" Shen Xun presses on step by step.

Lin Shutong pulls her neck in, gritting her teeth: "What's the point of pursuing this now? It's all over."

"I can't get past it." Shen Xun loathes Lin Shutong, yet because of the child he feels a sliver of guilt that torments him daily.

"The child's matter was indeed intentional on your part; you took the abortifacient early, deliberately pretended to kiss me on the escalator, even though you knew I'd already developed a physical aversion to you, you still did it, just to make me push you and cause the abortion."

"Lin Shutong, you sleep with men everywhere, contracted syphilis; I even doubt whether that child is mine at all."

Lin Shutong knows that she and Shen Xun are bound to a tragic ending born of love turned to hatred.

She's having a rough time, and Shen Xun had better not expect an easy ride.

"The child is yours." Lin Shutong said firmly, "Since I came back to the country, I've practically been with you every day—you didn't know that?"

Shen Xun knows, yet he still ignores Jiang Lai at home, clinging to Lin Shutong everywhere.

A simple sentence drags up another of Shen Xun's scars—a past he can't bear to recall, and the thing he regrets most in his life.

"I don't believe the child is mine."

"You don't believe it, but you have to." Lin Shutong locked eyes with the man, a hint of desperate madness in her gaze, "The child is yours—even if I took the medicine, without your push, I might still have kept it."

"Our child is something we two killed together."

Just as being able to give birth but choosing not to is different from being unable to give birth, Shen Xun's attitude toward the child is likewise: calmly discussing going to the hospital to terminate it is different from accidentally causing its death.

Shen Xun's eyes turned bloodshot as he reached out and gripped Lin Shutong's throat.

Lin Shutong's face showed fear.

"Shen Xun, if you kill me, what about your parents? What about your sister? And how will you compensate Jiang Lai?"

They've known each other for years, liked each other for years, and each knows the other's weaknesses.

Shen Xun loosened his grip slightly, gritted his teeth, and said to Lin Shutong, "Last night my phone accidentally started recording; your remark was captured. I'll turn it over to the police—I can't let you be convicted outright, but at least it will prove your motive."

"Lin Shutong, I know you're now involved with Gu Zhiyan—I'll have a good talk with him about you."