Chapter 271: Calling You

The Medicine given by the doctor finally began to take effect.

Zhu Yuan calmed down; she was no longer frowning, and no whimpering sounds came from her mouth.

Pei Ling held her for a while, ensuring she was no longer suffering from abdominal pain before laying her down, covering her with the quilt, and walking out of the hospital room.

"What did she eat today?"

As soon as he stepped outside, he asked the Bodyguard.

Today is Saturday; she doesn't go out on weekends because it's crowded and packed, and she likes to stay at home, so he directly ruled out the possibility of her eating random things outside.

The Bodyguard had already had someone compile the information and told Pei Ling everything Zhu Yuan had eaten and drunk over the past half-day without missing a single thing.

"Second Master, other than that, Miss Zhu did not eat anything else. These dishes were all prepared by a nutritionist, and the ingredients are the freshest every day."

Although Pei Ling had never been well taken care of and did not understand these things, he would learn and look into them, arranging the most professional nutritionist to take care of her three meals a day.

Others could tell that he truly cherished Zhu Yuan in his heart.

It was even more than that.

Only he himself knew what position Zhu Yuan held in Pei Ling's heart.

"Are you sure she didn't eat anything else?"

The Bodyguard tried hard to recall if anything had been left out, and after a few seconds, shook his head, "Nothing else."

"Did she go into the kitchen?" Pei Ling had little patience, his tone cold.

The Bodyguard was startled and nodded, "She did go in, but I thought there was no danger in the kitchen, so I didn't follow her in."

Pei Ling understood.

The problem lay in the time Zhu Yuan spent in the kitchen.

Who knows what kind of dark cuisine she was concocting again!

Oh, her...

Pei Ling supported his forehead; why was she so worrying?

After interrogating the Bodyguard, Pei Ling went back into the hospital room.

Zhu Yuan was sleeping very soundly.

She did not wake up when the nurse came in to perform a fetal heart rate check, and when the nurse lifted her dress, Pei Ling turned away.

He listened to the rhythmic, rapid trembling sound emitted by the instrument.

It was a heartbeat.

The heartbeat of a new life.

Pei Ling stood by the window, quietly waiting for the check-up to finish.

Once the nurse left, he sat back down by the bedside, reached his hand under the quilt, grasped her soft, tender hand, held it in his palm, and did not let go.

He spent the whole night leaning against the head of the bed, holding Zhu Yuan's hand with one hand, while the other reached over to half-embrace her, and he closed his eyes.

At first, he didn't fall asleep; his stomach felt uncomfortable.

Later, the rain outside the window eased significantly, the sound of rain pattering, and as Zhu Yuan's breathing slowed, he gradually drifted off to sleep as well.

It was actually the first time he didn't dream of himself clutching a dagger, slitting a black wolf's throat, and having hot blood splash all over his face.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the man felt movement in his palm.

Pei Ling slowly opened his deep amber eyes and lowered his head to look at her in his arms.

Before she opened her eyes, he cut off the reluctance in his heart, let go of her hand, and stood up by the bedside, as if he had never been close to her.

As soon as Zhu Yuan opened her eyes, she felt the joints in her body aching; yesterday's abdominal pain had made her toss and turn.

On the way to the hospital and before being lifted onto the stretcher, she was still conscious, and smelling the scent of disinfectant in the air, she knew she was in the hospital.

"It really... really hurts." Zhu Yuan subconsciously touched her belly, almost forgetting about prenatal education.

Just as she turned over and gasped, she looked up and saw Pei Ling standing by the bed.

She was almost startled and froze for a moment, "Brother Pei? Why are you..."

"Why are you such a glutton?" Pei Ling snorted coldly, taking the initiative to speak first.

Zhu Yuan's face flushed visibly.

As a pregnant mother-to-be, being teased for being a glutton—even though there were no outsiders in the room—she couldn't help but blush with shame, "How am I a glutton?"

She still dared to argue!

"Then let me ask you, how did you get a stomachache?" Pei Ling looked at her flushed face, knowing she cared about her pride, but with the cub in her belly present, he didn't want to give her any face at all.

Zhu Yuan's face turned completely red, "I... how would I know? Why are you being so fierce?"

Her voice grew quieter as she finished speaking.

Seeing her guilty look, Pei Ling's brows furrowed slightly; was she starting to play the victim?

Pei Ling clenched his hand hanging by his side, "You cannot eat random things anymore in the future."

"Got it." Zhu Yuan replied quickly.

She was afraid that if she were a moment late, Pei Ling would find out she had been hiding in the kitchen developing a new fruit and vegetable juice recipe.

Who knew it would turn out like this after drinking it.

She couldn't figure it out; it was a bit unpleasant to drink, so why was Pei Ling fine after drinking it, but she got a stomachache?

She figured it must be because of her special pregnancy constitution.

Thinking this, Zhu Yuan felt relieved.

Only then did she begin to carefully look at Pei Ling.

He was clearly supposed to come see her after a week, yet he had come early.

He must have heard the news that she had been sent to the hospital with a stomachache.

Zhu Yuan felt a strange sensation in her heart, and suddenly her gaze paused, landing on Pei Ling's attire.

I saw that Pei Ling was wearing a black T-shirt on his upper body, but on his lower body, he wore a pair of blue-based striped trousers.

This outfit, which looked rather incongruous, was worn by Pei Ling—a walking clothes hanger—in a way that looked very sharp and clean, exuding a sense of fashion.

However, why did those stripes look so much like a hospital gown?

But she couldn't be sure, as there were all sorts of trendy styles these days.

Feeling uneasy, she asked weakly, "Are you sick?"

"What, now that you've been scolded by me, you're starting to curse me, right?" Pei Ling looked displeased.

Zhu Yuan hurriedly explained, "No, it's the pants you're wearing; I thought they were hospital pants."

Pei Ling lowered his head to take a look without showing any emotion; yesterday he had only been concerned with his wet shirt, and the pants had dried after being blown by the air conditioning for a while, so he had forgotten to change them.

Seeing her like that had unsettled his mind.

"I'm not sick." Pei Ling raised his hand, wanting to touch her hair, but then he remembered how she had resisted his closeness earlier and prepared to pull his hand back, yet he couldn't help himself and messily ruffled her hair a few times, "Haven't you ever seen a mix-and-match style?"

Zhu Yuan's hair was ruffled into a mess by him, and combined with her slightly haggard face, worn out by pain, Pei Ling's heart softened again and again.

Yet, the moment his hand reached over, Zhu Yuan hid the worry in her eyes.

Pei Ling, he really was sick.

He could hide everything on the surface and put on a very good act.

But he couldn't hide the needle mark on the back of his hand.

Because she had an identical one on the back of her own hand.

That was left behind by an IV drip, or perhaps an indwelling needle or something similar.

Connecting this to that phone call yesterday at noon and the hospital pants he was wearing.

Zhu Yuan suddenly looked up and stared at Pei Ling, "Pei Ling."

This was the first time she had called his name in such a serious tone.

Pei Ling's fingertips went numb.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he replied in a low voice, "Hmm?"

Zhu Yuan thought of so many possibilities, and her heart felt heavy with sorrow.

She wanted Pei Ling to live well.

"When my child is born, shall I have them call you godfather? I heard people say that you are actually very skilled and also very smart; you only started school at eighteen and obtained a university degree within a few years, so you should teach my child too."

Pei Ling's body stiffened slightly.

The cold wind howled, and the snow fell even more heavily, burying the traces of the carriage in the blink of an eye.