Chapter 19

“Can you perform a heart transplant?” Bai Ziling asked with feigned indifference.

“No!”

“What about a brain transplant?”

“Please!”

“Then you can’t help.” Bai Ziling forced out a helpless smile. “Jiang Jie needs a new heart, a new brain—ideally, he should suddenly lose all his memories, and then I could implant him with something beautiful and correct. I wonder if there’s any medicine on the market that causes amnesia.”

“No!” Sima Xingchen cut her off before she could spiral further. “You’d better think of something more practical.”

“I give up.”

“Give up?!” Xia Zhen found it a pity. “Don’t! Will Jiang Jie become colder and more ruthless than Lei Hanyu was at first? Look at him now.”

“Xia Zhen, not every man can be like Lei Hanyu.”

“Ziling, you’re the most feminine and ambitious among the four of us. How much time do you have left?” Chang Weiwei was past her due date, now living with extreme caution.

“One month.”

“Ziling, you two have been alone together under the same roof for two full months—and nothing happened?” Xia Zhen couldn’t understand. “Is there something wrong with Jiang Jie?”

“He once asked me… if we had sex, would I charge extra.” Bai Ziling sighed.

“Damn!”

“Slap him.”

“Tell him to go find someone who sells it.”

“That’s exactly what I meant!” Bai Ziling felt the coffee in her mouth was especially bitter and hard to swallow. “Sometimes I think he actually cares about me—but then we immediately start arguing over the smallest thing.”

“Fighting is still a kind of communication,” Xia Zhen said immediately.

“He even suspects I’m having an affair with his cousin.” Bai Ziling rested her head on her arm, listless and drained. “What does he even think I am?”

“You and Jiang Jie’s cousin?” Chang Weiwei was startled.

“It’s nothing.”

“If he’s jealous…” Sima Xingchen murmured.

“He’s just afraid of losing face,” Bai Ziling sneered.

“Ziling, no matter what his mindset is, as long as he cares, it’s a good thing—at least he’s not indifferent. Sometimes men express their feelings in strange ways. Didn’t I once get thrown out by Lei Hanyu and become a deserted wife?” Xia Zhen blinked.

“That’s because you dared to abort his child!” Sima Xingchen still found it terrifying. “It was a living life!”

“At the time…” Xia Zhen tried to explain.

“It was wrong, period!” Chang Weiwei joined the chorus against Xia Zhen.

“I thought he didn’t want a child. I was afraid the child would only have a mother to love—how pitiful would that be!” Xia Zhen had her own reasons and deep reluctance. “You’re not me.”

“Hey! Are you guys drifting off-topic?” Bai Ziling came to Xia Zhen’s defense. “Don’t worry—I’ll never face this kind of trouble.”

“Jiang Jie is truly unpredictable,” Sima Xingchen said.

“Yes! He never plays by the rules,” Chang Weiwei added.

“That’s what makes it a challenge!” Xia Zhen said enthusiastically.

Bai Ziling said: “I’m just tired. Maybe I should use this three million to invest in stocks or something—maybe I don’t need a gold-digger husband at all. I can make it on my own!”

“Ziling, that’s three million, not thirty million.”

“It’s three million New Taiwan Dollars, not three million U.S. dollars.”

“You can’t even afford a Ferrari.”

Bai Ziling knew that well—but at least she had three million. After three months… she wasn’t completely empty-handed.

“Ziling, you know Qiu Bao—he’s saved a lot of money, and he’s cool. He doesn’t have a steady partner yet.” Sima Xingchen wanted to play matchmaker.

“Xingchen, Qiu Bao’s fine, but he always looks like a demon out for blood—I’m scared just looking at him. How on earth did you become friends with him?” Bai Ziling marveled.

“I’ve wondered that too,” Xia Zhen said immediately.

“Me too!” Chang Weiwei chimed in without delay.

“You always say that once you understand a person’s personality and psychology, there’s nothing you can’t get along with,” Sima Xingchen said, looking at Bai Ziling. “You’ve lived together for two months—have you ever truly understood him? Do you know what’s going on in his mind, in his heart?”

“I already said I’m tired…”

“Ziling, any woman with a bit of ambition would’ve already ‘captured’ Jiang Jie. Don’t be such a loser!” Xia Zhen goaded her.

“I’m defeated.”

“You’ve always been confident in yourself.”

“There are other men,” Bai Ziling pretended not to care.

“That’s not like you at all.”

“You’re not me,” Bai Ziling said, still like a defeated rooster, weary and disheartened. “Yesterday I got a call from my sister. She said Mom’s been unwell lately—poor appetite, constant stomach pain. I don’t know if it’s serious.”

“Then go home and see her!”

“I’m afraid if I go home, I won’t come back to Jiang Jie’s.”

“You… really have no hope left?” Chang Weiwei asked again.

“Love can’t be forced. Jiang Jie married me only for his grandfather’s inheritance—he has no feelings for me. I’m just a tool he paid for. I’m about to miscarry, do you understand?” Bai Ziling found it funny. “I’ve never even known what sex feels like, yet I’m already facing the fate of a miscarriage.”

The three women exchanged bitter smiles. Suddenly, Chang Weiwei screamed: “I… I feel my water broke!” Her voice shrilled, excited yet terrified.

“What do we do?!” Sima Xingchen and Bai Ziling, inexperienced, were flustered. “Should we call an ambulance?”

“First babies don’t come this fast. Call Han Ze first—tell him his little princess is finally ready to meet the world. Grab the big bag Weiwei already packed. I’ll drive—we’ll take Weiwei to the hospital!” Xia Zhen was glad she hadn’t brought her son along.

“I’m going to be a mother…” Chang Weiwei cried and laughed at once.

“Don’t celebrate yet—you’ve got pain ahead!” Xia Zhen reminded her.

Sima Xingchen and Bai Ziling exchanged glances.

“I think I’ll wait to get pregnant,” Sima Xingchen said, terrified.

“I won’t have kids either,” Bai Ziling said, her eyes wide with fear.

“You… you’re not even close to being ready!” All three said to Bai Ziling at once: “First get properly married—then worry about childbirth!”

Jiang Jie didn’t know what had happened to Bai Ziling, or whether she’d even gone missing. Should he report her missing? It was already past four-thirty in the morning; dawn was nearly here—and still, there was no sign of Bai Ziling.

He’d checked her room. Her mobile phone and designer handbags were there. The blanket wasn’t folded. On the coffee table sat half-eaten nutritional biscuits—this wasn’t a sudden disappearance. Besides, she hadn’t received her remaining one million five hundred thousand yet. She wouldn’t vanish without reason.

Then where was she?

Dawn was breaking—where had she been all night?

His uncle had already transferred the five hundred million into his company’s account today. Even if Bai Ziling had run away, it wouldn’t hurt him financially. So why was he still so worried? What had happened to her?!

He’d thought of calling his cousin—but if he called, it would mean he didn’t trust Bai Ziling, and the last thread of hope between them would snap. His cousin would laugh at him. He couldn’t call…

After meeting Yu Siqi, he’d decided to adjust his mindset. But now… he just wanted to strangle Bai Ziling—if only she stood before him right now.

After five a.m., Jiang Jie, sleepless all night, decided to call every hospital’s emergency room. Maybe she’d had an accident? Maybe she was barely clinging to life? Maybe she couldn’t even make a call… All the worst possibilities flooded his mind.

As Jiang Jie picked up the phone, about to ask the operator for emergency room numbers, the front door opened…