Chapter 5 — Jilted at the Altar

"So, now that the engagement is broken and no one wants you, you have come crawling back to beg our Ze for a reconciliation?"

She jabbed a finger toward Wan's stomach, her face twisted in a smug, triumphant grin. "Look at this! This is what real luck looks like! Our Wan walked through the door and immediately conceived the eldest grandson for the family! A woman of your age, unwanted by everyone, had better move aside and stay out of our way!"

Just then, my cousin stepped out from the restroom. Hearing those words, her face flushed with immediate rage. I caught her arm quickly, shaking my head to hold her back. I turned to Gui Mei and offered a thin, composed smile.

"Madam, this is a public hospital. Screaming and making a scene only serves to expose the lack of breeding in your family. Furthermore, we live in a society governed by law. Preferring sons over daughters is nothing but a backwards, feudal mindset. You keep shouting about an 'eldest grandson'—aren't you afraid the wind might whip around and snap your tongue?"

At that moment, Ze walked over. He looked at my polished, radiant appearance and then glanced down at his own crumpled shirt. A flash of burning jealousy and resentment flickered in his eyes. "Niem, do you really have to be so bitter? So what if you caused me to lose my job? I have a wife and a child on the way now—I am still a hundred times better off than a woman like you, whom no one wants!"

Wan seized the opportunity to lean against Ze, putting on a show of fragile weakness. "Ze, please don't argue with her. She is just jealous of me. Oh… my stomach suddenly feels quite uncomfortable. Perhaps the baby was startled by an outsider."

She clutched her belly with theatrical flair, letting her body sway backward as if about to faint. Gui Mei immediately began to shriek, "Oh, my precious grandson! Niem, you jinx! Are you trying to put a curse on my daughter-in-law? Everyone, come quickly! This woman is trying to harm my grandson!"

The screeching instantly drew the attention of every patient and family member waiting in the corridor. Several nurses hurried over, the head nurse stopping them with a sharp look. "What is happening here? Family members are strictly forbidden from shouting in the ward!"

Gui Mei pointed a trembling finger directly at my face, twisting the truth without a flicker of shame. "Nurse! It was this woman! She is jealous because my daughter-in-law is pregnant, and just now, she intentionally shoved her!"

The gazes of the surrounding crowd turned judgmental, filled with reproach. My cousin exploded in anger, "You lying hag! Niem didn't even touch the hem of her clothes!"

Wan, still draped in Ze's arms, let out a soft, pitiful sob. "It's alright, Mother… Niem didn't mean to. She just desires Ze so much that she can't help herself…"

I remained completely calm. I pointed directly toward the panoramic security camera mounted on the ceiling. "Head nurse, to clarify exactly how the young lady's stomach hurts, I strongly suggest we pull the security footage immediately."

Upon hearing the word "footage," Wan’s crying stalled instantly in her throat. She instinctively straightened her posture, and the hand that had been clutched over her abdomen dropped to her side. "Oh… perhaps the baby just gave me a kick. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Her panicked, guilty demeanor was so absurd that the onlookers immediately grasped the situation. The sympathy in their eyes vanished, replaced by open disgust. The head nurse rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Enough. Stop wasting public resources. Is this the family of Wan? Just now, Director Li in the ultrasound room asked me to have you return to clinic number three. The gestational data on the ultrasound report needs to be verified with you."

Ze frowned. "Gestational data? What do you mean?"

The head nurse didn't even look up from her tablet. "Exactly how many weeks pregnant she is. The ultrasound results show the fetus is developing much faster than expected. The Director wants to confirm if you might have misremembered the date of the last menstrual period."

At these words, Wan’s face turned deathly pale. She suddenly reached out and gripped Ze’s arm. "Ze! We don't need to go! Let’s just go home now, I’m so tired…"

But the head nurse refused to let her dodge the issue. "Go now. There are many patients waiting behind you; don't waste any more time."

Ze, though a scoundrel, was not entirely a fool. Seeing Wan’s erratic behavior, a flash of suspicion crossed his face. He grabbed her wrist firmly and strode toward the clinic. Gui Mei, oblivious to the implications, hurried behind them, wailing, "Slow down! Don't disturb the fetal qi!"

I signaled to my cousin with my eyes. We followed them in perfect synchronization. After enduring such abuse, I certainly wasn't about to miss the climax of this show. The door to the clinic was left slightly ajar. Director Li held the clear ultrasound printout, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Young man, the data here does not match up. The female patient recorded her last period as being just over a month ago. However, based on the size of the gestational sac and the development of the fetal heartbeat…" The Director used his pen to tap the paper. "This fetus is already fully twelve weeks old. In other words, she is already three months along."

Ze stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. Twelve weeks? Three months ago? He turned his head slowly, his eyes fixed on Wan with a look of pure, dawning horror.