Chapter 001: Congratulations, Miss, You Are Pregnant!

"Miss, congratulations, you're pregnant!"

"What..."

Shi Runrun listened to the female doctor's words, her mind going completely blank.

She couldn't help but remember what had happened over a month ago at her birthday party.

She was the true heiress of the prestigious Shi family in Beijing, lost for nineteen years and only recently reclaimed from the countryside by her birth family. The Shi family had an adopted daughter, Shi Qing, who feared losing her place after Runrun's return. So, at the birthday banquet, Shi Qing drugged her and delivered her to an old man, attempting to destroy her reputation.

That night, she had felt unbearably hot, as if countless ants crawled across her skin. Biting her lip until it bled, she struggled desperately, knocking the old man unconscious and fleeing the hotel room.

In the corridor, she collided with a man. All she remembered was his embrace—solid, warm, filled with a clean, comforting scent. Instinctively, she clung to his waist, begging him to save her.

What followed was a night of wild confusion, a feverish madness...

Now, sitting in the hospital garden, Shi Runrun was lost in thought, her whole being adrift.

Upon waking the next morning, she'd asked him if he'd used protection, if she needed to take the morning-after pill. He'd replied that he was infertile, that she could not possibly get pregnant.

She'd believed him and hadn't taken any precautions.

Yet now, she was pregnant.

Shi Runrun unconsciously placed her hand on her belly, her fingers trembling slightly. She had no idea who the man from that night was.

She was only nineteen, still in university—barely able to care for herself, let alone a child.

Worse still...

She remembered her adoptive parents in the countryside, who'd treated her poorly. Doing laundry, cooking, and washing dishes had become ordinary chores. If she ever tried to rest from exhaustion, they accused her of laziness and beat her.

Finally, she had been reclaimed by the wealthy Shi family. She'd hoped for the warmth of kinship, but the Shi family seemed not to welcome her at all.

They hadn't announced her identity to the public and warned her not to leave the house without reason. Whenever guests visited, she was made to hide upstairs, as if she were a secret illegitimate child.

Thinking of this, Shi Runrun returned to the obstetrics office and told the female doctor she wanted to schedule an abortion for the next day.

After all the arrangements were made, she took the bus back to the Shi family home.

But as soon as she arrived at the gate, she saw all her belongings thrown out, scattered messily at the doorstep.

The butler emerged, looking at her coldly. "Shi Runrun! How dare you poison Miss Shi Qing! The Shi family will not tolerate you! Go back to your wretched country home!"

With those words, he hurled a suitcase at her with all his strength.

Shi Runrun dodged quickly, but the force sent her sprawling to the ground, her exposed wrist scraped, her face smudged with mud.

She shook her head in disbelief. "No! I didn't poison Shi Qing! Where are Father and Mother? I want to see them!"

The butler spat at her feet and sneered, "Miss Shi Qing was poisoned and vomited after drinking the milk you gave her. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"

"It's the master and madam's decision to send you back to the countryside! They said they won't see you. Go back to your pig-raising, farming parents!"

With that, he slammed the door, leaving Shi Runrun crying in despair on the ground.

Her voice was hoarse from shouting, but her parents never came.

As dusk fell, the early spring evening was still bitterly cold. Shi Runrun shivered, wiped her tears, picked up her luggage, and cast one last look at the tightly closed Shi family gate before leaving in silence.

Night gradually descended, and the street was deserted.

Dragging her suitcase, Shi Runrun sat alone on the empty roadside.

She had nowhere left to go, and after spending a considerable sum at the hospital, she was nearly out of money.

Clinging to her last hope, she called her adoptive parents, wondering if they might send her some money for a train ticket home.

But as soon as the call connected, her adoptive mother's impatient voice snapped down the line.

"Useless girl, why are you calling again? Don't you know long-distance calls cost money? Listen, your brother's getting married this year. That hundred thousand yuan I mentioned—you must transfer it to me this month..."

Before her mother could finish, Shi Runrun hung up, resigned.

She should never have hoped for anything from them.

At that moment, a black Bentley drove slowly by.

Inside, Ji Yunan, seeing the pitiful girl in the phone booth, told the driver to stop.

Ji Yunan frowned. Wasn't this the same girl Snow Zheng had spent the night with?

Why was she here?

That night, after a meeting, he and Snow Zheng had walked through the hotel corridor when this drugged girl crashed into Snow Zheng’s arms. She'd begged him through tears to help her. For reasons unknown, the always-reserved Snow Zheng had only asked if she was of age, then taken her to his room.

What happened after was obvious.

Later, Snow Zheng asked him to investigate the girl, but nothing more was said.

As Ji Yunan pondered, the driver suddenly spoke, "Young Master Ji, I think I saw that girl at the OB-GYN earlier today when I accompanied my wife for her checkup."

OB-GYN?

"What's wrong with her?"

The driver hesitated. "She's a month pregnant, but she doesn't seem to want the baby. She scheduled an abortion for tomorrow."

Ji Yunan did some quick calculations—a month! That was exactly...

Heavens!

This girl was pregnant with Snow Zheng's child!

The Xiao family had only one heir per generation, afflicted with congenital infertility. It was as if a curse had been placed on them, making it nearly impossible for any generation to produce an heir.

Even Snow Zheng had only been conceived when his parents were nearly forty!

Yet this young girl had become pregnant with Snow Zheng's child after just one night!

Ji Yunan panicked and immediately ordered the driver to turn back. But when the car returned, Shi Runrun had already vanished from the roadside.

Remembering what the driver had said about her scheduled abortion, cold sweat broke out on Ji Yunan's forehead.

Good heavens!

If the long-awaited Xiao family heir were lost while he knew about it, Old Master Xiao and Madam Xiao would surely kill him!

Ji Yunan felt his heart couldn't take it. He desperately needed some heart medicine!

Without further thought, he commanded the driver, "Go to the Xiao residence at once!"

He had to deliver this world-shattering news to Snow Zheng and the elders of the Xiao family immediately!