Chapter 57: She Does Not Deserve to Bear His Child

Wen Ying’s steps were nailed to the spot, feeling only the absurdity of it all.

Those casual, offhand words.
They were an arrogant evaluation of her, treating her like a mere commodity.
Even the most fundamental act of having a child was subjected to a screening process to determine if she was even qualified!

In everyone's eyes, compared to Su Nian—a doctor who had returned from studying at one of the top ten overseas institutions—she was entirely insignificant.
Little did they know.
Those words were also a secondary blow to her.

Once she began her formal treatments and surgeries, she would forfeit the right to ever become a mother...
No wonder he had been so perfunctory about sharing a bed with her even before the divorce. So, from back then, he had already believed...
That she was unworthy of bearing his children?

Wen Ying did not want to know how Lu Jinchuan had answered.
His perfunctory words to their grandmother at dinner proved that he truly had no intention of conceiving a child with her; he must have agreed with Lou Xu's words.

Clutching the medicine bottle tightly, Wen Ying retreated to her bedroom.
She panted weakly, the color of her lips gradually draining to a pale white.
Mechanically, Wen Ying opened the medicine bottle and swallowed the pill dry.
She felt the deadly bitterness spread across her mouth.
She could not tell whether the bitterness in her heart was greater, or the bitterness of the medicine.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Wen Ying managed to steady her emotions.
Now completely devoid of sleepiness, she decided to read for a while.
Recently, she had been carrying a few professional books on aerospace engineering with her everywhere, extracting useful information and conclusions through algorithmic deduction.

The door was pushed open.
Lu Jinchuan walked in, his gaze catching the woman sitting under the warm orange light. Her figure looked soft and frail, and she looked up upon hearing the sound.

Wen Ying was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't left yet?

Lu Jinchuan walked over to the wardrobe, his gaze sweeping over the book Wen Ying was reading: *Spacecraft Orbit Determination Theory and Application*.
He had read this book before.
Its academic and technological value was extremely high.
Recently, he had recommended it to Su Nian to read.
Yet Su Nian found it a struggle to get through.

"Can you understand it?" Lu Jinchuan took out a set of clothes, his tone nonchalant.
There was no obvious contempt, but this kind of questioning made Wen Ying feel uncomfortable.

Wen Ying kept her eyes fixed on the page: "It's alright."
She had already thoroughly read this book years ago; she was merely reviewing it to see if there were any different perspectives.

Only then did Lu Jinchuan narrow his eyes slightly to observe his gentle and good-tempered wife.
"You've been quite diligent lately," he concluded.

Yet Wen Ying raised her eyes to look at him.
She had a vague feeling that Lu Jinchuan's words had a hidden meaning.
Before she could ask for clarification, Lu Jinchuan had already taken his clothes and walked out.

Wen Ying frowned.
After turning the thought over in her mind, it became somewhat clear.
Could Lu Jinchuan's meaning be... that he thought she was deliberately imitating Su Nian?
Deliberately running after Su Nian's coattails?

Wen Ying found it ridiculous, but she chose not to dwell on it.
What Lu Jinchuan thought was his own business.

She didn't read for much longer before turning off the lamp and getting into bed to rest.
As for Lu Jinchuan, she assumed he wouldn't be coming back.

Not long after she fell asleep, Wen Ying sensed the door opening.
Footsteps sounded, unhurried and steady. She opened her eyes in the dark and saw a tall, dark shadow moving toward the other side of the bed.
The mattress sank down.

Even with a distance between them, Wen Ying could still perceive Lu Jinchuan's unique, faint scent of cedarwood, along with that scorching, inescapable masculine hormonal presence...
She froze.
Her side-lying body stiffened, refusing to move.

Why hadn't he left?
Why had he come back again?
All sorts of puzzles swirled in her mind.

After all, they were already getting divorced now; she felt that sharing a bed like this was somewhat bizarre.
Yet, after lying down, Lu Jinchuan remained completely still.
He didn't touch her.
He seemed to have already fallen asleep.
He had no interest in her, the person lying beside him.

Wen Ying's tense nerves gradually relaxed.
Unsurprisingly, Lu Jinchuan was merely acting so as not to appear abnormal under their grandmother's watchful eyes.
Besides, Lu Jinchuan had always been restrained and cold toward her.
Sharing a bed in the past had been a matter of necessity; at other times, he had never felt any addictive desire for her body.

Having reached this conclusion, Wen Ying gradually grew sleepy.

The eastern sky began to brighten.
Wen Ying was awakened by the vibration of a phone call beside her pillow. Too sleepy to open her eyes, she groped for the phone and swiped to answer.

A woman’s smiling voice came through the earpiece: "Good morning, Jinchuan. Will you come pick me up later?"

Wen Ying snapped wide awake, feeling at the same time as though a basin of cold water had been dumped over her.

"Jinchuan? Is someone with you?" the voice on the phone asked with a hint of confusion.
Instinctively, Wen Ying wanted to look at the person beside her.

Suddenly, a scorching, muscular body covered her back, trapping her between his arms and chest.
His masculine hormones invaded Wen Ying's consciousness.
Startled, she turned her head.

Lu Jinchuan was already awake. With a clear expression, he reached out a long arm and snatched the phone from her hand.
Glancing down at the embrace-filled Wen Ying in the brief interval, he said calmly, "No."

Wen Ying's heart tightened.
Clearly, she was the legal wife, so why did she feel like a mistress who needed to hide from a sudden check-in?
Her back was pressed closely against Lu Jinchuan's solid chest, and the heat was rising.
Her face flushed red, and she tried to break free from his arms.

Lu Jinchuan also realized that their posture right now was somewhat inappropriate. He took the initiative to sit up and put some distance between them: "I'll contact you later."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Wen Ying.
Wen Ying also sat up, regaining her composure: "Sorry, I didn't see clearly that it was your phone."

Lu Jinchuan gave a light, mocking snort as he walked toward the bathroom: "Then I'd trouble Mrs. Lu not to make such a mistake again."

Wen Ying bit her lip, understanding the subtext of his words.
He was afraid that Su Nian would misunderstand...
Or rather, did he think she had done it on purpose?

Wen Ying frowned, knowing that any explanation would appear pale and powerless.
She tidied her clothes, intending to go freshen up.

Just as Lu Jinchuan came out, having felt how much thinner her body was when he was holding her earlier, coupled with her makeup-free face that now looked devoid of color, he suddenly asked as she brushed past him, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Wen Ying was stunned.
Her heartbeat skipped a beat out of nervousness.

Lu Jinchuan glanced at her sideways and rarely asked, "Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital to see a doctor?"

She abruptly realized that her poor condition had been noticed by him.
"No need." Wen Ying resisted letting Lu Jinchuan find out about her terminal illness, as it would only give him another reason to stray.
As for his concern, she was truly surprised.

"As you wish." Lu Jinchuan stared at her for a brief moment and straightened his tie: "Then just explain it clearly if Grandmother asks."

Wen Ying instantly understood.
It turned out he was merely trying to appease Grandmother's complaints about him not caring for her enough.

After going downstairs, the old matriarch had already returned from her morning exercise.
Early in the morning, she had stewed a nourishing soup for Wen Ying. Finding it impossible to let the old woman's efforts go to waste, Wen Ying endured her discomfort and drank some.

"Jinchuan, go along with Yingying," the old matriarch commanded.

Lu Jinchuan paused and looked at Wen Ying.
Wen Ying thought of that phone call from the morning: "No need, Grandmother. I have some business in the opposite direction."

The old matriarch glanced at Lu Jinchuan, who hadn't chimed in at all.
Realizing he had no such intention, she felt a bellyful of anger!

Wen Ying knew Lu Jinchuan was going to pick up Su Nian.
Moreover, the memory of being left halfway on the road a few days ago was still fresh; she didn't want to experience it a second time.

She walked out with Lu Jinchuan.
Waiting until the housekeeper and Grandmother had turned back inside, Wen Ying said to Lu Jinchuan's back as he was making a phone call, "I'll be very busy from now on. As for this place, I won't be coming back anymore."

Wen Ying thought that since they were already divorced, no matter whether they could explain it to Grandmother or not, being constantly summoned back here would only make things awkward for both her and Lu Jinchuan.
She hoped Lu Jinchuan could resolve this issue as soon as possible.
Of course, she could still meet Grandmother in private.
Their marital bond was severed, but there was no need to break the old woman's heart.

Lu Jinchuan turned back, but Wen Ying had already gotten into a car and driven away.
He frowned slightly.

The astonished voice of Cheng Mu came through the phone: "Eh? Is Wen Ying trying to threaten you by refusing to come home?"
"She's been running all sorts of deep plays lately!"
A textbook display of crying, making a fuss, and threatening suicide!

Lu Jinchuan's dark eyes flickered slightly before he got into the car unconcerned: "Let her do as she pleases."

Wen Ying returned home, re-dressed, and applied makeup before heading to the company.
For the entire morning, Wen Ying was in meetings with He Xicheng discussing their next project, the outline of which was already taking shape and could be launched by the end of the year at the latest.

Near noon, He Xicheng took Wen Ying as a technical consultant to Fangli Technology.
Fangli Technology was a subsidiary of the Jiang Group, and Wen Ying only discovered upon arrival that Zhou Yu was the one managing Fangli.

Entering the lobby, Wen Ying noticed a group of people not far away.
A woman was gracefully holding a man's arm, conversing effortlessly with Fangli's senior executives.
When Wen Ying looked over, Lu Jinchuan happened to raise his eyes.
Yet he merely swept a cold glance past her, acting as if they didn't know each other at all.

They had maintained this kind of avoidance for three years, and Wen Ying was well-versed in his mindset.

Su Nian also spotted Wen Ying, but didn't pay her any mind.
Wen Ying calmly withdrew her gaze. If Su Nian didn't have Lu Jinchuan, no matter how high her educational background was, she might not necessarily have been able to meet these corporate CEOs.
But right now, she was here in the capacity of Lu Jinchuan's girlfriend.
Everyone had to show respect to Su Nian.

She suddenly thought of Lu Mother's words.
In a sense, Su Nian truly fit their standard for the birth mother of the Lu family's future heir.
Among prestigious families, the preservation of superior genetics was what mattered most.

The person entertaining them was President Yang of Fangli. After discussing some key issues, it was nearly 12:30 when they finished.

President Yang suggested, "Why don't the two of you join us for a casual meal? Fangli's cafeteria is actually quite good, if you two don't mind..."

He Xicheng checked the time; it was indeed getting late.
He consulted Wen Ying, and she had no objections.
The group headed straight for the employee cafeteria.

To their unexpected surprise, however, they ran into Lu Jinchuan, Su Nian, Zhou Yu, and Jiang Qian here.
The four of them in pairs were particularly conspicuous.
They were also here to eat.

Yet Wen Ying found the scene somewhat suffocating and instinctively came to a halt.

President Yang was overjoyed and said, "What a coincidence! If you don't mind, shall we all eat together?"