"..."

Ye Mingmei’s throat constricted, her hand tightly gripping the bedsheet.

She wasn’t pretending to be asleep; she really was asleep, just startled awake by him.

"Why aren’t you eating?" Yu Xiuzhun gripped her chin with his large hand, his tone displeased.

"No appetite." Ye Mingmei’s eyes flickered, and she lowered them, not wanting to look at him, like a child throwing a tantrum.

As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach growled with hunger.

She pressed her hand against her stomach, lowering her head in shame and anger.

"I told you, I’m not a good person. You can argue with me if you want, but you’d better not use your body to argue with me. I won’t buy it, Ye Mingmei. Even if you starve to death, I won’t let you go!"

Yu Xiuzhun’s fingers tightened, making Ye Mingmei cry out in pain.

Reaching out to push his arm away, Yu Xiuzhun only squeezed tighter.

"Come downstairs with me and eat."

"I don’t want to eat."

"Bring the food up here." Yu Xiuzhun turned and shouted to the butler waiting outside the door.

"Yes, Mr. Yu." The butler quickly ran downstairs, sensing the tense atmosphere.

"There’s no need for you to waste your efforts. I won’t eat it. If you’re unhappy, then strangle me to death." Ye Mingmei bit her lip.

"..." Yu Xiuzhun’s eyes tightened, his thin lips pressed together tightly.

Looking at the stubborn Ye Mingmei, then thinking of the child in her belly, his hand silently clenched.

The two were at a stalemate, neither willing to back down first.

"Mr. Yu, the food’s here." The butler quickly pushed the dining cart upstairs, a variety of Chinese and Western dishes, all of which Ye Mingmei liked.

She glanced longingly, then silently lowered her head again.

She couldn’t be swayed by a sugar-coated shell. If Yu Xiuzhun wouldn’t let her leave, she’d rather starve than take a single bite.

If he has the ability, let him starve her to death.

"Alright, just eat first. After eating, I’ll accompany you wherever you want to go. I won’t leave you alone at home." Yu Xiuzhun, watching her swallow with hunger, softened his voice tenderly.

He reached out to hold her and carried her to a table nearby.

The butler hurriedly pushed the dining cart over and began setting the table.

"No need to bother. I said I wouldn’t eat. Nothing you say will change my mind. I don’t want to go anywhere; I just want to leave here, the further away from you, the better!"

Ye Mingmei reached out and overturned the dishes on the table.

All the plates and dishes crashed to the ground, the food scattering everywhere.

An utter mess.

"Ye, Ming, Mei—"

"I am as ungrateful as this. If you’re angry, go ahead and hit me. If you can, beat me to death, for as long as I have breath, I’ll only think of leaving you, you devil!"

If she couldn’t make Yu Xiuzhun change, she’d rather die at his hands now.

"..."

Yu Xiuzhun was choked and left speechless, his handsome face clouded with gloom.

He stared fiercely at her pale face, his gaze sweeping over her still-flat stomach, his hands clenching into fists.

"Call the doctor!"

"Yu Xiuzhun, what do you plan to do? I’m not sick, I don’t need a doctor." Ye Mingmei’s nerves tensed, and she turned to run.

As soon as she took a step, Yu Xiuzhun grabbed her wrist, pulling her forcefully into his arms.

"If you don’t want to eat, then don’t. With today’s medical technology, even if you don’t eat, I can still keep you alive, living by my side every day!" Yu Xiuzhun picked her up horizontally and strode toward the bedside.

He turned his head toward the butler.

"What are you waiting for? Go! Have the doctor bring a month’s supply of nutritional injections!"