The shock in her eyes, split open from the pupils.

"You knew all along?" Yu Xiuzhun reached out and grabbed her shoulder, his thin lips moved slightly, "Are you willing to keep our child?"

"..."

Ye Mingmei’s body stiffened, slowly lifting her head to look at him.

What did he mean by that?

"You knew already?" Ye Mingmei suddenly remembered something, shivered slightly with surprise.

Both hands tightly clutching her skirt, wanting to retreat, but her shoulders were firmly held by Yu Xiuzhun.

"I started bleeding suddenly, I always felt uneasy inside, so I went to the hospital. I thought it was some health issue, but the doctor told me I was almost three months pregnant..."

Ye Mingmei calculated carefully, her mind suddenly clearing up.

"Three months, that was when you first forced me to stay in the hospital, it wasn’t that I had a problem, it was because I was pregnant, the baby wasn’t stable, and that’s why you hid it from me?"

"..."

"But I secretly went to the hospital once, you didn’t know, so why did the doctor say I just had a stomachache?" Ye Mingmei felt completely confused.

It was because of that secret checkup that even with later abnormal reactions, she didn’t pay attention, only thinking it was stress causing stomach issues.

Never daring to imagine she was actually pregnant.

"I was there that time as well." Yu Xiuzhun’s hand gripping her shoulder tightened slightly.

"..." Ye Mingmei.

She fully understood.

"Why did you hide it from me? Did you know, not knowing I was pregnant, I took all kinds of medicine and didn’t rest properly...I had no idea what I should be careful about..."

Ye Mingmei was too shocked, her words became disjointed.

"Those were fetus-preserving medicines; they wouldn’t harm the baby." Yu Xiuzhun pressed her trembling body into his embrace, holding her tightly, his chin resting on her shoulder, speaking softly.

"I consulted the doctor, he said the baby primarily absorbs nutrients from the mother’s body in the first three months, so the impact isn’t large, as long as you can rest calmly."

"..."

"I wanted to tell you, but I was worried you would resent our child because of me." Yu Xiuzhun’s tone turned gloomy, carrying an imperceptible lack of confidence.

His gaze on Ye Mingmei was focused and deep.

"..."

Ye Mingmei bit her lip, unable to speak.

She herself wasn’t sure, if she knew about the pregnancy from the start, whether she would’ve remained as calm as she is now.

"Yu Xiuzhun, will you give up for me and the baby? Start over, no matter how many years you have to serve, the baby and I will wait for you to come out." Ye Mingmei grabbed his arm, choked up as soon as she started speaking.

She couldn’t think of a better solution.

Avoidance would only be temporary, they couldn’t hide forever.

Even if they could hide, she didn’t want their baby to start off wandering because of Yu Xiuzhun before even being born.

"If you don’t agree with me, I won’t keep this child."

"...What did you say? Dare to say it again!" Yu Xiuzhun grabbed her chin, his fingers exerting force, Ye Mingmei’s chin turned red.

Through gritted teeth, "Listen up, this is Yu Xiuzhun’s child, I won’t allow anyone to hurt him, not even you!"

"Do you want him to be born to become just like you, betrayed and abandoned by everyone, becoming a thorn in others’ eyes? Or end up like you, never able to go out with a group of people following, constantly on edge, Yu Xiuzhun, are you willing?"