Ye Mingmei held up the empty bowl, looking eagerly at Jin Chenye.

Beside her, little Tingye was smacking his lips, also looking at Jin Chenye.

"Oops—"

"When I came over, I was worried you might have smashed this bowl of porridge too. I didn’t expect you’d want more. I’ll have someone send it over," Jin Chenye teased, taking out his phone and stepping aside to make a call.

On the hospital bed, Ye Mingmei awkwardly brushed her hair back and put down the bowl, embarrassed.

She was very hungry but didn’t dare to eat, fearing Su Yiru might have prepared something harmful for the baby. Now that her mind was at ease, she wanted to eat a bit more.

Qin Youxuan was right. She mustn’t give up on herself; she had to be strong and take care of the baby.

This was her child, and no one could force her to give it up.

"It’s best if you can come to terms with it yourself. When your health is a bit better, I’ll help you talk to Aunt Ru. Things haven’t reached the worst point yet. You can’t give up too early, understand?"

Qin Youxuan sat beside her, reached out to touch her cold cheek, and advised her with concern. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Sis, Yu Xiuzhun, he really..." Ye Mingmei choked up, and as soon as she started speaking, tears couldn’t help but fall.

"The dead cannot come back to life; you must learn to see past it," Qin Youxuan’s gaze flickered as she told Ye Mingmei what Dan Hanjie had instructed.

Yu Xiuzhun’s fate was still unknown. Rather than letting Ye Mingmei hold onto unrealistic hopes, it was better for her to let go.

If she was still willing to keep the child, at least it was a sincere decision to want this child, not one based on the hope that Yu Xiuzhun would return someday.

The greater the hope, the easier it is to despair.

"Mingmei, you still have the baby. This child now has nothing to do with Yu Xiuzhun; it’s just your child. Are you still willing to keep him?"

"I want him! I want to keep him! He’s my baby, and no one can take him away!"

"Yes, yes, no one will take him away. The baby is yours, only yours." Qin Youxuan held her insecure body, gently patting her back.

"I just want you to think it through. Although this child is Yu Xiuzhun’s last bloodline, Yu Xiuzhun won’t come back. By keeping this baby, your whole future will be tied with this child. He will be the bond you can never break free from. I’m worried it will be too hard for you alone."

"I’m not afraid," Ye Mingmei shook her head resolutely, her hands tightly protecting her belly, "If it weren’t for Yu Xiuzhun, I should be the one who died. I must keep this child."

Finally, she had come to understand her own feelings.

She thought they could start anew with Yu Xiuzhun, watching him get better day by day... but she had become his death knell.

If not for the baby, she didn’t know what meaning her survival would have.

"Yu Xiuzhun is the murderer who killed your father; I will never acknowledge his child!" The door to the hospital room was suddenly pushed open, and it wasn’t the person delivering food who came in, but Su Yiru with a grim face.

Hearing Ye Mingmei’s words, Su Yiru instinctively stepped forward and clasped her hand.

"I see there’s no need to wait. You should go for a check-up right now and let the doctor schedule a surgery to get rid of this bastard for me!"

"I don’t want to..."

Ye Mingmei was stunned and then forcefully broke free from Yiru’s hand, anxiously retreating.

In the process, she also pulled Tingye into her embrace, using him as a shield in front of her.