Yan Yunning: “……”

The problem was, how was she going to explain this child to Xuan Yanyu.

“Any more questions?” Guo Si was ready to see her out.

Yan Yunning flipped through the book again, pointed to a passage about Lou Ao and Yan Shiyu, and said, “They have no connection in real life — so why are they husband and wife in the book? Isn’t that a bit inappropriate???”

Guo Si slowly furrowed his brow. “Miss Yan — the novel is fictional. Surely you understand that.”

“Right.” Yan Yunning cleared her throat.

She understood — it was made up, so he could write whatever he liked.

Guo Si smiled with faint exasperation. “Isn’t it entirely up to me what I write? What does appropriateness or logic have to do with anything?”

Yan Yunning: “……”

He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world!!!

With Guo Si clearly trying to usher her out, Yan Yunning asked yet again, “Why did Yan Shiyao’s personality change so abruptly???”

At this, Guo Si actually had something to say. “Miss Yan, can you understand this? I had originally written her as a gentle, delicate, and kind-hearted young woman — but the result ended up straying completely from what I intended. I genuinely couldn’t take it anymore, so I designed her to experience an awakening.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“I still have a few more questions……”

“No need to ask. Blanket answer — a novel is not reality. Don’t get too caught up in the details.”

“As for Young Master Xuan — let him recover his memories gradually on his own. Don’t force it by telling him directly. Don’t shock him into remembering suddenly — it has to happen slowly. You can’t rush it.”

“If you push too hard, it may well backfire. Eventually, there will come a day when he remembers on his own.”

“It’s possible that he’ll go to sleep one night and wake up having remembered everything.”

When he finished, Guo Si opened the door. “Miss Yan, please — my girlfriend will be home soon. Having you in my apartment is going to be very difficult to explain.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

Having been chased out by Guo Si, Yan Yunning felt a nagging sense that something wasn’t quite right — and it wasn’t until she saw He Qingxia and the others that she remembered: she had forgotten to ask what she had actually come to find Guo Si for.

She had been so preoccupied just now with thinking about how to explain the baby that she had completely forgotten to ask the most important question.

She turned around quickly, only to see Guo Si coming down the stairs with his arm around a young woman. They got into a car and drove off into the distance.

Yan Yunning: “……”

Left with no choice but to leave for the time being, Yan Yunning and the others staked out Guo Si’s residence for another full day, only to learn that he had gone on a trip with his girlfriend. Yan Yunning decided she didn’t want to chase the matter further, and the group booked plane tickets and returned home.

In any case, from the sound of what Guo Si had said, Xuan Xixi would gradually recover his memories on his own. And she already knew that Shiyao had been lying.

As for how Shiyao had come to know about what had passed between her and Xuan Xixi — she could always ask Shiyao directly. Though Shiyao might not necessarily tell her, and even if she did, it might not be the truth.

After landing, since they hadn’t been on the same flight as the others, Yan Yunning walked out of the airport terminal, left a message for He Qingxia, then used her phone to hail a car and registered through a hospital’s public account to make an appointment — she wanted to go for a prenatal checkup.

Wen Zhilu quietly placed his hand on Yan Yunning’s suitcase handle and asked in passing, “Did you have a fight with Xuan Yanyu?”

He had been wanting to ask since the day they left for abroad.

He was admittedly being a little petty — he had actually been hoping that she and Xuan Yanyu had fought, broken up, called off the engagement.

“What makes you say that?” Yan Yunning glanced back at him.

Wen Zhilu answered honestly. “I could see it. You tapped his profile picture and he didn’t reply — and he hasn’t called you once on his own. These past few days, he hasn’t contacted you at all.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

Wen Zhilu gave her a look that suggested she had terrible taste. “What happened? He already picked a fight with you right after the engagement? You’re not even married yet and he’s already like this — once you’re married, it’ll only get worse.”

Yan Yunning shot him a sideways look. “It was me who started things with him. I’m the one who told him I didn’t want to see him.”

Wen Zhilu paused, then said, “And he just… actually stopped reaching out to you?”

“Of course he didn’t.”

Wen Zhilu frowned. “Then why hasn’t he contacted you all these days?”

Yan Yunning wrinkled her nose. “Can you just drop it?”

Wen Zhilu let out a scoffing laugh. “What’s wrong — can’t answer that? Maybe the man simply hasn’t thought about you once these past few days.”

“……” Yan Yunning didn’t feel like talking to Wen Zhilu anymore. She looked down and opened her phone to check the status of her ride booking.

Wen Zhilu tilted his head, leaned in slightly, and angled himself a little closer toward her.

Without looking up, Yan Yunning said, “Stay at my brother’s place tonight and head home tomorrow.”

Wen Zhilu curved his lips into a small smile. “What about you?”

“I’m going to find my fiancé.”

The smile on Wen Zhilu’s face stiffened. He reached out and gave Yan Yunning’s long wavy hair a tug. “It’s been a while since the three of us had dinner together with Brother Jingjun. How about you join us for dinner first and then go find your fiancé tomorrow?”

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together and checked the time. She had no way of knowing how long the prenatal checkup would take — it was her first one, and she still needed to register her file. It would take at least three to four hours at minimum, and she would certainly be exhausted by the end. It would be better to just go straight home and rest, and then go smooth things over with Xuan Yanyu tomorrow.

So she gave a small nod. “Take my suitcase to my brother’s place first — I still have something to take care of.”

She desperately wanted to call Xuan Yanyu and have him come with her to the prenatal appointment, but there was no way she could do that. If she called him now, she wouldn’t even be able to get through an explanation.

Wen Zhilu raised one thick eyebrow. “What is it? Let’s go together.”

Yan Yunning shook her head. “No need.”

Wen Zhilu pressed his lips lightly together. “Then I’ll wait for you in the car. Would that be alright?”

Seeing the car with the license plate from her booking pull up, Yan Yunning didn’t want to argue with him anymore. “Do whatever you like.”

Wen Zhilu raised an eyebrow with a smile, picked up both suitcases, and followed behind Yan Yunning.

——

Xuan Group.

Ye Jian and Ye’an knocked on the office door and entered.

“Young Master Xuan…… you……”

Ye Jian stammered, and with a barely noticeable gesture he tugged at Ye’an’s sleeve.

Ye’an gave him a look, signaling with his eyes for Ye Jian to be the one to speak.

Xuan Yanyu said with impatience, “Why are you standing there? Do you have something to say?”

“Young…… Young Master Xuan, we ran into Shiyao downstairs just now. She…… she……”

Seeing Ye Jian’s hesitant, faltering manner, Xuan Yanyu lost all patience. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Ye Jian’s heart gave a jolt, and not daring to conceal anything, he said, “Shiyao says Miss Yan is pregnant. She also claims that Miss Yan was afraid of you finding out, so she deliberately used Shiyao’s phone to call you and say she wanted to break up with you — and that Shiyao herself is completely innocent.”

“I know this is Shiyao spreading rumors. I’ve already sent Ye Chen to look into it. If it’s false, we can hold her responsible for defaming Miss Yan’s reputation.”

Xuan Yanyu let out a short laugh through his nose. “Is there any need to look into it? What else would she be doing if not spreading rumors?”

“I know — but the way Shiyao said it sounded convincing, so I had Ye Chen go check.”

Xuan Yanyu’s lips curved into a cold, sharp smile. “Let her carry on for a few more days. Tell Ye Chen not to bother investigating.”

Ye Jian scratched his head. “Ye Chen should be back soon.”

He and Ye’an had overheard Shiyao say all of this. They had stood downstairs for quite a while, not daring to go up and report it, and after that delay, Ye Chen had likely nearly finished by now.

Just as Ye Jian had predicted, less than a minute after he spoke, Ye Chen knocked on the door and entered the office — only his expression was strikingly grim.

Ye Jian and Ye’an exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding. Shiyao couldn’t have been telling the truth, could she?