Chapter 6: Pregnancy

Night had fallen by the time Su Xi stepped into Sea-Sky Group's headquarters in high heels.
With her lovely face and clothes that looked simple yet remained refined, she drew frequent envious glances from men and women all the way inside.
The group's employees were familiar with her. The story of her romance with Li Haitian had long become a model Cinderella tale—a sparrow transforming into a phoenix.
And, naturally, gossip material for the entire company.
No matter whom she faced, Su Xi always wore a pleasant smile and radiated gentleness, easily winning people's favor.
“Hello.”
“Miss Su, the president is inside.” Although Li Haitian had unusually instructed them that very day not to let anyone unrelated to work enter, the secretarial staff let her pass without the slightest hesitation.
How could Miss Su possibly count as an outsider?
Based on painful past experience, stopping her because they lacked tact would be far more likely to anger the president.
What none of them knew was that their president's shell had already changed occupants. The soul inside now came from another Li Haitian with exactly the same name.
Huo Zhen, however, had keenly noticed the difference in Li Haitian.
After taking a donkey's kick, their wildly domineering, impossibly cool president seemed to be evolving into a ruthless workaholic President Li.
Huo Zhen had originally intended to follow instructions and stop Su Xi from entering, but the words reached his lips and went back down.
He stood silently beside the office door and tried to make himself invisible.
Su Xi casually swept her gaze over this very large, living person.
Huo Zhen's back instantly tightened.
Scary. Guilty.
That morning, he had reflexively asked, “President Li, aren't you going to see Miss Su?”
Li Haitian had immediately checked out of the hospital, found Su Xi, and proposed cancelling the engagement.
Su Xi, who had virtuously been packing chicken soup at home to visit him in the hospital, had cried and cried.
And the black aura around Li Haitian had been something else.
He must have had a loose mouth to ask that question.
There went his bonus.
–
Inside the lavish president's office, an incomparably handsome man leaned over his desk working.
His proportions were perfect: broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and a heavily muscled body held tightly beneath a perfectly pressed black suit.
Deep-set eyes, a high nose, features that looked carved with a knife and chisel—his handsome face resembled a Greek statue and carried deadly attraction.
People said men were most handsome when they worked seriously, yet there was no infatuation in Su Xi's eyes.
Since when did Li Haitian actually work?
Didn't he normally dump all his business on Huo Zhen?
Wait. Could Sea-Sky Group be going bankrupt?!
It was even stranger to see a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on Li Haitian's nose.
Muscles paired with glasses did create an appealing contrast, but what did refinement have to do with Li Haitian in the slightest?
No one understood this man's true nature better than Su Xi.
If not for his family background, his violent tendencies alone would have made her keep him far away.
Why else would she have bothered entangling herself with him for several years?
Heh.
“Haitian, why are you wearing glasses now? Are your eyes uncomfortable?” Su Xi softened her voice. They had only recently reconciled, so this was the appropriate way to behave.
“Mm… habit.” Li Haitian unconsciously pushed his glasses up. When he saw who had entered, his brow furrowed.
Hadn't he already told them not to let unrelated people in casually?
“Did you come because you've thought over my proposal?”
Su Xi's perfect expression instantly cracked. Remembering what he had said that morning put her in a foul mood.
Li Haitian himself had proposed the engagement when he went to the countryside to bring her back, only to reverse himself almost immediately.
Where exactly had things gone wrong?
She had played hard to get for so long. Li Haitian's entire heart should have been firmly in her hands.
Yet now, there was none of the old affection in his eyes. There was only distance!
As though he were looking at a stranger.
And faintly, even resistance and rejection.
“Haitian…” No. Her persona was that of a strong woman with self-respect. She needed to show just enough anger at being humiliated through her hurt, then slowly reveal her trump card.
“Has President Li truly decided this?”
“I'm very sorry. I still think… uh, the two of us need more time to understand each other. This engagement was too hasty. Cancelling it would be better for both of us.”
Since when had Li Haitian ever spoken so humbly? Had he changed personalities entirely?
“Fine. So that's what you think. It turns out I really was flattering myself. From beginning to end, you've only been playing with me!”
Heartbreak, pain, and anger intertwined across Su Xi's face.
Then she weakly braced herself against the corner of the desk, giving Li Haitian no time to react or speak.
“But what can I do? I originally wanted to hide far away by myself and never let you know. You were the one who forced me to come back… And Auntie Li—she already knows that I'm preg— How am I supposed to face her? Ugh…”
Li Haitian stared dumbly, his eyes darting toward the stomach Su Xi deliberately covered with one hand. “You're… pregnant?”
Su Xi gave a small, pained nod.
Clang—Li Haitian's office chair shot backward several meters and crashed into the bookcase.
Several bottles of red wine on the shelves came crashing to the floor and shattered into pieces.
Much like the expression that had shattered across Li Haitian's face.
It was full of terror.
Was she some kind of flood or savage beast? Did he really need to avoid her that desperately?
Su Xi genuinely felt insulted. “Li Haitian, what is that supposed to mean? Is marrying me really such a terrifying thing?!”
“President Li, what happened?!” Huo Zhen rushed inside at the sound. He happened to hear Su Xi's accusation and instantly wanted to pretend he had seen and heard nothing, turn into a deaf-mute, and walk straight back out.
He had thought the hot-tempered Li Haitian had lost control again and started smashing furniture. Why did the balance of power in the room look completely reversed…?
Su Xi planted one hand on her waist and slapped the desk with the other.
Li Haitian held both hands in front of his chest and shrank into the high-backed chair as far as his large body would allow.
Su Xi switched her acting on in one second. “Haitian, how can you be so heartless?”
“Miss Su, please get up. The floor is cold.” Seeing Li Haitian turn into a blank, stupid Psyduck again, Huo Zhen had no choice but to go over and help the woman up himself.
“Thank you, Brother Huo.” Compared with Li Haitian, Assistant Huo was the perfect considerate gentleman, and Su Xi did not hesitate to draw him closer.
She pinched a handkerchief and suppressed delicate sobs while Huo Zhen stood silently nearby.
Several minutes later, Li Haitian finished a cigar in the office chair and finally came back to himself.
He rolled the chair back to the desk, sat upright, folded his hands on the tabletop, and spoke with a heart full of grief. “I understand. The engagement banquet will go ahead as planned.”
For some reason, Huo Zhen could hear the sorrow in his voice.
–
It was already quite late when Su Qing returned to the apartment arranged by his company.
He ignored the messy living room, went straight to his bedroom, and answered a call from his manager, Lin Yue.
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“Su Qing? Finally willing to contact me? Perfect. Let me tell you about your upcoming work schedule…”
Compared with Su Qing, who became impossible to find the moment he went on vacation, Lin Yue was a fast-moving, decisive woman.
She rattled through everything at once and arranged Su Qing's entire post-vacation life with absolute clarity.
“Sister Yue, can you turn all of those down? Don't accept any jobs for me for now.”
“…Why?”
After making the bed, Su Qing sat at the edge and thought for a long time without coming up with a suitable excuse.
He could hardly tell her that he knew he would soon become wildly popular because of a boys'-love adaptation and would no longer need to lower himself for scraps, could he?
“Give me a few more days. Can I return to work three days from now, Sister Yue?” If he waited a few more days for momentum to build, that drama's popularity should begin rising too.
“I understand. Rest properly.” The other end remained silent for quite a while before answering.
Lin Yue's own son was not much younger than Su Qing. After working with him for several years, she genuinely treated him almost like half a son.
If Su Qing knew what he was doing, she would not press him.
“By the way, Sister Yue, keep an eye on that drama of mine that recently started airing.” Holding the phone to his right ear, Su Qing could not resist touching his left cheek. It felt burning hot.
Su Xi did not have much physical strength, and after Old Liu had applied medicine, there was no longer any visible trace of the slap.
Yet Su Qing could not stop touching the spot.
He was thinking of that patient again.
That ambiguous stroke across his cheek before the man left really was enough to send the imagination running wild.
“You mean Three Lives? It's been streaming on the Green Peppercorn Platform for a few days. Don't worry, the reviews of you are excellent. Pan is handling the related promotion on Weibo. I'll keep watching the numbers.”
“Mm. And that reception for Director Guan you just mentioned—will Lu from our company be going too?”
“Lu Lang? He only graduated from university last year, but after filming Three Lives with you, he's been far more ambitious than you this past year. His manager is a little too eager, though. He accepts every random job under the sun for him.”
They all worked for the same company. Lin Yue was already being quite tactful as she teased Su Qing.
“Then have Pan pick me up the day after tomorrow. I'll go with Lu.”
“Oh, all right.” Lin Yue did not understand why he had suddenly taken an interest in Lu Lang, but she agreed.
It would be good for Su Qing, as the senior, to help guide a newcomer from the company.
Although in this kind of social setting, Su Qing was probably less dependable than his junior.
Most likely, she would still have to ask Lu to look after him once they arrived.
After hanging up, Su Qing felt much better. He happened to hear a knock at the door and went to open it.
His mood instantly plunged to rock bottom.
This apartment was good in every other way: excellent location, good neighborhood security, beautiful surroundings.
He had lived here for several years and even grew the flowers and plants he liked on the balcony.
The only problem was his roommate.
The man constantly dirtied the living room after Su Qing cleaned it, and now he had even brought a woman home.
Meng Hongxing was supposed to be an idol. True, he had failed to debut as a trainee last year and now idled around the company, but he was still an artist who ought to care about his image.
“Hey, didn't you say you lived here alone?!” the woman complained, shoving the man whose arm she had been holding.
“How was I supposed to know he'd come back? Hasn't he been missing for days…?” Drunk, Meng Hongxing began swearing under his breath.
Su Qing let him stumble in clumsily, then called Lin Yue again.
“Sister Yue, I remember this apartment was originally assigned only to me, right? Could you ask Manager Wu from the company to come over?”
Despite the late hour, Lin Yue came personally and brought the property's ownership contract with her.
Almost all of Su Qing's modest savings vanished in exchange for an apartment he genuinely liked.
“Please move all your things out before next Monday. Thank you.”
His roommate looked confused and shocked. Was this really the same mild, easygoing Su Qing?
So decisive and efficient!!
Su Qing ignored him after that, shut his bedroom door, collapsed onto the bed, and slept like the dead.
He counted as one of Flying Cloud's old hands. He had started working for the company when he left university in his junior year, and it had already been four or five years.
In the past, he had never fought or competed for anything because he had been easygoing.
Now that he no longer intended to put up with everything, the company at least had to give him some respect.
Besides, Meng Hongxing was the one who had broken the rules first by bringing an outsider home.
The company could arrange another residence for him and sell this one to Su Qing at a heavily discounted price. That was perfectly reasonable.
For the next two days and two nights, Su Qing caught up on sleep, emptied his mind, and refused to think about anything.
On the afternoon of the third day, his assistant, Pan Da, came to pick him up.
Well rested and energetic, Su Qing hired someone to change the locks at home, then changed into a light-colored suit and got into the car.
“Brother Qing got even more handsome.” After the round-faced Pan Da finished his pleasantries, he said, “Lu Lang's manager said they'll be going over a little later.”
“That's fine. There's no rush for us either.”
At Director Guan's reception, they were only background decoration in the first place.
They came from a small company and were minor actors. Going there was basically begging: show their faces, let people become familiar with them, and hope for nothing more.
The actors who appeared in Director Guan's films were all major award-winning stars, and people at that level would never show up at a low-tier event like this anyway.
Most likely, Director Guan himself would not appear either. The producers were simply holding the gathering under his name.
In the end, it would just be a flock of rookies pecking at one another, chatting, swapping information, trading toasts, and perhaps having a few liberties taken with them over the drinks.
The reason Su Qing was going was Lu Lang.
This junior colleague who had once acted opposite him in a drama was an even less important supporting character than Su Qing in the original novel, yet his eventual fate was vastly better.
Late in the story, the author had briefly mentioned with regret that if Su Qing had not kept courting death back then, perhaps he could have become half an award-winning actor just like Lu Lang.
Why only half?
Because after Lu Lang gained some fame from that boys'-love adaptation, he publicly admitted, “Yes, I like Brother Qing. He took such good care of me before. Why shouldn't I like him?”
That kind of Lu Lang was far too impulsive and ruled by emotion.
A personality that refused to bend was difficult to survive with in the entertainment industry.
Especially when he was speaking up for someone who had opposed the male and female leads.
The reason Lu Lang still achieved his later status was because someone powerful protected him along the way.
He was the illegitimate son of the Wang family in the capital.
But the current Lu Lang wanted nothing whatsoever to do with the Wang family. That was why he accepted all kinds of ridiculous productions: he wanted to disgust the Wangs into leaving him alone.
Su Qing had considered whether he could make use of someone who already liked him and gain protection that way.
But on second thought, it was too late. Who knew how long it would take before Lu Lang rose to power? Su Qing's own life and death were already hanging at the edge.
And he could not even be sure that Lu Lang's future influence would surpass Li Haitian's.
In the end, Master Chu—the villainous big shot—was still the most reliable choice.
If not for his early death, the original novel could practically have replaced its male lead with him.
“Wait, Pan. Pull over for a moment.”
Author's Note: New-Haitian-soy-sauce-President Li: My life is too hard…
Thank you to all the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets or nutrient solution between 2021-03-20 17:05:17 and 2021-03-21 16:34:48~
Thank you to the little angel who supplied nutrient solution: Pear Blossoms by the Eastern Railing, 10 bottles;
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!
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