Su Qianhua: (°o°)
Her eyes and mouth widened, making her look quite comical, but to the lovestruck idiot Jiang Philip, she just looked dazzling.
"I had to rush home to get our documents and bring the car over." Seeing that her expression had not changed, he reached out and patted her cheek.
"We'll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get a certificate. Once you're properly rested, we would then hold the wedding. What do you think?"
Well, Su Qianhua didn't know what to think. At this point, she had even forgotten how to think. She just stared at him.
And Jiang Philip, not wanting to make eye contact, pretended not to notice her stare. He didn't want to provoke her into reacting negatively.
They got to the Civil Affairs Bureau quickly and in record time, they were taking passport photographs for the red booklets.
The Bureau officials repeatedly asked her if she was under duress or something, to which she snapped out of her daze and shook her head firmly. Even the photographer paused when he saw her bruised face, but she assured him she was fine, she only had an accident on the way.
She had not quite come to terms with what was even happening, but somehow, she didn't want to stop anything.
The relief on Jiang Philip's face when she signed the document was immense. He had made the decision on impulse and hoped she would not be angry. He was not even expecting her to agree so easily, he thought he would have to convince her more.
One of the assistants there helped her apply light makeup to cover up the bruises. Still, she made up her mind never to show people these pictures.
She looked scary!
And so it was, that in less than an hour, the brave and sassy officer that had sworn off marriage, had now become a married woman.
"You, are...are you sure you won't regret this?" For the umpteenth time this thought rang in Su Qianhua's mind, but for the first time she actually voiced it.
They were on their way home. The radio was turned on, but the volume was low.
"Regret? Definitely not. But will you regret it?" He asked with false bravado. He wasn't sure if he did the right thing by taking her there in her vulnerable state, but he didn't regret it.
Su Qianhua wasn't sure.
One thing was clear though: the short interlude was earthshaking and had temporarily taken her mind off the tragedy.
Both of them felt like they were floating on clouds. It was surreal.
Before they got home though, she was reminded of what she had lost.
Her phone beeped, alerting her of a notification. "Planned Pregnancy", which was an account she started following ironically on a whim, had just shared a post.
It was an ultrasound photo of a baby at thirty nine weeks of gestation, and it showed a pretty clear outline of the baby's face and hand. The caption was, "Our baby's doing well and getting ready to come!" with lots of emojis.
She broke down again. Tears streamed down her face and darkened her sight as she sobbed uncontrollably. Why did her own baby leave? Why didn't he stay with them?
Jiang Philip wanted to cry as well. He was in so much pain, yet so happy, he wondered if it was even possible to feel both extreme emotions at the same time.
It was a terribly bittersweet feeling.
He freed up one hand to hold on to her, his warmth silently comforting her. Fortunately they had arrived at the apartment's parking lot, so he just parked and waited.
A short while later, her tears had slowed down. He then carried her to her room and held her in his arms, her head lying on his shoulder and his arm around her. His other hand patted her rhythmically. He didn't know the name of her shampoo, but the fragrance was rich and flowery, tickling his heart.
This was his wife, his legal wife. It was incredible.
Su Qianhua clung to him tightly, inhaling his masculine scent and tapping into his calm.
Before she fell asleep, the thought she didn't voice out was "It's too sad that our wedding anniversary is his death anniversary."
Jiang Philip tucked her in before leaving. After a good long crying session of his own, he dried his tears and took his phone.
He was going to contact their families to tell them about the marriage. He also wanted to call Doctor Zhong to inform him of the bad news and find out if they had to come in for more care.
He was not very satisfied with the way City A's general hospital handled things.
As he scrolled through his contact list, he decided to call Doctor Zhong first. Either way, he couldn't rest assured until he confirmed that she was actually fine.
"What? A miscarriage? Bring her in immediately." Doctor Zhong ordered anxiously. He blamed the general hospital for letting her go so quickly. Couldn't they observe her a bit longer?
But then again, he understood that they probably didn't know her medical history. Either way, he felt responsible for her health as her primary care physician, so he had to make sure she was alright.
He sighed inwardly. Although her blood levels had improved remarkably, a miscarriage was still quite dangerous for her.
Spurred by the urgency in doctor Zhong's voice, Jiang Philip hurriedly agreed and went to see if she was awake. As a result, he met her sitting upright and staring into space.
After being frightened awake by a nightmare where she saw a cute little dumpling jumping out of her arm with tears rolling down his cheeks, Su Qianhua could no longer sleep.
Thoughts of the baby and the events of the day filled her mind and left her preoccupied.
Jiang Philip went closer to hold her, feeling distressed. "I thought you would still be sleeping by now. Do you want to eat something now?"
Su Qianhua mustered a weak smile. "I couldn't sleep properly. It's fine, don't worry."
Jiang Philip thought for a moment before saying, "actually I just spoke to Doctor Zhong, and he said you should come to the hospital for further check up, just to make sure you're fine. I think it's a good idea. What do you think?"
Su Qianhua nodded mutely. She had no objections. Now that the baby was gone, the least she could do was adjust her mental state and take good care of herself.
Perhaps, if he saw how sorry she felt, he would find his way back to her.
They got ready to go out. Before they left however, Jiang Philip made sure she drank a cup of tea, with some crackers. She had absolutely no appetite, but she forced herself to eat something for his sake.
*****
These days, Gao Tinghua felt very bored.
Since the first part of the collaboration had wrapped up, his presence in City M became redundant. His father Gao Zhipeng was also urging him to come back to take care of other company matters, so he had no choice but to go back to the Capital.
He felt that it was a pity. When would he ever have this lunch with Pei Yueran?
Before he left however, he assigned someone to keep an eye on her and discreetly report important matters to him.
Li Chuanmo noticed, but he turned a blind eye. What he didn't want anyone to know, it was impossible for them to find out.
At least now that the annoying pest was finally gone—hopefully for good, everyone could heave a sigh of relief!
The pest in question was currently struggling with the urge to break something.
His mother had just sent a message to inform him that they were going to meet with Han Jingse's family in about a month's time.
He had already forgotten what he said to Han Jingse that day, but she really went to find his mother. And he had not even made progress with Pei Yueran. D*mn!
As if that wasn't annoying enough, his mother also said that they would be having a family dinner together the next day.
His fingers were really itching for action, so he removed his latest pair of limited edition Centaur shoes and hurled them against the wall in his office. The strength behind that throw was so strong that the shoes were bent out of shape.
Tong Zhian, who heard the noise shuddered. This god of menace was too violent! Shouldn't he go and take his anger out on the relevant person?
After destroying shoes worth a few hundred thousand, his irritation subsided a bit. Anyway, meeting each other's family didn't really mean anything, he just had to play along.
Thinking further, even if they actually got married, it did not matter. Marriage among the aristocrats was simply business, he could cope. Besides, he still had time.
As for the dinner, hehe!
After calming down, he called the secretary's office. Tong Zhian jumped when the telephone started ringing.
"Bring me a pair of shoes."
The call was disconnected even before he could reply "Yes sir." He made faces of irritation at the innocent receiver before replacing it and quickly running off to get a new pair of shoes.
As he ran to the boutique, he was crying in his heart. Good salary aside, this job was a nightmare.
At this rate, he probably would not even be alive to spend the double salary he was currently receiving!