Once Qin Huan had Mengning all to herself, she began spinning a yarn.
"Ningbao, I had a terrifying nightmare, it scared me so much that I came to find you," Qin Huan said, holding onto Mengning and feigning tears. "Ningbao, I dreamt that my boyfriend was cheating on me and ran off with my money. Isn't that horrifying?"
Qin Huan was dating a guy three years younger than her; she never took men older than 25 seriously. Her criteria for a partner were simple: they had to be under 25, over 18, good-looking, charming, and obedient.
"Well, that does sound scary. How's your younger boyfriend doing lately? Any signs he might run off with your money?" Mengning replied skeptically, knowing Qin Huan's penchant for exaggeration but willing to humor her since she trusted Qin Huan wouldn't harm her.
"He's behaving well," Qin Huan said. "By the way, which hospital are you going to for the check-up?"
"People's Hospital."
An hour later, they arrived at People's Hospital. Mengning had made an appointment on her phone, so they went straight in.
The doctor prescribed a series of tests for Mengning, including blood tests and examinations of her liver, gallbladder, spleen, and kidneys. Qin Huan stuck close by Mengning's side, prompting Mengning to joke, "With how nervous you are, anyone would think we're a couple."
"If I were a man, I'd really marry you. How could I let Fu Tingxiu have you so easily?" Qin Huan replied teasingly.
Mengning chuckled, "Then in your next life, be a man, and I'll marry you. I'll go show the results to the doctor first."
"I'll come with you," Qin Huan said anxiously.
Ever since Mengning's incident years ago, Qin Huan and Meng's mother would worry whenever Mengning went to the hospital for check-ups, fearing they might discover something serious.
After looking over the test results, the doctor asked Mengning routinely, "Are you married?"
Mengning hesitated briefly before replying, "...Yes, I am."
The doctor then asked, "Do you have children?"
Qin Huan was nervous and hurriedly answered on behalf of Mengning, "No, my friend hasn't had any children yet."
The doctor looked at Mengning again and asked, "Have you ever had children?"
Mengning shook her head, "No, I haven't."
Worried that the doctor might say something inappropriate, Qin Huan quickly changed the subject, "Doctor, everything is fine with my friend's check-up, right?"
"Everything looks fine," the doctor reassured them. As part of the examination, there was a check of the uterine appendages, which indicated signs typical of someone who had given birth before.
It was clear that Meng Ning firmly denied it, and the doctor didn't press further, as Meng Ning was only there for a check-up.
Meng Ning didn't think much of it either. When married women come to the hospital, some doctors typically ask if they have had children. She hadn't, so she answered truthfully.
The doctor signed on Meng Ning's medical examination report and said, "You're good to go."
"Thank you, doctor."
Meng Ning took her report, and Qin Huan breathed a sigh of relief.
As they walked down the corridor, Qin Huan said, "It's almost noon, Ning Bao, you have to treat me to a meal. I came early to accompany you, and I haven't had breakfast yet."
"Sure, what do you want to eat? My treat," Meng Ning was very generous. "Let's consider it a celebration for my joining Shengyu Group."
"Then I'll have to fleece you thoroughly..."
"Huan Huan, that person over there seems to be my sister-in-law's husband," Meng Ning interrupted Qin Huan, looking at a man approaching them.
The man was supporting a woman who had a smug expression on her face. She said, "You saw just now, this baby is a boy. When are you divorcing and marrying me? If you don't give me a status, I won't give birth anymore, and your family line will end. Yang Liu, that old woman, married you for eight years and didn't give you a child. I gave birth to a daughter for your family, and now I'm pregnant with a son. It's time for me to enter your household."
To pacify the woman, the man said, "I'll divorce. I'll do it soon. I haven't had any feelings for her for a long time. Don't be angry and harm the baby. This is my Zhu family's seed; we must be careful..."
Before the man could finish his sentence, he looked up and saw Meng Ning in the corridor, freezing on the spot with a drastic change in his expression. "Meng... Meng Ning."
"Sister-in-law's husband."
Meng Ning was equally shocked. She had casually mentioned it before, never expecting it to actually come true. Yang Liu's husband, Zhu Jun, had found another woman outside and was having a second child.
He had truly managed to keep this hidden well.