Under his lethal enticement, Gu Mian's body had long since melted into a puddle.
She bit her lower lip tightly, and the slight pain kept her conscious.
She couldn't continue to sink into his embrace, couldn't continue to lose herself in this loveless, sexual marriage.
She absolutely couldn't!
Her phone suddenly rang, breaking the amorous atmosphere in the air.
Li Tingshen had no intention of stopping, but the incessant ringing eventually dampened his mood.
The man picked up the phone and glanced at it, quickly releasing Gu Mian.
Gu Mian also saw the name on the screen: Luoxue.
In the past, when they were being intimate and someone called, Li Tingshen would usually just hang up and then set his phone to silent.
Only when Yin Luoxue called would he answer immediately.
Gu Mian heard him pick up the call, his voice gentle, "I'm at home... She didn't target you, don't overthink it... I know, I'll come by later..."
Gu Mian sat up and straightened her clothes, her hands trembling as she buttoned them.
After Li Tingshen hung up, he turned his head to look at her and couldn't help but curl his lips. "Such a hurry to get dressed. Afraid I'll eat you up?"
Gu Mian didn't speak.
Li Tingshen stretched out his hand to button her up, "If you don't want me to continue unbuttoning it, come downstairs and have a meal with me."
Remembering that they had nearly gone too far just moments before, Gu Mian didn't refuse, as resisting was futile anyway.
...
In the dining room, the housemaid, Mother Yang, had already prepared an exquisite array of dishes.
"Madam, you've lost a lot of weight, try to eat more."
Li Tingshen lifted his eyes to the demure girl eating across from him.
It was only when Mother Yang said this that he noticed she really had lost considerable weight.
Already thin, she looked even gaunter since returning from prison, her cheeks more angular than before.
Aside from being thinner, she didn't seem much different from before, as beautiful as ever.
But Li Tingshen couldn't explain why, he felt something about her had changed.
Mother Yang, using the serving chopsticks, placed a piece of braised pork in Gu Mian's bowl.
Gu Mian, upon smelling it, suddenly felt a surge of nausea and couldn't suppress the sound, "Urgh..."
"Madam, what's the matter!" Mother Yang promptly poured her a glass of water, "Do you feel unwell somewhere?"
"I'm fine," Gu Mian barely managed to recover, rising to her feet and saying, "I've eaten my fill."
Li Tingshen watched her retreating figure, suddenly losing his appetite.
He put down his chopsticks and stood up to leave.
"Sir, you haven't eaten yet."
"I'm going out for a bit," Li Tingshen put on his coat and instructed, "The food in prison is bland, she can't suddenly adjust to greasy foods, cook her some porridge."
Mother Yang nodded, "Yes."
...
As soon as Gu Mian went upstairs, she heard the sound of a car engine from below.
Gu Mian tugged at the corner of her lips; he had just promised to visit Yin Luoxue on the phone, and now he couldn't even wait to finish his meal before leaving. It was indeed true love.
Gu Mian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, saw the car leaving the villa, and closed her eyes wearily.
Suddenly, something occurred to her; she snapped her eyes open and began to take her pulse with her right hand on her left wrist!
The pulse was steady and strong, the kind associated with pregnancy!
Gu Mian was astonished, not needing to recall much to know it was from that one time a month ago when she returned.
Li Tingshen never liked using protection, finding it restrictive, so it was always her who took the morning-after pill.
That day, she had planned to visit her grandmother at the hospital before going to buy the pill, but then her grandmother suddenly passed away. Grief-stricken and in deep sorrow, she completely forgot about it.
Gu Mian's mind was in chaos, incapable of coherent thought.
By the time she finally calmed down, she immediately left the house.
She seldom took the pulse of pregnant women, so to avoid misjudgment, she decided to buy a pregnancy test.
The two clear lines confirmed her diagnosis.
She hadn't expected that missing the pill just once would actually do the trick!
Gu Mian gently caressed her abdomen.
Just when she had finally resolved to divorce Li Tingshen, she found out that she was pregnant.
Heaven really had a sense of humor!
Gu Mian tossed and turned with irritation until she finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the night. When she woke up, daylight had already broken, and Li Tingshen had not returned all night.
As she went downstairs for breakfast, Nanny Yang suddenly rushed into the dining room, her face a mix of excitement and hesitance.
"What's wrong?" Gu Mian couldn't help asking. "Did you win the lottery or something?"
"Madam, it's you who hit the jackpot! How long do you plan to keep it from me?" Nanny Yang pulled out a pregnancy test. "I found this in the trash. You're pregnant, that's wonderful news!"
Gu Mian: "..."
Seeing that Gu Mian did not share the joy typically felt by a mother-to-be, Nanny Yang anxiously inquired, "Madam, are you not happy?"
Gu Mian took a sip of porridge. "Nanny Yang, I've already filed for divorce."
Nanny Yang was shocked!
"Madam, you want to divorce the master? How could that be possible!"
"Why not." Gu Mian replied indifferently. "Nanny Yang, don't you think he and Yin Luoxue look more like a real husband and wife? ...Right, they were originally a couple. It was me who intruded all of a sudden and occupied the position of Madam Li, preventing them from being together officially."
Still foolishly hoping that Li Tingshen would fall in love with her.
It was both laughable and pitiful.
Nanny Yang couldn't help but shed tears for her, "Madam, even if you don't say it, I know how much you have suffered in jail over the past year. But now it's all in the past. If you and the master live well together, I believe one day he will recognize your worth."
"Besides, now that you're having a child, everything will be different. A child should grow up in a normal environment. For the sake of the child, you shouldn't get a divorce."
Gu Mian was stunned. When she was very young, her parents had died, and she was raised by her grandparents.
Although her grandparents gave her all their love, she couldn't help but envy other children who had both parents.
She certainly understood that a child should grow up happily in a complete family.
"Madam, a man's attitude can change once he has children," Nanny Yang continued to persuade. "Many men settle down and return to their families after becoming fathers. No matter what, for the sake of the child, you should give the master another chance. Don't you think?"
Gu Mian nodded gently.
Nanny Yang was right; for the sake of the child, she should try once more.
As long as Li Tingshen could keep his distance from Yin Luoxue, she was willing to let go of everything in the past and work on building their home and living a good life.
After breakfast, Gu Mian took a taxi to Li Corporation.
The news of her marriage to Li Tingshen was not made public, and only a few people in the company knew that she was Madam Li.
Gu Mian called Li Tingshen's assistant, who came down to escort her upstairs.
When she knocked and entered the CEO's office, Li Tingshen was on the phone.
Seeing Gu Mian enter, he wasn't too surprised; after all, in the past, her anger would subside after a night.
The assistant brought Gu Mian a cup of hot water and then left.
Li Tingshen hung up the phone and looked toward Gu Mian, "Why didn't you sleep in a bit longer?"
"I slept enough." Gu Mian pointed to a thermos on the side. "Nanny Yang asked me to bring you some chicken soup."
"Alright, I'll drink it later."
Gu Mian looked at him, "Tingshen, where were you last night?"
Li Tingshen didn't hide it. "Luoxue felt unwell and was taken to the hospital last night, I was there keeping her company."
Gu Mian's fingertips trembled. After a while, she asked, "Tingshen, if we had a child, could you spend more time at home?"
Li Tingshen's brow furrowed slightly, "You want a child now?"
"Don't you?" Gu Mian countered with a question.
Li Tingshen picked up a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and then said gravely, "Gu Mian, now is not the time to have children."
Gu Mian was startled, "Why not?"
"Luoxue has been in poor health recently. If you were pregnant, you wouldn't be able to give her a blood transfusion."