Jiang Wanqing sat numbly on the hospital bed, her trembling hand resting on her flat abdomen as her vision blurred with tears.
She never imagined she had been pregnant.
One month… It was exactly the day of the funeral. It was Huo Yan's child.
Why did this happen? Why such a cruel coincidence?
She and Huo Yan… perhaps it truly was a cursed fate. Even their child had come at the wrong time, and now, it was gone.
Jiang Wanqing felt the urge to both laugh and cry. She curled up on the bed, taking a long time to calm her emotions.
She wanted a drink of water, but when she turned her head, she noticed a necklace on the table. Its pendant was an antique bronze, shaped like a heart.
It looked so familiar…
Jiang Wanqing picked it up in surprise, vaguely recalling that she had torn it off Huo Yan's body during her unconscious state.
This seemed to be hers!
It was the necklace she had lost when she saved Huo Yan all those years ago. Why was it here? Had Huo Yan found it and kept it close all this time?
Why?
But before her shock could fully settle, the door to her room was flung open.
"Jiang Wanqing, what tricks are you playing now?!"
Li Xi'er stormed in, her face turning pale when she saw the necklace in Jiang Wanqing's hand. She strode over and snatched it away. "Why do you have Huo Yan's necklace? This is his!"
"I know it's his."
Jiang Wanqing composed herself and replied casually, "He must have dropped it. You can return it to him."
"Hmph!" Li Xi'er clearly didn't believe her. To flaunt her position in Huo Yan's life, she pulled out a necklace from around her own neck.
"See this? Huo Yan and I have matching pendants. His half, my half—it's our token of love! Jiang Wanqing, you're just the third wheel who wasted three years of Huo Yan's life."
Jiang Wanqing was stunned to learn the pendant had a counterpart. She leaned forward to look, confirming that Li Xi'er's pendant was indeed a match to hers.
How could this be?
Why did Li Xi'er also have a necklace like this?
Jiang Wanqing's eyes flickered as she casually asked, "When did this token of love happen?"
"Almost eighteen years ago," Li Xi'er boasted proudly. "There was an accident back then, and I saved Huo Yan. He gave this to me as a keepsake."
"You're lying!"
Jiang Wanqing didn't mince words.
She was the one who had saved Huo Yan all those years ago. How could it have been Li Xi'er?
This woman was an impostor!
Li Xi'er's face turned pale. She had been telling this lie for so long that even she had started to believe it. But Jiang Wanqing had exposed her with such certainty.
"What nonsense are you spouting? When did my relationship with Huo Yan become any of your business?" Li Xi'er's voice rose, her guilt manifesting as anger. "If you're calling me a liar, then explain why I have a matching pendant!"
Jiang Wanqing remained silent. This was the one thing she couldn't explain.
Was it just a coincidence?
"I knew you were just trying to ruin things between me and Huo Yan." Seeing Jiang Wanqing's silence, Li Xi'er finally relaxed, convinced that Jiang Wanqing was simply slandering her to sabotage her relationship with Huo Yan.
"From the moment Huo Yan decided to divorce you, I became the rightful Mrs. Huo. Jiang Wanqing, I'm warning you—if you continue to meddle with my fiancé, I won't let you off easy!"
"Can Room 309 keep it down?!"
Li Xi'er's face twisted in shock. "Jiang Wanqing, you… you were pregnant? Was the child Huo Yan's?"
Jiang Wanqing couldn't be bothered to respond.
"Jiang Wanqing, you shameless woman! You're already divorced, yet you still—"
"Why are you blaming me? Instead of wasting time here with me, why don't you keep a closer eye on your fiancé? My child with him is gone, and I've repaid everything I owed him. We have nothing to do with each other now! Please leave. I don't want to see you anymore!"
Her cold, resolute words reached Huo Yan's ears without missing a single syllable.
Huo Yan stood at the doorway, watching the woman inside through the open door. Her face was still pale, but her eyes were filled with determination.
Earlier, the doctor had told him… Jiang Wanqing's miscarriage was caused by the car accident, which had directly impacted her abdomen and damaged her uterus. It would be extremely difficult for her to conceive again…
Huo Yan clenched his fists, his stern face half-hidden in the shadows, unmoving for a long time.
Infertility—for any woman, this was likely an unbearable blow.
The debt between him and the Jiang family had indeed been settled.
Two lives, repaid in full.
But why didn't he feel any satisfaction?
The image of Jiang Wanqing's bloodied figure was still vivid in his mind, weighing heavily on his heart. Huo Yan pressed his lips together, feeling as though he could barely breathe.
He stood outside the hospital room for a long time before finally returning to his car, his expression dark and unreadable.
The driver cautiously reminded him, "Mr. Huo, I've already paid for a month's worth of medical and hospital fees for Miss Jiang. I've also left my contact information with the nurses. They'll notify me if there are any updates."
"Hmm."
Huo Yan acknowledged with a nod, his gaze fixed outside the window. Just then, he saw Li Xi'er walking out of the hospital, her beautiful face still clouded with anger.
"Mr. Huo, it's Miss Li. Should I let her in the car?" the driver asked.
"No."
Recalling Li Xi'er's arrogant demeanor in the hospital room, Huo Yan felt a wave of irritation.
He never expected Li Xi'er to become like this.
She was the one he had chosen, the one who had saved his life. Yet, after spending time with her, he found himself unable to develop any real interest.
She was short-sighted and impulsive, a stark contrast to Jiang Wanqing.
"Let's go back," Huo Yan said.
"Understood."
…
After Li Xi'er left, the room finally fell silent.
The conversation with Li Xi'er left Jiang Wanqing deep in thought.
She couldn't understand why Li Xi'er also had a matching necklace. Perhaps… Li Xi'er had lied, leading Huo Yan to mistake her for his savior.
How ironic!
If Huo Yan ever discovered the truth, what would he do? His expression would surely be something to behold.
A faint smile tugged at Jiang Wanqing's lips. For the first time, she felt a sense of vengeful satisfaction.
She couldn't wait to see that day.
Over the next few days, she rested in the hospital, often staring out the window in a daze.
Whenever a nurse passed by with a baby stroller, Jiang Wanqing would instinctively place her hand on her abdomen, reminiscing about the life that had once been there.
Surprisingly, Li Xi'er didn't return to cause more trouble, and Huo Yan seemed to have vanished completely, leaving her in peace.
A few days later, a nurse knocked on her door. "Miss Jiang, there's a gentleman here to see you. He says his surname is Lu."
It must be Lu Qichuan.
Among her current friends, she couldn't think of anyone else but him.
But the memory of being humiliated by Lu's mother in the café was still fresh. Meeting Lu Qichuan now didn't seem appropriate.
She replied indifferently, "Please tell him I'm too tired to see anyone."
"Understood."