62. 48 Days Pregnant

“At three o’clock this morning, our city’s public security department seized two tons of methamphetamine and successfully arrested twenty-six individuals involved in a drug trafficking syndicate that had been operating for ten years...”

Midway through the news broadcast, a knock sounded outside the hospital room.

Although Jiang Yan’s injuries were healing quickly, Lin Xingzi wouldn’t let him move carelessly. She put down her fruit, wiped her hands, and went to open the door.

Outside stood Lin Xudong in his police uniform. The fatigue and weariness in his eyes were replaced by a smile the moment he saw his daughter.

“Dad...”

Lin Xudong took off his police cap, smiling as he embraced his daughter, gently patting her back to comfort her. “It’s alright. Dad’s alright.”

“Director Lin, twenty minutes at most. We hope for your cooperation.”

“Thank you.”

Four inspection team members stood a few steps away, each looking more serious than the last. Lin Xingzi had a bad premonition. “Dad, they...”

“Let’s talk inside,” Lin Xudong smiled. “Jiang Yan, how are your injuries?”

Jiang Yan sat up. “Much better, Director Lin... Dad.”

With the door open, Lin Xudong was a leader, a superior. With the door closed, he was just a father.

“Lie down, don’t get up,” Lin Xudong was visiting the hospital for the first time; he had only learned about Jiang Yan’s injuries over the phone previously.

He placed his police cap on the table and, with a normal expression, picked up the apple Lin Xingzi had half-peeled. “Jiang Jiang, go get Dad a glass of water.”

Jiang Yan looked up, Lin Xingzi pursed her lips, and quietly responded, “...Do you want tea leaves?”

“You can add a little, it helps refresh.”

“Okay.”

Actually, there was a water dispenser in the room, and the water had just been changed that morning.

Lin Xudong used a clumsy excuse to send Lin Xingzi away. He had something to say to Jiang Yan privately but didn’t want her to know, so she pretended as if nothing was wrong. They were both carefully maintaining those twenty minutes.

After disinfection, the nurses had opened the windows on both sides of the corridor. Lin Xingzi’s hands were freezing after only two minutes in the hot water room.

She made a call to Erhu, typing the number wrong several times. Finally, when it connected, Erhu hesitated, only telling her, “Sister-in-law, Director Lin surrendered himself to the police station this morning after the arrest operation concluded. He might have to go to B City for investigation.”

The water overflowed from the cup, and tea leaves scattered everywhere. Lin Xingzi squatted on the ground, vigorously wiping the water stains, her hands red from rubbing.

After forcing a smile, she returned to the ward with the glass of water.

Just as she had left him, Lin Xudong sat on the sofa, finishing the last peel of the apple in his hand. Seeing her enter, he looked up and smiled, cutting both peeled apples into small pieces. “Come eat. It’ll oxidize and turn yellow soon, and then you’ll complain. Jiang Yan always eats your leftovers anyway.”

Lin Xingzi’s wrist was wrapped in gauze, and the bruises and ligature marks on her neck were barely concealed by her turtleneck sweater. Lin Xudong looked away, his husky voice muffled and indistinct. “Dad made you suffer.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Our Jiang Jiang is very brave, stronger than Dad. With Jiang Yan taking care of you, Dad can also rest assured.”

The person outside knocked on the door, the sound not loud, but it sent a pang of pain through Lin Xingzi’s chest.

“Alright,” the tea cooled quickly. Lin Xudong finished it in a few gulps. “Your mom made dinner. I’ll go back and be with her, or she’ll start nagging again.”

Lin Xingzi pulled free from Jiang Yan’s hand. “Dad, I’ll see you off.”

“No need to. The temperature dropped today; it’s still a bit cold outside.”

He stood up, put on his police cap, acting as naturally as if he were just going home after work.

But Lin Xingzi knew that once he left, he might not come back.

Jiang Yan pulled her into his embrace. She was still the same; when truly sad, not a single tear fell, only her eyes reddened, and she said not a word.

He was still clumsy, not knowing how to comfort her, only able to hold her tight, repeating in her ear, “You have me.”

Lin Xingzi cried out, “I treat you as my husband, but you actually want to be my dad.”

Jiang Yan, “...”

His hand subtly covered her flat lower abdomen, gently stroking. She was already thin, and after only a little over a month, there was no visible sign.

“I am going to be his father.”

Lin Xingzi didn’t take it seriously. “Huh?”

She was just making a joke. She was sad, and he felt uncomfortable too.

Jiang Yan whispered something, and Lin Xingzi froze, her damp eyes blinking blankly and helplessly, unable to react for a moment.

“Are you making fun of me again?”

She was pregnant? How did she not know herself? She didn’t feel anything at all.

Jiang Yan sighed, showing her the test results, his tone helpless yet doting. “I just put it under the pillow. There’s another copy in the drawer. How did you never find it?”

The test result read: 48 days pregnant.

Lin Xingzi read it repeatedly.

The moment Jiang Yan learned she was pregnant from the phone call, fear outweighed joy. Now, after surviving the ordeal, he truly understood the anticipation of having a small life connecting him and her in her belly. She had never been aware of it, so he could only gently stroke her stomach after she fell asleep at night.

“Wife, thank you for my New Year’s gift.”