“What’s wrong?” Mu Yu was anxious.

Yin Xiaotian did not answer. Instead, she only wept into her hands as Xin Yihan sighed and explained, “Our baby is gone, Yu.”

He went up to Yin Xiaotian and wrapped her in an embrace, whispering comforting words into her ear. His face was filled with anguish as he said, “Don’t be sad—your health is more important. Don’t you remember what the doctor said? We’re still young, so we’ll have plenty of time to have children in the future. We just need to be more careful.”

Yin Xiaotian buried her head in his arms but her sorrows persisted. Holding onto Xin Yihan, she sobbed silently into his sleeves.

“What do you mean that the baby is gone? Did you have a miscarriage?” Mu Yu questioned urgently with worry in her tone.

“It wasn’t a miscarriage; we went for a check-up today and found out that the baby simply stopped developing,” Xin Yihan said sadly. “The doctor has arranged a surgery for her tomorrow morning. We just came back to pack some things, and we’ll have to leave for the hospital in a moment.”

“My goodness! So soon?” Mu Yu was taken aback and couldn’t quite believe it. “Are they really sure that the baby has stopped developing?”

“We went to Hongji Hospital.”

“That’s a small hospital! I don’t think they’re reliable. Let’s go to Fraternity Hospital—I’ll get Rong Ying to find an experienced obstetrician to run a check-up on Xiaotian.”

Xin Yihan shook his head with a sigh. “I didn’t want to believe it either, but she’s already gone through two ultrasounds.”

Yin Xiaotian gave Xin Yihan a nudge and took over the conversation, her voice shaky from the tears. “The Director of Hongji Hospital is a friend of Yihan’s, so we’re a hundred percent sure that the results are accurate. It’s all my fault… I didn’t even know that I was pregnant, so I wasn’t careful with my medication.”

“It’s not your fault—I was the one who bought you the medication.” Xin Yihan comforted her regretfully before turning to Mu Yu. “We weren’t planning to have a baby yet, so we usually take safety precautions. Because she’s used to having irregular periods, we didn’t expect her to be pregnant at all when she started feeling lethargic a few days ago; I even got her a few days off work to rest at home, thinking that she overworked herself. I also bought her quite a few supplements and health tonics—that’s probably why the early pregnancy failed. All in all, I was the negligent one. I wasn’t attentive enough.”

“No. I was too careless,” said Yin Xiaotian as she sniffed, wiping her eyes again.

“There, there—it’s no use deciding who to blame. Let’s just prepare for the surgery. You should get some rest on the sofa.” Xin Yihan gently helped her up and guided her to the sofa. “I’ll go and pack some of our everyday items for the hospital trip.”

As he headed out of the door, he said, “Come and sit outside, Yu.”

“Okay.” Mu Yu quickly followed.

After helping Yin Xiaotian to her seat, Xin Yihan gestured to a housekeeper and asked her to pour Mu Yu a cup of tea. Nodding goodbye to her, he headed upstairs to pack up their things.

Mu Yu put an arm around Yin Xiaotian, who was still weeping into her palms, and suggested once more, “Why don’t we go for another check-up at Fraternity Hospital, hmm?”

Yin Xiaotian shook her head and sobbed. She replied, “It’s no use… The results will be the same even after a hundred times.”

“In that case, why don’t we have the surgery at Fraternity Hospital? Rong Ying will arrange the best doctor for you.”

“I don’t want to bother Director Rong with such a minor surgery. Yihan has already gotten Director Hu from Hongji Hospital to make arrangements for my surgery.” Yin Xiaotian let out a heavy sigh, tears still streaking down her face. “It doesn’t matter where I have the surgery; I’m just heartbroken that I’ll never get to meet my baby.”

Mu Yu pitifully dabbed on her cheeks with a piece of tissue while she tried to keep a positive mind to relieve her mood. “It’s all right, Xiaotian. Your baby must have known that you and Yihan aren’t ready to meet him yet, so he decided to wait a little longer before coming back to you.”

Yin Xiaotian shook her head as she choked back her tears. “He won’t be back anymore.”

“He will! He definitely will! Believe me!” Mu Yu reassured her solemnly. “You’re still young. Do you think that you’ll run out of chances to have a baby anytime soon?”

“Exactly.” Xin Yihan’s voice could be heard coming from the stairs. “But before that, you need to take care of your body.”

Yin Xiaotian looked up at him as she wiped away a tear. “You’re done packing already?”

“The housekeeper is helping us to pack,” Xin Yihan said as he made his way downstairs. “As long as you’re healthy, we can have as many children as you want in the future.”

Yin Xiaotian hung her head as she chewed on her lower lip wistfully. “But I only want him.”

“I know you’re hurting, and I am too.” Xin Yihan approached Yin Xiaotian and sighed before squatting down next to her. “We could’ve taken the chance if the results pointed to teratogenicity, but it was a stillbirth; no doctor is able to save that. Let’s not dwell on it further and get some rest. Yu is right—our baby probably knows that we aren’t ready for him right now. Take care of yourself first; when we are well prepared, we can welcome him under the best circumstances.”

Yin Xiaotian broke into tears once again, wailing miserably.

“Don’t cry… It’s all right.” Xin Yihan held her close. He lifted his chin slightly, looking up and blinking profusely.

For a split second, Mu Yu caught a glimpse of a tear that was forming at the corner of his eye. She couldn’t help but tear up a little.

She finally understood why Qin Jinhuan didn’t want to tell Grandpa the fact that she wasn’t pregnant.

As parents, it was already extremely difficult for them to accept the loss of a child; imagine if Grandpa, who had been longing for a grandchild, were to find out the truth. He would have been devastated.

Just then, the urgent blaring of a honk from outside interrupted Mu Yu’s sentimental thoughts. Yin Xiaotian curiously leaned out of Xin Yihan’s embrace and looked out of the windows toward the source of the sound.

“Who is it?”

“I’ll take a look.”

As Xin Yihan got up to help her to a seat, Mu Yu beat him to it and started pacing to the door—she’d already noticed Qin Jinhuan’s car parked outside.

“Why are you here, Huan?” Mu Yu took quick steps toward Qin Jinhuan as he got down from his car, wary that he would be jealous about the situation.

“To pick you up,” Qin Jinhuan said sweetly as he grinned.

“Happy Lunar New Year, Mr. Qin.” Xin Yihan and Yin Xiaotian approached Qin Jinhuan and welcomed him courteously with warm greetings. “Welcome, Mr. Qin. We’re thrilled to have you here in our humble abode.”

“Happy Lunar New Year to you guys too.” Qin Jinhuan returned the cordial welcome with a smile and a sweeping glance. Noticing Yin Xiaotian’s pale face and poor complexion, he said, “I heard that you’ve been feeling unwell. How are you?”

“I’ve gotten better. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Qin.”

“Who says you’re all better?” Mu Yu cut in all of a sudden. “You still need lots of rest. Huan, please let Xiaotian take a longer break after the Lunar New Year holidays. She still needs more time to recover.”

Qing Tian Group had a strict attendance policy; since Yin Xiaotian had already taken a month off due to her health, Mu Yu knew that she would have trouble extending her leave. Hence, she took the liberty of requesting an extension on Yin Xiaotian’s behalf.

“Sure.” Qin Jinhuan was quick to accept her favor without asking further.

“That’s great.” Mu Yu was delighted.

Yin Xiaotian immediately expressed her gratitude and said, “I appreciate it, Mr. Qin. Quick, Yihan—invite Mr. Qin in for a drink!”

“Please come in, Mr. Qin.” Xin Yihan gestured politely with a slight bow.

“Thanks, but it’s all right.” Qin Jinhuan smiled and declined his offer with a wave of his hand. “I’m just here to pick Yu up for dinner.”

Hearing that, Xin Yihan quickly convinced him to stay. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Qin, why don’t you…”

Qin Jinhuan replied, “It’s the Lunar New Year, and our Old Master is rather concerned with traditions. We should go back home to eat.”

“I see. In that case, we shouldn’t keep you here any longer.”

“It’s just a meal—we’ll have plenty of time for that.” Qin Jinhuan held Mu Yu’s hand in his. “We’ll treat you to dinner next time.”

“Let’s keep in touch.” Mu Yu interjected, glancing worriedly at Yin Xiaotian. “Go inside and rest, Xiaotian. I’ll drop by the hospital tomorrow.”

Feeling Qin Jinhuan’s gaze on her, Yin Xiaotian explained hastily, “It’s just a minor surgery—there’s no need to worry. It’s getting late, so you guys should head home. Don’t let the Old Master wait.”

“All right.” Mu Yu turned to leave, but she looked back at Yin Xiaotian once more. “Are you really sure you don’t want to have the surgery at Fraternity Hospital?”

“I’m pretty sure for now. I’ll give you a call if anything goes wrong.”

Mu Yu jumped at her words and frantically waved her hands in front of her. “Don’t say that! Nothing will go wrong!”

She finally let it go. “In that case, I’ll see you at Hongji Hospital tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Reminding Xin Yihan once again to take good care of Yin Xiaotian, Mu Yu finally left and entered the car with Qin Jinhuan.

As the car drove out of the compound, Mu Yu immediately questioned Qin Jinhuan’s motive for coming all the way to pick her up, thinking that he was still bothered by her relationship with Xin Yihan.

“After Huang Bo told me that you were here, I realized it was convenient for me to pick you up—that’s why I’m here.” He put his arm over her shoulders cheerfully.

“Did you really pick me up just because of that?”

“If you want to think that I stopped by to wish my business partner a Happy Lunar New Year, then so be it. More importantly, why would I come if my dearest wife isn’t here?”

Seeing that he wasn’t upset about anything, she believed him. Initially, she had planned to tell him about the photos that she discovered in Xin Yihan’s secret room, but Mu Yu eventually decided against it after giving it some thought; she didn’t want to raise any misunderstandings. Amused to find that he was still chuckling away and occasionally looking at her, she patted his face coyly. “What a sweet-talker you are.”

“Am I?” He leaned in suddenly and gave her a peck on her lips. Then, he asked playfully, “Am I sweet?”

“Dummy.” She pushed his face away with feigned annoyance.

“Did you find any leads from your trip with Chief Rong this afternoon?” Qin Jinhuan changed the subject lightheartedly.

She sighed, “We didn’t even meet the old lady—her family already took her home for the Lunar New Year.”

“Oh.” Noticing her disappointment, he comforted her with a smile and said, “Don’t rush it. Even if you guys find out anything from her, it’ll only be delayed for a few days.”

Nonetheless, Mu Yu sounded worried when she replied, “It’s been so long, but the building hasn’t been completed yet. Is it causing a lot of financial issues for your company?”

“Qing Tian Group can afford that much.”

“Sounds like it’s costing you a lot.” She sighed again. “I don’t even know when we’ll be able to crack the case.”

However, Qin Jinhuan was optimistic. “It won’t be long with you and Rong Jian around.”

“That’s enough. Stop making fun of me and think about your own company.”

“I prefer thinking about you, though.”

“Oh, shut up, you.”

As the two were immersed in their lover’s quarrel, Bian Zijun slowly steered the car out of Golden Academy Residence. Another car was following close behind them as Huang Bo rode in the driver’s seat. Unbeknownst to them, Yin Anran was watching them intently from behind a tree.

As the cars sped off in the darkness, Yin Anran stepped out from the shadows. She looked toward Xin Yihan’s villa before she turned and stared sightlessly in Mu Yu’s direction. A mischievous snicker escaped her lips.

“Your downfall has arrived!”