Ye Tiancheng was feeling agitated when he suddenly received a call from Xiao Pang, "Good brother, come out and have some fun. Don't stay cooped up at home. If you stay too long, you'll get depressed. It's better to relax outside."
"Xiao Pang, why does your tone sound a bit strange? Did something happen? I feel like you wouldn't talk like this before."
"I do have something to tell you, but Brother Ye, this matter is too big. I don't know how to tell you."
The胖子 (huang jin da pang zi) stammered, and Ye Tiancheng knew something was definitely up. If nothing was wrong, he wouldn't be so hesitant. Fatty always said whatever was on his mind, always being straightforward.
"If you have something to say, say it quickly. Don't play coy with me. I hate it when people beat around the bush. If you're a man, just get to the point."
"Brother Ye, you must brace yourself. I don't think it's that serious. Take a deep breath first, and then I'll tell you."
"I'm already annoyed. Don't provoke me. If you keep playing coy, I'll come over and beat you up."
What could have scared Xiao Pang so much that he was acting like this? Ye Tiancheng grew increasingly curious. However, the more curious Ye Tiancheng became, the more Xiao Pang played coy, almost driving him mad.
"Alright, Brother Ye. I really couldn't bear to shock you with this news, but since you're threatening to hit me, I have to tell you the truth. I visited Hou Mingzhu before and got the doctor's contact information. Today, that doctor secretly told me that Hou Mingzhu is pregnant."
This news was indeed shocking. After Xiao Pang finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng fell silent, his eyes wide open, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.
"Xiao Pang, how reliable is your information? Could it be a prank? For example, Hou Mingzhu might have deliberately told the doctor to get back at me, and then the doctor informed you that she's pregnant, but it's actually just her scheme."
If you were pregnant, wouldn't you notify me about such a major event? Ye Tiancheng couldn't understand it, so he naturally thought it might just be a prank. Hou Mingzhu might have thought he and Su Muxian were living too comfortably and decided to stir up trouble to embarrass him.
"That doctor is an intern, looks young, and seems quite honest. She probably couldn't be bribed by Hou Mingzhu, but I'm not entirely sure. After all, Hou Mingzhu used to be quite cunning. Brother Ye, why don't you go and see for yourself? This is no small matter. If something happens, I fear everyone will regret it."
In the past, he always felt that seeing Hou Mingzhu and maintaining contact with her would be unfair to Su Muxian. He had already caused Su Muxian too much pain and shouldn't do anything to make her feel worse.
However, he had also fallen out with Su Muxian now, so he didn't need to overthink things. Moreover, the matter with Hou Mingzhu was indeed significant. Ye Tiancheng ultimately decided to buy some nutritional supplements and visit Hou Mingzhu.
It seemed life always liked to throw all sorts of surprises at people. Ye Tiancheng thought he wouldn't be able to see Hou Mingzhu for a while, but due to this sudden development, it was not easy for them to be brought together again.
"What are you doing here? Nurse, quickly get this person out of here. I don't want to see him."
Hou Mingzhu's attitude towards Ye Tiancheng was even more extreme than Su Muxian's. This made Ye Tiancheng feel a bit sad. He had offended both women, and in the end, he wasn't a good person in anyone's eyes.
"Hou Mingzhu, I'm just here to visit you and bring you some fruit and nutritional supplements. I have no other ill intentions. If you don't wish to see me, I can leave immediately. You don't need to make such a fuss. Your health is the most important thing."
Although Ye Tiancheng said these words to calm Hou Mingzhu, he still had many feelings for her in his heart. Seeing Hou Mingzhu looking so much thinner now made his heart ache like it was being bitten by ants, a dense, throbbing pain. He felt he had wronged Hou Mingzhu terribly, that his actions had been too harsh, causing Hou Mingzhu to seem filled with despair about everything, making even the simple act of living difficult for her.
"I don't want to see you, and I don't want your things. Hurry up and leave. Your presence here only makes me feel disgusted. I feel like the air in this ward has become polluted by you."
Ye Tiancheng knew he couldn't stay there for long. If Hou Mingzhu got angry later, she wouldn't give him any chance to explain and would simply kick him out. So, while he could still remain there, Ye Tiancheng quickly used his true qi to sense her condition. He discovered that there was indeed another heartbeat within Hou Mingzhu's body. This meant that Xiao Pang's information was not false; Hou Mingzhu was truly pregnant.
Ye Tiancheng was initially surprised, then his eyes felt sore, and he suddenly felt like crying. He didn't know why, but perhaps upon discovering he was going to have a child, an old father's heart would soften. Even Ye Tiancheng couldn't control himself, and tears threatened to spill over at any moment.
"Ye Tiancheng, stop acting here. What's going on with you, don't I know? Acting in front of me only makes me feel disgusted."
Hou Mingzhu didn't know that Ye Tiancheng had discovered her pregnancy. She simply felt that Ye Tiancheng's red eyes and seemingly guilty demeanor in front of her were all for show. A man who doesn't appear when you need help, but then comes over to act pitiful afterward, is not someone worth liking.
"Why? Hou Mingzhu, you're pregnant, but you didn't tell me. Do you want to bear all of this alone? It's unfair to you."
Hou Mingzhu was also surprised that Ye Tiancheng knew. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. It seemed like anything she said now was too late. Since Ye Tiancheng had found out, he would become entangled. Therefore, Hou Mingzhu had to make things absolutely clear to prevent Ye Tiancheng from pestering her in the future.
"You're already married. Coming here to say this to me now is very unfair to Su Muxian."
Ye Tiancheng knew Hou Mingzhu was right. He had always thought so before. But now that there was a child, everything was different. Ye Tiancheng had never thought about having children before, but this child already existed in this world. That extra heartbeat was a responsibility Ye Tiancheng had to bear.
"But you can't bear it alone. The child will stay, right? If you need me to do anything, you can tell me directly. I'll do anything you ask."
When they conceived this child, they were in a normal marital relationship. Regardless of anything else, the child was innocent. Although Ye Tiancheng had never imagined having children, now that he did, he would cherish this unborn child like a treasure.
"We are already divorced. No matter what I do now, you can't control it or interfere. I've decided not to keep this child. The child is in my body now, and I have the absolute right to decide. I don't need you to take any responsibility, Ye Tiancheng. I have only one request: disappear from my sight immediately."
It seemed he had hurt Hou Mingzhu very deeply, otherwise, she wouldn't be crying out so desperately, just wanting to push Ye Tiancheng away quickly, with no other demands, only hoping Ye Tiancheng would stop obstructing her.
"If you're feeling upset, you can vent your anger at me, but can you please reconsider? The child was painstakingly conceived and formed, yet it hasn't had a chance to enter this world, and now it's going to say goodbye? Isn't that a bit too cruel?"
"You have the audacity to talk about cruelty? Don't you think you're unqualified to say such things?"
Ye Tiancheng had no right to refute any of Hou Mingzhu's accusations. He could only listen silently because Hou Mingzhu had a point. As Hou Mingzhu's ex-husband, Ye Tiancheng had indeed done a very poor job. A qualified ex-husband should pretend to be dead, not pop up from time to time, only to cause more distress.
"I know I'm unqualified, but that's a life, Hou Mingzhu. You can be angry with me all you want, but you can't be so impulsive and let a life lose its right to exist."
"Not calm enough?" Hou Mingzhu glared fiercely at Ye Tiancheng. "If I were as impulsive as you say, I would have stabbed you to death with a knife instead of wasting so much time talking to you here."
After Hou Mingzhu said this, Ye Tiancheng fell silent again. The main reason was that he couldn't afford to provoke Hou Mingzhu. Now that Hou Mingzhu had the moral high ground, anything he said would be wrong.
"Then what should I do? What do I need to do for you to keep this child?"
Ye Tiancheng hadn't been this agitated when he first heard the news. Now that he was slowly processing it, he wanted to keep the child even more.
Perhaps Ye Tiancheng wasn't a good ex-husband, but Ye Tiancheng truly wanted to be a good father, a responsible father, to continue his bloodline and also to watch a child grow from birth, bit by bit. Ye Tiancheng even thought it would be better if it were a son. Ye Tiancheng could ask Nuwa Stone and the Great Green Snake to help raise him. From infancy, he could cultivate and would surely be much stronger than himself in the future, not like now, being threatened by others in his twenties.
"Absolutely not. Get out quickly. After I received this news, I finally started to recover a little. How dare you come here to make me angry? Are you trying to kill me?"
"Alright, I'll leave now. Please don't be angry, okay?"
Hou Mingzhu was pregnant now, and it was really not good for her health if she got angry. Ye Tiancheng didn't want to provoke Hou Mingzhu anymore. It was good to live in peace; why make everyone unhappy?
"Okay, I'll leave immediately. Don't be angry anymore. It's all my fault."
Ye Tiancheng apologized humbly and then backed out of the ward. While worrying about Hou Mingzhu's health, he was still anxious. From Hou Mingzhu's attitude, it was clear she intended to abort the child. However, Ye Tiancheng really wanted this child. The two of them now had irreconcilable differences, and Ye Tiancheng hoped everything could be resolved properly.
Xiao Pang rushed over. He said that Ye Tiancheng was no longer the son-in-law of the Hou family and had completely disappeared from the Hou family's company. However, Xiao Pang remained in his original position. The main reason was that Hou Mingzhu hated Ye Tiancheng, but she wasn't foolish enough to involve others.