Chapter 6 I Headed Straight to the Station
I walked out of the hospital and rushed straight to the station.
Along the way, I kept replaying Zhou Muyan’s gaze from earlier.
I remembered five years ago, when he had failed his business and creditors came knocking.
I handed him my last ten thousand yuan, telling him to settle the debt.
Zhou Muyan looked at me that way and pulled me into his arms.
“Baby, I can’t take your money. Trust me, I will succeed.
“When I succeed, I will marry you.”
At the time, I never thought he was just stringing me along.
We had just met, and together we had less than a thousand yuan.
We rented a one-bedroom one-living-room place, the rent eight hundred.
I slept in the bedroom, paying five hundred.
He slept in the living room, paying three hundred.
We split the utilities.
Back then, neither of us expected our future to turn into a couple.
Zhou Muyan had a fierce spirit. He often worked late at night.
Once, I came back from dinner with friends and found him still at his computer.
I asked casually, “I packed some midnight snack here. Want some?”
Zhou Muyan shot up from his stool. “Yes!”
That night, we talked a lot.
Only then did I learn he had quarreled with his family and sworn not to return until he succeeded.
To not ruin his mood, I encouraged him.
“People like you, who dare to fight, will succeed if you pick the right path.”
Zhou Muyan looked at me, eyes shining.
When his career took off after that dark time, he confessed to me.
We lived in that same place afterward.
It went from one person sleeping in the bedroom and one in the living room to two people sharing the bedroom.
The rent was fully on Zhou Muyan.
Life improved little by little.
Yet reality hit us hard.
Zhou Muyan dealt with debts daily, spending less and less time at home.
Right then, I discovered I was pregnant.
At first, I dared not tell him.
I only wanted to help him through this crisis.
But that day, I overheard him on the phone.
“I’m not what you think between me and Xie Xinran. Stop meddling with my life, okay?
“Don’t worry. Dating is one thing, but marriage—I’ll choose someone new.”
I was Xie Xinran.
I was furious.
Zhou Muyan had already said that. What right did he have to make promises?
Did he think all women would flock to him?
I feared I would starve with him sooner or later.
I decided to break up on the spot.
To spite him, I left a letter.
“I see no hope in you anymore. Break up with me. You will understand. After all, I have the right to pursue better people.”
I blocked all his contacts.
Only when I boarded the train home did I remember the important thing.
Zhou Muyan’s child was still inside me.
I considered going back to question him and tell him about the child.
But the words he said made me stop. It would only humiliate me.
He clearly had no future with me.
As for the child.
Since it had come, I would raise it naturally.
Later, I heard from others that Zhou Muyan’s company had revived.
He cleared his debts and expanded.
I blocked that person too.
He only said things I did not want to hear.
After giving birth to Xie Mingming alone.
My mom complained.
But when she saw Xie Mingming smile at her, her voice softened.
After my dad passed, my mom finally found a reason to keep going.
She helped raise the child while I worked.
Days passed, quiet yet fulfilling.
Until Xie Mingming caught a cold that shattered the calm.
Every time I thought life was improving, it struck unexpectedly.
From my thoughts, I realized I had been crying the whole time.
Sigh. I still did not know how to explain to my mom.
My ticket was for two o’clock, and I still had an hour to wait.
Just then, my mom called via video.
I did not want to pick up, but she was stubborn.
I answered.
“Where’s Mingbao?”
The first question my mom asked was about Xie Mingming.
I touched my nose and lied, “He is right here.”
“Let me see.”
I shook the camera. “He does not want to.”
My mom was not easy to fool.
“Xie Xinran, you are at the station? I thought you were taking Xie Mingming for surgery. Why are you back so early?
“Show me the camera so I can talk to him.”
I did not move.
“Xie Xinran, what are you doing?
“Are you not listening to your mom?”
I could not hear her clearly because Zhou Muyan’s face suddenly appeared on my phone screen.
He stood right behind me.
My mom kept talking. “Xie Xinran, if anything happens to Xie Mingming, I will beat you to death.”
“Mom, I have to hang up.”
In panic, I ended the call.
Then I turned around calmly. “What do you want?”
I could not keep pretending I did not know him with the child there.
Zhou Muyan stared at me, jaw tight.
“Xie Xinran, you are as heartless as always. You abandoned me five years ago and now you won’t even take your own son?”
What did he mean abandoned?
I stood up, fierce. “You explain yourself. You were the one who abandoned me first!”
From the way he spoke, he had already figured out that Xie Mingming was mine.
Even if he was not stupid, he could figure it out.
Zhou Muyan frowned, thinking.
I asked, “If you think Xie Mingming is pitiful, can you let me take him back after he recovers?”
“You wish.”
If the Zhou Family knew about the child, I could never compete.
“Fine. Take good care of him. I will not appear in front of you again.”
Zhou Muyan still had to marry. Xie Mingming would have a stepmother.
My presence would only embarrass them.