Chapter 3: Once There’s Someone New, the Old Is Forgotten

He did not see her.

The girl resting her head on Liang Youjia’s shoulder suddenly tossed her hair and lifted her head, looking directly toward Xianyu. Flustered, Xianyu turned around at once, presenting her back to them both.

“Yuyu, it’s our turn.”

Whether Liang Youjia had been too engrossed in conversation with the girl, or whether Xianyu had long since ceased to matter to him, she did not know.

He had not even heard the announcement from the consultation room.

Xianyu did not turn back. The sourness in her heart rose to her throat and became a bitter smile at the corner of her lips.

“Let’s go.”

Like an older sister, Zhuyue accompanied her into the consultation room, helped her obtain the examination forms, and went with her through one test after another. They were busy all morning.

When Xianyu saw that the urine test was positive, her heart sank heavily.

Even though she had prepared herself thoroughly, when reality coincided with what she had imagined, her thoughts still became a tangled mess.

“You’re five weeks pregnant, still in the early stages. You need to be careful about intercourse.”

The doctor’s instructions reached her ears, but Xianyu’s face had gone stiff.

She sat there in a daze and only realized she was supposed to nod when she rose.

Zhuyue, however, was delighted. “Yuyu, you’re pregnant? Mr. Liang will surely be thrilled when he finds out.”

Xianyu’s face remained expressionless, but in her heart, she already knew.

Liang Youjia would not be pleased by the news.

If he learned that she was pregnant, he would make her get rid of it.

All her hesitation vanished the instant she walked out of the consultation room and came face-to-face with Liang Youjia and the straight-haired woman.

It hardened into resolve.

Xianyu was certain.

Liang Youjia had clearly seen her, yet he did not spare her even the slightest glance.

Zhuyue saw him too. The man who had just brushed past them—who else could he be but Mr. Liang?

“Yuyu, isn’t that—”

Xianyu seized Zhuyue’s hand and covered her mouth, stopping her from identifying him aloud.

The consultation-room door had not been closed.

Standing outside, they could clearly hear the woman’s excited voice.

“Doctor, are you certain? Am I really pregnant?”

Xianyu closed her eyes.

Taking Zhuyue’s hand, she walked to the end of the corridor and drew a deep breath.

Zhuyue saw the tears churning in Xianyu’s eyes.

“Yuyu, Mr. Liang, he…”

Xianyu could not speak. She could only shake her head.

After a moment, she lifted a finger and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Take me to the abortion room.”

Zhuyue parted her lips, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

From waiting in line and registering to the procedure’s completion, everything was finished within an hour.

Zhuyue supported Xianyu, who had just undergone the abortion, her eyes full of concern.

Xianyu instead comforted her. “Don’t be like this. It didn’t hurt that much.”

Zhuyue sniffed and muttered softly, “Mr. Liang really is something. If he was going to change his heart, why didn’t he take precautions…”

The words left unfinished were understood perfectly by both mistress and maid.

Xianyu shook her head, unwilling to say more.

Since she had decided to leave, there was no point in pursuing the past.

Besides, how could she have known that a man could be so faithless, his heart so changeable?

Zhuyue helped Xianyu toward the exit.

By coincidence, they encountered Liang Youjia and the woman in the narrow corridor.

This time, they collided head-on, and Xianyu met Liang Youjia’s gaze for a brief moment.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Liang Youjia was holding the woman’s hand. After their eyes met, Xianyu looked away from him and turned her attention to the woman instead.

She had bright eyes, pearly teeth, and a lovely, makeup-free face. She was petite, though her figure was not as graceful as Xianyu’s.

Beyond that, Xianyu noticed something astonishing—the woman’s face bore a faint resemblance to her own.

No.

Xianyu’s hands and feet suddenly turned cold.

How could she say that the other woman resembled her? Clearly, she was the one who resembled the other woman.

Liang Youjia and the woman walked away hand in hand.

Several seconds later—

“Liang Youjia!”

Liang Youjia halted. The woman holding his hand stopped as well. Looking at his expressionless face, her almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion.

“Ayou, is she calling you?”

Xianyu watched Liang Youjia turn around. His brows drew together as he looked at her, and his thick, curled lashes lowered, veiling his eyes.

Once, those eyes had been filled with dazzling tenderness and indulgence.

What did they hold now?

Her heart bled.

Surely it was disgust, irritation, and a warning that she ought to have the sense to leave him alone.

But he did not raise his eyes, so she could not see—and she no longer wanted to.

Du Ruanruan caught hold of Liang Youjia’s arm. “Ayou, who is this?”

A strange atmosphere wound between Liang Youjia and the woman opposite him. A woman’s intuition told her that perhaps Liang Youjia and this woman shared some intimate relationship.

Yet Liang Youjia said lightly, “A classmate.”

Then, with deliberate propriety, he extended his hand. “I didn’t recognize you just now. I’m sorry.”

Mist rose in Xianyu’s eyes once more. She could no longer lift her gaze to him, afraid that the tears gathered there would fall one after another.

Even now, she still preserved his dignity before another woman. Her cold hand clasped his, then released him almost immediately.

“It’s fine. It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other.”

Xianyu restrained her emotions, doing her best to keep the tremor from her voice.

“We have something else to do, so we’ll be going.”

“All right.”

Xianyu watched the two of them walk away hand in hand, and her tears slid down like beads from a broken string.

Zhuyue panicked and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe them away. “Yuyu, don’t cry. Mr. Liang is being far too heartless. He’s forgotten the old love now that he has someone new.”

“Don’t let this weigh on your mind. Taking care of your health is what matters.”

Zhuyue knew little else. She only knew that Xianyu had just had a miscarriage, that her body was terribly weak, and that she was in no condition to suffer overwhelming grief or anger.

Tongue-tied, Zhuyue could think of no comforting words. She could only urge Xianyu to stop thinking about Mr. Liang.

Xianyu wiped her tears dry with the handkerchief. The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose were crimson, while her face was even paler than before, utterly drained of color.

How could she not be heartbroken?

If she and Liang Youjia had merely been pretending, perhaps it would have been easier to bear. But he had cherished and spoiled her for five whole years.

They had shared countless moments of intimate tenderness and countless nights of passion.

She could not bear to let go. She could not move on.

Yet Liang Youjia had withdrawn with effortless ease.

Men truly were different from women.

Men truly were cold-hearted and faithless.

Not long after Xianyu returned home, Liang Youjia came back as well.

She sat weakly on the sofa in the bedroom, her eyes vacant and unfocused.

The moment Liang Youjia opened the door, he saw her sitting there in a daze.

He crossed the room in a few strides and crouched down before her tall body.

His large, sharply jointed hand enclosed hers. “Why are your hands so cold?”

Xianyu managed a faint smile as she looked at him. His sharply angled brows were furrowed, his pupils dark, her delicate oval face reflected within them.

His eyes were filled with concern. His entire gaze was occupied by her, without the slightest concealment.

His attitude toward her had not changed much.

Only the setting had changed.

When they were alone, she could receive his love. But once they were outside, Xianyu became nothing more than an insignificant “friend.”

She suddenly found it terribly laughable.

Yet she could not laugh.

She merely shook her head and forced up the corners of her lips. “I was probably wearing too little outside.”

The remark reminded Liang Youjia of something.

“By the way, didn’t you say you were going shopping? What were you doing at the hospital today?”