Sheng Chenjin's gaze was chilling.
Shi Xinxin's eyes instantly welled up. She choked out, "I want to too, but... but... this is something between us."
"Ha, something between us? Are you sure this 'us' doesn't include your father?"
Shi Xinxin was rendered speechless. She could only bite her lower lip hard, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Sheng Chenjin's expression darkened with each passing moment. He suddenly stood up, grabbed her slender arm, and menacingly threatened, "Shi Xinxin! If you don't want me to kick you out of Lin's Enterprise, then you'd better behave yourself, stop overthinking, and focus on taking care of yourself! Otherwise... I will make sure you suffer!"
"But you want me to abort the child... You... you said you were going to marry me?"
"I regret it now! I want to break off the engagement!" Sheng Chenjin interrupted her mercilessly, "I've changed my mind!"
"You... what did you say? Are you serious? You really aren't going to marry me anymore?"
Shi Xinxin's expression was a mixture of shock and sorrow, tears cascading down.
"Didn't you say that once Father wakes up, you would accept my proposal? My father is still lying in the hospital bed, his life hanging in the balance. I don't know when he'll wake up, I don't know when we can get married and have children, and I certainly don't know if the relationship between our two families will ever return to what it was..."
Sheng Chenjin's eyes flickered.
He suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
This was his suggestion.
He had initially thought that it was merely because Uncle Lin had saved his life once, and Uncle Lin's condition wasn't severe, so he didn't need to worry, which was why he agreed to the engagement with Shi Xinxin.
But he hadn't expected Shi Xinxin to suddenly propose keeping the child.
Although this child might not necessarily be Uncle Lin's... after all, they had been intimate, he couldn't bear to refuse and could only ask Shi Xinxin to endure for now.
"Alright, I promise. We'll get married once Uncle recovers."
Shi Xinxin's eyes widened abruptly. "Really? Brother Chenjin, thank you!"
Sheng Chenjin frowned, feeling extremely annoyed.
He stood up and said, "I'll go check on Uncle."
With that, he strode out of the room and towards the adjacent ward.
Shi Xinxin stared blankly at Sheng Chenjin's retreating back, a profound sense of loss washing over her.
Did he... really not want to marry her?
But he had already promised her!
Was she being overly optimistic?
No, that couldn't be!
Sheng Chenjin wasn't entirely devoid of feelings for her. His earlier words were just out of anger, not genuine aversion.
Shi Xinxin refused to accept it. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, quickly went into the bathroom to shower and change, did her hair and makeup, and then rushed out to find Sheng Chenjin.
"Brother Chenjin!"
As Sheng Chenjin stepped out of the room, he saw her in her nightgown, her wet hair falling loosely over her shoulders.
Sheng Chenjin frowned. "Why didn't you blow-dry your hair?"
Shi Xinxin pouted. "I was afraid my hair would feel uncomfortable if it dried."
"Blow-dry it after it's dry," Sheng Chenjin stated firmly.
Shi Xinxin pursed her lips and remained silent.
Seeing her silence, Sheng Chenjin ignored her and walked directly towards the stairs.
Shi Xinxin bit her lip and caught up to him. "Brother Chenjin, can I call you Chenjin?"
"Whatever," Sheng Chenjin replied curtly.
"Are you unhappy? If you're unhappy, then let's not get engaged. It doesn't matter if I abort this child!"
Sheng Chenjin stopped, turned, and stared at her. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Absolutely not!"
"Then... why are you unhappy? Are you still angry with me? Do you think I'm a liar? That I'm not worthy of being a proper wife? I don't know what I did wrong, but can you tell me? I'll change! I'll definitely work hard to change!"
Shi Xinxin explained earnestly.
Sheng Chenjin frowned. Looking at her anxious face, a significant portion of his anger inexplicably dissipated.
"I just think you're too young right now to marry into a wealthy family. I hope you can find someone better than me, and I also hope to have a happy family of my own," Sheng Chenjin explained patiently.
Shi Xinxin's heart leaped with joy. "So... you mean you're willing to get engaged to me?"
"What else do you think?" Sheng Chenjin raised an eyebrow.
Shi Xinxin laughed excitedly. "Of course, I know! I knew it, Brother Chenjin, you don't dislike me. It's precisely because you love me too much that you don't want to let me go, right? I knew it, I knew Brother Chenjin loved me the most..."
She hugged Sheng Chenjin and kissed his cheek repeatedly.
Sheng Chenjin frowned, pushed her away, and said displeasedly, "Aren't you disgusted?"
Shi Xinxin: "..."
Her face turned bright red. She quickly covered her chest and gave an embarrassed laugh. "I... I'll go get the hairdryer to dry my hair."
She went to the balcony to dry her hair. Unbeknownst to her, the hairdryer's battery was low. It blew for a long time without drying her hair, instead making it longer and longer.
Shi Xinxin, annoyed, turned off the hairdryer and reached for her collar. She tugged at her shirt, revealing her fair, slender neck and delicate, enticing collarbone. She squinted slightly, recalling Sheng Chenjin's gaze from earlier, and her heart began to race.
At this moment, Sheng Chenjin walked over.
Shi Xinxin was startled and quickly turned around, pulling her collar down to cover the hickey on her neck.
She said shyly, "Brother Chenjin, why are you out here? Didn't I tell you to rest in the room for a while?"
"Did you dry it?" Sheng Chenjin looked at the hairdryer.
"Yes, it's dry. It's very clean now."
Sheng Chenjin walked over, picked up the hairdryer, plugged it in, and helped her dry her hair.
"Thank you, Brother Chenjin," Shi Xinxin looked up at him, her smile bright and captivating.
Sheng Chenjin looked down at her, his heart feeling a sense of detachment.
This beautiful, moving, gentle, and virtuous woman was someone he had always wanted. But now, he didn't want her anymore.
Because... he no longer had any feelings for her!
"Brother Chenjin, what's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?" Shi Xinxin asked softly, feeling a little embarrassed.
Sheng Chenjin curved his thin lips. "Nothing. Shi Xinxin, we can't get engaged."
"We can't get engaged? Why! Brother Chenjin, it's not because you dislike me for being pregnant, is it? You never minded my condition before, did you?"
"I..."
"I know you dislike me. It's okay, I can abort the child. Brother Chenjin, don't be angry! I'll take good care of our baby son in the future, I'll cherish our baby and let him grow up healthy..."