Since the beginning of winter, it had rained almost continuously for a month in Shencheng, making the air so humid that one could wring water out of it. The sales of dehumidifiers in shopping malls hit an all-time high.

Wen Yi emerged from a public restroom on the south side of People’s Park, the musty smell of the damp air and the drizzle adding to her irritation.

A young couple rushed past her in the fine rain. The girl complained about the weather ruining their vacation, while the boy tried to defend himself quietly. The girl got even angrier, ranting about how the clothes they washed at the hotel wouldn’t dry and how the trendy restaurant they went to was both expensive and not good.

Wen Yi became even more annoyed. She grabbed a few sheets of toilet paper from a nearby dispenser, wrapped the pregnancy test stick, and stuffed it into her platinum-colored bag. She then took out her car keys and unlocked her small Audi parked by the roadside.

Sitting in the car, she turned on the air conditioning. The faint scent of sandalwood filled the car, blocking out the damp, musty air and the sound of the couple arguing. Wen Yi finally felt like she could breathe.

She adjusted her seat and leaned back, closing her eyes. The parking spot near the public restroom allowed for 20 minutes of free parking, which meant she had 13 minutes left.

At 28 years old, her life was at its most frustrating point.

She had vowed at the age of five never to marry or have children, to avoid the trivialities of family life. She had lived freely for the first two-thirds of her life and planned to spend the last third in a nursing home, closing her eyes peacefully when the time came.

Now, she was stuck at the one-third mark, and fate had other plans.

Wen Yi carefully recalled the events of a month ago. That night, they had taken precautions, so how did this happen?

She wondered if the hotel’s condoms were past their expiration date due to financial difficulties, or if they were just low-quality to begin with.

Such a low-probability event happening to her was like a curse.

Wen Yi ran her fingers through her hair, feeling resentful. It was all Qin Nanshan’s fault. Who would have thought that a math nerd like him would attend a medical conference and get involved in such a mess?

The story was simple. She was in the critical stage of being promoted from sales manager to regional manager, and the country was cracking down on corruption in the medical field. Her competitors couldn’t find any dirt on her, so they tried to set her up.

Originally, they planned to frame her for sexual bribery, but they messed up, and Wen Yi ended up sleeping with Qin Nanshan.

No matter how she looked at it, it was just bad luck, a one-in-a-million shot.

She reached for her bag and saw the wrapped pregnancy test, feeling disgusted. She quickly took it out and tossed it into the back seat, then pulled out her phone to call Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling was a doctor Wen Yi had met while working as a pharmaceutical rep at a hospital. At the time, Zhao Ling was an intern and looked down on Wen Yi’s job. Wen Yi, in turn, disliked Zhao Ling’s pretentiousness and didn’t want to associate with her.

However, after Wen Yi stopped working at the hospital, the two became friends. They would occasionally meet for coffee and gossip about the funny stories involving doctors, nurses, and patients.

Zhao Ling wasn’t working that day and picked up the phone quickly. Wen Yi got straight to the point: “Help me book an appointment with a gynecologist.”

“Wen Yi! I’m not in the gynecology department! I’m in neurosurgery! How many times have I told you?” Zhao Ling shouted, then realized the situation. “What happened? Did you miss your period?”

“……Shut up.” Wen Yi calmly said, “I’m pregnant.”

There was a long silence as Zhao Ling processed the news. After a moment, she asked, “Do you want to meet for coffee?”

“No, let’s go to the hospital.” Wen Yi looked at her watch, adjusted her seat, fastened her seatbelt, and started the car, driving away from People’s Park.

Once on the road, Wen Yi asked, “If I remember correctly, you’re from the class of 2013 at A University, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Do you know someone named Qin Nanshan?”

Zhao Ling was quick to catch on. “The father of the child?”

Wen Yi didn’t answer.

“Qin Nanshan? Who doesn’t know him? He was the top student in Shencheng, a math genius at A University. When we were freshmen, we even went to his classes, but we only went once because those classes were beyond human comprehension.”

“He was very popular at our school. Every year, new students would try to pursue him, but no one ever succeeded. One of my friends even tried to learn math to impress him, but she was discouraged by some theorem called Möbius inversion or something. I still don’t understand what that is.”

“So, what’s the story? Is he really the father? Wow, Wen Yi, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

Wen Yi continued, “What is he doing now?”

“You don’t know what he does even though you slept with him and got pregnant?”

“……”

Zhao Ling laughed and said, “He’s now an associate professor at A University. He’s very successful, under 30 and already has the status of a full professor. In our field, it would take several more years to achieve that. I heard he’s on track to become a department chair or even an academician.”

“Last month, I saw in our group chat that he also attended that medical conference. Didn’t you see him? He was the tallest one there.”

“I remember he went to A University’s affiliated high school. Didn’t you also go to the affiliated high school? Do you know him?”

Wen Yi arrived at the hospital, parked her car, and changed her shoes. She answered as she walked in her high heels.

“Not very well.”

It was 2 PM, and Zhao Ling had arranged an appointment with the chief gynecologist for Wen Yi. The doctor looked quite old, and Wen Yi was her first patient of the day.

After paying and completing various tests, the doctor looked at the freshly printed report. “You’re five weeks pregnant, and the gestational sac is still small.”

Wen Yi asked, “Can I have the surgery to terminate the pregnancy this afternoon?”

The doctor took off her reading glasses and looked at Wen Yi with a raised eyebrow. “Your uterine lining is thin. If you have an abortion, it will be difficult to conceive again.”

Wen Yi didn’t hesitate. “That’s fine, I want to terminate it.”

The old doctor had seen it all and didn’t try to dissuade her. “You can come back next week to arrange the procedure. However, there’s something you need to know. You have Rh-negative blood, and a patient recently used up the city’s blood supply in a car accident. The risks of the surgery can’t be guaranteed.”

Wen Yi was stunned.

She could give up the child, but she didn’t want to die.