After the promotion, Wen Yi’s wallet didn’t get much fatter, but the meetings seemed to be endless: regular meetings, risk control meetings, new product launches, online and offline, as well as various academic conferences, both within and outside the city.

Recently, Neo-An has developed two new drugs for treating adult HIV-1 infections, which were officially approved and launched in the first half of the year. With the current reforms in the centralized procurement system, drug purchasing has become more standardized and routine. Wen Yi no longer needs to spend 24 hours a day in the hospital, trying every means to please doctors to secure quotas.

She trains her subordinates, holds meetings, and oversees their implementation in various departments, thus completing the most important phase.

Wen Yi has been with Neo-An for six years. Although she hasn’t made as much money as some of her colleagues, the quantity and feedback of drug purchases in the hospitals she manages have always been the most stable.

She doesn’t like to play tricks. The basic job of a pharmaceutical representative is to truthfully promote their products to doctors, ensuring that patients benefit from using them.

Nowadays, people are not fools. The quality of the drug is the fundamental reason for securing quotas. Of course, this is also why she has been able to stay at Neo-An for so long.

After finishing a meeting, Wen Yi packed her things and prepared to leave. The North District Manager, Tian Jia, came over and whispered, “Have you heard? In a few days, we’re going to have a new general manager parachuted in, directly taking over four regions. Do you want to know who it is?”

“No, I don’t care who it is. I just need to manage my own area well.” Wen Yi zipped up her bag. “I’ve been so tired these days, I only slept for three or four hours last night. I have to rush to catch the high-speed train to Suzhou for a meeting.”

“Alright, I’ll give you a surprise later.” Tian Jia noticed Wen Yi’s slightly pale face and asked with concern, “What’s wrong with you lately? It’s just a new drug. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Nothing.”

Recently, the temperature has dropped, and it’s windy. Wen Yi put on a black long down jacket. Tian Jia was shocked, “Wen Yi, have you changed? I’ve known you for so many years and have never seen you wear a down jacket.”

Wen Yi didn’t explain and just smiled, “I’m getting older, I need to take care of my body.”

“Are you sick? Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I’m really fine, I’m leaving now.”

Tian Jia watched Wen Yi leave and felt something was off. Besides the down jacket… her gaze moved down, and she was shocked again. Wow, she was wearing flat shoes! That urban beauty who always wore heels higher than seven centimeters was wearing flat shoes! Unbelievable.

Wen Yi was only going for one night, so she packed her luggage before the meeting and brought it with her. Now she went straight to the station.

After getting into the ride-hailing car, the mixed smell of air conditioning and various unpleasant odors in the car made Wen Yi feel nauseous. She quickly opened the window.

The driver turned around and looked at her, very experienced, “Little girl, are you pregnant?”

The cold wind outside dispersed the stale air, relieving some of the nausea. Wen Yi replied softly, “Yes.”

These days, her pregnancy symptoms have been quite severe: dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, and drowsiness. Unfortunately, it coincided with the launch of the new drug, so she had to spend twice as much time to get her work done. It was exhausting.

The driver enthusiastically said, “My wife was the same when she was pregnant with our son. She couldn’t even stand up and had to lie in bed to be taken care of. But after this period, it got better, so don’t worry too much.”

Wen Yi absentmindedly acknowledged and looked out at the passing buildings, her thoughts drifting away.

There was no one to take care of her, not even to pour her a glass of water.

That day in the hospital coffee shop, he said he needed to think about it and would give her an answer within three days. Now the three days were almost up, and he had disappeared without a trace, not even a fart.

Wen Yi thought that tomorrow she would happen to have a meeting at the hospital, so she could go straight to the obstetrics department afterward.

That day, she shouldn’t have impulsively mentioned marriage. She hadn’t seen him in ten years, so how could she know his character? Would he be abusive? Did she know his family background? Could the child’s life be guaranteed?

And if they really lived together, could she tolerate his reserved personality? Would her child inherit his traits?

But then again, if the child inherited his looks and intelligence, that would be enough. Personality didn’t matter much.

She was being so biased.

The driver, knowing she was pregnant, drove the car smoothly. Wen Yi leaned back and closed her eyes, but her brows were still furrowed.

These past three days, she had also been thinking. The idea of “not getting married, not having children” had been deeply ingrained in her mind for the first half of her life. She had never thought about getting married and had no expectations for married life. But the arrival of this unplanned child forced her to face this issue.

Mrs. Wen had never shown her what a complete family should be like. She had never experienced the warmth of a loving family. Her impressions of marital relationships were all hearsay: who beat their wife, who had a mistress and an illegitimate child. It’s true that bad news travels fast.

Growing up and spending a lot of time in hospitals, she had seen the most heartless and cruel things in the world. The saying is true: “When disaster strikes, even the closest of friends will part ways.”

Wen Yi sighed in her heart. If the blood bank hadn’t run out of blood that day, none of this would have happened. By now, this little embryo the size of a soybean might have been gone for a week.

But now, she didn’t have the courage to be a single mother and didn’t want Mrs. Wen to suffer again. She tried to force someone into this situation, but as soon as the other person hesitated, she started to doubt herself and her life choices. No matter which path she chose, it seemed like a dead end.

As she was lost in thought, she arrived at the train station. Wen Yi paid the fare, thanked the driver, and got out of the car.

An hour on the high-speed train passed in the blink of an eye. After arriving at the hotel, she ordered a bowl of noodles but had no appetite. She took a few bites and put it down, then vomited again. Finally, she was so exhausted that she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

She slept fitfully, perhaps because she had been thinking too much about unpleasant things during the day. The child appeared in her dream, crying and fussing, biting her hard while nursing. Wen Yi looked down and was startled by her swollen chest. She woke up with a jolt.

Her phone was ringing. Wen Yi ignored it at first and touched her chest. It really was swollen and sore, feeling like it had grown a size. Wen Yi instantly felt a headache. Her chest was already not small, and now it was even bigger. How was she going to wear clothes?

After the headache subsided, she finally picked up the relentlessly ringing phone. There was no caller ID, but she knew who it was.

“Hello?”

Qin Nanshan heard the weak voice on the other end and asked softly, “Are you not feeling well?”

Wen Yi wanted to scream, “I’m not feeling well! I feel terrible! I’m dizzy, nauseous, my chest hurts, my head hurts, my whole body hurts! Whoever wants this pregnancy can have it!”

But all she said was, “No, have you made up your mind?”

He paused.

Wen Yi realized that talking to this person required patience. He really could hold back.