Wen Yi still felt a bit self-conscious. Clothes can be changed, but people can’t. “I feel like they’re swollen. My face, chest, and belly are all swollen too. Qiao En, am I ugly now?”

“… That’s not the point right now.”

“Yes, it is.”

“You’re not ugly at all. You’ll always be the prettiest girl in our class.”

“Just the class beauty?”

Qiao En felt like they could talk all night if she didn’t change the topic. “So, are you going to keep the baby or not?”

“I can’t get rid of it, so I’ll have it.”

Wen Yi’s tone was as casual as if she were playing house, pointing to a doll and saying, “This is our child, and we’ll raise it together.” But things were far more complicated than that. Qiao En hesitated, “What about Qin Nanshan?”

“I’m meeting his parents tomorrow.”

“And your mom?”

Qiao En wasn’t just her high school classmate but also her friend from elementary and middle school. They had a deep bond, and she knew Wen Yi’s family situation well. She had met her mother and knew that this would be a tough hurdle.

Wen Yi’s voice was despondent. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to convince her.”

After sending that one message at noon, her mother hadn’t replied. Wen Yi thought to herself, Her heart is really hard.

Her mom had been the same back then. She wouldn’t take her money, not needing it, and had returned to work shortly after recovering from illness, no matter how exhausting it was, without ever complaining.

Wen Yi chuckled softly. No wonder they were mother and daughter. Her mom’s heart wasn’t soft, and neither was hers. Even though her mother was upset with her, she hadn’t compromised either. What could she do? After all, becoming a medical sales rep had been the fastest way for a marketing major like her to make money. She had needed the money.

And now, too, she was stubbornly choosing to keep the baby, once again going against her mother’s wishes.

Qiao En was worried: “What if Auntie really doesn’t agree?”

“It’s fine. I’ll take my time convincing her.”

Wen Yi gazed at her friend, as close as a sister, her thoughts stirring. She hugged Qiao En’s shoulder, playfully acting coy, “Qiao En, help me out, please?”

“How?” 

“Just make my mom believe that we’re truly in love.”

All this talk about an out-of-wedlock pregnancy forcing a marriage was just a diversion. Ms. Wen simply didn’t want her daughter to follow in her footsteps—she wanted Wen Yi to marry someone she truly loved. Wen Yi understood all of this.

She couldn’t fall in love with Qin Nanshan in such a short time, so she had to use an old trick.

“What if your mom finds out?” 

“She won’t. Qin Nanshan doesn’t have many good qualities, but he’s pretty cooperative.”

“You’re really sure about this?” 

Wen Yi looked up and asked her, “What about you? Why did you and Chen Jiarui break up?”

Qiao En grew quiet.

Chen Jiarui was also their high school classmate, but they didn’t start dating until university. They were together for six years, but it still ended in a breakup. Over the past couple of years, Qiao En had been traveling abroad frequently, mostly to heal her broken heart.

Wen Yi knew the reasons well. After dating for so long and still not reaching marriage, practical issues like family differences and incompatible life goals caused them to drift apart.

Resting her head on Qiao En’s shoulder, Wen Yi said, “You know, I never thought about getting married, and I don’t have any expectations for it. Now that I’ve fallen into this unexpected situation, what else can I do? Compared to others, Qin Nanshan is actually a pretty good choice for a husband, isn’t he?”

Though he might be a bit quiet, in the few days they’d spent together, he had never shirked his responsibilities. He respected her wishes, was reliable, had a stable career and family, and didn’t seem to be a player. Isn’t that the ideal type of person to marry?

Whenever she chatted with doctors, they’d often talk about family, marriage, and children. They would say that after a few years of marriage, love turns into companionship, leaving only the small, trivial matters of daily life. So love, they’d say, is not that important. Once the kids grow up, if you can live together, fine. If not, divorce.

Qiao En said, “Yi Yi, don’t settle.”

Wen Yi was momentarily dazed, then smiled faintly. “This isn’t settling.”

Qiao En called Wen Hongyu using her phone. Ms. Wen answered, knowing Qiao En was there to persuade her, but didn’t have the heart to hang up. So Qiao En elaborated on the story Wen Yi had made up about Qin Nanshan’s secret high school crush on her.

She even added more flair to it: how Wen Yi had felt the same, and what started as a one-sided crush became mutual love. When they met again, sparks flew, and their passion rekindled.

Whether Ms. Wen believed it or not was uncertain, but by the end of the conversation, she invited Qiao En to dinner sometime, which was at least a sign of compromise.

After Qiao En left, Wen Yi sat in a daze for half an hour. She suddenly remembered something and drove home. After waiting a few minutes, Ms. Wen opened the door, her face still stern.

Once inside, Wen Yi put her keys into her bag and, staring at Ms. Wen’s stubborn back, said she was hungry. Ms. Wen, though still angry, couldn’t resist her daughter, glaring at her before going to make noodles.

As the noodles cooked, Wen Yi found an old, yellowed slip of paper in her dusty diary and handed it to her mother.

On the slip was a single name: Qin Nanshan.

It was from the beginning of their first year of high school during a mental health class. The teacher had them do a psychological exercise called “Guardian Angel,” a once-popular but now outdated activity. Whoever’s name you drew was the person you had to secretly protect and help for the next three years, possibly even giving them small gifts. At graduation, you’d reveal your identity as their guardian angel.

Wen Yi had been stunned when she drew Qin Nanshan’s name. She didn’t even dare look at it again and had tucked it into a book right away.

They had seriously carried out the activity for a semester, but as their academic workload increased, everyone became more focused on studying. No one remembered their “guardian angel” anymore, and by graduation, it was completely forgotten.

Now, this slip of paper, along with the fabricated story Qiao En had told, lent a certain authenticity to Wen Yi’s narrative. As Wen Yi described the memory vividly, Ms. Wen’s stern expression gradually softened.

Wen Yi hugged her from behind and softly said, “Mom, I’m sorry.”

Ms. Wen let out a deep sigh. “Yi Yi, the person you need to convince isn’t me—it’s yourself.”

Ms. Wen was actually quite easy to soothe.

Wen Yi quietly replied, “Mom, I’ve made up my mind.”