Chapter 31.2

His heavy tone carried a sense of authority, and despite her swollen eyes, Zhou Junhui started to cry again. If people found out she was pregnant out of wedlock, she would be labeled as a fallen woman. Not only would she be criticized, but her family would also be dragged down with her. It was all her fault for making such a foolish mistake.

“I might be pregnant.”

“What?!”

Mother Zhou staggered, almost fainting. Luo Lan and Zhou Qingshan quickly supported her, settling her into a chair. They hurriedly got her water and patted her chest until she stabilized.

“What do we do now?”

Luo Lan had already thought through it carefully and decided to share her plan. “I’ll accompany her to the hospital for a checkup, using my name to register. The test results will also be under my name. If she’s not pregnant, it’ll just be a false alarm, and we can forget about it. But if she is, I’ll find a way to handle it.”

“How do we handle it?”

“We can’t keep the baby.” As soon as she said this, everyone nodded in agreement. With the family on the same page, it would be easier to move forward.

“Junhui can’t take a long leave from work. And as an unmarried woman, having a baby is troublesome. If word gets out, it’ll be bad for everyone. Plus—”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but exchanged a knowing glance with Zhou Qingshan. They both understood that this situation was part of the man’s scheme against their family; he wouldn’t allow Zhou Junhui to hide away and give birth. A pregnancy couldn’t be concealed for ten months, so it was best to take decisive action.

“Let’s go together. We’ll go to the emergency room tonight, get a blood test, and the results will be out tomorrow. Also, we should wear matching outfits.”

The couple skipped dinner and took Zhou Junhui to the hospital. On the way, they used cold water to soothe her eyes. At the hospital, they registered under Luo Lan’s name, but the blood test was taken from Zhou Junhui.

At that time, there were no ultrasounds, and the way Western medicine checked for pregnancy was usually through blood tests. The results would take some time, so they would have to return the next morning to collect them. On the way back, no one spoke much. Zhou Qingshan stayed alert, making sure they weren’t being followed.

But when they left the hospital, they ran into that man at the entrance. He stood there with a cold smile on his thin lips, his eyes filled with disdain. The south gate was the only one open, and it seemed he was waiting for them.

Who informed him?

Zhou Qingshan mentally ran through the list of nearby neighbors, finally pinpointing the source to the family next door. The neighbors had issues with his family. The elderly lady had once opened the door to someone trying to poison them, and now she was resentful toward Zhou’s family.

“Captain Zhou, what a coincidence.” He mocked them, clearly enjoying the situation. “You can take a detour, but I’ll make sure to get what I want.”

“Such a coincidence.”

Zhou Junhui lowered her head, trying to minimize her presence. Luo Lan pretended to be weak, clutching her stomach and linking arms with her husband. “Let’s go home, I don’t feel well. I’m really uncomfortable.”

“Okay.” Zhou Qingshan turned to the man. “We won’t bother you. We’ll be leaving now.”

Leading his wife and sister away, Zhou Qingshan was acutely aware of the man’s intentions. If he truly wanted to ruin their family, he wouldn’t resort to these tactics. After receiving news earlier, he wouldn’t have appeared before them. He would have struck secretly, ensuring Zhou Junhui was labeled as a fallen woman.

In this era, once a woman bore that label, her life was essentially over. He could send her to the farm as punishment, and Zhou Junfang would be helpless to resist.

His current approach was merely a show. He wanted them to realize the severity of the situation and prompt them to submit.

Zhou Qingshan was as stubborn as they came. The more he pressured them, the less he’d yield. Luo Lan was equally tough-minded and spent the whole way thinking about how to fight back, with no intention of backing down.

What was there to fear? With her background, he wouldn’t be able to find fault with her. Mother Zhou also had nothing to worry about. As for the three of them, they might suffer if sent to the farm, but Zhou Qingshan, as a strong man, wouldn’t compromise over this. This was his sister’s life, and she could never be with a man like that.

Luo Lan: System, do you have a way to discreetly terminate a pregnancy?

System: Medication.

Luo Lan: Are there any side effects? How effective is it?

System: It’s a high-tech product, comparable to a D&C^[1]Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to remove tissue from inside your uterus. Health care professionals perform dilation and curettage to diagnose and treat certain uterine conditions — … Continue reading in this era.

Luo Lan silently exhaled, relieved to have a solution. If she had to resort to a hospital for the abortion, it would raise alarms. But if she handled it at home, it would be perfect.

That night was bound to be restless. Mother Zhou didn’t sleep a wink, worried the whole night. The next morning, she went to the hospital with her son and daughter-in-law, and the test results confirmed it.

Zhou Junhui was indeed pregnant.

Mother Zhou felt her vision blur and nearly fainted. Luo Lan and Zhou Qingshan quickly caught her, and Zhou Qingshan signaled to his mother to hold herself together. She managed to steady herself.

The three returned home with the test results, entering the yard to find the daughter of the neighbor from the south house holding a basin. “Wow, where did you go so early?”

Luo Lan replied cheerfully, “We went to the hospital.”

The neighbor from the east asked with concern, “What happened? Who’s not feeling well?”

With a smile, she said, “No one. I’m pregnant.”

“Really?” The neighbors from both sides exclaimed, “That’s wonderful news! A new addition to the family deserves a celebratory feast!”

“Actually, I don’t feel like eating anything right now.”

“That’s normal for the first few months. It’s called morning sickness. Just eat what you can, don’t neglect the baby.”

The neighbor from the south scoffed, “Are you really pregnant?”

Luo Lan shot back without hesitation, “If not me, then who? Are you pregnant?”

The neighbor didn’t respond, but rolled her eyes dramatically, then mischievously splashed a basin of water at the entrance. She and her mother were truly cut from the same cloth. With the weather turning cold, the water would freeze at night. Luo Lan had initially wanted to confront her, but chose to stay silent instead.

The Zhou family returned home, instructing Junfang to keep watch outside to avoid eavesdropping. “I’ll have my period in about two days. At that time, I’ll just pretend to fall and say it was a miscarriage. Junhui will take a few days off due to a cold.”

“Okay. But sister-in-law, how do I deal with this?”

“I have medication. I got it from someone. It’s guaranteed to be discreet.”

“I’ll pretend to be sick for a few days, and once I recover, I’ll go back to work. That way, I won’t have to worry about someone causing trouble. I’ll feign the pregnancy to keep prying eyes away.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Plans were quickly made, not even waiting for the night. The sooner they dealt with this unwanted pregnancy, the better. To avoid any prolonged worry, Zhou Junhui took the medication that very night. Halfway through the night, she began to feel painful contractions, sweating profusely from the pain.

Mother Zhou stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth. “Hold on, don’t scream!”

“Mm.”

Luo Lan also stayed up, keeping an eye on her. After half an hour of intense pain, Zhou Junhui finally managed to relieve herself, and Luo Lan felt assured enough to give her some eggs to eat.

Outside, they faced strong adversaries, but thankfully, the family still stood united. If a saintly heart emerged and someone wanted to keep the baby, even asking her sister-in-law to raise it, she would genuinely consider divorce.

Fortunately, although her mother-in-law didn’t have a plan, she was good at listening to her son. Zhou Junhui also knew she had made a mistake and didn’t act foolishly, cooperating fully.

“Make sure to prepare good food for her to recover.”

Mother Zhou nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”

Using a case of dysentery as an excuse, Zhou Junhui took leave from work. Meanwhile, Luo Lan told everyone she was pregnant. The man surely knew about the test results, but when she and Zhou Junhui went for the checkup, they wore matching outfits and masks. He hadn’t seen them in person, so without direct confirmation of their identities, he wouldn’t dare guess whose test it was based solely on clothing.

“First, we’ll confuse him. By the time he tries to investigate, Junhui will be back to normal.”

“What about you? What if—”

“If he does bring someone to check, we’ll just say it was a hospital mix-up.”

“He won’t give us time.”

Zhou Junhui had just miscarried. If he came to check then, a gynecologist would certainly notice. Luo Lan also considered this and felt worried. That scoundrel man was truly despicable, using such underhanded tactics.

“He’s trying to ruin our family.”

“Lan’er, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that. Since he’s resorted to such vicious measures, we must strategize for a life-or-death situation. It’s either him or us, and he shouldn’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“What’s the plan?”

Luo Lan didn’t answer but communicated with the system in her mind. After receiving a precise response, she formulated a strategy. For now, they needed to get through this challenge.

“Junfang is at school, or Junhui is at work. We need to stabilize things first.”

“If he realizes he’s been played, he’ll definitely come at us even harder. What exactly are you planning to do about him? Share it with me so I can be prepared.”

Luo Lan leaned closer and whispered into his ear, and the man nodded silently. His wife was quite capable. “How did you get all these things?”

“Don’t ask. I think it’s better for Junhui to go to work. Let’s keep Junfang out of school. If he comes at us aggressively, that could be disastrous.”

“I’ll discuss it with Mom. I also think it’s more appropriate for Junhui to go to work. These people are going crazy right now. No one knows how far he’ll go next.”

The system remained silent but opened the book to reread it. In the original story, Zhou Qingshan was sent to a farm to tend cattle, while Zhou Junhui’s reputation was completely ruined. However, she was resilient and endured until the man lost power. Their family was targeted, and Junfang had been entangled in a twisted relationship for many years.

If Luo Lan had read that content, she would have scoffed—such a so-called tragic love story was nothing but abuse, there was no love involved. That man’s methods left Junfang both terrified and resentful, and she had attempted suicide multiple times, resorting to self-harm and even jumping into rivers, leaving her with lifelong trauma.

But now, with Luo Lan and the system, she had devised a way to deal with that man. She planned to use his own tactics against him and hoped he wouldn’t cry when the time came.