A few days later, Su Qianqian leaned against the headboard, phone in hand, scrolling through social media. News and discussions about her "suspected pregnancy, persona collapse, and being kept by a wealthy young master" were still everywhere.
Many mocked her: pure on the surface, wild in private.
Others envied her: hitting the jackpot with one shot, a mother honored through her child.
But most were questioning her role as the female lead in the campus drama.
["The cast of 'The Wind of That Summer' is really unlucky, the female lead causes this kind of trouble even before filming starts..."]
["So setting up a persona always leads to its collapse, feel sorry for the director and producers."]
["Does this count as a breach of contract for Su Qianqian? Can the crew claim compensation?"]
As she was thinking, her phone vibrated. It was a message from her agent, Brother Wang, his tone anxious and helpless:
[Qianqian, how are you? Feeling any better?]
[The crew just contacted me, the director and producers. They sounded very unhappy. They want us to give a clear answer as soon as possible, the production can't afford to wait.]
The penalty for breach of contract is a minor issue; it's mainly about reputation.
Su Qianqian looked at those words, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe.
This child had come at the worst possible time.
It completely disrupted all her plans and pace.
The role she had worked so hard to get, the campus drama filming she had looked forward to, her career that had just started and was about to reach new heights... it all seemed to have been put on pause, or even completely ruined.
Grievance and confusion welled up in her heart.
The young woman's nose tingled with sourness, and tears began to well up in her eyes again.
Just then, another wave of nausea churned in her stomach.
"Mmm..." She quickly covered her mouth, her small face growing even paler, but nothing came up.
This child was purely tormenting her. She could barely eat anything, felt weak all over, more exhausting than filming back-to-back scenes.
The bedroom door was pushed open gently.
Gu Chengyu peeked in carefully, holding a bowl of light chicken congee.
He had been practically standing guard outside these past few days, ears constantly perked for any sound from inside, appearing immediately at the slightest sign of trouble.
Seeing Su Qianqian covering her mouth, his heart clenched. He hurried in, placed the bowl on the nightstand, and reached out to support her:
"Feeling sick again? Need to vomit? Or is something else uncomfortable?"
His voice was tight with tension, his large hand gently patting her back.
Su Qianqian didn't want to deal with him right now, especially didn't want to appear so vulnerable in front of him.
She turned her body away, avoiding his touch, her voice choked with tears and defiance: "Don't bother. Get out."
If it weren't for him, how could she be in this difficult situation, suffering like this?
Gu Chengyu's hand froze mid-air, a flash of hurt in his eyes, but mostly there was heartache and self-blame.
He didn't dare insist, could only withdraw his hand and stand by the bed, like a large dog who had done wrong, looking at her with eager, pleading eyes, coaxing:
"Alright, I'll leave in a moment. But don't hold back if you're feeling unwell. The doctor said bad mood can worsen morning sickness too."
"Could you try to eat a little something? I simmered this congee for a long time, it's very light, not greasy. Just one taste?"
Su Qianqian didn't speak, just buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly as if crying.
Gu Chengyu felt his heart was about to break watching her.
He tentatively took another step closer, picked up the bowl of warm congee, gently stirred it with a spoon, blew on it to cool it, his voice soft as water:
"Qianqian, just one bite, okay?"
"I'll leave right after you eat, I won't bother you."
"Look, you've barely eaten anything these past couple of days, your face is so pale. Even if you're angry with me, you shouldn't take it out on your own health, right?"
His tone carried a humble plea, none of his usual arrogance remained.
Su Qianqian was actually hungry too, but just had no appetite, and her heart was full of pent-up anger.
Yet, hearing him coax her so humbly, ultimately for her own health and the baby in her belly, she slowly raised her head.
She glared at him with teary eyes, the look lacking force, instead making her seem even more delicate and pitiful.
Gu Chengyu immediately seized the opportunity, scooped up a small spoonful of congee, and carefully brought it to her lips, his eyes expectant and nervous: "Here, open up."
Su Qianqian hesitated for a moment, but finally opened her mouth.
The warm congee slid into her mouth, light and savory, actually sparking a bit of her appetite.
She ate in small mouthfuls.
Seeing her finally willing to eat, Gu Chengyu was overjoyed. With immense patience, he fed her spoonful by spoonful, his gaze focused and gentle.
After feeding her about half a bowl, Su Qianqian shook her head, indicating she couldn't eat anymore.
Gu Chengyu didn't push it, quickly put down the bowl, then offered warm water for her to rinse her mouth, fetched a warm towel to wipe her hands and face. His movements were meticulous yet clumsy, clearly unused to serving someone like this.
After doing all this, seeing she seemed more comfortable, leaning back against the headboard with her eyes closed to rest, he finally relaxed a little.
But he didn't immediately leave as promised. Instead, he dragged a chair over and sat by the bed, keeping a slight distance, just quietly watching her.
Su Qianqian could feel his intense gaze but simply didn't want to acknowledge him.
After a while, he reached out and placed his hand over her lower abdomen, where his flesh and blood was growing.
"Qianqian, I know I was wrong, terribly wrong."
"I shouldn't have schemed against you, shouldn't have disregarded your wishes, shouldn't have made you pregnant."
"You can punish me any way you want, hit me, scold me, it's all fine."
"But, please, don't reject him, and don't reject me."
Your work issues — I'll handle them. As for the crew, I'll pay ten times the penalty for breach of contract; I'll salvage your reputation.
"If you want to act, once your health is better, I'll invest in whatever you want to film. The best scripts, the best teams, all for you."
"For now, don't think about anything. Just rest peacefully, get well, let me take care of you, okay?"
His words were full of entreaty, his eyes filled with love.
Su Qianqian kept her eyes closed, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
In the end, she didn't respond.
Gu Chengyu felt somewhat dejected but consoled himself it was okay.
The road to winning back his wife was long.
But he had plenty of patience and sincerity.
As long as she and the baby were well, he would do anything.
