Chapter 134: I Will Take Care of the Child

"Then tell me, where did you go on the eighth of last month, what did you do there, did you ever go to the back hill of the Stone District, did you meet with Little Stone, did you, did you...?"

"No, no, no. I have said it a thousand times, ten thousand times—I did not." Before Mai Xijun could finish her sentence, Shen Yanlie had already pulled her tightly into his arms. He did not want to hear another word of doubt from her; it felt like a slow execution, every syllable piercing his ears and wounding his heart.

"No... heh, heh-heh..." Held tightly in his embrace, Mai Xijun rested her chin on his shoulder. "Then, what about this?" She slowly pulled a chain from her pocket and held it out before him.

When Shen Yanlie released her and looked at the object in her hand, he froze. He had to admit that at that moment, he was truly rendered speechless.

"Is this yours?" Mai Xijun arched an eyebrow, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She could not believe it; she had trusted him and their life together so deeply, yet even with such damning evidence in her hand, he still stubbornly denied it.

She was more heartbroken than she had ever been. How could she not be? After all, he was the person she loved most in the world.

"This thing—it’s yours, isn't it?" she repeated. The necklace dangled from her palm, the pendant hanging between them like a barrier.

"Do you have no explanation?" she continued, her voice measured and deliberate, yet every word cut like a blade into flesh and bone.

Shen Yanlie gritted his teeth and stepped back, turning away. No one saw him lower his head, his eyes glistening with tears.

"I thought you wouldn't. I thought it was impossible for you to do such a thing, but I was wrong about you." Perhaps there was no need to say she had misjudged him; maybe this was simply the kind of man he truly was.

What was his original motive for approaching her, if not to retrieve the token of love between him and Xie Yunting? Later, when she had given him their keepsake, she had noticed more than once that he kept it with him. To say she didn't mind would be a lie. How could she not mind? That was the person he had loved and trusted so deeply. But what did all this prove now? It proved that his belongings were found on the back hill where Mo Shaoxing had fallen.

He swore up and down that he hadn't done it, yet the facts stared her right in the face.

When Han Xinyao had said she hated her, Mai Xijun had remained steadfast in her trust. But faced with her questions, he had remained silent, changed the subject, and finally avoided her altogether. She was devastated.

"Child, if you don't want it, I won't ask you to take responsibility. It is growing inside me now, and whether it brings fortune or disaster, I will bear it alone. I hope that from now on, we can have a clean break. I hope that starting today, you are you, and I am mine, with no further ties or entanglements between us." Mai Xijun’s eyes were cold and hollow. The man she had loved with all her heart—she had naively dreamt of bearing his child, naively dreamt of being the only one for him, of growing old together... In the end, it was all just vanity, a reflection in a mirror, a dream that had come to nothing.

Shen Yanlie roared, spinning around like a lion driven to madness, suddenly turning his fury upon her.

"That is my child! Without my permission, the mother of my child is forbidden from leaving my sight!" With this uncontrolled outburst, tears traced a path down his sharp, flawless nose.

The scene was heart-wrenching and shocking to witness.

He pointed his slender finger at her, as if accusing her of cruelty while trying to command her. He had never given up on her, yet she had rejected him time and time again. His heart felt so cold... so cold.

Ha, did he want to bind her with the child? How could that be possible? She would never be tied down by anyone. How could she willingly give her heart to a man so ruthless and cold-blooded? It was impossible.

"Since I am the child's mother, I have the right to choose and decide everything for it." This time, she would make him taste what it meant to be heartbroken, the pain of losing one's most beloved.

Although Little Stone was not related to her by blood, their bond was a hundred times closer than that of ordinary family.

Back then, when her mother left and she had nothing, her mother's siblings had refused to acknowledge her. Only Mo Shaoxing, their neighbor, had been there. He would play with her, and when she was hungry, he would cook her meals that, while not gourmet, were always plentiful. She would need several lifetimes of good fortune to repay such kindness.

Now that he had caused her to lose a relative who was like a brother to her, what else could she do besides speak harsh words to ease her own pain? She hated him. How could she not? The deeper her love, the greater her hatred.

"I said no, and what's more, it is impossible." If he couldn't even protect this child, he had no right to try and keep her.

"You don't love me at all, so what do you want with the child?" Mai Xijun raised an eyebrow, feigning indifference, though only she knew how much it hurt, how unbearable the grief was.

"Heh, you still doubt my love for you? Even now, you don't believe my feelings for you are real? Do I have to cut my heart out and show it to you for you to believe me? Is that it?" Shen Yanlie’s eyes turned bloodshot.

He had been hesitant and lost before, but he had still walked toward her step by step. Love had begun the moment he first saw her; he had simply been unwilling to admit it.

"Fine! Then cut it out and let me see if it's red!" Mai Xijun curled her lips into a mocking, infuriating smile that made Shen Yanlie’s face twitch. A sharp, stinging pain gripped the place in his chest where his heart beat, leaving him unable to cry, yet unable to find peace.

Look at him—every word he spoke was high-minded and righteous. How could she ever reclaim the love she felt for him? Her Little Stone—she still owed him a pendant, she hadn't even had the chance to design it for him. Her Little Stone, there were so many things she wanted to share with him. How could he just... never appear before her again?

It was the man standing before her who had caused it all. He had exploited her love for him to inflict endless harm upon her.

"If you don't want this child, then I will handle it myself," Mai Xijun said, her youthful face wearing a look of wicked, chilling resolve.