Peach Passion Chapter 9

Rapid footsteps run from the door to the emergency room.  The sound of heeled shoes trailing behind.

Paying the taxi, Min Jing struggles to catch up to Zheng Leng because of her heels.

Zheng Leng had received the “alive” on the phone, and she just happened to stand close enough to hear.  Zheng Leng then asked if Xiang Ti had been sent to the emergency room and called to confirm which hospital.  He immediately hailed a taxi, and Min Jing insisted on coming.

She pretended to offer him sympathy.  “Your mind is very chaotic right now, and there are many things to deal with.  One more person to help is better.”

Is she really that kind? No!  Her intuition told her to “take advantage of the crisis”, so she audaciously came along.

Finally, running out of breath and almost breaking her heels, she sees Zheng Leng stop.

He was talking to medical staff, looking dejected.  She walked over carefully and listened to what the woman had to say.

“Because the impact was too violent, she fell down immediately.  Later, when she was rushed to the emergency room, we could only save the mother’s life.”

“How did this happen?  Luckily, Xiang Ti is okay…”  Zheng Leng choked back, but the thought of Xiang Ti being all right gives him a peace of mind.

“It’s strange, really.  How could a sudden car accident happen?”  Min Jing pretended to inquire.

“According to police, the motorcyclist was speeding recklessly, did not slow down, and ran into Xiang Ti.”

Zheng Leng stared angrily at the perpetrator who had also been taken to the emergency room.

“No, I’m not…  She came out of nowhere, I didn’t see her…”  The once arrogant motorcyclist who didn’t care about breaking the laws, now didn’t know how to defend himself.

An opportunity!  Min Jing’s eyes narrowed, “Liu Xiang Ti is truly innocent?”

Hearing her words, Zheng Leng looked coldly at her.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you find it strange?  It’s just, she just made a phone call to you, then was. .h.i.t by a motorcycle?”

“What are you trying to say?”  Zheng Leng was losing patience.

“I think she did it deliberately?”  Min Jing pretended to look uneasy.

“Why would she do such a thing?”  At that moment, Zheng Leng thinks of one reason: the child! She hadn’t wanted the child.

“As far as I know, she was pregnant, but she didn’t seem to want the child.”  At Zheng Leng’s incredulous stare, she explained, “I don’t mean to pry into your personal business, but sometimes when you were on the phone……  Well, it’s quite loud.”

But if she hadn’t deliberately eavesdropping, she wouldn’t have known the details.

“So?  You think because Xiang Ti didn’t want the child, she deliberately stepped in front of the motorcycle and caused the miscarriage?”  Zheng Leng asked sarcastically shaking his head without hesitation.

“I don’t believe it!  If she really didn’t want the child, she could have just had an abortion.  Why deliberately cause an accident?”

“I think it’s because she cares about you and doesn’t want to lose you!”  Min Jing sounds sad, but is secretly delighted, and continues to fan the flames.  “When you think about it, if she went to a doctor to remove the child, you will be angry at her, blame her, and maybe even break up with her.  But if the child is naturally lost because of an accident, you’d have no reason to blame her.”

Zheng Leng was dismissive of this argument, but Min Jing had a point, Xiang Ti hadn’t wanted the child from the start!

A person that didn’t want children, but wanted to keep the man.  Manufacturing an accident to get rid of the child, is not impossible.

But it was still farfetched.  He didn’t want to believe he had fallen in love with such a cold blooded woman!

The young perpetrator who was full of guilt earlier, but with Min Jing’s “hypothesis”, gave him an opportunity to excuse himself, cunningly changed his att.i.tude immediately, from the evil perpetrator to victim.

“Yes, that’s right!  Sir, when I was speeding through the alley before, I checked to see if it was cleared of people.  When I was riding, I didn’t know the lady would come out of nowhere, and didn’t hit the brakes.  I really didn’t mean to hit her, but it was too late!”

Three people against one.  Originally, Zheng Leng had faith in Xiang Ti, but if there are two people saying this, his confidence began to waver.

It’s true that Xiang Ti didn’t want children.  But if she wanted to keep his love and let the child die, then maybe she will “likely” do so.

“…”

He didn’t want to believe it, but now, there are no guarantees anymore.

Min Jing’s mouth curved into a smile, proud of herself.

“Oh!  But of course, we do not want such a terrible thing to be true, but this gentleman has confirmed the speculations……”

“Say no more!  When Xiang Ti wakes up, I will ask carefully.”

“Of course you have to confirm, but who would admit it?”

From Min Jing’s last words, Zheng Leng no longer had answers.  He held his head gravely, silently waiting for Xiang Ti to come out of the operating room and regain consciousness……

Xiang Ti slowly open her eyes.  There is a moment of time when she was disoriented and didn’t know where she was.

This is a strange room, the decorations and layout are very strange, unlike a normal room.

“Awake?”  A familiar voice sounded beside her, followed by a sad face appearing above her.

That is —

“Zheng Leng.”  To see her favorite man, she wanted to smile.

At this time, she didn’t remember what had happened to her.  It was just normal to wake up and see him smiling.

But Zheng Leng was not smiling.

How?  She’d just been in a motorcycle accident, and even lost a child, but she can smile?  Has she forgotten?

But the doctor said she hurt her body, not her head.

At this time, Min Jing’s words rang in his ears.

Did she deliberately arrange this?

If she was open about going to the doctors to remove the child, you can blame her, might even break up with her.  But if it was all an accident, you have no reason to blame her……

Could it be true?  Could she have deliberately ‘lost’ the child in an accident?

“You had a motorcycle accident.”  He reminded her, focused on every subtle detail of her expression.

“I had an accident?”  She pondered.

She had called him to tell him she decided to have the child, but suddenly she was lying on the ground, her lower abdominal in pain, there was so much blood everywhere……  Her child!

She looked at him in shock, “My child?  Is he still?”

She was clutching her stomach, ready to defend her child from any harm.

Zheng Leng stared at her grim faced.  He could hardly believe it, her first sentence after waking up was “still”, instead of “is it okay”?!

She was afraid her child was “still”?

“No, the child did not survive.”  Zheng Leng’s voice seemed far away, deep in grief.

“G.o.d!  How could this happen?  It’s all my fault…  I didn’t take good care of him!”  Overcome with sadness, Xiang Ti cried.

She blamed herself.  Perhaps if she had wanted him from the start, the child wouldn’t have left her so soon.

“Tell me, how did it happen?”  Zheng Leng stared at her coldly, trying to decipher her acting.

“I don’t know…”  Until now, she still wasn’t clear about what happened.  She just knew that her child was gone now.

“At that time, I was anxious to call you, and may not have paid attention to the surroundings.   Suddenly, I heard the sound of a motor……  I hit the ground hard, and was in a lot of pain, and there was a lot of blood flow.”

Xiang Ti tried to recall the incident, but Zheng Leng interjected, “Did you do it on purpose?”

“You, what did you say?”  Xiang Ti looked at him blankly.

“The child, Xiang Ti.  Did you intentionally lose him?”  Zheng Leng’s heart turns cold.

He thought she was just afraid of marriage.  Feared the unknown life of three people brought together by a variable, but he never thought, in order to get rid of it all, she could fake an accident, killing the child.

“No!  How is that possible?  Why would you — why would you think so?”  She was shocked, why would he think that?

“You never wanted the child, you said so yourself.”  Zheng Leng accused.

“I didn’t want the child, but I’ve changed my mind!”

“Oh, when? I don’t recall.”  Zheng Leng’s tone was full of ridicule and contempt.

“When I called you.  I wanted to tell you then, I had decided to keep the child, but didn’t think –” an accident would happen.

The change in Zheng Leng was difficult for her to handle.  In his eyes, there was no longer trust.

“There is such a coincidence in the world?  You just wanted to call and tell me, you want to keep the baby, and then had an accident.  Do you expect me to believe that?”

“It’s true!”  Xiang Ti panicked.  She didn’t know how else to explain for him to believe her.  “I went to buy something at that time, and after hearing the proprietress’s story, I changed my mind, and decided to have the child……”  But didn’t expect to have an accident and lose the child.

“In my opinion, it was all an arranged accident!  You pretended to call me, then found a scapegoat to hit you, so that the child would disappear conveniently.”  His coldly alleged.

“Stop!  How could you think that?”  Xiang Ti was starting to feel excruciating pain from her lower abdomen, but held on to argue.  “In your mind, I am that inhuman?”

Zheng Leng silently looks at her coldly, and Xiang Ti suddenly understood.

Yes!  In his mind, she is such a cold-blooded cunning woman.

She doesn’t need to explain further, because no matter how much she tries, he won’t believe her.

Suddenly, she feels very funny.

Is this the same man that she loves?  He said that he wanted to make a happy family with her, for a lifetime, but he doesn’t trust her?

“You can think whatever you like!”  Xiang Ti painfully closes your eyes, and turns her head to the side.  “If you think so, then it is a fact.  Think whatever you want, I don’t care.”

He doesn’t believe her, she doesn’t know what else to say!

She was innocent, but he had already convicted her.  In his mind, she had been sentenced, and cannot appeal.

She was heartbroken, but Zheng Leng mistakenly thought she confessed.

“You admit it?  You actually have the heart to do so…  It is very cold!”  His eyes reddened, thinking of their child that died from her hands.  He is very angry.

“You’re too cruel, I can’t stay with you!”  He would always be reminded of her cruel act and his lost child.

“Suit yourself.”  Almost in tears at this point, Xiang Ti remains indifferent preventing them from falling.

Her dignity is not cheap.  If he thought she was going to beg him to stay, then he is completely mistaken.

“Have a good rest, I’ll take care of the hospital matters.”  Zheng Leng says indifferently.

“Thank you for your kindness.”  Xiang Ti sarcastically response.

Zheng Leng paused for a moment, “If there are any difficulties, call me, and I’ll resolve it for you.”

“No, I will die before I ask for your help.”

“Then, I’ll go.”  Zheng Leng looks at her deeply, “Good-bye!”

“Farewell!”

 

A few days later, Xiang Ti was released from the hospital, but she did not return to her apartment.

Zheng Leng was too close.  She felt depressed at the prospect of running into him, so she decided to move out.  Yi Xuan was still living with her parents and sister, so she finally chose to temporarily move in with Cheng Long.

Because Xiang Ti suddenly lost her child, Yi Xuan came every day to comfort her friend.  Not only to give her long reports about work, but to deliver nutritious meals for her recovery.

“Xiang Ti, would you like some cheese cake?  I found this new shop.  I heard the cheesecake is delicious, so I bought some for us to try.”

“Oh good, I’ll make the coffee.”  Cheng Long acted excited.

“No, you eat.  I don’t want any.”

Unfortunately, Xiang Ti lost her appet.i.te for sweets.

Yi Xuan and Cheng Long smiles evaporated.  They didn’t know how to make her happy.  To see their good friend of many years like this, makes them very sad.

“Alright, I’ll eat just a little.”  Xiang Ti murmured, pretending to smile a little.

“Hmm, it’s really delicious!  You don’t have to look at me like that.  I already knew, he and I wouldn’t last long.  It’s good that we broke up now, and I can finally concentrate on my work. Well, I’ll get the plates.”

She waited until she turned into the kitchen, before she indulged in her tears.

She was discharged on the third day, but Zheng Leng never came back to see her.  Never inquired about her coming home, never phoned to see if she was okay, no contact at all.

He has demonstrated that he no longer wanted her, no longer love her.  What is she still looking forward to?

Was she waiting for him to come to his senses and run back to her?

Was her head damaged from the accident too?  Is she going to be like her mother, waiting for a man to have a change of heart, holding onto his thigh and begging until he kicks her away, black and blue?

How did she come to think of herself so lowly?

“Xiang Ti, you okay?”

She hadn’t been in the kitchen for long before Cheng Long was worried.

“I’m okay!  It just took me a while to find the beautiful dishes.  I’m coming out.”

She hastily wiped away her tears, quickly opened the lower cabinets, and took out a few small dishes.

After a while, the cheesecake became tasteless.  “I want to go back to work.”

“Huh?”  Mouth full of cheesecake, Yi Xuan is surprised.  “You want to go back to work?”

“Yes, I have decided to start work tomorrow.”  Having something to do is better than staying at home doing nothing.

“But you just got out of the hospital.  You should rest for a few more days!  People say that having a miscarriage makes you –” Cheng Long realized her words, and hastily bit her tongue.

“It’s okay.”  Xiang Ti kindly smiles at her.  “I know that I should rest, but I feel restless, so I want to go back to work.  I’m going crazy with boredom.  I promise you, I’ll rest more and make sure not to tire myself out.”

In this world, in addition to her mother, only her two friends really care about her.  How is she willing to let them worry?

“You are a workaholic.  Always busy day and night.  Did you forget what you promised?  It doesn’t matter!  You are not allowed to go back to work.  Take a break for a while, and if you’re really bored, go shopping to your heart’s content, but don’t be too tired.”  Yi Xuan didn’t believe her promise.

“I swear I will have a good rest, and even take my supplements on time.  I won’t secretly pour it into the sink –”

“What!  You poured my soup into the sink?”  The usually delicate Yi Xuan transformed into a lioness.  “I wondered how you could have finished it all so fast!”

“Sorry!  In fact, I did drink most of it.  Only, some of the oil is too bitter, and if I eat too much……  I won’t throw it away anymore!”

“Well, if we promise to let you back to work, you will take all your supplements?”  Cheng Long squints.

“I will, I will.  I promise.”  In order to go back to work, Xiang Ti will promise anything.

“Well –!”  Yi Xuan and Cheng Long looked at each other, but still hesitated.

In fact, they also know that letting Xiang Ti stay at home is not necessarily a good thing.  A usually productive person being forced to stay at home with nothing to do.  That is the real torture!

Besides, she can also forget about sad things if she’s preoccupied.

Thinking about the situation, Yi Xuan is fired up.

“Zheng Leng, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!  I thought he was a good man.  I was also very glad that you a.s.sociated with him, but I didn’t think he is this stupid to think you would deliberately kill your child!”  Yi Xuan shouts.

“Just joking!  If you really didn’t want kids, would you really go so far as to get hit by a motorcycle?  Did he not think, you could have really died from the impact?  Who would be stupid enough to risk their life to do such a thing?  Idiot!  Stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

“Ah!  Yi Xuan –”

Although she was right, Cheng Long also wanted to clap, but Xiang Ti loved that stupid man.  And she bet, Xiang Ti is still in love with him.

“Ah!  Sorry, Xiang Ti.”  Yi Xuan tried to apologize.

“It doesn’t matter!  He and I have parted way.  Henceforth, you don’t need be angry over someone who is irrelevant.”  Xiang Ti smiles.

The problem is, Zheng Leng is not irrelevant.  He was still the father of her child, and the person that she loved.  This pain, how long would it take to heal?  Yi Xuan was frustrated.

But — forget it!  Every time they talk about him, she’ll just relive her pain.  Rubbing salt onto her wound, what good would that do?

However, if he was smart, he wouldn’t dare come to bother Xiang Ti again.  She’d never forgive him!

********************

 

“Mr. Han — oh no, Mr. Lin?”

He had just recently moved in with his mother, and only returned to his old apartment to retrieve something.  When he didn’t go towards the elevator, the guard hesitantly stopped him.

“What happened?”  Zheng Leng asked indifferently.

Since the accident, he became more aloof, even his colleagues try to avoid contact with him. This is unprecedented of him to let others see his mood swings.

“One thing, I don’t know if I should bother you……”  The guard hesitated.

Zheng Leng neither encouraged or discouraged him and only said, “Go on.”

The guard quickly moved behind the counter to retrieve a package.

“This came for Miss Liu, but she hasn’t come back yet.  I have no idea how to reach her.  Mr. Lin, you and Miss Liu seem acquainted.  Can you contact Miss Liu and ask her how she wants the package?”

Such a big package that’s been her for a while, it’s really nerve racking!

“Miss Liu’s purchases?  Well okay, I’ll take it up and contact her.”  Zheng Leng thinks just because they’re not lovers anymore, it doesn’t mean they have to be enemies now.  Helping her collect her package was a small matter.

“Really?  Thank you!”

Carrying the large package back to his residence, he was curious what she purchased.  How come it’s such a big box?

Looking at the sender’s name and address, he discovered that was sent from a maternal and infant supplies shop.

Maternal and infant supplies stores?  What would she buy there?

Abortion pills?  No!  Not possible.  First, maternal and infant supplies stores don’t sell abortion pills, and second, medicine doesn’t come in such a big box.

He stared at the big box, getting more and more curious.  What did she buy?

Curiosity killed the cat, and staring at the box, he killed his curiosity.

Perhaps, one look wouldn’t hurt…

He didn’t really peak, and only concentrated on the mailing date. It should’ve been purchased before her accident.  They were still in contact, so he has the right to know what she bought.

He persuaded himself, so with confidence he open the box.

Upon emptying the package, he was shocked.  It contained all sorts of baby products: small socks, shoes, hats, bibs, and so on.  Even a baby stroller.

Looking at those lovely baby products, he was dumbfounded.

She hadn’t wanted the child, so why had she bought all these things?

After talking to the proprietress, I changed my mind, and decided to have the child……

Xiang Ti’s words, suddenly jumped into his mind.

A strong sense of fear crept into his heart.

Did he really misunderstand her?

No, he had to make sure!

With a remorseful heart, Zheng Leng came to the relations firm looking for Xiang Ti.

“Hey, who is this?  Oh, how could I forget?  It’s Stars Technology Chairman Lin’s precious long lost son, Lin Zheng Leng!  This n.o.ble young master, welcome to our humble abode.  What can I do for you?”

When Yi Xuan saw him, she didn’t hesitate to put him in his place.

But he wasn’t angry because he knew she was right.  He only wanted to see his beloved Xiang Ti.  As long as he could see her, he will sincerely accept all the criticisms.

“Where is Xiang Ti?  I want to see her.”

“Ha!  Do you think this is a hotel or the red light district, going around calling for Miss?”  Yi Xuan was deliberately being ugly.

“No!  I didn’t mean that, I just want to see her.  I have something important to tell her.”  Zheng Leng embarra.s.singly explains.

“Mr. Lin Zheng Leng, after what you did to Xiang Ti, we won’t let you see her.”  Cheng Long jumped up, refusing to let him near her friend.

“C’mon ladies!  I really have to see her.  I have many things to ask her……”

“Don’t even think about it!”  Yi Xuan’s inner lioness finally comes out, giving him a hard stare.  He will never hurt her best friend again.

“I’m sorry!”  Zheng Leng caught her off guard pushing her aside and directly rushed inside. “Xiang Ti, where are you?”

“Hey!  Stop!”  Yi Xuan pulled at him.  Cheng Long is also like a mother hen, quickly opening her arms to block his way.  “If you want in, you’ll have to crush me!”

“Xiang Ti, Xiang Ti –” Zheng Leng couldn’t really take down a couple of ladies, so he began shouting through the thin door.  Hopefully she can hear him and come out.

“You shut up!  Even if you shout until you lose your voice, Xiang Ti will not come out.”  Yi Xuan mercilessly pulls at him.  “Give up!”

Loving just the chase.  Chased but did not cherish.  In the end, did not trust and threw away the love.  He had no right to face Xiang Ti.

But Zheng Leng didn’t give up, and continued to shout, wanting to see her.

“Enough, let him go!”  As he wished, Xiang Ti’s gaunt figure appeared at the door.

“Let him in, I’ll talk to him.”  Her face expressionless.

“But, Xiang Ti…”  Yi Xuan was unwilling.

“Don’t worry, I’m not soft.”

“Good!”  Yi Xuan and Cheng Long looked at each other, at the same time removed their hands.

They also know that it’s up to the parties involved to decide what to do.  They can only watch and give comfort and help.

If he moved Xiang Ti enough to come back to him again.  What they can really do, but give them their sincere blessings.

Even if she is once again hurt, they would still open their arms and accept her sincerely.