Chapter 2 The First Time I Met Him

I wasn't stupid, and I possessed quick wits; the more pressing the situation, the faster my mind would work.

I looked at the person's face, "Was it the person who got me pregnant that arranged for me to stay here?"

The person neither affirmed nor denied, and at that moment the door opened. A woman in her forties came out and smiled at me, "You must be Miss Xia, please come in, it's too cold outside."

I was half-dragged into the house by the woman, while the man didn't come in, merely gave a few instructions and left.

I stood at the entrance surveying the interior; I had never lived in such a large house before, the living room was like a basketball court, so vast that my voice echoed when I spoke.

I was still in a daze when the woman had already placed a pair of slippers at my feet, "Miss Xia, hurry and change into the slippers, you're soaked through. Go upstairs and take a bath first, the soup will be ready soon."

"The person just now," I blankly put on the slippers and asked the woman.

"Oh, you're talking about Secretary Dong."

"Secretary Dong? Whose secretary is he?"

The woman shook her head, "I only know he's Secretary Dong. By the way, my surname is Cai, just call me Auntie Cai, and that's Little Jin."

She pointed to the young girl standing by the staircase, smiling at me, "She's in charge of tidying up the room, and I cook."

I was utterly confused.

Mysteriously pregnant, and now mysteriously brought to this place.

I went upstairs for a bath, the warm water helped my soul return to my body.

After bathing, I sat in front of the vanity blowing my hair, deep in thought.

I had always played by the rules, and in the year I dated He Cong, we had never done anything improper. And now that we'd just gotten our marriage certificate, it was certainly not possible for me to do anything behind his back.

The only time was one day when He Cong took me to a social event.

I drank too much that night and stayed in the hotel.

When I woke up the next morning, He Cong wasn't there, and I was alone in the hotel room.

But all my clothes were on the floor, and the traces on the bed indicated that something had happened.

Afterward, when I asked He Cong, he was evasive and couldn't give a clear answer.

I thought maybe he took advantage of me when I was drunk, but since we were married, I didn't make a fuss.

But now, with what had happened today, I vaguely felt that someone else had been in the hotel that night.

I hugged my arms, curling into a ball.

Little Jin, who was behind me helping me blow dry my hair, immediately asked, "Miss Xia, are you cold? I'll turn the heating up right away."

"No need," I grabbed Little Jin's hand, "do you know who owns this house?"

Little Jin shook her head, "I really don't know; I was hired by Secretary Dong, he pays and I work."

This was all too strange, wasn't it?

But I was a journalist, I had seen so many outlandish things, so I analyzed it with my journalistic mind.

I came to a conclusion that even I couldn't accept.

It was very likely that a person of power had slept with me that night, and that person might have no children or desperately wanted a son, so he found a place to keep me and have me bear a son for him.

Nowadays, such incidents are not uncommon, but I never imagined it would happen to me.

That evening I had some delicious soup and tasty dishes, Sister Cai's cooking was extraordinary, and I dare say I had never eaten such delicious home-cooked food.

But my heart was filled with confusion, however, I decided to stay.

I had made up my mind; I wanted to find out who that person was. I was determined to see just who they were.

The next day, I had to go to work looking as fresh and vibrant as ever.

A car was waiting for me at the door, and the driver was the same person as yesterday.

He got out of the car and respectfully opened the door for me, "Miss Xia, please get in the car."

The more he behaved like that, the more curious I became about that man's identity.

For a woman of unclear status like me, he was so humble, that person must be a big shot.

An image of a fat-bellied, bald man immediately sprang to mind.

Something in my stomach began to churn.

The driver introduced himself as He, telling me just to call him Xiao He.

Whenever I hear the surname He, I think of He Cong.

He is inherently weak, perpetually retreating in conflicts between his mother and me.

I kept calling He Cong on the way to work, but he didn't answer.

I had no idea where he was or whether he knew about my current situation.

Every time his mother and I had a conflict, he chose to flee, then he would come back after things had calmed down, kneeling in front of me and comforting me in every possible way.

So, that is why we registered our marriage but never had a wedding banquet.

When I got to the magazine, my colleague Little Tang said the editor-in-chief was looking for me.

I had taken the afternoon off to go to the hospital yesterday, and since I hadn't returned, I was probably in for a scolding today.

I entered the editor-in-chief's office and he gestured for me to sit down.

"There's an interview today. Xiao Zhang is on a business trip, so you'll have to fill in. He has already written the interview article, just take it and go."

I took it and skimmed the beginning.

"An exclusive interview with Sang Qi, the vice president of Dayu Group."

I normally don't do personal interviews; I'm a frontline news reporter.

Specially these interviews with important figures tend to be fluffed; the truly newsworthy questions are not the ones you can ask casually.

"Editor-in-chief, why not let Little Tang go? I need to visit the Drug Administration today."

"Before closing yesterday, your mother-in-law came to the magazine," the editor-in-chief shifted gears, and hearing 'your mother-in-law,' I tensed up.

"What did she come for?"

"Xia Zhi." The editor-in-chief looked at me sternly: "You've been working here since graduation, and you've been very diligent. I really have no right to interfere with your private life, but your mother-in-law was crying and making a scene at the magazine yesterday, and it indeed affected our magazine's reputation."

I couldn't bother asking what my mother-in-law had caused. Just by the editor-in-chief's expression, I could tell that this interview was now non-negotiable for me.

Yesterday He Cong's mother made a scene, and today I lost the right to negotiate.

I walked down the stairs, dejected, with the interview document in my hands.

The luxury car was still waiting at the entrance. I walked over and leaned on the window to say to the driver, "Don't you have to work?"

"This is my job, Miss Xia," he said, smiling to show his white teeth. "You're a journalist; you must constantly be on the go, so it's never wrong for me to wait here. Where to?"

I didn't bother with pleasantries and just got into the car, "Dayu Group."

He paused, turning back to glance at me.

"Don't know the way?" I asked him, puzzled.

"I do, I do." He nodded hastily and started the car.

In the early stages of pregnancy, one tends to feel sleepy. I dozed off for a while on the road, and the driver told me we had arrived.

I had already arranged with President Sang's secretary beforehand. She asked me to wait in the reception room, mentioning that President Sang was in a meeting but would come afterwards.

Before he arrived, I went through the interview document again. Xiao Zhang's writing skills were limited, resulting in a document full of plain language, which I could memorize just by glancing over it.

When I was almost done memorizing, the door opened.

Out of politeness, I stood up.

A pair of long legs stepped in, and I hurriedly reached out to greet the newcomer, "Hello, President Sang..."