Chapter 1: Self-Existence and Self-Extinction

Tong City was perennially spring-like, but this year's winter was exceptionally chilling.

Clad in a flimsy wedding dress, Qin Yan stood before the full-length mirror. The bulky and heavy train made her appear even more emaciated. Fortunately, her fair skin and beautiful features, accentuated by her alluring figure, still made her the most beautiful bride of the day.

With a loud clang —

Someone kicked open the bedroom door.

"Tell me, what did you give in exchange?"

Bo Yunshen's handsome face was commanding, and within his ink-black pupils, specks of coldness scattered like stars.

He tossed a stack of old newspapers onto Qin Yan's face, "Miss Qin, with such a disreputable reputation, what kind of bargaining chip did you use to persuade my exacting mother to let you marry smoothly into the Bo Family?"

Qin Yan's eyebrows tightened, and she subconsciously caressed her belly.

The wedding dress wasn't form-fitting, but at more than eight months, the belly was too big to hide.

Bo Yunshen's gaze shifted to her stomach, his eyes filled with drunkenness and scorn, "Even carrying someone else's bastard!"

"It's not..."

Not a bastard.

Qin Yan instinctively retorted, but Bo Yunshen cut her off, his hand gripping her neck as he sneered in response, "Not? If it's not a bastard, could it possibly be my child? Miss Qin, I don't seem to know you, do I? Tonight is our very first proper encounter!"

Qin Yan's neck cracked under his grip, but her hands continued to shield her belly.

"Let... let me go..." Qin Yan's face flushed red, her eyes intently locked on Bo Yunshen, "If you kill me, you won't live long either!"

Bo Yunshen's gaze suddenly darkened, his grip loosening slightly.

Qin Yan collapsed to the floor, her slender, fair neck now marked with red. She raised her trembling hand to touch it, gasping loudly as she met his gaze and bit out, "Didn't Mrs. Bo tell Mr. Bo? All of Mr. Bo's three elder brothers died of cancer, the Bo Family has a genetic defect, and Mr. Bo, you can't escape it either. You have a high eighty percent risk of leukemia, and it so happens that I'm a compatible bone marrow donor for you."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Bo Yunshen's fingers tightened, his jawline straining, "That's just a risk!"

"A risk, yes! But a very high risk! Mrs. Bo now has only you for a son, she definitely wouldn't dare gamble on an eighty percent probability," Qin Yan said with a smile, "Weren't you asking about my condition? The condition is, I'll donate bone marrow whenever you need, but you have to give up your first love and marry me."

Bo Yunshen's expression grew even uglier, and after a long silence, he spoke disdainfully.

"Qin Yan, aside from marriage, I can agree to anything you ask."

"Aside from marriage, I want nothing else."

Qin Yan's gaze was resolute, her tone could almost be described as stubborn.

Bo Yunshen yanked her up from the ground, gripping her chin tightly, his eyes tinged red with a cold light, "Why? Are you so infatuated with me that you've gone mad? Even if you have to go through the wedding today alone with a big belly, you still must marry me? Do you know the title of Mrs. Bo belongs to my girlfriend, to Manman?"

Manman...

Qin Yan's ears buzzed, her belly roiled fiercely, and even though his dagger-sharp words hadn't fully registered, the name "Manman" instantly seized her heart.

Feeling a sourness in her nose, she tugged at the corner of her mouth, took a deep breath, and forced back the tears welling up in her eyes. Then, lifting her chin slightly, she met the man's gaze and said coldly, "I'm glad Mr. Bo still remembers his girlfriend. You're here probably because of Lin Man's disappearance, right?"

"Lin Man's disappearance does have something to do with you!" Bo Yunshen's lips were a frigid blade, his robust fingers nearly crushing her chin.

"I don't have that kind of power, Mrs. Bo helped me," Qin Yan said with a defeated smile, pointing to the household register on the dresser behind, "The wedding is already over, all that's missing is the marriage certificate. Mrs. Bo will only release Lin Man unharmed today once she sees the marriage certificate."

"You're insane!"

Bo Yunshen was instantly irritated and flung his arm out fiercely.

Qin Yan was so frail that she was thrown out, her belly hitting the corner of the table, a piercing pain surged through her instantly!

"My belly hurts."

Her abdomen tightened, and waves of agony struck her. Qin Yan clutched her stomach, her little face completely drained of color, her delicate brows deeply furrowed, "Take me to the hospital, quickly take me to the hospital—"

Bo Yunshen's gaze darkened. He squatted down and glared at Qin Yan, "Tell me, where is Manman? Tell me, and I'll take you to the hospital!"

Soon, bright red liquid stained the white wedding dress, and the hands that Qin Yan placed on her belly were instantly smeared with the scent of blood.

"I don't know! Mrs. Bo didn't tell me."

Qin Yan clenched her teeth tightly. She was always calm and had never been as panicked as she was at this moment. The severe pain in her abdomen scared her—she felt that after being bumped by Bo Yunshen, she seemed to start having contractions; it seemed like she was going to give birth prematurely.

"Still being stubborn, are you?"

Bo Yunshen remained expressionless, his dark eyes like the deep sea, seemingly touched for a split second, but it was fleeting.

In the moment that Qin Yan met his gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She saw heartlessness in his eyes, as absolute as it had been eight years ago.

She knew it was useless to beg him, so she had to drag her blood-soaked dress hem and reached out to touch the mobile phone on the dressing table.

Bo Yunshen suddenly stood up, faster than her, and grasped the phone. In front of her, he pulled out the SIM card.

"What are you doing?"

Qin Yan's voice suddenly had a crying tone, tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably, a feeling of helplessness akin to grievance invaded her limbs, and the dull pain in the left side of her chest even surpassed the pain of the contractions.

Bo Yunshen ignored her and went straight into the bathroom.

Immediately after, Qin Yan heard the sound of the toilet flushing.

"Don't—"

Qin Yan stood still, her head buzzing—she couldn't even believe her ears.

She knew what Bo Yunshen was doing—he must have flushed away her SIM card!

For the sake of Lin Man, he would push her to such extremes that even if she died here, he wouldn't feel the slightest bit of pity.

As Bo Yunshen exited the bathroom, he immediately yanked out the landline from the dressing table, tearing apart the phone line completely.

Qin Yan was in so much pain she was about to faint, her face ashen. She lifted her blood-stained fingers to his large palm, "Don't... don't do this. Please... save my child..."

Bo Yunshen didn't speak, his eyes full of determination.

Qin Yan bit her lip, "If my child dies, I will definitely not donate bone marrow to you!"

"That's perfect! Neither will I!" Coldness surfaced in Bo Yunshen's eyes, "Even if I die, I won't accept bone marrow from you!"

After saying that, he forcefully pried open Qin Yan's fingers one by one, casually pulled out a tissue, and wiped the blood off the back of his hand, inch by inch.

Qin Yan panicked.

"Yunshen! You can't do this to me!"

"The child is yours!"