Is This All You're Capable Of, Huo Tingxiao?

In the evening, the maid came to deliver the meal as usual. She carefully observed Huo Tingxiao’s expression before placing the dinner on the table.

Lin Wan thought the maid would leave immediately, but instead, she turned to her and asked softly, “Madam, are you okay?”

Lin Wan smiled and nodded, but her pale face made it hard for anyone to feel at ease.

The maid looked at her with concern before quickly leaving the room.

After a while, Lin Wan was drinking soup when the maid returned with a fruit platter. The fruits weren’t expensive, but they were good for pregnant women.

This time, the maid handed the platter to Lin Wan without hesitation and said, “Madam, it’s good for the baby to eat some fruit after the meal.”

Lin Wan smiled and nodded, but before she could thank her, a cold laugh came from beside her.

“What? Did the Huo family mistreat you? Did we even withhold your fruits?”

The maid became nervous, afraid that her actions would cause trouble for Lin Wan. She was about to explain, but Lin Wan gestured for her to leave first.

Everyone in the house knew that Huo Tingxiao had been irritable and easily angered since the car accident. No one dared to provoke him, so the maid had no choice but to leave.

She waited anxiously outside the door, but after a while, she didn’t hear any loud noises from inside, which made her finally feel relieved.

Huo Tingxiao looked at the woman eating a pear and let out another cold laugh.

“You’re so desperate to keep another man’s child, so why did you try so hard to marry into the Huo family? Do you really think I would acknowledge him? If he were born in this family, he would live a more miserable life than children from ordinary families.”

There was no real love in the world of the wealthy, especially for a bastard with an unknown father. His future would be worse than that of a servant.

Lin Wan paused while eating the pear, then slowly smiled.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Huo. Since I can give birth to him, I can protect him.”

From the moment she became pregnant, Lin Wan had already decided to protect her child with her life.

At that moment, Huo Tingxiao looked at her, and for some reason, she seemed surrounded by a maternal glow. She appeared even more gentle.

But the more she protected the child in her belly, the more it provoked him.

No man could accept his wife carrying another man’s flesh and blood, even if he didn’t love her.

“Lin Wan, you’re really despicable!” the man said coldly.

Lin Wan’s shoulders trembled slightly, but the smile on her lips did not fade.

“Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Huo. When the child is born, I’ll make him call you Daddy.”

“You’re dreaming. I won’t acknowledge him! When the Huo family’s crisis is over, we’ll divorce. Lin Wan, don’t try to cling to me! You and the bastard in your belly—I won’t acknowledge either of you!”

Lin Wan’s hand froze, and pain spread through her chest like a knife scraping at her heart.

He said he didn’t want her or their child.

The heat in her eyes nearly turned into tears, but in the end, she held them back.

She picked up the pear again and took a few more bites, her smile bright as the spring sunshine.

“Husband, why say such hurtful things? Have you forgotten that Grandfather really likes me?”

The moment she mentioned Grandfather, Huo Tingxiao’s face darkened.

She calmly watched the anger in his eyes, but the pear in her hand no longer had any taste.

Soon, the other fruits on the table were thrown to the ground. She watched as they shattered, lying quietly on the floor, too exhausted to pick them up.

The servants outside heard the commotion and wanted to check on Lin Wan, but others stopped them.

“The young master is angry. If you go in now and make him angrier, you might lose your job.”

One of the maids looked anxious. “But Madam, she—”

In the end, her worried voice was drowned out, and she was pulled away, told not to meddle.

At that moment, Lin Wan sat on the bed, looking as calm as still water.

“Huo Tingxiao, is this all you can do?”

Even if she didn’t hate him before, she hated him now.

Her almond-shaped eyes stared at him, but the dazzling smile that once existed in them was gone.

Her expression was cold—so cold that even Huo Tingxiao sensed something was wrong.

She calmly looked at him, then slowly spoke.

“Huo Tingxiao, is this all you’re capable of?”

This sentence carried too much meaning. Huo Tingxiao wasn’t stupid—he knew she was reminding him that she had secretly helped treat his leg.

The emotions in her watery eyes were complicated. For a moment, even he couldn’t tell if she was trying to use this favor to force him into something or if there was another deeper meaning.

But before he could think further, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

Then came Qin Man’s impatient voice.

“What’s going on now? It’s late at night. Don’t you let people rest?”

The servants’ responses were careful, but they sounded so cliché.

Huo Tingxiao sneered inwardly and decided to stir up more trouble.

He picked up a cup and smashed it against the wall next to the door, shouting angrily, “Lin Wan, get out of the Huo family now!”

Hearing the commotion inside, Qin Man had no choice but to open the door and walk in.

She quickly put away the impatience on her face and looked at Huo Tingxiao with a reproachful expression.

“Tingxiao, Wanwan is pregnant. You shouldn’t scare her like this. If anything happens to the child, Grandfather will be furious.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the woman on the bed, whose eyes were slightly red. Then she gently pulled up her blanket, showing tenderness.

Huo Tingxiao’s face remained dark and gloomy, with no sign of remorse.

Qin Man sighed helplessly, but a sense of satisfaction flickered in her eyes as she left the room.

After the servants finished cleaning up and closed the door, Lin Wan turned to the man on the bed and smiled.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Huo’s acting skills to be so good.”

Huo Tingxiao smirked.

“I didn’t expect Miss Lin to go to such lengths for the sake of her unborn child. I underestimated you.”

Lin Wan’s expression changed slightly at his words, but she quickly regained her smile.

“It’s just what’s necessary. I don’t want to marry a fool. What’s the point of all my efforts if I do?”

Huo Tingxiao was surprised by her frank admission of her scheming, and for some reason, it gave him a strange feeling.

But before he could think further, Lin Wan got off the bed and walked to the door. She was about to tease him when she suddenly heard familiar footsteps.

The sound grew louder and closer—not too heavy, not too light—but each step was like a death knell pounding against Lin Wan’s heart.

She tried to suppress her fear as the footsteps approached.

Then, suddenly, she flung open the door!