2 The Stranger’s Bastard

"I'll tell you the truth right now! That night you drank wine I spiked, I saw how pitiful you were. You were so lustful and unsatisfied that I found two good men for you. Who knew that you wouldn't appreciate my kindness? You even barged into a stranger's room and took advantage of that man…" Ning Xueluo said disgustedly. "Brother Yan is far too gentle and kind for his own good because when you woke up, he was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept the truth, so he told you that it was him that night!"

"You…" Ning Xi had started trembling as she heard this. She finally couldn't hold it in any longer and grabbed Ning Xueluo by her arm. "Why do you treat me this way? Why?! Haven't you screwed me over enough?"

Ning Xueluo's eyes rolled impatiently. Just as she was about to push Ning Xi away, she noticed Su Yan approaching them behind Ning Xi. Her voice immediately softened and her expression began sounding pitiful, "Older Sister, it's my fault. If you want to hit or yell at someone, do it to me. Just please don't blame Brother Yan…"

Ning Xi paused, and in the next second, Ning Xueluo fell to the ground as if Ning Xi had pushed her.

"Ning Xi! What are you —" Someone said accusingly behind her.

Ning Xi turned around and saw an unfriendly-looking Su Yan.

Su Yan brushed past her and helped Ning Xueluo up. "Xueluo, are you alright?"

Ning Xueluo practically clung onto Su Yan. "Brother Yan, it's all my fault. If it wasn't for me, all this wouldn't have happened, I wronged Older Sister…"

"That's enough! Don't blame yourself. No matter what happens, you have me!" Su Yan patted her shoulder and helped her into the car. "I'll explain everything to Ning Xi."

Ning Xi's mind turned blank, as she watched Su Yan walk toward her.

He spoke for a very long time.

He spoke of the past and their happy childhood. He spoke of the struggle he went through when he fell in love with Ning Xueluo. He spoke of his fury and anger when he found out Ning Xueluo had schemed against Ning Xi. He spoke of the fright and regret he felt when he found out about Ning Xi's pregnancy. He spoke about how he accepted Ning Xueluo's apology…

Lastly, he said, "Ning Xi, I can't marry you. It's not because of what happened that night or this child, it's because I can't let Xueluo down anymore, and I don't want to lie to myself about my feelings."

He and Ning Xueluo had been traveling outside the country in the past few months and having been with her morning and night, it was harder to separate from her now more than ever. Although he had initially wanted to ease Ning Xi's pain by pretending that he did indeed have intercourse with her, in his heart, he had already chosen Ning Xueluo.

So when he found out Ning Xi was pregnant, he thought it through over and over again but in the end, he couldn't stop himself from immediately going to the Ning family and explaining everything to the Second Master. Despite this, he had not told the truth to Ning Xi herself.

"You mean… Su Yan, you knew from the start that it was Ning Xueluo who drugged me and ruined my innocence? Because you wanted to protect her, you told me the person that night was you?" Ning Xi finally found her voice, but could only look numbly at Su Yan.

"Xueluo didn't mean it. She's still young so she might be impulsive…"

"Then what about me?" Ning Xi looked up at Su Yan hopelessly. "Did you never once consider what it would be like for me? Did you ever think, that I'm the one who's the victim here!"

Su Yan did not speak, and there was a long moment of silence before he reached out for Ning Xi's hand. "The sun is too hot, let's return home…"

"Don't touch me —" Ning Xi immediately slapped his hand away and laughed aloud.

At this point, Ning Xi felt like her life was a living joke.

For Su Yan, she had worked hard to get into B University to come to the city where he lived.

For Su Yan, she had abandoned her dream to become an actress.

So that their family statuses would match, she had pushed aside her adoptive parents in order to return to the Ning family, stupidly attempting to curry favor with so-called socialites.

In the end, he could only mutter the words, "I can't let Xueluo down."

Ning Xueluo had stolen her identity, robber her of her biological parents, and now… she had even stolen the person she loved most. She may be young… but does that mean her sins could be forgiven? Who was going to come to pay the bill for her life then? She didn't even know who the man from that night was!

Ning Xi covered her face, her body quivering, for she had reached the limit of her despair.

Su Yan watched as Ning Xi mindlessly started to cross the road, and was about to chase after her when from behind, Ning Xueluo tugged on his sleeve. "Brother Yan, where are you going?"

In that instance of Su Yan's hesitation, there was suddenly a loud sound. Ning Xi who was crossing the pedestrian crossing was hit, and she fell hard to the ground.

"Help! Help! A pregnant lady has been hit!"

Amid the piercing light, Ning Xi could make out two silhouettes and faces which made her want to throw up. She felt contractions and pain came from her belly and slowly began to lose consciousness from the intense pain. She blinked, and the blood trickling down her forehead flowed into her eyes… She entered a world of darkness.