Afraid of Pain

Ning Zhi and Li Yan looked at each other. She opened her mouth as if she was saying something, but Li Yan couldn't hear her.

Li Yan held her tightly and quickly left. Just as they passed through the cafeteria entrance, they were stopped by a mixed-race woman.

"Oh my god! This is too serious. What exactly happened?!" The woman exclaimed loudly in broken Mandarin.

"Lin Sha, I'm sorry. I have to take her to the hospital now. I'll come back later to accompany you to tour the company." Li Yan had no intention to put Ning Zhi down. He carried her directly out of the company, instructing the security guards to send the assailant to the police station for an investigation into the motive behind the attack.

Ning Zhi hadn't lost consciousness yet. She was just feeling lightheaded due to excessive blood loss. When they passed Lin Sha, she heard Li Yan address the woman by her name and realized she was Li Yan's fiancée.

Ning Zhi glanced at her and acknowledged that she was indeed beautiful, like a princess.

As time passed, she clipped into a semi-conscious state and could only feel Li Yan carrying her.

Although she didn't want to admit it, lying in his arms, Ning Zhi felt the warmth and security, as if she was surrounded by a furnace.

By the time she regained her consciousness, she found herself in the hospital, and Li Yan had already left. The sensation she had just experienced felt like a dream, but Li Yan's coat was indeed draped over her.

"Sister Ningning, don't worry. You're about to enter the operating theater. The doctor said that there won't be any scarring!" Secretary Huang followed along and sat beside her, holding Ning Zhi's hand with teary eyes.

"It's fine. It's just a small injury." Ning Zhi smiled, trying to comfort her.

"What small injury is that? They have to stitch it up! It's not minor at all!" Secretary Huang grew even more anxious.

When Ning Zhi saw that Secretary Huang was on the verge of tears, Ning Zhi tried to reach out and wipe the tears off her face but grimaced in pain because she had pulled on her wound.

After a while, the nurse walked in and informed them that the surgery was about to begin.

While Secretary Huang went to attend to other matters, Ning Zhi quietly informed the nurse not to administer anesthesia. She was afraid of harming her already fragile baby.

"Are you sure you don't want anesthesia?" The nurse frowned as she flipped through the medical records. "You're going to need stitches in three areas, that's more than a dozen stitches. Can you bear it?"

Seeing that the nurse did not intend to give in, Ning Zhi had no choice but to reveal her pregnancy to the nurse.

To prevent the nurse from letting it slip, she even made up a story that her company would terminate pregnant employees. She hoped that the nurse could help her keep it a secret. Reluctantly, the nurse agreed.

The surgery began. Ning Zhi gritted her teeth, her eyes were red from the pain, and she was sweating profusely.

She could vividly feel the needles piercing and passing through her skin, making the time agonizingly slow.

After what felt like an eternity, it finally ended. Exhausted from enduring the prolonged pain, she passed out again.

Ning Zhi woke up again when she was called by Secretary Huang, who had brought her lunch.

She caught a whiff of a floral scent first. She turned her head and realized that there was a bouquet of her favorite flowers—the ones Li Yan often gave her— beside the bed.

Ning Zhi's heart skipped a beat as the figure in front of her appeared again, stirring up a strange feeling.

"Ah, that…" Secretary Huang saw that Ning Zhi was looking at the bouquet and explained, "That was sent by CEO Li… delivered by someone"

Secretary Huang almost blabbed out. This bouquet was indeed sent by Li Yan, and he arranged it in the vase. However, he left before Ning Zhi woke up and warned her not to tell Ning Zhi that he had been there.

Secretary Huang found both of them strange, but she was just a small employee. She wanted to keep her job, so she couldn't say anything even if she discovered something. Besides, Ning Zhi had treated her kindly. She couldn't spread rumors about her behind her back!

Ning Zhi listened thoughtfully and nodded without dwelling on it too much.

During the days of her recovery, Ning Zhi became increasingly sleepy. She suspected that it was because of her pregnancy and decided to leave Li Yan earlier.

Li Yan had visited Ning Zhi, but he only watched her silently when she was asleep and would leave in a hurry before she woke up.

Because it was only when she was asleep did he feel that he was familiar with her.

On the day he visited Ning Zhi again, he ran into Secretary Huang and asked about her condition. As they were chatting, a nurse arrived to remove the stitches.

"Please be careful when you remove the stitches later. She's sensitive to pain." Li Yan reminded the nurse while looking at the intimidating tools.