spring bite mark

Chapter 128 Complex Proofs

The doctor glanced at her and said, "At your current stage of pregnancy, you can't have an abortion. You can only have an induced labor. Go back and discuss it with your family before coming back."

“Induced labor…” Jiang Manman’s voice was dry. “I don’t need my family to come with me. I can do it by myself. Doctor, please arrange a time for me.”

The doctor, unfazed, said, "Induced labor is different from abortion. The procedure is more complicated, and it's much more harmful to the mother's body. Have you thought this through?"

"I've thought it through," Jiang Manman said softly. "Doctor, what procedures are required? I'll take care of it right away."

"Are you married?"

"No."

"If the induced abortion is due to a health problem with the fetus, a certificate from the hospital will suffice, but you don't fall into that category," the doctor said. "Assuming the fetus is healthy, unmarried women must obtain a certificate of unmarried status from their place of household registration, and then take the certificate to the family planning office to apply for an induced abortion certificate."

Jiang Manman: "..."

"Go ahead," the doctor said calmly. "Once you have the abortion certificate, you can schedule the abortion appointment."

Jiang Manman didn't know how she got out of the hospital.

I don't even know how I got back to my apartment.

She shrank to the corner of the bed, hugged the blanket, and looked at the test report in her hand word by word. She read it countless times, and the more she read it, the more panicked she became.

She just turned twenty last month!

A twenty-year-old unwed mother, and all this time, it's all because of an accident! Two unwanted children, an unexpected turn of events from a ridiculous night—their future will be bound to the shame of being illegitimate children. And given the Xie family's powerful lineage, the power struggles within the family will inevitably involve these two little lives bearing Xie Yuheng's bloodline…

The more I thought about it, the more panicked and confused I became, along with the anxiety and helplessness that comes with pregnancy itself.

Following the absurd night four months ago, Jiang Manman broke down once again.

She spent three days locking herself in her apartment to process the emotional impact of the unexpected incident.

Three days later, Jiang Manman emerged from her dazed state and walked firmly to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

"I'd like to get a certificate of being unmarried." She took out her ID card and spoke softly.

The staff member took her ID card, checked it for a while, and told her, "We can't issue you a certificate right now. Come back in three days."

Jiang Manman was slightly taken aback: "Why?"

"Our system shows that you obtained a certificate of unmarried status and other relevant documents from the Civil Affairs Bureau a few months ago, with the purpose of registering your marriage in Hong Kong," the staff member explained politely. "The mainland and Hong Kong use two separate marriage systems, and we need to coordinate with the marriage registration office in Hong Kong."

Jiang Manman breathed a sigh of relief: "I didn't even register my marriage in Hong Kong."

"Okay, once we get a clear response from the port, we'll process your unmarried certificate." The staff member's tone was friendly. "Come here to pick it up three days from now."

Jiang Manman nodded: "Thank you!"

Jiang Manman didn't take the three-day wait to heart.

These past few days, she's been trying hard to recall the details of the family reunion banquet, but the gaps in her memory are too severe. Apart from the shameful scene where she couldn't see faces clearly, a vague fragment of a conversation has been floating through her mind:

As the atmosphere reached its peak, the man gently bit her earlobe, his voice husky: "I forgot to prepare, can I not wear it?"

She mumbled something incoherently, as if she were saying "hmm".

"Don't worry, it'll just be one night." The man's tone was filled with extreme tenderness and ingratiation. "I'll prepare a whole drawer full of them later..."

In the midst of a sudden storm, the footage was cut off again.

Jiang Manman covered her face in despair. It was the first time in her life she'd ever drunk alcohol, and in her drunken stupor, she'd landed herself in the worst possible situation, with the person she least wanted to have anything to do with… Three days later, she returned to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The staff member clearly remembered her and said with a strange expression, "We can't issue your unmarried certificate."

Jiang Manman looked completely bewildered: "How could this be?"

"They replied from the port that you've already registered your marriage there." The staff member, seeing her bewildered expression, was somewhat speechless. "Whether you're married or not, how could you not know?"

"I really don't know. This is impossible, I'm definitely not married." Jiang Manman took a deep breath. "Has anyone in Hong Kong said who I married? It must be a system glitch or some misunderstanding..."

“The marriage confidentiality system in the port city is very strict, and I cannot access your specific marriage file,” the staff member said definitively. “But you are married, that is a fact.”

Jiang Manman: "..."

An event even more absurd and outrageous than her pregnancy once again dealt her a huge blow.

Jiang Manman, who had a smooth life for many years after meeting Yan Changye at the age of nine, felt as if she had exhausted half of her bad luck in just a few months. A one-night stand, an unexpected pregnancy, and being wrongly judged to be married by the system—each and every one of these events almost crushed her.

Two days later, she made another appointment with that obstetrician.

"Doctor," she said, sounding very flustered, "if I'm married, are there fewer procedures for applying for an induced abortion?"

The doctor's tone was subtle: "If you are married, and your fetuses are healthy, and it's a twin pregnancy, you are generally not allowed to have an induced abortion."

Jiang Manman lowered her eyes: "Do you really have to?"

"If an induced abortion is indeed necessary, then we should first get a divorce. Once we have the divorce certificate, we can issue a certificate for the induced abortion."

Jiang Manman: "..."

She does want a divorce, but they haven't even gotten married yet. Just because of a careless misdiagnosis by the port city that she's 'married', where is she supposed to find someone to divorce?
Jiang Manman returned to her apartment, and her emotions, which she had finally managed to adjust, plummeted once again. She was filled with anxiety and didn't know what to do. Her mental stress reached its peak.

This feeling persisted until the baby in her womb was nineteen weeks along.

Nineteen weeks later, the baby's movements made Jiang Manman waver in her determination to have an induced labor.

She suddenly realized that if love was unreliable, then being a single mother for the rest of her life wasn't so bad.

She started eating regularly, wearing flat shoes and loose clothing. Although she still occasionally had thoughts of induced labor, most of the time, she felt a faint sense of anticipation for the child...

However, the recent emotional ups and downs and irregular eating habits ultimately caused irreversible damage to the fetus.

Twenty-one weeks and six days later, she was writhing on the ground in pain, watching helplessly as blood slid from between her legs...

Trembling, she dialed 120. The short twenty minutes of waiting were the longest and most agonizing time of her life.

After finishing his work in Hong Kong, Xie Yuheng made time to visit her in the capital. He ran into Jiang Manman being carried into an ambulance at the entrance of her residential compound, and his face immediately paled: "Manman, what happened to you?"

Jiang Manman remained silent; the grievances and sorrow in her heart turned into cold tears the moment she saw Xie Yuheng.

"She's pregnant, it's an emergency, can't you see!" The nurse looked at Xie Yuheng's luxury car blocking the ambulance and said sternly, "Get out of the way right now!"

Xie Yuheng was shocked. Looking at the emaciated Jiang Manman, fear and pain overwhelmed him, making him almost unable to stand...

The ambulance sped away.

Jiang Manman was rushed to the obstetrics and gynecology department. After a series of examinations, the doctor told her with a serious expression:

"Your situation is very dangerous and you need to have surgery immediately. If you wait any longer, the fetus may die in the womb. But even if it is born now, according to clinical trials, their survival rate ranges from 0% to 10%. Please be prepared."

(End of this chapter)