Chapter 12: Forcing Her To Give Blood For A Pregnancy Test To Prove Her Innocence
“Are you feeling very smug now?” she rushed forward, raising her hand high, “Li Chuan isn’t planning to marry me, and you still dare to deny you’re pregnant?”
Liancheng stepped back to avoid her, and Liang Wenfei’s arm cut through the air with a whistling sound. The force was so strong that it made her stagger.
Liancheng grabbed her arm to steady her, not out of kindness, but because Liang Wenfei was precious now. If she fell in front of her and had an accident, it would be a disgrace, no matter what.
“Stop pretending to be kind, you bitch!” Liang Wenfei flung her arm away, and with her other hand, she quickly brought it down.
Liancheng was extremely annoyed and firmly grasped her hand. “What hysteria are you having again so early in the morning? Whether Shen Lichuan marries you or not, it has nothing to do with me. And about being pregnant, the video proved it. Are you blind, or are you forgetful?”
“I don’t believe it.” Liang Wenfei was furious. “You tampered with the video.”
“Are you going to keep slinging mud?!” Liancheng looked directly at Liang Wenfei. “With your suspicious nature, I don’t believe you haven’t checked Shen Lichuan’s itinerary since returning from the hospital. In the past six months, I only saw him once the day before yesterday when I was stuck in traffic, separated by two car doors and traffic police. In public, could I get pregnant by thought alone, or is Shen Lichuan a dandelion spirit whose seeds landed on me with a gust of wind?”
“Enough, Liancheng.” Mother Liang walked over quickly, pushed her aside, and protected Liang Wenfei. “Whether Feifei is being suspicious or not, you can go to the hospital for a blood draw. The result will make everything clear.”
Liancheng stumbled back several steps, barely steadying herself, but her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her throat.
She perceived that Mother Liang’s attitude had changed. Previously, she indulged Liang Wenfei, and was actually half-doubting her pregnancy.
Coincidentally, at this juncture, Shen Lichuan had gone back on his word, and her five percent doubt had shot up to ninety percent.
Liancheng knew she couldn’t get away with this easily this time.
She shivered slightly. “Mom, I was raised by you. My temperament, values, and character were all shaped by you. You taught me self-respect and self-love, and that a person must have dignity. You know me best. Don’t you believe me now?”
Mother Liang remained silent.
Her silence wasn’t like one of sympathy or pity, but more like a polite concession.
A concession that Liancheng must now undergo a blood draw to prove she had no connection to Shen Lichuan.
Liancheng curled her ten fingers together, digging them into her palms, her gaze passing over Mother Liang to the man standing at the restaurant entrance.
Liang Chaosu seemed to agree, their gazes meeting across the distance. Beneath his dark, thick eyebrows, his eyes were sharp and deep.
Liancheng had never expected him to side with her, but today there was no other way. She had to seize any sliver of hope, no matter how small.
“Liang Chaosu.” she called out with a trembling voice, “You said you believed me. Does that still count?”
Several seconds of silence passed.
Liancheng’s heart sank as if dead.
Liang Chaosu walked over, his steely expression stern and indifferent. “Shen Lichuan asked a master from Fayuan Temple to come forward and postpone the wedding, citing that there was no suitable date within six months. Were you aware of this?”
Liancheng’s eyelids twitched violently.
Noble families and powerful clans placed great importance on feng shui and destiny. A date incompatibility could be a major or minor issue. Those with strong feelings naturally wouldn’t fear it. But if the feelings weren’t strong, and one party wanted to back out, using this as an excuse to delay, and then letting it become accepted by the public, the annulment would be a natural consequence.
Regardless of Shen Lichuan’s purpose, Liancheng could not be tainted by this move.
“Should I be aware of it? You don’t believe me even when I’m telling the truth, but you believe yourself, right? I’ve been under everyone’s watchful eyes since I returned from the hospital yesterday. Do I look like I’m aware of it?”
Liang Wenfei said hatefully, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, why are you afraid to have a blood test?”
“Who said I’m afraid to be tested?” Liancheng turned her head. “If I were afraid, I wouldn’t have agreed to the medical examination. But what is this now? If it gets out with so many people in the hospital, Liang Wenfei, have you considered the Liang family’s reputation?”
Liancheng struggled to compose herself, observing the expressions of Liang Chaosu and Mother Liang.
Liang Chaosu was shrewd and unreadable, but Mother Liang showed some hesitation.
Shen Lichuan was originally Liancheng’s fiancé. Not long after their engagement, he became engaged to Liang Wenfei. The social circles had been buzzing about it, and hadn’t forgotten.
If it were then rumored that Shen Lichuan postponed the wedding, and Liancheng immediately went for a pregnancy test.
Connecting these events would undoubtedly be explosive news.
Throughout history, the more complex and sensational scandals became, especially those involving taboos or close ties, the more they attracted attention.
Even if Mother Liang wasn’t calm now, she could imagine what kind of rumors would spread.
Liancheng seized this sliver of hesitation. “Furthermore, there’s no difference between a blood draw now and a medical examination in three days. There’s no need to damage the Liang Group’s reputation. If public opinion is stirred up and stock prices are affected, and the board’s interests are harmed, you will then have to step forward to stabilize things for Dad and Liang Chaosu?”
“You’re being alarmist—” Liang Wenfei faltered, she could never win an argument with Liancheng.
Mother Liang was clearly swayed. No matter how much a matriarch favored her daughter, she couldn’t sacrifice the family.
She turned to look at Liang Chaosu. Only her brother always helped her unconditionally. “Brother.”
Liancheng also looked at Liang Chaosu. His gaze was peculiar at this moment, his pupils bright, filled with a suggestive, indefinable interest that clung to her.
Liancheng’s scalp tingled.
When she looked again, his expression had turned completely cold, and his voice was equally cold, as if she had been an illusion just now.
“In psychology, there’s a phenomenon where someone suddenly acts righteous and uses moral high ground to coerce others. Either they are genuinely noble and selfless, or they are extremely guilty. Which one are you?”
Liancheng was about to retort, opening her mouth but stopping herself.
After a few seconds of silence, Liang Wenfei immediately declared, “Speechless, you’re guilty.”
Liancheng clenched her fists. She couldn’t panic, nor could she rush to answer.
Liang Chaosu was a master interrogator and negotiator. There was a saying in the southern business world: one would rather drink themselves to death at a banquet than sit at the Liang Group’s negotiation table.
He was adept at language traps. The two options, with the first seeming like a way out, if she answered that it was for the Liang family, for the Liang Group, it would be admitting she was using moral high ground to control Liang Wenfei and avoid the blood test.
At that point, the sliver of hesitation Mother Liang had just felt would completely vanish.
The Liang family was wealthy, and there were many ways to conduct a pregnancy test. A simple blood draw could be arranged with a private doctor coming to the house, or there was a simpler method, a pregnancy test stick.
Liang Wenfei was stupid and didn’t realize it, but as soon as Mother Liang calmed down, she would definitely think of it.
She had to make Mother Liang agree not to have the blood test within the limited time.
Liancheng looked up, preempting Liang Wenfei before she could definitively corner her. “You’re half right. I’m speechless, but it’s not because I’m guilty.”
“Mom—” her gaze shifted to Mother Liang. “I just feel very upset. Every time Liang Wenfei causes trouble for no reason, you think I don’t respect her and bully her with my sharp tongue. I don’t want to be like this, but it’s only then that you look at me.”
“Whether you’re annoyed or disappointed, your gaze falls on me.”
Every word Liancheng spoke came from genuine emotion. As it poured out, her shoulders slumped involuntarily, and she almost couldn’t stand.
“It was you who kept me back years ago. If you dislike me now, you can let me go. Don’t treat me so lowly that I lose even my dignity as a person.”
“Dignity is something you give yourself.” Mother Liang’s face showed no emotion.
The timing of Shen Lichuan postponing the wedding was simply too coincidental.
Liancheng’s tearful self-confession, her heart-wrenching words, pierced Mother Liang’s unease and suspicion like a knife.
“If you have dignity, then get the test. The facts will prove your innocence.”
