Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

“It’s okay, Lui. The doctor said the baby is fine. I’m okay.” Li Manni shielded her belly with her hands cautiously. The first trimester of pregnancy was the most dangerous. Thus, they had been extremely careful. It showed how much they cared about this baby and how important it was to them.

“I know. Still, it’s better to be careful.” Chu Lui’s arm tightened around Li Manni’s waist, and it tightened even more protectively. Then, he opened the umbrella and guided her carefully out of the hospital entrance. Li Manni cowered her body as the wind blew the rain onto them. Even though Chu Lui’s jacket was around her, she still felt cold nonetheless.

“Cold?” A look of genuine concern flashed across Chu Lui’s eyes. It was not good for her body like this. How would she be able to nurture their child? Looking at her stomach, it pained him considerably—a feeling he had never felt before. He did not know that pregnancy could be so tough on a woman.

Li Manni nodded her head slightly as she smiled gently. “Just a bit… but, with you by my side, I’m not afraid.” She leaned even closer to Chu Lui. As long as he was with her, she did not feel cold at all.

Bear with it for a while more. It won’t be cold once we’re in the car. Chu Lui held onto her waist tightly as he shifted the umbrella more in her direction.

As it turned out, he could be gentle depending on who he was with.

Xia Ruoxin stood rooted to the spot while droplets of rain beat on her soaked body. Actually, she felt numb from the cold. She merely stared at the pair as they walked closer and closer towards her. All the while, they only had eyes on each other. They did not notice the woman who was soaked from the rain.

They were cold, but she was colder. Her greenish lips continued to chatter; her body shivered in the rain.

Li Manni looked up. The silhouette of Xia Ruoxin finally fell within her sight. Her expression changed, and anxiety crept into her heart. She has come. She had finally found him.

“What is it?’ Li Manni’s sudden change in expression and the way her body froze caused Chu Lui to redirect his eyes towards her line of vision. When he spotted the woman who was standing not far away from them, an icy frost began to cover his whole body.

“What are you doing here? Did your sugar daddy refused to give you any money, and you have come to me for it?” His voice was as cold as before. It was stripped off the tenderness and care that was given to Li Manni earlier.

He did not wish to see her, especially not in front of Li Manni. He knew Li Manni was not fond of her, and he was still feeling guilty of the adultery he had committed.

Li Manni came closer to Chu Lui. She cowered her body as though she was frightened.

“Don’t you worry. I’m here. She won’t be able to harm you.”

Chu Lui embraced Li Manni’s shoulders tightly as he continued to stare gloomily at the woman before them. If she dared to even harm his wife again, he wouldn’t let her off. He would be sure to repay her in more cruel ways compared to four years ago.

Xia Ruoxin’s lips parted and closed repeatedly. It seemed she had stood there for too long and forgotten her voice.

“Can you save that child? Please, I’m begging you to save her. Will you?”

Finally, she found her voice, but it sounded awfully hoarse. One would not be able to make out what she was saying if one wasn’t listening to her attentively.

Li Manni’s fingers tightened. So, she has not given up because she had found out where they were.

“Lui, I’m a bit afraid.” Li Manni said with an innocent look in her eyes. It was accompanied by that frightened gaze.

Chu Lui’s expression became even more sullen. “Why does it matter to you whether I save that child or not? If I want to save her, I will do it. If I don’t feel like doing it, I won’t. Why do I need your advice? Who do you think you are? Do you really think you’re still my wife?

“My wife is right here, in my arms. She’s not like you who are willing to sell herself just for money.” His words were always heartless and brutal. To Xia Ruoxin, they were words of despair.

Xia Ruoxin turned as white as paper. “I have never thought of wanting to be your wife. I merely implore you to save that child.” Her voice penetrated through the rain. It was filled with such heart-breaking emotions.

The child is only three years old. She is innocent. Why won’t you save her? Why?

“Lui, don’t.” As she felt the stiffness of Chu Lui’s body, Li Manni hugged his waist tightly afraid of that Xia Ruoxin might say next. “Don’t, I’m afraid.” Chu Lui reached out to pat the shoulders of the woman in his arms. At this point, he was having mixed feelings. Perhaps recently, his heart was never in peace.

The question he was asking himself now was ‘why was Xia Ruoxin so concerned with that child—someone who was of no relation to her?’

“Lui, I don’t feel so well. I’m so cold.”

Li Manni held tightly onto Chu Lui’s waist as she kept repeating herself.

“Alright, Let’s go home.” Chu Lui did not spare another glance at Xia Ruoxin. He merely put his umbrella down and scooped Li Manni into his arms. “Let’s go back.”

There was an extreme worry in his voice. He knew his wife could not bear the slightest agitation. In his eyes, at this very moment, there was no one as important as Li Manni and—of course—his unborn child.

He anxiously changed his direction. The hospital was right behind them.

Li Manni’s voice was filled with nervousness and fear. “No, Lui. Not the hospital. I don’t want to go back to the hospital. I want to go home. I want to go home. I don’t want to see that woman. I don’t want to.”

Li Manni clung nervously onto the front of Chu Lui’s shirt as tears fell from her eyes. She continued to cower her body, obviously in fear of someone’s presence.

“Alright. We’ll go home.”

Chu Lui carried Li Manni and made his way towards his car. However, he felt an invisible pull on his clothes that he couldn’t brush away.

After that, he looked back; and his sullen eyes met Xia Ruoxin’s cold, squinted eyes. His wife was in extreme discomfort so he had no time to play her game.

“Chu Lui, I beg you. Please save her because she is your…” Xia Ruoxin clung onto his clothes. As weak as her hand was now, she still held on and never let go.

Never let go. She would hold on with her dear life.

However, before she could finish talking, she was interrupted by Li Manni.

“Lui, I want to go home. I want to go home.” Her voice was filled with fear, as though she would have a breakdown if she suffered another blow. Chu Lui now only had his eyes on her. All he could hear was her voice.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m bringing you home now.” He held onto the woman tightly in his arms. He struggled hard and ditched the woman behind him. Xia Ruoxin was not as strong as him, and she fell on the floor as a result. Mud and soil covered her from head to toe. There was mud all over her face, and she couldn’t see the way she had originally looked.