"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Yan Beicheng's voice was mixed with sleep-induced hoa.r.s.eness.

Lin Chu shook her head. "No."

After this, she melted herself into his embrace, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.

Yan Beicheng smiled and kissed her gently before resting his chin on the top of her head and closing his eyes as well.

It was Monday, so Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu left the old house together to go to work. Their workplaces were near to each other, so they did not need to worry about detouring. 

Lin Chu called Teacher Yuan on the way to work. She had already returned to the orphanage while Teacher w.a.n.g took up the next s.h.i.+ft to accompany the old princ.i.p.al in the hospital.

Teacher Yuan briefly described the old princ.i.p.al's condition. "The old princ.i.p.al is quite well. She's sleeping well at night and is quite energetic in the mornings. I asked the doctor about the transfer when he came to check on us and he said that it shouldn't be a problem."

Lin Chu was relieved. Then, she made another call to Teacher w.a.n.g.

"Beicheng will send someone to complete the transfer request later today, so you don't need to worry about it. Just follow the representative that Beicheng will send."

"Okay. You can relax, Lin Chu, we'll call you the second there's anything important. Your health should be your priority, so you don't need to come as nothing's going on here." Teacher w.a.n.g said with a smile. "When the old princ.i.p.al saw you calling me, she reminded me to ask you to stop tiring yourself out from traveling so frequently."

"Okay." Lin Chu acknowledged and hung up the phone.

They had spent the morning in the old house. Because of Lin Chu's pregnancy, Old Lady Yan felt that it was important to take matters into her own hands. Their breakfast was more lavish than usual, and she was made to eat at a slower pace.

Although she was in a rush, she did not dare to eat hurriedly under Old Lady Yan's watch.

Yan Beicheng knew that she was anxious though, so he said, "Grandma, we're going to be late at this rate."

Old Lady Yan glared at him. "You're the boss of Yan Hui. Who'll dare reprimand you if you're late? Lin Chu's working in Lin Yi, and her boss is Zilin. If he dares to say anything about this to Lin Chu, then immediately I'll call him. He still doesn't have a partner, right? I'll chat with his mother about this."

Yan Beicheng, "..'

Lin Chu, "..."

Wei Zilin, "Achoo!"

Lin Chu honestly felt that she was not doing Wei Zilin any favors by working in his company.

Thus, the pair stopped rus.h.i.+ng, ate their meal slowly, and left the house under Old Lady Yan's loving watch.

The two of them had not felt lonely when they, together with Aunt Chen, were the only ones living here. After all, they had gotten used to it. After Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu had moved into the Family Mansion, they got a sense of just how much livelier a household could be.

They struggled to get used to the silence after the two of them left for work.

Old Lady Yan knew that they would not be living here permanently, but she was still kind of b.u.mmed out. She would be so lonely after the two of them moved out!

Aunt Chen tidied the house up, cut some fruits and plated them alongside some nuts. Sensing Old Lady Yan's boredom, she struck up a conversation, "The old princ.i.p.al was hospitalized last night. We still don't know the specifics or the cause, though."

"Is it serious?" Old Lady Yan was shocked by the news.

Aunt Chen shook her head. "It should be nothing serious. Young Master and Young Mistress visited her last night and came back soon after. Young Mistress seemed to be in a good mood this morning, so it's obvious that everything is alright."

Old Lady Yan nodded. "Why was she hospitalized so suddenly?"

"I don't know. Young Master and Mistress retreated to their room after they came back last night, and I didn't get to ask this morning. People tend to weaken in old age, though, so who knows when they'll suddenly fall ill."

"Sigh, I'll call her. There aren't many people in the orphanage, so they should bring some people in to temporarily help take care of the kids. I'll visit her this afternoon and bring some lunch along." Old Lady Yan said.

Aunt Chen nodded. "Meat and poultry aren't suitable for someone that's feeling unwell, so I'll prepare some porridge and soup, and steam some egg."

"That'll work." Old Lady Yan nodded in approval.

Lin Chu was not late for work, but she arrived slightly later than usual.

Zheng Yuntong had already arrived and turned her computer on. Since there was nothing much to do before work, so she was just casually browsing the news. 

She had also turned Lin Chu's computer on to save her time. 

When she spotted Lin Chu, she at her enthusiastically. 

Lin Chu smiled and walked to her seat before settling down. Although Zheng Yuntong was a lively soul, she knew how to keep a secret. She had been hiding the secret of Lin Chu's pregnancy with steadfast resolve. 

She dared not speak for fear of eavesdropping colleagues, but her eyes stayed fixated at Lin Chu's belly as a grin spread across her face.

Lin Chu cracked up at her actions. Zheng Yuntong looked around her before whispering, "Congratulations!"

Lin Chu replied softly, "Thanks."

Her hands unconsciously caressed her belly. There was no baby b.u.mp yet, but it felt warm.

Zheng Yuntong sheepishly poked the back of Lin Chu's hand, which was on her belly. Upon seeing her expression, Lin Chu asked, "What's up? Is there anything you want to say? This isn't like you."

She thought back to her first day in the office, during which Zheng Yuntong had not known her ident.i.ty, and thus had spilled everything relating to office relations to her. This was because she was worried that Lin Chu would be disadvantaged if she was not aware of all the insider information.

From then on, Lin Chu took a liking to Zheng Yuntong, as she knew that she was a clever woman who did not have any malicious intent whatsoever. She was someone who would treat people kindly without reservation.

Lin Chu had only worked in Jing Wen before, but she knew that most other companies were the same. She knew that she had lucked out when she met Zheng Yuntong.

Zheng Yuntong chuckled sheepishly. "It's about that sum of money. Moyan told me that we should split it between ourselves, but how could we do so whilst knowing that we didn't really do anything to deserve it? I would feel better if you treated us to a meal of something. You giving us that much money… makes me feel burdened."

Lin Chu laughed. "Burdened? You guys have given me so much help in the past. You've risked your dignity by contacting those studios for me. You didn't even anything about money, but I know what the usual studio rates are. Why should I be so nitpicky about money when you treat me like this? After all, can't let you guys be disadvantaged either."

Zheng Yuntong scratched her head and said whilst blus.h.i.+ng, "There shouldn't be so much fuss among friends."

"Yes." Lin Chu nodded seriously. "So, you shouldn't argue with me on this. Anyway, this money isn't mine or Beicheng's, it's Lu Zhenghang, which he was willing to sh.e.l.l out. Beicheng doesn't want Lu Zhenghang's money as he disdains it and claims that it's filthy. You know how this money came by, and I also feel uncomfortable handling it. You can just think of it as earnings from a joint venture with me. It was all earned from an auction anyway. In any case, you've seen all that's been happening over the past few days and know that things haven't ended yet. We'll need your help in the future. If you really feel bad about the money, then just think of it as a deposit, or as if I've commissioned you to help me in private. Henceforth, if I need you to contact some studios or anything like that, I won't ask you how much it costs - it'll be fully paid from your pocket."

With this, Zheng Yuntong felt relieved. She nodded in agreement. "Sure. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to contact me."

"Have you thought of how you're going to spend the money?" Lin Chu asked whilst taking a packet of smoked plums out from her bag.

She liked sour foods. Old Lady Yan feared that she would have nothing to eat when she the cravings. .h.i.t at work, so she asked Aunt Chen to buy lots of smoked plums for her.

Lin Chu did not have morning sickness, but her appet.i.te had notably decreased. Most of the time she did not have an appet.i.te, so she relied on the smoked plums to stimulate it. This method worked decently.

Suddenly, Lin Chu said, "Wait." 

She went to fill a gla.s.s with warm water before eating a smoked plum. She chewed it slowly and then drank a mouthful of water. The sourness caused her saliva to build up in her mouth, and the sweet and sour taste traveled through her mouth, getting rid of the dryness she was feeling. 

"Moyan said that you've made your decision to give us the money and that you won't take it back even though I planned to talk to you about it." Zheng Yuntong grinned. "She has already taken it for what it is and made plans to purchase a one-room apartment in Sheng City whilst using this sum of money to pay for the deposit. A one-room apartment is not that expensive, so she can afford to slowly pay off the mortgage. After paying the deposit, she won't need to take a loan for that much money, so it won't be too much of a burden on her. She can live in the same residential area as you too, and it'll be easier to meet up. In the future, even if she gets married later with a man that owns property, she knows that his property will remain under his name. In any case, she doesn't want to get married for a house, and she'll feel more secure with an apartment under her name. I agree with what she said, so I plan to do the same and purchase a one-room apartment in Sheng City. It'll be better if our units are just across each other. We'll ask around and see if there are neighboring units. If there aren't, then living in the same area would be great too. If that goes well, the three of us will live nearby. Wouldn't that be amazing?"

Lin Chu smiled. She liked the idea too.

"It's a pity that Sheng City has been open to the public for a while. Now, the stocks are all managed by third-party property agents instead of Yan Hui. If this wasn't the case, we could sell you guys the units at developer pricing. The house we're living in is secondhand too. Even Yan Hui can't do anything about it." Lin Chu said sheepishly.

"It's no problem. We'll feel more apologetic if we bought them from you at a special price. Furthermore, this sum of money is more than enough. It has taken a lot of weight off our shoulders. If we didn't receive this, then even with some support from home, the two of us would probably only manage to save up for a deposit after working for a couple of decades - even then, we won't get to live in an environment as nice as Sheng City. We've already gotten more than we can possibly ask for."

She had thought of settling down in B City and buying a house, but this dream would not have been realized for a few years. She would not have been able to purchase a property on her own with her salary alone, but it was possible. 

She no longer needed to look for houses to rent or worry about her landlords raising the rent, or even rescinding the rental agreement. 

Even if she had to pay a maintenance fee every month, at least she was paying for her own home. This made her feel comfortable and secure. 

It could have been because Yan Beicheng had issued an order, but Lin Chu soon found herself without work. After a while, the colleagues from the admin department hauled a huge box in, causing a racket.

"What's this?" Zheng Yuntong asked curiously.

Shen Zongyi walked in after this. He did not mean to catch everyone's attention but was already attractive without deliberately peac.o.c.king. 

The office quietened down. Zheng Yuntong directed her gaze toward him too. One way or another, Shen Zongyi's dark pupils met hers, seemingly by accident. Her face immediately burned up as she averted her gaze.

Shen Zongyi acted as if nothing had happened. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary as he continued looking in the same direction.

"These are all radiation-proof equipment. Frequent exposure to radiation from computers might be detrimental to your health. After considering this, the CEO bought a set of equipment for everyone to use."

Radiation-proof screen protectors were set up on everyone's computers while everyone also received a radiation-proof blanket too.

It was obvious to Lin Chu whose handiwork this was. They had all probably been paid for by Yan Beicheng. Her pregnancy was still a secret, but buying a set just for her would arouse suspicion, so he had decided to just splurge and buy a set for everyone.

Yan Beicheng had really thought it through. He felt that a radiation-proof outfit was too outrageous and thus likely to attract questions. A blanket was different, and she could even cover herself when she was cold.

She turned back only to see Zheng Yuntong making a face at her and mouthing, "Young Master Yan has really thought of everything for you."

Lin Chu blushed as her lips curved up in a modest smile, but her cheeks burned as she turned toward her computer. 

She held the mouse and was clicking away when the phone rang.

She did not need to see it to guess who it was. As expected, it was Yan Beicheng calling.

She accepted the call, and answered without waiting for Yan Beicheng to speak, "I've received the gifts."

"What gifts?" Yan Beicheng asked. His tone was suspicious and he spoke sternly. "There's another man giving you stuff? Again?"

Lin Chu, "..."

Did she wrongly a.s.sume that he had gotten the radiation-proof equipment just for her?

Lin Chu gaped. "Ah, is it not? Sorry I misunderstood."

"What are those gifts?"

"They… They're radiation-proof screen protectors and blankets. Everyone in the company gets one set." Lin Chu was embarra.s.sed. Her voice grew softer as her body hunched over and her head hung so low that it could almost reach the desk drawer. "Everything arrived today just after my checkup, so I a.s.sumed that you were the one who sent it. It's fine if it's not you."

She had just a.s.sumed that it was because of her, so she was somewhat embarra.s.sed and a little dejected.

"I'm the one who bought them. I asked Wei Zilin to distribute them under the company because I was worried as you're going to be looking at the computer the whole day." Yan Beicheng finally revealed.

"You're so awful to scare me like that! I thought that I was flattering myself." Lin Chu said quietly.

Yan Beicheng's laughter sounded out from the other end of the line. "Thinking about me when you see acts of kindness like this is the way to go."

Lin Chu rolled her eyes. What a shameless man.

"If you're tired or uncomfortable, just go to Wei Zilin and apply for leave. You don't need to be overly courteous to him. I asked Wei Zilin to open a lounge on his floor. If you're tired but are too shy to apply for leave, you can go there and take a break without informing him." Yan Beicheng said.

Lin Chu was embarra.s.sed. Wherever she went, Yan Beicheng prepared a place for her to relax. This was all done without any semblance of courtesy or shame and was only made possible because of his status. Everyone was so agreeable that they pandered to his every demand.

Lin Chu paused and thought to herself before asking, "I didn't have much work this morning. Did you issue an order beforehand?"

"Do I really have to say it out loud? After realizing that you've gotten pregnant, Wei Zilin could not in good conscience bear to tire you out. He's smart and didn't even need me to tell him anything." Yan Beicheng said in satisfaction.

Lin Chu, "..."

She could not imagine Wei Zilin's expression if he ever overheard Yan Beicheng's comments about him. 

"Zuo Qiu has already completed the transfer procedure and the old princ.i.p.al has been transferred to Chu Tian Hospital, so you can relax now." Yan Beicheng said.

Lin Chu replied with a smile, "I don't need to worry at all when you're the one handling things."

Yan Beicheng chuckled when he heard this, then Lin Chu heard him ask, "Are you well now? Do you feel any discomfort?"

"There shouldn't be any reaction when everything happened so recently," Lin Chu replied.

Yan Beicheng, "..."

Was eating a plate of smashed cuc.u.mbers slathered with tons of vinegar not considered as a reaction?

"I'm fine. I've just eaten a smoked plum." Lin Chu said.

She chatted with him for a while before the other party hung up because there was something on his end that needed his attention.

Lin Chu did not have anything to do, so she went to see if there were follow-up articles on the Zhu Hexuan issue. Judging from Yan Beicheng's methods, he had a hunch that this was not the last she would hear of it.

Just as she had thought, there were a few new articles.

Thanks to an anonymous source, Zhu Hexuan's bosses caught wind of her breakup with Lu Zhenghang. Without Lu Zhenghang behind her, her fate as the company's scapegoat was set in stone.

The Jing City Post immediately issued a statement, acting righteous and stating their bewilderment at the existence of someone like Zhu Hexuan in their company. They claimed that she was a failure in the industry, going so far as to almost refer to her as a stain on the journalism industry.

They called her out for fabricating news, and the intern for not differentiating between truth and lies, and then reflected on themselves for being overly trusting of the reporters under them and not fact-checking the articles before publis.h.i.+ng them. 

They added a note saying that Zhu Hexuan had already resigned and apologized to the main victims of the incident: Lin Chu, Dai Huimin, and Xu Jiaojiao. 

They had claimed that Zhu Hexuan had resigned as a way to save what minuscule bit of dignity she had left. Everyone knew that her "resignation" was forced, it was no different from being kicked out.

No other company would dare to employ her after everything went south.

Next, the intern journalist posted a long paragraph as well after realizing that Zhu Hexuan was unable to protect herself, much less her. 

She sincerely apologized and said that she was not a qualified reporter, but then diverted the blame to Zhu Hexuan. She wrote that she should not have blindly trusted Zhu Hexuan, even if she was her mentor. She said that she had never doubted the authenticity of the material that Zhu Hexuan had given her. 

She said that, in hindsight, she should have had her own opinion instead of simply writing what her mentor had asked her to.

It looked like an apology, but in reality, it was simply a means by which she victimized herself and proved her cluelessness and innocence. By saying that she was a scapegoat, she pushed the public eye back to Zhu Hexuan and attempted to gain sympathy from the netizens. 

Although there were some netizens who left encouraging words, there were others who commented venomous things after having seen through her ploy. 

Lin Chu lip's curled upward at the post. The writer was indeed a journalist as she was incredibly eloquent.

Not to mention she was capable of twisting the truth to this scale despite being an intern.

Finally, Hu Mingrui said that she hoped that the public would give her a second chance so that she could rectify her sins. She had learned a lesson despite only being a newbie and would take special care in the future.

The online opinion of her was split down the middle. At the moment, the company was divided between firing her or allowing her to stay.

The company was seriously discussing the matter. Although she was an unimportant employee, this incident had greatly affected the company, so they could not make the decision flippantly.

This was why Hu Mingrui's fate was still undecided.

Yan Beicheng had promised to send Shao Huai to fetch her during the afternoon.