My Contract Husband Won't Behave - Chapter 64
The man ahead of her stopped without warning, and Nie Jingzhi nearly walked into him.
He turned, his dark gaze bearing down on her. “What happened before?”
The question sounded casual. His tone sent a chill down her spine.
“N-nothing happened.”
She swore she had not stammered because she felt guilty. To Bo Jiusi, however, she looked guilty beyond doubt.
“Hm?”
He advanced with an icy air, forcing her backward. She stumbled, about to strike the wall, when a large hand covered her lower back and pulled her forward.
She collided with his chest again.
“The wall’s cold.”
At those words, her entire heart melted. She looked up at him, red lips slowly parting.
“Dr. Zhou went to our university. He was two years ahead of me…”
As the school’s most outstanding medical student, Zhou Ke had once stood at the podium in a pristine white shirt to give a speech—and set every girl’s hormones racing.
“The girls at our school called him the ideal first boyfriend.”
Bo Jiusi’s black eyes held hers. “Did that include you?”
She laughed. “Master Jiu is really getting to the bottom of this.”
His face showed nothing. Even if he cared, he would never admit it. Cool fingers caught her chin, turbulent emotion darkening his eyes.
“You don’t have to tell me. But I do need to make sure my wife has no thoughts about another man.”
“Didn’t I tell you before? If I’d known you were his friend, I would’ve pursued you instead.”
In other words, if she had met a friend of Zhou Ke’s as exceptional as Bo Jiusi sooner, she would have pursued and won him over long ago instead of waiting until now.
“Plenty of people pursued me back then. I’m proud. Asking me to lower myself and chase someone was impossible…” She paused, eyes brightening as she looked at him with a teasing smile. “Well, perhaps not impossible.”
His gaze flickered.
“Someone tried to match Zhou Ke and me,” she said. “But the chemistry between us only suited friendship.”
She leaned to his ear and whispered, “You and I should be lovers.”
His fingers released her chin. His gaze dropped to her red lips, and his throat worked in a dry swallow.
Then he stepped back. “Go have your blood drawn first.”
This time, he did not take her hand. He strode ahead alone, his back perfectly straight.
Following behind, Nie Jingzhi noticed that his gait looked strangely stiff—and the tips of his ears held a suspicious flush.
At the blood-draw station, she sat down and rolled up her sleeve, baring a slender white arm.
The nurse patted the back of her hand to find a vein. When the cold alcohol swab brushed her skin, her shoulders tightened instinctively. She turned away and bit her lower lip, refusing to look.
A hand reached from behind and covered her eyes.
The palm was dry and warm, carrying the faint scent of prayer beads.
“Don’t look,” Bo Jiusi said above her.
The next instant, he gathered her into his arms from behind. Her cheek rested against his chest, where she felt the steady, powerful beat of his heart.
How did he know she feared needles? She had never told him.
She still flinched when the needle went in. Bo Jiusi did not release her. His thumb stroked lightly over the back of her hand.
“Almost done.”
The nurse lowered her head, unable to suppress a smile. She had assumed this cold man knew nothing of tenderness. Instead, he was more nervous than his wife.
“All done, Madam.”
Bo Jiusi let go. Nie Jingzhi opened her eyes, glanced at the cotton ball in the crook of her elbow, then up at him.
He had already stepped aside, his expression indifferent once more, as though nothing had happened.
The blood report would take time, and she was due for an ultrasound next.
At the ultrasound room, a nurse stopped Bo Jiusi. “Sir, family members must wait outside.”
Nie Jingzhi looked back. “Wait here. It won’t take long.”
He nodded.
Inside, she lay down. Cold gel spread over her abdomen while the probe moved across it. The doctor, a kindly woman in her forties, chatted as she worked.
“Is that your husband outside?”
“Mm.”
The doctor smiled. “He’s very good to you, coming along for the prenatal appointment. Many pregnant women come alone. It’s rather sad to see.”
“Coming alone isn’t so bad. Having company just makes it less boring.”
The doctor tapped several keys while watching the screen. “Your husband is very handsome too. Your baby is bound to be adorable.”
Nie Jingzhi laughed. “He didn’t even want the baby at first.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell. He seems very concerned.”
Nie Jingzhi stared absently at the ceiling. Back then, she too had felt Bo Jiusi was happy about the baby’s arrival. She still did not understand why he had said something so cruel that she had hated him for a time.
The doctor shifted the probe and pointed at a tiny outline. “Look. Here’s the baby’s head, the hands, the feet… Everything is developing beautifully. No need to worry.”
Nie Jingzhi gazed at that tiny curled figure, her heart suddenly soft.
In the corridor, Bo Jiusi sat with his face turned toward the closed door, his brows tightening from time to time.
What power did this woman possess, making him abandon work for half a morning just to accompany her to a prenatal appointment?
Her blood test results came out. When a nurse called her name outside the laboratory, Bo Jiusi rose to collect them and was then summoned by the doctor.
Nie Jingzhi emerged to find him gone.
“Feng Wu, where is he?”
“Master Jiu went to the doctor’s office. He asked you to wait. He’ll be back shortly.”
She nodded and was about to say she needed the restroom when a spiteful voice sounded beside her.
“Well, if it isn’t the great campus beauty Nie.”
Nie Jingzhi turned. Lin Wanrou stood arm in arm with a heavily pregnant woman. Designer labels covered her from head to toe, a limited-edition Van Cleef & Arpels necklace around her throat. She raised her chin and looked Nie Jingzhi over.
“It really is you, Jingzhi. I almost didn’t recognize you. Weren’t you always good at dressing up? Why do you look like you’ve come in from the countryside?”
She covered her mouth and laughed, exchanging a glance with her friend.
The woman immediately joined in. “You’re too blunt, Wanrou. She’s pregnant. Her figure is gone, so of course nothing looks good on her. We should understand.”
“I’m terribly sorry, Jingzhi,” Lin Wanrou said with sugary insincerity. “We didn’t mean it.”
Nie Jingzhi smiled. “It’s all right. You’re blind. I don’t hold it against you.”
“You came for your checkup alone? Where’s your husband? Why didn’t he accompany you?”
Nie Jingzhi went along with her. “He had something to do and stepped away.”
“Something to do?” Lin Wanrou’s laugh turned high and piercing. “You’re already married. Why are you still so concerned with saving face? Would a husband who loved you leave you standing here alone? He couldn’t have gone to keep some other woman company, could he?”
