A wedding, in the form of a farce, collapsed.
It was fortunate that Ye Fengxing misunderstood Tang Xiaomin as trying to steal the groom, and before Lu Zelei could utter that Nangong Shanshan was getting married, he preemptively declared the annulment.
The more grandly this wedding was publicized beforehand, the more of a joke it became now.
Although the PR department of Ye Corporation was trying to delete the news, it had fermented too fiercely, spreading like wildfire and becoming impossible to contain.
Ye Fengxing lost all face in this wedding.
"Master Feng, our bodyguards arranged outside the ceremony hall reported that many people secretly helped Lu Zelei get in. Those people all fled amidst the chaos. It seems premeditated; it must have been arranged by Tang Xiaomin."
Whether the wedding not happening was a tragedy or a blessing was unclear.
If the wedding had proceeded, he would have become the unwitting fool. If it didn't, he was utterly disgraced.
When did Nangong Shanshan get involved with Lu Zelei? He, her fiancé, hadn't noticed a thing.
Everything was so ridiculously laughable.
"Master Feng, the stock has plummeted, and the shareholders are very displeased, all demanding an explanation from you."
"And what about Nangong Shanshan? What are your plans?"
Truth be told, Ye Fengxing was too careless with Nangong Shanshan.
If he had paid even a little attention, he would have noticed her abnormality. He knew himself what his feelings for Nangong Shanshan were.
"Do nothing, just let it be."
It wasn't so much that nothing needed to be done, but rather that he himself didn't know what to do.
Ye Fengxing's mind kept replaying the scene of Tang Xiaomin leaving with Yan Jue.
What was he truly hoping for?
Ye Fengxing dismissed everyone and drank himself into a stupor alone.
Reason told him that he should always remain clear-headed, no matter the circumstances.
But right now, he just wanted to get thoroughly drunk.
...
In the hospital.
After Nangong Shanshan woke up, her face was devoid of color.
"Where is this? I... I have to get married, I have to get married!"
Lu Zelei held Nangong Shanshan's hand, preventing her from getting up.
"Shanshan, you're pregnant, the wedding has been canceled."
Upon hearing the words "wedding canceled," Nangong Shanshan glared at Lu Zelei with venom, wildly attacking him.
"It's all your fault, you bastard, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Lu Zelei offered no resistance, letting Nangong Shanshan furiously beat him, clawing at his face and hair.
This added new wounds to his face, which had already been beaten by bodyguards.
"Shanshan, blame me if you must. But take care of yourself, especially... you have a baby in your belly now."
"Ah!"
Nangong Shanshan let out a cry of despair, then clutched her head, collapsing and unable to accept the reality.
"Impossible! This is impossible! How could I be pregnant? I clearly took the pill, it's absolutely impossible!"
"Shanshan, taking the pill isn't 100% effective contraception. I'm sorry..."
Slap!
Slap!
Several sharp slaps landed on Lu Zelei's face, stinging.
Lu Zelei had never been insulted by a woman like this before, except by Nangong Shanshan.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Lu Zelei grabbed Nangong Shanshan and looked at her intently.
"Accept reality, you're already carrying my child."
Nangong Shanshan had indeed taken the pill, but he had swapped it beforehand, so it could no longer be effective for contraception.
He had gone to great lengths to get Nangong Shanshan, and such a perfect opportunity, how could he not prepare in advance?
"Ye Fengxing doesn't love you at all. The moment Tang Xiaomin appeared, he publicly called off the wedding. Don't you understand? He loves Tang Xiaomin. Stop being so deluded."
"Shut up! Who do you think you are? You're not qualified to speak to me!"
Nangong Shanshan maintained her condescending young lady demeanor, looking down on Lu Zelei.
Lu Zelei simply let go of her, stood up, and moved away, smoothing his disheveled hair.
"The wedding is canceled. What's the point of you going now? You're carrying my child. Don't you still naively think Ye Fengxing will generously be a fallback man, to be laughed at by everyone? Don't be foolish."
Nangong Shanshan looked at her stomach in despair, unable to accept the fact of her pregnancy.
"Impossible! It's impossible, it's impossible!"
Lu Zelei said mockingly, "How is it impossible? The doctor examined you, and you are pregnant."
"Everyone knows now that you're pregnant with my child. Shanshan, don't worry, I will marry you and give you a grand wedding, so the child can be born into a happy family."
Nangong Shanshan looked at Lu Zelei in shock, she truly couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with an actor like Lu Zelei.
"You're just an actor. Forget it, I will never give birth to your child, and I will certainly not marry a man like you!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Nangong Shanshan frantically beat her own stomach, trying to abort the child within.
"Shanshan, stop it!"
Lu Zelei panicked and rushed forward to stop Nangong Shanshan's frantic actions. The two appeared to be wrestling.
At this moment, the Nangong family's butler, accompanied by bodyguards, arrived late. Seeing this scene, he was instantly enraged.
"Quickly throw this reckless man out!"
The butler commanded, and several bodyguards roughly dragged Lu Zelei away, taking him out of the ward and beating him in the hallway.
Even as he was being beaten, Lu Zelei did not forget the child in Nangong Shanshan's womb.
"Shanshan is pregnant... Ah... Don't let her... do anything to hurt herself... Shanshan is pregnant..."
Nangong Shanshan on the hospital bed cried hysterically, clutching the butler, not knowing what to do.
"Butler, what should I do?"
"What should I do? Please save me, sob..."
...
The butler looked helpless. With her pregnancy, words of reproach were meaningless.
"Miss, calm down first, then you can think of a solution."
"Butler, Father is in jail, only you can help me now, sob..."
This was Nangong Shanshan's darkest hour.
She could have married Ye Fengxing and become the wife of the chairman of Ye Corporation, but instead, her reputation was ruined, and her life was destroyed.
How would others see her?
"Miss, the poor can only beg, but as long as you're alive, you'll have a chance. Master is waiting for you to find a way to save him, you must not give up on yourself."
Yes.
Her father was imprisoned, and she couldn't give up because of these events. She had to pull herself together.
Nangong Shanshan tried to hold back her tears and forced herself to calm down.
She couldn't lose, couldn't resign herself to fate like this.
Seeing that she had been persuaded, the butler breathed a sigh of relief.
"Miss, I'll go get you some clothes. If it's alright, let's go home first."