Chapter 523: Chapter 512: Does Xu Moqian Know as Well?

Zhan Nanqing nodded slightly and leaned back in her chair.

“Do you know if her stomach is still hurting?”

She was now probing without any hope, just to see whether Lu Zijin knew about Qiao Jing’s pregnancy.

What if…

Lu Zijin frowned, placing the examination sheet on the table.

“She’s fine now after receiving an IV and has been transferred to rest in the ward. The thing I want to know is, Qiao Jing has been pregnant for almost four months; you are aware of this, right?”

Zhan Nanqing nodded again with an ashen face.

As expected, what was inevitable had come after all.

“Yeah, I’m aware, but you can’t tell anyone else about this, especially not big-mouths like Lu Zijiao, apart from my brother and me.”

Since she could no longer hide it from Lu Zijin, she absolutely could not let Lu Zijiao find out.

After all, Lu Zijiao was known as the megaphone of the Imperial Capital, aware of every piece of gossip.

If Lu Zijiao got wind of it, not even a night would pass before everyone in the Imperial Capital would know about Qiao Jing’s pregnancy.

Lu Zijin’s forehead creased deeper as he held the report, applying force to it so that the paper was slightly crumpled under his fingers.

“Regarding the pregnancy, currently, only I am aware of it in the hospital, and the test results have only passed through my hands.”

When he heard that Qiao Jing was almost four months pregnant, to say there was no stir in his heart would be a lie.

After all, he had cherished Qiao Jing for so many years.

He had thought that by choosing to stay friends with Qiao Jing, her relationship with Zhan Qipei would not progress so quickly. Yet, now she was nearly four months pregnant.

This meant that three months ago, Qiao Jing and Zhan Qipei had already…

A bitter smile appeared on Lu Zijin’s face at this thought.

In the end, he had never stood a chance, but he had no one to blame but himself.

He was a coward, a chicken who didn’t dare to express his feelings.

Zhan Nanqing became alert upon seeing the expression on Lu Zijin’s face.

“Lu Zijin? What’s wrong with you? Just because you found out about Qiao Jing’s pregnancy doesn’t mean you should have that look on your face; it’s so bitter I can scarcely stand to look at it. I suggest you give up on liking Qiao Jing as soon as possible; these things can’t be forced.”

Although she was a negligent hider, she had at least managed to keep the institute’s staff in the dark, which provided some solace to her conscience.

Therefore, she needed to muster her spirits and become an able bodyguard, helping her brother chase off his rival.

Little did Zhan Nanqing know, she eventually fooled no one.

Lu Zijin shook his head with a smile and tossed the examination result into the shredder.

“She and I are just friends, and besides, I think Qiao Jing knows far more about what a pregnant woman should pay attention to, so I won’t offer any medical advice.”

It took Zhan Nanqing a few seconds to grasp the meaning behind Lu Zijin’s words after hearing them.

Just friends?

Did he mean that he now regarded Qiao Jing only as a friend?

Wouldn’t that mean that her brother had one less rival to worry about?

Zhan Nanqing immediately sat up straight, her expression excited as she said:

“She’s resting in the ward, right? I’ll go buy her some porridge first. I’ll take my leave, and hope you find someone better!”

She was overjoyed inside, finally feeling like a capable bodyguard.

After having tried to help her brother chase off rivals for so long, she had at last seen one off.

Lu Zijin calmed himself down, and upon leaving the office, he encountered Lu Zijiao.

Lu Zijiao, scratching his head in confusion, saw Lu Zijin and immediately started pulling him towards Qiao Jing’s ward.

“Brother, what did you talk about with Zhan Nanqing? She looked as gloomy as someone who had just gone through a breakup before she went in, and when she came out, she was as perky as if she’d been injected with chicken blood.”

Sitting on the hospital corridor chair, he had already been very curious while looking at the closed door of his brother’s office.

Now that he saw the radical change in Zhan Nanqing’s mood, his curiosity was even greater.

Lu Zijin saw where Lu Zijiao was heading and opened his mouth to speak.

“Didn’t say anything, what were you doing in Qiao Jing’s hospital room?”

Lu Zijiao took out her cell phone.

“I went to check on Qiao Jing for Young Master Zhan, and to update him on the current situation.”

—-

In the hospital room.

When Qiao Jing woke up, she subconsciously moved her hand, trying to sit up, but after feeling the needle on the back of her hand, she leaned back onto the bed again.

If possible, she still wanted to return to the research institute and finish the remaining work.

But she had fainted from hunger, so she needed to pay more attention to her diet and health.

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened, and Lu Zijin came in first, while Lu Zijiao was outside making a phone call.

Seeing that Qiao Jing was already awake, Lu Zijin quickly approached her, glanced at the IV bag, and made some adjustments.

“How are you feeling now? You had a full body checkup when you were unconscious, and apart from gastritis, there’s nothing else wrong.”

Upon hearing about a full body checkup, Qiao Jing frowned, looking at Lu Zijin with inquisitive eyes.

“A full body checkup?”

She had a full body checkup without her knowledge?

Did that mean that Lu Zijin already knew about her pregnancy?

Lu Zijin nodded, his gaze falling on Qiao Jing’s abdomen, but he said no more.

Noticing where Lu Zijin’s eyes were, Qiao Jing’s brow furrowed tightly, a sense of foreboding in her heart, and she directly asked:

“Do you know about my pregnancy?”

Lu Zijiao, who had just opened the hospital room’s door, happened to hear this sentence and was frozen on the spot, still holding the doorknob.

What had he just heard?

Qiao Jing was pregnant?!

Lu Zijin looked at Lu Zijiao, who now had a shocked expression, and frowned.

“Zijiao, you can’t talk about this matter to anyone.”

Considering Lu Zijiao was outside earlier, that’s why he didn’t mention the pregnancy to Qiao Jing.

But Qiao Jing had noticed, and by bringing it up first, she informed Lu Zijin about her realization.

Lu Zijiao immediately made a ‘zipping his lips’ gesture and nodded, watching Qiao Jing with unabashed curiosity.

“I got it, Brother. Can you elaborate on the pregnancy?”

He had jokingly called Zhan Qipei a single man before, yet Qipei had become a father behind his back, and he hadn’t even found a girlfriend yet.

This was unreasonable!

Too unreasonable!

Qiao Jing rubbed her temples with a slight headache, as she hadn’t expected the pregnancy to be revealed to someone else.

“Don’t ask so many questions.”

She had only wanted to confirm her own suspicions, yet Lu Zijiao had happened to open the door and come in.

She preferred as few people as possible to know about her pregnancy, but now the number of those in the know was gradually increasing.

Though Lu Zijiao was very curious, considering Qiao Jing’s condition didn’t seem particularly good, he didn’t dare ask more questions and instead shifted his attention to Lu Zijin.

“Brother, can you at least say how many months along she is?”

He wanted to figure out exactly when Zhan Qipei had left his bachelor life behind to become a father.

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened once again, and Xu Moqian appeared before them.

“Qiao Jing! How are you feeling? The ambulance went straight to the back door of the research institute. There’s no serious condition with your health, is there? And…”

He looked toward Lu Zijiao, asking in confusion:

“What pregnancy?”