Once at work, she still had no appetite after a busy morning. Seeing the braised pork in a colleague’s lunch box made her suddenly nauseous, almost vomiting. After that wave of nausea passed, she suddenly felt a chill rising from her back. Her menstrual cycle was never regular; a Chinese doctor once told her she had cold in her womb, making conception difficult. So during those days of intimacy, she had adopted a casual attitude. Even if she accidentally got pregnant, she was about to marry Shen Mu, so it didn’t matter. The thought made her heart race; she could no longer focus on work, hastily asked her supervisor for half a day off, arranged her work, and took a taxi to the hospital.
The gynecology corridor was packed with people, many of whom were heavily pregnant women. Xu Ke found the sight of those swollen bellies disturbing. Although she liked children, now, the potential life in her womb filled her with unease and restlessness, even secretly hoping it was a false alarm. Finally, her turn came, and with her heart in her throat, she entered the examination room. After a brief consultation, the doctor handed her a lab requisition slip and told her to pay and get the tests done. Her heart had been pounding since the journey to the hospital, and waiting outside the lab was torture every second. When she returned to the doctor with the results and clearly heard the doctor say “pregnant,” she suddenly felt dizzy. The doctor asked expressionlessly, “Do you want to keep the baby?” They were used to such situations; the outcomes were only two. Xu Ke stared blankly at the doctor, feeling too weak to think or respond. The doctor, growing impatient, asked again, “Do you want it? If yes, come back for a check-up in a month. If not, go for an ultrasound and bring the results back to me.” Xu Ke, flustered, replied, “I, I haven’t decided yet.” “Then decide quickly. The longer you wait, the riskier the abortion becomes.”
