Chapter 89: No Regrets (Part Two)

Su Fang had indeed endured great hardship these past few months.

In late September of last year, the violent symptoms of pregnancy left her completely at a loss. To keep her father from discovering she was expecting, she would hide in different corners each time she was sick, wiping away the bitter taste from her mouth and the tears squeezed from her eyes before washing her face and forcing a cheerful expression to conceal the truth. The smell of cooking oil while preparing meals became unbearable, and more than once she would vomit after only a short while, only to return to her chores once she was done, and this continued until mid-October before easing at last.

In such trying circumstances, Su Fang managed to hide her secret from her father.

But by November, there was no longer any way to conceal it—the slight bulge of her belly had grown too obvious.

Again and again, Su Fang faced the agonizing decision of how to confront the new life blossoming within her.

She thought of Kang Ning’s honesty and tenderness, his generosity and handsome demeanor—especially the wounds and fragility he bore when he first arrived. These memories lingered in her heart, refusing to fade.

She loved Kang Ning deeply: his knowledge, his scholarly elegance, his warmth and caring kisses, the unforgettable bliss and ecstasy he had given her that first time…

After Kang Ning left, Su Fang was in a daze for more than ten days before her sorrow finally subsided. Every night, tears silently soaked pillow after pillow beneath her cheek.

Kang Ning had taken with him not only the precious love and unforgettable passion that might never return, but also the beautiful fairy tale Su Fang had cherished, and her heart. She did not know whether Kang Ning would ever come back, or even if he would survive. And so, the gentle Su Fang made a firm decision—to give birth to the child! To let this new life bring new hope, a vessel for her endless longing and deep love.

With her decision made, Su Fang quietly left home one morning as the sun rose. She left her father a letter, saying she felt too stifled at home and wanted to go out for a while; if she found a better job, she would stay to gain experience. She urged him to drink less and eat well, apologized deeply for no longer being able to cook and do laundry for him, and promised to call regularly to assure him of her safety. She said she would notify him as soon as she found work, and told him to call her anytime he missed her.

At the end of the letter, she comforted her father: “Dad, I once studied alone in Lanning for three years and know it as well as our hometown. Many of my teachers and classmates are working there—I won’t be lonely or helpless, so please don’t worry. Besides, I’m two years older now and already an adult. Remember that saying: the eaglet that always hides under its mother’s wings can never soar. So, please understand your daughter’s heart!”

In the end, her father did understand. After a few phone calls and reassured by Su Fang’s cheerful tone, he let go of his worries. But Su Fang’s real life was far from the brightness and ease she described.

When she left home, Su Fang had only 8,500 yuan left in her bank account; more than 2,000 had already been spent helping the fugitive Kang Ning. By the time she arrived in Lanning, she had barely over 6,000 left. Frugal as always, Su Fang could only afford a small room in a soon-to-be-renovated slum courtyard by South Lake.

The twelve-square-meter room she rented for 300 yuan a month had no bathroom, no kitchen, and certainly no air conditioning. In winter, it was dank and moldy; in summer, stifling hot and swarming with mosquitoes. What made her most uncomfortable was that more than a dozen women from other provinces—working as escorts—lived in the same courtyard. Yet Su Fang endured it all in silence, determined to save every penny for her unborn child, and lived there for nearly four months.

A week after settling in, Su Fang found her first job, successfully applying as a nurse at a private clinic. As the month-long probation period drew to a close, she kept her joy to herself, determined to wait until her official hiring before calling her father, so they could share the happiness together.

But one afternoon, when no one else was around, the usually polite and friendly boss called her up to his office on the second floor. The moment he closed the door, Su Fang realized his sinister intent. Cradling her swollen belly, she pleaded with him, but the boss, emboldened and shameless, tore away his mask of decency. As Su Fang fought him with desperate courage, he roughly tore at her clothes. To protect her unborn child, she crawled under the low examination bed and shouted for help, just as the boss’s wife returned from the market, arriving in the nick of time.

The boss’s wife kicked open the office door, screaming and weeping at her husband. Su Fang, thinking she had escaped disaster, crawled out from under the bed, only to be slapped hard twice by the furious wife, who showered her with insults—“vixen,” “tramp,” “walking disaster”—and fired her on the spot.

Su Fang didn’t care about not getting her wages—the overwhelming sense of grievance and helplessness was far worse than the pain in her swollen cheeks. Back in her rented room, she lay in bed and cried for three days. But as soon as the marks faded on the fourth day, she wiped her tears and went out to look for work again.

Walking alone through the bustling crowds, Su Fang kept reminding herself: For the child, for Brother Ning, you must be strong!

She came across a job advertisement for a cleaning lady at the city’s largest Union Mart. Tightening her belt, she went in to apply. Thanks to her beauty and intelligence, the HR manager interviewed her and hired her on the spot—not as a cleaner, but at the cosmetics counter. Her flawless skin and exceptional looks were living advertisements themselves!

Deeply grateful, Su Fang started work the next day, filled with joy and gratitude. In three days, she memorized information on over a hundred cosmetic products. Her solid skills and natural warmth quickly made her the customers’ favorite sales associate. Her first month’s salary and bonus totaled 2,800 yuan.

The day she got paid, Su Fang couldn't contain her excitement and happiness. She called her father to share the good news, finally easing his worries and filling him with pride.

But her good fortune was short-lived. The next day, when she arrived at work, everything had changed. The floor manager, face dark with anger, transferred her to the storeroom team with a single kick. Half an hour later, Su Fang turned in her crisp, comfortable uniform and donned a coarse, mud-colored laborer’s outfit, then began moving boxes and crates with her delicate hands, shouldering heavy loads with her fragile shoulders.

Her coworkers protested the injustice on her behalf, but the jealous old floor manager, resentful of Su Fang’s beauty and popularity, remained unmoved and showed not a trace of pity. Watching Su Fang, big-bellied and drenched in sweat, the old manager felt only satisfaction. It wasn’t until Su Fang collapsed from exhaustion atop a thirty-kilogram box and was taken to the hospital by kindhearted colleagues that the manager, conscience finally stirred, ended her inexplicable torment.

After two days’ rest, assured her child was unharmed, Su Fang returned to work. Though still a general laborer, her caring coworkers pushed her into the only light-duty position—record keeper. Grateful and tearful, Su Fang thanked each of them and worked diligently, earning both their sympathy and admiration.

As her pregnancy advanced, the long days of overtime before and after the Spring Festival drained her strength. At one point, she was the only one left in the warehouse, as all her colleagues had gone to help at other counters, leaving her to inventory a large shipment alone. Just as she was about to faint, she managed to call her classmate and close friend Xiao Zhu, gasping that she couldn’t go on and begging her to come to the underground warehouse to save her.

The next morning, when Su Fang awoke, she found herself in a hospital bed, with Xiao Zhu asleep at her side, having kept vigil all night. That afternoon, Su Fang insisted on leaving the hospital, but refused to let her friend see her lodgings—she was too ashamed for Xiao Zhu to see where she lived.

But the feisty Xiao Zhu wasn’t fooled. Knowing Su Fang well, she immediately sensed something was wrong. When she arrived at Su Fang’s squalid room, there was no sign of the rumored “lover”—only rampant cockroaches and mosquitoes in the courtyard, piles of junk and trash, and the stark evidence of her friend’s hardship. After a tearful interrogation, Xiao Zhu heard, in fits and starts, the bitter tale of her friend’s suffering.

Eyes brimming with tears, Xiao Zhu’s first reaction was not to scold, but to call their manager and secure a room in a comfortable, quiet complex, borrowing a minivan to move Su Fang out of that wretched place immediately, leaving even the 300-yuan deposit behind. The next day, Xiao Zhu spirited the pale Su Fang to the city to resign from her job, then strictly forbade her from going anywhere except the market to buy vegetables.

For this, Su Fang was deeply grateful to Xiao Zhu. She often counted herself lucky to have been cared for by such kind, sincere friends and colleagues at her lowest points.

And so, during this time, every time she lovingly stroked her growing belly, Su Fang would gently and earnestly tell her unborn child about the excellence of its father, the beauty of the world, and the innate goodness of people…