Gu En is his son?!
When did he suddenly pop out such a big son?
And he didn't know anything about it!
Gu Yan, what was she trying to do? How could she have a child for him and not tell him? If it weren't for this accident, he might never have known he had a child!
Ye Qichen stared at the paternity test report, unable to react for a long time.
This went against his thirty-seven-year principle of not getting married.
He remained unmarried because he didn't want to be bound by marriage, and even less did he want a marriage like his parents'.
He felt his mother lived too humbly, sometimes unable to protect her own children, submitting to the tyranny of his father and grandmother.
He disliked such unequal marriages and families, and he didn't want his children to suffer the same unfair treatment as Yu He did back then.
Even though he knew such things could be avoided, he always believed that the blood of his father flowed in his veins. Genes were a terrifying thing. Even if he consciously tried to avoid being like his father, he would eventually unconsciously act like him.
So, to avoid such a situation, he simply chose not to marry, nipping all possibilities in the bud.
Moreover, not marrying reduced so many unnecessary worries.
Without having to fret about romantic entanglements, he could dedicate himself wholeheartedly to his career.
But unexpectedly, all these good things were suddenly shattered by this paternity test.
"Sir, are you alright? Is there any question about the report?" the nurse asked, seeing his strange expression.
Ye Qichen came back to his senses and smiled, "No."
Then he turned to walk towards Gu En's ward. As he turned, the smile on his face vanished instantly, his expression turning serious.
In the ward.
Gu En lay in bed, wearing an oxygen mask, not yet awake. Gu Yan sat by his bedside, gazing at him intently, her eyes filled with worry.
Ye Qichen lightly knocked on the door. Gu Yan quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around. Seeing Ye Qichen, she was a little surprised, "You haven't gone back yet?"
Ye Qichen gestured for her to come out and turned to walk away.
Gu Yan saw his stern expression and suddenly had a bad premonition. She got up, closed the ward door, and went out.
Ye Qichen stood by the window at the end of the corridor. The setting sun shone through the window, casting a golden glow on him, making him look somewhat out of reach.
"What is it, Qichen?" Gu Yan stepped forward and asked.
"What's going on?" Ye Qichen turned around and handed her the paternity test report.
Gu Yan took it and saw the large paternity test report at the top of the first page. Her heart sank.
She had been worried when she had her blood drawn, but she hadn't expected him to find out in the end.
"How did the child come about? When did it happen?" Ye Qichen asked.
Seeing him ask, Gu Yan's brow furrowed slightly, "Don't you remember?"
Ye Qichen's brow also furrowed, "What?"
"Twelve years ago at Bu Ye Tian, that night, you were drugged and almost taken away by two hostesses," Gu Yan said, looking down, like a child who had made a mistake.
Ye Qichen thought for a moment and quickly recalled it. After all, that incident had left a deep impression on him.
His brow furrowed even tighter, "Wasn't that a dream?"
He had always thought it was a dream. It was his first wet dream, and it felt so real. But when he woke up and no one was around, he became even more certain that it was probably due to the drug, which had caused him to have such a dream.
"Ah?" Gu Yan looked up, looking at him with a complicated expression. He actually thought it was a dream?!
"..."
Ye Qichen looked at her expression and felt a little uneasy himself. It wasn't a dream? It was real?!
And he had always thought it was a dream. Sometimes, when he saw Gu Yan and thought of that dream, he felt a bit guilty.
As it turned out, reality told him that it wasn't a dream; they had actually had relations!
And because of that incident, they even had a child!
What an embarrassing misunderstanding this was!
He coughed dryly, "Why didn't you say anything then?"
"If I had said something, would it have changed anything?" Gu Yan retorted.
After the incident, she had been very panicked. It was her first time, and she wasn't sure about Ye Qichen's feelings for her, even fearing that he would mistake her for one of those women from the nightlife venues.
She didn't know what to do, and in the end, she chose to run away.
If, back then, she hadn't chosen to run away and had stayed in the room, would he have let her keep the child?
A man as heartless as him probably wouldn't have.
Therefore, she didn't regret her choice back then. At least she had Gu En now, which was a gift from heaven.
"At least if you had said something, I would have taken responsibility," Ye Qichen said.
Although he didn't marry, he was not an irresponsible person.
Hearing this, Gu Yan paused, "If I had said something, would you have accepted my confession and married me back then?"
Ye Qichen fell silent.
Gu Yan knew from his silence that the answer was no: he wouldn't.
"You should go back and attend to your business. Just pretend you don't know about this. Now that the company is established, as long as the business is stable, I can support Gu En," she said, forcing a smile.
Then, as she turned back to the ward, she suddenly thought of something and turned back, "By the way, I hope you can keep this a secret and not let Gu En know."
He had already been disappointed once; he couldn't let him be disappointed a second time.
Ye Qichen watched her dejected back, feeling a strange mix of emotions, his mind still in a whirl.
He had always been decisive in his actions. This was the first time he had encountered such a tricky and complex situation, and he didn't know how to handle it.
He didn't want to break his principle of not marrying for anyone, but he had a son.
He scratched his head in frustration and stood in the corridor for a long time until the sun set before leaving.
Gu Yan returned to Gu En's ward. Initially, she still held a sliver of hope that Ye Qichen might soften his stance for the sake of their child.
But the result was that she was disappointed.
He wouldn't. His heart was cold.
So she no longer harbored any hope for him. As long as he didn't try to take the child from her, and as long as the child could grow up safely by her side, she would be content.
Even though she thought this, tears still flowed down Gu Yan's cheeks until late at night.
The next day.
Gu En woke up. Gu Yan brought her work to the ward and took care of her son while working.
Ye Qichen didn't come. Both mother and son tacitly avoided mentioning him again.
The next day, Yu He brought Duoduo to visit Gu En. Duoduo, seeing Gu En, was clearly not as excited as before, but she was still very concerned about him being injured and asked her mother to check on him.
Yu He didn't refuse. She took his pulse and gave him acupuncture. Gu En clearly felt less pain all over, and his complexion had improved significantly, but he looked listless and unhappy.
"Gu En, you have to get better quickly. My uncle is very worried about you," Duoduo said, leaning over the bedside.
When Ye Qichen was mentioned, Gu En's face brightened slightly, and he looked at Duoduo.
"Last night he even went drinking with my daddy, and got so drunk that my daddy was scolded by my mommy and had to sleep in the east wing," Duoduo said. "If you get better soon, he won't be so worried about you!"
Hearing this, Gu En felt even sadder that Ye Qichen had time to go drinking but not to visit him.