On this day, the first light snow in March fell in the capital of the newly independent country. Starting in the early morning, it went underground intermittently for several hours.
There is a green plant landscape of several square meters outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the ultrasound room. The evergreen shrubs that have been rounded are covered with a thin layer of white velvet. on double glazing.
The room is warm, different from the high temperature and humidity in the independent country of Thailand. The constant temperature in the ultrasound room is 28 degrees, which is very dry and has a safe and sterile comfort.
Zhang Jue's body temperature had already warmed the gel, and there was no source of low temperature around him, but his whole body was inexplicably cold.
He looked at Dr. He, who turned his eyes away, reached for a tissue, and handed it to him.
Zhang Jue took it and wiped it slowly. For some reason, the skin on his abdomen suddenly became sensitive, as if resisting the touch of a foreign object.
An indescribable discomfort appeared from the center of his two ribs, quietly spreading around, entering the throat, and reaching the upper jaw, as if a few soft hooks were hanging the back of his neck, constantly pulling up, forcing him. Wake up and force him to say something.
Say anything, and have a little opinion.
But Zhang Jue mechanically wiped his abdomen, dressed and sat in a trance.
Doctor He waited for him to tidy up properly before raising his hand and operating on the screen a few times. The printer of the ultrasound machine made a sound and started to operate.
"I have to tell my family this time," Dr. He whispered. "Your situation is a bit complicated."
Zhang Jue looked at the printer not far away, and saw that the ultrasound sheet that was slowly spit out from the paper mouth was still unable to speak.
"Is it all right?"
The mother seemed to have heard the sound, pulled the white curtains aside, and walked in. She looked at Zhang Jue, who was sitting there, and asked in confusion, "Why is it taking so long?" Then she turned to Dr. He: "Dr. He, There's nothing wrong with Zhang Jue."
Zhang Jue turned to see Dr. He, who picked up the ultrasound sheet and looked at him.
After Zhang Jue nodded lightly, Doctor He handed the ultrasound sheet to Zhang Jue's mother.
The mother frowned, muttering "what's the matter", and took the ultrasound sheet uneasily. She only looked down and her complexion changed.
Zhang Jue looked at his mother quietly, and saw that her hand holding the ultrasound sheet loosened, almost letting the paper slide down, and watching her raise her head, staring blankly at Dr. He.
"Is he pregnant?" The mother asked Dr. He, her feet moved a little, and the heels of the high heels tapped on the ground, making a very light sound.
"Yes," said Dr. Ho.
"But he just finished the operation," the mother said. "Didn't you say before that the reproductive cavity is not well developed due to the influence of alpha pheromones?"
Dr. He should choose the words carefully, considering Zhang Jue's mother's mood: "Theoretically speaking, it is indeed possible to conceive now."
"However," he glanced at Zhang Jue and added, "If you want to keep the child, the genital cavity may not be able to bear enough.
"Even if it is forcibly kept in the early stage, it may still be premature in the later stage."
The room was very quiet, and after a long time, my mother said, "I want your father to come over."
She looked at Zhang Jue as if she had a lot to say, but in the end she just bowed her head and called Zhang Jue's father.
Mother said vaguely, only emphasizing that it was important, and asked him to come over immediately. After hanging up the phone, Dr. He took them to the VIP waiting room and waited with them.
Perhaps to ease the tension, Dr. He turned on the TV in the waiting room, but after only a few dozen seconds of broadcasting, Zhang Jue's mother picked up the remote control and turned it off.
After sitting in silence for a few more minutes, Dr. He's cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down, picked it up, and walked to the door to pick it up. Before going out, Zhang Jue heard him say, "Hello, Mr. Zhang." .
Father came faster than Zhang Jue imagined. Ten minutes later, he pushed open the door of the waiting room. His father was wearing a long black coat, as if he had just come down from a meeting. He walked over to Dr. He without a word and looked at Zhang Jue's ultrasound examination sheet.
Doctor He briefly told him about the ultrasound list and Zhang Jue's genital cavity, and went out.
As soon as the door closed, my father looked at Zhang Jue.
"When did it happen?" he asked.
Zhang Jue and his father looked at each other, and after a while, he replied, "That time in North America."
Father was stunned: "—The night I talked to you?" There was a rare anger mixed in his tone, as if he couldn't accept the fact that he just finished talking to Zhang Jue, and Zhang Jue turned around and fooled around with Chen Boqiao.
Zhang Jue nodded lightly. Father looked down at Zhang Jue and stood for a while before saying, "Zhang Jue, let me ask you a question."
"Don't you know about contraception when you sleep with someone?" Father seemed to be calm again, and there was almost no anger in his words, but every word he asked made Zhang Jue feel ashamed.
"How old are you, Zhang Jue," he said. "It's only been a few days since the surgery, and you don't even know your body?"
Mother sat on the side, clutching the armrest of the chair tightly, looked at Zhang Jue, and asked softly, "Xiao Jue, who is it?"
The VIP lounge is not very big, more than 50 square meters, covered with dark carpets, and painted light blue with modern paintings on the walls.
Zhang Jue avoided the gazes of his father and mother, and kept looking at the paintings from the corner of his eye. He wanted to divert his attention and squeeze out the sourness that filled his eyes and nostrils. He wanted to make himself look as calm and decent as his father. .
But he was the most unseemly person in the family.
He messes everything up, and then the family suffers the consequences of being wrong.
"Zhang Jue." Father called him again.
Zhang Jue closed his eyes and looked at his father. His vision was a little blurry, but after blinking a few more times and closing his eyes for a while, his eyes became clear again.
"This child," said the father, "are you going to have it?"
Seeing that Zhang Jue was silent, he said again, "I want it, right?"
Zhang Jue's throat was dry and his hands and feet were soft. He couldn't think of an answer. He wanted to say that he didn't know, but he heard himself say, "Yes."
Father was quiet for a few seconds, and said, "What's the surname? Zhang, or Chen."
The mother suddenly froze. She looked at Zhang Jue's father and asked very slowly and with difficulty, "Chen is... Chen Boqiao?"
"You ask himself," said his father, raising his chin to Zhang Jue, "Zhang Jue, isn't it?"
Zhang Jue felt that he was pressed to the bottom of the sea by a pair of huge hands. He was almost crushed by the huge water pressure. The sea water squeezed his lungs, squeezed his hands, and asked him to stop thinking and breathing.
They kept silent for a long time until the father spoke again: "If you really want to stay, you can call Chen Boqiao."
"Whether he wants it or not," said the father, "you tell him yourself—you don't even have his contact information, do you."
"Yes." Zhang Jue said.
"Then fight." Father sat down next to his mother, looking at Zhang Jue three or five meters away.
Zhang Jue took out his mobile phone and dialed. He didn't save Chen Boqiao's number. He dialed directly every time. This time, he made a mistake several times.
After dialing the call, Zhang Jue grabbed the phone and put it to his ear, and it was connected in a short time, but Chen Boqiao didn't answer until the beep sounded, Zhang Jue moved the phone away, looked down at the automatic disconnection, and said Replayed phone screen.
"Don't answer?" Father asked Zhang Jue, he raised his hand to look at his watch, and said, "At ten o'clock in the evening in the Asian League, Colonel Chen didn't sleep so early, right?"
Zhang Jue dialed again without saying a word. This time, after only a short wait, the call was connected, but Zhang Jue had never heard the gentle male voice answering the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Chen is now going to an emergency meeting—"
However, he was interrupted only halfway through. It seemed that someone beside the man asked something, and he replied, "The caller is - Zhang Jue."
The man suddenly fell silent, there was some noise in the receiver, as if someone was changing the answer, and after a few seconds, Chen Boqiao's voice came: "I have something to do just now, let the secretary hold the phone."
"Is there an emergency meeting so late?" Zhang Jue asked him.
"Oh," Chen Boqiao smiled lightly, "it's not very urgent. Have you finished your review?"
Zhang Jue let out an "um", his heart was suddenly empty, he grabbed the phone tightly, moved his lips, and said in a low voice, "Chen Boqiao."
Without waiting for Chen Boqiao to say anything, he said again, "I'm pregnant."
After he said it, the whole world seemed to be silent.
The parents sitting not far away, and Chen Boqiao on the other end of the phone, became very quiet.
Zhang Jue felt that Chen Boqiao was also stunned, because he didn't make a sound for half a minute. Zhang Jue had never seen Chen Boqiao stunned for such a long time. He could only listen to it on the phone, and then he lost his mind in a trance, as if it was a pity.
But it may also be an illusion, because the background sound on Chen Boqiao's side has become more and more noisy, so noisy that Zhang Jue feels sad.
Zhang Jue didn't know what else they could say. After a while, he said to Chen Boqiao, "Why don't you go to work first."
"Let's talk about it tonight," Zhang Jue said quickly, "when you're free—"
"—Zhang Jue," Chen Boqiao interrupted him very simply, "I'm not busy, I'll talk now."
Zhang Jue grabbed the phone and made a "hmm" sound. Chen Boqiao paused for a while before asking Zhang Jue, "Is it that night in North America?"
"Well," Zhang Jue lowered his head, put his elbows against his knees, looked at the dark lines on the dark floor, and said to Chen Boqiao, "It should be."
"What should I do then?" he asked Chen Boqiao and himself.
Unfortunately, someone on Chen Boqiao's side happened to start talking very eagerly. The other party's voice was very loud. Zhang Jue felt that Chen Boqiao might not have heard his question, but asked him to ask again, he really didn't ask. Exported.
Chen Boqiao said, "Wait," whether he said it to Zhang Jue or to the other party, but the chaotic sound on the other end of the phone gradually disappeared.
"Zhang Jue." Chen Boqiao seemed to have reached a very quiet place and called to him in a low voice.
"I'm here." Zhang Jue said.
"Are the other tests okay," Chen Boqiao asked, "do your parents know?"
"Understood." Zhang Jue said.
Then he heard Chen Boqiao's long breathing.
This is a wonderful voice. Zhang Jue can't hear Chen Boqiao's attitude or his thoughts, so he will replace Chen Boqiao on his own initiative, imagining how Chen Boqiao is thinking about things.
Chen Boqiao didn't think about it for a long time. The first thing he said was "I'm sorry".
Zhang Jue was stunned, the dull pain pressing on his chest came out from the gap like hot steam. I don't know how to understand Chen Boqiao's apology, nor how to respond.
But in the end Zhang Jue said, "It's okay."
Zhang Jue wanted the bed anyway, Zhang Jue thought, if Chen Boqiao really doesn't want it, then don't want it.
Anyway, Zhang Jue himself was not ready, Zhang Jue was unprepared, unsure, had no experience, had nothing, and could not be responsible for a new life, so of course it was the best not to stay.
Chen Boqiao is right.
"Zhang Jue, my apology is not what you think," Chen Boqiao's voice came from the receiver, he paused briefly, but still very gentle and rational, "Don't think about it."
Zhang Jue didn't speak, Chen Boqiao paused, and he said to Zhang Jue, "I know you're frightened, but I'm actually very happy."
"I don't know," he said, "why everything else is so simple, there are so many surprises for you. I say sorry because I feel rushed, because I'm so passive every time."
Zhang Jue felt that Chen Boqiao also seemed to have some helplessness, but Chen Boqiao was so gentle and determined, which made Zhang Jue's fear and anxiety become misty.
They listened to each other's breathing and were silent for a short time. It was as if both were thinking, and it was as if both were just quiet.
"Zhang Jue," Chen Boqiao said, "are we getting married?"
"Whether you want kids or not," he added.
After a long time, Zhang Jue said, "Yeah."
"Your father," Chen Boqiao asked him again, "is he by your side?"
Zhang Jue said yes, and Chen Boqiao asked Zhang Jue to hand over the phone to his father.
Zhang Jue's father heard that Chen Boqiao was going to talk to him on the phone, and his face was still ugly, but he still answered.
When Chen Boqiao and Zhang Jue's father were talking on the phone, Chen Boqiao talked a lot while Zhang Jue's father said less.
Zhang Jue sat on the sofa and listened carefully.
After talking for a while, Zhang Jue's father's face became cloudy, his brows were furrowed, and he asked some sensitive questions, but Chen Boqiao seemed to have given him a decent answer, because he No further questioning.
At the end of the call, Zhang Jue's father considered for a long time and agreed to Chen Boqiao's request.