Chapter 43: Sacrificing Ten Thousand of My Own

Liang Jinshang didn’t bother to explain.
But her request was trivial, and the doctor agreed.
After a few more questions, the culprit was finally pinned on the emergency contraceptive she’d taken.
“One of the side effects of this medicine is acute abdominal pain,” the doctor said, glancing at her and reminding, “In the future, have your boyfriend take proper precautions.”
Clutching her stomach, Liang Jinshang nodded obediently.
The doctor was a woman in her forties or fifties. Seeing the innocence in Liang Jinshang’s face, as if she were the type easily deceived by men, she couldn’t help but add, “Of course, there are special circumstances. But most of the time, if a boyfriend won’t even take responsibility for protection and only cares about his own comfort, you should consider whether he’s worth your devotion.”
Liang Jinshang thanked the doctor.
She was prescribed some painkillers. There wasn’t a better solution for these side effects; she’d just have to endure it.
Supported by the nurse, Liang Jinshang made her way out step by step. Le Quan hurried over to steady her. “What did the doctor say? Is it serious?”
“It’s nothing.” Liang Jinshang shared only the parts she could.
Her gaze wandered restlessly around.
Le Quan thought she was looking for Shang Yiming. “I told him to leave. He didn’t seem very sincere anyway—he left as soon as I asked him! You’d better stay away from him!”
Not to mention his secret daydreams about her behind her back.
Liang Jinshang withdrew her gaze. “Alright.”
Le Quan, seeing how absent-minded she seemed, sighed inwardly. Liang Jinshang was still too naive; just a few days’ flirting from someone experienced like Shang Yiming and she seemed smitten.
So she stressed again, “Listen to me, I’m only looking out for you!”
Liang Jinshang smiled—where on earth did she get the idea that she liked Shang Yiming? “Understood, Mom.”
Le Quan: “……”
Once out of the hospital, Le Quan asked where she wanted to go. Of course, Liang Jinshang had to return to the little town.
There, every post was filled; she couldn’t let others pick up her workload just because she’d had a single careless night.
It was hard to get a cab here. Even after taking painkillers, the cramping was so intense she could barely stand.
Le Quan felt for her. “I told you Shang Yucheng is a jerk. Maybe not to you, but he came all this way—he couldn’t wait another twenty minutes? And that other scumbag you were with is even worse! Made you take medicine that landed you in the hospital and didn’t even show up! What were you thinking?”
Liang Jinshang gave her a silent look—how did she do it? Every word made sense, and yet each was so easy to argue.
The two girls returned to the town in the middle of the night.
They planned to go straight to their rooms, but were told the hotel was short on rooms; theirs had been reassigned.
The hotel gave each of them a king room.

Le Quan was baffled. “You call this a shortage? Trading a double room for two king rooms?”
Liang Jinshang hadn’t slept the night before and had just endured another bout of pain. Now, with the painkillers taking effect, she could barely stay awake standing.
She accepted the hotel’s arrangement unconditionally.
“I’ll go shower first. I’ll come keep you company in your room later,” Le Quan said, worried she might be in pain again during the night.
Liang Jinshang swiped her card and entered. The curtains were open, letting in pale moonlight. The unfamiliar room and her dazed state made her dizzy, and she didn’t notice the dark figure on the sofa until she was close.
“Ah!” Liang Jinshang’s knees buckled and she sank to the floor.
“What guilty conscience are you carrying?”
Her heart pounded in panic. Shang Yucheng’s voice sounded muffled, as if through frosted glass.
Even when he turned on the light, she was still stunned. “Why are you here?”
Shang Yucheng looked at her indifferently, scrutinizing her from above, then said carelessly, “To start your second round, of course.”
Liang Jinshang stared in disbelief. “Are you insane?”
With such a matter-of-fact tone, she almost believed her ambulance ride today was just a hallucination.
Wasn’t he afraid she’d die on the way?
Her bathrobe had picked up some dirt somewhere; Shang Yucheng, clearly displeased, yanked it off and tossed it aside.
Beneath, she wore a two-piece swimsuit she’d bought at the hot spring center, exposing just a sliver of waist.
The pain had struck so suddenly she hadn’t even changed out of it.
She’d chosen a conservative style, barely covering the traces Shang Yucheng had left.
If she hadn’t been so exhausted, she’d have opted out of the pool entirely, like Le Quan.
Shang Yucheng reached over, hooking a finger under the edge of her swimsuit bottoms, as if testing their elasticity. “You wore this the whole time? What positions did you use, huh? You really know how to play.”
His mocking, disdainful tone as he repeated “know how to play”… made Liang Jinshang’s heart pound and her head nearly explode.
She reflexively swung her hand, but it seemed she could never land a slap on his face—he always blocked her.
Flushed with anger, she snapped, “Shang Yucheng, just because you’re a beast doesn’t mean you have to treat me like I’m less than human!”
The smile at the corner of his lips sharpened into something cold and dangerous. He twisted her arms behind her back, not even slowing down as he stripped her.
He didn’t even intend to remove the top half.
Liang Jinshang struggled desperately, but after two sleepless nights, how much strength did she have left? By the time he pinned her to the bed, she was utterly spent.
“Shang Yucheng…” Gasping, she asked softly, “Don’t you want to know why my stomach hurts?”

“Oh? And why is that?” Shang Yucheng gave a cruel smile, clearly unconcerned about the cause. “It can’t be a ruptured corpus luteum—yours is quite resilient, I’ve tested it myself. As for that weakling Shang, he couldn’t manage it…”
He sneered, reaching for something in the nightstand.
This time, at least, he’d brought his own protection.
Maybe he just thought she was dirty.
The air conditioning, turned on at some point by Shang Yucheng, made the room so cold Liang Jinshang began to shiver.
With her emotions in turmoil, the painkillers’ effect faded and the cramps returned.
Shang Yucheng glanced over, clearly noticing something was wrong.
But his intentions tonight were all too apparent. Even as she curled up in pain, he forced her legs apart.
He had no intention of stopping.
It was, after all, the medicine he’d given her that made her suffer like this.
Before, even if she’d only pretended discomfort, as long as she resisted, Shang Yucheng would always relent.
He’d let her get away with anything.
But now, even if she was pale with pain, she wouldn’t beg for mercy.
You act spoiled only when someone cares; otherwise, it’s just pointless self-humiliation.
Stubbornness ran in Liang Jinshang’s bones.
She’d guessed why Shang Yucheng was acting so out of character tonight—it was just that ugly possessiveness men have, the idea that if someone else had tasted a dish he’d once enjoyed, he couldn’t stand it.
The more domineering the man, the less he could tolerate it.
But the less he could stand it, the more Liang Jinshang wanted to make him choke on it, even at great cost to herself.