After Being Forced to Take the Role of the Scumbag Protagonist - Chapter 16

Even though Xu Ying’s mother, Qin Zhen, had abandoned him before he was ten to move abroad, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t recognize her own child.

On the contrary, it was Xu Ying who took a moment to process her identity.

The moment he realized this woman was his mother, he felt as if he had been seared by a hot iron. Startled and panicked, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he clutched his canvas bag and bolted for the door without looking back.

But as luck would have it, the moment he stepped out, the drizzling rain turned back into a torrential downpour, pelting his body like falling stones.

Having already sought shelter once, his clothes were already damp. Now, caught off guard by this renewed assault from the sky, he stood there in a daze. Being pregnant had slowed his reflexes; he let out a sharp sneeze and retreated a few steps, standing under the shop’s awning and staring blankly at the wall of water before him.

Suddenly, a light tap sounded on the glass behind him. Xu Ying shivered from the cold and turned his head slowly. Qin Zhen was standing there, watching him with a frigid expression.

“Come here.” She beckoned with her pink-manicured finger. Her aura was far from soft; it carried the chilling condensation of a high-status superior looking down at an inferior. She stared at him, her lips curling as she spoke in a low, haunting tone: “Don’t make me say it twice.”

“…”

Xu Ying had grown up under the high-pressure shadow of Qin Zhen’s discipline.

In their life together, she never allowed him to lie or resist her. To Qin Zhen, Xu Ying was her favorite ragdoll, something to be manipulated into whatever shape she desired. Disobedience meant going hungry at best and physical punishment at worst. He remembered nights spent kneeling until dawn, his knees bruised and purple, his stomach aching with hunger.

The fear ground into him since childhood made his legs move instinctively. He walked back to her side and lowered his head, his lips trembling. “Mom…”

He expected a slap across the face for his earlier attempt to run, but instead, Qin Zhen simply looked him up and down, scanning his bedraggled, soaked frame. She turned away and said, “Sit.”

Her tone left no room for argument. “Sit across from me.”

Xu Ying’s eyes flickered with unease as he slowly took the seat opposite her.

“I heard you broke things off with the Xu family?”

Though she lived abroad, the Xu family was a prominent name in high society, and having once been involved with Xu Tingshan, Qin Zhen was well-informed about their recent scandals. “Over a man?”

Xu Ying lowered his head even further, stung by the faint mockery in her voice. But then, a sudden realization hit him. there was nothing shameful about being with Wu Yunzhi. He forced his head back up.

“Yes,” he said. His fingers were tangled together in his lap, showing his nerves, but his voice was firm. “I want to be with him.”

Qin Zhen stared at him in silence for a long moment before adjusting her posture. “How did I give birth to such a fool?”

She spoke coldly. “There isn’t a single person in this world worth sacrificing everything for. You must learn to love yourself. When necessary, anyone can be used.”

Xu Ying didn’t respond. His worldview was fundamentally different from his mother’s.

Qin Zhen was fiercely independent and profoundly egoistic. She viewed everyone as a pawn to be moved. To her, Xu Ying had only ever been a bargaining chip to squeeze more money out of the Xu family. Had he ever received love from her or Xu Tingshan? Perhaps, but it was so thin and buried under layers of self-interest that it felt non-existent.

Yet, those who lack love crave it most. Xu Ying loved Wu Yunzhi because he was the only person who made him feel truly cherished. It was a feeling beyond words; joy, peace, and pure happiness.

“Stupid,” Qin Zhen said, seeing the tension in his face. She couldn’t comprehend it. “The man is drowning in debt, and you still want to follow him? Are you some kind of saint descended from heaven?”

Xu Ying felt the bite of her sarcasm. He dug his nails into his palms. “I’m not a saint.” His tone was stubborn. “But I’m staying with him.”

“Suit yourself if you’re so determined to jump into a fire.” Qin Zhen stirred her coffee with a straw, the ice clinking sharply against the glass. “You’re an adult now. You solve your own problems.”

Xu Ying gave a low murmur of assent. “Then, Mom… can I go now?”

Qin Zhen was about to say yes, but she noticed how desperate he seemed to leave. Her eyes narrowed as she sensed something was off. “Where are you in such a hurry to go?”

Suddenly, her gaze sharpened. She lunged forward and grabbed his wrist. “Why are you covered in that Alpha’s pheromones? Did you let him mark you?!”

Xu Ying dropped his head.

The next second, Qin Zhen’s mind raced to a conclusion she found impossible to believe. She stood up abruptly, her composure shattering into rage. She swung her hand and delivered a sharp slap to Xu Ying’s face.

Xu Ying didn’t make a sound. A faint red mark and a small scratch from her nail appeared on his flushed cheek. He looked wretched.

Seeing his trembling fingers clutching the bag, Qin Zhen’s face darkened with fury. “Tell me the truth… are you pregnant?!”

Xu Ying didn’t even dare to cover his stinging cheek. After a long silence, he whispered, “Yes. Two months.”

When Qin Zhen had become pregnant out of wedlock with Xu Tingshan, she hadn’t understood why her parents reacted with such violence, even kicking her out. But now, facing her own son’s unplanned pregnancy, she finally understood where that explosive rage came from.

Crucially, the man wasn’t a son of a wealthy family; he was a gambler with nothing to his name. How could such a person raise a child?

Qin Zhen’s expression turned deathly cold. She gripped Xu Ying’s arm with bruising force.

“Get an abortion,” she commanded, her voice like steel. “This child cannot be kept.”

In Qin Zhen’s mind, this child could bring Xu Ying nothing but misery. If he were forced to give birth, it would be a burden—no, a nightmare.

After all, Wu Yunzhi could barely support himself; how could he possibly raise a child?

Refusing to let the thought linger, Qin Zhen immediately hailed a taxi. She practically dragged Xu Ying into the car, ignored his silent resistance, and headed straight for the hospital.

*****

Meanwhile, at the apartment, Wu Yunzhi had just finished his daily word count. However, the more he replayed Xu Ying’s behavior in his mind, the more unsettled he felt.

Knowing Xu Ying’s personality, the boy wouldn’t leave for the dorms without a solid reason. If something was wrong, he usually spoke up. He wouldn’t leave with such vague words and that look of suppressed, lingering longing.

Did something happen?

Wu Yunzhi sat back, mentally combing through every detail of the past few days.

It seemed… it all started that day Xu Ying came back late, claiming he had a stomachache. Since then, he had been acting out of character.

Driven by a sudden hunch, Wu Yunzhi stood up and began searching the apartment for the medicine Xu Ying had been taking. But the medicine was gone; only a crumpled plastic bag remained.

He moved to the living room and began rummaging through the trash. There were no boxes, as Xu Ying had been cautious enough to leave no identifiable packaging behind. All that remained were some scattered scraps of silver foil, the remains of blister packs.

Was it really a stomach ailment?

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it grows into a towering tree. To identify the medication, Wu Yunzhi gathered the fragments of foil and painstakingly pieced them together like a puzzle.

“Tranexamic Acid… Aspirin…”

He squinted at the tiny print, typing the names into his phone to search for their uses.

“Hemostatic agents… anti-coagulants… used for…” His voice faltered as he read the final result: “…stabilizing a pregnancy?!”

The moment the words left his lips, it felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck him. His head felt like it was exploding; a deafening ringing filled his ears.

He bolted upright, ready to rush out the door, but forced himself to breathe. What if he just fell? What if these are just for normal blood clotting?

He tried to soothe himself, but his hands moved faster through the trash until he found a crumpled ball of paper. He smoothed it out, and when his eyes landed on the stark words “Abortion Fee,” the world went black. He nearly collapsed onto the sofa.

Xu Ying was pregnant…

Xu Ying was actually pregnant!

And he, the father, hadn’t known a single thing!

He’s… he’s trying to do this all by himself. He’s going to get an abortion alone!

The realization caused his brain to overload. A tidal wave of regret, confusion, shock, and sheer panic crashed over his logic. Without thinking, he dialed Xu Ying’s number.

It rang and rang. No answer.

Wu Yunzhi was frantic. He had no idea which hospital Xu Ying would choose. He called again and again, his heart hammering against his ribs, until finally, the line connected. But the voice on the other end wasn’t Xu Ying’s. It was a clear, cold woman’s voice.

“Hello?”

“…” Not hearing the voice he expected, Wu Yunzhi froze. He checked the screen to ensure he hadn’t dialed the wrong number. “Hello. Is… is Xu Ying there?”

There was a pause. Then, the woman’s voice turned even colder. “Are you Wu Yunzhi?”

“I am,” Wu Yunzhi replied, his voice tight. “I’m his boyfriend. Why do you have his phone? Where is he? Is he okay?”

The questions poured out like rapid-fire, but the woman on the other end seemed impatient. She hung up without a word.

“…”

Listening to the dial tone, Wu Yunzhi stared at his phone in disbelief. He tried calling back immediately, but the phone had been turned off.

His heart sank like a stone.

He didn’t waste another second. He knew where Xu Ying worked and which hospital was closest to that area. If he wasn’t mistaken, Xu Ying would be at the First People’s Hospital.

He flagged down a taxi, urging the driver to hurry. A thirty-minute trip took him only twenty. The moment the car stopped, he sprinted toward the obstetrics department.

It was on the fifth floor. In his haste, he accidentally collided with a pregnant man coming for a check-up. Fortunately, he caught the man before he fell, narrowly avoiding a scolding from the man’s husband.

Unlike the glowing happiness on the faces of the couple, Wu Yunzhi looked deathly pale. People turned to stare as he paced the corridor.

The department wasn’t large. He rounded the corner and spotted a woman standing at the end of the hallway, clutching Xu Ying’s canvas bag. It was Qin Zhen.

Wu Yunzhi lost all composure. He lunged toward her, his voice raw. “Who are you?! Where is Xu Ying?!”

Qin Zhen narrowed her eyes, surveying him from head to toe. Recognizing him as the “boyfriend,” she turned her face away with a look of cold disdain.

“Him?” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. “He’s already been taken into the operating room.”

The words hit Wu Yunzhi like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of him. He stared at the closed doors of the operating room, the “In Progress” light glowing like a malevolent red eye.

“What do you mean, the operating room?” Wu Yunzhi grabbed the door handle, but it was locked. He turned back to Qin Zhen, his eyes bloodshot. “Who gave you the right to decide this? That’s my child!”

Qin Zhen let out a sharp, mocking breath. “Your child? And what could you give this child, Mr. Wu? A life of running from debt? A childhood spent in a cramped, damp apartment while you struggle to sell stories for pennies?”

Support