Volume One, Chapter One: Three Years of Marriage, Over a Year of Preparing for Pregnancy

“Age?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Married or single?”
“Married.”
After the nurse finished filling out the form, she handed it to her. “There are a few people ahead of you. Wait until your name is called before going in.”
“Alright.”
Ji Yao found an empty seat and sat down. She glanced at the display screen above, noting that three names still preceded hers. Unconsciously, her nerves grew tauter.
Three years of marriage, more than a year trying for a baby, and still nothing. She couldn’t help but suspect something was wrong with her body, so she made an appointment in gynecology for a checkup. If there really was a problem, she could get the right treatment early and recover sooner.
“Next, Ji Yao!”
Finally, it was her turn.
When Ji Yao heard her name, her anxiety nearly choked her. She stood slowly, and as she approached the nurse, the nurse glanced at her with impatience.
“Why are you so slow? Don’t you know there are many people waiting behind you? Dr. He’s appointments are hard to get; don’t waste others’ time!”
She hadn’t meant to walk slowly—she was genuinely afraid. If the issue was truly hers, her in-laws, so eager for a grandchild, would demand explanations she couldn’t give.
As the clinic door opened, Ji Yao’s lingering anxiety was shattered by the man before her.
He was tall—about six foot three. Even in his white coat, his slender frame was outlined perfectly. His skin was snow-white, his nose high and defined, lips pressed lightly together, lending his face an air of aloofness and indifference. Gone was the youthful softness; instead, he possessed a regal, commanding presence.
He Yanchen!
When she was ten, she nearly had a car accident, and it was five-year-old He Yanchen who saved her. At that time, He Yanchen was an orphan. Her parents, moved by his plight, adopted him, and he stayed with them for thirteen years. Later, when He Yanchen turned eighteen—she was twenty-three, just graduated and interning at a company, sent on a business trip—she heard that He Yanchen’s biological parents had come to find him.
By the time she returned home, He Yanchen was long gone. She’d called, sent countless messages, but there was no news from her “brother.”
Ten years had passed since. Even though he’d changed so much, she recognized him at a glance.
“Where are you uncomfortable?”
His voice echoed in her mind, leaving her head buzzing. She subconsciously mumbled a few words.

“I—I’m fine. Maybe I should see another doctor instead.”
Though not related by blood, He Yanchen had lived with her family for so many years. She regarded him as a real younger brother. How could she possibly let her “brother” examine such private matters?
This was madness!
Just as she was about to flee, He Yanchen’s perfectly sculpted face grew even more serious, lips pressed tight. “No one else will treat you here. Think carefully before you leave.”
“Why?”
This wasn’t some small clinic; how could a hospital this size have only one gynecologist?
He Yanchen stood there, his gaze cold. “Because none of them believe their skills surpass mine.”
“……”
She remembered that even as a child, He Yanchen’s grades were excellent. Her family’s circumstances were modest; her parents were workers, able to support the two of them, but a comfortable life was out of reach. Yet He Yanchen had always shown sharp financial acumen, and a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
She’d thought he’d go to business school and become a businessman, but he’d attended medical school instead—and now he was a gynecologist!
Ji Yao’s temples throbbed, her brain aching from the strain.
He Yanchen’s deep, cool voice sounded again, catching her off guard.
“Are you still going to be examined? If not, I’ll call the next patient.”
“I want the examination!”
Ji Yao answered, her gaze flickering with panic. This was the best hospital in the capital; if she didn’t get checked here, she’d be uneasy going elsewhere.
He Yanchen didn’t move from his spot. “Which area?”
“I—I’ve been trying for a baby for more than a year and haven’t conceived. I want to know if there’s something wrong with my body.” As she said this, a blush crept over her cheeks.
He Yanchen gestured to the examination bed beside him. “Get on.”
Left with no choice, she obeyed, lying on the cold bed, not daring to move.
“Take off your pants.”
Ji Yao felt her heart explode, her head throbbing even harder.

She clenched her teeth. Even though every fiber of her resisted, since she was on the bed, she had to follow He Yanchen’s instructions. She lifted her skirt and removed her underwear in front of him.
If he and she hadn’t had that particular relationship, it wouldn’t have been so awkward. But every time she closed her eyes, she remembered their “sibling” bond, making her heart race and her cheeks burn as if scalded by boiling water.
“Ah, it hurts!”
He Yanchen used some kind of instrument to spread her lower limbs, the pain numbing her entire body.
He Yanchen looked at her without averting his gaze. “This hurts? Are you sure you’re married?”
Ji Yao almost didn’t react. “Yes, I am.”
“How long is your husband?”
Ji Yao froze, as if struck hard on the back of her head. When she looked at him, her heart pounded furiously.
“What?”
He Yanchen’s eyes were so deep they made her uneasy. “If you can’t say, show me with your hand.”
“……”
Ji Yao regretted staying for the examination. Though she didn’t know He Yanchen’s intent, his gaze unsettled her, and while gesturing with her hand, she didn’t dare meet his eyes.
When she finished, He Yanchen’s gaze remained calm, yet she thought she glimpsed a hint of disdain on his face—or had she imagined it?
“The length is adequate. Breaking the hymen shouldn’t be an issue. Are you certain you two actually have sex?”
Ji Yao pulled herself from the embarrassment. “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
Though Xie Huaijin was her first love, she wasn’t naive. She knew what constituted sex, and Xie Huaijin had always performed well. Why, then, did He Yanchen question whether they actually had sex? And what did he mean, she was still a virgin?
He Yanchen put down his medical instrument unhurriedly. “Put your pants back on. I’ll take you for a blood test.”
A blood test? For what?
Ji Yao couldn’t comprehend He Yanchen’s procedure, but obediently followed him. Along the way, she noticed that any patient brought by He Yanchen seemed to receive special treatment—other departments made exceptions for him, and she didn’t have to wait in line; doctors immediately attended to her.