Meanwhile, in another hospital…

A woman with a pale complexion lay on a hospital bed, her hands being held by a man in a suit with a worried expression. They both focused intently on the doctor in front of them.

"The fetus is now stable and safe," a female doctor delivered the good news to what she assumed was a newly married couple.

+++++

The day Li Mei fell from a flight of stairs, her co-worker immediately called for an ambulance, fearing backlash from their president if anything happened to his mistress. It was an open secret after all that Li Mei was the president’s true love. If this were ancient times, Li Mei would be the favored concubine, the one and only who even the empress could not surpass in the emperor's heart.

Nobody witnessed the incident except Li Mei herself, her best friend Le Hua, and the president’s fiancée, Liu Leah.

All that was heard on the floor was Le Hua's scream, pointing at Liu Leah. When everyone rushed to the scene, Le Hua continued to shout, claiming that her friend had been pushed by Liu Leah while pointing at her with teary eyes.

When the news reached Wang Haoran’s ears, he immediately dropped everything and rushed to Li Mei’s side, ignoring everything else. He accompanied her until they reached the closest hospital.

While in the ambulance, the paramedics noticed the damp trousers. Upon investigation, they discovered that it wasn't water or urine, but blood. Reacting swiftly, one of them retrieved a portable ultrasound while the other prepared the jelly and uncovered Li Mei’s abdomen. After confirming that Li Mei was indeed pregnant, one of the paramedics administered medication to prevent miscarriage in an emergency.

(Author: Guys, portable ultrasound does exist in the real world but is not used to check for pregnancies by paramedics. Also, there are medications used to manage abortion and miscarriage but are prescribed by doctors and not given by paramedics in an ambulance.)

Li Mei remained unconscious throughout the journey and didn't awaken until the following morning. Wang Haoran remained silently by her side, holding her hand and refusing to leave. Upon arrival at the hospital, Li Mei was immediately admitted to one of the best private rooms, thanks to the preparations made by Wang Haoran's personal assistant, Zhao Bolin, in advance.

Zhao Bolin was still occupied with the aftermath, so as soon as Wang Haoran learned that Li Mei was safe and sound, he hurriedly stopped by his office to gather all necessary documents and his laptop. With everything in hand, he swiftly made plans to head back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Liu Leah remained in Wang Haoran's company building, feeling scared and panicked by what happened. She was afraid that Wang Haoran would blame her and think poorly of her while being comforted by her personal assistant.

“Chun, I didn’t do it. She just fell by herself. I did not push her,” Liu Leah cried softly, tears welling in her eyes.

“Young miss, I believe you. I know you would never do something like this,” Zhou Chun, Liu Leah’s trusted attendant and assistant since high school, reassured her. She had been in the washroom when the incident occurred and reached Liu Leah only after Li Mei was taken by the paramedics.

Unlike the lovestruck Liu Leah, who was blinded by love, Zhou Chun could see Wang Haoran clearly from day one. She recognized the potential harm he posed to her young miss. Despite her attempts to enlighten Liu Leah multiple times, Zhou Chun failed miserably. All she could do was remain by Liu Leah’s side and silently protect her, knowing the heartache that lay ahead for her beloved young miss.

She overheard all the gossip circulating among the staff in the secretarial department. Enraged by what she heard, she reprimanded the head of the secretarial department, insisting that she control her employees' tongues. She warned of potential legal action, including charges of slander, from the legal department backing Liu Leah, against the entire secretarial department.

The head of the secretarial department feigned attempts to manage her employees, but in reality, she never enforced any measures to stop their gossiping. She and all the employees knew that Liu Leah would never do anything to harm Wang Haoran's company or reputation.

One of Wang Haoran's die-hard admirers and delusional secret stalkers from his secretarial staff was celebrating in her mind while outwardly displaying a worried expression like her coworkers. Chen Mei was currently busy spreading the news that Liu Leah pushed Li Mei off a flight of stairs inside the company and online anonymously, as she normally did.

While busy contacting news outlets to publish and report on what happened, she received a notification from one of the members of Wang Haoran's admirer’s club inside the company that their emperor had entered the building in a rush. Yes, these office women had crowned Wang Haoran as their emperor and considered themselves his unofficial concubines.

Ding!

"Beautifulscent: Fellow concubines, the emperor has just entered the palace. It seems his highness was in a rush."

"Fragrantflower: His Highness just entered the throne room."

...

...

Chen Mei like a little piece of sh*t she is, has decided to tell a lie among many lies she always uttered. Hastily, she approached one of the new hires and spoke in a rushed tone.

"Hey, wait," Chen Mei called out, tapping the new hire on the shoulder. "The President is looking for Miss Liu, but I'm in the middle of writing two reports that are due tonight. She's in her private break room on floor eight. Can you go and get her? Thank you." She asked for the favor without waiting for a reply and swiftly departed.

"If the president gets angry from waiting, that’s gonna be on you!" she added, without bothering to look back.

Zhang Lian, a new female hire in their department, found herself in a tricky situation as Chen Mei essentially forced her to invite Liu Leah to the president’s office. Chen Mei even provided the location of Liu Leah. You see, nothing evades the eyes of these bored and thirsty mob of women, called unofficial concubines.

Zhang Lian rushed towards Liu Leah's location, forgetting that their president had Liu Leah’s private number and could call her whenever he wanted. Everyone also knew that Liu Leah,  Wang Haoran's fiancée, would do anything Wang Haoran commanded.

Liu Leah and her personal assistant, Zhou Chun, followed Zhang Lian until they reached the presidential office. The door was slightly ajar, with the sound of rustling papers coming from inside. With Wang Haoran not noticing them, Zhang Lian cleared her throat and announced their arrival.

The first person Wang Haoran's eyes landed on was Liu Leah's face. With the accumulated stress from his father and half-brothers, fear for Li Mei and their unborn child, and uncertainty about their upcoming huge project, Wang Haoran saw red. His emotions boiled over, demanding release. He wanted someone to blame for all the unfairness in the world that he was currently experiencing.

That person became Liu Leah. Wang Haoran's killing intent was unleashed. He grabbed the closest heavy object within arm's reach and hurled it at Liu Leah, aiming to inflict as much damage as possible.

Thud!

Thud!

Everything happened so fast that Zhou Chun was a step too late to protect her young miss.

“Young miss!” she shouted, then pressed the emergency button on her phone.

“Ahhhhhh,” Zhang Lian screamed, petrified and unable to move.

By the time Wang Haoran sobered up from his overwhelming emotions, Liu Leah was already on the ground unconscious with a bleeding forehead. He gritted his teeth and commanded Zhou Chun, Liu Leah’s personal assistant, “Call an ambulance or take her to the hospital yourself.” After giving the order, he left without looking back.

While hugging the still-breathing and bloody Liu Leah, Zhou Chun shouted, “You will pay for this!” toward the departing Wang Haoran.