Chapter 43: The Ultrasound

Lin Zhi took the initiative, but soon he had no strength left. Song Mian told him not to slack off.

Afterward, Lin Zhi felt both exhausted and guilty.

His baby!

Lacking energy even to speak properly, he let Song Mian carry him to the bath. Lin Zhi pointed repeatedly at his belly, looking quite aggrieved, but Song Mian said nothing and simply patted his head contentedly.

“What’s the secret?” Lin Zhi’s voice was hoarse.

Song Mian looked perfectly serious. “You’re pseudopregnant.”

Lin Zhi splashed water in Song Mian’s face, indignant. “Only rabbits get pseudopregnant! Am I a rabbit?”

Song Mian wiped his face. “Mm.”

Lin Zhi: “Damn it.”

Song Mian: “…”

Song Mian restrained himself from thinking too much about it and simply pinched Lin Zhi’s cheek, coaxing softly, “We’ll do an ultrasound tomorrow first. I’m not the type to disregard a child. You don’t have a baby. Don’t curse at me—trust me this once.”

Lin Zhi kept a straight face, pondering.

Song Mian carried him back to bed. Lin Zhi eyed him, narrowing his eyes. “Something this absurd—probably only I’d believe you about it again.”

After tucking Lin Zhi in, Song Mian said, “Hubby is the best.”

Lin Zhi’s ears softened. He turned his head away and mulled it over alone for a few minutes. Then he poked Song Mian’s arm and said slowly, “If I am pregnant, you have to take a parenting class! This baby—you’re raising it. But while you’re raising it, you have to say good things about me and tell it that I’m its best dad.”

Song Mian was very agreeable. “Sure.”

“If it’s not pseudopregnancy, then you deliberately tricked me. That’s unforgivable! You’ll have to pay a price.” Lin Zhi’s blood was boiling now; he felt no discomfort at all, his mind fully occupied with scheming what price Song Mian would pay.

Song Mian stroked his head. “Anything except breaking up with me. But I really wouldn’t trick you.”

Lin Zhi didn’t believe him.

As Lin Zhi was about to close his eyes and wait for the scan the next day, he suddenly remembered something. “The scan—they’ll find out a guy’s pregnant, right?”

Song Mian: “Private hospital. Very confidential.”

Lin Zhi still had worries. “Even if we haven’t registered the marriage, it won’t be an illegitimate child, right?”

Song Mian rubbed his face. “Because you’ve finally stopped denying how much you love me. Whatever you say.”

Lin Zhi’s face flushed red. “No! Just a little.”

Song Mian: “That’s still a lot.”

Lin Zhi yanked the blanket over himself and turned his back to Song Mian, ignoring him.

Song Mian had to go fetch more blanket himself.

There were classes Monday morning, so they planned to go to the hospital at noon. Lin Zhi remained anxious all morning, rubbing his belly and pondering. He even considered secretly searching “Will a man getting caught pregnant on a scan make headline news?”

The results were all salacious content, nothing serious. Lin Zhi didn’t dare post a question himself—his account was already pegged as gay; asking would be like hiding silver three hundred taels right here.

So Lin Zhi asked an AI.

The AI’s response: It would become global explosive news.

Lin Zhi was terrified and fretted for a while. Then Song Mian’s words popped into his head: “You can tell it I’m the mom, just looks like a guy. When it’s older, tell it I had a sex change.”

Lin Zhi’s expression grew grave.

On the way to the hospital at noon, he told Song Mian, “I have to tell the doctor I was originally female, had surgery to become male, but kept my uterus functional.”

A vein throbbed at Song Mian’s temple.

“Zhizhi, no need.”

Lin Zhi worried, “How no need? If they detect pregnancy, a guy like me—I’ll be the star of global explosive news!”

Song Mian gripped the steering wheel tighter. “If it’s real, it won’t be that bad.”

Lin Zhi glared at him.

Song Mian straightened up. “The doctor works under me. No worries.”

Lin Zhi still wasn’t reassured and asked, “You’re not colluding with the doctor to say I’m not pregnant, right?”

Song Mian’s lips twitched. “I’m not that crazy.”

Fair enough.

Song Mian wasn’t that lecherous as to disregard his baby; he just didn’t believe it was real.

At the hospital, Song Mian had everything arranged. Lin Zhi got the scan first. Once he had the images and report, he made Song Mian go explain that the scan was Song Mian’s.

Song Mian said nothing. In the consultation room, the doctor, wearing glasses, examined the report and images, then looked at Lin Zhi and Song Mian.

The doctor’s voice was mild. “Lin Zhi, that’s you, right?”

Lin Zhi kept his head down, unwilling to admit it.

“Lin Zhi?”

The doctor called again. Lin Zhi elbowed Song Mian. Song Mian murmured, “He knows me.”

Lin Zhi looked up with a troubled face. “What?”

The doctor asked, “Why did you come to gynecology?”

Lin Zhi was baffled.

The doctor smiled and handed back the images. “No issues with your body. You can go.”

Lin Zhi was even more baffled!

“No pregnancy?”

The doctor maintained professional composure. “No. But if it’s just one or two weeks along, ultrasound won’t show it. You’d need a blood test.”

Damn!

He was over a month along now!

Song Mian led the incredulous Lin Zhi out of the room.

“Did you go too hard and cause a miscarriage?” Lin Zhi grabbed Song Mian’s arm.

Song Mian: “…Have you felt any discomfort?”

Lin Zhi hadn’t.

“My baby’s just gone? But the pregnancy test was positive, and I had morning sickness! How?” Lin Zhi cried out.

Song Mian covered his mouth and took the “bereaved” Lin Zhi to a VIP lounge. Lin Zhi flung himself on the sofa, miserable about his lost baby.

Song Mian squatted beside him.

“That’s why I wanted to get you scanned ASAP.” Song Mian explained patiently. “Zhizhi, it’s pseudopregnancy. The fake symptoms are very similar to real pregnancy, but the scan shows your belly’s empty.”

Lin Zhi finally took in some of Song Mian’s words and looked up. “I’m a rabbit?”

Song Mian: “Mm, my rabbit.”

That chubby rabbit.

Lin Zhi sat up from the sofa, his mind a mess. “Where’s the proof?”

Song Mian actually had proof.

The Romance Survival System, absent for so long, suddenly spoke in Lin Zhi’s mind with its electronic voice: [Host, this system’s back. Boss told me—you’re not human!]

But Lin Zhi ignored the system again.

Romance Survival System: [Hey host, can you hear me? You’re not human!! Such a big deal, and no reaction?]

Lin Zhi, head down: “I’m reading a report.”

The Romance Survival System looked too.

It was shocked: [Host, this is your report! You are a rabbit! Boss said you’re a wild rabbit found by the orphanage that took human form! Who gave you this report?]

Lin Zhi indirectly responded to the system: “Song Mian told me I’m that chubby, cute rabbit he used to raise. He did this report back in my freshman year when I cut my finger peeling an apple and bled a lot—he stole my blood.”

Romance Survival System: [This system doesn’t know about that. A fat rabbit wandering off without an owner is still a wild rabbit. Not important! Lin Zhizhi, you’re not human. What do you think about this?]

Lin Zhi: “I don’t know.”

The fact was too huge—like suddenly being pointed at on the street and told: You’re a pig.

You think it’s an insult, but they pull out a genetic report.

Total dumbfoundedness. Insults gotten this high-tech now?

Lin Zhi’s mind wasn’t on the baby anymore. He looked gravely at Song Mian. “I don’t believe it.”

Song Mian had a plan. “If you don’t, we can do another blood draw for genetic testing.”

Lin Zhi’s tone was world-weary. “No. I’ve been human for twenty years. This is absurd.”

Romance Survival System: [It’s real, host!]

Song Mian wasn’t insisting. “Rabbit or human doesn’t matter—you’re you. Zhizhi, now you know you’re not pregnant, it’s pseudopregnancy? You might have symptoms again later.”

Lin Zhi flopped back on the sofa and pounded it.

“My baby’s gone.”

Song Mian soothed him. “Not pregnant, so no need to worry anymore.”

Easy to say, but he’d grown attached.

Lin Zhi tilted his head, frowning. “You knew all along?”

Song Mian admitted frankly, “Mm. But you wouldn’t believe me, so I just brought you for the scan. Plus, I wanted to use the chance to get our marriage registered.”

Lin Zhi wasn’t surprised by Song Mian’s scheming— he’d been upfront about it from the start.

But who could believe this!

The Romance Survival System got it: [Pseudopregnancy—rabbits do get that. No wonder your bad luck persisted after “pregnancy.” Normally, carrying the Male Lead’s baby binds you to him—no more bad luck. But host,]

The electronic voice held doubt: [When I came back, your pseudopregnancy bad luck was gone. Without pregnancy, even with frequent sex, you’d have some cannon fodder bad luck. Host—you’re really pregnant now!]

Lin Zhi, mid-pound, froze.

“What did you say?”

Romance Survival System dropped the core: [You’re pregnant.]

Lin Zhi: “But the ultrasound showed nothing.”

Romance Survival System: [Maybe just these past few days—ultrasound needs a month to show anything.]

Damn!!

Lin Zhi shot up and turned to Song Mian. “My system says I’m pregnant!”

Song Mian: ??

Song Mian’s expression cracked.

“Let’s do a blood test. A few nights I didn’t clean up.” Lin Zhi was a man of action and went for another draw. Song Mian stayed silent, seemingly thinking.

This report showed pregnant—over two weeks!

Lin Zhi ran back to flop on the VIP lounge sofa, still dazed.

Song Mian examined the report, looking at Lin Zhi strangely.

Lin Zhi sensed it. “What’s that look?”

Song Mian: “You’re male?”

Lin Zhi: “Don’t you know better than me?”

Song Mian’s expression was odd.

Lin Zhi counted the days—it was that night of the carrot feast! Song Mian had worn him out, and he hadn’t cleaned up.

All… absorbed.

“So a guy like me is really pregnant again? I don’t want to be pregnant!”

Lin Zhi even shed tears, wiping them with his shirt. Song Mian caught it precisely.

Setting pregnancy aside, Song Mian squatted beside him, deeply puzzled. “Zhizhi, do you want to be pregnant or not?”

Lin Zhi looked up. “Don’t want.”

Song Mian guessed along his lines. “You were faking sadness before?”

“How could I?” Lin Zhi sat up again. “I was really upset. But once upset’s over, no pregnancy means no birthing—that’s great. Who knew—I got pregnant again.”

Lin Zhi rubbed his belly, looking distressed.

Song Mian considered. “Probably still pseudopregnancy symptoms. The test stick was positive last time too. For you, blood tests don’t work—need a scan.”

“Do you believe it? My system doesn’t lie.”

Song Mian sat on the sofa with a weird look, scrutinizing the report data closely.

Romance Survival System agreed: [Yes, host! This system confirms you’re pregnant. Every world’s tasks are strict; the system only leaves when the host’s fully safe, world stabilized. So host, you are pregnant.]

Lin Zhi caught the key. “You’re leaving? You just got here.”

The electronic voice was reluctant: [Yes! This system doesn’t want to—back to tasks, so tiring! So I’ll fake your bad luck lingers till Boss detects and hauls me back!]

Lin Zhi’s reluctance vanished.

“System bro, you’re not like systems in novels.”

Romance Survival System, justified: [Those are fiction—this is real! Host, one more important thing—this system has to tell you.]

Lin Zhi asked curiously, “About the Male Lead’s Soul Summoning?”

The Romance Survival System replied: 【Host, the novel you’re in is actually a Male Lead spiritual horror story!】

That made sense. Since Song Mian had performed Soul Summoning, it was definitely tied to the supernatural.

The Romance Survival System continued: 【The main storyline is the Male Lead becoming the business overlord of A City, but the subplot is reviving the cannon fodder Lin Zhi. The big boss skipped that revival arc entirely.】

Lin Zhi perked up.

He was part of the subplot? And a cannon fodder at that?

The system went on: 【After all, your death was so perfunctory, even for cannon fodder. After you died, Host, the Male Lead kept searching for ways to revive you. He tried revival after revival, failing each time. At the end of the book, he’d become the business overlord and finally found a complete revival method. But when he tried it on you again, it still failed, and the novel abruptly ended. It was a total BE ending! Readers kept going because they were waiting for the Male Lead to revive you. So that ending sparked massive reader dissatisfaction and resentment, which caught the big boss’s attention early!】

Novel worlds were only detected by the Main God when problems arose. Worlds the Main God intervened in were usually ones where the plot had already ended. Once the novel author’s influence faded, the characters followed their fated paths.

That was why some worlds collapsed.

Lin Zhi’s world was different—the Main God had sensed the readers’ resentment first and located it before everything went wrong.

As the inevitable cannon fodder, Lin Zhi absolutely could not die. Reviving him was the soul of the book, but the author stopped writing once revival proved impossible.

The Romance Survival System added: 【The readers’ resentment came from how much the Male Lead truly loved you. So once the plot ends, even if the Male Lead summons your soul, it can only linger in the world for thirty days max. After that, you’re gone for good, and the world will collapse.】

He… he was really that important?

The Romance Survival System’s electronic voice grew heavy: 【Yes! Host, the big boss usually intervenes in already-collapsed novel worlds no longer under the author’s control. But yours is different—the big boss noticed early. Keeping you alive goes against the plot, which is why you faced so many plot kills. But once you took on the Male Lead’s aura, the system blurred you as him, dodging those kills.】

【So you just need to keep doing it with the Male Lead. The big boss is thoughtful, giving you all those tasks to ease you into it.】

Lin Zhi felt a bit sad, but his mind was blank.

The Romance Survival System understood its host’s state perfectly, its electronic voice tinged with a sigh: 【Who told you to be cannon fodder? It even fooled me into thinking it was a straight Male Lead story at first. The Male Lead’s Soul Summoning scared the hell out of me. But now you’re totally safe, so I’m off to the countryside for some fresh air!】

Lin Zhi felt reluctant. “Will I see you again?”

The Romance Survival System: 【Of course! We’re still bound, so I can come back anytime! I’ll head out for a few days of fun and definitely return for your wedding.】

They weren’t married yet.

Lin Zhi’s face flushed red. “System bro, thanks for keeping me alive.”

The Romance Survival System’s electronic voice sounded a little shy: 【No need to thank me—it’s our duty!】

Lin Zhi spent a good while processing it alone before realizing something. What secret task had System bro completed during that time? How had it finished?

He called out several times, but A9901 had already left.

While Lin Zhi chatted with the Romance Survival System, Song Mian busied himself checking the data on Lin Zhi’s report. Out of nowhere, Lin Zhi blurted, “Stop studying it. I’m really pregnant.”

Song Mian ignored him.

Lin Zhi leaned on Song Mian’s shoulder and peeked at him. Just how great was he that Song Mian obsessed over him like this? He really was Song Mian’s pure white moonlight!

Lin Zhi’s eyes grew wet.

He had to treat Song Mian better. So what if he was a bit lecherous?

But if he died, would Song Mian really die too?

“When I left back then, you really didn’t die?” Lin Zhi asked again.

Song Mian’s expression remained unchanged. “I didn’t.”

Good!

“Am I really a rabbit?”

Song Mian: “Mm.”

“But why can’t I turn into a rabbit?”

Song Mian finally set aside Lin Zhi’s pregnancy report, pinched his cheeks, and warned sternly, “Don’t even try that.”

Lin Zhi was puzzled. “Why?”

“If you transform, do you know how to turn back?”

Lin Zhi didn’t!

“But I really have a baby. If you don’t believe me, we can do another ultrasound in a few weeks.”

Song Mian released Lin Zhi’s face, clearly unable to accept it.

“You can’t possibly be pregnant. Where’s that system? Can I talk to it?”

Lin Zhi said sincerely, “It went out to play.”

Song Mian: “……”

Lin Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing Song Mian like this, he figured his own acceptance was pretty good—he’d already accepted the pregnancy and now being a rabbit. He still hadn’t fully digested what System bro had told him, but he probably could.

In contrast, Song Mian crossed his arms with the air of a family head: “Fine, you won’t believe without proof. In a few weeks, I’ll get a scan, and once you see something inside, you’ll know I’m really pregnant.”

Song Mian reached for the report again, but Lin Zhi snatched it, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it in his pocket.

“Don’t look. Just pretend I’m not pregnant for now. I hope I’m not too—a guy with a big belly? What would that look like?”

Song Mian stayed silent. He’d actually believed half of it already.

He knew he and Lin Zhi had survived thanks to that system Lin Zhi mentioned. If even the system said Lin Zhi was pregnant…

Song Mian’s thin lips parted. “I don’t believe it.”

Lin Zhi raised a brow. “Just wait a few weeks.”

Lin Zhi ran to the window, clasped his hands, and prayed to the heavens, “Please don’t let me be pregnant, please don’t let me be pregnant, please don’t let me be pregnant!”

Song Mian: “…….”