Chapter 318: Chapter 316: Do you feel unwell, Jiayi?
The heart-stopping and blush-inducing journey to the ancient castle thus concluded.
As the car neared the Ya Family’s residence, Jiayi suddenly remembered something crucial, and the calm she had just regained rippled like a lake touched by the breeze:
"Ya Chen, is there a pharmacy on the main street nearby?"
Since it was a spur of the moment thing, the man hadn’t used protection—could there be a problem?
No, it would be safer to take an emergency contraceptive pill—what if she hit the jackpot?
Ya Chen’s face shifted slightly, "Do you need to buy medicine? Are you feeling unwell? The Ya Family has a private doctor. We can have him check you out when we get back, and he can prescribe whatever you need."
Jiayi quickly waved her hands, "No need, I was just...asking."
Just asking? Ya Chen found it odd—why would she ask about a pharmacy out of the blue?
"What exactly do you want to buy? Tell me, are you feeling unwell, Jiayi?" Ya Chen was afraid something was wrong with her.
Jiayi felt like the heat on her face could cook an egg.
If Ya Chen could see through her, with her level of lying, she definitely wouldn’t be able to fool him.
She tried to steady her voice, squeezing out a sweet smile, "Really, it’s nothing, Ya Chen. Maybe it’s just the past few days in the castle, I’m a bit picky with beds and haven’t been sleeping well. I was just wondering if there was a pharmacy nearby to buy some sleep aids. It’s alright, though, it doesn’t matter whether I take them or not."
Ya Chen’s expression turned serious instantly.
Jiayi’s heart skipped a beat—had Ya Chen guessed she was lying?
That’s right, she was being foolish. She had been living in the Ya Family castle for several days now. Why hadn’t she mentioned being particular about beds before? And why now? Ya Chen was bound to be suspicious.
As she was about to explain further, she heard Ya Chen speak, "How can you take medicine for not sleeping well? Medicines have their side effects. Starting tonight, let’s have the servants prepare warm fresh milk for you before bed. Drink it and then sleep; it’ll help with your sleep."
Jiayi finally relaxed, "Okay, that sounds good."
——
Fearing Ya Chen’s suspicion, she didn’t bring up buying medicine again, but the issue remained on Jiayi’s mind.
Buying medicine? With the Ya Family’s people always around, it was difficult.
Getting it from the Ya Family’s private doctor? Impossible.
Jiayi started to feel a headache coming on. Nonetheless, she could only blame that detestable man!
Back at the Ya Family’s.
Once in her room, Jiayi immediately turned on her computer and took a deep breath. She typed into the search engine:
"Aside from pills and condoms, what other contraceptive methods are there?"
After clicking "search," several pages of results appeared immediately.
Some said that being in the safe period lessened the chance of ’hitting the jackpot’ somewhat.
Others were various peculiar home remedies.
Jiayi felt overwhelmed by all the information.
But—the safe period?
She calculated on her computer and, based on her last menstrual cycle, today was indeed within the safe period!
She breathed a sigh of relief but still didn’t feel entirely at ease.
Following the strange method she had found via search, Jiayi closed the browser and did several deep squats on the spot. Drenched in sweat, she entered the bathroom, closing the door with a loud bang.
The maid heard the sound of running water and went up to knock on the door, "Miss Chu, are you taking a bath? Do you need me to run the hot water for you?"
"No need!"
The response came immediately from inside.
After the sound of rushing water finally stopped, the door opened, and she came out.
Jiayi didn’t take a bath but a shower instead.
Her skin was wrinkled and nearly turned white from the long shower.
Could this have even the slightest effect— as a means of contraception?
Thinking back, it seemed silly. But it seemed to bring her some peace of mind, at the very least.
--
At the Chu Family.
Having finished breakfast, Chu Yanhan had no official business today and was looking at the news in the morning paper when Xuan Yu came stomping down from upstairs.
There was still a white bandage on Xuan Yu’s forehead, and her complexion was somewhat haggard.
Chu Yanhan had accidentally injured her that day due to being extremely annoyed by Xuan Yu’s unreasonable behavior and her favoring of her biological daughter. Seeing her looking like this now, he also felt some guilt and put down the newspaper, "Xuan Yu, you’re still hurt. What are you doing coming down here? You should be resting upstairs."
But Xuan Yu seemed to have something urgent to discuss, sitting down beside the couch, "Yanhan, have you heard?"
Chu Yanhan, seeing that his wife had something to say, set the newspaper aside and asked curiously, "Heard what?"
"Jiayi has been taken to the castle, and it seems it wasn’t at the request of the Ya family. It was Mr. Huo who had someone drive the Ya family’s car to pick up Jiayi."
As she spoke, Xuan Yu observed her husband’s expression closely.
As expected, Chu Yanhan’s forehead veins bulged and he slapped the newspaper down, "Mr. Huo had someone pick her up?"
Xuan Yu nodded her head, "This morning I sent a servant from our house to the castle, intending to check on Jiayi since we had left in such a hurry that night and I wanted to see if she needed anything. It was the servant who heard the rumors at the Ya household... They say that night, Mr. Huo even arranged for Jiayi to stay in the next room over. It was only after Ya Chen went to find Mr. Huo the next day that he insisted on moving Jiayi to another room. But even so, Mr. Huo’s actions are simply too brazen. What are they treating our Chu family’s daughter like? Is she really his pet, to come at his beck and call? Yanhan, can you really swallow this insult?"
The longer Mr. Huo stays in S Country, the more Jiayi’s marriage to Ya Chen will likely be endlessly delayed.
This is unacceptable.
The night is long and full of dreams.
We must find a way to have Mr. Huo return to his country soon, so that Jiayi can be successfully married off to the Ya family.
Upon hearing this, Chu Yanhan’s face changed, and he stood up, "Let’s take a trip to the Ya family and bring Jiayi back."
A glint flashed in Xuan Yu’s eyes, but she sighed, "Yanhan, I’m afraid it’s pointless."
Chu Yanhan became furious, "Why? We don’t need to look for Mr. Huo; we’ll go directly to the Ya family. It’s only right to bring our own daughter home. Can they really refuse us?"
Xuan Yu sighed again, "You see, it’s been several days now, and there’s been no move from the Ya family. They haven’t said much, which indicates that they’re acquiescing to Mr. Huo’s actions. The Ya family doesn’t want to sour relations with him; they merely had Jiayi change rooms. Even if we went there, I fear the Ya family would just give us the brush-off. If Mr. Huo doesn’t want to let go, what can they say? Mr. Huo is a powerful man from A Country, and the Ya family has always avoided offending A Country. It’s only because Ya Chen is fond of Jiayi and insists on marrying her that the wedding is even a possibility. Otherwise, Ya Qianhuai would certainly not allow them to marry, and he might even advise us to hand Jiayi over to Mr. Huo willingly. But, as things are going, it’s only a matter of time before Ya Qianhuai convinces his son to give up on Jiayi."
Hearing his wife’s words, Chu Yanhan felt veins pop on his forehead with even more frustration, boiling inside him.
For a man with even a shred of dignity and pride, having his wife and daughter dominated by someone else was absolutely intolerable.
His daughter was stranded in China, held captive by Mr. Huo for a year, and now, was she to continue to be pestered tirelessly by him?
