Chapter 43: A Misunderstanding

Her mouth hung slightly open, her eyes wide with disbelief, unable to process what she had just heard. She even wondered if this was a lie fabricated by He Yuzhu specifically to prevent her from marrying Xu Damao.

It took a long while for Yu Haitang to find her voice. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her tone. "He Yuzhu, are you saying this because... because you still have feelings for me?"

However, He Yuzhu shook his head, his gaze unwavering. "Yu, you've misunderstood me. Everything I said is true. It is a fact that Xu Damao is infertile. If you find an opportunity to have him go to the hospital for a check-up, you will see that I am not lying."

Watching the sincerity in He Yuzhu's eyes, Yu Haitang began to waver. Although she was reluctant to believe such a cruel reality, his tone and expression convinced her that it was likely the truth.

"But... but how can this be?" she murmured to herself. "Xu Damao looks so healthy; how could he be unable to have children?"

He Yuzhu sighed. "Some things cannot be seen from the outside. Xu Damao... he may not even be aware of this himself. But regardless, you cannot simply go into this marriage blindly."

Yu Haitang fell silent. She pondered his words, searching for any inconsistency or doubt, but no matter how she thought about it, she could find no reason to refute his claim.

"Then... what should I do?" she finally asked, turning to He Yuzhu for help. She felt a level of confusion and helplessness she had never known before, unsure how to face such a sudden blow.

He Yuzhu looked at her, a hint of complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "Yu, this is your own affair. I can only tell you the truth; as for what choice you make, that is up to you."

Yu Haitang's heart was like a lake whipped by a storm, churning with waves that refused to settle. Her footsteps were heavy, her eyes darting uncertainly, as if every step she took landed on the internal conflict and struggle within her.

After walking for a few moments, she suddenly looked up, her gaze firm as she looked at He Yuzhu. Summoning her courage, she whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, "Brother He, if you still care for me and are willing to be with me, I can reconsider my marriage to Xu Damao."

As soon as these words left her lips, He Yuzhu froze, as if struck by lightning, his mind going completely blank. Immediately, the image of a gentle, elegant figure appeared in his mind—Ran Qiuye.

He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to sound calm. "Haitang, the past between us is already over."

The light of hope that had been dancing in Yu Haitang's eyes gradually faded, as if veiled by a thick haze. Ever since being rejected by He Yuzhu again, her mood had been stifling, as if pressed down by a heavy boulder.

During this time, Xu Damao had been constantly urging her to let him formally propose to her family. However, Yu Haitang always found various excuses to put him off with vague replies. She neither allowed him to visit her family nor told him that she regretted agreeing to his proposal. Her heart was full of conflict and contradiction, and she did not know what to do next.

Sometimes, when she thought of He Yuzhu, a surge of inexplicable resentment would rise in her. At those moments, she felt an impulse to marry Xu Damao just to prove she wasn't a loser, hoping it would dull the pain of being rejected by He Yuzhu time and again. However, more often than not, when she looked at Xu Damao, her mind was crystal clear. She knew deep down that he was not the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Caught in a dilemma, she was unable to make a decision.

Finally, when Xu Damao brought up the proposal again, Yu Haitang had nowhere left to run. At that moment, she recalled the secret He Yuzhu had inadvertently revealed: Xu Damao was infertile.

"Brother Xu, before we go to my family to formally propose, I think we should go to the hospital for a check-up," she said, finally summoning the courage to make the request.

Xu Damao looked at her in confusion. In this era, people generally lacked awareness of pre-marital check-ups, and very few ever went to the hospital for such things before marriage. "What exactly are we going to the hospital to check for?" he asked, looking puzzled.

Yu Haitang felt a secret anxiety; she certainly could not tell him the real reason. At this critical moment, her mind raced, and she quickly came up with a plausible excuse that would not invite suspicion.

She took a deep breath, trying to make her tone sound natural and sincere. "Xu Damao, we have reached a critical point in our relationship, so I won't hide anything from you anymore."

"I have a cousin who got married not long ago. But they haven't been able to conceive, and the whole family is very anxious. After she went to the hospital for an exam, they found out it was a congenital issue with her, and it's unlikely she'll ever be able to have children."

She paused intentionally to observe his reaction. Seeing that he was listening intently, she continued, "So, I thought that before we officially start our life together, we should both have a comprehensive check-up. It’s a matter of being responsible to you, and to myself. If there really is any problem, we can discover it and treat it early, right?"

Hearing this, Xu Damao thought it sounded reasonable and nodded in agreement. He had already begun calculating what to do if there were any issues with her health.

After they agreed, they took leave from the factory and went to the hospital for their exams. The hospital was efficient, and the results arrived quickly. When Xu Damao saw the words "unable to bear children" clearly written on his report, his face turned deathly pale.

The doctor looked at him with deep sympathy and comforted him in a low voice, "My friend, don't take it too hard. Now that the issue is known, we should look for ways to resolve it as early as possible."

But Xu Damao, having heard the doctor's words, felt as if all his strength had been drained away; he didn't even have the energy to respond. He simply lowered his head in silence, as if the entire world had lost its color. Then, like a shell stripped of its soul, he slowly walked out of the hospital.

Yu Haitang followed closely behind him, her mind a whirlwind of complex thoughts and emotions.