Chapter 111

Chapter 111

In the days that followed, Wen Jueqian was exceptionally busy, with all his focus on the cognitive interaction system.

Qin Jingqiu called to say she had been having frequent headaches lately and wanted to go to the hospital for a check-up, asking if he could accompany her.

Although Wen Jueqian was swamped and couldn't step away, he still couldn't shake off his worry hearing that his mother was unwell. He had Zhou Jing reshuffle his schedule to clear a whole day.

When Wen Yanxu learned of this, he arranged VIP access and dedicated doctors for them at Ruiping Kanghe Hospital.

Early the next morning, Wen Jueqian went to the Wen residence to pick up his mother and his sister-in-law, Li Yi.

Throughout the ride, Qin Jingqiu chattered on about this and that, seeming to be in good spirits, which eased Wen Jueqian's mind a little.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the dedicated physician was already waiting in the lobby. He led the three of them to the consultation room to hear what was going on.

After sitting down, Qin Jingqiu started beating around the bush, mumbling vaguely that she didn't really have any major problems, and suggested that since they were already here, maybe they should accompany Li Yi for a check-up instead.

Wen Jueqian looked at his mother's shifty gaze and vaguely understood something.

Qin Jingqiu circled around the topic several more times before finally saying, "Jueqian, since we're here today, we thought we'd also take a look at Ruiping Kanghe's obstetrics and gynecology department."

Wen Jueqian felt a flicker of surprise. His parents were both in their fifties—they couldn't be expecting a fourth child, could they?

Li Yi quietly explained from the side, "Jueqian, I'm pregnant. Mom said Ruiping Kanghe's comprehensive maternity package is excellent, and she insisted on accompanying me to check it out."

Qin Jingqiu's headache was just a pretext. The real purpose of coming to the hospital was that Li Yi was pregnant and needed Ruiping Kanghe's full maternity care package. Wen Jueqian felt something tighten in his chest.

Qin Jingqiu quickly added, "Jueqian, Mom's fine. It's your sister-in-law who's not doing well. She had a rough pregnancy with Xirui and suffered quite a bit. I've heard that Ruiping Kanghe's maternity care package is top-notch across the Federation—covering everything from prenatal nutrition guidance to postpartum recovery. Can you set it up for your sister-in-law?"

Wen Jueqian looked at his mother's face wearing a fawning smile, then glanced at Li Yi standing nearby. His voice turned cold: "If she wants to purchase the full maternity care service, she can book it online directly and just submit the application like everyone else."

He had been working nonstop lately and had carved out an entire day to come to the hospital because his mother said she wasn't feeling well.

It wasn't until he got there that he realized the so-called "headache" was just a pretext. What a waste of his time.

The dedicated physician standing nearby had already noticed something was off and jumped in, "Mrs. Wen, if you'd like to learn more about Ruiping Kanghe's full maternity care service, I can give you a detailed introduction."

Li Yi spoke to Qin Jingqiu with a tone of gentle reproach: "Mom, I told you I could come by myself. You insisted on troubling my brother-in-law. He's so busy with work—it's really inappropriate to disturb him."

Wen Jueqian felt annoyed hearing Li Yi speak to his mother that way, but Qin Jingqiu herself was comforting Li Yi: "It's inconvenient for you to come alone. Since Jueqian happens to have these connections, we're all family after all."

She then gave Wen Jueqian instructions: "Jueqian, as the future young mistress of the Wen family, just say a word to the hospital's upper management to take good care of your sister-in-law. They'll definitely be more attentive. I'm just worried about your sister-in-law and your future little nephew..."

Wen Jueqian cut her off: "Ruiping Kanghe provides the same level of medical service to all patients based on what they pay for. If you purchase the package, the hospital will naturally provide the corresponding services. There's no need for extra favors."

Dr. Chen also offered a professional smile and said, "Ladies, you can trust our hospital completely. We give every patient the best possible care."

Qin Jingqiu was about to keep complaining, but Li Yi stopped her and spoke up, "Brother-in-law, I'm really sorry. Mom is just too doting on me. We were out of line and caused you trouble."

Wen Jueqian saw through their act, feeling fed up. He wasn't going to waste any more time and said to the dedicated physician, "Dr. Chen, please take them to complete the procedures."

Although he was annoyed that his mother had used him to secure special treatment for Li Yi, since they were already here, he couldn't just leave them hanging. He had Dr. Chen walk them through purchasing the full maternity care service and also arranged a full check-up for Qin Jingqiu.

Dr. Chen nodded in acknowledgment.

Wen Jueqian said to Qin Jingqiu, "Mom, I've still got work at the company, so I'll head back now. Dr. Chen will take you both for the examinations."

With that, he got up to leave.

But Qin Jingqiu caught his wrist, almost whispering: "What about the fees?"

Wen Jueqian froze mid-step. "What fees?"

"The fees for Mom's full check-up..." Qin Jingqiu bit her lip, her eyes shifting away. "And your sister-in-law's full maternity care service. We just came to check things out—we didn't bring that much money..."

Wen Jueqian watched his mother's cautious probing, and a wave of disappointment washed over him.

That disappointment didn't just start today—it had been building for years.

Since childhood, he could never get unconditional love from his mother. As a child, he had to be easy to handle for Qin Jingqiu to earn praise; after middle school, he needed top grades to be a son she could brag about; and after he got with Wen Yanxu, he had become more useful to his mother and the Wen family.

Why did she always take from him so matter-of-factly?

Wen Jueqian suddenly felt weary. Perhaps he shouldn't expect more from love that was always so conditional.

He pulled his mother's hand off his wrist, his expression firm.

Then he said to Dr. Chen, "I've already given you my payment key. Everything from here on gets charged to my account."

Qin Jingqiu's eyes lit up at that, but seeing the disappointment in his eyes, some leftover maternal instinct made her heart ache. She tried to cling to the bond that was slipping away: "Jueqian, you know that Wenyuan has been having financial difficulties lately. Your father goes on every day about how much the new production line will cost, and we've mortgaged several of our properties. It's not that I'm unwilling to spend money—I just don't want to put more strain on your father and the rest..."

What company doesn't have cash flow problems?

But Wen Jueqian didn't feel like arguing with her anymore. He nodded, said "Got it," and turned to leave the consultation room.

"Jueqian..."

He just wanted to leave her voice behind in that room.

By the time he walked out, he was in a terrible mood.

And what made it worse was that Wen Jueqian bumped straight into He Yishui, who was just about to walk into the consultation room next door.

He Yishui was wearing a sharp dark green suit, with an assistant, bodyguards, and several doctors trailing behind him.

Wen Jueqian didn't know if his presence here was a coincidence or if he'd found out about Wen Yanxu's special arrangements.

He Yishui owned 30% of Ruiping Kanghe. Even though he wasn't involved in day-to-day operations, he had a tight grip on the hospital—as shown by the fact that files on every omega with over 80% compatibility with Wen Yanxu landed on his desk, and he knew the health records of every Wen family member inside and out.

At first, Wen Jueqian hadn't planned to bring Qin Jingqiu to Ruiping Kanghe. But his mother had insisted, and Wen Jueqian had held onto the hope that even if someone tattled to He Yishui, he wouldn't take it to heart.

And now he was here. Would he go ask Dr. Chen what went down in that room?

The mere possibility made Wen Jueqian's skin crawl with humiliation.

He Yishui had already stopped and was looking at Wen Jueqian.

Wen Jueqian pushed down his feelings and greeted him politely: "Hello, Uncle."

He Yishui looked him over for a moment before asking, "Not feeling well?"

"No." Wen Jueqian shook his head. "I'm here with my mom for a check-up."

At that moment, Qin Jingqiu came out of the consultation room. Spotting He Yishui, her face lit up with a warm, eager smile: "In-law! What a coincidence, running into you here!"

He Yishui's face didn't change. He'd always looked down on Wen Jueqian's family, and even with his manners and upbringing, he only replied flatly, "Just a routine check-up."

"Yes, yes, of course!" Qin Jingqiu nodded repeatedly, totally missing his cold attitude, chattering on: "At our age, we really should pay more attention to our health. Unlike Jueqian and Yanxu, who think they're still young and don't take care of themselves—they ignore it when something's wrong."

As she spoke, she complained like any mother who doted on her child: "Jueqian is just like this—once he gets busy with work, he forgets to take care of himself. Today he came to the hospital but didn't even bother to get a check-up while he was at it. All he thinks about is company matters, and now he's rushing back."

"Who knows how long we'll have to wait before he and Yanxu start trying to have a baby after they get married."

Hearing this, He Yishui's gaze fell back on Wen Jueqian, and for once, he found Qin Jingqiu's rambling actually useful. "Jueqian, you should get a full check-up too."

Wen Jueqian caught the unmistakable note of finality in his tone, yet still said, "Uncle He, thank you for your kindness. But the Lingjing Era has an important test today—I need to get back."

"No matter how important that test is, it's not worth more than your health."

He Yishui said, in a tone that brooked no argument. "Jueqian, families like ours are different from others. We don't need to trade our health for anything. A check-up isn't a waste of time—it's a necessity."

He turned his head and instructed the people beside him, "Put him in the family health management system."

The so-called "family health management system" was a premium medical service that Ruiping Kanghe had custom-built for the Wen family. Each core family member was assigned a dedicated medical team composed of top experts from various fields, tracking their health all year, putting out detailed physical assessment reports every quarter, and tweaking plans based on the data—all to make sure the family members' bodies stayed in peak condition at all times.

Li Yi had heard of these elite families' health management systems before, and a flash of envy flickered in her eyes when she heard that.

Qin Jingqiu, though unfamiliar with the concept, chimed in from the side: "That's right, that's right—how thoughtful of our future in-laws. Jueqian, just do what your elders say and get the check-up before you go. It won't take long."

Li Yi also stepped forward, a gentle smile on her face: "Uncle Jueqian, Mom is right. You're always busy with work and looking after Young Master Wen—you look a bit pale today. And besides..."

She subtly stuck out her still-flat belly, "You and Young Master Wen are a beta and Alpha pairing—getting pregnant is already hard, so you need to take extra good care of yourself. Your brother and I are almost expecting our second child. You should hurry up and give Mom and Dad a grandkid too—start getting ready now."

Her tone was soft and caring, like she really had Wen Jueqian's best interests at heart, but every word hit exactly the spots that made him uncomfortable.

He Yishui quietly watched Qin Jingqiu and Li Yi "help" him out. To him, Wen Jueqian was first and foremost Wen Yanxu's fiancé, the future young lady of the Wen family, and only secondarily his own person.

Making sure Wen Jueqian was healthy—especially keeping his reproductive capacity in top shape—was the basic foundation for maximizing the family's interests.

What Wen Jueqian wanted wasn't the priority.

He Yishui raised his hand a little, and the chief personal physician behind him immediately stepped forward, waiting respectfully for orders.

"Dr. Lin, make the arrangements. Give Jueqian a full deep physical, with priority on checking reproductive cell activity and various physiological function indicators."

"Yes, Chairman He." Dr. Lin bowed and acknowledged.

Wen Jueqian suddenly spoke up: "I don't want to go."

Even Qin Jingqiu, who was usually bad at reading the room, could tell that He Yishui's whole demeanor had gone ice-cold after Wen Jueqian refused.

Qin Jingqiu tried to smooth things over, raising her voice to scold him: "What's wrong with you, child? Why don't you want to go?"

Even though male Betas didn't have a gestational cavity, tech companies led by Aegis had long since developed artificial wombs outside the body.

If Wen Yanxu and Wen Jueqian were willing, they could use medical procedures to extract their reproductive cells and grow embryos.

The technology was already pretty mature. While many omegas and female betas still insisted on getting pregnant naturally, the artificial womb had become a common way to have kids in the Federation, cutting way down on the physical toll of pregnancy.

And exactly because of that—since even the pain of childbirth could be avoided—providing healthy reproductive cells became a duty that couldn't be questioned or refused.

Wen Jueqian stood there, looking at the three people in front of him: his biological mother, his future mother-in-law, and his sister-in-law.

Three people with different positions, but at this moment they were all united, pushing him to get a check-up.

Wen Jueqian found it ridiculous.

He was being weighed again, measured by the value of his body.

This time, Wen Yanxu wasn't the judge, so Wen Jueqian was bound to lose.

It was just a check-up. If Wen Jueqian would just give in, everyone would be happy.

Why let other people witness this humiliation?

Just a check-up—if he nodded, everyone would breathe a sigh of relief, and the doctors and assistants in the exam room could pretend they hadn't heard a thing.

But why the hell should he give in?

Wen Jueqian took a deep breath, getting ready to refuse flat out.

"Dad."

A voice came from the other end of the hallway.

Everyone turned to look.