Where is the baby buried? I want to visit him

The hospital room smelled of disinfectant, and the heart monitor beeped steadily.

Lin Nianwei lay in the hospital bed, utterly drained after giving birth. Her lips were dry and peeling, and sweat-soaked strands of hair clung to her forehead.

She struggled to open her eyes, her gaze shifting until she finally made out the person sitting beside her bed.

"Dad..."

Lin Zhengye immediately leaned forward and took his daughter's hand.

This man, who commanded immense power in China's business world, now had reddened eyes and a hoarse voice. "Nianwei, Dad's here!"

Lin Nianwei moved her lips and struggled to swallow before managing a faint whisper. "The baby... I want to see the baby."

Lin Zhengye visibly stiffened.

His grip on her hand tightened, then immediately loosened for fear of hurting her.

"Nianwei," Lin Zhengye said, brushing the damp hair back from her forehead, "the baby... didn't make it."

Lin Nianwei's eyes flew wide open!

"He died." Lin Zhengye swallowed instinctively as he spoke those words. "He was a boy. He didn't make it."

Lin Nianwei's lips began to tremble.

She tried with all her strength to speak, but all that escaped were broken, hoarse murmurs that formed no words.

Tears rolled from the corners of her eyes, running past her temples and pooling in her ears.

"Dad... you're lying..." Lin Nianwei squeezed the words out of her throat. "Let me see him... let me see him..."

Lin Zhengye sat on the edge of the bed and gently cradled his daughter's head against his chest.

"Nianwei, you're still young. You can have another baby. What matters now is getting well!"

Lin Nianwei began shaking violently in her father's arms, then burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

Her sobs were muffled, stifled...

Less than a minute later, her body suddenly went limp.

Lin Zhengye looked down. His daughter's eyes were closed, and she was completely unresponsive.

"Doctor! Doctor!" he shouted toward the door.

The nurses at the station immediately rushed over, followed by the doctor on duty.

Lin Zhengye was pushed aside as the doctor checked her pupils and heart rate, then instructed a nurse to bring the crash cart.

"Mr. Lin, your daughter has fainted from overwhelming grief. She needs to be moved to intensive care for observation," the doctor told him after finishing the examination.

"All right, don't worry about me. Go treat her!"

As Lin Nianwei was wheeled out, Lin Zhengye took one step after her, then stopped.

A moment later, the door opened, and a middle-aged man in a black suit walked in.

"Has the baby been sent away?"

"Yes."

The suited man answered quietly,

"As you instructed, he was taken to the orphanage on the west side of the city. The director signed a confidentiality agreement, and all records of the baby's identity have been erased. He'll go through the normal adoption process."

Lin Zhengye remained silent for a long time.

"Is the baby healthy?"

"Yes. Three point six kilograms, with a strong cry." The suited man paused. "Sir, actually, your daughter..."

"I know."

Lin Zhengye cut him off,

"What kind of background does that man have? He's the heir to Hung Hing in Deep City! Could Nianwei ever have a good life with him? Now that the baby is gone, she'll grieve for a while, then get over it. If she kept him, she'd be tied to that thug for the rest of her life!"

The suited man lowered his head and said nothing.

Lin Zhengye turned and walked to the window, his back to the door. "Has that Chen fellow arrived?"

"He just reached the ground floor of the inpatient building. Our men stopped him."

"Let him up." Lin Zhengye sneered. "Let's see how he has the nerve to show his face!"

Chen Jingshen ran into the lobby of the inpatient building.

He had been meeting with Hung Hing's senior members that day, formally completing the handover and withdrawing from all its affairs.

His phone had been on silent. By the time he checked it, he had more than a dozen missed calls from Lin Nianwei.

Chen Jingshen drove to the hospital, running six red lights along the way.

The elevator was too slow, so he charged into the stairwell and ran straight up to the eighth floor. As soon as he emerged, two men in black suits stopped him.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Lin is waiting for you over there."

Chen Jingshen looked in the direction they indicated. At the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the corridor, Lin Zhengye stood with his hands behind his back, staring outside.

He walked over and stopped three paces behind Lin Zhengye.

"Uncle Lin, where's Nianwei? How is she?"

Lin Zhengye slowly turned around.

He looked Chen Jingshen up and down. His white shirt was soaked with sweat, clinging to him in crumpled folds. His hair was disheveled from running, his forehead drenched, and he had yet to catch his breath.

The corner of Lin Zhengye's mouth twitched.

"Chen Jingshen, you still have the nerve to come here?"

Chen Jingshen froze. "Uncle Lin, I'm Nianwei's partner. How could I not come when she's having our baby?"

"Partner?" Lin Zhengye rolled the word around in his mouth, then laughed. "What kind of partner are you? You're just a petty thug!"

Chen Jingshen drew a deep breath. "Uncle Lin, I've already left Hung Hing. I was handling the handover, so I missed her calls. I..."

"Left?"

Lin Zhengye stepped forward,

"Left, my ass! Your father is Hung Hing's boss. You grew up among those thugs, and you know perfectly well whether you have blood on your hands! You think you can just leave because you say so? Would the police believe that? Would I?"

Chen Jingshen clenched his fists, then released them.

"Uncle Lin, I've never been involved in my family's business. I went to a proper university, and I have a legitimate job. I work in investment banking. You know all of that."

"I know?"

Lin Zhengye's voice suddenly rose,

"All I know is that you knocked up my daughter! All I know is that you left her too afraid to even go outside with that pregnant belly! All I know is that you couldn't even give her a fucking wedding!"

His voice echoed through the corridor.

Chen Jingshen's face flushed crimson, and veins bulged in his neck.

"I planned a wedding! You refused! You said a daughter of the Lin family couldn't marry a gangster! You locked her in the house and wouldn't let us see each other!"

Lin Zhengye stared at him, then suddenly smiled.

But that smile was chilling.

"So? That meant you let her climb over the wall in the middle of the night to see you? That meant you fucked her in a car? Chen Jingshen, are you even human?"

The color drained from Chen Jingshen's face.

"Nianwei and I truly love each other..."

"Truly?" Lin Zhengye interrupted. "You're a gangster, and you're talking to me about true love?"

He took a check from his inner jacket pocket and slapped it against Chen Jingshen's chest.

"Take it. Fifty million. Consider it payment for keeping Nianwei company this past year or so. From today onward, get the hell out of Deep City. Don't let me see you again!"

The check slid off Chen Jingshen's chest and fluttered to the floor.

Chen Jingshen glanced down at it, then looked back up at Lin Zhengye.

"Uncle Lin, where's the baby? I want to see him."

Lin Zhengye's eyelid twitched.

"The baby's gone."

Chen Jingshen went utterly still.

"What do you mean, gone?"

"He died," Lin Zhengye said, enunciating every word. "My daughter is still lying in intensive care, and it's all because of you."

Chen Jingshen's knees buckled. He hurriedly braced himself against the wall, barely managing to stay upright.

"That's impossible... Nianwei's prenatal checkups were always normal. How could..."

"You still have the fucking nerve to ask?!"

Lin Zhengye suddenly exploded with rage, grabbing Chen Jingshen by the collar and pinning him against the wall,

"Why did she go into premature labor? Because of your bullshit! Your rivals cornered you at a nightclub, and she drove out to find you while pregnant. She had to brake suddenly on the way and took a blow! Chen Jingshen, you almost ruined my daughter's life too!"

Chen Jingshen's eyes reddened.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Lin Zhengye released him, stepped back, and straightened his suit.

"Chen Jingshen, let me make this clear today."

His voice grew calm again, frighteningly calm,

"You aren't worthy! You aren't worthy of marrying my daughter, let alone becoming part of my family."

"If you're really a man, leave on your own! Don't wait for me to make you."

Chen Jingshen leaned against the wall, then slowly slid down to the floor.

He stared at the ceiling, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Uncle Lin, let me see Nianwei. Just once."

"No!"

"I promise I'll leave after I see her."

"I said no!"

Chen Jingshen pushed himself up against the wall, staggering before he found his footing.

He looked at Lin Zhengye, his eyes so red they seemed about to bleed:

"Uncle Lin, I know you look down on me. But in the year or so Nianwei and I have been together, I've never let her suffer the slightest hurt. I've given her everything I could. If you think I'm not worthy of her, I'll accept that. But with the baby gone, she must be devastated. I need to be there for her..."

"Be there for her?"

Lin Zhengye interrupted Chen Jingshen again,

"With what? You're a thug. What can you give her? A stable life? A respectable position? Or a fucking life of gang fights and bloodshed?"

"I told you, I've already left!"

"Left?"

Lin Zhengye sneered,

"You may have left Hung Hing, but you're still Boss Chen's son. Can you wash away the blood in your veins? Which of those uncles of yours isn't on the police's watch list? If Nianwei stays with you, what happens when you're out eating one day and a gang suddenly rushes in to hack you apart? What is she supposed to do?"

Chen Jingshen had no answer.

"And another thing,"

Lin Zhengye stepped forward, staring into his eyes,

"You know the standing my family has in China. If my daughter married you, how could I show my face? What would people in our circles think of me? Lin Zhengye's daughter, married to a gangster?"

Chen Jingshen's lips trembled.

"So you're fucking unworthy!" Lin Zhengye said, stressing every word. "Whether you leave or not, you'll never be worthy!"

He picked up the check from the floor and slapped it back into Chen Jingshen's hand.

"Take the money and get out!"

Chen Jingshen looked down at the check in his hand. Fifty million. Seven zeros, beautifully printed.

He laughed.

As he laughed, tears began to fall.

Chen Jingshen folded the check and tucked it into Lin Zhengye's jacket pocket.

"Uncle Lin, keep this money and buy Nianwei something to help her recover." Chen Jingshen's voice was hoarse. "You say I'm not worthy of her. Fine, I'll accept that! But remember this: what Nianwei and I have isn't something you can buy with money."

He turned and headed for the stairwell.

After a few steps, he stopped again.

"Uncle Lin, where is the baby buried? I want to visit him."