December 15, Boston, a French restaurant in Beacon Hill.
A light, first snowflake drifted outside the window. Lin Qi sat in a semi-enclosed corner box, looking at Beth Finneran sitting opposite him.
Throughout November, Beth had made various excuses to decline Lin Qi's invitations to meet. She was either on a business trip in New York or had urgent cases at her law firm. It wasn't until today that Lin Qi drove his car directly to her law firm's underground parking garage and waited for her, finally managing to force her to come out.
Beth took off her heavy Max Mara coat and handed it to the waiter. Today she was wearing a loose Loro Piana cashmere sweater.
Over the past few months, Lin Qi had vaguely noticed a change in her style of dress, from her previous fitted business suits to various loose and languid cardigans. And today, the moment she sat down, even the loosest cashmere sweater couldn't hide the clearly protruding lines of her belly.
Lin Qi's mind flashed back to that night six months ago.
Six months. June 15th. Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the night the Boston Celtics won the championship.
The match wasn't over yet. In the VIP box on the second floor, Beth, who had drunk most of a bottle of red wine, straddled his lap with a slightly tipsy and undisguised aggression. It was an uncontrolled, impulsive encounter, a mixture of championship fervor and alcohol.
"That night in the private room... I didn't use protection." Lin Qi looked into her eyes. "So, this is mine?"
Beth was picking up a glass of warm water; she hadn't touched the wine list since she sat down. Hearing this, she paused slightly.
" Lin Qi, do I look like the kind of woman whose private life is so messy that she can't even tell who the father of her child is?" Beth sneered. "Who else could it be but you?"
Lin Qi nodded, seemingly very satisfied with the straightforward answer.
"I'm just confirming. After all..." Lin Qi leaned back slightly, "We've never really defined whether we're an 'exclusive' couple."
Beth rolled her eyes and slammed the knife she was holding onto the plate with a clang.
"From my perspective, it's exclusive." She picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth, her tone laced with a hint of mockery through gritted teeth. "Because just dealing with you has exhausted all my spare energy. I simply don't have the time to date a second man."
Lin Qi looked at her arrogant expression, remained silent for two seconds, and then asked the next question.
"So, do we need to get married?"
The moment those words were spoken, the air in the private room seemed to instantly drop to freezing point.
Beth was completely stunned. Her previously playful gaze turned icy cold, radiating obvious defensiveness.
"What exactly do you mean by that, Lin Qi?" Beth leaned forward slightly, her eyes sharp. "Is this a proposal? It doesn't seem like it to me."
"I need to confirm your thoughts first." Lin Qi maintained that maddening rationality. "When unexpected situations arise, I need to know how you plan to handle the child. This is a responsible approach for both of us."
Beth stared at him as if he were a monster, then gave a cold, speechless laugh.
"Are you really stupid or just pretending, Lin Qi?" Beth pointed to her swollen belly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'm already six months pregnant, and you're still asking me what I'm going to do? If I didn't plan to keep him, do you think I'd let him stay in my belly for a full six months?"
"That's not necessarily true," Lin Qi retorted seriously. "After all, you were born into a traditional Ireland Catholic family. Perhaps you chose not to have an abortion because of some political stance, or that religious belief in reverence for life. That doesn't mean you're subjectively ready to become a mother."
Beth took a deep breath, barely resisting the urge to throw the napkin in her hand at his face.
"Come on, Lin Qi! Don't try to fool me with your hypocritical objective analysis." Beth gritted her teeth, but her thinking was very clear. "First, I'm a staunch liberal, and my stance on this issue is much more flexible than you think. Second, I haven't been to church in about five years. We haven't even followed the most basic precept of premarital chastity, so what are you trying to tell me about religious faith and reverence for life?"
She stared at Lin Qi, her eyes revealing an undeniable determination.
"If I didn't want this child, even if it were the Pope himself standing in front of me, I would walk into the clinic without hesitation, let alone you." Beth leaned back slightly, regaining her cold demeanor. "I'm keeping him because I've decided to give birth to him. It's that simple."
She glanced at Lin Qi, laid her cards on the table, and gave him her harsh bottom line.
"I've been avoiding you for a whole month, not because I'm hesitating about whether to have the baby, but because I haven't figured out how to handle you. I'm a lawyer who's about to be promoted to partner; my annual salary is enough to pay for the best private hospital in Boston; I can hire three full-time nannies; I can even give this child the surname Finneran."
Beth's tone left no room for negotiation. " Lin Qi, I don't need a man to marry me out of some so-called 'sense of responsibility' or 'respect.' If you feel it's not the right time, or your damn basketball career means you simply don't have time to be a father, that's fine. You can sign a legal document relinquishing custody, and I'll raise him myself."
She picked up her water glass, took an elegant sip, and delivered her final judgment. "But the price is, from the moment you signed that document, you'll never see me again, nor will you ever see this child."
She threw the question back at Lin Qi: "So, don't give me that objectivity nonsense. As a man, what would you choose?"
Lin Qi looked at the angry, proud woman in front of him, who had even paved her own way out and was willing to kick him out.
The jumble of thoughts in his mind suddenly quieted down at that moment. He found that he was not angered by her assertiveness at all, but instead felt a strange flutter in his heart.
Lin Qi looked at her and spoke very decisively, without any preamble.
"Then let's get married."
Silence fell over the private room once again.
This time, Beth was completely speechless.
She had prepared a complete and logical breakup speech, even mentally rehearsing all the potential problems. But Lin Qi's illogical and sudden blunt statement completely shattered her defenses.
A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, and then, the cold exterior she had always worn cracked uncontrollably. A hint of happiness, which she herself was unwilling to admit, crept up to the corner of her eye.
But soon, that distinctive personal pride regained its dominance.
"You..." Beth frowned, forcing back a slight smile. "Do you think I'm one of your players? That you can tie me down for life with just a few words?"
She picked up her water glass again, took an elegant sip, and scrutinized the man opposite her with a haughty look.
"Want to marry me? Sure." Beth put down her water glass, her chin slightly raised. "But I need to think about it first."
"Consider?" Lin Qi raised an eyebrow.
"Of course. You need to understand things clearly beforehand, especially when it comes to having a child." Beth's tone regained its usual sharpness. "I need to confirm whether a workaholic like you, whose mind is only on basketball, is really suited to be a father."
She extended a slender finger and tapped it on the table.
"If things go wrong in the next few months... I might back out at any time and eliminate you from the game."
Lin Qi chuckled softly as he watched her stubborn refusal to back down verbally, her feigned interest despite being secretly pleased, and he realized it was the most genuine laugh he had had in the past six months.
"Your request is reasonable, Miss Finneran. I accept your consideration. Over the next few months, I will prove to you that this was the right choice."
For the remainder of the meal, the atmosphere in the private room miraculously became harmonious. The worries about work were gone, as was the previous tension. There were only two people who were used to being in control, trying to take their first step into an unknown territory called "family".
After dinner, Lin Qi put on his coat, naturally reached out and took Beth's heavy Max Mara coat, draping it over her shoulders.
Stepping out of the French restaurant, the first snow of the season in Boston was already quite heavy. A gust of cold wind made Beth instinctively shrink her neck. Lin Qi stepped forward and pulled up the collar of her coat for her.
The car was already parked on the side of the road, waiting.
Lin Qi opened the car door, but didn't rush to let Beth get in. He looked at her nose, which was a little red from the cold wind, and casually tossed out a sentence.
So, are you coming home with me tonight?
Beth, who was about to get into the car, stopped abruptly. She turned her head, looked at Lin Qi with annoyance, and then let out a cold laugh.
" Lin Qi, can't you think of anything else?" Beth rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'm six months pregnant, and you can't even wait a few more months? You should at least wait for me..."
Faced with this sarcastic remark, Lin Qi not only didn't get angry, but instead showed a helpless smile.
He stood amidst the swirling snowflakes, looking at the woman before him who was like a hedgehog, ready to prick at any moment, and his voice suddenly became unusually gentle.
You've misunderstood, Beth.
Lin Qi reached out and, through the thick cashmere sweater, carefully—even with a hint of clumsiness he himself didn't realize—touched her swollen belly.
"I just wanted to... hear this child's heartbeat."