Chapter 1 Sold Your Body

• Inside the operating theatre of the finest Obstetrics and Gynecology in a leading hospital in Jin City.
• Jiang Xiaoxiao was suffering from an intermittent pain in her abdomen. Breaking into a cold sweat, she clutched the handrail of her bed tightly, knuckles turning white.
• The doctor who was assisting her delivery had noticed her predicament and had gently comforted her, “It’s alright, no harm will come to you during your delivery. Bear with it, it’ll all be over soon.”
• Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded, her eyes turning red. She couldn’t bear to part with her baby.
• Her baby would be taken away from her upon its birth.
• Throughout her entire pregnancy, she had tried her level best to avoid having a maternal bond with her baby, all whilst watching her baby grow bigger inside her stomach. In spite of this, she now felt an indescribably pain strike her heart.
• I am sorry… so sorry...
• Jiang Xiaoxiao’s eyes had turned red.
• It wasn’t that she didn’t want the child, she just couldn’t keep him.
• She was simply a mere surrogate.
• After having delivered the child, she could no longer hold any familial ties with it, especially after she had collected the money in return.
• As of this moment, another wave of labor pain had struck. Fainting, Jiang Xiaoxiao held a deep sense of regret within her.
• I no longer want the money. I only want the child… only the child…
• Nobody could hear her inner pleas. She had been administered a dosage of anesthesia, causing her to lose all consciousness, as her surrounding dimmed.
• An hour later, Jiang Xiaoxiao awoke, finding herself on a hospital bed.
• There was nobody else in the room. However, a cheque was placed on the side of her bed, stating, “One Million Only.”
• Jiang Xiaoxiao felt as though she had lost a piece of her heart.
• She had burst into tears, just as she had started to caress the stomach where her baby had once been.
• In the future, she would no longer have such a mischievous fellow growing within her.
• She did not even receive the opportunity to look upon her baby!
• Tears of regret streamed down her face as she had come to the realization that she would never be able to meet her baby ever again.
• Before she could continue sobbing, the door had been pushed open.
• Looking over, Jiang Xiaoxiao had noticed Jiang Qingqing, who had been striding towards her arrogantly in a pair of high heels.
• Panicking, Jiang Xiaoxiao struggled to sit up, as a sharp pain had struck her abdomen.
• The wounds of her delivery had caused her great pain, making her fall back with a pale face.
• On the other hand, Jiang Qingqing stood beside her bed, sizing her up. Eyes full of sarcasm, she uttered, “Jiang Xiaoxiao, it is you indeed!”
• “What are you doing here?”
• Shock was visible upon Jiang Xiaoxiao’s angry face, her eyes clouded over by disgust and resentment.
• Seemingly unbothered, Jiang Qingqing smiled in triumph. “Junhao and I are now engaged. We are here today for our premarital screening…What a coincidence Jiang Xiaoxiao! Serves you right! You sold your body to deliver a baby to another man.”
• “Shut up!”
• Agitated, Jiang Xiaoxiao grabbed the few items that were on her bedside table, throwing them at Jiang Qingqing.
• It was apparent that she would be willing to fight to her very last breath against the woman in front of her.
• Wounds ripped apart; Jiang Xiaoxiao felt her eyes roll back.
• Jiang Qingqing had managed to avoid all her attacks easily, prompting her to smile cunningly, “Getting all riled up, eh? Wouldn’t you be extremely upset if I’d told you that it was I who had removed your mother’s oxygen mask just a year ago. I had stolen your mother’s medical expenses… Not to mention, I had also informed Junhao that you were a surrogate.”
• Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn’t believe her ears.
• She had just lost her child, and now, upon learning the truth, she was on the verge of madness. Unable to withhold herself, she became hysteric.
• “Jiang Qingqing, why would you do that? I’ve never caused you harm. Why did you have to do this to me? You vicious woman… You are not getting away with this! You will face retribution!!!”
• Pleased with her reaction, Jiang Qingqing pulled a long face before replying, “Why? I had wanted to destroy you, of course! It’s true, you haven’t done anything to me, but you’ve been standing in my way…We are both daughters of the Jiang family. Why do you get to be the carefree princess, while I on the other hand, have to remain a bastard child? I would certainly have to settle our scores with everything that has happened in the past. Every single one of them. Who’s laughing now? It’s me! Be it our father, our family’s assets, or even Junhao, they’re all mine now. And you? You’re simply the abandoned child of our family! Hahaha!”
• Her taunts were ringing in Jiang Xiaoxiao’s ears. Every word that she had uttered had pierced through Jiang Xiaoxiao’s grisly wounds, cutting deeper than a knife. She felt as though her wounds were being stripped bare.
• Suddenly, Jiang Xiaoxiao recalled about the events that had taken place last year…
• Her mother was recuperating well when all of a sudden, she had been put into a critical condition. She had begged her father to provide her with the funds for her mother’s medical expenses.
• If not adding fuel to the fire, Jiang Xiaoxiao had been hit by a double whammy when she had come to the discovery of her childhood sweetheart-turned-fiancé’s long-lasting affair with Jiang Qingqing.
• All this had contributed to her decision of becoming a surrogate, as she despaired, eager to save her ailing mother.
• Little did she know that this was all the doing of Jiang Qingqing.
• Ever since then, her family had severed their ties with her.
• Jiang Xiaoxiao remembered her father’s cold words, “Don’t you ever tell anyone that you are from the Jiang family. You are such a disgrace.”
• Even her fiancé had loathed her, “Jiang Xiaoxiao, how could you be so disgusting?”
• The past events had all hit a weakened Jiang Xiaoxiao, like a huge blow.
• Pain and hatred intertwined her heart, as she felt her lips turn white. It was as if she had been drowned into the deepest ocean, and finally…Into an immense darkness.