Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Her gaze was pleading, leaving him no room to refuse.

”Since it’s a secret, I won’t press you about it. I’m not going to leave you, Nora. As long as I can see you, I feel like my life has meaning. Even as a friend, I wouldn’t abandon you to a flood and run off to save myself. That’s not who I am.”

”Okay. Can you tell me a joke? I want to hear one. Even if it’s not one you wrote, I know it’ll be funny coming from you.”

Leon Lynch took out his phone. ”I’ll find one online for you. How about I read it out loud?”

She pursed her lips into a smile. ”Okay.”

She lay down, and his voice, clear and pleasant, drifted to her ears.

”’A guy goes to a pet store and says, ’I want to buy a parrot.’ The owner shows him one and says, ’This parrot is special. If you pull its left leg, it sings ’Jingle Bells.’ If you pull its right leg, it sings ’The Star-Spangled Banner.’’ The guy asks, ’What happens if I pull both legs?’ The parrot glares at him and squawks, ’I fall on my butt, you idiot!’’”

He had just finished reading it when he saw that her eyes were closed and she was already asleep.

He put his phone in his pocket, tucked her in, and carried the glass she’d used for her milk to the bathroom sink to wash it. As he turned, he suddenly froze.

The small diaper in the trash can looked strikingly familiar—he’d gone with her to the supermarket to buy them. ’We bought sanitary pads, so why would she need to use a small diaper?’

Leaving the glass on the counter, he walked over to the toilet.

In the trash can next to the toilet, a diaper was soaked with an almost shocking amount of bright red blood.

’Even as a man, he knew that amount was way too much for any sanitary pad to handle.’

’No wonder her face was so pale.’

Recalling their earlier conversation, alarm bells went off in Leon’s mind. ’Is this normal?’

He picked up the clean glass and walked out of the bathroom.

He put the glass down, opened his laptop, and for the first time in his life, searched for information on such an intimate female topic.

He typed a question into the search bar: ”What to do about heavy menstrual flow?”

A flood of information appeared—suggestions from netizens and answers from doctors at various hospitals—but in Leon’s eyes, none of it seemed reliable.

He shut his laptop, put on a down jacket, and left the hotel.

He drove for half an hour before pulling up to a hospital.

There was a doctor on duty in the gynecology department.

He walked to the entrance, pulled a face mask from his pocket, and put it on.

Only then did he go inside.

”Sir, I think you’re in the wrong place.”

Leon glanced around, saw that the only person in the office was a female gynecologist in her forties or fifties, and lowered his voice. ”Doctor, I wanted to ask... My wife’s period is so heavy that even a diaper isn’t enough. Could there be a problem?”

”Generally speaking, a woman with such heavy blood flow would definitely be pale and weak from severe blood loss and would also show signs of anemia. If it’s a simple menstrual irregularity, it can be regulated. But if there’s an issue with the uterine lining, we would need to run tests to make a diagnosis.”

”Uterine lining? What’s that?” Leon kept his eyes down, feeling like he was sneaking around.

The gynecologist remained unfazed and explained patiently, ”The lining refers to the lining of a woman’s uterus. It’s directly involved in her menstrual cycle. If it sheds too quickly, it results in a very heavy flow.”

Leon only half-understood what she was saying. ”So, what kind of illnesses are related to that?”

The doctor considered for a moment before replying, ”Menstrual irregularities, of course. Pelvic inflammatory disease can also cause heavy bleeding, as can endometritis, endometrial hyperplasia, cervical cancer, uterine cancer... and so on. There are also potential complications. If this is a symptom of an underlying pathology, it could also lead to infertility.”

Leon’s blood ran cold. Every single possibility she listed sounded like a terrible omen.

He thought back to what Nora had said that night—that she never planned to get married—and his heart seized.

”Thank you, Doctor. Is there anything she can eat to help with the blood loss?”

”Yes, I’ll write down a list of iron-rich foods. You can go home and make some soup for your wife.”

Leon nodded and took the list. ”Thank you.”

After leaving the hospital, Leon got in his car and took off his mask. He looked at the list and then drove to a supermarket to buy the ingredients.

He delivered them to the hotel’s kitchen with instructions to prepare a bowl for her with every meal.

Only then did he step into the elevator, his mind churning with worry. ’Is there really something wrong with her?’

Until he could unravel this mystery for himself, his anxiety would never cease.

DING. The elevator doors opened, and Leon saw a figure slip quietly into Room 803. At the same time, he spotted a man with a camera standing farther down the hall.

Leon strode forward. The man, a reporter, noticed him and tried to flee, but Leon grabbed him by the collar.

”Who just went in there?”

”Who? Who went in there? I didn’t see anyone.”

Leon let him go and strode into Nora’s room.

Ryan had heard the commotion and was just about to hide when Leon burst in.

”What are you doing in Nora’s room?”

”I—I went to the wrong room!” Ryan explained frantically.

”The wrong room? Who do you think you are, the heroine of some romance novel?”

Ryan grew flustered. ”I’m leaving.”

As he tried to pass Leon, the latter kicked him square in the lower back. Ryan stumbled forward and slammed into the door, the crash waking Nora.

”Who’s there?”

Leon answered, ”It’s me.”

Ryan didn’t dare make a sound as he scrambled out the door.

Leon closed the door and walked farther into the room. ”That was Ryan, from your cast. He snuck in here, but I just kicked him out.”

Nora frowned. ”He’s come knocking late at night before, saying he had something to discuss. I didn’t open the door. Later, after he’d gone, I opened it and saw him walking away with someone holding a camera.”

”I’ll beat him up every time I see him. What a scumbag. He’s trying to manufacture a scandal to ruin your reputation!”

Nora just hummed in agreement. ”I know, Leon. I still have scenes to film.”

”All right, get up. I’ll bring you a late-night snack in a bit.”

Nora shook her head. ”No late-night snacks for me. I’ll gain weight, and it won’t look good on camera. After I finish my scenes, I have to go back to the city.”

”Back to the city? Why?”

”I have some things to take care of.”

”Should I go with you?”

Nora offered a faint smile. ”No need. I’m just visiting a girlfriend I haven’t seen in a while. Besides, it’s not that far to the city. I still have an apartment I haven’t sold in the complex next to where we shot *Tempting Lips*. I’ll sleep there tonight and come back in the morning.”

Hearing her explanation, Leon finally relaxed and nodded. ”All right.”

Nora finished getting ready and went to the film set to begin shooting her scenes.