Marked by My Scummy Ex-Wife’s Boss (GL) - Chapter 29.1

The pregnant woman truly didn’t understand. She tilted her head slightly, her brows twitching faintly in confusion.

The woman in black, however, abruptly froze—her voice cut off.

And after Song Zhen finished speaking, she shifted her gaze from the pregnant woman back to the real target of her words—the woman in black.

The hallway had already been tense, but now the atmosphere plunged into an even heavier, oppressive silence.

For a long few seconds, no one said a word.

Only the pregnant woman looked left and right, frowning in puzzlement.

She knew that saying. Though she had grown up in the United States, her family had always emphasized cultural heritage. Both she and her younger sister had been taught Chinese from a young age. And now, with

Song Zhen speaking to her like that, and her sister wearing such an expression…

The pregnant woman’s demeanor grew serious. “Xiao Shu, what does that mean?”

The woman in black bit her lip and said nothing.

The pregnant woman was about to ask again when the elevator chimed with a soft ding, followed by the click of approaching footsteps. Zuo Tian’s voice rang out behind them, calling Song Zhen’s name. Song Zhen… silently let out a breath of relief.

She turned, and there was Zhu Sui, walking alongside Zuo Tian. She had clearly been called back abruptly and looked a little confused.

But Zhu Sui had always been sharp. As soon as she approached and took in the scene—and saw the pregnant woman—she immediately recognized her. Her tone turned warm and welcoming.

“Mrs. Brown! It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

Then, switching to English with flawless pronunciation, she greeted her again.

After Zhu Sui introduced herself, Mrs. Brown finally remembered the Zhu family. As the wife of a diplomat, she was naturally well-versed in social graces and quickly smiled in return, engaging Zhu Sui in pleasant small talk.

But Zhu Sui’s appearance had quite a different effect on the woman in black—her lips pressed tightly together, and her face turned pale.

She had something to say but couldn’t get the words out. Then, recalling the strict warnings from the Tong family back in District Three, she glanced at her sister and ultimately chose silence.

Every shift in her expression was caught by Song Zhen.

And by Cheng Lang.

Out of instinct, the two women exchanged a glance—wordless, but knowing.

Song Zhen could already guess what the woman in black was thinking. And as the leader of Group One in the Adrenaline Division, with experience in foreign research, Cheng Lang understood even better.

It wasn’t hard to figure out—since they had come here, if they could be registered and go through official channels, the Institute would certainly take responsibility. But if their identity had already been exposed

and registration was blocked, then there was no way the Institute could just wash its hands of the situation.

They couldn’t just stand by if something happened to the wife of the U.S. ambassador to China. That would be absurd.

Either way, it was a catch-22.

This was the dilemma Song Zhen couldn’t solve.

And the reason Cheng Lang’s face had gone so pale.

Meanwhile, Zhu Sui, a natural communicator, had Mrs. Brown laughing within a few sentences, lifting the mood considerably. She then turned to Song Zhen and asked evenly, “So… why did you call me back?”

Song Zhen paused, carefully choosing her words. “Director, I know you’re not one of the researchers, but I always report any major project developments and unresolved issues to you.”

Her tone was serious, and unusually, she addressed Zhu Sui by title and used the formal “您.”

Zhu Sui’s smile faded the moment she heard that. Her expression turned solemn.

Song Zhen had emphasized “unresolved issues” deliberately, enunciating every syllable.

Then, under everyone’s gaze, Song Zhen continued, “This lady is five months pregnant. At this stage, things should be stable, but there are some complications… You asked me about Zhu Yi’s situation before, didn’t you?”

She paused, then cut to the point: “Coincidentally, this lady also came from District Three.”

“And if I’m not mistaken, her conception and early pregnancy were both under District Three’s pharmaceutical monitoring, weren’t they?”

The earlier vague phrases now gave way to direct questioning.

Mrs. Brown, thinking they were being discreet about internal matters, answered honestly and without suspicion. “Yes. District Three developed a drug they said could ensure a healthy first trimester.”

Looking slightly embarrassed, she lowered her head and added frankly, “I miscarried once before due to pheromone instability. I was really moved by what they said—and I’m getting older. I didn’t want to miss my window for having a child… so I went. Luckily, it worked well. I’ve made it to five months now.”

Zhu Sui was sharp. She immediately picked up on the implications in Song Zhen’s wording. And with Mrs. Brown’s straightforward explanation, any illusion of calm vanished—though thanks to years of training, she managed to keep her expression from betraying too much.

The truth was horrifying.

But Zhu Sui still maintained her composure.

Because she noticed something: the pregnant woman… didn’t seem aware of what was truly happening to her. In fact, when she mentioned being five months along, she lit up with joy, visibly happy and expectant.

In contrast, the woman beside her—Xiao Shu—the more delighted the pregnant woman became, the worse her expression grew.

It was clear who actually knew the truth.

Remembering what Song Zhen had said long ago about her concerns, Zhu Sui couldn’t help but ask, feigning ignorance, “But if the baby is stable now, Madam, are you still feeling unwell? What kind of discomfort are you having?”

“I don’t know exactly,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Everything should be fine at this point, but I keep feeling a strange ache in my gland. And the further along I get, the more intense it feels…”

She paused, then smiled again. “But I did go back to DistrictThree after the first trimester. They gave me a second round of intervention. It seemed to help. I took the medication twice, and they said everything was fine.”

Her smile faded slightly. She reached for the back of her neck where her gland was and added uncertainly, “It felt fine when I first returned to District One, but the discomfort’s come back these past few days. And at five months, pheromone disorders shouldn’t be recurring.

I even called District Three, went there once. They wouldn’t give me any more meds. Told me it’s just some side effects—uncomfortable, yes, but harmless to the baby…”

“Maybe the medication just isn’t fully developed yet…”

She smiled again and looked at Song Zhen with open trust.

“I was going to just endure it, really. But then we heard the rumors about you—how you saved that second-stage patient. Xiao Shu saw how uncomfortable I was and persuaded me to come. We figured, even if the baby’s safe, the side effects are still tough. Maybe you’d know something to help ease the gland pain? Right?”

Her explanation was measured and thorough—within a few sentences, she’d laid out everything leading up to now.

She smiled warmly at Song Zhen and the others.

Song Zhen, Zhu Sui, and Cheng Lang all smiled back—strained, bitter smiles.

Because based on what they knew about District Three’s experimental drug… Mrs. Brown’s problem was likely far more serious than simple discomfort.

Wasn’t that exactly how it began with Zhu Yi too? Just a little gland pain. Everything seemed normal on the scans.

Until it wasn’t. Until the pheromone disorder advanced to stage two.

And now…

Another silence fell over the hallway. Everyone who needed to understand, understood. The only one left in the dark was the pregnant woman—and out of consideration, no one said it aloud.

Zhu Sui broke the moment by asking why the woman hadn’t been brought in yet for examination.

Song Zhen played along smoothly, “The registration scanner’s broken.”

Zuo Tian—who’d been standing off to the side in shocked silence—snapped out of it. She was still staring at Cheng Lang, wide-eyed.

But hearing Song Zhen’s explanation, she immediately jumped in, nodding frantically. “Y-yes, that’s right, it’s my fault! I accidentally broke it. We can’t do any registrations today.”

As she spoke, cold sweat poured from her forehead.

After a long silence, Cheng Lang finally spoke.

“Madam, since you underwent treatment in District Three, you must have signed a related agreement. Would you be able to show us the original copy?”

In medical disputes in China, the first thing typically reviewed is the patient agreement and liability waiver. While such a document might not be legally binding against Mrs. Brown, having the agreement would at least prove she was indeed treated in District Three.

As Cheng Lang finished speaking, the woman in black visibly flinched—her face went completely pale.

With her interrogation background, Zhu Sui immediately sensed something was wrong.

She kept her expression composed and followed up smoothly, “So… it’s at home?”

“Yes… at home,” the woman in black muttered.

Zhu Sui smiled, though the smile never reached her eyes.

“Then could I trouble you to fetch it? We’ll need to review it…”

“R-review what? There’s nothing important in there…”

Zhu Sui’s voice turned slightly chilling.

“That’s where you’re mistaken. There’s plenty in it—treatment cycles, side effects, and most importantly, the drug composition. If we’re going to treat Mrs. Brown, we’ll need that as reference. Otherwise, she’s five months pregnant—if we use the wrong medication, any kind of accident could happen. Miss, do you need me to list the risks?”

Her tone was eerily calm and threatening. The pregnant woman’s sister clearly panicked, but her eyes darted between her sister and the members of the Adrenaline Division, hesitating. She still wouldn’t agree to go retrieve the documents.

Song Zhen pinched the bridge of her nose. Lovely.

District Three was clearly trying to wash their hands of it entirely.

She was sure the agreement hadn’t been lost—it had likely been reclaimed by District Three.

If something were to happen in District One, all the blame would fall squarely on them—on District One and the Adrenaline Division.

Brilliant. If they hadn’t been recognized, they probably would’ve waited until the pregnant woman had a full-blown episode before seeking help.

Absolutely ruthless.

But with the pregnant woman still unaware of the situation, Zhu Sui didn’t want to push too hard and risk tipping her off.

After a pause, she turned to Song Zhen and raised an eyebrow—a silent question: What do we do next?

Song Zhen exhaled and said, “The registration scanner’s broken. Let’s get someone to fix it immediately. As for Madam Brown, we can go ahead and run a preliminary exam. It won’t take long. How does that sound?”

The woman in black hadn’t expected them to allow the examination and looked stunned.

Song Zhen kept smiling. Mrs. Brown nodded, and Zuo Tian cheerfully helped her inside.

As Song Zhen entered the examination room with them, the woman in black attempted to follow—only to be firmly held down by Zhu Sui, who forced her back into her seat.

She froze.

A voice whispered low and cold by her ear:

“You know you can’t leave, don’t you?”

Then, even lower:

“For your sister’s sake, I strongly advise you to come clean—because…”

“A five-month-pregnant woman suffering a pheromone breakdown isn’t something we can afford to play around with.”

The final line turned her lips white. Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

She looked up to find Zhu Sui still holding her down with one hand, yet wearing a gentle smile as she waved politely to the pregnant woman, encouraging her to walk slowly—as if none of those threatening words had ever been spoken.

—

An hour later, Song Zhen arrived at the conference room with Zuo Tian and two final reports.

Inside, the Institute’s director, Vice Director Rong, Vice Director Zhu, and several other deputy directors were already present. Zhu Sui sat near the door. Cheng Lang and Group One were seated on one side;

Group Two on the other.

No one in the room looked pleased.

Song Zhen placed the reports on the table—multiple copies had already been printed. One was handed to the Director, one to Vice Director Rong, and Zuo Tian was instructed to make more for distribution.

Without wasting time, Song Zhen began bluntly, “The situation is bad.”

She flipped through the report, pointed out several abnormal indicators, and offered analysis for each anomaly.