Zhao Qin was charmed by the little girl, laughing heartily and covering her heart, "What a darling little doll. If only we had a granddaughter, she'd be this adorable."
In the room, Jin Ye's father, Jin Fang, was brought back to reality.
"Are you still watching that girl's livestream?"
"Yes, she's so well-behaved," Zhao Qin said with a smile. She picked up her phone and walked over to her husband, "She looks so much like our Xiao Xi."
Jin Fang glanced at it with a frown, his stern expression turning somewhat peculiar.
The girl on the livestream did indeed resemble his grandson, but there were too many people who looked alike in the world, and besides, children's appearances were quite similar.
It was fortunate they hadn't seen the real Su Xiao Rui.
If Su Xiao Rui turned off her beauty filters and cut her long hair short, she would be an exact replica of Jin Xiao Xi himself.
"Mm, she looks quite alike," he nodded.
"Doesn't she? Sigh, I don't know if we'll ever have a granddaughter. It would be wonderful if we did. I really don't understand what Xiao Ye is thinking, not liking Lin Lin, who bore him a son..."
Zhao Qin began to fret as she spoke. "What's so great about that Su Ding? She's just a bit pretty, but her personality is so uncivilized."
Jin Fang remained silent. If he told his wife about Su Ding's pregnancy, it might change her opinion of Su Ding, but for now, it was best not to mention it until she was further along.
If, by any chance, the pregnancy didn't last, it would only exacerbate the relationship between his wife and daughter-in-law.
"Say less, respect your child's wishes. Didn't Xiao Xi acknowledge Su Ding?" Jin Fang said sternly.
Hearing this, Zhao Qin perked up. "That's only because Xiao Xi doesn't know Lin Lin is his biological mother. Now that he does, look how much he's grown to depend on Lin Lin."
"Oh, Lin Lin even told me yesterday that Xiao Xi called her 'Mom,' and she cried with joy," Zhao Qin said, sighing again. "Lin Lin really hasn't had an easy time of it."
Jin Fang shook his head, saying no more, and pushed open the door to go to the study.
Zhao Qin checked the time and also got up to make milk downstairs. She knocked on her grandson's door, "Xiao Xi, Grandma made you some milk. Open the door quickly."
After a while, the door slowly opened.
Jin Xiao Xi, wearing bear pajamas and with slightly messy hair, his cute, tender face set, said, "Thank you, Grandma."
Zhao Qin affectionately patted his head. "Good boy, drink it quickly and get to sleep early."
"Mm, goodnight, Grandma."
Jin Xiao Xi's expression was almost identical to Jin Ye's. Zhao Qin thought of the face on the livestream and felt a pang of envy.
If she had a precious granddaughter, she knew how thoughtful she would be.
If Lin Lin could also give their Jin family a granddaughter, she would definitely make her son marry Lin Lin.
Zhao Qin affectionately inquired, "Xiao Xi, how have you been playing with your mother lately?"
Jin Xiao Xi knew Grandma was referring to Shao Lin. His eyes flickered for a moment, and he gave a perfunctory "Mm," "It's okay."
He had been pretending to be close to Shao Lin these past few days, and everyone thought he had been won over by her. But in reality, he was just acting.
His goal was to conceal himself.
"Grandma, it's getting late, you should go back and rest too."
Jin Xiao Xi waved his little hand at Zhao Qin and watched his grandmother leave. Only then did he quickly return to his bedroom and rush to the laptop.
He stared at the code on the computer screen with a serious little face, trying again and again to break through a certain firewall.
Now, he knew many things.
It started a few days ago when he fell ill. He had a strange urge to get close to Shao Lin.
Then, he began to feel unwell intermittently.
Nausea and vomiting, nightmares and sleepless nights. He could only feel at ease with Shao Lin by his side. This made him feel tormented mentally and physiologically dependent.
He had truly believed it might be due to blood relation until one day he overheard Shao Lin secretly taking a phone call...
He couldn't hear the call clearly, but he could reasonably confirm that Shao Lin had tampered with things.
It seemed Shao Lin had someone guiding her from behind. In any case, his current illness was caused by them.
Therefore, he started paying extra attention to his food, but whenever Shao Lin visited, he would feign some discomfort and "get close" to her...
After dispelling her guard, he began to investigate Shao Lin.
First, he doubted Shao Lin's blood relation to him. Even though his father tacitly agreed, he still found it strange.
If Shao Lin were truly his biological mother, she wouldn't treat him with such calculating intent.
So, he secretly got a paternity test.
The results surprised him greatly. It turned out he and Shao Lin had no blood relation at all. Shao Lin had been deceiving his father from the very beginning...
However, he didn't expose her because Shao Lin had many secrets.
Previously, Su Ding's mother and sister had been kidnapped, and Shao Lin was suspected, but the police couldn't arrest her due to insufficient evidence.
But he also believed Shao Lin was undeniably involved.
Most importantly, who was behind her? If he could thoroughly investigate Shao Lin, Su Ding's mother could finally find peace of mind.
But when he tried to breach Shao Lin's computer firewall, he discovered that Shao Lin's computer was protected by professional hackers, and he was unable to do anything for the moment.
However, he absolutely would not give up.
In the dark of night, Jin Xiao Xi stared at the computer with a tense little face, his small hands typing furiously on the keyboard...
...
For the next two days, Su Ding waited for Shao Lin's call.
But Shao Lin seemed to have forgotten about it, remaining silent and not contacting her, which kept her in a state of high tension.
She shared a bed with Jin Ye.
She feared that if Shao Lin contacted her unexpectedly and Jin Ye happened to answer, everything would be completely exposed.
This day, just as she finished drinking a chicken soup for her pregnancy, Shao Lin's call came.
Fortunately, Jin Ye was not at home.
Su Ding quietly hid in a corner to answer. Before she could speak, Shao Lin yelled sternly, "You idiot! You offended Mr. Wang, do you really want Mr. Jin to know about your scandalous affairs?"
Su Ding said coldly, "Xiao Rui is my bottom line. If you dare to touch her, then we'll both go down!"
The worst outcome would be for this matter to be exposed.
She would absolutely not let Xiao Rui meet that Mr. Wang, nor would she submit herself to Mr. Wang and try to please him!
Shao Lin, however, had anticipated her attitude and was not overly shocked. Instead, she said, "Alright then, since you're unwilling to agree to Mr. Wang's request, agree to the second condition."
"What condition?" Su Ding asked coldly.
"He wants five million. I believe as Mrs. Jin Ye, it shouldn't be difficult for you to come up with a mere five million."
Shao Lin then changed her tone, sneering, "He said that you accepted the five million that night five years ago, and he wasn't even allowed to see his daughter, so he had to take back that five million."
Su Ding's eyes reddened with hatred. That five million was indeed her shame.
Even though she had given her body and received that money, it was also because of that money that she could support herself and her daughter abroad.
But since the other party had brought it up, whether it was pressure or repayment, she wanted to settle that past debt!
Five million, she would pay!