As soon as she returned to the Shu residence, Shu Yan, dressed in a red dress and white leather shoes, her makeup done, descended the stairs like a colorful butterfly. She complained to her mother, "Mom, where did you go? Why are you only back now? Didn't we agree you'd take me to the social gathering of the wives?"
Jia Nanfang linked her arm through Shu Yan's. Seeing that her daughter's figure hadn't changed after childbirth, she felt as if her beautiful daughter had returned. She said happily, "What's the rush? It's still early. Wait for me, I'll go change and touch up my makeup."
"Mom, will Mrs. Xue's son also be there? Do I look good dressed like this?" Shu Yan had already made up her mind. To continue living in the comfortable circle of high society, she needed to marry herself off quickly before her reputation was too tarnished.
If she lost her current status, without her father as a backer, how could she possibly seek revenge on Qin Tianyi and Gu Susu?
Jia Nanfang praised her, "You look beautiful, my daughter is naturally gorgeous, she looks outstanding in anything..."
"Don't you dare go out and embarrass yourself!" Shu Zhongze returned earlier than usual and happened to overhear the mother and daughter's conversation.
"Dad, why?" Shu Yan asked indignantly.
Shu Zhongze stepped forward and slapped her directly, roaring, "It's all your mother's spoiling! The fact that you had an abortion for Qin Tianyi is now common knowledge, you've completely disgraced the Shu family! Stay in the house. You are not allowed to go out without my permission from now on!"
Shu Yan's large tears streamed down her face, and she said with a wronged expression, "What did I do wrong? You also agreed to my marriage with Qin Tianyi back then."
Shu Zhongze sneered, "Do you take me for a fool? Was that child really Qin Tianyi's? If it was, why didn't you dare to give birth to it, and instead let your mother arrange for you to go to the countryside for an abortion! If I had a DNA report in hand, I wouldn't be helpless against Qin Tianyi and would be mocked by those petty people in private! You truly are my good daughter!"
Shu Yan's eyes widened, and she was rendered speechless by Shu Zhongze's questions.
Jia Nanfang steadied herself, quickly told Shu Yan to go back to her room upstairs, and then plastered a smile on her face, reaching out to massage Shu Zhongze's arm. "Old Shu, don't be angry. We'll just keep Yan from going out for a while. I won't go tonight either. Those wives' gatherings are meaningless, all gossip and trivial matters."
Shu Yan turned and went upstairs helplessly. She hadn't expected that after asking Xiao Anjing to send the child to the welfare home, she would still become a laughingstock after listening to her mother, and even her father no longer loved her.
Shu Zhongze watched Shu Yan go back to her room upstairs, then softened his tone and looked at Jia Nanfang, saying, "Whose bastard child was she carrying, and she still dared to lie to us. If she hadn't lied, we wouldn't have publicized her pregnancy, it's utterly humiliating!"
Jia Nanfang stroked his chest and insisted, "You still don't understand your daughter. Besides Qin Tianyi, who else did she like? The child in her womb must be Qin Tianyi's, but Qin Tianyi refuses to admit it. If she were to have the child, how could she get married with a child? I thought about it carefully, and had no choice but to let her go to the countryside for an induced labor..."
Shu Zhongze's face darkened, and he stared at her as if she were a stranger. "It's one thing if she lied, but you're still helping her cover it up. I think you mother and daughter have the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard! An induced labor can still be used for DNA testing. If you're so righteous, what are you afraid of!"
Jia Nanfang could no longer justify herself and lowered her head, saying, "Old Shu, even if the child isn't Qin Tianyi's, our daughter was still bullied. She wouldn't mess around outside, this is the daughter we've meticulously educated!"
"Our daughter? Don't drag me into it. Only you could raise such an idiot!"
Jia Nanfang was secretly startled and dared not speak for Shu Yan anymore.
Shu Zhongze said, "Her stupidity is one thing, but she shouldn't be so foolish! Meticulously educated, all these years of raising her have been in vain! She lacks propriety, disregards the bigger picture, and if we indulge her further, she will ruin the entire Shu family!"
Jia Nanfang couldn't help but say, "She's too stupid and clumsy, but that's because she's too naive, she wouldn't..."
"Shut up! You stay home and reflect on how you raised such a scoundrel!" Shu Zhongze said, pushing her away, and then called the family driver to go out.
Jia Nanfang felt a pang of panic, sensing Shu Zhongze's disgust towards her, and felt that her status in the Shu family was precarious.
Over the years, she had toiled to stand out among Shu Zhongze's many women, enduring things that other women couldn't tolerate. She was gentle and virtuous, presentable in public and capable in private, and in the most humble way, she had gained some genuine affection from Shu Zhongze.
But only today did she realize that decades of marital affection with Shu Zhongze could not outweigh the Shu family's reputation and honor. For these, he could easily show disgust towards her, and their daughter.
She slumped onto the incredibly comfortable genuine leather sofa. Now, she had no other choice or retreat. Only by marrying Shu Yan off with great fanfare and restoring the Shu family's lost face could she preserve what she had so hard-won.
...
Shu Yan returned to her room and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, weeping silently. She had only wanted to try and hold onto the man she loved, why did it turn out like this?
She couldn't help but recall the scene when Huo Jin came to comfort her after Qin Tianyi broke off their engagement. At least then, even though she had lost the man she loved, she still had a good best friend.
But she had accidentally caused Huo Jin's death, she didn't want it to happen, she truly didn't want it!
Every time she woke up at midnight, plagued by nightmares, she wished that none of it had ever happened, that she could go back and relive it.
But what had happened could not be undone, and she could only use new lies and mistakes to cover up the errors already made.
Why had she become so pathetic? It was all Gu Susu's fault, that wicked woman, and Qin Tianyi!
Why couldn't he give her even a little bit of his love and tenderness? Then everything would have been different.
She hated them, she hated them so, so much!
She would not let them continue to be so blissfully together, she wanted them both to go to hell!
...
Waking up early, Susu stretched with a refreshed feeling, pulling open the curtains to let the sunlight stream onto the bed.
Qin Tianyi, still lingering in bed, simply turned over, covered his head with the blanket, and continued to sleep.
Susu hopped onto the bed, pulled away the blanket covering his head, and called him to wake up, "Hey, aren't you getting up? It's the weekend today!"
Qin Tianyi complained without opening his eyes, "Darling, you know it's the weekend, can't you let me sleep a little longer?"
Susu sat beside him and tugged his ear, "You can't sleep any longer. Don't you remember we promised Xingxing yesterday that we'd take him to the amusement park together? Look at the time now."
Qin Tianyi covered his ear and grunted, "What time is it? You go wash up first, I'll get up right away."
"It's almost nine o'clock, so hurry up and get up." Susu patted his face and went to the bathroom first.