Page 11

Shen Ting'an had already notified Qiu Shumin's family to come over.

The group stood by the bed. Zhao Huizhen was dying of curiosity, but she couldn't ask Shen Luoluo directly. Instead, she tried to sound casual. "What's going on with Zhou Jian and Xiaohui? Weren't things fine before? How did they suddenly get together and elope?!"

Sure enough, Shen Luoluo's voice drifted into her mind the next second—

They didn't suddenly get together. They'd known each other for ages. They were each other's first loves.

Zhao Huizhen and Shen Ting'an exchanged a look. First loves?! Well, damn!

They were classmates in high school and dated back then, but later they broke up because of circumstances beyond their control.

It was a fairly amicable breakup. Afterward, they each went on with their lives and dated other people. They should never have crossed paths again, but they met at the woman's wedding. Her husband was the brother of the man's girlfriend!

Zhao Huizhen's eyes went wide. So his first love had become his sister-in-law. Ahem. That was quite a twist.

Former lovers, living under the same roof and seeing each other every day. No wonder they had eloped.

The family they'd notified still hadn't arrived, but Qiu Shumin woke up first. She slowly opened her eyes, then burst into tears again.

"What a sin! What a sin!" Qiu Shumin pounded the bed, sobbing. "Why is my life so miserable? I ended up with two ungrateful wretches, worse than animals! I knew those two were up to no good, doing nothing around the house all day and making eyes at each other. I knew it!"

"That Tang Hui is a little vixen! I said from the start that Shen Yu shouldn't marry her, but he acted like he was possessed and insisted on it. Once he brought her home, he treated her like royalty! All she does is eat and sleep. She can't do a thing! But she sure knows how to seduce a man!"

Shen Luoluo couldn't stand listening anymore and grumbled inwardly.

Mothers-in-law really are blind. They don't notice when a woman does the laundry, cooks, and cleans. All they see is her sleeping!

Zhao Huizhen nodded in heartfelt agreement. Exactly!

Then something occurred to her. She looked at Shen Jingyao and gave him a reassuring look: Don't worry. Mom won't be like that!

Shen Jingyao: ...

Shen Luoluo's thoughts continued—

Come to think of it, his aunt brought this elopement on herself. If she hadn't spent every day finding fault with her daughter-in-law, the couple wouldn't have fought, and the daughter-in-law wouldn't have gone looking for comfort from her brother-in-law!

After all that time together, how could their old feelings not come rushing back?

But her son and daughter-in-law were married for two years without having a child, and then she got pregnant soon after her sister's husband joined the family... Let me check!

Zhao Huizhen's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. She unconsciously edged closer to Shen Luoluo, as though that would help her hear more clearly. Then she noticed someone else doing the same and shot him a glare. Shen Ting'an, what are you doing crowding in here?

Shen Ting'an rubbed his nose awkwardly. He couldn't help it; he'd leaned in without realizing!

Shen Jingyao watched the three of them practically huddle together and shook his head helplessly.

Found it! Just as I thought. His aunt's son can't have children, but instead of getting himself checked, he blamed his wife. Every day, his mother made pointed remarks about her being a hen that couldn't lay eggs. She finally couldn't take it anymore, so she turned to her brother-in-law!

At first, the two of them only meant to pass the baby off as her husband's. But even after she got pregnant, his aunt still treated her badly. Meanwhile, the old feelings between the man and woman rekindled. He couldn't bear to see the woman he loved treated that way, so today they ran off with the money.

Hmm... I don't even know what to say.

After what she did, she had this coming!

"Exactly! She had it coming!"

Everyone jumped and turned to Zhao Huizhen.

Only then did Zhao Huizhen realize she'd accidentally said her thoughts aloud. Thinking fast, she looked at Qiu Shumin. "Qiu Shumin, I mean you had it coming!"

"Look at what you've done! You can't stand seeing anyone else happy. It was bad enough that you deliberately introduced us to those awful prospects because you thought we wouldn't know any better! Everyone can see your daughter-in-law is beautiful and capable, but have you ever said a kind word about her? No! You're always bad-mouthing her to people we know, saying she can't do this or that!"

"Who could put up with a temper like yours? No wonder your daughter-in-law ran off with someone else. This isn't some tragedy that befell you—it's what you deserve! Take a good look at yourself!"

Well said! Shen Luoluo was a hair's breadth from applauding.

Having gotten that off her chest, Zhao Huizhen felt much better. "Let's go!"

As the car drove out of the hospital, Zhao Huizhen sat in the back seat, still reflecting on her behavior.

"Jingyao, Mom owes you an apology. I'm sorry. I was wrong to push you to get married. Like Luo—"

"Ahem. Like everyone says, you're only twenty-six. You're young, and there's no need to rush. I promise I won't do that again. I'll never pressure you to get married. Marry whenever you want!"

If she hadn't been so eager for a grandchild, today's whole mix-

up

would never have happened. To be honest, before hearing Luoluo's thoughts, she really had considered dragging Shen Jingyao off to meet someone.

Thank goodness she hadn't!

Zhao Huizhen paused. "Still, if you meet someone you like, you could give it a try. Take the initiative. Don't always wear that cold expression. Staying single forever isn't the answer, either."

Shen Luoluo's eyes lit up. She sensed a juicy story.

He's such a catch, and he's still single? That doesn't make sense. Unless he doesn't like women and likes...

Everyone froze in horror: *!!!*

"The car! The car! Watch out ahead!"

Meanwhile, at the Shen Family Villa.

After Shen Jiayan racked up five kills in a row and an MVP performance, Duan Yixing, who was playing with him, couldn't hold back anymore. "Brother Yan, what's got you so worked up tonight? You're slaughtering everyone like there's no tomorrow. Who pissed you off this time?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. The question reminded Shen Jiayan of standing alone at the entrance, breathing in car exhaust, and made him even angrier.