Zhou Wanqing was just about to say there was no need to thank her when she heard Ye Jin's snarky thoughts. How had this turned into her getting married a second time? Was she the sort of woman who couldn't live without a man?
Forget it. Now wasn't the time to argue with Ye Jin. Since she had already given her the gift, she had better leave quickly.
So Zhou Wanqing merely gave a "Mm," then grabbed her bag and stormed off.
Watching Zhou Wanqing's retreating figure, Ye Jin was rather baffled too.
[Second Aunt didn't seem very willing to give me this gift. Could she have only been making a show of it, never expecting Mother-in-law to turn her own scheme against her and accept it? Sigh, Second Aunt really is a bit stingy. If she didn't want to give it away, she should have just kept it!]
Zhou Wanqing had just reached the front door when her foot slipped, nearly sending her tumbling. Only after several deep breaths did she suppress the urge to rush back and shout at Ye Jin that she wasn't stingy at all.
Seeing this, Ye Jin became even more certain of her guess.
[Sigh, Second Aunt really must be aching over the loss! She can't even walk steadily anymore!]
Lin Xiwen was the only one who knew what had actually happened. She thought of every sad thing she could to keep herself from laughing out loud in front of them.
This was the first time she had ever seen Zhou Wanqing suffer like this without being able to say a word!
She patted Ye Jin, who was still immersed in speculation, on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't overthink it. Since Zhou Wanqing gave it to you, she won't try to take it back. Whether you sell it or have it made into jewelry is entirely up to you. Go ahead and use it without worry."
Only then did Ye Jin finally relax. If Mother-in-law said there was no problem, then there definitely wasn't.
[What an auspicious day! I've struck it rich! This pink diamond is worth half my entire fortune!]
Lin Xiwen was inwardly amused. It seemed material compensation really did suit Ye Jin best.
Since Zhou Wanqing had given such a lavish gift, she naturally couldn't let herself be outdone.
She smiled at Ye Jin. "Oh, and thank you for all your hard work running around with me lately. Your monthly allowance will be doubled."
Like most wealthy families, the Su Family distributed a monthly living allowance to each member from the family trust.
Ye Jin's allowance had previously been five hundred thousand; doubled, it would now be a million.
A million was a lot to ordinary people, but it wasn't much to a wealthy family. Besides, even if only for the sake of her future, she needed to take advantage of the present to save and make more money.
So although Ye Jin found it a little strange, she didn't protest much and happily thanked her.
"Thank you, Mom! Really, I was only doing what I should."
[Waaah, Mother-in-law really is such a good person! She's raising my allowance when I haven't done anything! And accepting this money feels so much safer than accepting Second Aunt's jewelry.]
Listening to Ye Jin's rainbow flattery, Lin Xiwen felt thoroughly warmed.
But if she was already praising her so eloquently now, Lin Xiwen wondered whether she would have an even richer vocabulary later.
Lin Xiwen tried to keep her tone as level as if she were discussing the weather. "Oh, I've already had my assistant draw up the share transfer documents. Remember to sign them later."
This time, Ye Jin truly froze on the spot.
[Aaaaah! What's going on today? Mother-in-law isn't just giving me money, she's giving me shares in the Su Group too! Am I really not dreaming?]
Only when the assistant brought the documents over and Ye Jin saw the figures in black and white did she come back to her senses.
[It's only zero-point-something percent, but at the share price, that's still several hundred million! Waaah, Mother-in-law is the most generous person in the world. She absolutely crushes Second Aunt!]
Lin Xiwen, who was drinking tea beside her, secretly pressed her lips together in a smile when she heard this.
Hah. How could she possibly give less than Zhou Wanqing?
After recovering from her brief shock, Ye Jin began to feel a little guilty.
[I haven't done anything. A few million would be one thing, but several hundred million is way too much. I can't help feeling that a windfall like this will shave years off my life.]
With that thought, Ye Jin looked up at Lin Xiwen. "Mother-in-law, I shouldn't accept a reward I haven't earned..."
Lin Xiwen had known Ye Jin would have questions, and she had already prepared an explanation.
"Take it. This was set aside for our Su Family's daughter-in-law. It's just that so much has happened over the past six months or so that I've only now gotten the shares ready for you."
The implication was that this had been prepared for the Su Family's daughter-in-law, and whoever married Su Chengjing would receive shares.
Hearing that, Ye Jin finally felt a little more at ease. She wasn't one to agonize over things, so she stopped declining and readily signed her name.
Then she began recalling the plot, searching for information that could repay those several hundred million.
[Right, my bargain husband! How can I reveal his whereabouts to Mother-in-law? Say Su Chengjing came to me in a dream? But if telling her ruins Su Chengjing's romantic encounter, will he resent me?]
Listening beside her, Lin Xiwen was so amused that she nearly spat out her tea.
Ye Jin really was remarkably carefree. Why was she even worried about ruining her own husband's affair?
After a while, Lin Xiwen couldn't bear to let Ye Jin keep agonizing over it and said, "There's news of Chengjing. I've already arranged for people to rescue him, so he should be back soon. Since we haven't succeeded yet, I wasn't going to tell you in case our hopes came to nothing, but I was also afraid you'd worry."
"After I've sorted out the company's situation, I'll announce Chengjing's circumstances to the public. You won't need to do much then. Just repost the news and stay calm."
Ye Jin felt that this day was every bit as surreal as the day she had awakened her system.
[Huh? Mother-in-law actually has news of Su Chengjing? Right, rather than letting news of Su Chengjing's kidnapping become a ticking time bomb, it's better to expose it herself. That way, she can control public opinion too!]
[Waaah, Mother-in-law is amazing. Could she actually have been reborn to change the whole family's tragic fate? Does that mean I can win while lying down?]
She surreptitiously studied Lin Xiwen, trying to find evidence that she had been reborn.
Lin Xiwen: Why don't you consider yourself?! Didn't everything only start changing after that strange change happened to you?
But she had no way to say any of that aloud. She could only listen silently and laugh wildly to herself.
Only after a while did she interrupt Ye Jin's flights of fancy. "Things have more or less stabilized now, so you don't need to keep running around with me. Go back to work. After all, the calmer you appear, the more the public will believe that nothing serious has happened to Chengjing and that he'll definitely return safely."