Cui Qingshu raised an eyebrow and covered her mouth in mock surprise.
“Oh my, Shen Ziming’s been back for days and you didn’t even know? I already saw him yesterday.”
She looked Su Ranyue up and down and clicked her tongue dramatically.
“Looks like, in Shen Ziming’s heart, some people really aren’t as important as they think.”
When Su Ranyue left, she clutched her chest tightly. The past two days had clearly infuriated her badly.
The moment she stepped out of the courtyard, venom flooded her eyes.
This couldn’t continue.
These past few days, she had been losing at every turn. Now Lin Weihua had returned too. With her biological mother backing her, Cui Qingshu was even more formidable. Trying to compete for Father’s inheritance had suddenly become much harder.
And then there was Shen Ziming.
She had thought she already had him firmly wrapped around her finger. Yet something as major as his return—he hadn’t even let her know.
Even Cui Qingshu had found out before she did.
Su Ranyue’s face darkened as she headed straight for Shen Ziming’s house.
Meanwhile, Cui Qingshu, full and satisfied after dinner, stopped her mother from cleaning up the dishes.
“Don’t bother washing them. Those two still haven’t eaten yet. Once they come back and finish eating, they can clean everything together. Saves effort.”
She said it so matter-of-factly that Lin Weihua found it perfectly reasonable. She tossed the chopsticks aside and went upstairs.
As the sky gradually darkened, mother and daughter lay in bed chatting softly about this and that.
The awkwardness and distance born from years apart slowly melted away in their quiet conversation.
It wasn’t until deep into the night that sounds finally came from outside the courtyard—Su Ranyue and Cui Yuanwei had returned.
The moment Cui Yuanwei saw the leftovers and mess in the living room, his brows immediately knotted together.
“We’re having guests tomorrow. What will people think if they see this? Yueyue, hurry and clean it up.”
Su Ranyue’s expression stiffened.
Why her?
She had spent the whole day cooking and hadn’t eaten a single bite, yet now she had to clean up this disaster too?
But she had always maintained the image of being obedient and considerate in Cui Yuanwei’s eyes. She didn’t dare argue and could only swallow the grievance.
After all, she had personally suggested giving Aunt Wang a few days off to appear thoughtful. Now all the chores naturally fell onto her.
As she cleaned, Su Ranyue cursed Cui Qingshu hundreds of times in her heart.
If Cui Qingshu hadn’t suddenly become like a completely different person, how could she have ended up in such a miserable situation?
Meanwhile, the Cui Qingshu she was furiously cursing was already fast asleep, looking utterly content.
She had lived alone for years and thought she might not get used to having someone beside her. Reality proved she had worried for nothing—having someone with her actually made her sleep more deeply and peacefully.
Lin Weihua, however, did not sleep.
It had been too long since she had seen her daughter. Only after Cui Qingshu’s breathing had become steady and she was fully asleep did Lin Weihua dare gaze at her so greedily without blinking.
She gently fanned her daughter with a hand fan, watching her silently until the horizon began to brighten with dawn. Only then did she finally close her eyes and fall asleep herself, a faint smile still lingering on her lips.
…
The next day, guests arrived at the Cui household.
Hearing that Lin Weihua had returned, the Wen family specifically came to visit.
Old Master Wen and Old Master Cui were old family friends, while Madam Wen and Lin Weihua were especially close. The moment she heard Lin Weihua was back, Madam Wen immediately hurried over with her son, Wen Jingci.
The moment Madam Wen saw Lin Weihua, she frowned in concern.
“Weihua, how did you get this thin? You said you were going away to recuperate, but instead you’ve become even thinner.”
As she spoke, she shot Cui Yuanwei a displeased glare.
Cui Yuanwei needed the Wen family’s help and could only sit there awkwardly with a forced smile.
The two women chatted about family matters, and naturally the conversation soon turned to their children.
Madam Wen looked at Cui Qingshu with affection in her eyes.
“You came back this time to arrange Qingshu’s wedding, didn’t you? In the blink of an eye, our Qingshu has grown into such a lovely young lady.”
Wen Jingci subconsciously glanced toward Cui Qingshu, and the gentle smile on his face instantly faded slightly.
The smile on Lin Weihua’s face faded too, just as movement sounded from outside.
“Dad, I brought Brother Shen here.”
Su Ranyue walked in arm-in-arm with a man. Both were smiling, standing extremely close to each other. Anyone with eyes could see the intimacy between them.
Madam Wen had lived long enough to recognize something was wrong immediately. Hesitantly, she turned to look at Lin Weihua.
Wasn’t Shen Ziming the son-in-law Lin Weihua had personally chosen long ago? Why was he acting so close with the adopted daughter instead?
Seeing this scene with her own eyes, Lin Weihua gripped her teacup so tightly her knuckles turned white. She stared coldly at the pair.
Cui Qingshu gently covered her mother’s hand. When Lin Weihua looked over, she lightly shook her head.
She didn’t care.
A man who could be stolen so easily wasn’t worth wasting any emotions on.
Someone else picking up trash should be a cause for celebration.
Lin Weihua took a deep breath and shot Cui Yuanwei an icy glare.
“Cui Yuanwei, have you forgotten who Shen Ziming belongs to? You’re allowing your adopted daughter to steal your biological daughter’s fiancé?”
“Don’t forget—Nannan is your only real child.”
Everyone in the room, including the Wen family, immediately turned to look at Cui Yuanwei.
Sweat instantly broke out across Cui Yuanwei’s forehead. Chuckling awkwardly, he hurriedly changed the subject.
“Ziming’s here? When did you get back?”
Shen Ziming guiltily avoided Lin Weihua’s gaze and quietly responded to Cui Yuanwei.
One glance was enough for Lin Weihua to understand everything.
Her daughter had been telling the truth. Shen Ziming really had been seduced away by Su Ranyue.
A weak-willed man like this was completely unworthy of her daughter.
There was nothing left to hesitate about.
“Break off the engagement.”
Lin Weihua’s voice was icy.
Shen Ziming froze.
He had assumed Lin Weihua came back to pressure him into marrying Cui Qingshu. He had already prepared himself to fight for Su Ranyue.
Su Ranyue also looked at Cui Qingshu in shock. Seeing that she had absolutely no intention of stopping this, she became even more stunned.
She was giving up this easily?
How could that work? Before Father’s inheritance was secured, Cui Qingshu absolutely could not break off the engagement with Shen Ziming.
Wen Jingci, who had been sitting quietly beside his mother the whole time, had joy flash rapidly through his eyes. Unfortunately for him, Madam Wen happened to catch it the moment she turned to look at him.
Wen Jingci’s gaze remained fixed on Cui Qingshu, completely unaware of his mother’s expression.
For a moment, the living room became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Cui Yuanwei gave two dry laughs to break the silence.
“Ziming’s a good child. Breaking off the engagement would really be a pity.”
“That’s right,” Su Ranyue chimed in with blinking eyes. “Sister and Brother Shen are a perfect match, made for each other.”
She secretly shot Shen Ziming a look before quickly adding,
“Sister, Brother Shen and I are just ordinary friends. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“Ordinary friends?” Cui Qingshu tilted her head innocently. “The kind of ordinary friends who kiss?”
“I saw you two under the banyan tree that day.”
Shen Ziming and Su Ranyue’s expressions changed dramatically, guilt flashing across their faces.
Already pale, Lin Weihua’s face flushed red with anger.
“Break off the engagement! My daughter absolutely cannot marry this kind of trash!”
She looked down at Shen Ziming with icy contempt.
“Have you forgotten what you were like back then?”
Shen Ziming’s face turned the color of pig liver, as though someone had stripped him naked in public. Humiliation burned through him.
“If you still have even a shred of dignity, then pay back every cent I ever spent on you.”
Lin Weihua slapped a densely written ledger onto the table in front of him.
“Three thousand two hundred and twenty-eight yuan. Not one cent less.”
Shen Ziming froze.
“How is that possible?”
He picked up the paper and looked through the clearly recorded expenses line by line, instantly rendered speechless.
Only then did he finally realize just how much money he had taken over the years.
While Shen Ziming was still stunned, Cui Qingshu’s lazy voice rang out again.
“That’s not all. The jewelry Su Ranyue sent you was all taken from me.”
“You’ll be returning every single piece of that too.”
She tossed another notebook directly in front of him.
Shen Ziming looked up blankly.
“You’re slandering me. When did I ever receive any of those things?”
A gold-and-kingfisher feather hairpin. Three cat’s-eye gemstones. Red jade earrings. A gilt jade hair ornament…
Every item listed was valuable, but he genuinely had never seen them before.
Cui Yuanwei’s suspicious gaze immediately shifted toward Su Ranyue.
Su Ranyue’s face turned pale as she looked pleadingly at Shen Ziming.
At that moment, Shen Ziming understood everything. He could only force the rebuttal at the tip of his tongue back down.
Su Ranyue finally relaxed slightly and forced herself to sound calm.
“Brother Shen doesn’t care about material things like this. He’ll definitely return them.”
Lin Weihua looked at Su Ranyue meaningfully.
“That’s good.”
“Because all that money—”
“Belongs to the Cui family. Belongs to my daughter.”
Her tone was absolute, leaving no room for argument.
In an instant, overwhelming resentment swallowed Su Ranyue whole.
Why?
Why could Cui Qingshu so confidently declare that everything in the Cui family belonged to her?
She was also Cui Yuanwei’s daughter. Her mother and father had truly loved each other.
So why was the daughter of the “other woman” the one with all the legitimacy and confidence?
Su Ranyue refused to accept it.