If Bai Jingshu hadn’t seen Lin Ruyuan as useful, she wouldn’t have swallowed her pride and come asking for her help.
Lin Ruyuan, this clever girl!
Bai Jingshu, unable to contain her anger, raised her hand high to slap Lin Ruyuan. But before her hand could land, Lin Ruyuan moved faster—
“Smack!”
Bai Jingshu’s face, which had just started to heal from swelling, was instantly reddened again.
Lin Ruyuan had put her full strength into the slap. Bai Jingshu felt her ears ringing from the impact.
Lin Ruyuan shook her hand. Clearly, she would need a better “tool” next time; her hand was sore.
Seeing that this woman’s face was too thick-skinned, Lin Ruyuan, noticing Bai Jingshu still frozen in shock, said coldly, “You overestimate yourself, worthless fool.”
Bai Jingshu was stunned by Lin Ruyuan’s aura.
In her impression, Lin Ruyuan had always been kind-tempered. She would never hit someone, and even scolding someone was rare.
But now, standing in front of her, radiating sheer authority, Lin Ruyuan seemed dangerous and not someone to mess with.
It was as if Bai Jingshu had never truly understood her. While she was stunned, Lin Ruyuan turned and walked to the cafeteria.
No need to bother with this crazy woman! Food was the most important thing in the world.
Life at Ding’s house had been hard for Bai Jingshu, especially after the truth about the two children came out. Even her in-laws treated her badly.
Her greatest fear now was returning to the Ding household, but she had no choice. The Ding family was still officially her home. Ding Ziqiang refused to divorce her, so she had nowhere else to go.
The main concern was still for her sons. She could have lived with her parents or even in the Fang family, ignoring the divorce altogether.
But Ding Ziqiang threatened her: if she didn’t bring the children back, he would immediately report her and Fang Shijun for marital misconduct, ruining their reputation and affecting the children.
Bai Jingshu could only obey Ding Ziqiang as much as possible, hoping that if she behaved, he might show mercy and spare her and her sons.
When Bai Jingshu returned to the Ding household after meeting Lin Ruyuan, she immediately heard the children crying. Her heart tightened, and she rushed over—
“Mom…”
The two sons ran toward her, tears streaming.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Jingshu’s eyes filled with worry. She first checked if they were hurt; once reassured, she relaxed slightly.
“Where were you today?” Ding Ziqiang’s dark voice came, and Bai Jingshu shivered. “I… I had some matters to handle, so I came back late. You can be angry at me, but it has nothing to do with the children! You’re scaring them!”
“If they can’t even handle this, they don’t deserve to live,” Ding Ziqiang said, annoyed by the crying. “Better make them shut up, or none of you will sleep tonight!”
Bai Jingshu quickly covered their mouths. “Go back to your room. No matter what happens, do not come out.”
The two boys obeyed immediately, not daring to step out.
Bai Jingshu swallowed hard. “If you don’t want to see the three of us, then why don’t you just divorce?”
Ding Ziqiang’s cold gaze swept over her. Bai Jingshu braced herself and continued, “Ziqiang, I was wrong back then. I shouldn’t have married you while pregnant, but I didn’t know I was expecting at the time. By the time I found out, we were already married. Now you want compensation, but the sum you ask is too high. Shijun can’t pay it. Holding out like this will get us nowhere. Why don’t you help us first? When Shijun formally takes over Fang’s business, we can repay you. Your kindness will be remembered forever!”
Ding Ziqiang snorted. “I know you hate me now. If it weren’t for our marriage certificate, I wouldn’t have any leverage over you!”
He paused, then said, “Bai Jingshu, you’re blind. He can’t even produce fifty thousand yuan, which means you’re not important to him. Why are you still with him?”
Bai Jingshu was speechless.
Now everyone knew about the two children at the Ding household.
She couldn’t stay at the Fang family, and she had no footing at Ding’s either. She would inevitably have to return.
“Fine, we divorce first, but you can’t take the children’s household registration. When you have money, you can buy it back. How about that?”
No, it wasn’t fine.
Bai Jingshu knew Ding Ziqiang was using the children as leverage.
He was their legal father; any arrangement he made seemed justified. She feared he could be so cruel that she might never see her children again.
“Forget I said anything,” she muttered helplessly.
“Jingshu, you have to try harder!” Ding Ziqiang lifted her chin slightly. “Your goal is to marry into the Fang family. Mine is fifty thousand!”
Bai Jingshu was speechless. Even her godparents couldn’t come up with fifty thousand. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be worrying about this.
What to do? She couldn’t live like this forever.
Old Fang… Bai Jingshu’s eyes flickered. If pushed to a corner, she would have to take a desperate risk.
Chen Zhigang investigated and discovered that Feng Xiaolong had never attended university; he only graduated high school. His foreign language university diploma was fake.
His actions constituted fraud.
Chen Zhigang immediately reported him to the police.
Feng Xiaolong fled that night. When the police arrived at his home, he was nowhere to be found.
Lin Baoguo casually mentioned this while eating; he had heard about it at the textile factory.
“Can they catch him if he ran?” Zhao Guixiang asked curiously.
“Run? Where could he go? If he’s capable, he won’t come back in this lifetime,” Lin Baoguo said. He had defrauded tens of thousands; he would likely spend time in prison.
“People should live honestly. Scheming like this is pointless,” Zhao Guixiang sighed.
Lin Ruyuan listened quietly. This didn’t concern her.
Recently, she had been busy studying after school, staying up late almost every day. She didn’t want to fail a grade.
“I’ll watch the factory for a while; you and Mom just stay at home,” Lin Baoguo said, heading for the factory to work overtime.
Zhao Guixiang frowned. “Overtime again? He’s already worked five or six days straight! Tonight he’ll stay up late again. Can his body handle it?”
“These orders are urgent,” Lin Baoguo said with a small smile. “I’m fine; I can rest during the day.”
“Okay, take care of yourself,” Zhao Guixiang warned.
“Got it.”
After her father left, Lin Ruyuan closed the door and studied for a while before going to bed.
Around eleven at night, just as Lin Ruyuan was drifting off, suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by a crash—glass shattering!