Si Lingyin was fuming inwardly as she urged Si Yueting,
“Big brother, you should divorce this country bumpkin immediately! What if she’s using your leg treatment as an excuse to poison the needles and take your life? Her real goal must be to get her hands on your billions!”
“Didn’t Pan Jinlian poison Wu Dalang just so she could be with Ximen Qing? Who knows if she’s planning to wipe out our entire family!”
Si Yueting’s face darkened like the soot at the bottom of a pot,
“Are you implying that I resemble Wu Dalang?”
Si Lingyin coughed awkwardly,
“Of course not! With big brother’s looks and charisma, if you entered the entertainment industry, even award-winning actors would have to step aside.”
Yan Zheng raised an eyebrow,
“So when second sister says I resemble Pan Jinlian, is she insulting me or insulting your big brother?”
Si Lingyin was left speechless, unable to form a response.
“Si Lingyin, if you have nothing better to do, you should read more books. If you can’t manage that, at least browse through a dictionary. The phrase ‘wipe out’ is used for people who deserve punishment!”
Si Hanche made his position clear without hesitation,
“Sister-in-law saved my life! I won’t allow you to insult her! If big brother divorces sister-in-law, I’ll be the first to object!”
He thought to himself: Judging by their miserable fates, if sister-in-law divorces big brother, it’s our Si family that would truly be wiped out!
Si Lingyin seriously wondered if Si Hanche had actually damaged his brain from the fall. Wasn’t he the one who disliked Yan Zheng the most in the family? Now he was actually defending her?
So what if this country bumpkin happened to witness his kidnapping and informed big brother? Any passerby would have called the police!
There was no need for such excessive gratitude, as if Yan Zheng had personally saved his life!
“Enough! These are your big brother’s legs. How he chooses to treat them is his decision! But in our Si family, we’ve only ever had ‘widowhood,’ never ‘divorce.’ Anyone who keeps mentioning those two words will be thrown out first!”
Though Old Mrs. Si’s words were directed at Si Lingyin, they were actually meant for Si Yueting.
Ever since Yan Zheng woke up, this boy had been acting strange. In any case, he better not think about divorcing her precious granddaughter-in-law!
Remembering she had important business today, Si Lingyin decided she would slowly persuade her brother about the divorce later.
“Grandmother, why don’t I accompany you upstairs to try on the qipao? I had it made according to your measurements from six months ago. Let’s see if any adjustments are needed, and I’ll have it altered.”
Watching Si Lingyin support Old Mrs. Si and happily ascend the stairs, Huo Yanxiu’s gaze darkened.
[Here it comes! Si Lingyin is going upstairs to steal the household register! I just haven’t had the chance to remind grandmother to hide it yet!]
Si Lingyin’s high heel suddenly caught, nearly causing her to tumble down the stairs!
Her heart raced with panic. How did Yan Zheng know she planned to steal the household register?
At least she hadn’t told grandmother yet. Fortunately, only she could hear Yan Zheng’s thoughts!
Si Lingyin shot Yan Zheng a warning glare, signaling her not to follow.
Yan Zheng shrugged. Whatever, even if Si Lingyin managed to steal it, she wouldn’t be able to take it away.
While Old Mrs. Si was changing into the qipao, Si Lingyin spotted the household register on the table and quietly slipped it into her bag. Her heart pounded wildly with nerves – this was her first time stealing anything!
After changing into her cheongsam, Old Mrs. Si went downstairs with Si Lingyin.
A servant came in from outside, holding several light blue papers in hand.
“Madam, I’ve reprinted the household register pages as you requested.”
Yan Zheng raised an eyebrow and thought to herself,
[So the ‘household register’ that Si Lingyin stole was really just the cover?]
When Si Yueting heard earlier that Si Lingyin had returned to steal the household register, he was determined not to let Si Lingyin foolishly steal it for marriage! Little did he expect that Grandma had already prepared for this.
Si Lingyin, who had stolen an empty cover, looked very upset. Old Mrs. Si pretended not to know and said,
“Earlier today, while I was idly flipping through our household register, I accidentally spilled water on it. So I took out all the pages and had the servant go to the police station to reprint them.”
After saying this, she asked the servant to go upstairs and bring down the household register cover from her room’s desk so they could insert the pages back in.
Si Lingyin immediately felt terrified. Since childhood, Grandma had always despised theft the most.
If Grandma found out she had come back to steal something, she would definitely be kicked out! It might even lead to severing family ties!
Si Lingyin had considered the consequences, but she thought that even if Grandma found out later, she would already be married by then. Since Grandma had always been urging her to get married early, even if she were unhappy about it afterward, she wouldn’t say much.
But now that she was caught red-handed stealing, the situation was completely different!!
“I’ll go.”
Huo Yanxiu said this and strode off with his long legs to retrieve it.
Si Lingyin’s face turned even paler. She wanted to say, “What the hell is Huo Yanxiu going for? The household register is in my bag!”
To her surprise, Huo Yanxiu actually came back down holding a household register.
Si Lingyin, guilty like a thief, was too nervous to understand what was happening, but Yan Zheng saw everything clearly.
[After Si Lingyin stole the household register earlier, she didn’t even notice it had fallen out of her bag. Huo Yanxiu happened to pick it up from behind. Now he’s using this opportunity to return the household register to the Si family, thus preserving Si Lingyin’s dignity while achieving his goal of not wanting her to marry someone else!]
Si Lingyin looked surprised at Huo Yanxiu, whose dark eyes were as deep as the ocean, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.
Huo Yanxiu didn’t want her to marry someone else? How come she hadn’t noticed at all?
Old Mrs. Si was perceptive. She gave Huo Yanxiu a deep look and thought to herself:
Although this young man is a bodyguard, he genuinely cares for Lingyin. Our Si family has never cared about social status. If Lingyin chooses this man, I won’t object.
In contrast, she was more curious about what kind of man could make Lingyin so infatuated that she would steal from her own family!
Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door. The servant went to answer it.
They saw Jiang Chao, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, with a warm smile and radiating a youthful, sunny aura.
He carried a lunchbox in one hand while carefully supporting a middle-aged woman in a hospital gown.
Si Lingyin was shocked,
“Jiang Chao? Why did you bring Aunt Wang out from the hospital?”
Wang Cuihua trembled as she walked over. Just as she was about to reach for Si Lingyin, Huo Yanxiu’s intimidating figure stepped in front of her. Wang Cuihua reluctantly clenched her hands and pretended to be anxious as she said to Si Lingyin,
“Miss Si, Jiang Chao was telling me you were coming back to steal your household register to marry him, and he couldn’t stop you. Even if I have to risk my life, I had to come stop you! You mustn’t do such foolish things against your parents’ wishes for our Jiang Chao’s sake!”
Si Lingyin hadn’t been exposed when she secretly took the household register earlier, but now that Wang Cuihua had bluntly stated it, she felt extremely embarrassed.
Huo Yanxiu said coldly, “Miss Si only returned to visit her family. She didn’t steal any household register for your Jiang Chao.”
Si Lingyin glared at Huo Yanxiu and scolded him in a low voice, “Aunt Wang is a patient. Can’t you speak more gently?”
“Jiang Chao lost his father young, and I’m just a useless mother washing dishes in a restaurant. Now I’ve got lung cancer and will die soon – how could I dare hope someone as noble as Miss Si would marry our Jiang Chao? We still have some self-awareness!”
Wang Cuihua’s humble, sincere, and earnest persuasion made Old Mrs. Si momentarily feel that this woman, who looked even older than herself, seemed quite pitiful given her experiences.
Yan Zheng interrupted the pitiful Wang Cuihua, smiling as she said, “Since this is your dying wish, auntie, rest assured we’ll make sure Si Lingyin doesn’t marry your son!”
Wang Cuihua was stunned. Huh?
Hearing the Si family had drawn such a firm line, Jiang Chao immediately grew anxious and pulled Wang Cuihua aside, saying, “Mom, you’re in such poor health already, just stop talking!”
Si Lingyin was about to say Yan Zheng’s mention of “dying wish” was going too far!
Then Yan Zheng’s inner voice sounded: [This old woman says she doesn’t have long to live and wants to see Jiang Chao married before she dies, but she’s actually trying to make Si Lingyin pity her so she’ll quickly get married with Jiang Chao! That one million Si Lingyin gave her for treatment was actually used by the old woman to buy her eldest son a villa in the countryside!]
[She doesn’t have terminal lung cancer at all – it’s tuberculosis! That stuff is contagious. I’d better stay away from her!]
Si Lingyin’s hand, which had been about to support the frail-looking Wang Cuihua, suddenly withdrew.