Downstairs, Yuan Limei was on the phone. Whatever was said had left her looking visibly upset. Only when she saw Liang Yurou coming down did her expression soften slightly, and she hurriedly ended the call.
“Yurou, why aren’t you resting?”
Liang Yurou replied softly, “Auntie, is Shaoxuan still at the hospital with Nanzhu? I’d like to go see them.”
Hearing that she wanted to go to the hospital, Yuan Limei’s eyes flickered. She stood up and picked up her bag. “Still calling me ‘Auntie’? It’s time to change that.”
“Come on, Mom will go with you.”
A smile spread across Liang Yurou’s face as she walked over and linked arms with her.
“Mom, thank you!”
Yuan Limei glanced down at her stomach and smiled. “Just focus on giving birth to my precious grandson. The Gu family won’t overlook your contributions.”
“Mom, I understand.”
The two, acting like a loving mother and daughter, hurried off to the hospital.
By the time Gu Shaoxuan arrived at the hospital, Nan Jin had only finished one IV drip. She was so exhausted she felt numb and had fallen into a deep sleep.
Yuan Zheng had somehow gotten hold of a book and was flipping through it, occasionally looking up to check the IV drip.
Hearing footsteps, he turned his head.
Gu Shaoxuan had been fuming with anger, but when he met his uncle’s stern and authoritative face, his rage subsided.
“Did it take you this long just to pay the fees?”
Yuan Zheng turned his gaze back to his book, his tone cold and laced with sarcasm.
Gu Shaoxuan’s face stiffened. He slowly walked to the bedside and sat down.
“Uncle, why are you still here?”
How could someone like Nanzhu in her current state possibly catch his uncle’s eye?
Yuan Zheng pointed at the IV drip. “Don’t you know that when someone is on an IV, their family should be here to watch over them? You took this long just to pay the medical fees, and you have the nerve to ask me?”
He closed his book and stood up, his voice indifferent. “Since you’re here now, you can keep an eye on her.”
“Xiao Xuan, think carefully about your future, and the futures of your father and brother. One wrong step, and it’s a bottomless abyss.”
“Don’t even think about using your family’s influence to bully others. I’ll be the first to come after you.”
With that, he strode out of the room.
Gu Shaoxuan listened in silence, only snapping out of it after Yuan Zheng had left.
His mother had really been overthinking things—how could his uncle possibly be interested in Nanzhu? His uncle had stayed merely because Nanzhu needed someone to look after her in her current state.
Everything his uncle had said was for their benefit. Even that last remark was purely out of his sense of duty as a soldier.
He stared blankly at Nanzhu, who lay on the bed, her face still deathly pale, feeling a mix of complicated emotions.
Ever since Nanzhu had come to his family, she had always followed him around. She clearly loved him so much—she wouldn’t even say a harsh word to him.
But now, she had actually agreed to a divorce.
Even though this was what he wanted, her agreement left him feeling unsettled.
And she had even demanded a thousand yuan in compensation.
Did she have any idea how much a thousand yuan was? Even for his family, that would be a significant financial blow.
“Xiao Xuan, where’s your uncle?”
Yuan Limei’s shrill voice not only startled Gu Shaoxuan out of his thoughts but also woke Nanzhu from her deep sleep.
Gu Shaoxuan turned to look at the door, frowning. “Mom, Yurou, what are you doing here?”
Yuan Limei stepped inside and, not seeing Yuan Zheng, felt somewhat relieved.
“Why is this wretched woman on an IV? Who allowed it? Does she have any idea how much an IV bottle costs?”
Gu Shaoxuan’s face darkened, and he replied hoarsely, “Uncle insisted on it.”
Yuan Limei’s words caught in her throat, her face growing even uglier as she lashed out at Nan Zhu on the bed.
“You wretched girl, what did you say to Xiao Zheng? Making him side with you against us—you’ve really grown some nerve, haven’t you?”
Nan Jin opened her eyes and said faintly, “What did I say? I only spoke the truth.”
“All it means is that your younger brother is worthy of the uniform he wears, refusing to wallow in the mud with the rest of you.”
Yuan Limei was stung into a rage by her words and pointed at her, shouting, “You! Wretched girl, how dare you speak to me like that?”
Nan Jin continued sarcastically, “We’re about to get divorced—what’s there to be afraid of now?”
The original host would never have dared to raise her voice to the Gu family. Having grown up under someone else’s roof, she had always been cautious, living by reading others’ expressions.
But she was not the original host—she couldn’t endure mistreatment the way the original had.
Yuan Limei was so angry her chest heaved up and down, barely restraining herself from rushing over to tear her apart.
Liang Yourou gently soothed her, but her words were laced with venom.
“Mom, calm down. Nan Zhu, no matter what, Mom is your elder. How can you speak to her like that?”
“Hurry up and say you didn’t mean it, that you’re willing to sign the divorce papers and leave with nothing. If you make Mom any angrier, the label of unfilial will be pinned on you, and you won’t even be able to keep your job.”
Nan Jin’s cold gaze fell on Liang Yourou’s delicate face. Noticing her stare, Liang Yourou gave her a provocative smile.
Nan Jin chuckled softly. “Since when can a mistress barge in so boldly and say such things in front of the lawful wife?”
“You’re already calling her ‘Mom’? How eager you are. Would you dare go outside and shout it a few times?”
“Expect me to leave with nothing? Are you daydreaming?”
“Gu Shaoxuan is the one at fault here. If he dares withhold my share of the money, I’ll risk my life to make this scandal public.”
“I wonder, though—does a woman who’s a mistress still have the qualifications to be a teacher?”
“And what about a man with questionable morals, who messes around outside—does he still deserve to be a university lecturer?”
Liang Yourou’s face shifted through a range of expressions. Wasn’t Nan Zhu supposed to be the most submissive?
Even if her presence had provoked some changes in her, it shouldn’t have been to this extent.
She definitely didn’t want this to blow up. After all, Nan Jin was still legally married to Gu Shaoxuan, and a public scandal would do her no good.
Her tear-filled eyes looked pitifully at Gu Shaoxuan. “Shaoxuan-ge, that’s not what I meant. I… I was just…”
Yuan Limei was also furious at Nan Zhu’s words but didn’t forget to comfort her.
“Yourou, don’t pay her any mind. She’s only targeting you because she can’t have Shaoxuan.”
Gu Shaoxian added sternly, “Nan Zhu, you’ve gone too far. Apologize to Yourou right now!”
Nan Jin chuckled again. “Apologize? Not a chance.”
“You—!” Gu Shaoxuan raised his hand, intending to slap her. This version of Nan Zhu was utterly infuriating.
Nan Zhu lifted her pale face, her glistening almond-shaped eyes staring directly at him. Her voice was eerily calm, nothing like the Nan Zhu he knew.
“Hit me? Gu Shaoxuan, I’m still your lawful wife. Are you going to commit domestic violence for the sake of your mistress? You’d better think this through.”
Faced with this version of Nan Zhu, Gu Shaoxuan’s hand froze mid-air.
“How many times have I told you? We were just…”
“Hah! Save those words for your superiors. If you don’t have a thousand yuan, don’t even think about me signing the divorce papers.”
Nan Jin turned her head away, unwilling to look at these people’s ugly faces any longer.
In her past life, during her free time, she used to read melodramatic online novels and would always complain—why were there such brainless men who let themselves be led around by a woman?
Now that she was in such a situation herself, she realized there really were plenty of these mindless men.
Wait a minute!