Liu Xiangqin was so furious that she stormed out of the hospital room, slamming the door behind her.
It took Song Yao quite some time to calm her down. Though Liu Xiangqin felt a bit better, the thought of Ruan Zheng’s attitude still left her utterly heartbroken.
“If Ruan Zheng were even half as sensible as you, your father and I wouldn’t have to worry so much,” Liu Xiangqin complained. “Look at the mess she’s made. Wang Jinhua may be desperate for a grandson, and scheming against her was wrong, but did she have to make such a public spectacle? What about her own reputation? How will others see her from now on? Publishing a clarification in the newspaper was meant to protect her, so why couldn’t she understand that? She even thinks I’m trying to harm her!”
As she spoke, Liu Xiangqin grew more aggrieved.
“I’m her birth mother! How could I ever harm her?”
Song Yao patted Liu Xiangqin’s back soothingly. “Sister is probably just feeling very insecure. I’ll talk to her alone later. If she’s truly unsettled, I’ll publish a notice cutting ties with the family. Once I’m gone, I’m sure Sister will feel better.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Liu Xiangqin shot Song Yao a glare, but there was no real warning in her eyes—only deep affection. “I know you’re thoughtful, but you’re also the daughter I’ve raised for eighteen years. I won’t send you away just because of her willfulness.”
Song Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously, only a small circle of people knew she was the adopted daughter who had been switched at birth. But after Ruan Zheng’s public uproar, almost everyone familiar with the family now knew.
She had been anxious, worried that Song Changjiang and Liu Xiangqin might send her back to quell the gossip. Now that she understood Liu Xiangqin’s stance, she felt somewhat reassured.
Yet the thought of Zheng Xiujie’s lecherous gaze made her skin crawl.
How dare that good-for-nothing still have designs on her!
She needed to get Wang Jinhua out. With Wang Jinhua keeping him in check and Ruan Zheng clinging to him, Zheng Xiujie would become a distant problem.
Thinking this, Song Yao gritted her teeth and persuaded Liu Xiangqin, “Sister’s insecurity remains an issue. If I don’t leave, then let’s do as she says and ask her what she really wants. If her demands aren’t too excessive, we can satisfy them. Maybe once she’s content and her anger subsides, she’ll agree to withdraw the case and issue a clarification.”
“As her mother, having to meet her demands just to get her to cooperate is simply outrageous,” Liu Xiangqin still resisted.
Song Yao pressed on, “Sister is indeed being unreasonable—if she weren’t, she wouldn’t say things just to upset you. But those rumors are already affecting Father. If we ignore them, they’ll only grow wilder.”
“Remember last year, when Wei Canmou’s family lost a chicken? By the time the story reached us, it had become Wei Canmou being targeted by spies, his entire family slaughtered, with only a chicken left…”
“If rumors within the compound can get that absurd, things outside must be even worse. If it starts impacting Father’s career, it’ll be disastrous.”
Thinking of Wei Canmou, then of her husband, Liu Xiangqin’s heart tightened. In the end, she relented.
When she returned to the hospital room, Liu Xiangqin was much calmer, though her expression remained stern.
She spoke in a businesslike tone, “What are your conditions?”
Ruan Zheng’s heart skipped a beat. Suppressing her excitement, she confirmed, “So you’d rather negotiate with me than be my mother, is that right?”
She had to make sure, to avoid any backtracking later.
Liu Xiangqin flared up again. She felt Ruan Zheng was heaven-sent to torment her, a punishment for living too comfortably.
Whenever it came to Ruan Zheng, her anger was like chives in the field—cut one batch, and another would sprout. "Wasn't this what you asked for?"
"And I also asked you to prioritize my safety above all else, but you didn’t listen to that either, did you?"
"How did I not prioritize your safety? It’s you who thinks I’m not qualified to be your mother and wants to negotiate terms with me. I negotiate, and you still find fault with everything. What exactly do you want?"
"Don’t you feel guilty saying you put me first? From the moment you walked in, have you asked me what I went through? Do you know how badly I’m hurt or how much pain I’m in? Just downstairs in the ward, Wang Jinhua almost strangled me. Can’t you see the bruises on my neck?"
"Have you asked me if I have any money for food? No, you haven’t. You only blame me and demand that I clear up information that’s unfavorable to you. How can someone like you have the right to be my mother? How can you claim to put my safety first?"
If the original host were still here, thinking about today’s events might still bring her pain.
Unfortunately, Ruan Zheng had no expectations for Liu Xiangqin—only a sense of determined excitement.
She fired off one sharp remark after another, each one hitting Liu Xiangqin right where it hurt.
Liu Xiangqin was indeed stunned.
In Ruan Zheng’s eyes, was she truly so irredeemably wicked?
She had been impatient, but she wasn’t completely unaware of the situation.
The neighborhood committee had already told her that the other party had attempted assault but hadn’t actually touched Ruan Zheng. Ruan Zheng had resisted fiercely and hit her head, but it was only a mild concussion, not life-threatening.
And as for the bruises on her neck…
With Ruan Zheng lying down, she couldn’t see them clearly.
But she never expected that, in Ruan Zheng’s eyes, it had come to this.
She began to reflect on whether she had truly done wrong.
But before she could sort out her thoughts, Song Yao’s sense of crisis sounded the alarm. She repeated what she had said to Liu Xiangqin outside, but rephrased it for Ruan Zheng.
"Sister, please stop arguing with Mom. If you feel that I’m in the way in the Song Family, I’ll leave," Song Yao rubbed her eyes, wearing an expression of concern for Ruan Zheng. "But after I leave, please make sure to take good care of Mom and Dad for me. They’ve worked so hard for us—it really hasn’t been easy."
Worked hard for you, you mean.
Ruan Zheng rolled her eyes and ignored her.
Forcing herself to draw Liu Xiangqin’s attention—Song Yao wasn’t even trying to hide it. Yet Liu Xiangqin fell for it completely, failing to notice how Song Yao’s words were contradictory and utterly unreasonable.
"Didn’t we agree not to mention leaving again? If she thinks I’m not qualified to be her mother, then let her state her conditions. Once they’re met, she shouldn’t expect anything more. You can’t have it both ways."
Song Yao fell silent.
A look of regret slowly appeared on Liu Xiangqin’s face.
She felt she might have spoken too harshly.
But when she thought of Ruan Zheng’s attitude, she convinced herself she wasn’t wrong.
Giving Ruan Zheng a little lesson now was better than letting her suffer a real setback in society.
Ruan Zheng didn’t back down either and laid out four demands.
"First, I want a dowry. Whatever dowry you prepared for Song Yao, you must give me the same—no favoritism. If word gets out in the compound that you gave your biological daughter no dowry at all, only a few old cotton jackets Song Yao was about to throw away, it won’t be easy to explain."
Hearing this, Liu Xiangqin stiffened slightly.
Back when things had turned ugly, Ruan Zheng and Zheng Xiujie had hastily registered their marriage without holding a wedding ceremony.
There was no wedding, and the Zheng Family didn't send betrothal gifts, so naturally, they didn't prepare a dowry either.
Besides, during those days, they had been busy comforting Song Yao and completely forgot about the matter.
Liu Xiangqin instinctively glanced at Song Yao.
Noticing the gaze, Song Yao immediately and understandingly took the blame upon herself again, "I'm sorry, sister, it's all because of me. Mom and Dad were only focused on comforting me and might have forgotten about the dowry…"
After saying that, she apologized to Liu Xiangqin, "I'm sorry, Mom. It's all because I'm too fragile and not strong enough, which made my sister misunderstand you."
Liu Xiangqin withdrew her gaze and patted Song Yao's hand, "It's not your fault."
Then she turned to Ruan Zheng and said coldly, "It happened so suddenly that we weren't prepared. It's not that we won't give it. When we get home, I'll give you the money, and you must immediately publish a clarification in the newspaper."
Ruan Zheng shook her head and continued.
"The dowry is just the first condition."
"The second condition: you must compensate me for every penny you spent raising Song Yao. After all, you never raised me for a single day, yet you demand this and that from me."
"Third, I need a job that can sufficiently support myself. A woman must be financially independent to avoid being mistreated by her in-laws. Song Yao's job is quite good—get me one just like it."
"Fourth, I need a house. The one on Chang'an Street will do. Since you don't want to see me anyway, it'll be a win-win if I move out."
The more they listened, the darker Song Yao and Liu Xiangqin's faces grew.
Unable to hold back any longer, they spoke in unison, "Why don't you just go rob someone!"