Wen Zhiyun’s taste buds were instantly conquered.
Just moments ago, she had been putting on airs, looking down on the seemingly ordinary home-cooked dishes. Now, her stomach and mouth had already betrayed her, as she focused solely on devouring the food.
By the end of the meal, not a single dish remained on the plates.
Wen Zhiyun perfectly demonstrated what it meant to look like she had “never eaten a proper meal.”
Before leaving, she looked at Cen Zhen, her chin slightly raised, and said in a strangely proud tone, “After you divorce my brother, I might consider hiring you as a cook for my family.”
Cen Zhen didn’t respond.
Having just finished eating the meal Cen Zhen prepared, Wen Zhiyun immediately tried to assert her dominance. Qiao Jialv couldn’t stand this young lady’s behavior any longer and quickly tugged at her sleeve, then hurriedly smiled apologetically at Cen Zhen. “Sister-in-law, she had a fever when she was little, and it damaged her brain. Her ability to express herself is a bit off. What she actually meant to say was that your cooking skills are amazing, and she admires you. She was praising you.”
“Qiao Jialv, how dare you insult me! It’s your brain that’s damaged! You’re the one with expression problems—”
Thud—
The heavy door suddenly closed.
The childish bickering was finally shut out.
Cen Zhen let out a soft sigh of relief.
At last, the troublemaker was gone.
It wasn’t until the echo of the door closing in the hallway faded that Wen Zhiyun belatedly realized she had been “kicked out.”
Her beautiful eyes fixed on the tightly shut door, she flared up again, hands on her hips, cursing and grumbling at the door. “What kind of attitude is that?!”
“Qiao Jialv, tell me, how dare she treat her sister-in-law like this? Doesn’t she care at all about maintaining a good relationship with her?”
Qiao Jialv raised an eyebrow teasingly. “So, you’re admitting that Cen Zhen is your sister-in-law?”
“No way!”
Wen Zhiyun’s eyes reddened, her face filled with defiance. “Don’t think one meal from her can win me over. There are plenty of good cooks in this world, but I only have one sister-in-law. If she’s not good enough, if she doesn’t deserve my brother, I won’t acknowledge her at all!”
“Hah, as for Cen Zhen, she’s not even close to being worthy!”
After finishing her nightly routine, Cen Zhen lay in bed, idly scrolling through videos when she received a message from her good friend Wen Qinghe.
[Zhenzhen, what’s going on? Did you get married?]
A while ago, Wen Qinghe had joined her studio in participating in a top-secret national antique restoration project. The entire process was conducted under closed management, with phones confiscated and all contact with the outside world cut off.
As a result, she knew nothing about Cen Zhen’s sudden marriage.
If Gu Xingyan hadn’t sought her out today, she might still be in the dark.
Cen Zhen immediately dialed a video call.
It rang only a few times before the other side answered.
The next moment, the screen showed her friend’s face—her features delicate and refined, her aura pure and transcendent. Even though she was just casually looking at the camera, her beauty was captivating.
Cen Zhen admired her for a while before saying, “About my marriage, it’s a long story.”
“Then make it short.”
Cen Zhen couldn’t help but laugh.
She had no choice but to briefly explain the whole story.
After listening, Wen Qinghe frowned, deeply concerned. “But I’ve heard the Fu family’s internal relationships are very complicated. Marrying Fu Linyuan might seem like a way to escape your family’s pressure to marry and have children, but at the same time, you’ve fallen into another whirlpool.”
Cen Zhen rubbed the bracelet on her wrist, her expression calm and clear-sighted. “No matter how bad it gets, how much worse could it be?”
Not wanting her friend to worry, Cen Zhen quickly changed the subject.
She raised her wrist slightly toward the camera and asked, “Qingqing, could you help me replicate a bracelet exactly like this one?”
In the frame, Wen Qinghe examined it carefully for several moments. “That bracelet of yours is quite valuable. Looking at its style and craftsmanship, it should be possible to replicate, but whether it can be made completely identical will depend on seeing the actual piece. I can only confirm after that.”
Cen Zhen trusted her abilities and immediately smiled, her eyes curving. “Then I’ll come find you after work tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
The two chatted casually for a while longer before hanging up.
Cen Zhen glanced at the time—almost eleven o’clock—but the man working in the study still hadn’t returned to the bedroom to sleep. She looked toward the bedroom door and couldn’t help muttering, “What a workaholic.”
When would he ever make up for the wedding night he owed her?
Late at night, all was quiet.
Cen Zhen yawned, already preparing to sleep.
Yet in another exquisite little villa far away, the scene was entirely different.
Under the warm yellow light, a mother and daughter nestled together on the sofa.
Zhao Lingxi lay in Shi Fangshu’s arms, her eyes red from crying, filled with grievance and resentment. “Mom, what exactly is Cen Zhen thinking? She clearly promised you and Dad that she wouldn’t meet Xingyan in private anymore, but it hasn’t even been that long, and she’s already gone back on her word!”
“At dusk, people at the company saw the two of them pulling and tugging outside…”
Zhao Lingxi sobbed, feeling more and more humiliated the more she thought about it. “I’m so embarrassed. Now people are saying behind my back that I can’t keep my fiancé under control. Mom… what should I do?”
This youngest daughter had been raised single-handedly by Shi Fangshu.
Usually, she was coddled and protected, afraid she might fall if held too tightly or melt if kept too close. How could Shi Fangshu bear to see her so aggrieved? She gently patted her back to comfort her. “Lingxi, don’t cry. Mom will stand up for you.”
“I won’t let your sister bully you.”
The grievances she had suffered these past few days certainly weren’t limited to just this one incident.
Zhao Lingxi sniffled and wiped away her tears, her tone both angry and bitter. “Mom, even though I’m engaged to Xingyan, no one in the Gu family looks up to me.”
“Those sisters and sisters-in-law from his uncles’ families are always mocking me from time to time, insinuating that our family is nothing but upstarts.”
“They say all I know how to do is wear gold and silver, that I’m unbearably tacky.”
“The other day, Xingyan’s eldest sister-in-law deliberately wore her jade bracelet to see me, showing off in front of me, saying that truly cultured, well-established families wouldn’t flaunt gold and silver jewelry like I do. They wear bracelets that emphasize subtlety and restraint, passed down through generations…”
The memory of being mocked was still vivid. Zhao Lingxi whimpered softly, clinging to Shi Fangshu’s arm and acting coquettishly. “Mom, can you help me think of a way…”
“I want a bracelet too, one even more exquisite and expensive than hers. No matter what, I have to win back this pride!”
Initially, the Gu family had favored Cen Zhen.
But after that incident, Zhao Lingxi became the Gu family’s prospective granddaughter-in-law.
Shi Fangshu was well aware that her youngest daughter was being subtly and openly excluded by the sisters-in-law and sisters in the Gu family.
Heartbroken, she wiped the tears from her daughter’s face.
As she comforted her, a sudden idea flashed through her mind—
That day at the hospital, when Cen Zhen raised her hand to block Zhao Dahai’s slap, she seemed to be wearing an exceptionally fine jade bracelet on her wrist. Though she hadn’t looked closely, its appearance alone suggested it was anything but cheap.
Upon further reflection, the man she had married was none other than Fu Linyuan. Most likely, that bracelet had been a gift from his family elders.
In that case, its value went without saying.
In an instant, an idea took shape in her mind.