Ruan Jiaojiao choked back tears as she finished speaking. She picked up Yaozu and turned to leave, tears falling pathetically like broken beads.
At the same time, Qiao Xiaqing panicked.
She wanted Shen Yan to stop them, but the moment she turned around, she saw him stride straight into his second brother’s room and slam the door shut with a thunderous bang. Clearly, he had no intention of dealing with Ruan Jiaojiao and the child at all.
Helpless, Qiao Xiaqing could only go after them herself.
Ruan Jiaojiao deliberately slowed her pace, so when Qiao Xiaqing caught up, she had only just reached the courtyard gate.
“Jiaojiao, where can you go this late at night with a child?” Qiao Xiaqing grabbed her, refusing to let her leave. Seeing her tear-streaked face made her feel even more guilty.
Her troublesome son… how did he end up being so heartless? He had always been responsible since childhood—so why was he like this when it came to Jiaojiao?
Sigh.
“Mom, just let me go,” Ruan Jiaojiao sobbed. “Brother Shen Yan doesn’t like me anyway. He won’t even admit what happened between us that night.”
Qiao Xiaqing comforted her quickly. “Don’t think nonsense. Ah Yan asked his teammate to bring you to the compound—that means he still has feelings for you. Just give him a little more time.”
“But what if he met someone else during the four years he was gone?” Ruan Jiaojiao said, trembling.
She thought of the female figure she had seen at the Shen residence earlier. There was no such young woman in the Shen family—so it had to be a woman he brought back from outside. A mistress.
Not only that woman had to be dealt with.
Ruan Tinghe and those three little brats also had to die.
Four years ago, she had an affair with a sent-down educated youth and accidentally got pregnant. But the man refused to take responsibility.
In this era, she couldn’t casually abort the child. That was when she set her eyes on Shen Yan, who was temporarily staying in the village.
So she drugged Shen Yan, then arranged for Ruan Tinghe to end up in bed with him instead.
Afterward, she replaced Ruan Tinghe and was brought to the compound under Shen Yan’s identity.
She hadn’t expected Shen Yan to discover she wasn’t the woman from that night—and worse, he even remembered Ruan Tinghe’s name and wanted to go back to find her.
With no other choice, she lied that Ruan Tinghe already had a lover, that the two of them were childhood sweethearts deeply in love and about to marry. It was impossible she would have slept with him that night—so Ruan Jiaojiao must have been the woman instead.
But Shen Yan didn’t believe her and insisted on going back to verify the truth himself.
So she called her parents and told them to quickly force Ruan Tinghe into marriage.
Her plan was simple: let Shen Yan see that Ruan Tinghe had already married and had children. A man like him would never snatch a married woman—he would only return obediently and marry her instead.
But Shen Yan didn’t steal her away. He also didn’t come back.
He disappeared for four years.
Now that she had finally heard he was returning, she immediately called her parents again, telling them to deal with Ruan Tinghe and those brats quickly. She was going to marry into the Shen family, and absolutely could not let Shen Yan meet Ruan Tinghe again.
Half a month had passed already—why hadn’t they finished the job yet? They hadn’t even called her back.
Qiao Xiaqing patted her hand gently. “Jiaojiao, don’t worry. Our Shen family has strict morals. We won’t allow Ah Yan to be irresponsible. Since he has a child with you, he must marry you. I’ll help you think of a way.”
“Really?” Ruan Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up as she held Qiao Xiaqing’s hand tightly. “Thank you, Mom. Otherwise, Yaozu and I really wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Don’t be polite with me,” Qiao Xiaqing said. “Go back and rest with Yaozu.”
Ruan Jiaojiao hesitated. “Mom… should I move out of Brother Shen Yan’s room? I can stay in the guest room or even the storage room.”
“No need. You stay there.”
“Alright… I’ll listen to you, Mom. You should go rest too.”
The next morning, Ruan Jiaojiao arrived at the Shen residence carrying a bag of fruit.
She needed to figure out who that woman was.
“Are you Grandma Qin?” she asked sweetly, her voice soft and delicate, completely unlike the noisy woman who had been shouting at the gate last night.
Grandma Qin was kneading dough. She looked at her for a moment before recognizing her.
“You’re that young wife from the Shen family?”
Ruan Jiaojiao nodded shyly. “Yes, I’m Shen Yan’s wife, Ruan Jiaojiao. I was the one shouting at the gate last night. I’m really sorry for disturbing your rest, so I brought fruit to apologize. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
She handed over the fruit basket, cheeks flushed. “I was just too anxious to see Brother Shen Yan last night and didn’t think about everyone sleeping. I’ve felt guilty all night. If no one forgives me, I can even kneel to apologize.”
Grandma Qin frowned slightly.
Something about this girl’s words felt off.
It was as if she was implying that if they didn’t forgive her, they were forcing her to kneel.
She pushed the fruit back. “No need for kneeling, and take the fruit back too. People in our compound aren’t so petty.”
Ruan Jiaojiao’s face turned pale. “Grandma Qin, you misunderstood…”
“Grandma!”
“Grandma Qin!”
“Grandma Qin!”
“Grandma Qin!”
The three children and Shen Yaozu ran in together, chattering as they surrounded her.
“Grandma, look!” Shen Yaozu proudly held out a sheet of paper. “This is our house! Our house!”
It was a pencil drawing of the courtyard—every tree, brick, and tile drawn with surprising accuracy.
“Grandma Qin, I drew it! Am I amazing?”
Second Brother smugly rubbed his nose. “Mom taught me well!”
“And the sun is mine!” Big Brother pointed proudly.
Grandma Qin looked at the sun in the drawing—it was crooked, misshapen, like a broken pancake, completely out of place.
“It looks delicious,” she said kindly. “You did great.”
“I drew it from egg yolks on pancakes!” Big Brother said excitedly.
At that moment, Little Sister raised her hand and revealed a small black stone.
Grandma Qin took it—and froze.
“This… this is…”
It was the gemstone from her missing ancestral pendant.
She had searched for it for years, never expecting to see it again.
“Little girl, where did you find this? This is my family heirloom!” Grandma Qin exclaimed, hugging her tightly and kissing her repeatedly.
Little Sister giggled, squirming happily.
Meanwhile, Ruan Jiaojiao stood frozen at the side, her anger boiling over.
Damn it.
That old woman—and those brats—they were ignoring her completely!
Especially those three kids. The more she looked at them, the more unpleasant they became. The eldest one even vaguely resembled Shen Yan.
“Grandma Qin!” she suddenly shouted. “Last night I saw a woman in your house. Is she a relative? Why isn’t she here now? And who are these children?”
Grandma Qin, still smiling moments ago, immediately darkened her face.
“I say, young wife of the Shen family,” she said coldly, “why are you still here? Planning to stay for breakfast?”