Shi Yalan’s heart jolted, and she silently cursed that things had gone wrong. If Ye Jianguo hadn’t suddenly shown up at their house and caught her completely off guard, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a passive position. Originally, she had planned to find an opportunity in the next few days to tell Old Jiang about this matter. Now it had blown up like this, and her Old Jiang was bound to lose his temper again.
“What are you standing there for? Go call Jiang Bowen over here.” Seeing that Shi Yalan hadn’t moved, Jiang Weiguo darkened his face and urged her again.
Inside the room, Jiang Bowen had just woken up. Hearing Jiang Weiguo’s voice, he rubbed his eyes and opened the door, walking out. “Dad, you called me?”
Jiang Weiguo glanced at him, his expression unreadable. “Come here. I have something to ask you.”
“Oh.” Jiang Bowen responded, dragging his slippers as he ambled over to Jiang Weiguo. He completely ignored Ye Jianguo sitting to the side, not even sparing him a glance.
Seeing his attitude, Ye Jianguo was boiling with anger. This Jiang Bowen had no manners at all—seeing his future father‑in‑law and not even greeting him.
Watching his son’s careless demeanor, Jiang Weiguo’s temples twitched as well. He scolded him irritably, “Stand properly. Look at the state you’re in!”
Jiang Bowen stuffed his hands into his pockets and scratched his head impatiently. “Dad, if there’s something to say, just say it. If not, I’m going back to catch some more sleep. I’m exhausted.” As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide and yawned without a shred of decorum, tears instantly welling up in his eyes.
Jiang Weiguo’s face darkened. Shi Yalan forced a smile, stepped forward, and gave Jiang Bowen a light smack, signaling him with her eyes. “Look at you, child, still half asleep. Talk properly to your father.”
After Shi Yalan’s nudge, Jiang Bowen sobered up a bit and muttered unhappily, “What’s so urgent? It’s noon, and you won’t even let people sleep.”
Jiang Weiguo took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and pointed at Ye Jianguo. “Your Uncle Ye says that your marriage with Li Li is off and that you’re going to marry her younger sister instead. What’s going on?”
Only then did Jiang Bowen glance at Ye Jianguo, replying indifferently, “Nothing much. It’s just like that.”
Hearing this, Ye Jianguo could no longer hold back. He sprang to his feet. “What kind of attitude is that? My Zhi‑zhi is pregnant with your child, and you’re brushing it off like this?”
He was truly furious. Judging by this boy’s attitude, what kind of life would his Zhi‑zhi have if she married into this family?
When Jiang Weiguo heard this, his eyes widened instantly. Furious, he raised his hand as if to strike him. “What? You unfilial bastard, you actually did something so disgraceful? Are you trying to make me lose all my face?”
Seeing Jiang Weiguo about to hit him, Shi Yalan hurried forward and grabbed his arm. “Old Jiang, calm down. The child is ignorant. I’ll talk to him properly later.”
Seeing his father fly into a rage, Jiang Bowen was displeased. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Ye Zhirou and I were willing. I didn’t force her to fool around with me.”
Ye Jianguo trembled with rage and raised his hand, about to slap Jiang Bowen. Jiang Weiguo might be the steel factory director, but Ye Jianguo wasn’t made of mud either. If his daughter was humiliated like this and he swallowed it, wouldn’t he be utterly spineless?
Jiang Weiguo reacted quickly and stepped in front of Jiang Bowen. “Old Ye, let’s talk this out. Resorting to violence isn’t appropriate.” He was angry at his son’s behavior too, but disciplining his own child was his business—outsiders had no place doing it.
Ye Jianguo’s hand was shaking with anger. “Director Jiang, look at your son’s attitude. Zhi‑zhi is carrying his child, and he doesn’t even take it seriously?”
Shi Yalan quickly tried to smooth things over. “Old Ye, Bowen is young and doesn’t understand things yet. Let’s discuss this slowly.”
Ye Jianguo snorted coldly, flung his hand, and sat back down. “If your family refuses to take responsibility, don’t blame me for making a scene so big that everyone in your steel factory knows about it.”
Jiang Weiguo’s expression shifted. If such a scandal spread through the factory, he’d have nowhere to put his face. He’d even be reprimanded by his superiors. Furious, he kicked Jiang Bowen in the leg. “You little bastard, you’ve caused a life‑and‑death mess now, and you still think you can mess around?”
Seeing her son get kicked, Shi Yalan’s heart ached terribly. She shot Ye Jianguo a sharp glare, her tone turning sarcastic. “I’ll say this, Old Ye, you can’t blame everything on our family. I went to see Li Li and spoke to her nicely about calling off the engagement. But she made outrageous demands—she wanted one thousand yuan in compensation, or she’d go report it to the police. This wasn’t something Bowen did alone, yet our family is the one bearing all the consequences. I’m busy scraping together money to break off the engagement, not shirking responsibility. You came barging in without asking what happened and made a huge fuss—who are we supposed to reason with?”
Ye Jianguo looked at Shi Yalan in surprise. “That damned girl Ye Li asked you for money?” That sounded a bit unbelievable to him. Ye Li cared so much about that little beast Jiang Bowen—how could she threaten Shi Yalan with going to the police?
“Isn’t that so? Old Ye, even though our Old Jiang is a factory director, pulling together one thousand yuan at once isn’t easy,” Shi Yalan said with a troubled look, though inwardly she was secretly delighted and scheming.
She knew Ye Jianguo had never liked his daughter Ye Li and instead doted excessively on the stepdaughter brought in by Liu Hongmei. If this time Ye Jianguo could suppress Ye Li, she could save a large sum of money. Handing over such a huge amount to that wretched girl for nothing would be like cutting flesh from her own body.
Ye Jianguo’s brows twisted into a tight knot. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t pay attention to her! Right now, we need to discuss Zhi‑zhi and Bowen. Time’s pressing—if Zhi‑zhi’s belly gets any bigger, it’ll be a disgrace to both our families. Besides, she’s carrying your family’s first grandson—don’t you want a grandson?”
Hearing the words “first grandson,” Shi Yalan’s expression flickered with interest. She glanced at Jiang Weiguo, cautiously testing him. “Old Jiang, what do you think about this?”
Jiang Weiguo’s anger had not subsided. He slammed his hand heavily on the table. “What do I think? Things have already reached this point—what else is there to say? I’m not getting involved. Handle it yourselves.”
Seeing Jiang Weiguo pass the responsibility, Shi Yalan felt a bit anxious, but she still forced herself to turn to Ye Jianguo. “Old Ye, this is a big marriage. We need to prepare properly. As for the bride price, we should agree on a reasonable amount.” After all, her Old Jiang was the factory director, and it was his only son’s wedding—it had to be done grandly.
Ye Jianguo snorted coldly. “The bride price can’t be too little. My daughter is already pregnant. At the very least, we need to give proper face.”
Hearing that they were talking about the bride price, Jiang Bowen was displeased. “Dad, Mom, don’t make a big deal out of this. Zhi‑zhi is already carrying my child and is willing to marry me. The bride price is just a formality.”
Jiang Weiguo shot him a glare. “Shut your mouth. This mess is your doing—don’t make it worse.”
Ye Jianguo wasn’t pleased either, but he didn’t say much. He only frowned and said, “We sincerely want to be in-laws. The bride price won’t be much—five hundred coins, plus the ‘three spins and one ring’ ceremony. Otherwise, people will laugh at my daughter.”
Hearing this, Shi Yalan panicked. “Five hundred is too much! And with the ‘three spins and one ring’? We really can’t afford that.”