Shanghai.
The military green jeep slowly entered a secluded street lined with plane trees before finally coming to a stop in front of a black gate adorned with delicate wrought iron patterns.
Ruan Yingying looked out through the window. Even though she had been mentally prepared, her pupils still contracted slightly.
Before her stood a two and a half story Western style house with red brick walls and a green tiled roof.
Compared with the somewhat plain and modest low houses lining both sides of the street, this little mansion looked incredibly conspicuous and, at the same time, remarkably grand.
This was the place where the original owner had been born and raised.
A capitalist lifestyle that belonged to this era, yet clearly stood apart from it.
She held her breath, then got out of the car with Huo Qiang, one following the other.
In the living room of the Ruan family’s Western style house, Ruan Qingshan was leisurely reading the newspaper on a genuine leather sofa.
When he saw Ruan Yingying walk in, this refined and scholarly middle aged man did not even bother to get up. He merely adjusted his gold rimmed glasses and asked indifferently, “You’re back?”
“Yingying, it is not that your mother wants to lecture you, but you had such a good life and insisted on getting a divorce. Now you have come back to burden your family while carrying such a big belly. Have you gone crazy?”
The person who answered was the original owner’s mother, Xia Feng.
Because she had always lived comfortably and had never suffered much, even though she was already in her early fifties, she still retained a graceful charm thanks to proper care.
The news of her daughter wanting an abortion, eloping, and demanding a divorce had already reached the Ruan family through various channels.
Now that the couple saw their daughter returning to her family home alone with a huge belly, naturally they were not particularly pleased.
It would have been better if Xia Feng had not mentioned it. The moment she brought it up, Ruan Qingshan became even more irritated. He was just about to add a few complaints of his own when he looked up and saw a military green figure standing at the doorway.
Ruan Qingshan’s eyes suddenly lit up behind his lenses. The displeasure on his face disappeared instantly, and even his voice was filled with delight.
“Oh my! Son in law! Our son in law is here!”
He put down the newspaper and hurried several steps toward Huo Qiang, hastily extending his hand.
“Son in law, what brings you here personally today? Truly, we should have welcomed you properly! Please, have a seat, have a seat!”
Huo Qiang’s expression remained indifferent. He raised his hand and briefly shook Ruan Qingshan’s outstretched hand before letting go, responding in a deep voice.
“Father in law.”
Ruan Qingshan’s words were warm and welcoming, but inside, he was deeply puzzled.
They had been married for two years, and Ruan Yingying had always returned alone. This was the first time Huo Qiang had voluntarily accompanied her to their door.
And he had come precisely when Yingying was causing a fuss about getting an abortion and demanding a divorce.
Could it be that he had come to announce the divorce?
At the thought of this possibility, Ruan Qingshan’s heart sank heavily, as though a huge stone had been placed on his chest.
Back then, he had gone to great lengths to secure a marriage with the Huo family precisely because he wanted the protection that came with their family.
If they really divorced, what would happen to the Ruan family in the future?
Just as he was thinking this, another clear female voice came from inside the house.
“Mother, who is here?”
Immediately afterward, a fashionable young girl wearing a red dress and black lambskin shoes came rushing down the stairs like a gust of wind.
She looked around eighteen or nineteen years old. Her black hair was braided into two thick plaits, each tied at the end with a matching silk ribbon. She had delicate and pretty features, with brows and eyes that resembled Ruan Yingying’s by four or five parts, though her expression was much more lively and youthful.
She stopped beside Xia Feng. Before she had even caught her breath, she saw Ruan Yingying and hurriedly blurted out, “Sis? Weren’t you with Siyuan Bro…”
The words “Didn’t you elope with Siyuan Bro?” had already reached the tip of her tongue, but the moment she saw the warning looks from Huo Qiang and Ruan Qingshan, she forcefully swallowed the rest.
Hearing the name “Siyuan Bro,” Ruan Yingying’s heartbeat quickened slightly.
He is Siyuan? Was he that pretty boy from the theater troupe who had been involved with the original owner and eloped with her?
Oh dear, that definitely could not be said aloud!
Ruan Yingying deliberately cleared her throat and calmly spoke first.
“I am going to join my husband at his military posting. I came back to move my things.”
At those words, everyone’s expressions stiffened at almost the same time.
The living room fell into an eerie silence.
This was something the Ruan family had never expected.
The first person to recover from the shock was Ruan Qingshan, who had experienced his share of turbulent situations.
His mind quickly began turning.
Moving her things, joining her husband at his posting…
Not only was she not planning to divorce, she actually intended to continue the marriage and even live together with him!
The huge stone weighing on his heart suddenly lifted, and immense relief washed over him.
“Good! Good!” The doubt on Ruan Qingshan’s face instantly transformed into a genuine smile. He even slapped his thigh repeatedly, praising her enthusiastically.
“Joining your husband at his posting is good! Yingying, you should have thought this way long ago! A husband and wife should naturally stay together. Your father supports you, completely supports you!”
It took Xia Feng quite a while to react. She immediately took Ruan Yingying by the arm and ushered her inside, speaking affectionately.
“Oh, Yingying, the journey must have been tiring. Come, come inside!”
In barely any time at all, the Ruan couple had changed their attitudes as quickly as turning the pages of a book.
Ruan Qingshan eagerly poured a cup of tea and handed it to Huo Qiang.
“Son in law, have some tea. This year’s Mingqian Longjing. It is quite decent.”
Huo Qiang actually disliked this kind of behavior, but he did not show it on his face.
After all, no matter what, Ruan Yingying could be considered his father’s lifesaver.
He could at least give her family this much courtesy.
With that thought, he composed himself, gave his father in law a slight nod, and reached out to take the cup.
But just as his fingertips touched the rim, Xia Feng smiled and spoke.
“Son in law, Yingying was truly blessed to marry you. Unfortunately, our Qianqian does not have the same good fortune as her sister…”
She stopped halfway through her sentence, her eyes flickering as she looked somewhat awkwardly toward her husband, Ruan Qingshan.
She was still somewhat intimidated by this son in law.
Not only was he tall and imposing, he had also come from the military. In Xia Feng’s eyes, he carried a certain roughness, and she was afraid that saying the wrong thing might anger him.
Ruan Qingshan understood her unspoken concern. He smoothly picked up the conversation.
“Not to make you laugh, son in law, but Qianqian has already graduated from high school and is still sitting around at home. It really is not appropriate.”
“Not to make you laugh, son in law, but Qianqian graduated from high school some time ago. She cannot possibly remain idle at home forever. It does not look good.”
As he spoke, he leaned slightly toward Huo Qiang, an obvious flattering smile on his face.
“Son in law, you are a capable man. Arranging an easy job for her in the military theater troupe should be nothing more than a word from you.”
Hearing this, Huo Qiang’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and his expression darkened.
The little patience he had left was instantly drained by those words.
As expected, the Ruan family was a bottomless pit that could never be filled. Relying on the Huo family’s financial support to maintain their capitalist lifestyle was one thing, but now they even dared to use his connections in the military, wanting him to pull strings and arrange for someone to be placed there?
Seeing that Huo Qiang merely sat there with a cold expression and did not respond, the delight on Ruan Qianqian’s face instantly disappeared. She pouted unhappily and tugged at Xia Feng’s sleeve.
“Mother, you lied to me! Didn’t you say this cripple would definitely agree? I do not care! I want to join the theater troupe!”
Xia Feng was irritated by her second daughter’s tugging, but she ultimately could not bear to scold her. She sighed, her tone carrying a hint of complaint.
“Yingying, Qianqian is your own younger sister. We are family…”
Hearing this, Ruan Yingying almost failed to restrain herself from rolling her eyes.
She had never imagined that the original owner’s parents could be this shameless.
Hmph, younger sister? Family?
This whole family was nothing but a bunch of leeches and bloodsuckers!
The original novel had mentioned that back then, the Ruan family had forcibly married the original owner off to Huo Qiang, a supposedly injured and rough military officer whose future was uncertain, precisely because they wanted to cling to the Huo family’s powerful political background.
As for Ruan Qianqian, this so-called younger sister was an idiot spoiled rotten by their parents. Sucking the life out of her own sister was not enough. In the end, she even killed the original owner just to steal her man.
Poor original owner, she had been foolish.
But Ruan Yingying was not.
Today, she was going to take back every bit of what the original owner had given to her family.
With that thought, Ruan Yingying forced a faint smile onto her face.
“Helping is no problem, but…”