Upon returning home, Mu Wansheng was overwhelmed with sleepiness and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. However, her brain was still extremely lucid.
She lay down on the bed and turned to the side.
Tang Yucheng said softly, “If I’d known earlier that you’d be upset, I wouldn’t have told you.”
“I’m not upset. You’re mistaken. Both he and I have started life afresh. Actually, it’s really better that way.”
Tang Yucheng said, “In that case, rest well and take good care of yourself. You’re no longer alone now. You must give birth to the child safely and smoothly.”
Mu Wansheng murmured assent.
“You must be tired, you look so listless. Take a nap. I’ll go outside.”
“Alright.” Mu Wansheng closed her eyes.
In fact, Tang Yucheng and Mu Wansheng were just like acquaintances who treated each other with great respect, not a married couple.
Although they shared the same bed, they used one blanket each and wouldn’t come into physical contact at all.
They continued living peacefully in that manner. Not only did he take care of her physically, he was also very concerned about her mental wellbeing.
——
Luo Hang finally returned to the Luo family home with Xia Banqin in December.
Xia Banqin was four months pregnant.
Luo Hang decided to go home because he could no longer tolerate living in poverty. However, he was not in a disheveled state and still had airs around him, despite not having any money in the bank.
“Which rascal is this?” Mrs. Luo quipped coldly upon the sight of him and Xia Banqin.
“Mother, don’t you miss me at all? I missed you and Father so much.” He then stroked Xia Banqin’s baby bump and said, “Mother, look, you’ve got a grandchild.”
Mu Qixing knew that such a day would come.
She remained silent. She could accept any kind of outcome because she was hoping for a divorce anyway. After she’d been waiting for a long while, this day finally arrived.
However, Mrs. Luo still refused to give in. She chastised, “A grandchild? I don’t need her to give me a grandchild. Since she’s pregnant, take her to the hospital to get an abortion, lest she and the child become an eyesore.”
The initially-confident Xia Banqin became flustered instantly.
Is the child not going to be of any use at all?
“Luo Hang and I have already verified the gender of the baby. It’s a boy.”
“Judging from the size of your bump, you’re probably not too far along yet. Is it even possible to tell the gender at this stage?”
“We did a lab test and an ultrasound scan. It’s verified to be a baby boy. I’m already four months pregnant.”
Luo Hang quickly said, “Mother, can you really bear to kill your own grandson?”
“I can spare him, but you’ll have to let Qixing be the child’s mother once he’s born.”
Not expecting to hear that from his mother at all, Luo Hang said, “Mother, children will only be happy if they grow up alongside their birth mother.”
“You went to such great lengths, all because you want to make her your lawful wife, didn’t you? I definitely won’t allow her to become my daughter-in-law. Don’t even think about it. Nothing can be changed even if she’s pregnant! If there’s a possibility of her becoming our daughter-in-law, your father and I wouldn’t have spent so much money to let you marry a member of the Mu family!”
Fuming with anger, Luo Hang retorted, “Mother, you’ve always pampered me and given in to all my requests, so why can’t you let me take charge of my own marriage? Banqin and I truly love each other. Why must you break us up? We even have a child together now and yet you still don’t approve of our relationship. Do you want both your son and grandson to resent you?”
Mrs. Luo was at a loss for words. Coincidentally, Mr. Luo happened to return home.
Upon hearing that Xia Banqin was pregnant with his grandson, he said, “Let her move in for the time being. We’ll discuss this again slowly.”
Luo Hang headed upstairs with Xia Banqin and brought her to his and Mu Qixing’s bedroom.
Mr. Luo said to Mu Qixing, “Qixing, we’re very sorry. Now that she’s pregnant, we really can’t let her go for an abortion. That’d be akin to murder.”
Glowering at her husband, Mrs. Luo snapped, “Why can’t she abort the child? If you let her keep the child, she’s only going to benefit from it!”
Mr. Luo explained, “I didn’t say that I want her to get what she wants, but since she’s already pregnant, we’ll let her give birth to the child. We’ll just send Xia Banqin away after she gives birth. Will that do?”
Mrs. Luo screeched, “Nonsense! Will your son even agree to it? We don’t need a useless son like him. He only cares about his girlfriend and not his parents. He’s as stubborn as a mule. Can’t he tell that that woman is just a gold-digger? Will she actually treat him well?”
Noticing that her mother-in-law had burst into tears, Mu Qixing sat down beside her and held her arm. “Mother, I have a plan to verify if she’s really true to Luo Hang.”
“What plan have you got?”
“The first is to put her through a lie detector test and the other is to subject her to hypnosis. Shall we give it a try?” she suggested. She would definitely have to give Luo Hang a hand since she wanted to get a divorce as soon as she could.
“Yeah, that sounds feasible,” Mr. Luo agreed.
Mrs. Luo sighed and said, “Let’s give it a try, then.”
Mu Qixing could tell that she had already broken through one of her mother-in-law’s walls. Although she was remaining calm and composed, she could sense that she would be the one leaving. After all, two tigers cannot share one mountain; one of them has to leave.
Just like what she wanted.
Mu Qixing made her way upstairs and opened the door of her bedroom. Staring at the couple who was cuddling each other and watching some television, Mu Qixing smirked and said, “I thought you’d stay out for longer than this. Turns out you gave up so soon. It does feel terrible to be penniless. I was living in such bliss when you were not around.”
Luo Hang was surprised to see that she had begun dolling herself up after not seeing her for a period of time. She had developed a penchant for dressing herself up in Western-style clothing. He retorted, “This is still my home at the end of the day. You should be worrying for yourself. You might be eliminated very soon.”
“I hope you two will get married as soon as possible. That way, I’d be able to pursue my own happiness. There’s no use dragging it on any further. Besides, I don’t love you and I’m not after your family’s wealth anyway. Don’t worry, I’m more eager than you are to get a divorce. Each day spent waiting is one more day of my youth wasted. If you had gotten her pregnant earlier, we wouldn’t have had to get married. Luo Hang, you’re such a coward. How are you supposed to protect the woman you love and your child?”
She poured herself a cup of tea and sipped on it while sitting on the couch.
Xia Banqin and Luo Hang were both stunned to hear her words.
“Are you really not pretending to concede?” Xia Banqin asked.
“You’ll find out in the future. You may regard him as a gem, but I don’t. Don’t assume that all women are like you.”
“You…” Instead of arguing with her, Xia Banqin continued, “It’d be best if you actually mean what you said.”
