When the whole family sat down to eat, Mr. Shen seemed to remember Gu Lingyu and asked Shen Wuqiu, "Where's Lingyu? I haven't seen her all afternoon. Did you call her for dinner?"
Su Yunzhi happened to be bringing over a bowl of reheated fish paste from the kitchen and casually added, "I was just about to go upstairs to order it, but Wuqiu said she went out this morning and got tired, so she's been sleeping. She told us to eat first."
Mr. Shen couldn't help but mutter again, "How can this child be so ill-mannered?"
Gu Lingyu squatted in front of her beautiful ceramic cat bowl, listening to her father's grumbling, feeling a little aggrieved. So she went to Shen Wuqiu's feet and rubbed against him, meowing.
Mr. Shen was sitting next to her. Hearing the meow, he immediately looked down and spoke in a much gentler tone than before, "Wangcai, are you hungry too?"
Gu Lingyu didn't even glance at him, and just rubbed against Shen Wuqiu's feet.
Looking at Shen Wuqiu, who remained aloof and unmoved, Shen's father felt sorry for the kitten and whispered, "She's being affectionate with you, so just respond to her."
Shen Wuqiu still didn't give her a second glance. She moved her foot, which was being rubbed against by a certain kitten, and then the kitten wisely went to eat in its own territory.
Dad: "..." Kitty, where's your aloof and arrogant attitude in front of us?
***
After dinner, it was completely dark outside, and the rain showed no signs of stopping.
After clearing the table, Su Yunzhi warmly poured tea and dried fruit for Song Jue and Zhao Jiujiu.
"Uncle Wuqiu, Aunt Wuqiu, the weather's bad today, so why don't we stay and not go?"
Mr. Shen also advised, "Houses in the countryside aren't that fancy, and there are plenty of empty rooms. Brother and sister-in-law, don't go back today."
Song Jue didn't care about such things, but he knew his wife seemed a little uncomfortable with Su Yunzhi, so he didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to look at Zhao Jiujiu and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Zhao Jiujiu glared at him: "Nothing is more important than Qiuqiu's matter right now. Lao Le, we really didn't plan to leave today."
When Mr. Shen remarried, Song Jue and Zhao Jiujiu did not object, but since then, the relationship between the two families has become distant. In the past, when he came over, he would at most go inside for a cup of tea.
This is the first time I've ever volunteered to stay overnight like this.
Her decisiveness caught Su Yunzhi off guard, causing her expression to stiffen slightly, but she quickly recovered: "Alright, I'll go and tidy up your rooms right away."
Zhao Jiujiu nodded politely, "Then I'll trouble you."
"We're all family, no need to be so polite."
“Since we’re all family, let’s sit down and talk about Wuqiu first.” Zhao Jiujiu is a straightforward and efficient person, and she doesn’t like beating around the bush. “You all must know that Wuqiu is pregnant.”
After years of hard work in the business world, she is now a well-known female entrepreneur. When she speaks seriously, she exudes an air of authority.
Su Yunzhi was already somewhat afraid of her before, and she was still afraid now. When she heard that she had something to say, she sat down next to Shen's father. Afraid that the other party would misunderstand, she quickly explained, "Aunt Wuqiu, we should have informed you about Wuqiu's pregnancy. It was not too sudden, so we did not think of it."
"Whether you notify us or not, and when you notify us, is your business. I don't care about that. After all, we're just your uncle and aunt." Zhao Jiujiu said, chin in hand, her words were spoken in a huff, but her tone didn't sound sarcastic.
Su Yunzhi tried to smooth things over: "Auntie, Auntie, she's still my mother. If you say that, Wuqiu will be very sad. Wuqiu, don't you think?"
Shen Wuqiu, who only wanted to stay out of it, had no choice but to face the topic head-on and said ingratiatingly, "I explained so much to you this afternoon, are you still angry?"
Zhao Jiujiu snorted, "What's there to be angry about? Look at your dad, you got pregnant with four children, and when the other party came to visit, you didn't even bother to discuss the custody or upbringing of the children. Your dad is so easygoing, why should I get angry over something like this? Lao Le, don't you think so?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen finally realized that the other party had come for him all along.
“Sister-in-law, you can’t say that… It’s not that I’m unwilling to discuss these things with them, it’s just that they came to our door with great sincerity, and I just lost my child, so I didn’t rush to explain the child’s situation.”
"It's been three months already, aren't you in a hurry?" Zhao Jiujiu got annoyed by his overly agreeable tone.
"Qiuqiu is a young girl who is looking forward to love and marriage. It's one thing if she doesn't consider reality, but didn't you all think about her beforehand? It's dangerous for a woman to give birth to one child, let alone four. It's understandable that she's deeply in love with people and wants to keep the children as a memento. But now, the other side has come knocking on our door, clearly eyeing the children in her womb. If we don't clear things up now, what if they want the children after they're born?"
In terms of eloquence, Mr. Shen was no match for her. Hearing her increasingly loud and demanding questions, he became somewhat deflated and said hesitantly, "She doesn't seem like such an unreasonable person..."
Well, it seems this family has been won over by that Mr. and Mrs. Gu; they all trust them quite a bit.
"It's one thing for Qiuqiu to be so naive, but Lao Le, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you've suffered a lot over the years, so why are you still so innocent? Right now, people are trying to coax Qiuqiu into having the baby, so it's easy for them to talk to her. But once the baby is born, it might not be so easy for them to talk to her anymore."
Mr. Shen naturally understood the unpredictability of human nature, and for a moment he was speechless.
The discussion was supposed to be a talk, but it was mostly Zhao Jiujiu doing all the talking. Just as the situation was about to become awkward for everyone, Shen Wuqiu was thinking of something to say to lighten the mood when there was a noise coming from the iron gate outside.
Hearing the commotion, Su Yunzhi, who dared not interrupt Zhao Jiujiu, immediately stood up. "It seems someone is coming outside. I'll go check it out."
After saying that, he quickly got up and walked outside.
Not long after, Su Yunzhi came in with her people: "Old Le, Wu Qiu, Lingyu's parents are back."
"..."
Oh wow, speak of the devil, and he appears.
This couple really knows how to pick their days; they don't come home early or late, but they just have to come home at this time.
This damned hellish scene...
Shen Wuqiu and her father exchanged a glance, both of them looking somewhat embarrassed.
After several seconds, Shen Wuqiu stood up and looked at the two of them, "Uncle Gu, Aunt Dai..."
When Dai*Oscar* saw this scene, she felt something was wrong. Her smile remained, but her gaze slowly shifted from Shen Wuqiu's face to Zhao Jiujiu, who was still sitting upright on the sofa.
The moment their eyes met, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Daiying smiled, her expression composed. "Oh, we have a guest. Wuqiu, who is this?"
Zhao Jiujiu remained seated on the sofa, lowered her eyes and smiled, "Qiuqiu, these two rare guests, I've never seen them before?"
Clearly, both of them wanted to take the initiative and become the main players.
Shen Wuqiu could only force a smile: "Uncle, Aunt, these two are... the children's grandparents. Uncle Gu, Aunt Dai, these two are my uncle and aunt."
Zhao Jiujiu tilted her chin and looked at Dai Ying. "Oh, so you really are rare guests? You two must have gone to a lot of trouble to come to our poor mountain village."
Dai Ying pretended not to hear the mockery in her tone and smiled at her, saying, "We're all family now, so you're nothing special."
Zhao Jiujiu also forced a smile: "You really know how to joke. A guest is a guest. Even if you wear out the threshold, you are still a guest. Just like me, your aunt, no matter how close Qiuqiu is to me, I am still just your aunt. Don't you think so?"
Dai Ying remained calm and composed: "That's true. No matter how close an aunt is, she's still just an aunt. But my aunt is different. If we visit her a few more times, she might become my mother."
"...You really don't care much about your reputation."
Daiying raised her hand and touched her face. "Compared to our Wuqiu, we don't need to worry about face."
Zhao Jiujiu's fake smile cracked instantly: "..."
In comparison, Oscar-winning acting was still superior at the start.
The two women exuded a tense atmosphere, leaving everyone else completely at a loss for words.
The atmosphere in the hall fell into an awkward silence once again. Caught in the middle, Shen Wuqiu swallowed hard and handed Zhao Jiujiu a freshly peeled summer orange: "Auntie, this orange is so sweet, have a taste."
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at her, took the orange, broke off a segment and put it in her mouth, then broke off another segment and fed it to her, saying, "The orange that Qiuqiu peeled is indeed sweet."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, snatched the remaining orange from her hand, and then swaggered over to Daiying with the orange in its mouth. Daiying reached out her hand, and the cat placed the orange in her hand.
My good-for-nothing son is finally showing some sense.
Daiying didn't mind that her daughter had already eaten it. In front of Zhao Jiujiu, she broke off a piece as a reward for her daughter, and then broke off another piece and put it in her own mouth: "Mmm, the orange that Qiuqiu peeled is really sweet."
"..."
While pulling Zhao Jiujiu along, Shen Wuqiu picked up an orange and said, "Auntie, don't be angry, I'll peel another one for you."
Zhao Jiujiu ignored her and looked at Daiying, "Let's be frank and speak frankly. You'd better not try anything with Qiuqiu's baby."
Dai Ying raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected Zhao Jiujiu to be so direct, speaking so bluntly right off the bat. So she decided not to mince words either. "I wonder what you mean by 'scheming'?"
"What do you mean? You went to all this trouble to come here just to coax Qiuqiu into having the child, so you could take it for yourselves?"
“The child in Wuqiu’s belly has our Gu family’s bloodline, so naturally we want Wuqiu to give birth to it, that’s true. But I’ve already told Qiuqiu that if she doesn’t want to give birth, I won’t force her. As for who the child will live with after birth, I think that should be decided by Wuqiu, the mother.”
"You're saying all this nice things now, but I'm afraid you'll show a completely different face once the baby is born."
Dai Ying smiled and looked at Shen Wuqiu, "Wuqiu, don't worry, Aunt Dai wouldn't be that kind of person."
Zhao Jiujiu also looked at Shen Wuqiu, urging her to make a statement: "Qiuqiu, then tell her now, so they can give up."
Shen Wuqiu really couldn't express her feelings, after all, the child she was carrying was somewhat different from others.
So, Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to also put on an act: "...Auntie, I feel a little dizzy..."
Chapter 45 Praise
Shen Wuqiu's acting skills, though raw, are glaringly clumsy in comparison to those of the two seasoned veterans.
Although Zhao Jiujiu was annoyed by her lack of self-control, she felt more sorry for her and couldn't bear to make things difficult for her. After asking a few questions with a stern face and confirming that she wasn't really feeling unwell, she helped her upstairs to her room to rest.
Of course, he didn't give Daiying the slightest chance to fawn over him throughout the entire process.
Back in the room, with no one else around, Zhao Jiujiu started scolding her again: "You really want to be someone's wife that badly? You're not even married yet, and you're already siding with the outsider?"
Shen Wuqiu said, "No way."
Zhao Jiujiu poked her forehead. "That Mrs. Gu, I think she's quite formidable."
"No matter how capable she is, she's not as capable as my aunt."
"Stop being so cheeky."
Shen Wuqiu feigned a sigh, “I know you’re doing this for my own good. I know what I’m doing about the child. Besides, Aunt Dai isn’t the kind of person you think she is. She talked to me about the child when she came over last time. Whether or not to have the child is my decision.”
"Aunt Dai...you're calling her that quite affectionately." Zhao Jiujiu snorted.
"...That's not as affectionate as my aunt." Shen Wuqiu coaxed her in a slightly coquettish tone.
Zhao Jiujiu feigned disgust and pushed her away, "Come on. I think you're now completely 'entangled in a woman's world, unable to escape.'"
"..." Shen Wuqiu felt that this matter was probably not going to be resolved. She took a deep breath and said, "To tell you the truth, I never intended to take the child for myself. After all, it is indeed someone else's child."
"You don't want to possess the child, but you're afraid others won't think the same way. If the child is born, you won't even have a place as the mother."
"Aunt... Aunt Dai and the others really aren't like that. Anyway, you'll find out later."
Besides, even if someone wants to take it for themselves, the ordinary laws of this world can't do anything about it.
Therefore, it would be better for her to lie down and show goodwill.
“He’s not that kind of person…” Zhao Jiujiu clicked her tongue twice. “How long have you known him? How can you be so sure?”
"Two..." The words were on the tip of Shen Wuqiu's tongue, but then she remembered something and quickly changed her mind, "Two years."
"What if they're just hiding it well? Don't you see how many mothers-in-law treat their future daughters-in-law like their own daughters before marriage, but treat them like outsiders after marriage?"