Chapter 495| Chapter 496| Chapter 497
Chapter 495: Mother Gu’s Regret
“Go to sleep, wife.”
Gu Tingxiao looked down at Sheng Wanyan. She was shifting around under the covers, restless and making all sorts of tiny movements, her small hand tracing the lines of his abdominal muscles.
If she didn’t sleep now… neither of them would be getting any rest tonight.
“Were your parents waiting up for you, or for Yi Yi?” Sheng Wanyan asked, her eyes gleaming with a sudden urge to gossip.
Gu Tingxiao sighed helplessly, pulling her flush against his chest to trap her securely in his arms. “Wife, Dad has never liked us sons all that much.”
Sheng Wanyan had to agree. After all, Father Gu was notoriously strict with his three boys, readily resorting to a harsh scolding or a swat whenever they stepped out of line. It was safe to assume he had only been waiting downstairs because Mother Gu insisted on it. As for who Mother Gu was waiting for—that was more complicated.
Ever since Gu Tingxiao had moved them to the courtyard near Peking University, he hadn’t stayed a single night at the military compound. He had never been particularly talkative with his mother, nor was he the type to constantly hover by her side like his eldest brother or Gu Tinghao.
Mother Gu had long carried a deep sense of guilt toward her third son, and she desperately wanted an opportunity to mend their relationship. Yet Gu Tingxiao’s detached, stoic personality left her at a total loss; she simply had no idea where to start. His face was always a mask of cool indifference, leaving her to agonize over whether he still resented her for how much she had overlooked him in the past.
Unable to approach him directly, Mother Gu focused all her compensatory affection onto Yi Yi. She reasoned that if she doted on the little girl enough, Gu Tingxiao would naturally bring his family home more often.
Before their return, she had never imagined that the third family would choose to move out of the compound immediately. She had fondly expected everyone to live under one roof, believing she could finally step in and ease their burdens. Instead, she found that they didn’t need her help in the slightest. The young couple was managing flawlessly on their own. Their marriage was rock-solid, their careers were soaring, their daughter was impeccably raised, and the little girl was sweet and well-behaved.
Mother Gu truly didn’t know whether she should feel proud or heartbroken. She had failed her maternal responsibilities and neglected her child when he was small. Now that he was grown, he had absolutely no use for her.
In her own bedroom, Mother Gu tossed and turned, completely unable to settle. Father Gu rolled over, utterly baffled by her restlessness.
“Wife, what’s wrong?”
“Old Gu, my chest feels so tight and heavy,” Mother Gu murmured, sitting up and pressing a hand to her sternum.
Seeing this, Father Gu sat up immediately, gently rubbing her back to help her catch her breath. “What is it? Don’t scare me like this.” He looked so panicked that he was ready to slip his shoes on and drive her straight to the hospital.
Mother Gu shook her head, her face etched with sorrow. “Old Gu… do you remember when the third child had that terrible fever as a boy?”
“Of course I do.” Father Gu nodded slowly. Gu Tingxiao had burned with such a severe fever back then that he had nearly lost his mind.
“The third child was only ten that winter,” Mother Gu whispered, her voice cracking. “You were away at the military base, and the fourth child had just been born. He was so sickly and wouldn’t stop crying, so I stayed home to nurse him. But the third child was still at school, running a fever of thirty-nine degrees in the dead of winter.”
Father Gu remained quiet. These were old family ghosts, but Mother Gu wept over them every single time they resurfaced.
“At the time, my parents were pinned down by their own work, you were stationed at the base, and I was entirely consumed by the newborn. The fourth child’s lungs were so weak back then; the moment I tried to step away, he would scream at the top of his lungs. I felt I had no choice… so I asked a neighbor to fetch the third child from school and take him to the clinic. When he finally came home, he didn’t speak a single word to me for days. My heart breaks to pieces every time I think about it.”
As she spoke, Mother Gu covered her face and began to weep. Father Gu pulled her into a comforting embrace. “Wife, that was my fault, not yours. Blame me.”
Mother Gu shook her head through her tears. She knew the truth. She could have wrapped the infant up and taken her ten-year-old to the hospital herself, but she had chosen the newborn instead.
“No, it wasn’t just that,” she sobbed. “When the third child had just entered high school, he got into a massive brawl with his classmates, and the administration demanded a parent show up immediately. But that exact same afternoon, the fourth child’s class was hosting an integrated parents’ meeting. I went to the fourth child’s school first, intending to swing by the high school right after. By the time I finally walked into the principal’s office… the other boy’s parents pointed right at my face, screaming that my son was an uneducated savage with no manners. Every other child had their parents standing firmly behind them from the first minute. But my boy… had to wait hours for me to show up.”
The words poured out of her, each memory heavier with regret than the last. Her voice trembled violently, saturated with a lifetime of guilt.
“And when they were little… do you remember that toy tank you hand-carved for the third child? The fourth child threw a massive tantrum because he wanted it. Because he was younger and crying so hard, I forced the third child to hand it over… But the third child was just a little boy himself back then.”
Mother Gu clutched her chest, the weight of her past choices suffocating her. She realized she had chipped away at her third son’s heart so many times over the years that her past actions felt utterly monstrous to her now.
“Later on, when he finished school, he went straight into the military. You spent your energy paving a glittering path for our eldest son, and I poured all my connections into securing a future for our youngest. But what about our third boy? What did we ever do for him? If he hadn’t been extraordinarily capable on his own… if his own parents completely cast him aside, then he…”
Her breathing grew shallow and erratic as the toxic pattern of their parenting became painfully clear. If the family matriarch and patriarch hadn’t taken a special interest in Gu Tingxiao back then, the boy would have likely severed his emotional ties to his parents entirely. Without the two elders anchoring him to the Gu name, Mother Gu couldn’t begin to fathom what attachment her third son would even have to this family.
Everyone assumed Gu Tingxiao’s frosty, detached demeanor was simply his natural personality. But Mother Gu knew better; she could feel the invisible, unyielding wall he kept between them. When her third son looked at her, he didn’t look at a mother. He looked at the benefactor who had granted him biological life, and nothing more. He was perfectly polite, flawlessly dutiful, and completely distant.
There was no maternal warmth in his heart for her. She desperately wanted to make amends now, but the foundation had been poured years ago. It was too late. All she could do was pour her warmth onto her third daughter-in-law and little Yi Yi, praying the mother and daughter would visit often, so that Gu Tingxiao might occasionally follow them home.
“Wife, stop torturing yourself over things that are long dead,” Father Gu sighed heavily, tightening his grip around her. “Moving forward, just focus all your care and attention on Third Brother’s wife and little Yi Yi. That matters more than anything else.”
He had spent his life consumed by military campaigns and state affairs, leaving the management of the household entirely to his wife. If Mother Gu was guilty of neglect, then what did that make him as a father? If they truly had to assign blame, it was he, the head of the household, who had failed to maintain a balanced home.
The palm and the back of a hand were both made of the same flesh, yet human hearts were inherently biased. Just as Mother Gu had blindly favored their youngest son in the past, her sudden desire to overcompensate for the third son now was born from that exact same wave of internal bias.
With the return of Sheng Wanyan’s family to the compound, the household transformed into a bustling haven of holiday energy, and the children spent the weekend having the absolute time of their lives.
Sheng Wanyan hadn’t forgotten the promise she had made to Gu Jinfang before the term started. She had meticulously put together a comprehensive study guide, outlining advanced learning methodologies and structured habits for him to parse through at his own pace.
“Third Aunt, you’re amazing!” Gu Jinfang gasped, his eyes wide as he stared at the organized materials. He truly hadn’t expected his aunt to remember his request, let alone compile such a thorough guide so quickly.
“Your Third Aunt went to incredible lengths to organize this curriculum for you,” Eldest Sister-in-law Gu chimed in, seizing the perfect educational moment to lecture her son. “You must cherish this gift and dedicate yourself fully to your studies.”
Gu Jinfang nodded fiercely, a wave of profound gratitude washing over him. He silently resolved to push himself to the absolute limit this semester, determined to break through his academic plateaus and secure stellar grades on his final examinations.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I understand,” he promised earnestly. “I will absolutely study hard.”
Watching the boy—who had historically found academics to be an absolute chore—willingly and eagerly dedicate himself to his desk brought immense joy to the family elders. To them, this sudden turnaround was nothing short of a miracle.
Chapter 496: Yi Yi Gets Hurt
Gu Tinghao didn’t have any classes over the weekend, so he brought Gu Jinmin back to the compound. Gu Jinmin hadn’t seen Yi Yi in a while.
The moment his eyes landed on her, he instantly remembered their last clash over the toys. He huffed and turned his head away, looking thoroughly displeased.
Yi Yi wanted a drink of water, so Sheng Wanyan took her bottle into the kitchen to refill it.
“Xiaomin, come over and have some fruit,” Mother Gu called out warmly. She hadn’t seen her grandson in a week and was delighted to have him home.
“Grandma,” Gu Jinmin mumbled. He marched over and wedged himself onto the sofa directly between Yi Yi and Mother Gu, roughly shoving Yi Yi to the side.
Yi Yi blinked at him, then quietly crawled across the cushions with her snack to sit next to Grandpa Gu instead. She lowered her round head, focusing entirely on munching the large, crisp apple in her small hands.
“Here, Xiaomin, have a piece. It’s already sliced up for you.”
Gu Jinmin ignored the platter on the table and stared fixedly at the whole apple clutched in Yi Yi’s hands. It was massive, deep red, and looked infinitely more delicious than the pre-cut slices his grandmother was offering.
“I want her apple,” he demanded, pointing a finger.
Mother Gu glanced at the fruit in Yi Yi’s hands. This particular apple hadn’t come from the kitchen; Yi Yi had brought it from her own courtyard as her personal afternoon snack. She had actually packed four apples in total: she had given two to her older cousins, left one to be sliced up for the family, and kept the final two as her own weekend treats.
The main house was currently out of fresh fruit, and Mother Gu hadn’t found the time to go marketing yet, having planned to take a leisurely stroll to the stores with her daughter-in-law over the weekend.
“We don’t have any whole ones left at the house, sweetie. Grandma will go out and buy some for you later,” Mother Gu coaxed gently. “This one belongs to your little sister. Eat these slices for now.”
Gu Jinmin’s face fell, his bottom lip jutting out in a deep pout as he turned an aggrieved look toward his mother. Mother Gu was naturally soft-hearted when it came to him; after all, he was only a three-year-old child.
“Be a good boy, Xiaomin. Grandma will head out to the shops later to get you a big one.”
“No! I want a whole one right now!” Gu Jinmin lost his temper completely, snatching the apple slice his mother had handed him and hurling it violently onto the floor.
Gu Tingxiao, who was sitting nearby, watched the display, his expression darkening instantly. “If you don’t want to eat, then don’t. Who taught you to waste food like that?”
Gu Jinmin didn’t spend much time around Gu Tingxiao, and he was terrified of his strict third uncle. Catching the dangerous register in the man’s voice, the boy bit his lip, lowered his head, and began to cry silently.
The sound of his weeping made Mother Gu sigh, but viewing him as a mere three-year-old, she could only try to soothe him. “Alright, alright, it was Grandma’s fault. We shouldn’t waste food. Don’t do it again next time, okay?”
Gu Jinmin nodded, his eyes rimmed with red. He knew that if he kept throwing a tantrum, his third uncle might actually discipline him.
Seeing the tension, Yi Yi zipped open her little backpack, pulled out her very last whole apple, and trotted over to hand it to Gu Jinmin. She knew he was her cousin, and even though they had bickered in the past, she didn’t harbor any grudges. Toddlers carry short memories, and Yi Yi had always been remarkably generous with her family.
“Look at that, Xiaomin! Your sister is giving you her apple,” Mother Gu beamed, thoroughly relieved. “Isn’t your sister wonderful? Hurry up and thank her.”
Mother Gu was immensely pleased, touched that Yi Yi was sweet enough to surrender her own snack for the following day just to comfort her cousin.
But as Gu Jinmin listened to his grandmother shower Yi Yi with praise, and watched the family elders glow with approval at her perfect behavior, his resentment boiled over. They were even forcing him to thank her.
His fragile pride shattered completely. Staring at the massive apple held out in Yi Yi’s tiny hands, he found her sweet smile entirely infuriating. She’s just pretending to be nice!
Unable to control his rising malice, Gu Jinmin lashed out, striking the fruit right out of her hands with a violent slap.
Smack!
“I don’t want your fake kindness!” he screamed.
Though Gu Jinmin was only three years old, he possessed a hearty appetite and was remarkably strong for his age. The force of his slap landed squarely against Yi Yi’s delicate wrist, sending the heavy apple crashing to the floor.
“Xiaomin! What on earth do you think you’re doing?!” Mother Gu barked.
Furious, she immediately pulled him away and set him firmly on the floor, her face black with anger as she rushed to check on the little girl.
It took a second for the sharp sting to register, but the moment it did, Yi Yi burst into a flood of heartbroken tears. “Waaah… it hurts! Nana, it hurts!”
Mother Gu gathered the sobbing toddler into her arms, blowing gently on her reddened wrist and tenderly wiping away her tears.
Watching his beloved grandmother completely ignore him to coddle the little girl, Gu Jinmin’s anger flared even hotter. “She deserves it! She’s faking it!” he yelled, glaring at his cousin.
Mother Gu’s expression hardened into ice. This child was being raised to be utterly lawless.
“Gu Jinmin! Stand up straight!” Mother Gu’s voice boomed across the living room. It was the first time she had ever genuinely lost her temper with him, and the sheer volume of her anger left the boy completely stunned.
“Grandma…”
“Stand over there against the wall! You are being punished!” she commanded ruthlessly. “Don’t you dare call for me until you thoroughly understand what you did wrong!”
Mother Gu showed no mercy. Seeing her fiercely shield Yi Yi while treating him with unyielding severity, Gu Jinmin broke into a loud, hysterical wail.
Hearing Yi Yi’s distressed cries from the kitchen, Sheng Wanyan dropped her tasks and rushed out to see what had happened. Gu Tingxiao and his brothers, who had been conversing in the backyard, hurried into the house at the sound of the commotion.
“What happened?” Gu Tingxiao demanded, stepping forward to take the sobbing toddler from his mother’s arms.
The moment her eyes landed on her parents, Yi Yi’s tears flowed even faster, like a miniature reservoir bursting its banks. She wept with a look of pure, agonizing grievance, and the sight of her distress pierced Sheng Wanyan’s heart like a flurry of needles.
“Waaah…” Yi Yi sobbed, lifting her small hand to lodge a formal complaint. “Cousin… hit Yi Yi’s hand. Broke it.”
Gu Tingxiao’s gaze locked onto her raw, reddened wrist. His expression turned dead and dangerous as his eyes shifted slowly toward his younger brother, Gu Tinghao.
Sheng Wanyan swiftly retrieved the first-aid kit, carefully applying a soothing ointment to the little girl’s skin. Yi Yi hiccuped through her tears, doing her best to recount the entire sequence of events. “Cousin wanted the whole fruit… so Yi Yi gave it to him. But Cousin slapped Yi Yi’s hand, and the fruit rolled away.”
Hearing the explanation, Gu Tinghao pinched the bridge of his nose in deep frustration. He marched over and roughly hauled up Gu Jinmin, who was currently kicking and screaming on the floor.
“Waaah! Let me down!” Gu Jinmin shrieked at the top of his lungs, his dry howls echoing through the entire residence.
With a tight, expressionless face, Sheng Wanyan gathered her daughter into her arms and carried her straight up the stairs to the privacy of their bedroom. Even safely tucked away in her room, Yi Yi couldn’t stop trembling, her chest heaving with deep, ragged sobs. Sheng Wanyan held her flush against her chest, offering a steady stream of soothing reassurances.
“Shh, be good, my sweet girl. The medicine is going to make the sting vanish very soon.”
“Mommy… blow on it for Yi Yi.”
Sheng Wanyan gently blew on the reddened skin, rhythmically patting the little girl’s back to keep her from choking on her heavy hiccups.
Even through the closed bedroom door, the muffled sounds of Gu Jinmin’s screaming and Gu Tinghao’s furious lecture drifted up from the living room below.
“Shut your mouth! Who gave you the right to strike your sister?!”
“I did! I’ll hit her whenever I want! I want to beat her to death!” Gu Jinmin shrieked back defiantly. “Everyone always protects that stupid girl! Every piece of food and every toy belongs to her now!”
His mother’s toxic whispers echoed in his mind. She had told him repeatedly that this little girl had only come to the capital to rob him of his inheritance and his birthright. And it felt entirely true; the exact moment Yi Yi arrived in the Capital, the family elders had completely shifted their focus.
Not only did his notoriously stern great-grandfather dote on her endlessly, but even his grandfather spoiled the girl rot. During the Spring Festival, his grandfather and great-grandfather were constantly whisking her out of the compound to explore the city, and she would always return with her arms piled high with new treasures.
Before her arrival, all of that exclusive luxury, the finest cuts of meat, the rarest fruits, and the undivided attention of the elders had belonged solely to him. And now, she had the audacity to parade her charity in front of his face and pretend to be an angel!
Hearing his son refuse to acknowledge his fault, while screaming viciously that he wanted to beat his cousin to death, Gu Tinghao’s temper snapped entirely. With a grim, dark face, he hauled the boy over his knee and began meting out a severe spanking right then and there.
“You still dare to mouth off?! If you won’t learn with words, I’ll make sure your flesh remembers the lesson today!”
Gu Tinghao had historically doted on his only son, often excusing his behavioral flaws because of his tender age. But watching the boy morph into a malicious, ungrateful tyrant left him completely sickened, and he did not hold back his strikes.
Chapter 497: Discovering Wang Chunmei’s Affair
Although Gu Tinghao had always disliked Wang Chunmei spoiling their son, he had never resorted to physical discipline before. This was the first time.
Gu Jinmin, completely devastated, cried even louder when he realized his father was actually hitting him.
Throughout the ordeal, Grandpa and Grandma Gu remained in their rooms, pretending to be deaf to the commotion. They had long since handed over the management of the household to Father and Mother Gu, washing their hands of such trivial family disputes. How the younger generation chose to raise their children and settle their arguments was their own business. When people reach a certain age, sometimes the wisest course of action is simply to play deaf.
Mother Gu looked from Gu Tingxiao’s dark expression to Gu Jinmin, who was currently receiving a harsh beating, and felt a severe headache coming on. She knew exactly why Gu Tinghao was acting so ruthlessly. If he didn’t educate Gu Jinmin strictly right now and give Gu Tingxiao a satisfactory explanation, Gu Tingxiao would inevitably take matters into his own hands. And if Gu Tingxiao stepped in to discipline the boy, it wouldn’t end with a simple spanking.
Gu Tinghao had practically been raised by Gu Tingxiao, so he was intimately aware of just how painful his third brother’s methods of “education” could be.
With a heavy sigh, Mother Gu headed upstairs to check on Yi Yi, preferring to escape the distressing scene playing out below.
Upstairs, Yi Yi had finally cried herself out. She was lying on the bed, clutching her water bottle with both hands, drinking deeply to replenish all the tears she had shed. When Mother Gu walked into the room and saw the little girl’s swollen, red eyes, her heart ached terribly.
“Yi Yi, my sweet girl, does it still hurt?” she asked softly. “Let Grandma take a look.”
Mother Gu carefully took the toddler’s small hand in hers and inspected the wrist. Fortunately, aside from an angry red mark, there was no serious damage.
Sheng Wanyan remained completely silent as Mother Gu entered. She simply pulled up a stool for her mother-in-law to sit on. Mother Gu didn’t need words to know that Sheng Wanyan was absolutely furious.
Downstairs, her normally composed third daughter-in-law had scooped Yi Yi up with a face like ice, marching straight up the stairs without offering a single word of greeting or explanation to the elders. Sheng Wanyan was almost always gentle and impeccably polite, rarely showing her temper in public. Seeing her wear such a terrifyingly cold expression made one thing perfectly clear: while the third daughter-in-law was easy to talk to and got along with everyone, she was more ruthless than anyone if you actually crossed her bottom line.
Even the arrogant Wang Chunmei from the fourth branch didn’t dare to show such blatant displeasure in front of the entire family. But Sheng Wanyan did.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore~” Yi Yi replied in her sweet, babyish voice, though it was noticeably hoarse from crying.
The raspy sound made Mother Gu feel even worse. “How about Grandma makes you some sweet pear juice, Yi Yi? Your little throat sounds so hoarse.”
Yi Yi nodded eagerly. She loved sweet pear juice, and the kind her grandmother made was especially delicious.
“Alright, alright. Grandma will head out to buy some fresh pears right now to boil for you.”
“Yi Yi wants to go too!” the little girl requested.
“Of course. Grandma will take you along.”
Yi Yi nodded happily, draining the last drops from her water bottle. She prepared to head out with Mother Gu, pulling Sheng Wanyan along as well. Sheng Wanyan naturally agreed. She quickly changed into fresh clothes and escorted the two of them out for a shopping trip.
By the time they came back downstairs, Gu Jinmin and Gu Tinghao had already left. Gu Tinghao had likely taken his son home to prevent any further conflict between the children.
Wang Chunmei had gone out shopping for the day, leaving Gu Tinghao in charge of Gu Jinmin. Gu Tinghao had originally brought the boy to the compound hoping to use the weekend to ease his strained relationship with Gu Tingxiao. Instead, his son had bullied Yi Yi, ensuring that Gu Tingxiao now disliked him more than ever.
Sheng Wanyan and Mother Gu took Yi Yi to the local Overseas Chinese Store. Eager to compensate the little girl for the injustice she had suffered, Mother Gu purposefully led her toward the toy section to pick out a gift. Yi Yi happily selected a toy for herself, making sure to pick out a few small items for her cousins back at the compound as well.
While they were there, Sheng Wanyan remembered Aunt Hu’s advice about buying Yi Yi a proper pair of dance shoes to help her practice her basic forms more safely. Scanning the shelves of the Overseas Chinese Store, she was surprised to actually find a simplified version of dance slippers. Though labeled as dance shoes, they were essentially a pair of soft-soled cloth flats, noticeably thinner and lighter than standard footwear.
Ballet and classical dance were highly respected abroad, so imported dance apparel was quite professional. Sheng Wanyan purchased two pairs for Yi Yi, which absolutely thrilled Mother Gu. If their family could produce a genuine artist in the future, it would be a tremendous honor.
Sheng Wanyan also picked out a few comfortable, stretchy sportswear outfits and skirts for Yi Yi to wear during her lessons.
After Mother Gu bought a large bag of fresh apples and pears, the three of them prepared to head home. Mother Gu kept her head lowered as they walked, chatting affectionately with Yi Yi. The little girl constantly cooed sweet praises that had Mother Gu laughing so hard she had to lean back.
“You little rascal, how did your mouth get so sweet?” Mother Gu chuckled.
“My dearest Grandma~” Yi Yi chirped. “Yi Yi will dance for Grandma when we get home!”
“Alright, alright, I can’t wait.”
Smiling warmly, Mother Gu held Yi Yi’s hand as they strolled toward the exit of the Overseas Chinese Store. As they passed a fabric vendor situated near the entrance, Mother Gu instinctively craned her neck to see if any new textiles had arrived in stock.
Suddenly, her gaze locked onto a familiar figure standing near the entrance of the fabric shop, and she stared hard, her eyes narrowing in disbelief. Mother Gu stood frozen for a long moment, her entire body beginning to tremble with an intense, rising fury.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Sheng Wanyan asked, noticing her mother-in-law’s sudden distress. She quickly stepped forward to support her, worried she might faint.
“Yan’er…” Mother Gu’s face had drained of all color. “That woman by the door… is that Wang Chunmei?”
Sheng Wanyan followed her gaze and spotted a man and a woman standing incredibly close to one another near the entrance. The level of tacit intimacy flowing between them mirrored that of a long-married couple. Mother Gu was a woman of the world; she knew exactly what it meant when a man and a woman shared that kind of subtle, affectionate physical proximity.
The two of them looked exactly like a couple queuing up together to select fabric. Wasn’t shopping for domestic goods like cloth something reserved exclusively for husbands and wives?
Sheng Wanyan wasn’t entirely certain at first glance, as the pair had their backs turned to them, making it impossible to see their faces clearly.
“Mom, I can’t see her face,” Sheng Wanyan whispered. “Let’s step out of sight and watch.”
Sheng Wanyan quickly guided Mother Gu and Yi Yi behind a nearby pillar, concealing themselves before the couple could spot them.
Mother Gu felt sick to her stomach. There was absolutely no mistaking that silhouette or that outfit. Wang Chunmei had purchased that exact dress during the Spring Festival and had worn it proudly when she returned to the compound. Not only did Mother Gu recognize it instantly, but Sheng Wanyan remembered it as well.
Trembling with rage, Mother Gu waited in the shadows with Sheng Wanyan, their eyes locked on the couple.
Soon enough, it was their turn at the counter. After purchasing their fabric, the man and woman turned around to leave, giving Mother Gu a crystal-clear view of her face.
It really was Wang Chunmei!
Wang Chunmei looked up at the man, a coquettish blush coloring her cheeks as they walked away together.
The sheer shock of the discovery left Mother Gu completely dumbfounded. Never in her wildest nightmares could she have imagined that Wang Chunmei was keeping a man on the side!
How could Mother Gu possibly tolerate her own son being openly cuckolded?!
Consumed by fury, Mother Gu immediately lurched forward to chase after them. Terrified that she would be spotted and provoke a dangerous confrontation, Sheng Wanyan desperately grabbed her arm to pull her back.
“I have to follow them! I need to see exactly where this filthy pair is going!” Mother Gu hissed, her face deathly pale. Her entire body shook with blinding rage, and she ground her teeth together audibly.
“Mom, please, don’t be impulsive!” Sheng Wanyan pleaded in an urgent whisper. “What if they catch you following them?”
“Let them catch me!” Mother Gu spat. “If this comes out, the fourth son will finally have no choice but to divorce her!”
Sheng Wanyan knew the exposure would end the marriage, but she absolutely refused to let Mother Gu take such a reckless risk. The man Wang Chunmei was with was a complete unknown. If they felt cornered and panicked, they might resort to violence to silence her. If a physical fight broke out, how could Mother Gu possibly defend herself?
