Chapter 435: Chapter 435: Know
Yang PeiMin suddenly realized, and many things became clear.
“I’ve always thought that old woman’s illnesses were mostly faked, just to take advantage, and even those initial claims about being forced into marriage might be made up. The two of them were probably putting on a act in front of Yixiang, just to get Yixiang to help Hailing find a job. Yixiang, don’t you think some things are too coincidental? Old Mrs. Lu isn’t bedridden; she’s just refusing to leave. What’s that about?” Peijun continued.
Chen Guizhi could hardly bear it, almost jumping up, “Oh my God, what on earth is going on?” She looked at Shen Yixiang’s expression and felt like crying.
Shen Yixiang covered her face.
“Now we don’t even know if Hai Jun is involved, too. It’s terrifying to think that someone could be planning so far ahead without any of us noticing,” Yang PeiMin glanced at Shen Yiguang.
But Shen Yiguang shook his head, “Hai Jun isn’t that scheming; otherwise, he would have become a company commander long ago.”
When Shen Yixiang heard this, she urgently looked up, “Brother, are you serious?”
Shen Yiguang looked at her expressionlessly, “Whether he is serious or not, with such family members, do you still want to get involved?”
“Yixiang, you can’t be so foolish. This is a lifelong decision. If they are plotting against you even before marriage, imagine what it’ll be like when you are their daughter-in-law. It’ll be even worse without any scruples, and those two are Hai Jun’s birth mother and sister, blood relatives. Do you think he’ll side with you when there’s a dispute?” Chen Guizhi now also realized that even if Hai Jun is good, having such family members means marrying more than just the man; you have to deal with his family too. After painstakingly raising a daughter, who could tolerate being calculated against so casually?”
Shen Yixiang abruptly stood up.
“What are you going to do?”
“No, I must go and ask Hai Jun directly if he’s also using me for some purpose.”
“No need to go, just write him a letter, let him come over and we’ll talk it all out. You two must break it off,” Shen Yiguang insisted strongly.
“Exactly, you won’t find him if you go now, and what if he sweet-talks you with a few clever words…” Chen Guizhi tightly held onto Shen Yixiang’s arm, preventing her from leaving.
Shen Yixiang’s eyes reddened, “They, why would they do this? If there are difficulties, just speak up, it’s not like we won’t help. Why must they scheme like this?”
Shen Yixiang, usually laid-back, despised evil in her heart. In her world, where things were either black or white, it was hard to change her mind once she decided on something; she would stick to it to the end. Now being schemed against like this was intolerable!
Shaking her head, “To think I was so good to them, looking back I was such a fool…”
Shen Yixiang was emotionally unstable, and everyone knew she was impulsive, so they watched her closely for fear she might rush out.
Shen Yiguang turned away from his sister and looked at Peijun, “Besides our family’s money, does Hai Ling have any other plans?”
Peijun nodded, “I’ve already asked Xiao Tong to keep an eye on them, hoping to find out what’s going on from their conversations.”
Shen Yiguang nodded thoughtfully.
Shen Yixiang raised her head, “What else could they possibly want from our family?”
“We aren’t clear on that yet, but I think it will all come out in the wash soon,” Peijun said confidently.
In the following half month, everyone urged Shen Yixiang to keep her cool and wait for Hai Jun’s vacation to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Peijun kept Xiao Tong tasked with monitoring their situation.
Chen Guizhi was the worst at acting; she wasn’t good at lying, so when Hailing came to visit, she simply tried finding excuses to avoid her, fearing to engage too much in conversation, while Hailing, confused, started increasing her visits to the Shen family.
She even tried asking Chen Guizhi, whether something was going on at home.
Chen Guizhi shook her head, smiling unnaturally, “Everything’s fine at home, nothing’s wrong. I have my grandson now, what more do I need?”
Seeing her expression, Hailing grew even more suspicious, and inquired softly, “Auntie, have you quarreled with your sister-in-law?”
Lu Guizhi paused, wondering why she would think that.
After Yang PeiMin’s marriage, they had never fought; usual interactions were amicable.
“There’s no quarrel, don’t overthink it.” Chen Guizhi shook her head, thinking to herself how creative this young woman was, betraying her thoughts on her face, she turned away, avoiding looking at Hailing.
Hailing, thinking she had guessed correctly, hurriedly showed concern, “Auntie, don’t be sad. Your sister-in-law is still young, has less experience than you, might not think things through as thoroughly, and she’s still studying, busy with school; it’s understandable she can’t handle everything at home. When she gets home, she must be really tired too. Sometimes when I work overtime and get home at midnight, I’m so exhausted I don’t want to do anything. Your sister-in-law must feel the same… And with her still in school, there would naturally be more focus on appearances among peers. Anyway, Brother Shen is capable and earns well… Auntie, please try to let it go…”
Chen Guizhi was stunned into silence, watching Hailing, it took her a while to find her voice, “Hailing, why would you think that? I haven’t quarreled with Lele’s mother.”
Hailing seemed taken aback, but then she smiled naturally again, patting her chest, “That’s good, that’s good. You had me worried, I thought you two had argued.”
Chen Guizhi shook her head; she didn’t want to talk to her anymore; this young woman had a way with words, you could never tell when she’d lead you astray.