Chapter 364: Chapter 364
Li Si smiled and tapped her nose, "You can’t just treat her like air, otherwise how would we breathe?"
"Oh right! Slip of the tongue! Anyway, let’s just pretend she doesn’t exist!" Bai Shasha immediately corrected herself, and right at that moment, Su Meng walked out holding a shopping bag from the store.
"Sisi, here’s your card back. That woman spends money like it’s water! Let’s hurry and leave!" Su Meng handed the card back to Li Si, glancing around their surroundings in the process. "Hey, Sisi, where’s your driver?"
Li Si suddenly remembered that Old Ji had mentioned earlier he would first take their purchases to load into the car, but how come he hadn’t returned after so long?
She pulled out her phone to dial Old Ji, planning to ask where he was. The reason she didn’t directly call Leng Mochen was that she was worried Leng Mochen would punish or even fire him. After all, at forty or fifty years old, it’s not easy to feed a family.
She’d heard that his child was in high school, which came with no small amount of expenses, and his wife didn’t have a stable job, only occasionally taking on odd jobs to make ends meet.
But on the other end, the message said that the number she was dialing was temporarily out of the service area.
What was going on? It’s true that the underground parking lot can lose signal, but Old Ji’s CDMA phone with a 133 number was known for having strong signal, even inside elevators.
"He’s probably in the car. Let’s go! Manager Su, when do you think it’s the right time to hand out the gifts?" Li Si pulled Bai Shasha along toward the elevator while joking.
Su Meng clutched her bag tightly; this bag had gold inside! If any clueless person came and snatched it, that would be a real disaster.
"Just follow the organization’s arrangements!"
Bai Shasha raised her hand, "Report to the organization, can this unofficial employee get hers first?" Her overly serious tone made the two of them laugh out loud.
This young woman was just a walking treasure. Thankfully, Xu Er wasn’t here, otherwise, everyone would be hurting from laughing too hard.
Tian Yaruo returned to her parents’ house feeling depressed, only to see Mrs. Tian Sr. sitting on the couch with a sorrowful expression, her face wet with tears. As soon as she saw Tian Yaruo, she wiped her eyes and smiled. But that smile only made her look more pitiful. Her previously partially gray hair was now fully white, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and her forehead had significantly deepened.
Recently, Mrs. Tian Sr. had been quite distressed and worried.
"Darling, you’re here! What’s that in your hand?" In fact, Mrs. Tian Sr. knew at a glance that it was the gold beads Weiwei had wanted. She sighed. Luckily, her daughter indulged her.
Tian Yaruo tossed the bag onto the coffee table and couldn’t help but sit next to her mother to offer some advice. "Mom, what’s wrong with you? Why are you crying again? Are you here alone?"
Out of her last five visits, three of them had involved tears. Yet many of these problems couldn’t be solved with a few cries.
"They’re all out, and I don’t know what’s wrong. Recently, every time I have a moment to myself, I start tearing up. My heart feels so heavy!" Mrs. Tian Sr. held her hand tightly. "Don’t worry about me, dear. What could be wrong with me? It’s just that I’ve been worrying over your elder sister and Weiwei. Look at how she’s acting these days; she won’t listen to anyone!"
Whenever she thought about Ye Duowei’s recent actions, her frustration surged.
A divorce is a divorce. After taking time to adjust herself, she’s still young enough to find someone else.
But Weiwei is hell-bent on running down a dead-end; she reportedly even started stalking Yin Xian, who is being introduced to a new girlfriend just in the early stages of contact.
Whenever she finds an opportunity, she follows them around, trying to sabotage the relationship.
What’s the point of this?
Tian Yaruo raised an eyebrow helplessly, "She went again?" She felt pretty helpless about it as well.
"She said she was meeting friends to hang out! But judging by the setup, I don’t think so! She’s probably meddling in their business again! Ah, when your elder sister says something about it, she gets feisty with me.
Her stance is that Weiwei shouldn’t be interfered with; let her do what she wants. She even suggested that if the two reconcile and remarry, wouldn’t it make everyone happy?"
If only she’d known today’s outcomes, why act rashly back then? Tian Yaru deeply regretted that moment of impulse when she had a spat with Yin Qi and Mrs. Yin at the hospital, not realizing the severe consequences it would lead to. If she had known, she would have held back, rather than let Weiwei continually blame her as well. Follow current novels on NoveI~Fire.net
Tian Yaruo was speechless. She had already said all the words that needed saying, but neither her elder sister nor Weiwei listened, and there was nothing she could do.
Saying too much only made them angry with her and feel as though she was meddling too much.
Mrs. Tian Sr. coughed twice, noticing the negativity in her expression. "Darling, you seem upset. Did you have a fight with Old Yan?"
She couldn’t figure out why, but despite the couple never having argued for years, they were now quarreling constantly these days.
Tian Yaruo’s face stiffened, and she hurriedly smiled, "Of course not! At our age, what is there to argue about? We’re fine! It’s just... sigh... I can only talk about it with you!"
Old Yan already knew that Li Si was her biological daughter, but she hadn’t brought it up with the family, so Mrs. Tian Sr. was still unaware.
Mrs. Tian Sr. picked up on a trace of something, her gaze sharpening slightly. "What’s the matter?"
She speculated it might be related to Old Yan wanting to retrieve the money given to the eldest daughter’s family for investments, feeling uneasy about it now.
But that money, it’s likely...
Tian Yaruo saw her mother’s expression and guessed at her thoughts, feeling a bit uncomfortable but refraining from exposing her reasons. "I just ran into Tiantian earlier!"
"What did she say to you? Isn’t she already engaged to Leng Family’s second grandson? Does she seem unhappy now? Did she break up and come looking for you?" Mrs. Tian Sr. fired off a chain of questions, making Tian Yaruo feel even more displeased.
At that moment, Ye Duowei, who had been hiding near the large Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase, immediately froze, stopping her planned entrance to scare her grandmother and aunt.
She wanted to hear what her aunt had to say, and whether Li Si had really been dumped.
The thought made her corners lift in a smug smile. See? What good is an engagement? Even marriages can end in divorce, let alone just an engagement.
Talk about delusions of grandeur, dreaming in broad daylight.
Look at her? She used to act so superior, completely cutting off contact with their side of the family, yet now that things took a turn, hasn’t she come running back to her aunt?
Her eyes glinted with pride. This time, it was her chance to truly mock Li Si, to collect every ounce of payback for the discomfort she’d endured. If it weren’t for her, how could she have suffered these humiliations?
Ye Duowei’s thoughts wandered to Zhou Rou, and to the child she lost, fueling the hatred that clenched her teeth. If Li Si had never met her, her life wouldn’t have been so intertwined with Zhou Rou in perpetual contention.
However, now it didn’t matter. Even if Li Si formally came back into the family fold, she’d now be insignificant—a figure better off as a glorified servant. She pictured the scene of Li Si lowering herself to serve her, and barely suppressed a laugh, quickly covering her mouth in time.
Right then, an annoyed voice from Tian Yaruo cut through, "Mom, how could you even think that? No matter what, she’s still my biological daughter and your granddaughter. Couldn’t you even wish her well?"
She was genuinely upset—having poured her heart into helping her family in every possible way, only to be met with this attitude.
Did anyone truly care about her or Li Si?
It all boiled down to her being seen as weak; whatever she did was taken for granted and dismissed.
Mrs. Tian Sr. hadn’t expected her to react so strongly and immediately tried to soften her tone, "That’s not what I meant! It’s just that she’s been out of touch for so long, and when she suddenly reaches out to you, I just thought maybe she was in some kind of trouble. After all, you’re her real mom. Helping her out would be the right thing to do."
A self-deprecating smile flickered at Tian Yaruo’s lips, "Mom, don’t try to brush past this with me. I know exactly how you all think. Deep down, you look down on that child, don’t you?
Now let me tell you something—she’s not in any trouble at all, and she doesn’t need my help! Li Si is already married to the Leng Family’s second grandson, and she’s more than five months pregnant! She’s happy—happier than anyone!"
After speaking, she felt an enormous sense of relief, like she’d finally exhaled a long-buried frustration.
To the ones who always looked down on her—to those who uttered those vile remarks—now it was time for them to open their eyes wide and see the truth. She was living better than anyone!
Even if Li Si didn’t acknowledge her, she could still genuinely hope for her happiness!
Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Mrs. Tian Sr. and Tian Yaruo were both startled, their eyes snapping toward the source of the noise. On the floor lay fragments of the Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase, shattered into tiny pieces. The culprit, Ye Duowei, glared at Tian Yaruo with flaming red eyes.