"Auntie, don"t say that," Chang Qingqiu"s eyes turned red, as if feeling bad for Liu Ronghua.

Liu Ronghua was moved and her urge to rant grew stronger, "Did you know, nowadays they wouldn"t even save me any food. When the housekeeper prepares a meal, there will only be two bowls for Shen Jialiang and Shen Zhijing, none for me. If the two of them are busy and not coming home, the housekeeper won"t prepare a meal. According to her, Shen Zhijing had told her there was no need to prepare my meal."

"After all that I did for them, in the end I couldn"t even get a hot bowl of rice. I"ve suffered for so many years in the Shen family and did everything for them. Now they want me to just give up and leave. What about all those sacrifices I made throughout the years? This is why I"m unwilling to leave just like that. I feel dejected that they had taken so much advantage of me and still have things going their way in the end. I am also regretful. If I had left earlier, I would not have ended up like this, wanting to leave but reluctant," Liu Ronghua said wiping her tears.

Chang Qingqiu interjected, "Auntie, have some tea first."

Liu Ronghua sipped some black tea, then lowered the cup. She sniffled, then continued, "That father and daughter duo are heartless. Based on what I have done for them, anybody with the tiniest bit of conscience would not have treated me this way. If I did not beg Ruan Danchen in the beginning to have her replace Shen Zhijing…"

Liu Ronghua suddenly stopped and stared at Chang Qingqiu nervously, her face showing signs of regret as though something had accidentally slipped her tongue.

At that moment, her lips shut tight and just kept quiet. She lowered her eyes to look away from Chang Qingqiu, lifted the teacup and kept drinking, trying to hide.

"Aunti, what"s the meaning of those words?" Chang Qingqiu did not plan to let Liu Ronghua get away that easily, then immediately followed up questioning. "What Ruan Danchen did in the place Shen Zhijing?"

Chang Qingqiu stayed alert, her intuition told her that that was something important, something that could be the dirt on Ruan Danchen that she was trying to hard to find.

Liu Ronghua kept shaking her head with an unnatural expression, no longer crying. She quickly replied, "Nothing much. Just forget what I have said. That is something I can"t say."

After Chang Qingqiu set the bait up for such a long time and the prey was in sight, there was no way she could let this prey run free. She adjusted her facial expression to avoid Liu Ronghua"s suspicions.

"Auntie, do you still not believe me? You have shared so many things with me, yet did I ever spread them? I just wanted to help you. I can only help you come up with a solution if you told me what exactly happened. Even though I have no idea what this is about, but from what you have said, this seems to be something that can impact the Shen family greatly. With just your powers alone may be insufficient. We can discuss this together and then see how we can use this information suitably," Chang Qingqiu said in all earnesty, then took the initiative to fill Liu Ronghua"s cup of black tea.

Liu Ronghua hesitated, bit her lip and considered for a long time. Chang Qingqiu did not rush her.

Liu Ronghua sighed after some time, then said, "Fine, I"ll tell you. Qingqiu, I really didn"t treat you as an outsider. I also believe that you will not leak this information, so it"s okay to share this with you. I"ve been keeping this in my heart for so many years, it"s making me feel bad. It"ll make me feel better to have someone to talk it out with."

Hence, Liu Ronghua told her about the incident where Ruan Danchen took Shen Zhijing"s place to give birth to Qi Youxuan for Qi Chenglin.

Chang Qingqiu"s emotions ran amok after hearing the news, her facial expression unable to hide the shock she was in.

No wonder Ruan Danchen was so sure that Qi Youxuan was her son. No wonder she was unclear with the details when it comes to Qi Chenglin"s past.

She had guessed wrong all these while. She never thought the truth was so unbelievable.

While Chang Qingqiu was still in shock, she could hear Liu Ronghua added, "Even though Ruan Danchen was not my biological daughter, I did bring her up for that many years. How could it be devoid of feelings? To use her like that, I was deeply hurt too. I felt guilty all these while, feeling that I have wronged her. I brought her up for so many years. Even if she was not my own, I have already taken her as my own biological daughter. However, just for Shen Jialiang and his daughter Shen Zhijing, I was forced to sacrifice my own daughter."

"That Shen Jialiang did not even utter a word of thanks, as if agreeing to let me stay in the Shen family was the best reward of my life. No matter how Shen Zhijing bullies me, he would turn a blind eye, causing Shen Zhijing to despise me all the more. All because of his ignorance, from Shen Zhijing to the housekeeper, all of them looked down on me."

"Even that was fine, I thought after all that I did for him, he would eventually be moved to marry me. However, it turns out that he did not even have that intention since the beginning," Liu Ronghua fumed.

Chang Qingqiu put on a face filled with sympathy for Liu Ronghua, yet deep down, she was cold and uncaring.

Liu Ronghua"s words were filled with emotions, as though she cared deeply for Ruan Danchen. However, if she really treated Ruan Danchen as her biological daughter, would she have done those things to her?

As a person that would sell her daughter, whom she had raised all the way, just like that, Liu Ronghua was definitely not a trustworthy person.

"For them, I even lied to Ruan Danchen that I got into an accident just to get her back to Shen family. For them, I have lost my daughter. Ruan Danchen will never forgive me or acknowledge me as her mother. If not for them, I would have been Qi Chenglin"s mother-in-law by now. What else would I ask for? Even greater respect? However, I have given up all of that. I sacrificed so much for that Shen Jialiang, yet in the end, I lost my value. He would not even speak to me, much less show me a decent look."

Chang Qingqiu sneered in her heart. That Shen Jialiang and Liu Ronghua was really like a family, and they even live together in a household. Both are selfish people. No wonder they were close to each other.

"Auntie, let me think about this carefully. Don"t worry, I"ll never tell anyone else," Chang Qingqiu said.

Liu Ronghua carefully wiped her tears, "After sharing this with you, I feel so much better. It was so hard to bear, holding it in for so many years."

Chang Qingqiu further consoled her, "Don"t worry, we will definitely make use of this information and have the Shen family pay for it. I"m just afraid no matter how we do it, Ruan Danchen would end up being involved. I"m not sure if you-"

"That"s not a problem." Liu Ronghua said resolutely. Feeling as though she had answered too quickly, her expression slightly ruthless, she then added a sigh in resignation. "Now that she no longer acknowledge me as her mother, in her eyes, I"m already an evil person. Moreoever she is currently under the protection of the Qi family, she won"t be harmed."

Chang Qingqiu nodded her head, "If that"s the case, I won"t feel bad doing it. Let me think through this, then I"ll let you know."

That afternoon, before Chang Qingqiu could decide how to make use of the information she acquired from Liu Ronghua, she saw news about herself being published in the newspaper.

It was what Guan Liya had said the day before during Grandmother Chang"s birthday banquet, about how she was throwing herself at Qi Chenglin despite knowing that Qi Chenglin was already married.

Chang Qingqiu angrily crumpled the newspaper into a ball.

That Guan Liya, such nonsense!

When she was throwing herself at Qi Chenglin, she had not known that Qi Chenglin was already married. She only knew that he had a fiance.

Although she was still unwilling to give up despite knowing Qi Chenglin was married, she only kept this to herself, not even Grandmother Chang knows about it. Guan Liya only mentioned it in pa.s.sing, but to those who were not in the know, it would appear as if Guan Liya was slandering her.

However, Guan Liya had to choose that night to bring up this issue, making it difficult for her to explain herself.

Even though she did not manage to solve this issue with Guan Liya, it was useless to get angry at this moment. All she wanted to know at that moment was who leaked this information.

Even though the birthday banquet the night before invited a lot of guests, they were all personal guests, without any journalists…

Chang Qingqiu stopped for a moment, it was not without journalists, for she herself was a journalist. There was no way she would throw dirt on herself, but other than her, was there not still a Gao Xiaoyang?

At the newspaper company, Gao Xiaoyang had always been her rival. This incident must have been leaked by Gao Xiaoyang.

Chang Qingqiu rushed angrily towards Gao Xiaoyang"s desk and said with a dark face, "Gao Xiaoyang, get out here!"

Gao Xiaoyang"s eyebrows twitched, seeing how Chang Qingqiu was fuming, she followed her outside towards the top floor. Chang Qingqiu was silent along the way, showing a gloomy face and filling up with rage. She looked as though she was ready to explode at any moment, causing Gao Xiaoyang to be riddled with confusion.

When they reached the top floor, Gao Xiaoyang following behind Chang Qingqiu also began to feel irritated.

"What do you want-" before Gao Xiaoyang could finish her sentence, Chang Qingqiu turned around and immediately gave her a slap.

Gao Xiaoyang was bamboozled by the hit, "Chang Qingqiu, are you crazy?!"

Chang Qingqiu threw that crumpled ball of newspaper at Gao Xiaoyang"s face, "Look at it yourself!"

Normally, it would not hurt to be hit by a newspaper in the face. However, it coincidentally hit the part where she was just slapped, causing her to frown.

To be slapped by Chang Qingqiu for no reason, how could she not feel wronged? Gao Xiaoyang could her nose feeling a little sore, but she held it in. She unfurled the newspaper, then finally understood when she saw the article t.i.tle.

"You think that I leaked it?" Gao Xiaoyang looked coldly at Chang Qingqiu, the side of her face still burning with pain.

"Who else could it be if not you? Apart from me, you were the only other journalist at the banquet yesterday, and I would not throw dirt on myself. Also, I saw you typing a draft on your phone last night," Chang Qingqiu glared at her.

"I was typing a draft, but what I wrote was about how people from the Eight Great Families left early and how that may impact on the Chang family"s status in the business world," Gao Xiaoyang was not afraid of telling the truth. The draft has been approved by the director and Chang Qingqiu will be able to see it when it is published.

"I"m a financial journalist, not some paparazzi. The entertainment section is none of my concern, and I"m only concerned about my own job scope," Gao Xiaoyang said calmly.

"A journalist knows many others in the same field. Who knows if you leaked the information to other journalists? Even if you didn"t write it, it"s essentially the same thing if you just told someone else," Chang Qingqiu said through gritted teeth.

"Chang Qingqiu, don"t group me together with someone as shameless as you. I don"t need to resort to these underhanded tricks. You committed those shameful actions, others would eventually find out. Last night"s banquet was full of people, and people talk. You think your upper cla.s.s community is very n.o.ble? Are there not people like you in there? We are both journalists. Don"t you understand that even in that community of yours, people love to spread rumors and gossip? With so many people witnessing it last night, do I even need to tell anyone specifically?"

Gao Xiaoyang pointed at her own face that was slapped by Chang Qingqiu, oblivious to how swollen it was, only knowing that the slap from Chang Qingqiu was not a light one.

"I"ll consider this slap as my own bad luck. To have received this surprise slap from you, I will consider it as a lesson learnt. If I am ever near you again in the future, I would be 120 percent alert to prevent getting harmed by you," Gao Xiaoyang was frustrated. She wanted to return the a slap to Chang Qingqiu, but she of smaller stature compared to her and her arms were also shorter too. Now that Chang Qingqiu was defensive, she would not have pulled it off.

Gao Xiaoyang squinted. Since she could not return that slap, she balled up the newspaper and threw it directly at Chang Qingqiu"s face, then walked off without looking back.

Our little friend"s holiday pa.s.sed very quickly and comfortably. It was a Monday, Lil" Qi Youxuan was officially starting school.

The free and easy Winter holiday life was over. It was back to school and homework. Qi Youxuan was by no means feeling down, but instead filled with excitement. He held onto Ruan Danchen"s hand the entire journey, excited for some reason that n.o.body knew.

Ruan Danchen could hardly understand Qi Youxuan"s thoughts, but Qi Chenglin helped explained, "He had waited for an entire Winter holiday, just waiting to show off having a real mother now."

Hearing Qi Chenglin"s words, the little guy stopped immediately.

Ruan Danchen looked downwards. The little guy held onto her hand shyly, with his round little head lowered and the base of his ears were visibly red from blus.h.i.+ng.

He was being shy.

Seeing him like that, the cuteness was just too much. However, when she thought about why the little guy was so excited, she felt a slight pain in her heart.

They walked from the parking lot to the school gate. After having his thoughts exposed by Qi Chenglin, Qi Youxuan now felt embarra.s.sed to introduce Ruan Danchen to everyone. He could only speak in a normal voice, "Goodbye Mommy, goodbye Daddy."

Having said that, he carried his bag and walked in alone.

"Youxuan!" Ruan Danchen suddenly called out behind him.

The little guy immediately stopped and turned around. Ruan Danchen squatted, then opened her arms, "You forgot to give Mommy a kiss before going in."

Ruan Danchen"s voice was really loud that everybody around heard her.

The little guy"s handsome face instantly brightened and rushed over, rus.h.i.+ng directly into Ruan Danchen"s embrace. His meaty little arms coiled around her neck and gave a "muacks" on her cheek.

"Goodbye Mommy," the little guy said in a powerful voice.

Ruan Danchen returned a kiss to him as well. Qi Youxuan was delighted. Just as he wanted to leave, he heard Zhang Mingming calling out, "Qi Youxuan."

The little guy stood still, waited for Zhang Mingming to let go of his mother"s hand and rushed over with his bag.

"h.e.l.lo, uncle and auntie," Zhang Mingming greeted courteously.

Qi Youxuan cleared his throat out of the blue, tidied up his neatly ironed uniform and told Zhang Mingming, "This is my Mommy."

Zhang Mingming"s eyes brightened up and instantly broke into a smile, "Congratulations! You finally have a stepmother now."

The little guy"s face puffed up and shot back immediately, "She"s not my stepmother, she"s my real mother!"

"I know, auntie treats you well, just like a real mother. I can understand. Wasn"t that what you have been telling me all this time?" Zhang Mingming patted the little guy"s shoulders, trying to show that he understood the situation.

For the first time, the little guy felt that Zhang Mingming was so stupid! He was great in his studies. Was it because of him being good at his studies that caused him to be slow in other aspects?

"I"m saying she"s my Mommy. Not a stepmother like a real mom, but my actual real mother, biological mother!" Qi Youxuan said through gritted teeth, frustrated to the point of almost jumping.

Zhang Mingming was baffled, unable to properly digest this news. He could only stare at Qi Youxuan introducing the next student, "This is my Mommy, biological mother. I"ll be in your care."

After that, seeing his cla.s.s teacher coming over, the little guy immediately said, "Good morning Teacher Liu! This is my Mommy, biological mother. I"ll be in your care!"

Following that, he waved at the gym teacher that was approaching from afar, "Teacher Chen, this is my Mommy, biological mother. I"ll be in your care!"

Ruan Danchen"s face turned scarlet. Even though she was willing to cooperate with her son, she was really embarra.s.sed being advertised this way by him.

She felt like this is the first day of school for her, while being led by her own son at that.

However, seeing how delighted Qi Youxuan was, Ruan Danchen felt that she should bear with the embarra.s.sment. As long as the little guy was happy, all was fine.

Looking at his overjoyed expression, it was all because he could finally tell others legitimately that he had a mother.

Teacher Liu and Teacher Chen were both surprised hearing this. They looked at Ruan Danchen. All these while, it was common knowledge that Qi Youxuan"s mother was not known. Later on, it was also known that Qi Youxuan gained a future stepmother.

Unexpectedly, the stepmother suddenly transformed into his biological mother.

With that, parents with their children and the teachers that came by all politely greeted Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. Seeing Qi Youxuan"s haughty expression, they did not know how to react to him properly.

Surprisingly, Qi Chenglin did nothing to stop Qi Youxuan"s behavior. Only after he had excitedly made introductions for some time, did Qi Chenglin pointed at the big clock on the cla.s.s building saying, "You"re going to be late."

Qi Youxuan took a look, then hurriedly bid Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen farewell. He then ran full speed to cla.s.s with his short little legs, at the same time looked back at Ruan Danchen and said, " Mommy, we will continue this after school!"

Ruan Danchen: "…"

The area was bustling with activity. n.o.body noticed that across the street, in a discreet and dark corner, a SLR camera with telephoto lens captured the entire scene.

Finally the crowd in front of the school gates dispersed. Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin got in the car.

Ruan Danchen"s face was still burning hot. It was in the middle of Winter, yet it was scorching hot that her neck was all sweaty.

She removed her scarf and fanned her cheeks. Qi Chenglin was watching from the side, enjoying the view.

He did not stop Qi Youxuan because he felt that Qi Youxuan"s method of advertising was quite good. Later on, Jixia Elementary School"s kids will tell their parents, then the parents will further spread the news. Everyone will know that he was married to Ruan Danchen. That was free advertis.e.m.e.nt.

Seeing Ruan Danchen"s face blus.h.i.+ng red, he felt a little excited. Having a kid at home was a little inconvenient. He could not be too open at home. Even when he was back in his bedroom, he still had to stay alert just in case Qi Youxuan came knocking on the door.

Qi Chenglin took off the safety belt and moved over, scaring Ruan Danchen. He pinned her to the car door.

The tip of his nose almost touching her burning cheeks and sniffed lightly. The heat on her face seemed to have intensified her own fragrance, making it exceptionally alluring.

Staring at Qi Chenglin"s face close-up, Ruan Danchen swallowed hard.

This guy"s charms was too strong. Being so close, she could hardly remain calm.

The zoomed in view of his face made her unable to see his features clearly, yet his facial features within her vision were still exquisitely handsome.

In order to see him clearly, Ruan Danchen squinted her eyes slightly and was hugged around her waist by him, "Let"s find a day and send that little guy to his grandmother"s house so we can stay at home alone. With such a big third wheel around, it"s impossible to enjoy our own private time."