The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 450 - 449: Twins of Dragon and Phoenix

Jia Yuemei picked up the envelope and felt its lightness, immediately sensing something was amiss.

Upon opening it, she exploded.

"Where’s the money? Where did it go?"

Shen Xiangnan replied sarcastically, "The money is right there inside, are you blind? Can’t you see it?"

Jia Yuemei glared at him for a while, then suddenly had a thought, "Well done, Shen Xiangnan, have you been hiding private money, or have you lost it all?"

As the couple was about to start arguing, the others stopped playing cards, got off the kang, and put on their shoes.

But they didn’t leave; they all gathered outside the door to watch the excitement.

"You have the nerve to ask me where the money went? It’s all because of you, you foolish woman! There’s a note in the envelope, read it for yourself."

"Who are you trying to fool, how is it my fault?"

Half-convinced and half-doubtful, Jia Yuemei placed her daughter on the kang and opened the envelope, indeed seeing a small note inside.

"What does this mean?"

After reading the note, Jia Yuemei looked puzzled at Shen Xiangnan.

Shen Xiangnan snorted, "Were you supposed to give the doctor a red envelope? Did you?"

Jia Yuemei’s face flashed with unease, "What’s that got to do with anything?"

"What’s it got to do with anything? It’s very relevant! You ask someone to do you a favor, they do it, and then you go back on your word and don’t pay. I really want to ask, what were you thinking? Did you think you were the only smart one and everyone else was a fool?"

Jia Yuemei knew she was in the wrong but still felt the sting of spending the money. freēwēbnovel.com

"It shouldn’t cost that much though, we agreed on a hundred, and with the red envelopes, meals, and gifts, it all adds up to over two hundred. We can’t possibly be the ones to foot the entire bill, right?"

Shen Xiangnan looked at her, "So who do you think should pay for it?"

Jia Yuemei said, "It was your sister who invited people out to eat without consulting us and gave them gifts. She may have gained face, but the favors rely on us. At the very least, she should pay half."

Having worked in vain for a month, Shen Xiangnan was already furious, and hearing Jia Yuemei’s words made him even angrier.

"Did my sister owe you or wrong you by helping you find connections and then having to take money out of her own pocket? Do you think you’re that important?"

In front of all the restaurant staff, with no regard for saving face, Shen Xiangnan left Jia Yuemei feeling embarrassed, her complexion turning red and white by turns.

"This past year alone, you helped her earn money, more than two thousand yuan at that. What’s it to her if she spends these two hundred? I’ve never seen anyone as calculative with their own family as she is, sharper than a monkey."

"Bullshit! Keep spouting nonsense, and believe it or not, I’ll hit you."

It was the first time Jia Yuemei had been scolded like this by her husband; she felt wronged and got even louder.

"Your sister donated five hundred jackets to the schools in town at the beginning of the month; how much money was that? And she’s also subsidizing students’ tuition fees, how much is that going to cost?"

"Only you are foolish enough to treat her like a real sister, but does she consider you a real brother? She’d rather give heaps of money to strangers than help you, her own second brother!"

Shen Xiangnan was stunned.

He had not been back to his hometown for two months, so he was unaware of the good deeds Shen Mingzhu had done for the town.

However, he and Shen Mingzhu were of the same kind, both benevolent by nature, so he did not think she had done anything wrong.

"It’s my sister’s own money, and she can spend it however she likes. What’s it to you? As her sister-in-law, you’re always fixated on your sister-in-law’s wealth; do you have any shame?"

"Just look at what you and your daughter are wearing, what jewelry you have; aren’t all these bought with the salary my sister gave you? My sister specifically opened this restaurant so I’d have work, with room and board included, and a high monthly salary. What more could you possibly be dissatisfied with?"

Jia Yuemei stubbornly retorted, "Is she doing it for you? She’s doing it to make big bucks for herself."

Shen Xiangnan pointed at her, "Do you still have a conscience? Without my sister, do you think you could lead such a comfortable life, with your child, in the city? If you keep making trouble, you can go back to your parents’ house!"

Jia Yuemei was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"If life is good, just live it peacefully and stop causing trouble. If you don’t want to stay, it’s simple, we’ll get a divorce."

The word divorce terrified Jia Yuemei, who didn’t dare to make more of a fuss and dejectedly took her daughter back to the rental house.

The employees who had been watching the drama outside dispersed, having their fill of the spectacle and feeling quite content.

The content of their quarrel soon reached Shen Mingzhu’s ears.

After hearing it, Shen Mingzhu had only one thought: bringing Shen Xiangnan to the city and away from his biased mother, Qin Jinlian, was the right decision.

After years of experience and growth, Shen Xiangnan had finally begun to shoulder some responsibilities like a man.

...

In late December, Fengcheng had become a city blanketed with ice and snow, while Hong City, three thousand kilometers away, was as sunny as Spring, with average temperatures ranging between 15 to 22 degrees Celsius.

Neither cold nor hot, it was the perfect weather for a vacation or convalescence.

Zhuang Xueqi, right after the National Day holiday, had taken the Ning Family’s private jet to Hong City to await childbirth.

Mary Hospital, outside the operating room.

Yan Jing, Yan Su, and some female members of the Ning Family, as well as Ning Yuan, were tensely gathered in the VIP waiting room opposite the operating room.

Compared to the others who were full of anticipation and joy, Ning Yuan’s face was sourer than dog shit.

If it weren’t for Yan Jing’s insistence, he wouldn’t have come to Hong City at all, let alone be waiting for Zhuang Xueqi to give birth.

No man could be more miserable than him.

Not only had his wife cuckolded him, but he was also eagerly playing the role of a delighted father.

Once he took control of Hengxing next year, he swore to kick the slut and her bastard child out of the door.

No one would stop him!

As he was lost in thought, there was movement on the operating room side.

With the operating room doors swinging open from the inside, the chief surgeon in green scrubs came out.

"Doctor Zhan, how is my daughter-in-law?"

The doctor removed his mask, his face breaking into a smile. "Third Lady, please rest assured, the surgery went very smoothly, mother and the three babies are safe."

A woman from the Ning family asked eagerly, "Is it a girl or a boy?"

"Twins, a boy and a girl, congratulations."

Yan Jing’s face showed a smile, but she wasn’t too surprised. They had known it was twins five months into the pregnancy, and this was just the final confirmation.

Everyone else was overjoyed, except for Ning Yuan, who looked utterly bewildered.

He was convinced that Zhuang Xueqi had cuckolded him and that the child in her womb was not his; thus, ever since she became pregnant, he subconsciously ignored all news related to Zhuang Xueqi.

The entire family, including the Hong City branch of the Ning Family, knew Zhuang Xueqi was carrying twins, except for him.

Now, suddenly learning that Zhuang Xueqi had given birth to twins, he was so angry, he nearly spewed blood.

There was no one more miserable than him—cuckolded not once, but twice at the same time.

"Look at your Ah Yuan, he’s so happy he looks stunned," one relative joked.

The relatives, unaware of Ning Yuan’s inner turmoil, saw him sitting on the sofa with a look of utter despair and couldn’t help but tease him.

"Ah Yuan, what good fortune, your Xueqi has given you twins, a boy and a girl. It’s an auspicious omen, a great sign."

Ning Yuan replied sullenly, "You can have this fortune if you want it."

"Of course I want it, such good fortune!"

Ning Yuan, fuming but unable to reveal the fact that he had been cuckolded, stood up in a fit of rage and left.

Yan Jing eyed him, "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs, to buy cigarettes!"

"The elevator isn’t that way."

"I’m not taking the elevator, nor the stairs, I’m going through the window!"

He might as well be dead!