Chapter 101: This Girl Really Needs to Be Taught a Lesson

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: This Girl Really Needs to Be Taught a Lesson

Shen Songyao thought it over.

"Alright. This rain is coming down hard. Once the wind picks up, it’ll feel just like winter. I’ll listen to you, Director Li!"

All the important tasks were long finished, but hearing her call him "Director Li" still made Li Hanchen’s ears burn.

He quickly looked down to adjust his collar, then turned and walked toward the wardrobe.

"Where are your clothes? I’ll get them out for you!"

"In the cabinet on the right. You’ll see it as soon as you open it."

Li Hanchen opened the cabinet door and spotted it immediately.

The cabinet was almost entirely filled with his clothes, all a uniform military green.

Shen Songyao’s red sweater stood out among them like a lone flame in a snowy field.

He reached in, took it out, shook out the sweater, and said casually,

"This alone won’t be enough to keep you warm. After we eat, we’ll go pick out a couple of thicker coats right away!"

Song Yao nodded obediently.

’Only a fool would say no when someone offers to buy them things!’

As soon as they finished breakfast, Song Yao went into her room to count her money.

She chose meticulously, feeling the material, pinching the lining, and weighing each coat.

She picked them out herself and insisted on making Li Hanchen try them on.

Li Hanchen waved his hands dismissively.

"You really don’t have to. I’m always at the base, so I’d barely get to wear it."

Song Yao planted her hands on her hips.

"Why not?"

"If I don’t spend the money I earned on you, what am I supposed to do? Let it sit around and collect dust?"

She said it so righteously that Li Hanchen’s brow relaxed. He obediently stood in front of the fitting mirror and let her direct him. In the end, he really did walk away with two new coats.

Shen Zhenwu had been away on a mission for two months. One day, a letter finally arrived, asking Shen Songyao to make a trip back to their hometown.

Her family was eager to see her and wanted to hold another reunion banquet in front of the entire village.

In the courtyard house, Shen Jiajia and Shen Jiayue had just walked in, their expressions grim.

On the way over, Shen Jiajia had already told her sister the whole story about Shen Jiayi’s leg problems.

She didn’t leave out a single detail about why Zheng Shiyu had flown off the handle or how she’d used the child to pressure them.

Shen Jiayue sighed after hearing it all.

"She really crossed a line this time. There was a reason Song Yao hit Shuangshuang to begin with. Besides, it was a squabble between two kids. What does it have to do with Big Brother?"

"That girl, Song Yao, isn’t the type to just hit people for no reason."

"If Song Yao had really done something wrong, would Mom and Big Brother have just ignored it? It’s not her place to be throwing a fit."

Shen Jiajia chimed in.

"Just yesterday, Big Brother told Song Yao to stop hauling steel bars at the construction site. He was worried her knees couldn’t take it."

Shen Jiayue added with a frown,

"That child, Shuangshuang, has been spoiled rotten by her."

The two sisters entered the courtyard with somber faces. Yang Wanqing took one look at them, sensed something was wrong, and quickly asked what had happened.

Shen Jiajia didn’t beat around the bush.

The longer they dragged it out, the harder it would be to hide, so it was better to be clear from the start.

Yang Wanqing was rigid with anger after hearing the whole story.

"Why did Song Yao hit Shuangshuang?"

Shen Jiajia was sure it hadn’t just come out of nowhere.

"Mom, do you remember when we had the pipes fixed? The plumber said the old ones were completely rusted through, but Zheng Shiyu insisted we not replace them. And what happened? Yesterday, the kitchen floor was completely flooded. The water reached the living room and soaked the sofa legs until they were soft."

"Hit her? It’s a miracle she didn’t get hit!"

Yang Wanqing’s voice was tight, filled with anger.

With her son bedridden for so long, how could a mother possibly remain calm?

She walked over to the well, drew half a bucket of water, and splashed it onto the ground.

Then, Yang Wanqing spilled the whole story.

After listening, Shen Jiajia shot to her feet.

"That girl is really asking for it! I slapped her three times, and that was me going easy on her!"

Yang Wanqing was taken aback.

"You hit her, too?"

Shen Jiajia rolled her eyes.

"She opened her mouth and called Song Yao ’the wild one who came back,’ and said not to ’dirty the Shen family’s name.’ How could anyone tolerate that?"

Yang Wanqing’s brow furrowed instantly.

"Exactly. She’s only so spoiled because her mother enables her!"

Shen Songyao, who had been listening from the side, suddenly asked in a low voice,

"Am I... really my mother’s biological daughter?"

The three women in the room froze in unison, then burst out laughing the next second.

"Of course you are!"

Yang Wanqing patted her chest.

"The day your mother gave birth to you, Jiayue and I were waiting right outside the delivery room! She was the only one giving birth in the whole building. We saw the nurse carry you out with our own eyes!"

"Besides, you, your oldest brother, and your second brother looked like you were cast from the same mold as kids. Even the little mole behind your ear is in the exact same spot!"

Shen Songyao looked down, fiddling with the corner of her shirt.

"But the way she looks at me... it’s like I’m someone else’s child. There’s no warmth at all. When I stand in front of her, she won’t even lift a hand, let alone touch me."

Yang Wanqing immediately opened her arms and pulled her into a hug.

"Silly child, when she lost you back then, she completely fell apart. She’d walk back and forth in the courtyard every day, clutching your baby blanket. Later, when they adopted Shuangshuang, she raised her like she was her whole world, terrified of losing a child again. Now you’ve suddenly returned, and her mind just hasn’t caught up yet!"

Shen Jiayue came closer and nodded in agreement.

"Right, right! What kind of mother would despise her own daughter? The Shen Family isn’t short on money or connections. If she really hated you from the bottom of her heart, why go to all this trouble? She could have just found another family to place you with and done it quietly."

Shen Songyao shook her head.

"But she just doesn’t like me. If I don’t talk, she thinks I’m dull. If I open my mouth, she frowns."

As soon as she said this, it was as if someone had hit the mute button in the room.

Yang Wanqing and Shen Jiayue glanced at each other. Their lips moved, but in the end, no words of comfort came out.

Shen Songyao sniffled and asked softly,

"...Could it be that, back then, I wasn’t lost... but... thrown away on purpose?"

When those words fell, the air in the room froze.

Shen Jiayue was the first to wave her hand dismissively.

"N-No... impossible. What would she have to gain from that?"

Hearing this, Yang Wanqing’s stern expression faltered.

"That’s right, what would she have to gain?"

’If my granddaughter really was gotten rid of by my daughter-in-law’s own hands back then...’

The moment the thought surfaced, a chill shot up her spine.

As the old saying goes, even the fiercest beast won’t eat its own young.

But if Zheng Shiyu really did do something like that, then her heart would be colder than a viper’s and sharper than a knife’s edge.

Besides, back when the child disappeared, she cried herself sick; she couldn’t even swallow a bite of food...

The old woman’s hands started to tremble at the thought, and she quickly shut her mouth.

Shen Jiayue and Yang Wanqing were both gentle-natured. They would rather believe the best of people than dig too deep.

They exchanged a look, and neither of them dared to ask another question.

But Shen Jiajia didn’t play by those rules. When her temper flared, her tongue was quick.

"Maybe she never wanted Big Brother’s child in the first place!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Yang Wanqing smacked her hard on the arm.

Shen Jiajia grimaced, rubbing her arm.

"I’m not talking nonsense! I clearly remember, when she was pregnant with Rong Jing, she moped around every day with a long face, like someone owed her a fortune."

"After the baby was born, she didn’t seem happy at all. Rong Jing would be kicking his legs from hunger, his throat raw from crying, and she still refused to nurse him. When we asked, she just said she had no milk."

"One day, Rong Jing was squirming and arching his back in his swaddling clothes, and he kicked the blanket off. His little feet were covered in purple bruises."

"But I saw it with my own eyes. The front of her shirt was soaked, and milk was dripping down."

"And that’s what she calls ’no milk’? Who is she trying to fool?"

"Big Brother gritted his teeth and bought imported formula, but Rong Jing was still starving, arching his back and crying his heart out."

"And what did she do? She’d act all weak in front of Big Brother, speaking in a frail voice, looking like she was at death’s door."