Chapter 110: Why the Foul Mouth?

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Why the Foul Mouth?

She immediately pictured a map in her mind.

’And it’s being transferred solely to me?’

She almost couldn’t believe her ears. After letting it sink in for a second, she lunged forward and clung to Shen Zhenwu’s arm.

"Dad! You’re seriously the best dad in the entire world!"

The hug from his daughter sent a jolt through Shen Zhenwu. A lump formed in his throat, and it took him a long moment to squeeze out two words.

"Song Yao..."

"Dad!"

The father and daughter held each other tightly.

Shen Zhenwu’s tears began to fall uncontrollably, streaming down his face.

Song Yao tilted her face up, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.

He rambled on, wiping away his tears.

"It was my fault back then. I let you suffer so much out there... That will never happen again. If anyone dares to wrong you in the slightest, Dad will be the first to grab a weapon!"

As Shen Zhenwu was still sniffling, Shen Jiajia walked over and patted his shoulder.

"Brother, that’s enough, stop crying! If you keep this up, the little one in Song Yao’s belly will get upset too. The doctor specifically warned us—pregnant women can’t get too emotional!"

Shen Zhenwu quickly scrubbed his face with his sleeve.

"Oh, man... I really lost my composure."

’Why did his defenses crumble?’

’Was it because of that "Dad"?’

’Was it because of the warm scarf?’

’Or was it this warm embrace, so many years late?’

’It seemed...’

’It was all of them, and yet, none of them alone was enough.’

Before long, the courtyard house was bustling with activity as relatives and neighbors arrived one after another.

The Shen family bustled about serving tea and pouring water, their faces beaming with joy.

Song Yao was only twenty, so an elder close to the Shen family immediately called their own child over.

"Quick, take Song Yao out to the courtyard for a walk and have some fun!"

But Shen Jiajia tightened her grip on Song Yao’s wrist and waved them off with a smile.

"No, no, that’s alright. Song Yao is in a delicate condition right now."

The person paused, then immediately asked,

"What’s wrong? Is she not feeling well?"

Shen Jiajia didn’t beat around the bush.

"She’s pregnant. Just over a month along."

"Pregnant?"

The person instinctively glanced at Song Yao’s abdomen. It was perfectly flat; you couldn’t tell a thing.

Shen Jiajia nodded.

"Yes, just a month. The pregnancy isn’t stable yet, so she needs to be very careful."

The other person nodded immediately.

"Exactly. The first three months are the most critical. You can’t be careless."

Li Juanjuan had come with her mother, but since her father wasn’t a high-ranking official, it wasn’t her mother’s place to speak at an event like this. So she just stood on the sidelines, watching the excitement with her hands tucked in her sleeves.

Her gaze, however, was glued to Song Yao, scanning her face, sizing up her waist, and staring at the hem of her clothes. She ended with a frown, her expression full of disdain.

Song Yao had already sensed something was wrong. When she turned her head, she met Li Juanjuan’s intense, unblinking stare.

Li Juanjuan tried to look away, but it was too late. So she simply sneered and shot Song Yao a venomous glare.

Song Yao quietly leaned close to Shen Jiajia’s ear and asked in a low voice.

"Auntie, who’s that? She looks at me so fiercely."

Shen Jiajia glanced over and said immediately.

"That’s one of Shuangshuang’s good friends. Her surname is Li, and her name is Juanjuan."

Song Yao just said, "Oh."

"No wonder she’s glaring at me. She’s probably just like her best friend—can’t stand me."

Shen Jiajia’s eyebrows shot up.

"She dared to glare at you?"

Before the words were even out of her mouth, she had already whipped her head around to look in that direction.

Li Juanjuan was sneaking another glance when she was caught by Shen Jiajia’s sharp gaze. She flinched, startled.

Shen Jiajia snorted, then turned back and patted the back of Song Yao’s hand.

"So what if she finds you annoying? Your auntie finds her disgusting! Just ignore her. She’s a nobody."

Song Yao smiled and hummed in agreement.

"Okay."

’I thought that would be the end of it.’

But Li Juanjuan couldn’t let it go. She turned, slipped out of the courtyard gate, and headed straight for the old locust tree by the wall.

A few familiar faces were gathered there—the same crowd she usually went shopping and gossiped with.

She caught her breath and then repeated, word for word, all the awful things Shen Shuangshuang had said about Song Yao.

Cheng Muhua happened to be walking by and heard the chattering voices from the shade of the tree. She stopped and leaned against the nearby wall.

The wind blew from the east, carrying every single word straight to her ears.

When she heard Li Juanjuan call her cousin a tramp, Cheng Muhua didn’t even blink. She just lifted her hand and delivered a sharp slap.

SLAP!

It was loud and vicious.

Half of Li Juanjuan’s face swelled up instantly.

She recognized Cheng Muhua and knew the girl had trained in combat with her grandfather since she was young. She didn’t dare to retaliate, only clutching her face and screaming.

"Cheng Muhua! Are you out of your mind?!"

The resounding slap immediately brought all the adults from the main hall rushing out.

Song Yao was also led out slowly by the hand by Shen Jiajia.

The moment Li Juanjuan’s mother saw the red handprint on her daughter’s face, her heart seized and her voice shot up several octaves.

"Who hit you? Why on earth did they hit you?"

Cheng Muhua’s eyes were wide.

"You tell her!"

Li Juanjuan bit her lip and didn’t say a word.

The other girls beside her seemed to lose their backbones, shrinking away in unison.

This only made Cheng Muhua angrier.

"What’s wrong? You were running your mouth just fine when you were badmouthing someone, but now you’re mute?"

Anxious to protect her child, Li Juanjuan’s mother immediately stepped in front of her.

"Even if my daughter was in the wrong, you can’t just slap her!"

Shen Jiayue also turned to her own daughter.

"Muhua, why did you hit her out of nowhere?"

Forced to explain, Cheng Muhua opened her mouth several times but couldn’t get a single word out.

She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Song Yao, who was standing beside Shen Jiajia.

Shen Jiajia understood immediately and jutted her chin toward Guo Shushu’s cousin, Weiwei.

"Weiwei, you tell us."

Because their families were distantly related, Weiwei’s parents were already on the sidelines, quietly prodding her.

"Weiwei, just tell the truth. Whatever you saw and heard, just say it."

Weiwei first glanced at Li Juanjuan, then at the trembling, furious Cheng Muhua.

Li Juanjuan was shooting daggers at her, but Weiwei couldn’t worry about being afraid now. With her head down, she recounted the entire incident.

The moment she finished, Cheng Muhua stomped her foot in fury, and the faces of everyone in the Shen family turned as black as soot.

Even the guests who came for the celebration couldn’t stay quiet and began to curse and gossip amongst themselves.

"How on earth did her family raise her? How can she have such a foul mouth?"

"Tsk, she’s in her twenties, but her words are as foul and stubborn as a rock in a latrine!"

"With an upbringing that twisted, no wonder the kid turned out so warped."

Shen Jiajia, for her part, was absolutely livid and began to shove the mother and daughter.

"Get out! Get the hell out of here!"

"You shameless disgrace! The Shen family invited you in as our guests, and you repay us by picking on the weakest one here? I think you two should go squat in a toilet to cool your heads! Ptooey!"

When a few shoves didn’t work, she got angry enough to roll up her sleeves.

"If you keep hanging around, believe me, I’ll grab a slipper and slap you across the face with it!"

Truth be told, she really wanted to swing her fists, but Cheng Muhua had already hit her.

If she landed another blow, it would look like they were ganging up on one person, giving others an excuse to criticize them.

But Grandma Yang wasn’t afraid of that.

Without a word, the old lady grabbed a clothes-drying pole and brought it down hard—WHACK! WHACK!—on the arms and legs of both Li Juanjuan and her mother.

Li Juanjuan’s father was lucky he wasn’t there.

"A filthy mouth can’t speak fine words! You dare spread rumors about my granddaughter? Who do you think you are?"

"Today, I’ll teach that foul mouth of yours a lesson on behalf of your parents!"

Li Juanjuan’s mother was dumbfounded. She cowered, bowing over and over.

"Please, calm down! I didn’t raise her to be like this, really! The girl has no filter, she just spouts nonsense! I’ll beat her half to death when I get her home! Please, ma’am, don’t let this upset you and harm your health!"

Before she even finished speaking, she raised her hand and smacked Li Juanjuan on the back of the head.

Then she grabbed her daughter’s arm and forcefully pushed her down.

"Kneel! Kowtow to Grandma Yang and apologize!"

Li Juanjuan, her face already a mess of tears and snot, felt her knees go weak, and she collapsed to the ground, kneeling.