Chapter 133: Bracelet

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Bracelet

[Chu Luo’s acting skills aren’t actually that superb. How did she manage to wrap Zhao Mingzhao completely around her finger? CRACK CRACK CRACK.]

"Stop cracking melon seeds while hiding behind a fake smile," Deng Yuyuan said.

[Hold on, I was just a bit too slow turning on the silencer.]

"He’s just playing dumb," Deng Yuyuan analyzed. "He never cared about Chu Luo’s illness; he only cares that a woman is willing to die for him. It greatly satisfies his vanity. After all, Wei Yin couldn’t possibly love him enough to sacrifice her life for him.

"However, while Wei Yin can’t give up her life for him, she also can’t give him up quickly either. That’s why he can hover between the two women. He won’t actually fall for Chu Luo. The Chu family has declined, and she relies entirely on her relatives’ support to maintain her wealthy lifestyle. Chu Luo herself focuses her mind on underhanded tricks; she’s nowhere near as outstanding as Wei Yin."

In fact, if Deng Yuyuan hadn’t intervened, Zhao Mingzhao would have managed to coax Wei Yin reasonably well. Afterward, he would have shown up at her door with gifts to apologize, promising Wei Yin that he would cut ties with Chu Luo completely after they got married, claiming he only saw Chu Luo as a sister.

Before marriage, he would take care of the one he considered family, but after marriage, his focus would shift back to his own little household.

[The Wei Family doesn’t even set Wei Yin up on blind dates with better candidates.]

"What else can they do? In this era, people are much harsher on women’s reputations. In a drama involving two women and one man, Zhao Mingzhao would at most be called a bit of a playboy, but Chu Luo and Wei Yin’s reputations would be ruined. Even if the Wei Family wanted to find someone else for her, they’d be stuck in a situation where they can’t reach the high-end candidates and won’t settle for the low-end ones."

Deng Yuyuan was very open-minded about it. Everyone had their own fortune. If it happened right in front of her, and the people involved hadn’t completely lost their minds, she would help if she could. Anything else was a different story.

When resources are scarce, one can only look after oneself; when abundant, one can help the world. She was just an ordinary college girl, after all.

Deng Yuyuan first went to a secluded workspace to quickly change out of her outfit before going to find Tuantuan and Wu Ying.

Hearing Deng Yuyuan’s footsteps, Tuantuan quickly lifted her head, her chubby cheeks scrunched up in a miserable frown.

"Mommy, Tuantuan doesn’t want any more tutoring..." Tuantuan now somewhat understood the meaning of tutoring. Having toys but not being allowed to play with them, and being forced to read books instead—what agonizing torture.

Tuantuan barely recognized any of the words on the pages. Although the pictures were pretty, they couldn’t move and she couldn’t play with them. She was getting restless.

"Tuantuan is still little, so I can’t read these. I only have to read them when I start kindergarten." Tuantuan closed the comic book resting on Wu Ying’s lap, ran toward her mother with a THUMP THUMP THUMP, and opened her two little arms.

Wu Ying squeezed out an awkward smile at Deng Yuyuan. If Tuantuan didn’t want her tutoring, she truly didn’t know what other value she had to repay Deng Yuyuan.

Deng Yuyuan picked up Tuantuan and pushed the wheelchair with one hand. They had bought just about everything they needed, making it the perfect time to go grab lunch.

"Raise your hand," Deng Yuyuan suddenly said to Wu Ying.

Wu Ying felt confused but did as she was told. A cold sensation touched her wrist as Tuantuan slipped a bracelet onto her hand. The size hadn’t been adjusted, so it slid straight down to her elbow.

"Adjust it yourself. Wear it if you like it, or put it away if you don’t."

"No, this is too expensive. I can’t accept it. Are these foreign words engraved on it? It must be an imported good." Wu Ying tried to take it off, but just freeing up one hand was difficult enough for her.

Deng Yuyuan was essentially using the wheelchair as a shopping cart. Two bags hung from the wheelchair’s handles, while Wu Ying’s arms were stuffed full of items—not heavy, but bulky.

"Keep it. It was just a free gift anyway. Don’t stand on ceremony with me. I’m not generous very often, so just accept it with peace of mind," Deng Yuyuan said. "People who genuinely like you won’t think you’re greedy for accepting a gift; I’m only happy that you can take it. On the other hand, people who dislike you will just think you’re unpresentable even if you refuse their gifts."

Tuantuan nodded. "So you definitely have to accept it! Everything else is fake; only what you get in your hands is real. When Daddy gives Tuantuan things, Tuantuan accepts them every time, even though he always mutters annoying things... But Daddy would never give Tuantuan something so pretty.

"Tuantuan wanted one too, but Mommy said little kids shouldn’t wear too much jewelry, so she wouldn’t give one to Tuantuan."

Tuantuan smiled mysteriously, snuggled into her mother’s embrace, and loudly shared with Wu Ying, "One time, Daddy gave Tuantuan a little silver lock. As soon as Tuantuan got it, Grandma snatched it away and said Tuantuan didn’t deserve it. In the end, Daddy didn’t protect Tuantuan at all! He even said Grandma was being thoughtful, and that a little kid wearing something too expensive would easily attract thieves."

Deng Yuyuan’s arms around Tuantuan tightened slightly. The old grudges of the older generation had ultimately left a shadow in the child’s heart. "Alright, Tuantuan, there’s no need to talk about those things. Didn’t Mommy give you a little gold lock afterward?"

Tuantuan was dissatisfied. "Mommy, how could you steal Tuantuan’s lines? Tuantuan hasn’t even shown off to Xiao Ying yet! Tuantuan wants to say it again. Tuantuan told him he didn’t deserve to be my daddy, and Grandma didn’t deserve to be my grandma, and that the little silver lock wasn’t good enough for Tuantuan! Daddy scolded Tuantuan for being unreasonable, and then Mommy came out and immediately chased Daddy and Grandma away! They haven’t come looking for Tuantuan in a long, long time."

[Yuan, our child finally knows how to refer to herself as "me."]

"Tuantuan has always kept that little gold lock safely hidden away! Tuantuan would never wear it out. What if it got robbed? Tuantuan’s little gold lock is even prettier than your bracelet!"

"Really?" Wu Ying replied with a smile. "I’m so jealous of Tuantuan."

Tuantuan proudly puffed out her little belly, only to be answered by a loud GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.

"I’m hungry, hehe."

The two adults were caught between laughter and tears, and Wu Ying didn’t dwell on the matter of the bracelet and the clothes anymore.

After eating lunch and heading back, Deng Yuyuan had Tuantuan and Wu Ying stay in the room while she went to return the wheelchair. She reminded Wu Ying that if the doctor came by during this time, she should make sure to schedule the surgery date—the earlier, the better.

During Wu Ying’s time in the hospital, she had finally gained some weight and fleshed out a bit.

When the nurses at the front desk saw it was Deng Yuyuan, they quickly settled the bill and told her to just leave the wheelchair there and hurry back to the ward; they would put it away themselves.

"The doctor went to do ward rounds early today. Hurry back. As a family member, you definitely have a lot of questions you want to ask the doctor," the nurse said.

The nurse wouldn’t say this without reason; something must have happened in the ward.

"No need to rush too much, just walk back so you don’t bump into anyone."

Deng Yuyuan thanked them and hurried back.

Lately, nothing had been going right for Bai Miaomiao. She had originally planned to set a trap with her boyfriend to steal Deng Yuyuan’s research results, but unexpectedly, Deng Yuyuan had outsmarted them instead.

Her boyfriend had already submitted his paper, but as it turned out, no one could replicate the experiment. In the end, he was slapped with a major demerit for falsification and faced expulsion. The professors declared it a severe case of academic misconduct.

Her young boyfriend demanded that she come up with a solution, but what could she possibly do?