Chapter 213 - 148: Qiu Yuru Gets Anxious

Chapter 213: Chapter 148: Qiu Yuru Gets Anxious

Xiao Ran continued.

"Alright, alright, Mom’s hanging up now."

Yan Xici’s emotions were on a roller coaster, and those two were giving her one hell of a ride.

’W-wait, how did this turn into a discussion about visiting Xiao Ran’s parents!’

Just the thought of it made her incredibly nervous.

After all, she’d never even met her father-in-law, and on top of that, this whole mess had happened.

She was genuinely worried about what they would think of her.

.....

After hanging up, Qiu Yuru turned to the long-faced Xiao Shengrong beside her.

She snapped, "What are you in such a hurry for? Just think about it. Our son is already stressed. Calling him now to ask about this will only stress him out more. The problem happened, and it’s being dealt with. That’s enough. Why do you have to keep hounding him about it?!"

Xiao Shengrong didn’t get to say what he wanted and was instead met with a tirade from his wife, leaving him feeling completely wronged.

"What’s wrong with asking my own son? Besides, I’m just worried about Yan Xici. She’s pregnant!"

’That’s an heir to the Xiao family in there, after all!’

Qiu Yuru could understand his reasoning, but she didn’t agree with his approach.

"Is it really your place to ask? A father-in-law asking a young woman about something like that?"

’Besides, the whole thing was completely fabricated. Her grandson was probably still up in the heavens, picking out his mom!’

"Oh, right. Our son said he’ll be back on Saturday."

With that, Qiu Yuru stood up and walked into the bedroom.

Seeing that her son and daughter-in-law seemed to be fine, she felt a great sense of relief.

But relief was one thing; she had no intention of forgiving the person behind all this.

She picked up her phone from the bedside table and opened her contacts.

’That’s right. I’m going to ask that Yan Li just what the hell she thinks she’s doing!’

’They’re already divorced. What’s the point of doing all this?’

Yan Li had just gotten home from a meeting, exhausted. She hadn’t even turned on the lights yet.

The phone in her Hermès bag began to ring. She pulled it out listlessly, assuming it was Wang Meng.

But when she saw the two words "Mrs. Xiao" on the screen, she couldn’t help but frown.

’Why is my former mother-in-law calling me?’

’Honestly, I don’t want to answer, but I don’t dare ignore it.’

Over the years, Qiu Yuru had rarely visited, and Yan Li herself had seldom interacted with her. But for some reason...

...she was still a little afraid of Qiu Yuru.

It wasn’t respect or awe, just simple fear.

Perhaps it was because of her position as the daughter-in-law, or perhaps because she’d always seen Qiu Yuru as a force to be reckoned with.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yan Li answered the call.

"Hello, Mom."

If she hadn’t called her "Mom," it might have been fine, but that one word made Qiu Yuru see red.

"Don’t call me Mom. I’m not worthy of the honor."

The single sentence shut Yan Li down completely, leaving her speechless.

Yan Li: ...

Qiu Yuru stared out the window into the pitch-black night. She wasn’t shouting, but her voice carried an indescribable gravity.

"You call me ’Mom’ with one breath and hurt my son with the next. Do you really think that’s appropriate?"

If she hadn’t already felt she’d made enough money, Qiu Yuru could have started a company and absolutely crushed it in the business world.

She truly felt nothing but disdain for Yan Li’s petty tricks; she looked down on them completely!

Hearing this, Yan Li’s expression darkened on the other end of the line.

"If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up."

’Hang up?’

’Who said she could hang up?’

Qiu Yuru continued, "Regarding your divorce from Xiao Ran, from start to finish, he never did a single thing to wrong you. You have to admit that!"

"After the divorce, other than the house, Xiao Ran didn’t ask for a single thing. You have to admit that, too!"

"Yan Xici and Xiao Ran are together now. You’re just going to have to accept it!"

"She’s your own sister. If you’re angry with her, you two can solve it yourselves. I can’t get involved—that’s between you two. But if you dare drag my son into this again, then we can just see what happens."

Initially, Qiu Yuru did feel a bit of sympathy for Yan Li. After all, Xiao Ran had turned right around and gotten together with her sister.

As a woman herself, she could understand why Yan Li would be upset about it.

But if she was going to treat her son like this...

...she, Qiu Yuru, was not one to be trifled with!

Yan Li pressed her lips together, a flicker of melancholy in her eyes.

’Of course. Every mother in the world protects her own child.’

’Every mother but mine.’

’Look at my ex-mother-in-law, and then look at my own mother. If my mom had shown even a shred of concern for me, I never would have done this.’

She said resentfully, "All I really want is a little fairness."

Qiu Yuru sneered. "Fairness? Xiao Ran was with you for four years. In those four years, how many meals did my son cook for you? How much did he invest in that home of yours? He didn’t even ask for anything in the divorce. And you? You turn right around and try to destroy him. And now you want to talk about fairness?"

’The only reason Xiao Ran is tolerating this is for the sake of Yan Xici and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Yan. He doesn’t have to say it out loud; I know that much.’

’After all, no mother wants to see her children get hurt.’

’If something really happened to Yan Li, Mr. and Mrs. Yan would be devastated.’

’He wants to marry their second daughter, so this is a price he has to pay!’

"My son doesn’t hold this against you because we raised him to be better than that, not because he’s a pushover," Qiu Yuru continued.

Yan Li’s patience was wearing thin.

"If you only called to vent on your son’s behalf, then there’s really no need."

’He’s angry? Well, so am I!’

She’d had a long, tiring day. All she wanted now was a good night’s sleep.

Qiu Yuru pursed her lips. ’So, she’s not a pushover after all.’

’Have I been wasting my breath this whole time?’

She cleared her throat. "Yan Li, it’s been a while since you’ve spoken with Xiao Ran’s uncle, hasn’t it?"

The "uncle" Qiu Yuru mentioned was Xiao Ran’s maternal uncle-in-law, who worked for the tax bureau in Shanghai. He was an official of some influence.

He had mentioned to Qiu Yuru before that there were some issues with Yan Li’s company.

But since Yan Li was still her daughter-in-law at the time, Qiu Yuru had helped her out, asking her relative to be lenient just that once.

She wasn’t just bringing up old history; she wanted to send a clear message.

Don’t push things too far.