Dongshan Villa.
Xiao Han talked almost every day about going to see Xia Yan, but Jiang Mingxiu always stopped him. Ke Yaru had to spend a good while coaxing Xiao Han every day after returning from the company.
Since Lu Zhengting was discharged from the hospital, he had only gone back to the villa once; the rest of the time, he was either at the company or at Xia Yan's apartment. His behavior had already sparked serious dissatisfaction in Jiang Mingxiu.
As soon as Ke Yaru returned to the villa, she saw Xiao Han picking up things from the coffee table and throwing them on the floor, not caring whether the items in his hands were priceless. The household servants, whenever they encountered this situation, would uniformly stand aside, waiting for him to vent his anger before daring to clean up.
Jiang Mingxiu sat cold-faced on the sofa, her gaze fixed on Xiao Han without any change in expression.
Xiao Han threw a few more things and then asked, "Grandma, why won't you let me go see Sister Yan?"
"A woman like that isn't worth your visit."
"Grandma, I won't let you say that about Sister Yan. I like Sister Yan; she's a good person, not the bad woman you talk about!" Xiao Han said angrily.
Hearing this, Jiang Mingxiu was quite upset by Xiao Han's words. "Xiao Han, you're still young and can't tell good people from bad. Be good; Grandma is doing this for your own good."
"No! If you don't like Sister Yan, then Xiao Han doesn't like Grandma either." Xiao Han held back tears as he shouted this, then stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut with force.
Jiang Mingxiu was startled by the sound of the door closing. She turned to look at Ke Yaru, who had been standing silently nearby, and leaned back wearily against the sofa, squinting as she ordered the servants, "Clean this up."
"Auntie, Xiao Han just doesn't understand your good intentions. I'll go talk to him later."
"That child Xiao Han, I really don't know what to do with him."
"Auntie, I'm also a bit confused about why you've recently stopped Xiao Han from seeing Xia Yan. I believe Xia Yan must really like Xiao Han; otherwise, why would he be so fond of her?"
At this, Jiang Mingxiu's eyes snapped open, staring at Ke Yaru, and she suddenly said, "Come with me."
Ke Yaru pursed her lips slightly. Seeing Jiang Mingxiu get up and head upstairs, she followed without hesitation. Back in her room, Jiang Mingxiu took a sealed file from a drawer beside the nightstand and handed it directly to Ke Yaru. "Take a look."
Ke Yaru hesitated for a moment, then, under Jiang Mingxiu's gaze, opened the envelope. The seal had already been broken by someone else. Noticing Jiang Mingxiu's stern and slightly angry expression, she concluded she was the second person to see it.
Pulling out the document, Ke Yaru stared wide-eyed at the four big words that suddenly appeared before her. "Auntie? This is..."
"That's right, it's a paternity test. The result is quite unexpected." Ke Yaru went straight to the conclusion, which showed that the child Xia Yan was carrying had no biological relation to Lu Zhengting. This explained why Auntie's attitude toward Xia Yan had changed.
Ke Yaru lowered her head, appearing to study it closely. She frowned occasionally and cautiously glanced at Jiang Mingxiu, then quickly averted her gaze when their eyes met.
"Yaru, do you know something?"
"No, I—I just found out."
"Last time at the hospital, didn't you have something to tell me?"
"I don't remember." Ke Yaru said slowly, as if feeling the pressure of Jiang Mingxiu's gaze. After a long hesitation, she added, "Someone sent me this document before..."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"I thought it might be fabricated. And with this document coming from an unknown source, I couldn't be sure of its authenticity. Besides, Zhengting really likes Xia Yan. If I brought it up and caused a misunderstanding, I was afraid Zhengting would never forgive me."
Every word Ke Yaru spoke sounded incredibly sincere. Her bowed head made her appear even more pitiable, and her gentle demeanor once again pleased Jiang Mingxiu. Yet, because of this, no one could imagine how much she was involved behind the scenes.
Considering Ke Yaru's feelings, Jiang Mingxiu said bluntly, "I've already had these contents verified."
"And the result is still the same?"
Jiang Mingxiu nodded. Before seeing this document, she had thought that since Xia Yan was willing to get hurt to protect Xiao Han, she might turn a blind eye to her relationship with her son. But then, just a few days later, she received this result.
Lu Zhengting didn't return to the villa, spending his days almost exclusively between the company and the apartment. Xia Yan's condition hadn't improved; instead, it seemed to be trending toward depression. Watching Xia Yan grow thinner by the day, Lu Zhengting's temper became so bad that no one dared approach him.
In the apartment, Xia Yan's most common activity was locking herself in her room, lying in bed with her hands on her stomach, refusing to speak to anyone. The magazine where Zhan Meng worked had assigned her to cover this case, so she came to keep Xia Yan company whenever she had free time.
Today, Zhan Meng was determined to get Xia Yan out for some fresh air. Just as she was racking her brain for an excuse, Xia Yan, lying in bed, suddenly turned her head to look at Zhan Meng and said one word, "Okay."
Zhan Meng almost thought she had misheard. She stared unblinkingly at Xia Yan, who was throwing off the covers and getting up, and asked weakly, "Xia Yan, are you..."
As she spoke, Xia Yan acted as if she hadn't heard, walking to the wardrobe, pulling it open, grabbing a set of clothes at random, and then silently heading to the bathroom to change out of her pajamas. When she came out, she looked at least more energetic than in her sleepwear, even though her face was bare of makeup.
Knowing Xia Yan was going out, Zhan Meng first informed Lu Zhengting, aware that he would insist on sending bodyguards. She didn't mind; she was used to having a group of bodyguards trailing her whenever she went out.
When Xia Yan first stepped into the sunlight, it felt blindingly bright. She couldn't help raising her hand to shield her eyes, her pale face appearing even more bloodless under the sun's rays.
Zhan Meng linked arms with Xia Yan and waited until she adjusted to the outdoor light before they got into the car.
At the commercial street in the city center, Xia Yan walked silently beside Zhan Meng without saying a word. The surrounding noise felt both familiar and strange to her, as if from another world.
The street was crowded, and since it was Saturday, the department stores had rolled out a series of weekend promotions. Zhan Meng and Xia Yan shared a trait: both were lazy and rarely bothered to go shopping.
The idea of going out for fresh air had come from Feng Yuan, but seeing Xia Yan's expressionless face, Zhan Meng felt it was useless. After a moment's thought, she looked up at the upper floors and said to Xia Yan, "I know a place with great desserts. Want to go?"
Xia Yan hummed in agreement without objection.
Delighted, Zhan Meng immediately took Xia Yan's hand and rode the glass elevator to the sixth floor. The dessert shop she mentioned was there.
Inside, Zhan Meng looked around and found no good seats. She was considering switching to another place when Xia Yan pulled her toward the adjacent open-air garden. Before she could react, a waiter came over with a menu.
Zhan Meng glanced suspiciously at Xia Yan and quietly tugged her sleeve, mouthing, "Have you been here before?"
Xia Yan nodded and ordered two of the shop's specialties.
"Xia Yan, are you back to normal or just overdoing it?"
As soon as she said that, Xia Yan fell silent again. This left Zhan Meng completely baffled. She stared at Xia Yan, wondering, Is she better or not? Has she recovered or not?
Perhaps because Xia Yan had ordered the shop's signature items, they took a while to arrive. Xia Yan rested her chin on her hands. The advantage of the open-air garden was the fresher air compared to indoors, with direct sunlight on her body. Looking up, she saw either the sun or the stars and moon.
Xia Yan's gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance. Zhan Meng waved her hand in front of Xia Yan's eyes a few times without getting any reaction. She pouted, then mimicked Xia Yan's pose, resting her chin on her hands and looking around.
"Oh, what a coincidence. Didn't expect to see you here, Xia Yan."
Hearing this, Zhan Meng immediately turned to look at the speaker. Recognizing who it was, she couldn't help but snort. "And I thought who it was. Turns out it's you. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
As she spoke, Zhan Meng's eyes roamed up and down Xia Siyue, her gaze ambiguous and almost lecherous, making Xia Siyue think of the video that had circulated online. That incident had caused a huge fight between her and Mu Chengfeng.
"Zhan Meng, who asked you to speak?"
"How strange. Do you think you have the right to speak here? If I were you, I wouldn't have the face to show off like this. Honestly, I didn't expect you to..."
"Xia Yan, did you leak that!?" Xia Siyue snapped, redirecting her anger at the silent Xia Yan.
Zhan Meng immediately flew into a rage, slamming her hand on the table and standing up abruptly. "Xia Siyue, are you done? If you say one more word, I swear I'll punch you."
Xia Siyue snorted coldly. "You wouldn't dare."
"Wouldn't dare?" Zhan Meng smiled at Xia Siyue, her tone teasing as she repeated the words.
Xia Siyue didn't take Zhan Meng seriously at all. To her, Zhan Meng was just a woman clinging to Ning Xi. She didn't believe Zhan Meng would actually hit her. Haughtily glancing at Zhan Meng, she shifted her focus, pulled out a chair next to Xia Yan, and sat down, staring at Xia Yan's vacant eyes with a cold smirk.
"I heard you were pregnant? Oh, wait, I mean, the baby's gone." Xia Siyue played with her fingers, speaking as if it were nothing.
As soon as she said that, Zhan Meng caught a subtle change in Xia Yan's expression. She glared down at Xia Siyue. "I'll give you one chance to get lost on your own, or I'll make you leave crying."
"Xia Yan, why aren't you saying anything? Is it all true? What a shame, really."