“Handle the matters abroad properly before returning to the country,” the Old Madam decided resolutely. “I’ll take care of things here at home.”
“Mm.”
Tan Qingya nodded. With those words from the Old Madam, she finally felt relieved. But after hanging up, she immediately switched to WeChat and sent several voice messages to Zhou Jianghao.
Worried that Zhou Jianghao might not have a chance to listen to them, she pondered for a moment while her fingers flew across the keyboard, quickly typing out a long message to follow up. It ran on for several hundred words, laying out the entire story from start to finish.
Zhou Jianghao’s reply didn’t come until two hours later. In the meantime, the Old Madam had already gotten in touch with the Pei Family. Pei Shulan had deleted her WeChat Moments in a flash and tried to bolt, but her family caught her and dragged her back home.
This homecoming naturally came with a punishment.
When Tan Qingya saw Pei Shulan’s incoming call, she wasn’t surprised in the least. She answered calmly, and Pei Shulan’s furious voice burst through the line. “Tan Qingya! You’re a grown adult, and you’re still running to the family to tattle? Have you no shame?!”
“Why should I be ashamed?” Tan Qingya raised an eyebrow. “I’m not the one who did anything wrong. My conscience is clear. If you feel hard done by, go tattle on me to your family. I won’t stop you.”
Pei Shulan on the other end of the line was so furious she nearly spat blood.
Tattle on Tan Qingya to her own family?
Ha! That would just be asking for a beating.
From childhood, Tan Qingya had been the perfect “other family’s child” in her parents’ eyes. They compared her to Tan Qingya in everything, and she always came up short—even in something as major as marriage, where she lagged a step behind.
She couldn’t even win an argument when trying to dress Tan Qingya down.
The thought only deepened the gloom in her chest.
With a scowl, she hung up.
Neither of them could have anticipated that Zhou Jianghao, the very center of it all, hadn’t given it a second thought.
“Aren’t you two friends?” Confusion filled Zhou Jianghao’s voice.
Having a good friend snap a photo for her seemed perfectly normal. Besides, she had received the picture.
After work, when she unlocked her phone and saw the string of missed calls and WeChat messages, she was genuinely startled, thinking something serious had happened. It turned out to be just one WeChat Moments post.
“I’m not friends with her.” Zhou Jianghao wasn’t upset, which should have put Tan Qingya’s mind at ease—but instead, her feelings grew inexplicably complicated. “She’s my arch-nemesis. Stay away from her. She’s not a good person.”
At that, tension crept back into her voice. “How do you even have her WeChat?”
“She’s my patient.” Zhou Jianghao lowered her eyes. “She came to the hospital a while back to have a tooth pulled. She had a lot of questions, so we added each other.”
The woman had seemed perfectly normal at the time. After the extraction, she’d asked about all sorts of aftercare tips. Zhou Jianghao still had a few wisdom teeth to deal with later, and with patients waiting outside, she hadn’t thought twice when the woman suggested exchanging WeChat contacts.
Stumbling across Pei Shulan’s WeChat Moments had been pure coincidence. Zhou Jianghao hadn’t even noticed who had taken the photo; she had simply found Tan Qingya adorable in that moment, so she liked it and even saved the image.
In that kind of setting, for Tan Qingya to go out of her way to have someone snap a photo just to share with her—it made Zhou Jianghao feel truly valued.
“I’m not angry.” Here, Zhou Jianghao lowered her eyes again, a shy note entering her voice. “The opposite, actually. I’m happy.”
Whether it was the photo itself or Tan Qingya’s barrage of calls and messages, born of a misunderstanding about her anger—it all filled her with joy.
She had never been treasured by anyone like this before.
She came to a stop, lips pressing together. “I miss you.”
It had only been a few days since they’d last seen each other, but the longing was beyond her control.
Saying something so direct and bold was rare for her. Heat flooded her cheeks as she glanced uncomfortably toward the door. Her gaze froze, and her entire body went rigid.
The Old Madam stood at the doorway, her usual stern demeanor replaced by a kindly smile. Catching Zhou Jianghao’s eye, she even mimed zipping her lips shut.
Zhou Jianghao: “…”
She hung up in a rush and scrambled to her feet. “Old… uh, Mom.”
She had nearly botched the form of address, and now her face burned even hotter. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Zhou Jianghao’s nervousness was impossible to miss. The Old Madam’s smile widened. “Hey, Mom’s here to pick you up from work.”
“…Okay.”
After gathering her things, she trailed behind the Old Madam as they headed out.
“Normally, Mom should have given you a heads-up, but I didn’t want to interrupt while you were working.” The Old Madam covered a chuckle. “When I called later, the line was busy, so I came up instead.”
“It’s fine,” Zhou Jianghao murmured.
“How about dinner at the Old Mansion with Mom tonight? Tong An’s baby was born a little while ago. You haven’t met her yet, have you?”
Zhou Jianghao shook her head. “No.”
In truth, she hadn’t even known Li Tongan’s child had been born. She glanced up, studying the Old Madam’s face. It was perfectly serene now—no trace remained of the explosive rage from when she’d first heard the news.
“Then you can come see her. She’s a little girl, pretty as a picture from the moment she arrived.” The Old Madam sighed softly to herself.
Li Tongan had never been doted on by her parents. This child of mysterious origins had only made things worse—her eldest daughter and son-in-law had been punished because of it. So even though the baby was a beautiful little girl, there was no joy for her.
It had been so long since the birth, and the eldest daughter still hadn’t visited. The son-in-law was even less involved, out carousing every few days without a thought for his new granddaughter.
If no one looked after such a child, she was bound to end up like a second Zhou Jianghao—growing up bullied and neglected.
All the Old Madam could do was pay extra attention herself.
Li Tongan’s baby really was pretty, with big eyes and chubby, rosy cheeks. She looked perfectly healthy.
But Li Tongan herself was in rough shape.
Zhou Jianghao almost didn’t recognize her at first glance. Before, Li Tongan had looked unwell but carried a bit of plumpness; now she was gaunt, her chin sharp as a blade. Childbirth seemed to have sucked the life right out of her, leaving her face etched with defeat and exhaustion.
“Little Aunt Mom?” Li Tongan looked flustered at the sight of Zhou Jianghao. “Sorry, my room’s a mess. Have a seat.”
The endearment came naturally from her lips, without the reluctance others showed.
Seeing her start to get out of bed, Zhou Jianghao hurried to stop her. “I’m just here for a quick look. No need to get up—rest easy.”
“Oh, to see the baby?” Li Tongan sank back into the bed. Her gaze drifted to the child’s face, devoid of energy. “She’s sleeping.”
The worry creasing her brow was impossible to hide.
Zhou Jianghao bit her lip, then voiced her concern. “What’s wrong?”
They weren’t close, but among the Tan Family, they had a slight bond. At their last dinner together, Zhou Jianghao had only just mentioned her marriage when Li Tongan panicked and spilled everything about her pregnancy. Later, Zhou Jianghao had shielded her from a slap by Li Ye, earning her gratitude—several thank-yous over WeChat.
With Li Tongan in such a state now, Zhou Jianghao couldn’t bring herself to ignore it.
“I…”
Li Tongan had barely started when tears spilled down her cheeks. The cold shoulders of the past few days had worn her down; the slightest kindness shattered her control.
Just then, Li Ye happened to pass by the door outside. The sound of crying ignited his temper, and he kicked the door with all his pent-up rage.
“Cry, cry, cry! You’re nothing but a money-losing brat who cries all day!”
Startled by the noise, the baby woke and began to wail.
Li Ye’s fury only grew. He stormed inside, ready to unleash a tirade—only to spot the extra person in the room. His drunken haze cleared in an instant. He glanced around, saw no sign of Tan Qingya, and let out a breath of relief. Putting on a haughty front, he demanded, “What are you doing here?”
Displeasure dripped from every word.
“Brother-in-law.” Zhou Jianghao clenched her fists behind her back, refusing to show fear. Her voice stayed steady. “Tong An and the baby both need quiet to recover. Please keep it down.”
“Zhou Jianghao, are you telling me how to behave?” Li Ye sneered. “This is my house. Li Tongan is my daughter. No matter how much you meddle, you don’t get to boss me around.”
He let out a mocking laugh. “You’d do better to keep an eye on that one from your own family.”
He had thought, after all the fuss Tan Qingya made recently, that Zhou Jianghao had truly gone from rags to riches—that the Tan Family had produced a lovesick fool. But the moment Tan Qingya went abroad, she’d started fooling around. Good thing he’d been prepared and had someone snap photos.
That was his ace in the hole.
Catching the loaded meaning in his words, Zhou Jianghao fixed him with a steady gaze. “What do you mean by that?”
“What could I possibly mean?” Li Ye gave her a false smile. “Just some elder’s friendly advice: keep a close watch on your spouse, or someone nearby might swoop in first. An office romance scandal wouldn’t look good for Tan Corporation.”
With that, he shot a cold glare at Li Tongan. “And you—if you cry again, get the hell out of the Tan Family!”
Li Ye stormed off, but the stench of alcohol hung heavy in the air long after.
“My parents say they’re sending the baby away in a few days,” Li Tongan whispered suddenly. “They hid my pregnancy from everyone. Once the child’s gone, I’ll be right back to being their unmarried pawn for alliances.”
Li Zhenyu and Li Yunyan had already been booted from the Tan Family, and the news had spread through their circles. No one would risk offending the Tan Family’s head by marrying either of them now. Her parents had lost two bargaining chips overnight and turned their sights on her instead.
She hadn’t made a big deal out of her pregnancy, and almost no outsiders knew she had given birth. As long as the child was sent away, she could still serve as a pawn in a marriage alliance, traded openly for benefits.
“The Old Madam cares deeply about this child,” Zhou Jianghao said with a frown. “She won’t let something like that happen.”
“No matter how much she cares about the child, I’m not her biological granddaughter,” Li Tongan said, tugging at the corner of her mouth. “But my mom is her biological daughter.”
By then, once the child was sent away, her mom would just need to put on a little spoiled act with the Old Madam a few times, and the whole matter would be forgotten.
“Perhaps sending her away would be best for everyone,” Li Tongan sighed, cradling the still-wailing infant. “If she stays with me in the Tan Family, she won’t have a good life anyway. It might be better to send her off.”
“Is that so?” Zhou Jianghao said coolly, watching Li Tongan hold the child. “The child is yours. Whether she stays or goes is your decision alone. But are you really sure sending her away is best for everyone?”
“Sent off to some strange place, living under someone else’s roof and dependent on their charity, forever on edge and afraid of being thrown out… Would that be good for her?”
Li Tongan was struck speechless by the counterquestion. She couldn’t find words for a long time.
A servant came over to summon Zhou Jianghao.
“Miss Zhou, the Old Madam is calling you for dinner.”
“If you truly love the child, then you should make yourself stronger,” Zhou Jianghao said. With that, she rose to her feet.
“Zhou Jianghao!” Li Tongan called out hurriedly, stopping her. She hesitated, then stammered after a moment, “Little Aunt Mom, if it’s not too much trouble… could you help me come up with a name for the child?”
Zhou Jianghao lifted her gaze to meet hers. “Do you want me to do it, or Tan Qingya?”
She saw right through it.
Having Tan Qingya name the child would give her a layer of protection, making others think twice.
“I want you to help,” Li Tongan said, her smile more painful than tears. “Little Aunt is so busy with work—I don’t dare bother her. I didn’t get much education, so I can’t think of anything good. I don’t have many friends, and hardly anyone even knows I was pregnant. Please, can you help me?”
Zhou Jianghao fell silent for a moment before looking at Li Tongan seriously. “This is your child. You are her mother forever. The right to name her belongs to you.”
If she didn’t help name the child, it would remain just some other family’s kid to her. But if she did, she would form a bond with the little one.
So she refused.
