Chapter 21: Shameless

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Now that the matter had been exposed and the Ning family had learned the truth, Xu Xiuhong’s attitude changed once again, leaving Zhang Lanya at a disadvantage.

She had originally intended to take advantage of the broken engagement and gain as much as she could. But now, it seemed there was no way she would be able to do so.

Yet asking her to return the watch was truly like cutting flesh from her body!

Knowing that the situation was deeply unfavorable to her and that she had no moral high ground, Zhang Lanya faced Xu Xiuhong’s furious gaze and quickly forced a smile.

“Ahong, I truly only found out about this just now, when Xiaoyun told me.”

“But since Xiaoyun has told me, and the matter has already been exposed and become common knowledge, I have to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.”

“No matter what, Xiaotao is the one who wronged you this time. Our family has wronged Xiaoyun. As for the marriage between Xiaoyun and Xiaotao, let’s call it off. I truly have no face left.”

“It’s such a pity that our families won’t be able to become relatives through marriage.”

Now that things had reached this point, with so many people aware that Feng Qingxue was carrying Wei Zhitao’s child and that she had already been sent to the hospital, there was no longer any justification or advantage for her to keep trying to salvage the situation.

Zhang Lanya truly wanted to keep the watch, but she knew that Xu Xiuhong was not someone to be trifled with, especially now that the woman had turned cold toward her. After weighing the matter for a while, Zhang Lanya finally took out the watch and stared at it with heartache, clearly unwilling to return it.

However, the moment Zhang Lanya brought it out, Xu Xiuhong did not waste another second. She reached out directly and snatched the watch from Zhang Lanya’s hand before the latter could react. Then she took the silver bracelet from her daughter Ning Ruyun and placed it in Zhang Lanya’s hand.

Xu Xiuhong saw through Zhang Lanya’s petty attempt to take advantage of the situation. She had no intention of indulging her any longer.

At that moment, Xu Xiuhong only wanted to dissolve the engagement completely and as quickly as possible, lest that scumbag Wei Zhitao try to return to her daughter after all this and continue harassing Ning Ruyun.

There were some matters a daughter could not conveniently handle herself, but she was different!

Facing Zhang Lanya, she absolutely would not leave the woman any room to harbor false hopes.

Only after finally getting the watch back did Xu Xiuhong feel somewhat relieved.

She put it away at once. Having lost what little patience she had left, she looked at Zhang Lanya with an unmistakable intention to send her away.

“Sister Ya, it’s getting late. You should hurry to the hospital and take a look.”

“Things have reached this point, so the engagement between our two families is over. From now on, once our children marry, neither family will have anything to do with the other. Xiaotao can go register his marriage with Xiaoxue as soon as possible, and you’ll soon have a grandson to hold. Isn’t that a good thing?”

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“Sister Ya, Xiaotao and Xiaoxue have both gone to the hospital. We won’t keep you here any longer. You should go there first.”

“Xiaoxue is carrying a child—that’s your grandson. Hurry and go see him. Nothing must happen to him.”

Although Xu Xiuhong kept telling Zhang Lanya to go to the hospital to see Feng Qingxue and her grandson, she simply did not want Zhang Lanya to remain in their home any longer. Her presence felt both disgusting and deeply unlucky.

Since Wei Zhitao had dared to cheat on his fiancée with Feng Qingxue and even father a child while still under an engagement, and since the scandal had become known to so many people, his family would lose face as well.

Xu Xiuhong could already imagine the ridicule and contempt her daughter Ning Ruyun would have to endure because of the mess Wei Zhitao and Feng Qingxue had created.

Although Ning Ruyun had done nothing wrong and the entire affair was the result of Wei Zhitao and Feng Qingxue’s actions, she was still the other party in the broken engagement. It would be difficult for her to avoid being judged and gossiped about by others.

The thought of such a miserable situation put Xu Xiuhong in an even worse mood.

The only thing she and her family wanted was to end the engagement as quickly as possible and sever all ties with the Wei family from then on.

A man with Wei Zhitao’s character was simply not worthy of anyone’s trust.

Being so blatantly driven out by Xu Xiuhong, Zhang Lanya’s expression shifted again, and she felt extremely stifled.

Just moments earlier, Xu Xiuhong had snatched the watch from her and returned the silver bracelet. That alone was enough to make Zhang Lanya sick with frustration.

The silver bracelet in her hand had originally been a betrothal token given to Ning Ruyun, but it was practically worthless. How could it compare with the watch?

Why couldn’t Xu Xiuhong simply give the watch to her?

Their families had known each other for so many years. Even if the marriage between their children fell through, they would still continue associating with each other in the future.

Was it really necessary to be so ruthless?

She had already negotiated the watch’s price with a buyer. Could such a profitable deal really fall through?

Her watch, her money—all of it was gone!

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The more Zhang Lanya thought about it, the angrier she became. She almost wanted to reach out and snatch the watch back.

Still, she understood very clearly that because the affair had been exposed, her family was completely in the wrong.

Especially now that the matter of Feng Qingxue carrying Wei Zhitao’s child had become public, her family would bear even more condemnation.

If this had happened more than a decade ago, the consequences for their family would have been even worse.

Although Zhang Lanya was seething with resentment and fury at the Ning family’s refusal to show her any respect, she also knew that if she still wanted to get her hands on the watch, she had to maintain a good relationship with the Ning family for now and preserve an opportunity for future action.

Once she had thought it through, Zhang Lanya forced a smile onto her face, pretending that she and Xu Xiuhong were still on good terms and had not fallen out.

“Ahong, Xiaoyun, Xiaotao was the one in the wrong this time. Whatever anger you have, once I bring Xiaotao over to apologize, you can vent it however you like. But don’t let this affect the relationship between our families. Let’s not ruin our harmony.”

“It’s getting late, so I’ll go to the hospital first and find out exactly what happened. I want to see how Xiaotao managed to make such a mess of everything.”

“Once we’ve figured everything out, we’ll give you an explanation.”

Afraid that someone from the Ning family might say something even harsher, Zhang Lanya had already risen to her feet and was hurrying outside. As she walked, she continued speaking.

“All right, I’ll be going now. There’s no need to see me out. I can leave on my own. Just wait for Xiaotao to come and apologize to you…”

She kept babbling these face-saving remarks, unwilling to give Xu Xiuhong any chance to reject her outright.

As long as Xu Xiuhong did not refuse her, there was still room for the situation to turn around.

Before long, Zhang Lanya had left the courtyard. Only then did she wave her hand and quicken her pace away from the house.

She moved so quickly that it was almost as though retribution were chasing her from behind, leaving her afraid to pause even for a moment.

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