Suppressing her anger, Xu Chunyan sighed sorrowfully. "But you’re pregnant with Jing Er’s child."
Lin Yaru froze. Though she was unstable, she hadn’t completely lost her mind.
The doctor’s words echoed in her mind. She couldn’t abort this pregnancy, or she might lose the ability to be a mother. If she couldn’t have children, how could she ever have a child for Jing Si?
If she gave birth to this child, she could still get pregnant again. But if she gave up this baby, she might never have another chance.
Xu Chunyan saw her hesitation. When it came to divorcing Jing Er, Lin Yaru barely gave it a second thought. But when the baby was mentioned, she wavered.
’That cheap little bastard. Mom was right. Lin Yaru isn’t in love with Jing Er now, but once she gives birth to his child and watches it grow day by day, any mother’s heart, no matter how hard, will soften.’
’Before long, Lin Yaru’s mind will change. For the child’s sake, she’ll try to live a good life with Jing Er. It’s not impossible for love to grow over time, especially since Jing Er is so outstanding.’
’Last night, Jing Er came to see me, and we were together. He even told me that his father promised him the house the machinery factory had allocated to him. He’s also going to take over as the factory director.’
’Once Jing Er becomes the factory director, Xiao You will eventually take his place. So, just in case, I absolutely cannot let Lin Yaru have this baby.’
"Yaru, you’re still young. If you have this baby, it will become a stumbling block to you marrying Jing Si." Xu Chunyan didn’t directly tell Lin Yaru to give up the child; instead, she tried to persuade her to give it up on her own.
"You don’t understand, you don’t understand," Lin Yaru murmured.
Xu Chunyan’s slender, upturned eyes narrowed. It sounded like Lin Yaru wanted to have the baby. A cold, cunning smile bloomed at the corners of her eyes. "Yaru, tell me the truth. Have you had a change of heart? Have you fallen in love with Jing Er and want to have his child?"
"No, I haven’t had a change of heart! I haven’t fallen in love with Jie Jingwei! The one I love has always been Jie Jingchen! I don’t want to have Jie Jingwei’s child, I only want to have Jie Jingchen’s child!" Lin Yaru became agitated.
"Yaru, if you’ve really fallen for Jing Er, I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve already divorced him, after all. You’re the one married to him now. One was the man I loved most, and the other is my best friend. I’m willing to give you two my blessing." Xu Chunyan put on a magnanimous and helpless act.
"Chunyan, I don’t want your blessing, I want your help!" Lin Yaru, terrified that Xu Chunyan wouldn’t help her, gripped her hand tightly and refused to let go.
"You’re pregnant with Jing Er’s child, but you want to marry Jing Si. How do you expect me to help you?" Xu Chunyan demanded.
"I can have the baby first!" Lin Yaru said urgently.
Hearing this, Xu Chunyan was filled with a searing hatred. ’She really does want to have the baby!’ Xu Chunyan just couldn’t figure it out. Lin Yaru didn’t love Jing Er, yet she was insistent on having his child. What was she after?
"If you have this baby, you’ll be tied to Jing Er forever. How could you marry Jing Si then?" Xu Chunyan asked.
"I don’t want the baby. You can have him. And don’t let him know that I am his mother," Lin Yaru said.
Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth. ’She wants me to raise her and Jing Er’s child? In her dreams!’ "The truth will always come out. There are no secrets that can be kept forever."
Lin Yaru fell silent. She let go of Xu Chunyan’s hand and collapsed bonelessly to the floor.
"You have two choices. Either have the baby and live a good life with Jing Er, or get an abortion and marry Jing Si." Xu Chunyan gave Lin Yaru an ultimatum.
Lin Yaru discarded the first option without hesitation. As for the second, getting an abortion was a difficult decision for her, and it wasn’t as if she could marry Jing Si just by wanting to.
Lin Yaru no longer believed in the empty promises Xu Chunyan dangled in front of her like she used to.
Even using the prospect of marrying Jing Si as bait couldn’t make Lin Yaru give up the child in her belly. Xu Chunyan’s gaze inevitably turned sinister. Gripping the kitchen knife in her hand, she had the sudden urge to just kill Lin Yaru and be done with it.
Relatives of the Jie Family came one after another to say goodbye to Grandpa and Granny. Mr. Xie had arranged for Jie Jinghun to drive people home. Shen Qing had to leave for something urgent, so Jie Duo was left in the care of Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen.
"Jie Jingsi, why don’t we go home first?" Qin Mei tugged on the corner of Jie Jingchen’s sleeve.
"Third Brother isn’t back yet. Let’s wait a little longer." Jie Jingchen teased Jie Duo, who was sitting on Qin Mei’s lap. They hadn’t ridden their bikes, so getting home now meant either walking or taking a bus. Qin Mei got carsick on the bus, and walking would be tiring and hot.
Qin Mei glanced outside. The sun was blazing high in the sky, and she immediately gave up on the idea.
It was a good thing Jie Duo was there, or she really wouldn’t have been able to sit still. Jing Qi was listening with great interest as Sun Tong recounted amusing stories about the village. Jie Jingling, however, was in low spirits. When she saw Jie Jingwei, Mr. Lin, and Mrs. Lin seeing off the last of the Lin Family’s relatives, Jie Jingling stood up.
Qin Mei, holding Jie Duo, was keeping her eyes and ears open. Seeing Jie Jingling get up and walk toward the door, she shoved Xiao Duo into Jie Jingchen’s arms. "Here, you hold Xiao Duo."
"Meimei." Holding Xiao Duo with one arm, Jie Jingchen grabbed Qin Mei’s wrist with his other, knowing full well what she wanted to do. "Don’t go."
"The Lin family’s parents are no pushovers. I’m worried your big sister will be at a disadvantage." Qin Mei tried to pull free but couldn’t break his grip. "Jie Jingsi, let go."
"Meimei, Big Sister isn’t going to pick a fight. She’s just going to find out what’s going on." Jie Jingchen paused, thought for a moment, and then added, "The eldest sister is like a mother."
Hearing this, Qin Mei settled down and obediently sat back in her seat.
When Mr. Lin and Mrs. Lin saw Jie Jingling approaching, they both felt a pang of guilt. Mrs. Lin said to Jie Jingwei, "Jing Er, Yaru is home alone, and your dad and I are worried. We’re going to head out now. As for your father and your big sister, please explain things to them."
"Okay, Mom and Dad. Once things are settled here, I’ll go to the Lin family’s home to pick up Yaru," Jie Jingwei said with a smile.
"Okay." Li Axiu pulled Mr. Lin away, and they left in a hurry.
"Axiu, slow down. Why are you walking so fast?" Mr. Lin stumbled as he was being dragged along.
"I feel guilty," Li Axiu said. After waiting for Mr. Lin to steady himself, she started pulling him along again at a brisk pace.
She hadn’t been able to properly convince her daughter; it had ended in failure. The banquet couldn’t be canceled, so their only choice was to use the excuse that Yaru’s pregnancy was unstable and she couldn’t attend. Although it was absurd for the bride to be absent from her own wedding banquet, it was framed as an unavoidable circumstance.
Yaru’s attitude had been unyielding. Either they kept her from attending, or if she did show up, she would absolutely ruin the banquet. If that happened, both the Lin and Jie families would lose face completely.
"Sigh! What a mess we’ve made." Mr. Lin sighed heavily. He had worried so much over his daughter’s affairs that his hair was turning white. "Axiu, were we wrong? We shouldn’t have pushed Yaru so hard. Now look. What are the Jie Family’s relatives going to think of our Lin Family?"
"How were we wrong? Everything we did was for our daughter’s own good! Yaru is just too blunt for her own good. If we hadn’t pushed her, would she have ever compromised and married Jing Er? I don’t care what the Jie Family’s relatives think of our Lin Family. As long as the head of their family understands, that’s all that matters. Besides, he knows perfectly well that Yaru isn’t to blame for this. It’s all because of that bastardly thing Jing Er did. Getting Yaru pregnant... Jing Er is such a piece of work!" Li Axiu cursed.
"It’s a good thing Jing Er is such a scoundrel, otherwise I don’t know how you would have cleaned up this mess today. Axiu, I’m not trying to criticize, but with Jing Er and Yaru’s situation, just registering the marriage would have been enough. But you had to insist on a banquet," Mr. Lin complained.
"It’s Jing Er’s second marriage. Just registering it would have been unfair to Yaru." Li Axiu hadn’t expected the banquet to become such a disaster.
"Sigh!" Mr. Lin sighed once again.
Jie Jingling pulled Jie Jingwei into a corner. For a moment, the two siblings were speechless.
"Second Brother, what on earth is going on?" Jie Jingling asked in a low voice, a hint of worry in her eyes.
Jie Jingwei shrugged, playing dumb. "Big Sister, what’s going on?"
Jie Jingling gave Jie Jingwei’s shoulder a push, saying uneasily, "Don’t play dumb with me. You know what I’m asking about."
Jie Jingwei mulled it over for a few seconds, then a self-deprecating smile touched his lips. "Big Sister, don’t worry about my affairs."