CHAPTER 430: CHAPTER 347: DARE TO ACT, DARE TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the day of the Little New Year, Bai Shasha came to visit Li Si, conveniently staying for a meal. Sister Ding’s cooking was just too amazing! She ate so much that she couldn’t stop raving about it!

After eating and drinking to her heart’s content, Bai Shasha stared at Li Si’s huge belly, a look of concern flashing in her eyes. "Si! How come I feel like your belly has ballooned even more in just a few days?!"

The last time she visited, it wasn’t this big!

Li Si explained with a laugh, "This is normal during the late stages of pregnancy."

In the final trimester, the baby grows very rapidly inside the womb.

"Tsk, tsk! So being a woman really is the hardest!" Bai Shasha couldn’t help but sigh. "Will you be able to give birth naturally when the time comes?

One of my cousins faced complications during childbirth. She ended up trying natural birth first and then had an emergency C-section, basically suffering the pain twice!"

Li Si put down the cup in her hand, "I can’t say for sure yet! All my prenatal checkups show the baby is positioned normally, but there’s a slight issue with the umbilical cord being wrapped around its neck. The doctor says the baby might turn on its own during labor. Honestly, I’m still hoping for a natural delivery; they say recovery is faster, and it’s healthier for the baby. But people also say the pain is excruciating—it’s comparable to breaking several ribs at the same time!"

Bai Shasha winced, her brows furrowed. "Then what about a C-section? Seems many people opt for that these days!"

Having a child isn’t as simple as it seems. Seeing Li Si like this, Bai Shasha was beginning to dread the thought of marriage and childbirth herself!

"A C-section isn’t ideal for mothers or babies, but if my body doesn’t allow for natural birth, then I’ll have no choice. So, I’m keeping my options open!"

Li Si had been agonizing for some time over whether to go for a natural delivery or a C-section. But as the due date approached, she’d grown more relaxed, leaving it to fate!

Either way, it’s going to involve some cutting!

Apparently, nowadays even natural deliveries involve a 90% chance of perineal cutting, and that pain is no joke!

On top of that, if the recovery isn’t smooth later, it can directly affect certain aspects of life!

Bai Shasha had a look of deep sympathy. "In my next life, I swear I’ll be a man! Just to avoid all this suffering! The thought of getting your belly cut open is terrifying!"

If only Xu Er could give birth to children, now that would be perfect!

Li Si couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her. "Can you not say such things in front of a pregnant woman? Are you trying to scare your godson?"

"Slip of the tongue, godson! Godmom said the wrong thing! You mustn’t be scared, okay?" Bai Shasha gently bent over and spoke to Li Si’s belly.

Li Si laughed and lightly smacked her arm. "Alright! Don’t you think it’s a bit late to be saying all this now?"

Bai Shasha grinned playfully. "Not too late! My godson is brave, he can handle it!" Pausing, she hesitated for a moment, debating whether to say something or not, before finally sitting beside Li Si and spilling the news. "Si, I heard from my mom about something happening related to our hometown!"

"What is it?" Li Si guessed that it was likely about Mrs. Zhou and Mr. Han Sr., the rumors finally getting out. She had initially planned to gossip with Bai Shasha about this as soon as she arrived, but they’d gotten sidetracked.

"Zhou Rou’s mom actually got involved with Li Fei’s adoptive grandfather! Now this is drama at its finest! What will Li Fei have to call Zhou Rou now? Si, don’t you think this is a classic case of ’it’s all one big family, whether you like it or not’?" Bai Shasha recounted what her mom had mentioned over the phone yesterday, still finding it hard to believe. What was wrong with the world!

After finishing, she spotted Li Si’s relatively calm expression and poked her with a finger. "You already knew, didn’t you? Si, you’re too much! You kept this juicy gossip from me! I’m heartbroken, sob sob!"

"Alright, Shasha! Don’t be upset! I admit I was wrong, okay? I was about to tell you earlier that the video from Yin Xian’s engagement banquet was actually Zhou Rou’s doing! By now, I imagine Wang Mei’s family knows too, though how they’ll retaliate is anyone’s guess!"

Bai Shasha’s jaw dropped. "It was really Zhou Rou?!" She asked in slight disbelief. Previously, she had only suspected it and remained cool-headed, analyzing who would benefit most from such a scandal.

But now that the truth was out in the open, she couldn’t quite believe it.

After all, they’d been classmates for years. Back in school, she hadn’t seen Zhou Rou as someone capable of such things!

But thinking about that fat woman, Bai Shasha shed a figurative tear of sympathy for Zhou Rou. "If that fat woman finds out Zhou Rou was behind it, wouldn’t she rip her to shreds?"

That scene at Simeng’s place where she had a full-on brawl came vividly back to her mind!

"Hard to say!" Li Si replied, and the two fell silent.

In just a short period, everyone’s lives had changed dramatically.

As for the person in their discussion—Zhou Rou—she enjoyed a brief moment of triumph, only to meet disaster soon after. One noon, as she left a restaurant and tried to hail a cab, two burly men jumped out of a suddenly parked car on the roadside and dragged her inside.

When she was blindfolded and taken to the destination, the first thing she saw was Wang Mei and Nanny Wang with smug expressions. At that very moment, Zhou Rou knew she was doomed!

Nanny Wang, who’d been stewing in anger for days, finally found an outlet, launching into a furious attack with her fists and feet.

Wang Mei stood aside, coldly observing until Nanny Wang was too tired to continue. Then she approached Zhou Rou, who lay crumpled on the floor unable to get up, and hissed viciously, "You whore! If you dare to do it, you’d better dare to face the consequences! You love playing with videos, huh? Well, get ready to put on a great show! Have fun!"

Every time she remembered how Yin Xian had learned about her plotting against Ye Duowei, she was overwhelmed with rage!

Yin Xian had been truly enraged. He not only personally confronted her to retrieve the incriminating photos and had them destroyed, but he even tracked down Liu Chao and nearly beat him to death.

Liu Chao, the only child in her uncle’s family, had been pampered since birth. Spoiled as he was, he had a thing for women but had never caused major trouble.

This time, because of her manipulations, he’d gone too far and ended up paying the price. His right leg was fractured, two ribs were broken, and he sustained a mild concussion. He was still laid up in the hospital!

Her uncle and aunt, having learned the full story, were now deeply estranged from her family. Initially, the scandal at her engagement had already brought disgrace to her family, and now, being ostracized by her uncle’s family made things even worse.

If it hadn’t been for that scheming woman Zhou Rou, would Wang Mei have fallen to such lows?

Yet even a dying camel is bigger than a horse. She still had ways to get revenge on Zhou Rou!

"No! Please! I’m innocent! Why are you doing this to me?!" Zhou Rou pleaded pitifully. The venom in Wang Mei’s words made her shiver with dread!

Back then, she’d seen it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance for revenge. She hadn’t anticipated that she’d one day face the consequences.

Who could possibly save her now?

She glanced around discreetly, trying to assess her surroundings, but she had no idea where she was. It appeared to be an abandoned basement.

Wang Mei’s two accomplices stood behind her, glaring at Zhou Rou with lust-filled eyes, as if she weren’t wearing a single piece of clothing!

Nanny Wang spat in disgust. "Innocent? You shameless tramp! You’re just asking for it! We only slapped you a few times, and you go and scheme to ruin my daughter’s future? Did you think we wouldn’t find out? Save the pathetic act for those men you sleep with!"

With that, she waved her hand, signaling the two lecherous men to pounce on Zhou Rou.

Wang Mei and her mother promptly left the scene, and for a long time afterward, screams, sobs, and desperate pleas echoed from the basement.

By the time Zhou Rou was tossed out onto a bustling street, battered, bruised, and teetering on the edge of a breakdown, the two men had already turned off the camera, satisfied with their "fun."

The women had instructed them beforehand to do whatever they wished but not to take her life.

So after terrorizing Zhou Rou and threatening her, they left her in the middle of the crowd before driving off. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please give it your support on Qidian by voting with recommendation tickets or monthly votes. Your encouragement is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)