CHAPTER 527: CHAPTER 522: MRS. ZHOU COMES AGAIN (THIRD UPDATE)

After agreeing to Uncle Zeng’s proposal, Xu He remembered what had just happened and was still in severe pain. She didn’t want to return to the Luo Family only to be tormented by Luo Zhiming. Moreover, if it came to that, Luo Zhiming would inevitably discover the marks on her body. She planned to stay at her parents’ house for a few days.

Lying diagonally on the kang bed, tiredly she said to Duan Fenghua, "But so much has just happened at home. I’ll go back in a few days. I’ll stay here and keep you company for the time being."

"There’s no need to keep us company. You can come back anytime," Duan Fenghua was cut off mid-sentence as her eyes suddenly fixed on the area below Xu He’s neck for a good while, then she reached out to lift Xu He’s clothes, "What happened to you? You’re all black and blue."

Xu He was startled and quickly blocked Duan Fenghua’s hand, pulling her clothes back in place, blushing, she said, "Mom, it’s nothing."

Duan Fenghua saw Xu He’s evasive behavior and, being experienced herself, immediately guessed it was from close moments between Luo Zhiming and Xu He, not asking any further.

However, the topic made both mother and daughter feel somewhat awkward, Duan Fenghua coughed softly and muttered under her breath, "Oh, that Zhiming really is..."

Duan Fenghua didn’t finish her sentence, immediately changing the subject, "How’s the child matter going?"

Xu He forced herself to calm down, knowing that Duan Fenghua had misunderstood and didn’t elaborate further.

But when it came to the topic of children, she sighed and said, "Let’s see how it goes; these things are a matter of fate. Who knows, I might get pregnant any day now."

Duan Fenghua knew somewhat about Luo Zhiming’s infertility, but because Xu He had plans in mind, she told Duan Fenghua that Luo Zhiming just wasn’t as likely to conceive as other men, but it didn’t mean he absolutely couldn’t have children. Therefore, Duan Fenghua wasn’t too worried.

Nevertheless, since Luo Zhiming had some issues, seeing her own daughter, Duan Fenghua couldn’t help but complain, "Ah, my girl, you’ve really suffered. With your qualifications, you could have found a good match in the city, yet you married someone like Luo Zhiming, it’s really..."

"What’s really?" Before she could finish, Mr. Xu came in from outside. He frowned at the two of them and sternly lectured Xu He, "It was her own mistake to begin with. If she hadn’t gotten involved with Luo Zhiming, would all this have happened? Now that she’s married, no matter what happens to the Luo Family, she has to bear it. That’s the responsibility of being a daughter-in-law."

Mr. Xu wasn’t particularly gracious, but he was traditional. He believed that since Xu He had married Luo Zhiming, she had to live a good life forever; there could be no talk of divorce.

Thus, whenever Xu He and Duan Fenghua talked about these issues and he overheard, he would scold them.

Duan Fenghua was somewhat afraid of Mr. Xu and didn’t dare to say more. She gave Mr. Xu a stealthy look and then told Xu He, "Ah, let’s drop it, what would you like to eat tonight, Hehua? I’ll cook for you. You surely haven’t had much good food at the Luo Family, right?"

After everything that had happened today, Xu He had no appetite. She casually shook her head, "Mom, just prepare something simple; it’s getting late, and I won’t be able to eat much."

The next day, Xu He stayed at home without going out, considering Shuanzi’s words from last night, telling her to come regularly every day, otherwise, he would spread her story.

Xu He hesitated whether to go or not, but did not go in the end that evening.

She did not believe that man would dare to spread the news. After all, it was he who forced himself upon her; if the news got out, he would also be in trouble.

Xu He did not go that night, and the next day, she heard no rumor in the village, so she felt slightly relieved. However, fearing encountering those people, she dared not go out in the next few days.

In the following days, Xu He indeed did not return to the Luo Family.

Luo Zhiming did come over to see her, wanting to take Xu He back, but Xu He pretended to still be angry about the quarrel from the day before and sent Luo Zhiming away.

In truth, she feared that once back at the Luo Family, Luo Zhiming would cling to her, and the truth would inevitably come out.

Although this incident occurred because of Luo Zhiming, if he and Zhou Yunmei found out, they would certainly look down on her, and she would never be able to speak her mind in the Luo Family again.

The matter of collecting debts was also temporarily settled this way.

In the provincial city, Fang Pingying, now without a marriage, devoted her time to her career and her two children.

She took on the renovation of the shop without hesitation, renting the space next to Uncle Zeng’s and breaking through to expand, redecorating, and planning to make it a larger-scale shop similar to the previous upscale cake shop. She wanted it to be pleasing to her own eyes as well as impressive to customers.

On this day, while the shop was being renovated, Fang Pingying was overseeing the work when she noticed an elderly woman looking around curiously at the entrance. Fang Pingying looked closely and recognized her—it was Zhou Guangsheng’s mother, who had caused a commotion here not long ago.

She originally did not want to deal with her, but out of regard for Zhou Guangsheng and considering the ongoing renovations, Fang Pingying had Yu’er watch the shop while she went out to address the elderly woman, "Old lady, what are you looking at here?"

Upon seeing Fang Pingying, the elderly woman looked somewhat embarrassed and responded hesitantly, "No... nothing in particular, just strolling."

Fang Pingying knew that the elderly woman was temporarily staying at Zhou Guangsheng’s military base, which was quite a distance away. Luo Zhiyong used to ride a bicycle half an hour to get there for work; she could not have just wandered over here unless intentionally.

She smiled and teased the elderly woman, "So you’ve strolled all the way from your son’s military base to our shop?"

"I..." Hearing Fang Pingying’s teasing, the elderly woman became somewhat discontent, staring fiercely at Fang Pingying and said indignantly, "The provincial city isn’t owned by just you, right? What gives you the right to forbid me from coming here?"

Fang Pingying wasn’t about to argue with an old lady over such trifles. She waved her hand at the elderly woman, laughing, "True, the city isn’t just my place, but this shop is mine, and I just wanted to ask what you’re doing here."

The elderly woman, seeing Fang Pingying’s amiable attitude, no longer looked ready to argue. Instead, she peeked inside the shop and then, seemingly in disbelief, asked, "Is this shop really yours?"

Fang Pingying nodded, "Yes, it’s mine."

The elderly woman nodded back and took a look inside.

Merging the two spaces made the shop appear quite large, and she marveled internally, thinking that opening such a shop must cost quite a bit of money.

After looking around, she walked out and then suddenly turned back to Fang Pingying, "Is your younger sister also running a shop like this? Is it her own?"