There were several faint hickeys on my neck, throbbing slightly, a reminder of what had just happened.

My legs were shaking when I walked, and I swayed with every step.

She managed to stand up with the help of the wall, her face still flushed.

I must never tease this guy again; the consequences are too terrible.

It's even worse than being struck by lightning!

I should never have made that joke; I only have myself to blame...

When they went downstairs for dinner, Shen Zhiyu had to support her the whole way.

He, on the other hand, was full of energy, with a satisfied smile on his face.

He held her elbow firmly with one hand, and with the other hand he considerately brushed away her loose hair.

The more gentle and considerate he was, the more ashamed and indignant Su Qingzhi felt.

She kept her head down, afraid to look at anyone, lest her family notice something amiss.

Su Qingzhi's face turned bright red, after all, the whole family was watching.

Everyone remained silent until Li Haitang finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"Comrade Su Qingzhi, what's wrong?"

When Shen Zhiyu supported Su Qingzhi's arm, she was completely stunned.

In the instant she hesitated, Li Haitang had already walked up to her, staring intently at her.

At that moment, she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

It was Shen Zhiyu who spoke first to help her out of the predicament.

"Niannian is a little tired and not feeling well."

He spoke of it casually, but he knew perfectly well what was going on in his heart.

He really lost control today.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yongmei immediately stood up.

"Niannian, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the hospital?"

Su Qingzhi glared at Shen Zhiyu, her eyes clearly saying, "It's all your fault!"

Then, forcing himself to wave, he waved to Jiang Yongmei.

"Mom, it's really nothing. I just didn't sleep well last night and feel a little weak."

Jiang Yongmei took her hand and examined her closely.

Noticing that her fingertips were slightly cold and her complexion wasn't very good, she turned her head and muttered a few words of complaint to Shen Zhiyu.

"I told you to take good care of my daughter-in-law, and this is how you take care of her? She's such a delicate girl, don't you know how to cherish her?"

Although it was a reprimand, the tone was gentle.

He really went a bit too far today.

A pang of guilt flashed through his mind, and he secretly vowed to be more restrained next time.

After everyone sat down to eat, Su Qingzhi noticed that Shen Zhiheng hadn't returned. She knew he was probably hiding from Li Haitang.

This brother-in-law has been causing trouble ever since he was set up on a blind date.

In particular, the matchmaker has come to propose a new marriage in the last two days.

He was probably afraid of being dragged to another meeting, so he simply made an excuse to slip away and avoid the limelight.

Su Qingzhi lowered her head, picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, and couldn't help but smile.

When Grandma Shen saw Su Qingzhi, she snorted softly.

Su Qingzhi was too lazy to pay attention to her. She knew in her heart that this old lady had disliked her from the very beginning, and any further explanation would be a waste of breath.

She remained calm and politely nodded to the other elders and relatives at the table.

I greeted them.

Then, she naturally picked up her chopsticks and prepared to eat.

Unexpectedly, Li Haitang suddenly spoke up.

"Sister Su Qingzhi, I heard you're from Jiangcheng?"

Her tone was gentle, with a hint of deliberate intimacy.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a younger sister."

Su Qingzhi replied in a flat tone.

Li Haitang's expression changed immediately.

"What did I do to offend you? Why are you always picking on me? I just wanted to chat with you, to talk... Is that wrong?"

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Yongmei couldn't sit still any longer.

“My daughter Niannian isn’t comfortable getting close to strangers, so don’t play the victim all the time. Just because someone doesn’t like you doesn’t mean you have to fawn over them. If they don’t want to talk to you, why do you have to keep trying to be nice to them? Is that really necessary?”

Su Qingzhi couldn't help but give her mother-in-law a thumbs up in her heart.

But when she glanced at him, she noticed a glint of ruthlessness in Li Haitang's eyes.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately worried about her outspoken mother-in-law, fearing that Li Haitang would retaliate later.

"Mom, I just can't stand her. She keeps coming to talk to me, it's so annoying. Please don't stick your neck out for me, I can handle it myself."

On the surface, she said this because she thought her mother-in-law was meddling, but in reality, she wanted to protect her mother-in-law from potential trouble.

Upon hearing this, Li Haitang's gaze immediately fell upon Su Qingzhi's face.

"What did I do wrong? Why do you hate me? I didn't steal your man or touch your assets, so why are you targeting me at every turn?"

"You're not a Renminbi, how can you expect everyone to like you? Some people love money, some people are afraid of money, but no one says that you have to please everyone."

Anyone else would have blushed by now, but Li Haitang wasn't embarrassed at all.

He turned to look at the old lady sitting in the main seat.

"Grandma, don't you like me either? I've always treated you like family and always thought of your family... so why do you have a problem with me?"

The old lady immediately chimed in.

"I like you so much! Don't listen to those people's nonsense!"

“You’re the most sensible child. Unlike some people who have been married into the family for years and still don’t know how to respect their elders. They don’t care about us old folks at all!”

"Old woman, what nonsense are you spouting!"

The old man had remained calm and unmoved, seeing that Su Qingzhi hadn't suffered any loss.

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and slammed his hand on the corner of the table, splashing tea everywhere.

"Who gave you the right to talk nonsense here? Niannian is our Shen family's lawfully wedded granddaughter-in-law. You say she doesn't understand filial piety, where's your evidence?"

His shout was so loud it stunned everyone in the room.

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