"Mom, it's my fault. I've not only dragged you and Dad into this, but I've also made Tingting suffer so much."

Hua Ling turned her back to her and sighed heavily after a long while: "Your father and I are fine, we've been through so many years, it's just that Tingting... Ye Maojin is a scoundrel, but Tingting is innocent."

“I know.” Song Xia’s voice was full of guilt. “I didn’t understand before, but now I know who I should really care about.”

Hua Ling turned around and stared at her again, her eyes wide: "Tell me honestly, what exactly happened to you at the Qin family? Did Sun Xiurong bully you again? I've said before that being a stepmother isn't easy. Qin Jiawei is unruly, and now that Qin Zhenwu is gone, why should you, his stepmother, take care of him? His biological mother and grandmother are still around."

"Mom, it's really nothing. I'll handle things with the Qin family. Once I'm done, I'll move back in with you. You're right, Qin Jiawei really shouldn't be my responsibility."

"It would be best if you could come to this conclusion. Qin Zhenwu is gone, so we don't need the Qin family's things anymore. Explain things to them and move them back as soon as possible."

Song Xia snorted coldly: "I am Qin Zhenwu's legal spouse with whom he has a marriage certificate. I have served the Qin family for so many years, it is impossible for me not to take a penny. What is rightfully mine must be mine."

"Why bother fighting for these things? The Qin family won't give them to you easily. Losing some money is fine, getting rid of this trouble as soon as possible is the right thing to do."

“Mom, I know you’re worried I’ll cause trouble, but all my salary over the years has gone to the Qin family. I’m not willing to let it go without getting it back. Besides, wouldn’t it be letting them benefit if I didn’t take it? I also need this money to tide me over for now.”

"We can always earn more money. Your dad and I have saved some too..."

"Mom." Song Xia held her mother's hand. "I can't be a burden to you and Dad anymore. Believe me, after this period, I will definitely pull myself together and give you, Dad, and Tingting a better life."

"Just don't get married so easily again. It's not that I don't want you to pursue happiness, but don't rush into it like your previous two marriages." Hua Ling sighed. "Your father and I are doing fine. It's just that Tingting, no matter how well-behaved and obedient she is, still misses you, her mother."

"I know. Do you think the clothes and shoes I bought for Tingting this time fit her size? And a backpack, I bought it according to current trends, I don't know if she'll like it. It's okay if she doesn't, I'll give her something better when I earn more money."

Hua Ling's eyes reddened as she looked at these things. It seemed that her daughter really knew how to love her granddaughter. As long as the family was harmonious, what obstacle couldn't they overcome?

"Everything is fine, Tingting wears everything."

Song Xia felt a pang of sadness. Nowadays, children start comparing themselves to others as early as kindergarten. Tingting is only a year younger than Qin Jiawei, yet Qin Jiawei only wears brand-name shoes and clothes, while Tingting isn't picky at all. Why isn't she picky? Isn't it because she doesn't have the means to be picky? Isn't it because she knows that no one loves her except her grandparents?

Thinking about it, I realize how terrible I am. I've been so good to an ungrateful wretch, yet I've completely neglected my own daughter.

"Mom, there are still some clothes and shoes here. Dad should be able to wear them." Song Xia was now glad that Qin Jiawei was tall, so her dad could wear all the clothes and pants he was wearing. As for the shoes, they were a size too big, so he could just wear insoles.

"What are these?"

“I bought it for Qin Jiawei before, but I don’t want him to wear it now.”

Judging from the expensive fabric, Hua Ling glared at her daughter, Tingting, who had never worn anything this nice.

"The style is a bit too youthful. You can wear it for now while you're working. I'll change it for you when I have more money, or you can give it to someone else."

“Why can’t you wear it? Your dad doesn’t care about these things.” Hua Ling carefully put it away, which made Song Xia feel a pang of sadness again.

"Mom, since there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Aren't you going to wait for Tingting to come back? Aren't you going to have dinner?"

"No, I haven't figured out how to apologize to Tingting or how to improve our relationship. Let me settle things with the Qin family first."

“Tell me nicely, Tingting will understand.”

"Let's wait until next time."

She insisted on leaving, and Hua Ling couldn't stop her: "If the Qin family causes trouble, just call Mom, and Mom will ask your dad to back you up."

Song Xia nodded, but thinking that her father was no longer young, she decided that no matter what happened, she would not tell her family.

Moreover, she didn't think the Qin family could outdo her in causing trouble. Sun Xiurong loved to talk nonsense, so she would expose all the Qin family's schemes and scandals. What she had done in the past might have seemed a bit foolish, but the Qin family was definitely bullying her. In any case, she would never lose face as much as the Qin family.

She was determined to get her money back; she couldn't let them get away with it!

If they don't give it to her, she'll sue them. She's Qin Zhenwu's legal spouse, and even if Qin Zhenwu's compensation is to be divided between Qin Jiawei and Sun Xiurong, she'll at least get a third of it.

She took the subway home, guessing that Qin Jiawei hadn't gotten any money from her today and must have gone to complain to Sun Xiurong. Maybe Sun Xiurong and her daughter Qin Yuping were waiting for her in that old house right now!

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the old residential area, Aunt Zhou pulled them aside.

"Your mother-in-law and your sister-in-law have come over."

"Oh, my sister-in-law probably brought my mother-in-law back, right? But wasn't she supposed to stay for half a month? It's only been three days, why is she back already?"

Aunt Zhou looked at him with exasperation: "You've been married into his family for so long, how come you still don't understand? Qin Yuping came back with your mother-in-law to stand up for Qin Jiawei. Didn't you go to the company today?"

"Aunt Zhou, how did you know? Qin Jiawei didn't go to school, so I took leave from work and searched all over the nearby internet cafes, video game arcades and shopping malls, but unfortunately I still couldn't find Jiawei. I came back to see if Jiawei had come home yet."

"You're going to skip work to go see him? Qin Jiawei went to Qin Yuping's house."

"It's good that he's alright." Song Xia looked relieved, which made Aunt Zhou even angrier.

"They came back to avenge Qin Jiawei. You didn't go to the company, so you don't know. From what they said, they even went to your workplace to look for you. They made a scene there, and your boss didn't call you?"

Song Xia took out her phone and saw that it was turned off: "I was in such a hurry to find Jiawei that I forgot to charge it."

"You silly child, you'll be bullied to death by them sooner or later without even knowing it. They're upstairs right now waiting for you to come back and confront them!"

“I didn’t do anything wrong, why are they blaming me? It’s clearly Jiawei who’s trying to scam money at such a young age.” Song Xia bit her lip, her face and tone almost in tears. “Why are they always like this? Haven’t I been good enough to Jiawei? They treat my own daughter better than they treat Jiawei.”

"You have a daughter of your own!" Aunt Zhou exclaimed in surprise, looking at Song Xia as if she were a fool.