Qin Xiaoyu took it, and in a very conspicuous place was an engagement notice written by Zhang Dahai. She had never heard of the woman's name before.

"The woman comes from a prominent family, but she's low-key. I've met the child; Mu Nuo isn't very bright or pretty. She's just honest, that's all. Now Zhu Yu can rest assured," Madam Fang sighed.

"Zhu Yu really wanted the rumors to die down on their own, so she quickly used an engagement to shut people up." Qin Xiaoyu understood.

She folded the newspaper a few times and held it in her hand.

Mo Ming felt sorry for Qin Xiaoye. Qin Xiaoye was responsible for the whole thing, but Zhang Dahai had completely shirked his responsibility, leaving her to bear all the consequences alone.

The atmosphere at the table was still harmonious. Qin Xiaoyu had a great appetite, but A Lei kept a close eye on her and wouldn't let her eat too much. The two of them bickered the whole time.

Although Qin Xiaoye is the main character, she has always been taciturn and seems unable to fit in. Zhou Xing's mother tried to strike up a conversation twice, but was rebuffed both times.

After dinner, Qin Xiaoyu took the opportunity of escorting Madam Fang home and went out with A Lei.

While Mrs. Fang and A Lei were chatting downstairs, Qin Xiaoyu entered Qin Xiaoye's room.

"Xiao Ye, don't always be so downcast, it scares me to see you like this."

"What are you afraid of? This is fate. This is my destiny, so I accept it." Qin Xiaoye gave a bitter smile.

"You two aren't in contact anymore, are you?" This was what Qin Xiaoyu feared most. If Zhang Dahai continued to contact Qin Xiaoye, he would be a complete scumbag.

"It would be good if he had the guts." Qin Xiaoye shook her head.

"It's over, there are plenty of good men out there. Look at all the women in this family, aren't they all happy? It's okay, you'll meet the right person for you," Qin Xiaoyu comforted her.

“Other people’s happiness is a given. Fengqin and Zhou Yue are both girls from good families, so it’s normal for them to be loved. You’ve come to the Fang family. If you were in another family, they probably wouldn’t accept you either. Could you handle those two making a scene?” Qin Xiaoye’s words left Qin Xiaoyu speechless. It was really true.

When it comes to finding a wife, as long as the groom's family puts in the effort, they'll be picky about the woman's background, naturally wanting someone from a clean family. It's true that the Qin family's stain won't be easy to erase; everyone fears that a philandering father will have a philandering daughter. A mother who became a mistress will have a daughter who aspires to be a mistress herself.

I feel the same way, so I can't blame others; it's just that they weren't born into the right family.

It was past eight o'clock when they came out of Madam Fang's house. The streets were still bustling with people. The two of them walked slowly back hand in hand. When Qin Xiaoyu turned around sharply and looked at A Lei, she felt that the two of them were going to spend their lives like this, and suddenly felt very happy.

“I know what you’re thinking, silly.” Are put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her hair.

Don't you want to give your child a nickname?

"Let the older brother and sister do this." A Lei always put Hanhan and his little sister first. Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but admire him; this stepfather really did a great job.

If it weren't for A Lei's attentiveness, this careless mother would have caused her children so much harm. Not only was she grateful to have A Lei, but the children were also grateful to have him.

Qin Xiaoye was a quick learner and a diligent student, and soon she had mastered Ye Qiu's entire project. Qin Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and focused on her pregnancy.

No matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight; my belly is still just a small bulge.

"Is the child too young?" Zhou Xing's mother worried again.

"No, it's easier to give birth when the baby is small." A Lei wasn't worried at all and comforted Zhou Xing's mother with a smile, "Once the baby is born, the rest is my responsibility. I'll feed the baby however many pounds you want."

"Oh my, Xiaoyu is so lucky." What more could Zhou Xing's mother possibly want?

"Dad." The little sister ran over, called out to A Lei seriously, and handed him the paper in her hand, "This is the name my brother and I came up with for the little guy, is it okay?"

"Let me see, Jiajia?" A Lei made an exaggerated expression. "She's so cute, your mom will definitely love her!"

"He's going to join us, so we'll call him Jiajia!" the little girl smiled sweetly. Now she was already looking forward to the little guy.

Although Qin Xiaoyu's figure remained the same, her daily routine had completely changed.

After lunch that day, she felt sleepy again and went back to her room. After sleeping for a while, her stomach felt bloated and she felt uncomfortable, so she got up again.

She reached out and touched the empty space beside her, feeling a pang of unease. She'd grown accustomed to A-Lei's constant presence, and this brief separation left her feeling wronged.

She got up and opened the door, only to find A Lei and Zhou Xing's mother whispering to each other at the bottom of the stairs.

"We can't let Xiaoyu know; we must keep it a secret."

“Okay, I’ll tell her cousin-in-law that we’ll let them make a scene over there and we won’t interfere.”

"Mom, you must have given her a proper warning. Xiaoyu has a quick temper, and if she hears about this, she'll want to go back to the Northeast, especially since she's pregnant..."

A Lei stopped, and Qin Xiaoyu had already walked over.

It turns out there's been some trouble back in my hometown.

She immediately called her cousin-in-law.

“I heard it from the rumors too. At first, I tried to explain it to you, but then I couldn’t explain it anymore. Your father said you’ve made a lot of money in Shanghai, which is fine. But he also said your second daughter married the mayor’s son, and he described it in great detail, even mentioning drinking with the mayor’s in-laws…”

"Did he say that?" Qin Xiaoyu felt a surge of emotion in her chest and almost vomited.

"Anyway, it's all hearsay, and that's how it got to my ears. I don't even know how much he actually said," my cousin-in-law sighed.

Qin Xiaoyu guessed that her father must have gone home and boasted, without mentioning that he had ruined Qin Xiaoye's engagement, only tacitly acknowledging that it was true. He probably did say some things, but with the gossipmonger's embellishment, the current plot unfolded, but all of this was still far from certain.

A Lei and Zhou Xing's mother stood on either side of her, watching the expression on her face, afraid that she would get angry.

"Please help me dispel this rumor; it's completely unfounded," Qin Xiaoyu sighed heavily.

“If it were just this, I wouldn’t care. People can talk all they want. But somehow everyone’s saying he can help people get Shanghai residency permits. Someone in our shop even said they wanted to get one and sent him two bottles of Moutai.” My cousin-in-law had no choice but to tell him everything.

"He's accepting things? These aren't cheap at all! What's he trying to do? Is he committing fraud?" Qin Xiaoyu was furious; this was truly outrageous.

"Little Fish, don't be angry, taking care of your pregnancy is the most important thing." My cousin's wife was terrified and kept comforting me.

"Don't be angry, I'll talk to you." A Lei tried to grab the phone, but Qin Xiaoyu glared at him, and he sat back down.

"Sister-in-law, is there anything else? Please tell me all at once."

“I heard that he accepted gifts, and some people even slipped money into the gifts, but I haven’t seen it myself so I don’t know. Anyway, those two bottles of Moutai were definitely given away; I saw it with my own eyes.”

"I understand." Qin Xiaoyu hung up the phone and sat there for a long time, trying to calm herself down.

Qin Xiaoyu has always been intolerant of any wrongdoing, and this time she's hit her weak spot. If she weren't pregnant, she would have flown back immediately to settle this matter.