Chapter 142 Resilience

As soon as she entered the house, the strained sound of a radio playing opera coming from the living room made her frown.

Lu Linlang was lounging leisurely on the sofa, cracking sunflower seeds in her hand. When she saw her come in, she lazily lifted her eyelids.

Zhou Anping ignored her and went straight into the kitchen.

The mother, Song Lanxin, was busy at the stove when she heard the noise and glanced back at her.

"Where did you rush off to this afternoon with such a big bag? I didn't see you when I woke up from my nap."

Zhou Anping picked up a clove of garlic and peeled it, then asked, "Mom, how did you know I took something out? Weren't you asleep then?"

She immediately realized something, and her tone turned angry, "Did Lu Linlang tell you? How come she's so idle? She's always watching and tattling on everything!"

Song Lanxin poured out the rice water, her voice deepening, "How can you talk like that? No respect for elders, call me sister-in-law. Tell me first, where did you go? Linlang said you went to the Gu family? Rushing off to show off your treasure?"

Zhou Anping hated his mother's tone the most, as if she did everything with a purpose.

She threw the garlic she was holding onto the cutting board, not wanting to answer, and turned to leave.

From the living room came Lu Linlang's loud voice: "Anping went to the Gu family to see her good friend Nan Zhiyi, didn't she? She's really something now. Born a rich girl, she married Commander Gu right away, and now she's pregnant with his precious child. Anping really needs to go and curry favor with her..."

Lu Linlang's words were both harsh and provocative.

She had heard the news that Gu Xiao had sent her back to Jian'an to rest and prepare for childbirth not long after Nan Zhiyi left the family compound.

At that moment, she almost gritted her teeth to pieces.

She married Zhou Zhengping, who was as cold as ice to her.

Gu Xiao, whom she longed for but could not have, cherished Nan Zhiyi like a precious jewel, even arranging her pregnancy with great care.

What terrified her even more was that Zhao Yaqin had discovered something, and shortly after Xu Nannan was dismissed... the military hospital transferred her from the prestigious surgery department to the neglected records management office.

She dared not tell the Zhou family or her own family the real reason, and only lied to the outside world that she was unwell and needed to recuperate.

So she used some tricks, even going to great lengths... Luckily, she succeeded on her first try.

Even if Zhou Zhengping disliked her even more afterward, she now had a shield.

At this moment, she deliberately exposed Nan Zhiyi's matter to make things difficult for Song Lanxin and Zhou Anping.

Sure enough, Song Lanxin, who was in the kitchen, heard Lu Linlang's words clearly and dropped the aluminum basin in her hand into the sink with a "clatter".

"What did she say?! Zhiyi...she married Gu Xiao and is pregnant? You knew all along? Why didn't you tell me?! You kept it from me?!"

Song Lanxin found it hard to accept that Nan Zhiyi had actually married Su Wanru's son, Gu Xiao. What did this capitalist brat have that made him worthy of the marriage?

The fact that her own children had kept it from her for Nan Zhiyi's sake made her even angrier.

Zhou Anping glared fiercely in the direction of the living room, wishing he could go up and tear Lu Linlang's mouth apart.

But she knew this wasn't the time to argue with Lu Linlang. She suppressed her anger, grabbed her mother's arm, and dragged her to the back of the kitchen, making sure the living room couldn't hear them.

"Mom! Keep your voice down! Don't let outsiders laugh at us!"

Zhou Anping lowered his voice and quickly explained, "Zhiyi did marry Fifth Brother, but the Gu family didn't announce it. There was no wedding ceremony; they just registered their marriage. Uncle Gu and Fifth Brother both wanted to keep it low-key, so we didn't tell anyone. Zhiyi is heavily pregnant now, and since Fifth Brother is on a mission, Uncle Gu had him bring her back to rest and recuperate. You just need to know this; please don't go around telling everyone, or it won't look good for the Gu family. You know Fifth Brother's temper..."

She half-jokingly attributed the reason to the Gu family's low profile and Gu Xiao's position, and hinted at the consequences of offending the Gu family, hoping to make her mother more cautious.

Sure enough, the shock on Song Lanxin's face gradually faded.

She opened her mouth, her eyes shifting uncertainly, and murmured, "...She really is...lucky..."

Zhou Anping felt a mix of emotions. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then a wave of indescribable sorrow washed over him.

She noticed the new gray hairs at her mother's temples.

My mother has always loved beauty and cared about appearances. In the past, when we had maids at home, she never needed to cook and do so many trivial housework herself.

Especially during the time her mother spent with her brother, taking care of the spoiled and difficult Lu Linlang, she visibly aged and became much more haggard.

I don't know how hard my brother and Lu Linlang have worked for our mother; they must have caused her a lot of distress and hardship.

But she hadn't had a chance to express her heartache.

The next second, Song Lanxin vented all her frustration on the pots and pans, smashing and throwing them around: "Look at you, running around all day long! You don't care about your own affairs at all! What's wrong with that Battalion Commander Chen's family background and appearance? Why can't you see him again? What kind of person are you looking for? Don't be so picky! A girl's youth only lasts a few years, you can't afford to waste it!"

As Zhou Anping listened to this familiar murmur, the bitterness in his heart turned into a helpless sigh.

"Mom, don't worry about me. I... have a boyfriend."

"What?" Song Lanxin turned her head abruptly, astonished. "Really?! Whose child is it? How old is he? Which organization does he work for? What is his position?"

A series of questions were eagerly thrown out.

Zhou Anping squeezed his mother's hand tightly and said urgently, "Mom! Keep your voice down! Don't shout! I don't want... I don't want that person outside to hear!"

She didn't even want to mention Lu Linlang's name.

Song Lanxin was in the midst of her excitement and didn't take it seriously: "So what if I heard? She's your sister-in-law, not an outsider! Would she tell anyone?"

She thought her daughter was making a fuss over nothing.

Zhou Anping, unusually assertive in front of his mother, loosened his grip: "If you don't want to hear it, then forget it. Just pretend I didn't say anything."

She made a move to turn around and leave the kitchen.

Song Lanxin was taken aback by her daughter's sudden tough attitude and glared at her angrily.

She carefully examined Zhou Anping and felt that her daughter seemed a little different. Although she had a temper in the past, she rarely dared to directly contradict her, especially on important matters such as marriage.

She was both anxious and curious, and finally gave in: "Okay, okay, I'll keep my voice down! Tell me, who is it?"

Zhou Anping refused to budge: "I won't tell you now. I'll go to your room tonight before we go to bed and talk to you in detail. I'm afraid the walls might have ears, so I don't want her to hear a single word."

Seeing her daughter's overly guarded expression, Song Lanxin said, "Alright, alright, I know! All this secrecy!"

She picked up the spatula again, but her mind was clearly no longer on cooking, and her eyes kept drifting towards her daughter.

Looking at his mother, Zhou Anping felt a little relieved.