Jiang Shaozhen quickly finished showering and changed into clean clothes. His hair was still dripping wet, sliding down his neck and into his collar.

Shen Mingzhi was pacing around the yard with Niannian in her arms. The little one was perched on her shoulder, her tiny hands gripping her collar tightly, as if afraid she would leave again.

"Let me hold the baby for a while, you can rest." Jiang Shao Chen walked to her side and reached out to take the child.

Niannian turned her head away and buried her face in Shen Mingzhi's neck, refusing to let go.

"She must miss me so much that she doesn't want to leave my arms," ​​Shen Mingzhi said softly, gently patting Niannian's back, her tone tender. "Thank you all for your hard work these past few days."

Jiang Shaozhen withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on her thin profile. "How are things going at the factory?"

"Yes, the new product has already gone into production," Shen Mingzhi replied briefly, not wanting to talk more about work.

There was silence between them for a moment. The night breeze rustled through the sycamore trees in the courtyard.

"Come inside, it's starting to get chilly," Jiang Shaozhen said, breaking the silence.

The blissful romance of their marriage was over.

Some of it feels unfamiliar.

This made Jiang Shaozhen feel extremely depressed.

He had finally managed to win her affections, but now everything was back to square one.

Shen Mingzhi carried the child into the house. Jiang Shaozhen carried Zhouzhou and followed behind her.

Inside the main room, Jiang Qing was making dumplings.

Since returning, Shen Mingzhi has not entered the house.

Jiang Qing certainly harbored resentment towards her, but he kept it to himself, though his expression was cold and he was no longer as warm as before.

"A lot of dumplings have already been made. Shao Chen put Zhouzhou in the stroller and took the dumplings to the kitchen." Jiang Qing's tone was neither warm nor cold.

“Okay,” Jiang Shaozhen replied immediately.

Shen Mingzhi sat down, holding Niannian in her arms.

As soon as Jiang Shaochen entered the kitchen, the atmosphere in the main room became particularly awkward.

Jiang Qing wrapped a few dumplings, put them down, and then turned and left the main room.

Shen Mingzhi knew that Jiang Qing was still angry about what happened before, but she was too lazy to talk to her now. Besides, she didn't need to please Jiang Qing.

She looked down at Niannian in her arms. The little one was already drowsy, her long eyelashes casting a shadow under the light.

A short while later, Jiang Shaochen returned from the kitchen.

"Has she been sleeping poorly lately?" Shen Mingzhi asked him.

While feeding Zhouzhou, Jiang Shaozhen replied, "She's always restless at night. When you're not around, she doesn't sleep at all, just cries. Of course she can't sleep well."

Shen Mingzhi felt a pang of pain in her heart. She gently patted Niannian's back and hummed a lullaby her mother used to use to lull her to sleep when she was little.

Niannian gradually relaxed in her arms, and her breathing became even.

Jiang Shao Chen looked at her gentle profile, his gaze softening. "She hasn't been this quiet in a long time. It was so noisy when you weren't here."

Shen Mingzhi didn't look up, but said softly, "I'll put her to sleep tonight."

At dinner, Jiang Qing's attitude softened somewhat, and she proactively brought Shen Mingzhi a dish of vinegar, saying, "Go to the kitchen and get as much as you want."

"Thank you," Shen Mingzhi said politely.

At the dinner table, Jiang Guofu inquired about the factory's situation, and Shen Mingzhi briefly explained the progress of the new products.

"Has that Singaporean customer placed an order yet?" Jiang Guofu asked.

"The samples have been sent, and we're waiting for a reply," Shen Mingzhi replied.

Jiang Shaozhen suddenly spoke up: "If you need a guarantor, I can help."

With her mouth full of dumplings, Shen Mingzhi mumbled, "No need, Director Sun has already contacted the bank."

Jiang Qing glanced at her son and felt that he was truly a disappointment.

I tried to win their favor several times, but they were met with indifference.

She bowed her head today, and she didn't even call me "Mom."

After dinner, Shen Mingzhi took the two children back to their room. She gave Niannian and Zhouzhou a bath, changed them into clean pajamas, and then sat on the bed to tell them stories.

Both children stared at her with wide eyes, their expressions serious even though they couldn't understand what she was saying.

Looking at their adorable faces, Shen Mingzhi couldn't help but lean down and kiss their foreheads. "Mommy will come back to see you often in the future."

The two children couldn't understand, but they still reached out and tugged at her clothes.

As night deepened, the children finally fell asleep. Shen Mingzhi quietly got up, preparing to leave.

Turning around, I saw Jiang Shaozhen standing at the door.

"Going back so late?" he asked in a low voice, his tone tinged with disappointment.

Shen Mingzhi was also upset, but she said coldly, "I have to go to work tomorrow."

Jiang Shao Chen's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the bitter taste in his throat. He said in a low voice, "Then I'll take you."

"No need, it's not far to walk back, let's not go through all that trouble." Shen Mingzhi lowered her voice, afraid of waking the child she had just put to sleep.

Jiang Shaozhen caught up with her, saying, "It's so late, it's not safe."

Shen Mingzhi stopped and turned to look at him. "Jiang Shao Chen, no matter what you do, the problems between us won't disappear, and I will never forgive you."

Even though she is suffering inside, she has no intention of spending her life with a man who has bullied her.

"I know... I'm sorry." Jiang Shao Chen realized that besides apologizing, he couldn't do anything to make her feel better.

...

The moon is especially big and round as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is in mid-October, and shops are now preparing for promotional activities.

Of course, Ang Lee and Shen Xiuzhu also asked her about it recently.

Shen Mingzhi's idea is to promote the foundation produced by Baoli. Although the foundation is not very effective yet, they will gradually improve the technology.

Upon arriving at the factory gate, before Shen Mingzhi got out of the car, Jiang Shaozhen suddenly said, "Zhizhi, whether you believe it or not, I have never regretted marrying you."

Shen Mingzhi's fingers gripped the bag strap tightly. "But I regret marrying you."

After saying that, she walked into the factory area without looking back.

The next morning, Shen Mingzhi took Factory Director Sun to the department store, intending to negotiate a container order for their foundation.

I saw Jiang Huanyu as soon as I arrived at the department store.

Jiang Huanyu still had that arrogant look, wearing a well-pressed suit and shiny leather shoes.

Upon seeing Shen Mingzhi, he first sized her up and down, then sneered, "I wondered who had rejected my cooperation; it turns out it's you again."

He is quite clever.

Shen Mingzhi stepped forward, a smile playing on her lips, "Isn't Boss Jiang a medicine seller?"

"Who says that if you sell medicine, you can't sell other things?" Jiang Huanyu walked up to her, blocking her way, his tone domineering. "You only have this one chance today. If you cooperate with me, I'll sell at least 30,000 yuan worth of goods to your factory every month. Then tell me if you want to cooperate or not."

Director Sun, who was standing to the side, was very excited.

With one more person helping to sell the goods, they can earn a lot more!

“If we don’t cooperate, we can only sell our tinted moisturizer for one yuan and fifty cents a bottle. Boss Jiang definitely won’t be willing to do that. You won’t make any profit at one yuan and fifty cents.” Shen Mingzhi frowned slightly, her smile tinged with helplessness.