Aunt Ling paused for a moment, then subtly fell two steps behind, walking alongside Ying Rongrong.
Ying Rongrong gave her a strange look.
"I have a question for you, in-law," Aunt Ling whispered to Ying Rongrong.
"What's the matter?" Ying Rongrong asked.
"They," Aunt Ling gestured towards Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, who were walking ahead, "have a child?"
"You heard it too?" Ying Rongrong glanced at Aunt Ling. "It's alright, we only found out recently."
Aunt Ling was extremely anxious for them: "Such a big thing, why didn't you stop them?"
Ying Rongrong couldn't help but roll her eyes at her: "Whatever the old man wants to do, how can we, the younger generation, stop him? Do you dare to stop your old man?"
Aunt Ling fell silent, thinking of the old man in her family who always looked at people with a gloomy expression. If it were their family, no one would dare to provoke that man.
Aunt Ling looked at Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng's figures ahead and bit her lip lightly, feeling a headache coming on. Having a child was troublesome; it was harder to steal someone away from her. However, it wasn't entirely impossible. That woman was almost thirty and didn't know how to dress herself up; she would soon be old and faded. How could she compare to her Xiaoxue, who was young and beautiful?
By now, Ying Rongrong could easily see through Aunt Ling's little scheme and had already foreseen the final outcome: a complete disaster. In the end, the one who would suffer the most would be their Ling Shuang. No matter what, they were in-laws. No matter how bad their relationship was, blood ties could not be severed. Knowing that her maternal aunt and cousin had done such things behind her back, she would probably never have the face to see the old man again.
For Ling Shuang's sake, Ying Rongrong still tried to warn Aunt Ling: "Stop having such crooked thoughts. It won't work out. Don't make a mess of things and end up not even being relatives anymore."
Aunt Ling was still unconvinced: "How is our Xiaoxue any worse than her? Why can't she be successful? You've lived a life of luxury your whole life, how could you understand the hardships of us poor people?"
Their family used to be wealthy. Back then, they accumulated their fortune through the black market run by the old man. While others were so poor they were eating dirt, they lived a life of luxury. Many people envied and were jealous of her for marrying into such a good family.
As a result, while other families prospered, theirs declined. Although even a broken boat has some nails, preventing them from falling into poverty, seeing those who were once worse off than them become successful was more painful than killing her.
It wasn't until Ling Shuang married Gao Han that they slowly regained their power thanks to the Gao family. However, they always had to be mindful of Ling Shuang's feelings, which made her aunt, who never took Ling Shuang, the little orphan girl, seriously. But when she met Xing Zhaozhao at the hotel that day, she immediately had an idea.
Rather than relying on Ling Shuang, a niece with whom he has little affection, it's better to rely on Ling Xue, his own daughter. Sacrificing a few years of youth to accompany an old man, and then ensuring a worry-free life for the rest of his days after he kicks the bucket, is an incredibly worthwhile deal.
Seeing that she couldn't reason with her, Ying Rongrong gave up and let her be self-righteous. Did she really think that youth and beauty could win over their old man? Perhaps she should get plastic surgery like him; maybe there would be a sliver of a chance, but it was only a possibility.
Ying Rongrong looked at Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng walking ahead, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. Before, she only thought Gao Hongfei was easily obsessed with that face; the old man had always been clear-headed. She never expected that even the old man had fallen for it this time. Could it be that she really…
Ying Rongrong shuddered, shook her head, and quickly banished the bizarre thought from her mind, muttering to herself, "Impossible, impossible. Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony..."
What are you muttering about? Aunt Ling gave Ying Rongrong a strange look, then ignored her and took two quick steps to stop Ling Xue. The little girl was actually not very happy. Whether her old age would be spent eating coarse food or enjoying a life of luxury depended entirely on her. She had to persuade her properly.
As they walked, they arrived at the bookstore entrance. Aunt Ling, surprised, called out to Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, who were about to go in: "Why are you at the bookstore?"
Xing Zhaozhao turned to look at Aunt Ling: "Of course you should come to the bookstore to buy books, is there a problem?"
"You're here to buy books?" Aunt Ling finally realized.
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
"Then I won't go." Aunt Ling felt a headache coming on whenever she saw books. She glanced at the coffee shop next door and said, "I'll wait for you there."
Seeing Gao Mingcheng's increasingly hostile gaze, Ying Rongrong knew she couldn't continue being the third wheel, so she said, "I'll go with you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Mingcheng's expression improved.
Ling Xue glanced at Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, then at her mother. Before she could say anything, her mother pushed her to stand next to Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng.
"Let Xiaoxue go with you. She can help carry your bags and run errands," Aunt Ling said with a smile.
Gao Mingcheng's expression, which had just improved, instantly darkened.
Ling Xue was terrified. She looked at her aunt with pleading eyes, her voice trembling with tears as she spoke, "Mom..."
Aunt Ling glared at her fiercely: "Hurry up and follow."
Ling Xue pouted helplessly and could only pitifully follow Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng into the bookstore.
Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng ignored her. If she wanted to come along, they would let her. They went shopping on their own. First, they bought Fu Lan the books on fashion that she wanted, mostly fashion magazines. Then they found some books about antiques that Xing Zhaozhao had been wanting. When they passed by the children's section, they also picked out some picture books and storybooks for the three little ones.
After browsing around, Gao Mingcheng found a lot of books, and the prices were quite reasonable. When it came time to pay, the total came to several thousand yuan. Gao Mingcheng wanted to pay, but Xing Zhaozhao stopped him. She had money and wanted to spend it herself. However, when she took out her phone, she accidentally pulled the black card that Gao Hongfei had given her out of her pocket and dropped it on the ground.
Ling Xue followed behind. At first, she was a little scared, but when she saw that they ignored her, she felt at ease and continued to follow leisurely.
Seeing that something had fallen out of Xing Zhaozhao's pocket, she immediately helped pick it up and handed it over, saying, "You dropped your card."
"Thank you." Xing Zhaozhao reached out and took it.
Ling Xue stared wide-eyed at the card when she saw its appearance, and suddenly refused to let go.
“This card is…” She suddenly looked up at Xing Zhaozhao.
In a contest of strength, Xing Zhaozhao was never one to lose, and she simply pulled him over by force: "It was a gift from my son..."
It's obvious who the son who can afford to support Black Card is.
Ling Xue stared intently at Gao Mingcheng. She also wanted to be able to support her son who had a black card.
Gao Mingcheng: "..."
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