Chapter 22 How could you even go to the wrong room...?
Dinner was prepared in abundance. Madam Shen cooked a table full of her daughter's favorite dishes. After all, Shen Rong was not the original owner of this body, and their eating habits were different.
Fortunately, she is pregnant now, so even if her tastes are different, the Shen family won't find it strange.
The family chatted at the dinner table and talked about Lu Lin's trip to Bincheng after the New Year. Bincheng was too cold, and Madam Shen felt sorry for her daughter, so she suggested that she stay in her hometown to prepare for childbirth.
Actually, she wanted to keep her daughter by her side to take care of her, but she couldn't say it directly.
Lu Lin was somewhat surprised and looked at Shen Rong.
Shen Rong's eyes lit up instantly, and Lu Lin knew something was wrong!
If we don't keep an eye on her, who knows what she might do?
Before she could speak, he replied, "Arong wants to go with us. She said that summers in Bincheng are comfortable, and since she'll be giving birth in the winter, the houses there have heating, making her postpartum period more comfortable. But I'll listen to her."
He even asked her with a hint of a smile, "Do you want to change your mind now?"
The light in Shen Rong's eyes dimmed. Back then, she had given all sorts of outrageous reasons to go to Bincheng with him, but he still wouldn't agree.
Why did you agree to it now?
That Lu Lin, he's so annoying!
If she changes her mind now, he will definitely be angry. After the child is born, he will divorce her. She can no longer stay in the Lu family. Her father will also be angry and will not allow her to return. Wouldn't that mean starting all over again?
She gritted her teeth and forced a bright smile: "Yes, I want to go to Bincheng. I strongly insist on going."
Lu Lin smiled with satisfaction.
Mr. Shen also felt that his daughter was right to stay with the past. As a man, he naturally understood men better. If a wife is not by his side, a man's heart is easily wandering and he is easily seduced by other women.
“Tianming will have to attend to social engagements over there, so it would be good to have Shenrong go with him to take care of him.”
"Take care of him? She's a pregnant woman taking care of him. Dad, don't go too far!" Shen Rong glared at her father, expressing her strong dissatisfaction.
It was getting late, and considering her daughter's poor health, her mother suggested that they rest early.
"I'll take you there." Madam Shen saw them out of the living room.
Shen Rong, who had been on edge all night, could finally relax. She had been tense the whole time during the chat, afraid that they would ask her about the details of the original owner of the body.
Fortunately, aside from discussing the current situation and the economy, everyone reminisced about the past, so she rarely had to interrupt. Occasionally, they would ask about her life in Pingcheng, which was an easy question to answer; she could make up whatever she wanted.
She rubbed her neck and pushed open the door to the room that Madam Shen had just pointed to.
Just as she was about to step inside, Madam Shen asked in confusion, "Rongrong, your room is next door. How come you went to the wrong room?"
Shen Rong's scalp tingled with fear. Shen Jiashi and Lu Lin, who had heard the commotion, rushed over.
Shen Jiashi laughed at her: "I've been wanting to say this for a while now. She's acting strangely today. When she came back, she didn't even remember which way to go home. Now she's even gone to the wrong room. I think she's gone mad."
Shen Rong's heart pounded, and she gripped the door tightly with nervousness.
"Mom, Rong told me on the way that she would stay with you tonight," Lu Lin said, trying to smooth things over. Shen Rong was deeply moved.
Madam Shen gave her son a sharp rap on the head: "Are you stupid? Pregnant women are like that, they easily forget things and can't remember anything. How can you talk about your sister like that?"
Shen Jiashi covered his head, hissing in pain.
He went too far. Wasn't he her biological son, adopted from outside? In his mind, a melodramatic scenario was already playing out, completely unaware of Madam Shen's presence.
Her whole attention was on her daughter, her face full of tenderness. Her daughter was so considerate, unlike her eldest son, who only knew how to say nonsense to annoy her: "Okay, you can sleep with Mom tonight. It's been a long time since we've chatted."
Shen Rong was about to cry. This mother and daughter's chat was bound to drive him crazy. What kind of lame excuse did he come up with?
She kept looking at him, hoping that Lu Lin could receive the distress signal, but he seemed blind and followed Shen Jiashi.
Shen Rong made up her mind to pretend to be asleep as soon as she got into bed; she couldn't very well shake herself awake to chat.
But once she was in bed, listening to Madam Shen's concern for her daughter, she felt too embarrassed to pretend to be asleep. She could tell that Madam Shen missed her daughter very much and was also very worried about her.
She inquired carefully about her daughter's health and asked about her relationship with Kang Wenbai.
"Mom, he's my friend, there's no way I could be with him." No matter who asked, she always gave the same answer, never admitting to anything with Kang Wenbai.
Madam Shen breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that her daughter had been forced to turn back and would cause trouble again later.
"It's good that you've thought it through. The Lu family is the family your father carefully chose for you. They have a good social standing and harmonious family relationships. Lu Lin is a good person too. You should live a good life with him."
Shen Rong nodded and reached out to hug her mother's waist.
Madam Shen sighed, gently stroking her daughter's hair, trying to mend the relationship between father and daughter:
“Your father is stubborn. He said he wanted to cut off all ties with you before, but don’t blame him. He was really heartbroken. Your father-in-law is his friend of many years. The Shen and Lu families are old friends, spanning generations. Just because you two are getting a divorce, and it was you who brought it up, and you were the one who made the mistake first… he feels ashamed to face the Lu family.”
“Your dad is concerned about his image, but he still loves you very much. He told me privately that if you really get divorced, he will prepare a large sum of money for you and have your brother send you to study abroad for a few years. Once things have calmed down here and Lu Lin has remarried and started a family, he will let you come back. By then, no one will remember these things.”
Shen Rong sat bolt upright in shock, her pupils dilating in astonishment: "Mom, are you serious? You're giving me a large sum of money to send me abroad to study?"
Madam Shen was amused by her daughter's shocked expression: "Of course it's true, but don't worry, we will still give you the money."
She thought her daughter regretted missing out on a sum of money.
Shen Rong looked up to the sky and roared, "Mom, why didn't you say so sooner!"
You should have said so earlier! If you had, she wouldn't have had to cling to Lu Lin. She could have gone straight to a peaceful country to study abroad and avoid the impending war.
Shen Rong was on the verge of tears, looking down at her stomach.
My dear mother, because you didn't tell me, I've taken so many detours and lost so much dignity and integrity.
Madam Shen sensed something was amiss. Could there be some hidden story behind this?
"You really want to go abroad?"
Shen Rong nodded without thinking.
Madam Shen became nervous and grabbed her daughter's hand: "Daughter, don't do anything rash. This child is the lifeblood of the Lu family now."
If she's thinking of aborting the child and going abroad, that's absolutely unacceptable.
"Your dad will really cut ties with you then."
Don't even think about getting a single penny.
She knew! Shen Rong took a deep breath. She really wanted to sing a song of a dancer's tears. She understood the helplessness of one wrong step leading to a lifetime of regret.
"Mom, don't worry, this child is my life too." She wouldn't joke about her own life.
She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears, making them exceptionally clear.
"I just want to go shopping abroad. They say things are cheaper and better overseas." She made up an excuse to appease her mother.
Madam Shen chuckled and gently patted her back. This child almost had a heart attack from being scared by her.
"Alright, whatever you want, let your dad pay for it. You don't need to save money."
Shen Rong bit the corner of the blanket and sobbed. It was so close! Thinking about the hardships she had endured and the dramas she had acted in with Lu Lin these past few days, she felt so wronged.
She clearly didn't need to fawn over Lu Lin like that!
***
The next morning, Shen Rong was in poor spirits, and her eyes were still a little swollen.
Father Shen: "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?" She can't stay up late.
Madam Shen gave her husband a cold look: "It's all because of you. You cut her allowance, and she was so upset last night because she was short of money."
Mr. Shen was speechless and got up to leave the table.
Shen Jiashi looked at Lu Lin with dissatisfaction: "You didn't give my sister any money for household expenses."
Lu Lin was embarrassed. He had already handed over his salary, and he didn't know that Shen Rong didn't have enough money.
Shen Rong was engrossed in her own world, eating her meal without noticing Lu Lin's discomfort.
Isn't this also a form of revenge for himself?
"It was my oversight. I'll prepare more next time," Lu Lin said.
Madam Shen glared at her son: "Don't you know how much money your sister has?"
She put on a gentle smile and said to her son-in-law, "Don't spoil her. We're having a baby soon, and the family will need money for everything. You have to manage the money and give it all to her. Don't expect to see a single penny by the end of the year."
Shen's father came out of the study and placed a stack of money in front of Shen Rong.
It's US dollars, no, at this point it should be called...
"US dollars!" Shen Jiashi's eyes turned red with jealousy.
"Take it, buy whatever you want!" Father Shen still had a stern face, but the heartache in his eyes was undeniable.
Is this how you spoil a child? Shen Rong's pupils visibly dilated.
No wonder the original owner spent money like water and never saved any; it was because money came too easily to her.
They were all 100-dollar bills. She counted them; there were thirty of them, totaling three thousand US dollars. She did the mental calculation and felt like she had become a rich woman.
"You don't want to accept it? Let me keep it for you. I have a really good investment project." Shen Jiashi was itching to get involved, and his hand had already started to reach out.
Shen Rong forcefully slapped his hand away and snorted.
She turned around and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Thank you, Daddy." Then she ran over and kissed Madam Chen, "Thank you, Mommy."
"Why are you thanking me for the money your father gave you?" Madam Shen smiled indulgently.
Shen Rong rubbed against her and said, "You should thank me. If Mom hadn't cried poor on my behalf, Dad wouldn't have given me so much."
Even the usually stern face of Mr. Shen showed a hint of a smile.
She drew a card and handed it to Lu Lin, and everyone looked at the two of them strangely.
"Here's some pocket money for you." She stuffed it into one of Lu Lin's pockets.
Turning to his family, he explained, "He gives me all his salary, and I don't even have enough to live on, so I don't leave him any pocket money. Now that I'm better off, I'll give him a little extra."
Lu Lin blushed slightly, and felt a bit embarrassed. He stuffed the money back into her hand: "Really, you don't need it. I have money."
Shen Rong stared at him: "Where do you have any money left?" Did you secretly hide some savings from her?
Shen Jiashi couldn't stand it anymore: "Little sister, do you remember when someone gave you all their savings when you were in trouble?"
Lu Lin doesn't want it, but he does!
Upon hearing this, Shen Rong ran to her bag, pulled out two hundred yuan, and slammed it onto his table with a generous air: "Here you go."
Shen Jiashi pointed to the US dollar in her hand: "I want this."
Dream on! Is she that stupid? One hundred dollars is four hundred yuan!
Mr. Shen felt that his children were somewhat shameful, so he snorted and left.
"Dad." Seeing that he couldn't fool his sister, Shen Jiashi turned his gaze to his father. "Actually, I have a new project. Would you like to consider investing..."
Shen's father's "get out" was loud, and Shen Jiashi was dissatisfied: "You favor girls over boys, then you should cancel my household registration. My sister has already come back."
The ringleaders are all rewarded, so why is he, an innocent bystander, being punished?
Madam Shen looked disgusted and said somewhat awkwardly to her son-in-law, "Tianming, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. They're both a bit dim-witted."
Shen Rong disagreed with this, as she was quite cunning herself, but for the sake of money, she tolerated it.
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's so easy for Shen Rong to make money, but it's so hard for the author to get a favorite (bursts into tears). If you think it's okay, please add it to your favorites! (bows obediently)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
