When Liu Siyue woke up, her mind was a complete blank.
Su Jing quickly asked her, "Are you hungry? Whatever you want to eat, Mom will have someone make it."
She shook her head; she did not want to eat anything.
She asked Su Jing, "Mom, why am I in the hospital? I... I didn't..."
Seeing her nervous state, Su Jing immediately hugged her.
"It's okay, it's nothing serious, and you didn't do anything to yourself.
"You just fainted from a fever. You might have been too tired, or maybe you caught a cold.
"It's fine. You'll be better after your injection and medicine.
"If you don't want to eat food, how about Mom washes some fruit for you?
"Your oldest brother just had someone drop off some cherries, your favorite."
The cherries were sweet, but Liu Siyue's heart was filled with bitterness.
She didn't dare tell Su Jing that she had been... by Qin Chao...
She wanted to, but Qin Chao had told her that she was already ruined.
Other than Qin Chao, no one would ever want her again.
He said she could never leave him for the rest of her life.
He also had many photos of Liu Siyue.
Liu Siyue was scared, terribly scared.
She was afraid that if she made Qin Chao angry, he would post all those photos on the internet.
Qin Chao had said, "Your Liu family is a prominent one.
"Your Liu Group is a listed company.
"If I send these photos out, how much of an impact do you think it will have on the Liu Group? How much money will you lose?
"Do you think your oldest brother will hate you to death? Will those shareholders let you off the hook?
"So, Siyue, be a good girl and listen to me."
Listen to him.
Liu Siyue curled herself up into a ball.
She stared blankly at the ceiling with hollow eyes.
"Yes, I'll listen, I'll be good.
"I will always listen from now on. I will be the most obedient girlfriend."
Su Jing was terrified. She looked into Liu Siyue's eyes.
"What's wrong? Yueyue, who are you talking to?
"Whose words are you listening to? Whose girlfriend are you?
"Yueyue, Yueyue, look at Mom. Tell Mom, what exactly happened?
"Did something happen last night?"
At the mention of last night, Liu Siyue's eyes flickered, but she immediately denied it.
"No, Mom, nothing happened at all.
"I just caught a cold. Nothing is wrong.
"Don't worry, Mom. I am perfectly fine."
Su Jing knew she was not fine; her condition was not good at all.
But she couldn't press the issue.
After Liu Siyue fell asleep again, she immediately called Liu Renzhi.
"Renzhi, is the psychiatrist you found really reliable?"
Liu Renzhi was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He thought of how Lin Wanyi looked when she was tied to a chair by Liu Dabing.
Liu Siyue must have been in even more pain at that time.
Over a month.
Was it because his return to Wangjia Village had triggered Liu Siyue?
He called Secretary Chen.
"Buy a few small cakes that girls like."
When Secretary Chen was ordering the cakes, Zhou Chenyu saw it.
She gritted her teeth tightly.
"Lin Wanyi, you still want to eat my brother's cakes? What right do you have, you thirty-year-old hag?"
Lin Wanyi sneezed at home. She thought of Liu Siyue, who was still in the hospital.
So she gave Su Jing a call.
Knowing that she had already woken up, she felt a bit more relaxed.
Her leg was almost completely healed.
She turned on her computer, ready to work.
She felt very ashamed.
She had been with the company for so long, but hadn't written a single script.
Taking a salary like this was truly disgraceful.
After sitting there all morning, her script finally made some progress.
In the afternoon, Li Suhua and Lin Jiajun got into the car carrying gifts.
They were formally going to the Chen family to propose marriage.
Before leaving, Li Suhua reminded Lin Wanyi.
"There are chicken wings and ribbonfish in the fridge.
"If I come back late this afternoon, you can cook them for dinner."
Lin Wanyi smiled. "Go with peace of mind, Mom. I'm not a child."
Along the way, Lin Jiajun was very anxious. He had specifically worn a clean casual suit today.
He had also styled his hair, making him look very sharp.
He was still worried.
"Mom, what kind of trouble do you think Huihui's mom is going to stir up this time?"
Li Suhua scolded him.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Discussing marriage means we have to actually discuss it.
"How could it be settled with just one sentence?
"When we get to the Chen family's house later, you talk less and just let me do the talking."
Lin Jiajun agreed. "Alright, I won't embarrass you. I won't embarrass you, okay?"
When they arrived at the Chen family's place, Lin Jiajun had to make several trips to pile all the gifts at the door of Chen Hui's home.
He straightened his clothes, and Li Suhua knocked on the door.
"Huizi, we're here."
No one answered her.
She thought they hadn't heard and knocked again.
"In-law, it's me, Li Suhua."
Still, no one paid her any attention.
Lin Jiajun came over and knocked again, but there was still no response.
"No, Mom, I can hear the TV inside.
"They are home. They must be deliberately not opening the door for us."
Li Suhua patiently continued to knock over and over again.
It wasn't until over ten minutes later that Chen Daqiang reluctantly opened the door with a displeased look on his face.
"Who is it? So impolite. Don't you take a nap at noon?"
Lin Jiajun wanted to say something but was stopped by Li Suhua.
She smiled and said, "Daqiang, I contacted your mom yesterday to say we were coming over today to propose the marriage."
Chen Daqiang looked at the gifts covering the ground outside and finally stepped aside.
Lin Jiajun carried all the gifts inside.
But Tang Guixiang showed no intention of offering Li Suhua a seat.
She glanced at the things on the floor.
"Li Suhua, it's not that I'm being picky. Your Maotai liquor and Chunghwa cigarettes are indeed quite decent.
"But you are missing one thing."
Li Suhua remained standing. Neither haughty nor humble, she asked with a smile,
"Tell me. Whatever is missing, I can make up for it."
Tang Guixiang sat on the sofa, her arms crossed and her legs crossed at the knee.
"You're missing a pair of gold bracelets."
Lin Jiajun couldn't help but speak up.
"I'll take Huihui to pick out the gold herself in a few days. We'll buy whatever she likes."
Tang Guixiang shot him a sideways glance.
"That's what you're giving to Huihui. The pair I'm talking about is for me."
"What?"
Lin Jiajun had never heard of having to give the mother-in-law a pair of gold bracelets when proposing marriage.
"Auntie, where is the logic in that?
"Isn't the gold always for the bride?"
Tang Guixiang stood up from the sofa.
"Why are you interrupting? It's between me and your mom right now.
"Besides, who made the rule that a marriage proposal gift can't include gold bracelets?
"Lin Jiajun, what if I say I absolutely must have a pair of gold bracelets for myself today?
"Are you still going to get married or not?"
Lin Jiajun was furious. He couldn't hold back, but Li Suhua could.
She continued to ask, "Then, apart from a pair of gold bracelets, is there anything else missing?"
"Of course there is."
This time it was Chen Daqiang who spoke. "It's still the same condition. Transfer the ownership of a house to me.
"Otherwise, even if you bring ten gold bracelets, there's no room for negotiation on this matter."
Li Suhua also felt like she had lost all her strength.
She looked around but didn't see Chen Hui anywhere.
Just as she was about to ask, she heard Chen Hui shouting from inside a room.
"Jiajun, take Auntie and go.
"Take the things you bought with you too.
"I'm not getting married anymore. I'm not marrying anyone. I'll just stay at home and be an old maid for the rest of my life.
"Let's see if they are satisfied then."
