Madam Du is also a woman.
How could she fail to see through Tang Yinyao's little tricks?
Looking at her foolish son who was still over there defending Tang Yinyao, and then glancing at her daughter-in-law's face full of grievance,
she stepped forward, took Xia Liuyue's hand, and comforted her:
"Good child, you've suffered."
"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"
Xia Liuyue smiled faintly and shook her head, saying, "I didn't want to affect the cooperation between the Du Group and the Xia Group because of my issues with Jiashu."
Madam Du nodded, her voice grave:
"Since we didn't know about this before, it's one thing. But now that we know, we will definitely give you an explanation."
"Wait a moment, I'll go to the study to call Old Du."
Her movements were elegant as she gracefully rose to her feet.
Du Jiashu grew somewhat panicked and couldn't help reaching out to stop her.
"Mom, what explanation? What are you going to do?"
Madam Du frowned and slapped his hand away.
"You wretched boy! Xiaoyue lost a child because of you, that was our Du family's grandchild!"
"You, as the father, don't feel any heartache at all, and you're still protecting Tang Yinyao. Is your heart made of stone?"
Du Jiashu sheepishly withdrew his hand.
He felt guilt, but not much.
He also knew that the loss of the child was related to Tang Yinyao, whether directly or indirectly.
But he didn't want to face this reality.
Madam Du went upstairs and returned not long after. Seeing the two children sitting at opposite ends of the dining table, facing each other from afar, she sighed.
First, she walked to Xia Liuyue's side and said,
"Good child, I've just discussed it with Jiashu's father."
"We will transfer an office building in the east of the city and two villas to your name. Don't rush to refuse, this is from us, your parents-in-law."
Xia Liuyue shook her head with a faint, ambiguous smile. "No need, Auntie. I'm not short of such properties."
The premise of their arranged marriage was that the Xia family's enterprise was on equal footing with the Du Group's. In terms of financial strength, they were no worse off than the Du family.
And as the only daughter of the Xia family, she held considerable assets herself.
A flicker of embarrassment passed over Madam Du's face.
She certainly knew Xia Liuyue wouldn't care for such trifles.
She quickly continued,
"When you married Jiashu, his father gave him five percent of the company shares."
"Let's do this, we'll transfer them all to your name."
Seeing his own interests being touched, Du Jiashu couldn't help but retort,
"Mom? What are you saying? Those are our Du family shares. How can they be handed over to an outsider?"
Xia Liuyue nodded in strong agreement and said,
"Right! Auntie, what Du Jiashu says is correct. I am just an outsider. How could they be given to me?"
Madam Du shot him a sidelong glance and scolded, "Be quiet!" Then she took Xia Liuyue's hand again, speaking gently, "This is the wish of Jiashu's father and me. It's compensation for that child. Please accept it with peace of mind."
Xia Liuyue did not agree immediately.
She glanced at Du Jiashu before slowly saying,
"Auntie, I know you and Uncle mean well. It's just, as you can see the current state of my relationship with Du Jiashu, even if it eases temporarily, it might not be long before we divorce again."
"When that time comes, I won't be the Du family's daughter-in-law anymore. Holding these shares wouldn't be appropriate."
Du Jiashu nodded repeatedly.
Madam Du let out a deep sigh and looked at her foolish son.
Xia Liuyue was just politely declining for show, how could you actually nod in agreement?
This time, we have to give them, whether we want to or not.
We can only be thankful that the Xia family doesn't know about this yet, otherwise the price would be far steeper than this.
Madam Du made the final decision: "Whether you remain our daughter-in-law in the future or not, these five percent shares are compensation for you and the child. Take them with peace of mind."
Only then did the smile on Xia Liuyue's face become much more genuine.
She replied with a smile, "Thank you, Mom."
Hearing her change the form of address, Madam Du finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The three of them finished dinner together. The two women chatted warmly and intimately; an unknowing observer might think they were mother and daughter by blood.
Meanwhile, Du Jiashu, sitting to the side, chewed his food in silence, finding it as tasteless as wax.
He had agreed to the arranged marriage in the first place precisely because he could finally get his own five percent share of the Du Group from under his father's control.
Who would have thought that before they were even warm in his hands, they would float so lightly into Xia Liuyue's possession.
His gaze grew somewhat distant.
He thought to himself: Xia Liuyue is so naive. Even if she has the shares, as long as I bear with it and coax her properly, she might just give them back to me.
Thinking of this, his mood improved considerably.
...
After dinner, Xia Liuyue rode back in Du Jiashu's car to the house they lived in after marriage.
That's right, she didn't want to call it a home.
What meaning did that cold, empty house hold?
Du Jiashu's hands were on the steering wheel, but he couldn't help saying, "Are you finally satisfied now?"
Xia Liuyue knew he was unhappy.
The more uncomfortable Du Jiashu was, the more satisfied she felt.
"Of course! By the way, Mom said she's arranged for a lawyer to come to the company for the notarization tomorrow. Remember to be on time."
Du Jiashu took a deep breath but still couldn't help slapping the car horn.
It let out a sharp, piercing beep.
Only this could vent his depressed emotions.
Xia Liuyue, however, seemed completely unaffected. She even played a cheerful song in the car.
—"Good Luck Is Coming."
Listening to the festive rhythm of "Good Luck Is Coming," paired with Du Jiashu's gloomy, lifeless face, made for an even better experience.
Several times during the drive, Du Jiashu couldn't help turning his head to look at her.
But each time he just opened his mouth, he chose to close it again.
He knew that now both his parents were on Xia Liuyue's side, and the cooperation between the two companies was at a critical juncture.
If he messed things up now, the consequences were more than he could bear.
The car arrived at their villa.
A driver had already come forward proactively. Du Jiashu tossed the keys to him, saying, "Park it in garage number two."
Seeing Xia Liuyue still in the car,
he paused his steps.
If it were before, he would have left without looking back, but today, for the first time ever, he asked, "Why aren't you getting out?"
Xia Liuyue ignored him and instead said to the driver,
"Don't park. Take me downtown again."
Du Jiashu glanced at the sky, already dark. Where could she be going so late at night instead of going home?
Thinking this, he voiced the question.
"Where are you going?"
Xia Liuyue curled the corner of her lips and said, "What's it to you?"
Du Jiashu took a deep breath, controlling his anger, and said,
"I am your husband. Isn't it normal for me to be concerned about my wife choosing to go out after dark?"
Xia Liuyue nodded in strong agreement.
"Perfectly normal."
"I'm going out to see my good buddy."
Du Jiashu's mind went blank for a moment, wondering if his hearing was failing him. Did he mishear?
"Are you sure you didn't mean 'good girlfriend'? But 'good buddy'..."
"That can't be right! You're from Jiang City. Where would you have a 'good buddy' in Hai City?"
Xia Liuyue curved her red lips into a smile, exceptionally enchanting and captivating.
"That's right, good buddy."
"Who says I can't meet a good buddy in Hai City."
Du Jiashu was starting to lose his composure. "A man?"
