Chapter 885: Explosion, Unexpected

"What's wrong, Alang? Don't you like the stockings I gave you?"

Lin Lang held the flesh-colored stockings that Zhuang Jingxue had worn in his hand. He was too embarrassed to smell them in front of her, so he could only put them in his trouser pocket and said hypocritically, "Who would give away used stockings? Aunt Xue, you are so mean."

"Tsk, if you don't like it, just give the stockings back to me. You've already put them in your trouser pocket, which shows that you like them very much." Zhuang Jingxue seemed to know that Lin Lang was a stockings addict.

"Uh... Aunt Xue, how did you know I like stockings?"

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Jingxue replied, "Mengyao didn't like wearing lace stockings before, thinking they were too sexy and embarrassing to wear out. Ever since she started dating you, she has been wearing stockings of different styles and colors, which is obviously catering to the bad tastes of some people."

"Haha, Aunt Xue, it seems that your observation ability is still very strong."

"Not only that, I also noticed that Mu Xueman, like Mengyao, particularly likes to wear stockings. Could it be that she is also catering to your aesthetic taste and preferences and deliberately wearing them for you to see?"

After Mu Xuelan became Zhou Mengyao's best friend, she moved into Zhou's house to accompany Zhou Mengyao, who was very sad after the accidental loss of her father. The two were almost inseparable, so Lin Lang could not acknowledge Mu Xuelan as his concubine.

After all, Mu Xuelan will have to go in and out of Zhou's house frequently in the future. If Zhuang Jingxue finds out that she is Lin Lang's lover, it might cause some inconvenience.

So, Lin Lang denied it and said, "Aunt Xue, you are just making groundless accusations."

Zhuang Jingxue looked at him with a scrutinizing look, and asked doubtfully, "Are you and Mu Xueman really not having an affair?"

"Auntie Xue, stop guessing. Mu Xuelan and I really don't have anything going on. Come on, let's continue drinking and playing Truth or Dare." Lin Lang pulled Zhuang Jingxue back to the sofa, trying to change the subject.

The two of them, who were already drunk, raised their red wine glasses, clinked them together, and each took a big sip of the fine imported red wine.

Zhuang Jingxue was having so much fun that after putting down the goblet, she couldn't wait to continue playing rock-paper-scissors with Lin Lang.

"Oh, it's so annoying. You, Alang, beat me again. How come you are so lucky, little rascal?" Zhuang Jingxue poked Lin Lang's forehead lightly with her fingertips. It was unclear whether she was bewilderingly behaving after being drunk or deliberately creating ambiguity.

Lin Lang raised his lips and said with a drunken smile: "Auntie Xue, if you are willing to accept the loss, I will punish you in this round by asking you to tell me what other ridiculous things you have done because of your low status."

Zhuang Jingxue's cheeks turned red as fire after hearing this. She said shyly, "Alang, you are really bad. Why do I feel like Pandora's box has been opened and I have become a slut in front of you and can't go back to the way I was before?"

"Auntie Xue, are you happier now, pretending to be elegant and happy, or are you happier now, being your true self and becoming a slut?"

Zhuang Jingxue bit her red lips, tugged at the hem of her skirt unconsciously, and replied in a low voice, "It's happier to be a cheap woman."

"Auntie Xue, your voice is quieter than a mosquito, I couldn't hear it clearly." Lin Lang is really mean.

Zhuang Jingxue lowered her head in embarrassment, her throat dry as she parted her red lips and said in a trembling voice: "I am happier to confess in front of you that I am a slut."

After hearing this, Lin Lang got goose bumps all over his body and couldn't help but smirk: "Eh... you slut, you made my scalp numb. You are really a perfect contrast girl."

Zhuang Jingxue covered her burning cheeks with her hands and said coquettishly, "Hate you, little bastard. You made me want to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. I am so embarrassed!"

Lin Lang lazily leaned on the sofa, looking at Zhuang Jingxue who was so shy that she didn't know what to do. He couldn't help but urge her curiously, "Aunt Xue, don't delay. Hurry up and accept the punishment for telling the truth. Tell me what other despicable and ridiculous things you have done."

Zhuang Jingxue poured herself a sip of red wine, a barely perceptible sadness flashed across her face, and her thoughts instantly went back to a late night 22 years ago.

The timeline is 1978.

The old campus of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University in Haikou before its expansion.

Zhuang Jingxue, who was pregnant, was lying on the examination bed in the B-ultrasound room. She said with a worried look on her face, "Mom, please check me quickly. I don't seem to have felt any fetal movement all day."

Qin Weihong, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, had a gloomy face and didn't know how to comfort her daughter Zhuang Jingxue.

The little life that should have been lively on the screen had already lost its heartbeat. The cold probe pressed on Zhuang Jingxue's bulging belly, burning her skin like a branding iron.

Zhuang Jingxue saw her mother Qin Weihong's eyes begin to turn red, and suddenly had an ominous premonition, and hurriedly asked: "Mom, please tell me, is the fetus in my belly no longer alive?"

Qin Weihong choked up and said, "Daughter, the baby in your belly has died in your womb with the umbilical cord around the neck. You were born with an abnormal uterine structure. It will be difficult to get pregnant again if you induce abortion of the dead fetus. Even if you can get pregnant, it will be easy to miscarry or have a premature birth."

Zhuang Jingxue covered her mouth and cried bitterly after hearing this. Firstly, it was because she had only a week left before her due date and she was heartbroken to lose her unborn baby. Secondly, she and her husband Zhou Zhongdang had signed a prenuptial agreement.

The terms of the prenuptial agreement were clear: if she could not give birth to offspring for the Zhou family, she would be left with nothing in the divorce.

Zhuang Jingxue, who had planned hard to marry into a prominent family, was worried that she would be infertile for life after having an induced abortion, while her husband Zhou Zhongdang was spending his days drinking and carousing with many beautiful women. She thought that she might be kicked out of the family at any time because she could not have children.

Zhuang Jingxue struggled to sit up from the delivery bed, holding her mother Qin Weihong's hand and crying, "Mom, you must help me. I can't induce abortion and have a stillbirth. I must give birth to offspring for the Zhou family so that I can gain a firm foothold as a wealthy wife of a famous family!"

Qin Weihong's tears were streaming down her face. She said distressedly, "My daughter, I know it's hard for you to accept that the baby in your belly has suffocated due to the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. Although I'm an obstetrician and gynecologist, I don't have the ability to bring the dead back to life!"

Zhuang Jingxue cried and said, "Mom, you must have heard the story of the cat replacing the prince, right?"

After hearing this, Qin Weihong was surprised and asked, "Daughter, what do you mean by that?"

Zhuang Jingxue sobbed with tears streaming down her face, "Mom, I worked so hard to marry into the Zhou family and become a rich wife. I don't want my husband to change his mind because of my stillbirth and inability to have children, and end up being kicked out of the house."

"My blood type is B and my husband's is A. Please think of a way to find a newborn with the same blood type as ours before my due date. It would be best if it's a healthy abandoned baby, and a boy would be best! Even a girl is fine!" Zhuang Jingxue cried so sadly.

Qin Weihong tearfully declined, "No, as the director of the obstetrics and gynecology department, I have principles and I absolutely cannot help you do such a thing."

"At first, mom was against you marrying into the Zhou family for the sake of wealth. Your philandering husband, Zhou Zhongdang, played with many other women while you were pregnant. He even didn't bother to accompany you to every prenatal checkup. I don't like such a rich son-in-law. Let's divorce him."

Zhuang Jingxue was so emotional that she knelt on the ground crying and threatened: "Mom, I beg you to go against your principles and help my daughter just this once. If you don't help me replace the dead fetus with a newborn during delivery, I will jump off the building and die in front of you."

Qin Weihong was well aware of her daughter Zhuang Jingxue's stubborn character and was worried that she would do something stupid. She had no choice but to agree to Zhuang Jingxue's request with tears in her eyes.

Then, the mother and daughter hugged each other and cried.

three days later.

In the manager's office of Zhenbao Pavilion Company, Zhou Zhongdang, who was flirting with his female secretary, received a call from his mother-in-law Qin Weihong.

"Hey, son-in-law, Xue'er's water broke and she's about to give birth. You should come to the hospital right away."

In the daily spoken language of the Lihai dialect, "nanxu" means son-in-law, because "nan" means daughter in the Lihai dialect.

"Okay, Mom, I'll be there right away." Zhou Zhongdang didn't dare to hesitate. He immediately pulled up his pants, left his sexy secretary behind, and drove to the hospital in a hurry.

When Zhou Zhongdang anxiously rushed to the obstetrics and gynecology department of the hospital, he learned that his wife Zhuang Jingxue had given birth naturally and was pushed back to the Jiahua mother-child room-mate ward.

Zhou Zhongdang ran into the ward where Zhuang Jingxue was, unable to hide his excitement. Seeing his mother-in-law Qin Weihong holding a crying baby in her arms, he quickly asked, "Mom, isn't there still four days before Jingxue's due date?"

Qin Weihong deliberately said in a bad mood: "How dare you ask? Xue'er is close to her due date, and you, as her husband, don't even bother to spend more time with her. The due date is just an estimated time of delivery. It is normal to give birth a week earlier or later."

Zhou Zhongdang originally wanted to take a look at the child first and ask whether it was a boy or a girl, but after hearing his mother-in-law's scolding, he hurriedly looked at Zhuang Jingxue who was lying weakly on the bed, with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Wife, are you okay?" Zhou Zhongdang walked forward quickly with concern.

Zhuang Jingxue's voice trembled, and she cried aggrievedly, "Hubby, my belly was not good enough, and I gave birth to a girl."

Seeing Zhuang Jingxue, who had just had an emergency birth and had a near-death experience, Zhou Zhongdang leaned over to hold her hand and said distressedly, "Don't say that, honey. I like daughters anyway. I'll be so happy if you give me a daughter!"

Zhuang Jingxue heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and said weakly but joyfully, "Mom, please bring the baby over to let Zhongdang take a look."

Qin Weihong picked up the crying baby girl in the swaddling clothes and carefully placed her beside Zhuang Jingxue's bed. She forced out an aunt's smile and said, "My dear son-in-law, look at how cute my grandson is!"

Zhou Zhongdang, who became a father for the first time, felt his heart melt when he saw his daughter.

The baby girl curled up in the pink swaddle was waving her lotus-like arms, her tiny hands opening and closing as if trying to grab something.

The cry was shrill but powerful, and it made Zhou Zhongdang, the great wronged man, feel hot in the eyes.

"My dear girl, you are so adorable!"

Zhou Zhongdang wanted to reach out and touch his daughter's little face, but the baby girl's chubby little hand grabbed one of Zhou Zhongdang's fingers.

This grabbing of the baby girl destined her and Zhou Zhongdang to be father and daughter for life.

What the baby girl grabbed was not Zhou Zhongdang's finger, but the endless wealth and glory that she would enjoy for the rest of her life after she was transformed from an abandoned baby into the daughter of a wealthy family.

It was magical to say, but after the baby girl grabbed Zhou Zhongdang's fingers, she miraculously stopped crying. After a few whimpers in her throat, she soon calmed down.

Zhuang Jingxue looked at the tenderness in Zhou Zhongdang's eyes, and a barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She plans to protect the secret of "The Cat Substitutes for the Prince" for the rest of her life.

After all, in this marriage gamble, Zhuang Jingxue had no way out. She looked at the abandoned baby in the cradle that she had adopted at a high price, and her maternal instinct was awakened. She gently kissed the baby girl on the cheek.

"Hubby, please give our baby daughter a name!"

Zhou Zhongdang was grinning from ear to ear, "I dreamed of the Treasure Pavilion Pawn Shop last night, and received a priceless jade. I was so happy in my dream!"

"Yao means beautiful jade, which symbolizes purity, talent, auspiciousness and wealth."

"Wife, let's name our baby daughter Zhou Mengyao. Doesn't this name sound nice?" Zhou Zhongdang looked at the baby girl in the cradle with reluctance to let go.

"It sounds good! It sounds really good!" Zhuang Jingxue looked at the very cute Zhou Mengyao and thought to herself, "From now on, you are my precious daughter. Mom will love you like her own daughter..."

Before the real Zhuang Jingxue could think too much, she heard Lin Lang urging her, "What are you thinking about, you slut? Are there some cheap and ridiculous things you have done that you are too embarrassed to talk about?"