Chapter 63: So This Is the Truth

Zhang Xiluo knew she couldn’t stop it, so she said nothing more. Seeing her mother like this, she didn’t dare mention her own pregnancy.

While they were having lunch, Jiang Xueting arrived.

“Xueting, have you eaten? Come join us,” Zhang’s mother greeted her warmly. Jiang Xueting made herself at home and began eating right away.

“Auntie, your cooking just gets better and better. It’s delicious!” Jiang Xueting ate happily. “Lolo, you’re so lucky. My mom can’t cook at all. Without our housekeeper, we’d probably starve.”

Zhang Xiluo was the happiest among their circle—she’d grown up eating her mother’s cooking, with both parents by her side. Most of the others had been raised by nannies.

“If you like it, have some more,” Zhang’s mother said with a smile. “Whenever I see you, I regret not having another child.”

“No need. I’m already like your daughter. Mom!” Jiang Xueting replied playfully.

“Alright, alright,” Zhang’s mother laughed.

Jiang Xueting and Zhang’s mother chatted away, both thoroughly enjoying themselves. Only Zhang Xiluo sat there, troubled, worried about how she would handle the pregnancy and divorce.

After lunch, Jiang Xueting helped clean up and then dragged Zhang Xiluo out with her.

“Lolo, I have to confess—I’m guilty,” Jiang Xueting declared as soon as they got in the car, making a gesture of surrender. “I’ve fallen for someone I shouldn’t have.”

“Zhao Chengyi,” Zhang Xiluo said.

Jiang Xueting gasped. “How did you know?”

“I went to find Xinyi and happened to see you sneaking around.”

“So Xinyi knows too?”

Zhang Xiluo nodded. Thinking of Zhou Yao and Li Mingye, she frowned instinctively. They probably knew as well. Otherwise, Jiang Xueting wouldn’t have come to confess; she’d kept her relationship a secret for so long and never intended to let anyone find out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stand my ground and never betray our side,” Jiang Xueting vowed. “That rascal Zhao Chengyi keeps pestering me, and I just…”

“What are you saying? If you’ve found someone you like, we’re all happy for you. What’s happening between me and Li Mingye has nothing to do with anyone else,” Zhang Xiluo said, pulling Jiang Xueting’s hand down. “I just hope you find happiness.”

Moved to tears, Jiang Xueting took Zhang Xiluo shopping, fussing over her the entire time.

She wanted to buy some maternity and baby products for Zhang Xiluo, but Zhang Xiluo refused—she couldn’t let anyone notice anything unusual.

After they were tired from shopping, they went for afternoon tea.

By coincidence, they ran into Li’s mother, who was there with a few wealthy ladies. When she saw Zhang Xiluo, she called her over.

“Mom.” Since she wasn’t divorced yet, Li’s mother was still her mother-in-law. Zhang Xiluo greeted her respectfully.

“Come sit with us. I happened to have something to discuss with you,” Li’s mother said. The other ladies stood to leave. “Let your friend join us too, she’s not a stranger.”

Jiang Xueting pouted, but Zhang Xiluo smiled at her. “You head on back. Please take my things home with you.”

“Alright. Auntie, you all have a good chat.” Relieved, Jiang Xueting left with the bags.

Zhang Xiluo sat across from Li’s mother, ordered herself a cup of hot water, and waited.

Li’s mother took some photographs from her bag and laid them on the table. “I was going to come see you after tea, but since we’ve met here, I’ll just tell you now.”

Zhang Xiluo picked up the photos, and her heart sank. They were of Li Mingye and Zhou Yao, standing beneath a tree, leaning on each other tenderly.

Looking closer, she realized something was off—they both looked younger.

“The girl in the photos is Qin Xiaoxiao, Mingye’s first love,” Li’s mother explained.

Qin Xiaoxiao? First love?

She’d never known that Li Mingye had a first love. She’d always thought he had never loved anyone. She had racked her brain, done everything she could to make him fall for her.

But reality was nothing like she had imagined.

“Mom, I don’t quite understand.” Zhang Xiluo set the photos down, her heart aching.

“Back then, the two of them had pledged themselves to one another, but your father and I didn’t approve. She was from out of town, her family background was ordinary—not suitable to marry into the Li family.”

“Then you appeared. We were very pleased with you and tried to match you and Mingye. Qin Xiaoxiao had a stubborn temper. After meeting me, she left in anger. She fell in with some bad people, and under the Saint Ann Bridge, she…”

Li’s mother didn’t finish, but Zhang Xiluo understood. The girl had been assaulted and killed, her body unrecognizable—a tragedy beyond words.

“Mingye treats Zhou Yao well because Zhou Yao is her younger sister. Zhou Yao was abducted as a child and adopted by the Zhou family.”

“Mom, why didn’t you tell me this before I married him?” Zhang Xiluo’s eyes blurred, stinging with tears she forced herself to hold back.

All these years, the reason for Li Mingye’s hatred was this. No matter how hard she tried, he would never love her. In his eyes, she was the one who had caused Qin Xiaoxiao’s death.

In her past life, she had died never knowing why he couldn’t love her, always blaming herself for not being good enough.

“We never expected Mingye to be so stubborn. It was our fault for what happened to Qin Xiaoxiao. Now he wants to make it up to Zhou Yao, and we can’t refuse.”

“I understand.” Zhang Xiluo picked up her cup, took a sip, and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“Lolo, I hope you can understand Mingye and stay with him. Help him let go of this pain. I truly think you’re wonderful, and I don’t want to lose you as a daughter-in-law.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t.” Forcing a faint smile, Zhang Xiluo put down her cup. “Mom, I’m not feeling well. I’ll head home first.”

Li’s mother looked at her, sighed, and shook her head. “Go home and rest.”

Zhang Xiluo didn’t even know how she walked out the door. Her heart felt twisted and tight, the world spinning around her. The pain was so deep, she could barely breathe, yet she couldn’t even pinpoint where it hurt.

Leaning against the wall, she finally let her tears fall. All the emotions she’d suppressed poured out—she was nothing but a tool for Li Mingye’s revenge, his enemy.

He had said it himself: he would torment her to the end, never stopping until one of them was dead.

But what had she done wrong?

Zhang Xiluo stood there for a long time before calling Xiao Zhao to pick her up. Her eyes were swollen and her face ashen, frightening Xiao Zhao.

“Madam, do you want to go to the hospital?”

“Just take me straight home.”

She slumped against the seat, closed her eyes, and placed her hand on her belly, seeking comfort from her baby.

She got off the car a block early, hoping to compose herself before going home. As she walked, she gently patted her cheeks. Near her door, she paused, took a deep breath, and forced herself to bury the pain.

“Can I go home with you, sis? I left my keys with Mr. Li, and he’s at your place.”

Zhou Yao appeared out of nowhere, standing before Zhang Xiluo, her innocent face full of provocation.

“I’d feel awkward going in alone. Will you take me in?”