Chapter 150: Used as a Weapon

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Used as a Weapon

"Yao Yuzhen, don’t blame me for being blunt. If you keep acting like this, you’re going to have a hard life ahead of you!"

She paused. Her voice dropped, yet carried more weight.

"You reap what you sow. You just had to pick this moment to stir up trouble, and you’ll be crying about it later! Do whatever you want, raise whatever hell you please!"

With that, she turned her head, refusing to look at Yao Yuzhen any longer.

Yao Yuzhen rolled her eyes.

"Mind your own business. I’d rather starve to death on the streets than ever set foot in your house again. Get your son to divorce me, and this will all be over."

Yang Wanqing shot her a sideways glance. "You came all this way back just for that?"

"Fine!"

"Dongxue, make a phone call. Tell Zhenwu to come home."

Yao Yuzhen’s lips parted as if to say she hadn’t come for a divorce, but she swallowed her words.

Saying it out loud would only make her sound defensive and put her on the back foot.

Zhang Dongxue gripped the receiver, her palm sweating. She hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "Sir, the Madam asks that you come home."

’Should she really say, "Your wife wants to divorce you"?’

’She wouldn’t dare!’

’What would she do if she got caught in the crossfire?’

"She’s back?"

"Yes! She’s here!"

Zhang Dongxue didn’t know why Yao Yuzhen had come back to the Shen residence.

Shen Zhenwu, however, had his suspicions. For Yao Yuzhen to come storming back to the Shen residence at a time like this, it was most likely about Shen Shuangshuang.

He simply replied, "Alright, I’m on my way."

Hanging up the phone, Zhang Dongxue immediately plastered on a smile and nodded at Yao Yuzhen. "He said he’ll be right back."

Then, just as she always did, she practically flew out of the room and headed for the kitchen.

She was terrified of getting dragged into it if she lingered for even a second longer.

Yang Wanqing called out with a laugh, "Dongxue, what’s the rush?"

Zhang Dongxue called back as she walked away, "I’m going to start on the soup for tonight!"

"But dinner is hours away!"

Yang Wanqing completely ignored Yao Yuzhen, busying herself with winding yarn with Xiao Xiao, not even glancing in her direction.

Yao Yuzhen didn’t try to join them either. She walked straight into the dining room and sat down by the window.

The familiar shadows of the plane trees swayed outside the window.

She stared blankly at the branches, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

Her family had been wealthy back in the day, so her school had taught foreign languages. But after so many years, she’d forgotten almost all of it.

’What will I do when I go abroad?’

’At least Yongxing mentioned there’s a Chinatown there.’

As she sat there, her expression was a complex mixture of frowning one moment and sighing in relief the next.

Yang Wanqing snuck a couple of glances at her, then leaned close to Shen Lixin and whispered, "What do you suppose is going through that head of hers?"

Shen Lixin gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow. "That’s enough."

He glanced over at Yao Yuzhen and sighed, saying nothing more.

After all, she was his daughter-in-law, not his own daughter.

Any criticisms had to come from his son; it wasn’t his place as her father-in-law to say them.

Not long after, Shen Zhenwu walked through the courtyard gate.

He spotted Yao Yuzhen sitting at the dining table through the window at once.

His pace faltered for a second before he continued toward the house.

That brief hesitation was all it took for Yao Yuzhen to see him too.

She immediately looked away and shot up from her chair.

The moment Shen Zhenwu stepped through the door, Yao Yuzhen rushed up to him like a whirlwind.

"Did you really announce that you were severing ties with Shuangshuang in the newspaper?"

Shen Zhenwu had always been mild-tempered, and he managed to answer her with patience.

"I did. We’re getting a divorce, aren’t we? She’ll be going with you. If I don’t end the adoption, am I supposed to just leave it as is and become a laughingstock?"

’I’m not falling into this trap,’ was what he really meant to say.

But as soon as Yao Yuzhen heard this, her brow furrowed and her tone turned icy. "Are you using Shuangshuang to force me to stay?"

Shen Zhenwu: "..."

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he clenched his fists. "That’s not what I meant, Yu Zhen. I’ve told you before..."

Before he could finish, Yao Yuzhen cut him off, her tone sharp.

"Shen Zhenwu, you have some nerve! Using the child you raised with your own two hands as a pawn?"

Shen Zhenwu’s expression darkened. "Stop being so unreasonable!"

The words had barely left his mouth when he froze.

He felt the words were too harsh and stopped himself from saying more.

He snuck a glance at Yao Yuzhen and saw that, just as he’d feared, her face had gone rigid. She was staring at him, unblinking.

A knot formed in Yao Yuzhen’s chest.

This man, who once wouldn’t have dared to say a harsh word to her... and now look at him.

A surge of fury welled up inside her. She reached out and shoved his shoulder. "Who’s being unreasonable? Who’s shameless? After the disgraceful thing you did, you have the nerve to blame me?"

Shen Zhenwu staggered back half a step to catch his balance.

Yang Wanqing started to step forward to intervene, but Shen Zhenwu held up a hand to stop her.

He turned to face Yao Yuzhen, his gaze deep and piercing.

"I take back what I just said. But when it comes to Shuangshuang, the matter is not up for debate."

"I’m not going to dig up the past about whatever shady business was going on when you adopted her. But you expect me to pretend nothing happened and keep calling her my daughter?"

"Yu Zhen, search your conscience. Isn’t that asking too much?"

"I already told you! After the divorce, she’s coming with me! With me!"

Yao Yuzhen’s voice was strained as she clung to that one point, her words seething.

"And what? Still go around calling herself Miss Shen?" Shen Zhenwu’s voice rose to a roar.

After shouting, he took a deep breath, trying to control his anger.

"I blindly raised her for twenty years. Isn’t that enough? Her biological father is alive and well, perfectly able-bodied. Why should I be the one raising another man’s daughter?"

"If this is all you came for, you can leave. It’s already in the papers. It’s set in stone. I’m not changing it."

With that, he jerked his chin toward the door, his eyes as cold as ice. "Leave."

Yao Yuzhen was stunned by his shouting. Seeing him motion for her to leave, she turned and stormed out without another word.

Shen Shuangshuang, who had been squatting in front of the guardhouse, saw her mother emerge and rushed to meet her. "Mom! Mom!"

Her face was full of hope, thinking her mother had finally managed to turn things around.

But Yao Yuzhen didn’t even glance at her, simply striding forward.

Noticing her mother’s dark expression and unfocused eyes, Shen Shuangshuang didn’t dare to speak and just trotted to keep up.

Yao Yuzhen was consumed with rage. No matter how much she adored Shen Shuangshuang, she had no patience for her now.

The way Shen Zhenwu looked at her today was completely different.

His gaze held no warmth, not a flicker of emotion. It was like he was looking at a stranger.

She felt like a beggar, holding out her hand only to be met with cold indifference.

It was a feeling she had never once experienced in her entire life.

She was capable of swallowing her pride, but she would never, ever do it for Shen Zhenwu.

’Curry favor with him, only to be treated like I’m not even there?’

’The very thought was unbearable.’

Yao Yuzhen made her way home in a daze. She had no memory of opening the door or even getting into bed.

That night, a fever took hold. Her body burned, and her head throbbed.

Ruan Yongxing, meanwhile, was eagerly waiting for her to send him money.

When she didn’t show up the next day, he waited and waited before finally deciding to go to her himself.

He was actually quite scared of the Shen family, especially the Shen men.

The bruises from his last beating hadn’t even faded.

If he ran into Shen Zhenwu again, he’d probably be laid up for two weeks.

He wasn’t some tough guy who could take a punch, so he avoided conflict whenever possible.

As soon as he entered the house, Shen Shuangshuang greeted him. "My mom’s sick."

"Sick?"

Ruan Yongxing was taken aback. "But she was fine yesterday."

He was immediately suspicious.

’Is she faking it? Has she figured something out?’

Shen Shuangshuang carefully explained everything about Shen Zhenwu severing their ties.

Then she added.

"Mom went to the Shen residence to confront them yesterday. She was like this when she got back. She wouldn’t talk or eat, and then last night she came down with a high fever."