Inside the house.
The moment the door closed, the dead silence was broken.
"Husband! How could you just let her go like that? And give her money?"
Xia Lian was the first to scream. Her voice was shrill and piercing with anger and disbelief.
"Look at the way she acted just now! Bringing a strange man back to show off. She's simply shameless."
"And you gave her the money so readily. What if she really uses it to support that gigolo?"
Du Xixi stamped her foot in anger.
"Right, Dad! Does she even care about this family or you? Listen to what she said!"
"Moreover, her abortion might not be a secret for long. And now she's bringing a man back to move out. How improper!"
Du Feng's temples throbbed from their nagging. The pent - up anger finally exploded.
"Shut up all of you!"
He slapped the tea table suddenly, making the cups on it rattle.
"What do you know? All you can do is make noise!"
With a gloomy face, he cast a sharp glance at Xia Lian and Du Xixi.
"We haven't obtained the agency right from the Yan family yet. The most important thing now is to keep her calm. We can't completely fall out with her."
"What's that little bit of money? As long as we can keep her under control and make her obedient, spending a little money is nothing."
"And what can you two do except causing trouble?"
He pointed at Xia Lian sternly.
"Especially you. Watch your mouth and stop provoking her."
"If I see you causing trouble for her again or blabbing outside, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Then he glared at Du Xixi. "And you! Mind your own business!"
Xia Lian's face flushed and paled alternately from being scolded so mercilessly by her husband in public. She was both angry and scared.
But she didn't dare to retort. She could only bite her lips tightly and dig her fingernails into her palms.
Du Xixi was so aggrieved that tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't dare to cry.
Du Feng was too lazy to look at the mother - daughter pair anymore. He fidgeted irritably with his suit collar and said coldly to Wu Qian, who had been standing at attention with her hands at her sides, "Assistant Wu, come with me to the company!"
"Yes, Mr. Du."
Wu Qian responded calmly, as if the farce just now had nothing to do with her at all.
She followed Du Feng without looking sideways. The two left the smoke - filled living room one after another.
Only Xia Lian and Du Xixi were left in the large living room.
"Mom, look at Dad. He only has Meng Ruozhao in his eyes."
Du Xixi finally couldn't hold back her tears. She threw herself into Xia Lian's arms.
"Why? Why does she deserve this? Isn't she just relying on Yan Qiubai?!"
Xia Lian hugged her daughter. Staring venomously at the closed door, her chest heaved violently.
How could she not hate?
But Du Feng's last warning still made her tremble with fear.
She took a deep breath. Her voice was full of unwillingness and a tinge of dejection.
"Xixi... Your dad is right... For now, our Du family still has to rely on the Yan family..."
"Rely on the Yan family?"
Du Xixi suddenly raised her head. Her tear - streaked face was full of twisted hatred and unwillingness.
"Then just make Meng Ruozhao lose Yan Qiubai's protection! Make her worthless! Let's see how she can still be so arrogant!"
Xia Lian looked at the same crazy and possessive look in her daughter's eyes as she had when she was young.
She felt a sudden jolt in her heart and instinctively wanted to scold her daughter not to act rashly.
But the words died on her lips.
She thought of Meng Ruozhao's face, which resembled her biological mother's and which she hated so much.
She thought of the arrogant and over - confident look on Meng Ruozhao's face just now. A deeper malice welled up in her.
"Mom! Say something!"
Seeing her mother's silence, Du Xixi became more anxious. Her eyes glinted with a malicious light.
"Just like when she got lost. All her beautiful toys, her room, and Dad's love... Didn't they all become mine?"
"You also told me that as long as I wanted something, it would eventually be mine!"
There was a twisted self - confidence and greed in her tone.
"Yan Qiubai is the same. He should have been mine! As long as I snatch him away, Meng Ruozhao will be nothing!"
The more Du Xixi talked, the more excited she became. It was as if she had already seen Meng Ruozhao losing everything and falling into the mud in a sorry state.
And she herself would be standing beside Yan Qiubai brightly.
There were still tear stains on her face, but the corner of her mouth curled up into a smile full of ambition and malice, which was completely inconsistent with her innocent appearance.
"Mom, help me. Help me get Yan Qiubai, okay?"
She shook Xia Lian's arm. Her eyes were full of crazy determination.
"By then, Yan Qiubai will be your son - in - law. Don't we have to worry about him not helping us and your younger brother?"
"If I marry into the Yan family, it will be a hundred times better than Meng Ruozhao. If she marries in, we'll still have to look at her face."
Xia Lian looked at the familiar, all - consuming flame in her daughter's eyes.
Thinking of Meng Ruozhao's arrogance just now and her husband's partiality, the last bit of hesitation in her heart was devoured by malice.
She slowly and forcefully nodded. Her voice seemed to be squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"Okay... Mom will help you."
"Snatch it away. Snatch everything from her!"
The mother - daughter pair hugged each other in the empty and cold living room.
Their eyes burned with the same jealousy and ambition. One targeted Meng Ruozhao's man, and the other targeted everything about Meng Ruozhao.
A new and more insidious plunder was quietly germinating in the soil of hatred.
At this moment, in the car that had already left the Meng family villa.
Pei Jiangmu looked at the luxurious cage that was getting farther and farther away through the rear - view mirror. The corner of his mouth curled up into a cold and knowing arc.
He could almost imagine how that family would discuss things behind closed doors after they left.
Du Feng had some requests for Meng Ruozhao now. After all, she was his own daughter, so he wouldn't go too far.
But the mother - daughter pair of Xia Lian might be different.
How would they deal with Meng Ruozhao?
They would probably set their sights on Yan Qiubai.
Were they going to snatch Yan Qiubai?
Humph...
Even if Yan Qiubai was a despicable person who stole someone else's place, he couldn't be coveted by them.
And he couldn't become a tool for them to deal with Meng Ruozhao.
His Ruozhao could choose to abandon Yan Qiubai, but it was not up to Yan Qiubai to betray his Ruozhao.
Meng Ruozhao leaned against the window of the passenger seat, eyes closed, massaging her temples tiredly.
She was completely unaware of the insidious storm brewing in the villa behind her and the deeper - seated possessiveness surging in the heart of the man beside her.
She just felt that all her strength had been drained. Every time she returned to this place, it was like experiencing a long and painful torture.
The scenery outside the window flashed by in reverse. The familiar streetscape gradually became strange.
Those past experiences that had once made her feel depressed and suffocated seemed to be gradually peeling away from her tense nerves as the distance increased.
Pei Jiangmu didn't disturb her. He just quietly held the steering wheel. The only sound in the car was the steady hum of the engine.
It wasn't until the car drove into a quiet street lined with sycamore trees that he slowly spoke, his voice very soft.
"Are you hungry? There's a good restaurant up ahead."
Meng Ruozhao opened her eyes and looked out of the window.
Then she softly replied "um" without refusing.