When Leng Mochen returned, he brought along Long Wu, and Su ng tagged along as well. A few of them went to a unique hotel for dinner.
Long Wu saw Xu Er and couldn’t help but quietly complain, "Xu Er, this ti you’ve really taken one for the team!"
Xu Er punched him on the shoulder, "We’re both six of one, half a dozen of the other, so don’t talk like you’re better than !"
Long Wu raised an eyebrow in defiance, "What exactly did I do wrong?"
"Then should I bring up the whole ’hero saves the damsel’ thing from back then?" Xu Er teasingly glanced in the direction of "three won and a show."
Long Wu imdiately sat up straight and changed his expression, "Tch! La!"
Leng Mochen shook his head with amusent. Long Wu shifted the subject, "Leng Er, how are you planning to handle that guy?"
"By remaining unchanged regardless of the changes."
"Why get all cryptic? Just spill it! Let’s see if I can help you out in any way!"
Xu Er leaned in with a gossip-filled face, "What are you two plotting now?"
"Get lost! Adults are talking; kids should listen less!"
"Oh, co on! Su ng! Hey, let tell you sothing!" Xu Er yelled loudly. He didn’t believe for one second that with Su ng around, he couldn’t handle Long Wu.
"Don’t! Ancestor! Ancestor! I’ll tell you, alright?" Long Wu quickly clamped his hand over Xu Er’s mouth.
Su ng and the other two won looked at them in confusion, not knowing what they were up to this ti.
Li Si had a bit of a guess as to the reason but didn’t say anything, just smiled and continued the conversation the won were having earlier.
"You’re also thinking about star signs? Back then I was too—a mix of Aquarius and Pisces, haha, ended up as Aquarius!"
Su ng sipped a bit of plain water, "Yeah, my due date falls between late July and early August. Do you think a Leo boy would be hard to manage?"
"Hard to say! Star signs are fun to look into, but honestly, I feel personality is shaped more by upbringing and family influence," Bai Shasha reflected, though she used to be quite into astrology.
Li Si nodded in agreent, "Shasha makes a good point! Let nature take its course—that’s better than anything! As for whether a child is easy to manage, it really depends on how you look at it. Kids aren’t robots; you input a command, and they follow it exactly."
Before giving birth to Buding, she had thought about all sorts of things, worrying every day about this and that. But the mont she saw her child, she suddenly had an epiphany—none of it mattered anymore.
As long as the child grows up happy and healthy, that’s more important than anything else!
"Alright, I’m done overthinking! Sisi, Shasha, you don’t know how crazy it’s been recently. My mother-in-law moved in with us and even brought a nutritionist along. Now everything I eat is regulated.
My mom has complained behind my back several tis! She says where’s this kind of mother-in-law who’d restrict a pregnant woman’s diet? Most people let expectant mothers eat healthy, nutritious food, but she wants eating only vegetarian! It’s driving nuts! Luckily, Wensong suggested coming out to dine with you all today, so here I am!"
Su ng spilled her grievances to her two close friends.
Li Si and Bai Shasha exchanged glances, feeling a bit conflicted as they looked at Su ng. Truthfully, her weight had already exceeded the norm by quite a lot. If Mrs. Su kept insisting on extra nourishnt, when it ca ti for delivery, Su ng might only have the option of a C-section rather than a natural birth.
If the baby turned out to be too big, it could even face greater chances of obesity after birth.
However, once soone firmly believes they’re right, no matter what others say, they just won’t listen.
Both Li Si and Bai Shasha had tried to advise Su ng on this several tis before. In fact, Su ng herself appreciated healthy pregnancy dieting philosophies but was powerless against Mrs. Su’s stubbornness.
Mrs. Su always said that when she was pregnant with Su ng, she had been unable to eat the things she wanted, which left her with regrets to this day.
Now, since Su ng had the financial ans, she might as well eat to her heart’s content.
Thus, the clash of these differing mindsets inevitably caused so conflict, with Su ng bearing the brunt of it.
She couldn’t change her mom’s perspective, nor could she afford to offend her mother-in-law.
Li Si and Bai Shasha offered her a few words of consolation, but they didn’t really solve the underlying issues.
Afterward, the group strolled leisurely out of the hotel. In the lobby, they unexpectedly ran into another party.
Li Si imdiately spotted the man standing next to Leng Qiankai—of all people, it was him!
Leng Mochen wore an enigmatic expression, even carrying a subtle smile as he greeted Leng Qiankai.
Leng Qiankai seed to be in high spirits for whatever reason and talked to Leng Mochen at length, "Mochen! Dad wants to introduce soone to you—Nie Xiuwei, one of Uncle Wang’s younger friends. He’s a talented young man!
Nie, this is my son Leng Mochen. You young folks can hang out when you have so free ti!"
The Leng family had two children. Leng Mochen, raised by Mr. Leng Sr. from a young age, had displayed knack for business early on.
Leng Ning had dabbled lightly in painting when she was very young, but her interest faded over ti, and no one pressured her otherwise.
To think this young man in front of them held such promise, earning the favor of Elder Wang at his age.
Leng Mochen nodded faintly in acknowledgnt. Standing behind him, Li Si couldn’t help but find this scene absurdly funny.
Was Leng Father genuinely clueless or deliberately oblivious? His face was full of cheerful pride, clearly showing his high opinion of Nie Xiuwei.
After exchanging small talk, Leng Mochen and his group and Leng Qiankai with his companions eventually parted ways.
When Li Si and Leng Mochen returned ho, they talked about the encounter, wondering how Mrs. Leng would react if she learned the truth.
"Do you think Leng Father truly doesn’t know or is just pretending?" Li Si asked curiously.
Leng Mochen paused flipping through a docunt, "Hard to say! But judging from my observations, there’s a good chance he genuinely doesn’t know."
"Then should we give him a heads-up?"
"Let’s wait and see," Leng Mochen said, already forming a plan in his mind.
When Leng Mohao’s trial verdict was finally passed down, it happened to coincide with Mr. Leng Sr.’s birthday. The sentence was imprisonnt for 13 years.
Upon hearing Judge Zeng Qiuping announce this in court, she imdiately fainted. She hadn’t anticipated such a severe punishnt!
Thirteen years! By the ti her son was released, he’d be nearing fifty—completely ruined by then!
Would there be any future left for him?
Leng Qianhan remained composed as he and Leng Mo calmly escorted her out of the courtroom, leaving only a curt statent for Leng Mohao: Make the best of your rehabilitation!
Leng Mohao now looked entirely different from his forr tall, handso self.
With his hair trimd exceedingly short and his pallid complexion, he had long ntally prepared himself for the judgnt.
Before the trial, his lawyer had already discussed it with him, explaining that this was the best outco they could hope for given the circumstances.
Mr. Leng Sr.’s birthday celebration turned out to be somber. Although he hadn’t attended the trial, he had been inford of its conclusion. Regardless of Leng Mohao’s faults, he was still his grandson, and the whole ordeal left him feeling downhearted.
Thus, the birthday was quietly commorated with a simple family dinner.
The day after his birthday, he departed with his group of old friends for Beidaihe for a period of recuperation—perhaps to escape from everything as well.
(To be continued... If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote with your recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users should visit m.qidian for reading.)
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