She kept her marriage a secret for three years, then divorced and was forcefully pampered by a power

Shao Yan's body stiffened, but she didn't show the surprise or excitement she had expected.

Even Qu You couldn't understand her thoughts. Qu You had witnessed the relationship between Shao Yan and Huo Xiao from beginning to end, and she knew that Shao Yan loved Huo Xiao.

"Oh……"

Shao Yan's expression paused for only a few seconds before returning to calm.

For countless days and nights during this time, all she could think about was hearing news of Huo Xiao. She wanted to know when he would return.

Until he heard from his closest relatives time and time again that Huo Xiao was living happily ever after with Lan.

Whether the rumors were true or false, her heart slowly grew cold, and her feelings for Huo Xiao were no longer as sincere and passionate as before.

She was young, yet she had already experienced the highs and lows of love with two men. She didn't know if she would ever have the courage to love again. But with Huo Xiao, Shao Yan felt only numbness.

"Are you alright? I meant my older brother is coming back?"

Qu You didn't believe that Shao Yan would be completely unaffected by this matter, but that was exactly how Shao Yan appeared to be.

Like a puppet on a string, he listened to her good news indifferently, without giving any of the expected reactions.

"I heard that, and I'm so glad he's back."

Shao Yan's hand unconsciously went to her belly, which was now showing and slightly protruding.

However, for a 4-month-old baby, her belly is still much smaller than that of a normal person.

Whether Shao Yan admits it or not, she has not been doing well in Huo Xiao's absence.

But ever since her affair with Meng Yu, she has learned to stop showing her emotions and to bear everything on her own.

Qu You stared at Shao Yan for a long time, still finding it hard to believe that her statement that she was alright meant she was truly alright. She held Shao Yan's hand tightly.

"You probably don't know, but my older brother has liked you since we were in school. In his heart, you are unique. He really only sees Lan Yan as your shadow."

Qu You couldn't take it anymore and decided to tell Shao Yan the whole truth. However, Shao Yan didn't care at all. What did she mean by liking her since school days? She had never met Huo Xiao, nor had she ever heard of his name.

Even their subsequent encounter was entirely designed and meticulously planned by Qu You, and had absolutely nothing to do with Huo Xiao.

Qu You looked at Shao Yan very seriously.

"I'm telling the truth. Do you remember that year when you were cornered by a few thugs on a tree-lined road, and someone rescued you?"

Shao Yan certainly remembered what Qu You said. It was because Meng Yu fought off those people that she unknowingly fell in love with him, and from then on, Shao Yan became Meng Yu's little fangirl.

She was the only girl in the entire school who pursued a boy despite being the school beauty. This caused a huge sensation, and Meng Yu and Zeng Qi'er often argued because of her, but Meng Yu didn't like her at all at that time.

"Weren't we talking about your brother? Why are we talking about Meng Yu again?"

Shao Yan's voice was languid; she was reluctant to mention either Meng Yu or Huo Xiao.

Qu You became anxious: "Do you really think that the person who saved you that time was Meng Yu? You've misunderstood, that person was my older brother."

Shao Yan had to admit that she was indeed stunned when she heard Qu You say those words, but only for a few seconds before she laughed.

"Don't worry, my feelings for your brother won't diminish, and there's no way I'll be with Meng Yu anymore. You don't need to make up these lies to deceive me. How could that person possibly be your older brother?"

She would never believe it, no matter what. Huo Xiao couldn't possibly be in a place like that. He was two years ahead of them and had already graduated.

And he himself admitted that his name was Meng Yu. How could he be wrong?

Qu You got anxious.

"You might not believe me when I tell you, but actually, the person my older brother's father had a crush on was your mother, do you understand?"

Shao Yan stared at Qu You for a full three seconds. After three seconds, she shook her head blankly, completely failing to understand what Qu You was trying to express.

Qu You became even more anxious: "The father I'm talking about is the family that raised him, Huo Qingyue, do you know them?"

My older brother always thought he and Huo Qingyue were siblings, and that Huo Qingyue's father had a crush on your mother.

My older brother believes his father betrayed his mother, so he hates you and your mother to the core. That thug was someone he arranged; he wanted to teach you a lesson.

Qu You's explanation gave Shao Yan a partial understanding, but she still didn't understand why Huo Xiao wanted to take revenge on her.

Furthermore, based on the timeline, her mother had already passed away by that time.

Huo Xiao had no reason to cause her trouble. It all seemed completely illogical.

Shao Yan thought about it and realized that Qu You might have said that on purpose to bring her and Huo Xiao together and ease the tension between them.

She can understand.

Qu You was, after all, her best friend.

It's only natural for her to want to be with Huo Xiao, and he's very grateful.

However, Shao Yan did not take Qu You's statement to heart, nor did she want to investigate it further.

Qu You could tell that she didn't believe what she was saying, and she became even more anxious.

"What I said is true. Those thugs were arranged by the boss, but when they were about to attack you, the boss suddenly changed his mind and chased them away."

But he couldn't face you, so when you asked him his name, he just made up a lie and told you his name was Meng Yu. Think about it, when you went to find Meng Yu, did he admit to this?

Now that you mention it, Shao Yan does recall something. When she pursued Meng Yu, he was indeed completely clueless. She simply told him shyly that she thanked him for what he had done for her. She wanted him to be her boyfriend, but Meng Yu avoided her like the plague.

When Shao Yan learned that Meng Yu already had a girlfriend at that time, she was extremely sad. But she still insisted on trying to steal Zeng Qi'er's girlfriend.

All those years, she fell in love with Meng Yu simply because of the boy who saved her under the flowering tree.

Upon hearing Qu You's words, Shao Yan was stunned for a moment. Could it be that she had loved the wrong person back then?

Qu You noticed that Shao Shaoyan's expression had softened, and then explained.

"At that time, my elder brother still harbored resentment towards you because you were the daughter of his adoptive father's unrequited love. So he fell in love with you at first sight, but dared not show his true face to you."

Later, your older brother finally mustered up the courage to confess his feelings to you. The fact that you were relentlessly pursuing Meng Yu became known in both schools, causing quite a stir.

My brother thought you loved Meng Yu, so he was heartbroken. Later, he met Lan Yan, who showed him great care. So, my brother naturally accepted Lan Yan.

But I swear to you, my brother never touched Lan Yan. He simply transferred his deep love for you to Lan Yan.

Shao Yan's mind stirred slightly after hearing Qu You's story.

But what Qu You said is meaningless to her now. Huo Xiao really did impersonate Meng Yu back then, but didn't he bring her enough suffering?

If he hadn't impersonated Meng Yu back then, she wouldn't have given her first love and youthful infatuation to the man who almost ruined half her life.

What good does it do to know now? Can everything be done again?

She left Meng Yu, then fell into Huo Xiao's trap of tenderness. In the end, she and he were the ones who couldn't climb out, while the two men were able to escape unscathed.

They can be surrounded by many beautiful women, one today and another tomorrow. Let's see how Shao Yan ends up.

Qu You scrutinized Shao Yan's face. Her expression was unpredictable, and Qu You couldn't tell what Shao Yan was thinking.

"Yanyan, did you understand what I said?"

Qu You knows her older brother best. Although he is decisive and ruthless in his career, he is hesitant when it comes to relationships, especially with Shao Yan.

The mistake he made back then was his own doing. He didn't have the courage to face Shao Yan, and even after Shao Yan fell in love with him, he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless when dealing with Lan Yan, which led to the awkward situation between the two of them today.

Qu You knew she couldn't comfort Shao Yan in her brother's place, but she had done her best.

Qu You still wanted a direct answer from Shao Yan, but Shao Yan was already tired. She didn't want to think about these complicated things anymore. All she wanted to do now was to take good care of her pregnancy and, incidentally, deal with Song Qingyan and Meng Yu's family of ingrates. She didn't want to think about anything else.

"Youyou, I understand. You don't need to say anything more. When is your older brother coming back? Give me a definite answer, and I'll cook some nice dishes at home to welcome him back."

Although Shao Yan's tone was calm, she had at least given Qu You a positive response, which put her mind at ease.

She was terrified; she thought her brother and Shao Yan were completely over. Thankfully, they weren't. She simply calmly fulfilled her duties as a wife, not mentioning a word about Huo Xiao and Lan Yan's affair, nor making any further inquiries.

Qu You breathed a sigh of relief, but a vague unease lingered in her heart. Before she could say anything more, Shao Yan had already entered her room and closed the door.

Qu You looked at the closed door, sighed, and contacted Qin Mu by phone.

"Did your brother say what time his flight would be back?"

Once her elder brother returns, she will be able to retire gracefully. She longs to fly there and reunite with him as soon as possible, but she can't bear to leave Shao Yan behind.

Moreover, the situation with Qu Ao is complicated. If she gets involved again, she might infuriate Qu Ao. She thinks it's better to wait until things calm down before flying over. Otherwise, she might be caught in the crossfire and Qu Ao would have too many grudges to settle with her.

Qin Mu waited for almost half an hour before replying to his message.

It was concise and to the point, without many words.

"I will come back with Huo Xiao in three days."

Qu You was overjoyed. This meant he wouldn't have to travel all the way to La anymore.

She also didn't want to face her father's sour face, especially that Lan Yan.

For so many years, Qu You has tried every means to break up his father and Lan Yan, as well as Huo Xiao's feelings for Lan Yan.

Unfortunately, she failed to do either of those things and even lost Shao Yan in the process. She felt guilty.

A while later, Qin Mu called, and Qu You started chatting with him on the phone. The two were very affectionate, and she temporarily put Huo Xiao and Shao Yan's troubles behind her.

After returning to her room, Shao Yan was unable to fall asleep, her mind constantly replaying Qu You's words.

If what Qu Xiao said is true, then she finds it even more unacceptable.

From beginning to end, she has been living in a huge lie. Meng Yu lied to her, everyone around her lied to her, and now even Huo Xiao is lying to her.