Five years without pregnancy means you're too weak; I remarried a powerful man and had triplets

As they were talking, the door to the ward was pushed open, and Shen Ji walked in carrying large and small bags, including fruits, nutritional supplements, and pastries that Xu Jing loved, piling them all up to his arm.

"Old Shen, you've come at the perfect time." Xu Jing waved to him with a smile, "Zhizhi made me crucian carp soup, it's incredibly fresh and tender, and the fish was cleaned perfectly. You should try some."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ji curiously leaned closer to peek into the thermos, then looked at Shen Zhiyi in disbelief: "You made this?"

Shen Zhiyi nodded, a hint of pride in her voice: "Of course. Otherwise, what do you think your daughter has been eating all these years since she got married?"

Shen Ji didn't say anything, but eagerly scooped up a bowl, blew on it, and took a big gulp.

The moment the soup entered his throat, he froze.

He had so much to say, but the moment that taste melted on his tongue, he suddenly couldn't say anything.

He turned his back, and his shoulders began to tremble slightly.

Shen Zhiyi was taken aback, wondering if she had added too much salt or if the fish hadn't been prepared properly, which was why the soup didn't taste good.

But when I turned to look at Xu Jing, she was drinking it with relish and nodding repeatedly. She didn't look like she was drinking badly at all.

She hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward: "Dad?"

"Don't come any closer."

Shen Ji's voice interrupted her.

The voice trembled violently, as if something was tightly choking its throat, hoarse and filled with an overwhelming sense of emotion.

"Dad...you..." Shen Zhiyi was stunned.

If she wasn't mistaken, Shen Ji seemed to be crying.

She turned to look at Shen Haozhi in a daze. The siblings looked at each other and read the same confusion in each other's eyes. What's going on?

Xu Jing, who had been happily chatting just moments before, also put down her bowl and spoon.

She looked at Shen Zhiyi with red eyes, her voice soft, as if squeezed from the softest part of her heart:

"Zhizhi...you've really suffered all these years..."

"It's all Mom and Dad's fault." Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto the hem of her hospital gown. "If we had been more resolute back then, and refused to let you marry Xu Zhesheng no matter what, you wouldn't have had to learn all this..."

She choked up for a moment, then continued, "Or maybe we could visit you more often... If we had known you'd done so much for them, someone who never even sets foot in the kitchen at home, yet spends all her time around the stove after marrying them, your father and I... wouldn't have been so adamant about not letting you get a divorce in the first place..."

Shen Ji had his back to them, and his shoulders were still trembling.

He held the bowl, his knuckles white from the force, and his voice, squeezed from deep in his throat, carried a father's profound guilt:

"I thought you were doing well... Every time you called, you said you were doing great... and I actually believed you..."

Shen Zhiyi stood still, the spoon in her hand falling onto the rim of the bowl with a "clink".

Looking at her parents' reddened eyes and her father's trembling back, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welled up with tears.

In those years, she never complained to her family, not because she didn't want to, but because every time she called, she was afraid they would worry, worry that she had married poorly, or that she had chosen the wrong person.

She always said "it's all good," that Xu Zhesheng treated her well, that her work was going smoothly, and that everything was fine.

She thought she was protecting them.

Little did she know that those casual "it's all good" comments made her parents miss out on her most difficult time.

Shen Zhiyi stepped forward and gently hugged Shen Ji from behind.

"Dad," her voice muffled against his back, slightly nasal, "it's all over now."

"Things are fine now."

"real."

Once her emotions had calmed down a bit, Xu Jing picked up her bowl and took another sip of soup. Her gaze fell on Shen Zhiyi's face, and her tone carried a hint of concern: "Speaking of which, how did your discussions with Xu Zhesheng go? Have you completed the divorce proceedings? How long is the cooling-off period?"

Shen Zhiyi pulled up a chair and sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the thermos: "He didn't give a straight answer to the conditions I mentioned last time. I don't know if there will be any trouble. But don't worry, I'm prepared. Even if it's a lawsuit, I will take back everything that belongs to me."

She paused, then lowered her voice: "As for the cooling-off period, there are still twenty days."

"This cooling-off period is really not a good thing." Xu Jing tapped her fingers lightly on the bedside table twice, her brows furrowing slightly. "What if Xu Zhesheng changes his mind halfway through?"

Shen Zhiyi recalled the scene of encountering Xu Zhesheng in the corridor last night. Even though he didn't turn around, based on her familiarity with him, she felt that he was sincerely apologizing to her. After all, he already knew everything she had been hiding. If he showed no remorse, she would feel that she had truly loved the wrong person in the past.

As for the cooling-off period... if he still has any conscience left, he won't go back on his word.

She thought this in her heart, but dared not say it too definitively.

To avoid worrying her parents, she simply shook her head gently: "No, he wouldn't. We've already fallen out, why would he keep me around?"

"Exactly!" Shen Haozhi nodded emphatically, looking protective of his sister. "Mom and Dad, don't worry. If that Xu Zhesheng dares to go back on his word, I'll go settle the score with him right now! With me here, no one can bully my sister!"

Shen Ji finally stopped crying, wiped his face with a tissue, and turned around.

But before he could utter any tender words, his gaze shifted to Shen Haozhi, and his brows immediately furrowed again:

"How dare you say that? Your sister got married and divorced, and what about you?!" He pointed at Shen Haozhi, his voice filled with the exasperation of a father, "You're so old and still not dating, are you trying to drive your mother and me crazy?!"

Shen Haozhi's heart skipped a beat.

His family had been talking about his marriage since before he went abroad, but after he returned, they were busy settling in and it hadn't been officially put on the agenda yet. He had almost forgotten about it, but now his father had brought it up in one fell swoop, leaving him completely stunned.

He chuckled dryly twice and started to laugh it off: "Oh dear, I haven't met the right person yet, no rush, no rush. Besides, I only came back because of a temporary transfer, I haven't even settled down myself yet, how can I find someone to marry!"

Just as Shen Ji was about to say a few more words of reprimand, there was a knock on the door of the ward.

"Knock knock"

All four of them turned to look at the doorway at the same time.

Lu Zichuan stood there, holding an exquisite gift box in one hand and a bunch of fresh sunflowers in the other. He stood tall and straight, with a gentle smile on his face, looking well-behaved and proper.

"Uncle and Aunt," he said in a clear voice, his gaze sweeping around the ward before finally settling on Shen Zhiyi, a slight smile playing on his lips, "I've come to see you."

The ward fell silent instantly.

Shen Zhiyi looked at the man at the door, and her heart skipped a beat.

She subconsciously looked at her parents. Xu Jing's eyes had already lit up, while Shen Ji, holding a bowl of soup, had an expression that went from astonishment to scrutiny, and finally settled on a complex look that was hard to describe.

Shen Haozhi narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Lu Zichuan and Shen Zhiyi twice, a subtle smile playing on his lips.