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

After he finished speaking, the restaurant became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Yuan Jiaqin's crying stopped abruptly, as if someone had choked her.

She stared wide-eyed at Lu Zichuan, tears still streaming down her face, but her aggrieved expression had frozen. She had probably never seen Lu Zichuan speak to her like this before.

In her memory, although Lu Zichuan was a man of few words, he would never be so ruthless as to tear off the mask of civility.

Moreover, she knew that Lu Zichuan was telling the truth. If she made a scene again, he really would have someone throw her out; he wasn't joking.

Yuan Hongsu was so frightened that she took half a step back, her fingers tightly gripping her mother's clothes, her face deathly pale.

Her eyes, which always gazed at Lu Zichuan with affection, were now filled with fear.

"Zichuan..." Yuan Jiaqin's voice trembled, as if she wanted to say something more.

"Sit down." Lu Zhentian finally spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying a commanding presence befitting someone accustomed to a superior position. "Eat."

Two words, like a final, decisive statement.

Yuan Jiaqin bit her lip, ultimately daring not to cause any more trouble.

She pulled her daughter along, lowered her head, and sat down in the two furthest seats, not daring to look at Shen Zhiyi once more throughout the entire time.

The servants quickly served the remaining dishes, which were steaming hot and filled the table.

As if nothing had happened, Lu Xiaojing picked up a piece of steamed sea bass with her chopsticks and put it in Shen Zhiyi's bowl, her tone light and cheerful: "Come on, Zhiyi, try this fish. It was just caught from the lake this morning, it's very fresh."

Shen Zhiyi snapped out of her daze and looked down at the fish in the bowl; the bones had been removed completely.

She picked it up and took a bite. The delicious flavor melted on her tongue, and she softly murmured, "Mmm, it's delicious."

"Eat more if you like it." Lu Xiaojing smiled contentedly, then turned and glared at Lu Zichuan, "You too, only thinking about yourself, not putting food on Zhizhi's plate."

Lu Zichuan gave a faint "hmm," then reached for the plate of blanched bok choy with his chopsticks, picking up a piece and placing it in Shen Zhiyi's bowl: "Eat more vegetables."

Shen Zhiyi was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him.

He was looking down as he picked up some food for himself, his profile appearing exceptionally gentle under the warm yellow lights of the restaurant, as if he weren't the one who had just uttered the words "throw it out."

But soon, she smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

She was not only thanking him for putting food on her plate, but also for standing up for her.

Across from them, Yuan Hongsu's eyes reddened when she saw what was happening, but she didn't say anything. She lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth, stuffing it full, as if that would make her unable to see what was happening.

Beside her, a ruthless glint flashed in Yuan Jiaqin's eyes, then she asked casually, "Speaking of which, what's this young lady's name? We haven't met yet."

Shen Zhiyi replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "My name is Shen Zhiyi, you can just call me Zhizhi."

Yuan Jiaqin nodded thoughtfully: "Oh, the Shen family. I know the Shen family well, but I've never heard of someone named Shen Zhiyi?"

"Susu, aren't you good friends with Miss Shen? Have you heard of this person in her family?"

She turned to ask Yuan Hongsu.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Yuan Hongsu tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "No."

Shen Zhiyi then understood why Yuan Jiaqin asked her name.

She calmly replied, "I'm just a child from an ordinary family, not some rich girl."

"An ordinary family?" Yuan Jiaqin frowned, as if she had heard something outrageous: "Then what do your parents do?"

My father was a middle school math teacher, and my mother was a Chinese language teacher.

"teacher?"

Yuan Jiaqin could hardly hide her surprise; the corners of her mouth subtly turned down, and her tone carried an undisguised disdain: "Teacher... you come from a scholarly family. But how did such an ordinary family come to know Zichuan?"

She paused, as if suddenly remembering something amusing, then leaned back in her chair, feigning ease, her gaze sweeping over Shen Zhiyi, a hint of teasing in her tone:

"Speaking of which, I once heard people in the industry talk about a situation where some ordinary families have a beautiful daughter, and the parents start to have crooked ideas, teaching their daughters from a young age how to get into a wealthy family."

As she spoke, she slowly picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, as if she were just chatting casually: "She specializes in studying the places rich people frequent, creating chance encounters, and then using various methods to seduce men... eventually getting pregnant and forcing the man to marry her. After marriage, she turns the house into a complete mess."

She looked up at He Wenshu and Lu Jianzhong, her tone of "concern" perfectly timed: "Cousin-in-law, cousin, you two should also be more careful."

As soon as she finished speaking, the color drained from Shen Zhiyi's face.

Her fingers tightened around the chopsticks, her knuckles turning white.

She admitted that her parents were indeed strict with her upbringing, especially regarding her grades, and were almost obsessive about the idea that once married, one could not divorce.

But whether it's Xu Zhesheng or Lu Zichuan, what they value most is whether she can be happy.

Her family background and her parents' occupations were completely irrelevant to them.

But what about Yuan Jiaqin?

She knows nothing, yet she sits here making veiled accusations, using the most malicious speculation to define someone she doesn't even know.

A surge of anger welled up in Shen Zhiyi's chest, almost bursting out of her mouth.

If she weren't playing the role of Lu Zichuan's girlfriend in this play today, she would definitely stand up and argue with this person, word by word.

But she can't.

She could only grit her teeth and suppress her anger.

"Cousin."

Bai Qinghua's voice came from the other side, neither hurried nor slow.

She had just placed a piece of food on Lu Han's plate with her chopsticks, her movements relaxed, without even putting them down, as if casually chatting about the weather:

"Where did you hear this news from? I see you're always so busy, either around Susu or listening to gossip."

She smiled, her gaze calm as she looked at Yuan Jiaqin: "The situation you described does exist. But then again, even if the woman gives a signal, what can she accomplish on her own if the man doesn't respond?"

"Ultimately, it's because some rich kids can't resist temptation and don't take proper precautions, thus giving others the opportunity. Shouldn't this be blamed on problems with their family education?"

Her tone remained gentle, as if she were talking about the weather, "Fortunately, our Zichuan isn't that kind of person. He's been principled since he was a child, and he's kept himself clean all these years. He won't be influenced by those kinds of methods at all."

She paused, then turned her gaze to Shen Zhiyi, her eyes filled with undisguised protectiveness: "Besides, our Zhiyi is beautiful and gentle, she's definitely not the kind of person you're describing."

After speaking, she turned back to look at Yuan Jiaqin, a smile still playing on her lips, but the smile didn't reach her eyes:

"Aunt, I see you have time to worry about other people's affairs. Why don't you spend more time educating Susu? It's a good thing that a girl like her could get involved with a force that wants to kidnap people. Luckily, our Lu family is wealthy and has connections in various industries. Otherwise, if something really happened, we would regret it too late."

These words, seemingly out of concern, were in fact a slap in the face to Yuan Jiaqin.