TGCF sponsored chapters (1/1) by me on ko-fi. Enjoy!
Just as he mentioned Zhang Qiming, they heard a furious shout, “I don’t agree!” The crowd turned to see Zhang Qiming, still dressed in factory uniforms, panting as he ran over, clearly having rushed back after hearing the news. His face was flushed with anger, and he glared hatefully at the Huang family, “Xiao Feng is my son! No one can take him away from me!” As he spoke, he moved forward to grab Xiao Feng, but Xia Mian quickly picked up the child and stepped aside.
Zhang Qiming glared at Xia Mian as if he wanted to devour her, “Xia Mian, I’m telling you, don’t even think about it! Xiao Feng is my biological son, and I will never let his registration be transferred!”
“A biological son you let others abuse at will?” Xia Mian sneered. “You refuse just to save face because you’re afraid people will say you’re heartless. Stop pretending!”
Huang Xiaojuan’s mother immediately added, “Xiao Zhang, in life, you need to consider practicality. You don’t even like that child, so why do you insist on saving face?”
“Shut up!” Zhang Qiming shouted at his mother-in-law, “He’s mine! Don’t even think about it!”
Perhaps because she knew Zhang Qiming might have killed his wife for insurance money, Xia Mian found his fury unnerving. Deciding not to confront him directly, she nonchalantly shrugged, “Anyway, I just want to ensure that Xiao Feng grows up safe and healthy. Huang Xiaojuan will never be allowed to live with him again.”
“I don’t want money or anything else, as long as Xiao Feng is not hurt.” She looked at Zhang Qiming, “So, keeping Huang Xiaojuan in prison is best. Otherwise, nothing would change from the last time. Just a phone call from you, and she returns home as if nothing happened, becoming even more audacious.”
“Absolutely not!” Huang Xiaojun also insisted, “We will never agree!” He turned to Zhang Qiming, “I know you have always despised our family, so as long as Xiaojuan was fine, we never bothered you.”
“And yet, as soon as Xiaojuan was arrested, you dumped Xuanxuan at our house. Are you planning to divorce her because you’re ashamed of her?”
Huang Xiaojuan’s mother immediately cried, “Zhang Qiming, you can’t be so heartless! Xiaojuan was with you when you had nothing!”
“We even bought you a house, and there’s Xuanxuan. Look at him; do you want him to grow up without a mother like Xiao Feng?”
Xuanxuan started crying loudly at the right moment and ran toward Zhang Qiming, “Dad, Dad, Brother Ming bullied me! I don’t want to stay at Grandma’s house. I want Mom, I want Mom…”
Huang Xiaojun wiped his eyes and said, “Brother-in-law, even if you’re ashamed of Xiaojuan, please think of Xuanxuan.”
“Xiao Feng has his aunt; she cares for him so much that he’ll be well taken care of. But Xuanxuan is different. None of us can care for him…”
Huang Xiaojuan’s mother began to wail loudly, “Qiming, I’m begging you. I’ll kneel if I have to.”
“I know you’re ashamed of Xiaojuan, but remember, she did it all for this family.”
“When you bought your house, you borrowed money from us, and you still haven’t paid it back. She only got desperate because her brother was pressing her a little too hard.”
“We won’t rush you for the money anymore. You can pay it back slowly, as long as you stay together.”
The more Zhang Qiming listened, the more confused he became. “When did I borrow money from you? What do you mean you bought us a house?!”
“I knew it!” Huang Xiaojun exploded with anger, “You’re trying to use this opportunity to divorce Xiaojuan and get out of paying back that 40,000 yuan, aren’t you? You’re really cunning, Zhang Qiming!”
Zhang Qiming’s face turned blue, “What 40,000 yuan? Where did that come from?”
“Of course, the 40,000 yuan you borrowed from us to buy your house.” Huang Xiaojun glared at him, “If you didn’t borrow it from us, where did you get the money? You had just joined the factory at that time, where did you get the money to buy such a big house?”
“Or did you use Xia Chun’s compensation?”
“Shut up!!” Zhang Qiming’s eyes suddenly burst into flame and he glared at Huang Xiaojun viciously, as if he wanted to eat him alive. “There was no compensation!”
Xia Mian quietly hugged Xiao Feng and stepped back to a safe distance.
Ning Shaoyun took Chenchen away, and everyone nearby also followed suit and kept their distance, tacitly keeping their ears open.
“Yes, there was no compensation.” Huang Xiaojun pulled out a piece of paper, “That’s why you borrowed from us! Here’s the promissory note. I’m telling you, don’t think you can get out of it!”
Zhang Qiming clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead. He realized he was being extorted…
That idiot Huang Xiaojuan actually had written a promissory note behind his back!
Huang Xiaojuan’s mother continued to plead, “Qiming, please just agree, so that Xiaojuan doesn’t end up in prison. As long as my daughter is released, we’ll let you pay the money back slowly; we won’t rush you…”
Huang Xiaojun also softened his tone, “Right, right. Xiao Feng is just transferring his household registration to his aunt, not severing the father-son relationship.”
“Keeping him at home causes you so much trouble anyway. When he’s older, you can bring him back if you want. Isn’t it easy?”
Zhang Qiming couldn’t argue. If he didn’t acknowledge the promissory note, the Huang family would definitely force him to explain the source of the money. He took a deep breath, planning to placate them for now, “Let me think about it…”
“What’s there to think about?” Huang Xiaojuan’s mother was furious. “It’s just a matter of transferring a household registration. What excuse are you looking for? You must be scheming again!”
Huang Xiaojun, seeing his mother change her tone from pleading to aggressive, also turned hostile in an instant. “I knew it, you weren’t any good! Back then, what methods did you use to seduce my sister, a city girl, until she was completely smitten by a rural boy like you?!”
“You took advantage of us and now you want to burn bridges? No way!”
“If my sister doesn’t get released, don’t think you will be able to stay in Ming City!” He turned to the bystanders, “Where’s your Huagang union office? Let’s see if the factory can tolerate a worker with such problematic personal conduct!”
Zhang Qiming suddenly exploded in anger, “I said I need to think!” He grabbed Huang Xiaojun’s collar, his face twisted with rage, “You either wait for a day, or I’ll file for divorce from Huang Xiaojuan today!”
Huang Xiaojun was startled by his outburst. Seeing this, Huang Xiaojuan’s mother didn’t dare push him too hard and said with a choked voice, “Fine, we know it’s not easy for you.”
“We’ll wait for one more day. By tomorrow, you must give us an answer: either pay back the 40,000 yuan immediately or get Xiaojuan out right away.”
After the Huang family’s mother and son left, Zhang Qiming turned to Xia Mian, his expression sorrowful yet determined. “Xia Mian, listen carefully, I will never let Xiao Feng go with anyone else. He is the last remembrance your sister left me.”
This statement silenced anyone who wanted to persuade him.
But it made Xia Mian feel disgusted. Hugging Xiao Feng tightly, she retorted, “So you’ll let your new love abuse this last remembrance?”
“Just be honest: did my sister stand in the way of your beautiful romance with Huang Xiaojuan, so you kept Xiao Feng to suffer in her place, to vent your frustrations?”
“I’ve warned you, don’t use Xiao Feng and my sister to paint a loving façade for yourself, or don’t blame me for exposing you.”
Seeing the neighbors’ mocking expressions, Zhang Qiming’s expression darkened, and he went upstairs with a sullen expression without saying anything else.
Xia Mian shouted to his back, “If you don’t transfer the registration, then give all of my sister’s compensation to Xiao Feng!”
Zhang Qiming abruptly turned around, his eyes full of malice, “I said, there was no compensation!”
Xia Mian stared back at him defiantly, “Then where did you get the money? Was it really borrowed from Huang Xiaojuan’s family?”
Zhang Qiming’s demeanor abruptly calmed, and without further argument, he gave a barely perceptible smirk and went upstairs.
Xia Mian felt a chill in her heart. This psycho probably wanted to kill her…
But it’s okay. He would have no chance, because he’d be too busy dealing with the Huang family!
With the Huang family demanding so much money, Zhang Qiming would definitely go to check his ‘private stash’ first…
Hehe…
< Previous | TOC | Advanced TOC | Next>
Wants more chapters?
Click this page for the status of sponsored chapters.
Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
Thank you for the chapter ❣️
Ah that reminds me, I had a dream last night where Xia Mian’s way of framing Huang Xiaojuan was just a bunch of pictures of her stealing the stamps drawn by Xiao Feng lol.