Chapter 548: Calm – Daily Gossip in the Sickly Aunt’s Compound

Chapter 548: Calm—The Sickly Young Woman’s Compound Gossip Chronicles

When Zhang Mengyun returned to the ward, she realized Wang Qiaomei was gone. She was puzzled but didn’t know who to ask.

She started to speak, intending to ask Jin Jianhua, but suddenly recalled the gossip she had just overheard. Instinctively, she bit back her words.

Even so, she kept a close watch in secret.

The ward felt unnaturally quiet to her at that moment, yet she could also sense that her Brother Jianhua seemed tense and fidgety.

What was he nervous about? Why was he so agitated?

Though Zhang Mengyun wasn’t particularly sharp, she still had a woman’s intuition. She had a sharp hunch that Jin Jianhua’s current state might be related to Wang Qiaomei’s disappearance.

Her hands, scrubbing the towel, tightened involuntarily, and her movements slowed further.

By the time Zhang Mengyun finished preparing the damp towel and was about to help with wiping, the sound of a hospital bed being wheeled in echoed through the room. Jin Jianhua bolted upright.

Zhang Mengyun’s hand, holding the damp towel, froze mid-air as she gaped at Jin Jianhua, who was completely oblivious to her gaze, his eyes firmly locked on the hospital bed being pushed through the doorway.

Zhang Mengyun turned her head to look, and a suspicion took hold in her mind. Silently, she tightened her grip on the damp towel.

She, who usually made a scene, stayed silent at that moment.

Auntie Zhou asked nervously, “Doctor, how is she?”

The doctor shook his head. “The pregnant woman’s emotions were too unstable, and after what just happened… the baby couldn’t be saved.”

Auntie Zhou exhaled quietly in relief, as did the other two women in the ward.

Qin Xianglian feared the baby was Zhou Qin’s. If that had been the case, she’d have had a hard time talking her way out of it.

Zhang Mengyun, too, had feared the child might be connected to Jin Jianhua. She dreaded the thought of becoming the subject of the gossip she had overheard. Now that the baby was lost—good!

Yet, the thought that had just taken shape in her mind remained unchanged.

Jin Jianhua, however, looked crushed. He slumped against the headboard of the bed, the words "gone, gone…" echoing endlessly in his mind.

Eldest Master Zhou, propped up on his own bed, glared viciously at Wang Qiaomei. “It’s for the best it wasn’t saved. That brat shouldn’t have been born in the first place.”

The doctor stayed out of it. Conflicts between patients and their families were none of his concern.

He didn’t linger either. Before leaving, he reminded Wang Qiaomei, “You need to rest after losing the baby and allow time for the uterine lining to heal. Otherwise, you may develop a tendency for recurrent miscarriages in the future.”

Wang Qiaomei gazed emptily into space, her expression hollow, as if she hadn’t heard a word.

The doctor could only sigh helplessly. She’d done her job as a doctor—the rest was beyond her control.

After the doctor left, an uneasy silence fell over the ward.

When Lin Qing got to work the next day, she overheard people verifying the rumors. Only then did she realize just how fast gossip could spread.

“It’s true.”

“She really had a miscarriage.”

“So it really happened!”

“Yeah.”

"Did Wang Qiaomei really drug Old Man Zhou? I heard he can't have children anymore, is that true?"

Lin Qing nodded emphatically, "Yes, that's also true."

The crowd burst into an uproar!

They were shocked when they first heard the news, and even more shocked after it was confirmed!

The whole mess had been so dramatic, full of twists and turns—just like the heroine’s rollercoaster life.

If the pregnancy had brought uncertainty to Wang Qiaomei's future, the miscarriage gave her a final outcome.

After resting in the hospital for a few days, Zhou Qin was dead set on divorcing Wang Qiaomei. Her greatest leverage was gone, but she remained strangely calm.

"I can divorce you, but the job has to stay with me." That was her future lifeline.

Hearing this, Auntie Zhou grew anxious. She was still young and had plans for that job herself.

Zhou Qin, of course, refused. "No way. That job was given by my family. After the divorce, it must be returned."

"Your family only gave me a chance to take the exam. I earned this job through my own hard work." Wang Qiaomei believed she got the job through her own efforts, not because of the Zhou family.

"That’s irrelevant. Without the opportunity we provided, how could you have become a worker?" Zhou Qin still refused to hand over the job. It paid several hundred yuan—selling it would be a windfall.

"Fine. If you won’t give it to me, I’ll go to the police station and report you and Bai Fengxia for causing my miscarriage."

Zhou Qin was furious. "Report me then! I’ll say *you* were the one cheating!"

Wang Qiaomei didn’t care. "Do you have proof?" The only real evidence was now gone—what did she have to fear?

"You—you—" Zhou Qin trembled with rage.

"Meet my terms, or no divorce. It’s all the same to me."

Wang Qiaomei’s indifferent attitude managed to piss off both Zhous, father and son.

...

Soon, the entire neighborhood heard about their divorce.

"Holy cow! They really divorced?"

"They did, it’s really over!"

"If they didn’t divorce after this, Zhou Qin would be a total doormat."

"Does he even have a spine?"

"..." A heavy silence followed.

It happened to be their weekend off, and Lin Qing and her mother were also discussing them.

"Divorced so quickly? I figured they’d fight it out forever!" Lin Qing had been busy at work lately but still caught bits of gossip.

"No way they could’ve stuck it out after that!"

"...True." Lin Qing nodded.

But, "Mom, they’re all so messed up—wasn’t there any talk of compensation?"

"Compensation? Who should compensate? No one’s really blameless, so who can they demand compensation from?"

"..." Lin Qing fell silent.

She mentally sorted it out: Eldest Master Zhou was injured by Zhang Mengyun; Jin Jianhua, Wang Qiaomei, and Wang Gousheng were injured by Zhou Qin; Zhou Qin was injured by Wang Gousheng. Hmm, when you think about it, none of them have clean hands.

The relationship between Jin Jianhua and Wang Qiaomei couldn’t be scrutinized too deeply. If they really dared to demand compensation from Zhou Qin, who knew if Zhou Qin would dig in his heels?

Looking at it this way, it really was hard to say...

Perhaps it was indeed the case. Everyone knew they weren’t entirely in the right and quietly let the matter of compensation go.

Mother Li, an outsider, had made a big deal out of it, but in the end, none of it was useful. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A few more days passed, and Zhou Qin and the others returned.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to stay in the hospital longer, but the expenses were simply too high. Not going to work meant lost pay, and there were still medical bills to pay. They couldn’t afford it, so they came back early.

By now, it was time to get paid again.

That’s right—nearly half a month had passed since they were first injured.

Compared to others who were excited at the start of the month, they seemed particularly downcast, standing out sharply.