Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Xu Meng hardly slept a wink that night.

Huang Xiaoying was lying next to her, occasionally hearing the bed creak. At first, she thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but before long, she was snoring softly.

Xu Meng had expected to feel hatred or some other strong emotion, but there was nothing. She spent the entire night lost in her thoughts.

In the next room, Feng Yanwen let out a quiet sigh. After all, Xu Meng was the child she had raised with her own hands. She had just urged Xu Meng to reunite with her biological parents, but now she was starting to regret it.

What if Xu Meng ends up closer to them?

Earlier, Feng Yanwen had only been focused on not letting the Xu family get their way. But now that she had calmed down, she felt a twinge of reluctance. No matter how things played out, she wouldn’t be happy.

Her pregnancy restlessness seemed to agitate the baby in her womb, who began bubbling and moving.

Seeing that she couldn’t sleep, Wang Shuanzhu kept her company, rambling about all sorts of things until Feng Yanwen finally drifted off. But then he found himself unable to sleep.

His heart ached seeing Feng Yanwen struggle.

Lately, she had been torn—worried that she might unconsciously favor her own child, afraid that Xu Meng might resent the baby, especially now that Xu Meng knew how much she had longed for a child of her own. Unconsciously, Feng Yanwen had begun distancing herself, like moving to separate rooms.

They were still navigating this mother-daughter relationship, let alone Wang Shuanzhu, who was an outsider in this dynamic.

All he wanted was for his wife to be happy.

But he had no idea how to navigate this situation.

At the crack of dawn the next day, Wang Shuanzhu woke up. Perhaps because she had slept so late, Feng Yanwen was still in bed.

Before long, the front door creaked—Sister-in-law Qian had come to fix breakfast.

Wang Shuanzhu slipped quietly out of bed and reminded her to keep quiet.

Sister-in-law Qian agreed softly, though secretly envious.

Second marriages like this—where the husband doted on his wife—were rare. Plenty of first marriages were full of constant fighting and unhappiness. Just as she was thinking this, there was a knock at the door.

Wang Shuanzhu's face fell the moment he saw who it was.

Wang Qiang was standing there with a watermelon and bellowed, "Brother, I came to check on you and Sister-in-law!"

His eyes roamed around the room, and when he didn’t see Feng Yanwen, he remarked with a smirk, "Sister-in-law still in bed? Mom and Dad sent me to see if you need anything. Just let us know."

Still in bed at this hour? Some wife you've got.

Wang Shuanzhu disliked his brother’s attitude toward his wife. He'd always been like this—all smiles one minute, sneers the next. They had deliberately kept Feng Yanwen’s pregnancy from the family, but word was bound to get out eventually. Sure enough, Wang Qiang had caught wind of it and showed up like a shark smelling blood.

Knowing she was still asleep, why was he shouting? Who did he think he was disturbing? Wang Shuanzhu grabbed a chair and gestured for Wang Qiang to sit outside.

True to form, Wang Qiang’s grating personality hadn’t changed. He blathered on loudly, first admiring the house’s decor, then lamenting the choice of location.

Soon, there was movement inside.

Wang Qiang hadn’t come without an agenda. "Mom and Dad heard Sister-in-law’s pregnant, so they sent me with a message. They plan to come take care of her—help out during the birth and postpartum. You should get the house ready. They’ll be moving in soon."

This wasn't a request—just an announcement that their parents would be living with them from now on.

Wang Shuanzhu: "I’m not okay with this. Back when Sun Yun was sick, I asked them to come, and they couldn’t be bothered. You weren’t even married then, and the family wasn’t busy—that was actually my busiest period. They’ve been raising your kids for so many years, and now that they’re older, they suddenly want to come live with me for retirement?

And I’m your elder brother. If there’s something, you should’ve talked to me first.

Don’t you dare boss me around."

Wang Qiang choked on his words, not expecting his brother to be so blunt: "Brother, Mom and Dad were just thinking of your best interests back then. With your first wife’s condition, wouldn’t she have just been a burden on you? Cutting ties over this and distancing yourself from the family—it’s really hurt them. And now, they genuinely want to mend things with you."

Wang Shuanzhu wasn’t much of a talker, but when he did speak, his words could draw blood. Back when he worked at the state-owned enterprise, he’d given bosses heart attacks.

"They’ve supported you all these years, stayed with you when they were capable. Now that they’re old and can barely get around, they want to come to me for retirement? Wang Qiang, I’m not stupid. If Mom and Dad come live with me now, are they here to help or be a burden? Not to mention, your sister-in-law’s pregnancy at her age—it’s not easy for her, and at my age, having a child isn’t easy either. If our parents really wanted to leave me a legacy, they’d keep their distance and keep things as they were before."

Wang Shuanzhu continued, "If they need money for medicine, I’ll match whatever you contribute. But if they want to move in with me, my answer’s no, period. If you really send them over, then we split their care 50-50, and the house should be split fifty-fifty too."

Wang Qiang’s face turned red then white: "Brother, what do you mean by that? All I said was that Mom and Dad want to take care of Sister-in-law, and you unload all this on me. If you don’t want it, just say so—no need to be so harsh."

Wang Shuanzhu looked at him calmly: "We’re blood—cut the crap. Some things don’t need to be said—you should understand. At their age, are they really coming to take care of her or just add to her stress? Who’d be taking care of who is anybody’s guess. Besides, I never lived with you growing up—we never bonded. If they came to live here, they’d just be bored. So let’s drop this talk of ‘taking care’ of anyone. If they need money, just say so. And if one day you don’t want to support them anymore, sign over your half of the house, and I’ll take over their care."

Best I’ll do is hire a caregiver to look after them—and get a house out of it too.

Wang Qiang was fuming so hard he saw stars. There was no way he’d give up the house, but with his parents getting older and unable to even handle childcare, his wife had already started complaining—saying they were nagging and couldn’t do much work anyway. The age gap between him and his brother was big, and they’d never been close. And Wang Shuanzhu had never been one to spare anyone’s feelings—his words cut deep. He didn’t need anything from anyone, and he didn’t care about that dump of a house their parents left behind.

But could Wang Qiang really say he didn’t care? If he so much as hinted at it, Wang Shuanzhu would force him to split the house.

Just then, Feng Yanwen came out of the room, freshly dressed in new clothes.

Since getting pregnant, she’d gained over ten pounds, and none of her old dresses fit anymore. This year’s clothes were all new cotton outfits Wang Shuanzhu had taken her to buy at the mall—clearly not cheap. Just for the pregnancy, she’d replaced her entire wardrobe. Even outsiders would say Wang Shuanzhu knew how to treat his woman right.

But in Wang Qiang’s eyes, his brother was willing to spend money on his wife but wouldn’t spare a cent for the family.

If their parents needed money for medical care, he’d only match whatever Wang Qiang contributed.

Wang Qiang couldn’t help but feel resentful, his anger bubbling up. He barely held back from lashing out at Feng Yanwen, his tone icy: "Sister-in-law, you haven’t been back to see Mom and Dad since you got married. They miss you and their son, but my brother says you don’t want them living here."

The sight of Feng Yanwen’s belly made him furious. Hadn’t she divorced her first husband because she couldn’t have a son?

And now here she was, pregnant. The wedding had been in May, and her belly was already this big—she must’ve already been carrying the baby during the ceremony. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

If his brother had stayed childless, all his money would’ve gone to Wang Qiang’s son.

But now he’d remarried, and this woman was pregnant, acting like she didn’t know anything. If it weren’t for outsiders mentioning it, he wouldn’t even have known.

Feng Yanwen wasn’t having it: "Wang Qiang, I don’t want to get involved in your family matters, but even before we got married, your parents weren’t living with Shuanzhu. They’ve never gotten along all these years—how is it suddenly my fault they can’t move in now? And let’s not forget, your situation is different. You got the house, and you had Mom and Dad raising your kids all these years. Now that they’re old, you want to dump them on us?"

Feng Yanwen had struggled for years to escape family drama and hated the idea of living with elderly in-laws.

One of the things she loved most about Wang Shuanzhu was that they didn’t have to live with his parents.

Wang Qiang might not dare push his brother, but he wasn’t afraid of Feng Yanwen—he’d never respected this second wife of his brother’s. Hearing her words, he raised his voice: "Hey, watch your tone! Is this how you’ve been poisoning my brother’s mind?"

His loud voice grated on Feng Yanwen, who was a powder keg these days. She took a step back.

Wang Shuanzhu knew her mood was volatile now—she’d snap at the slightest provocation. He stepped between them, worried things might escalate. He knew Wang Qiang well—hot-tempered and impulsive. If he got angry, he wouldn’t care if you were nine months pregnant or not.

Feng Yanwen, already irritated, snapped at Wang Qiang: "Move aside. I don’t have time for this today."

Wang Qiang, stubborn as ever, refused to budge and even shoved Wang Shuanzhu: "What’s the matter? Can’t I even talk to my own brother now, you fox?"

Frightened by his aggression, Feng Yanwen stepped back—right onto the watermelon Wang Qiang had brought earlier. She lost her balance and fell backward.

Wang Shuanzhu lunged to catch her.

Feng Yanwen landed in his arms, while Wang Shuanzhu took the brunt of the fall. His back cracked sharply, and suddenly, he couldn’t move.