Shen Qingqing and Old Madam Fu had been waiting downstairs. Old Madam Fu tried to comfort her, but Shen Qingqing couldn't hear a word until footsteps echoed from upstairs.
The two looked up. The pair descended, Fu Jingshu's expression cold, while Lu Wanying behind him cast a triumphant glance at Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing's face hardened.
"Jingshu, what is your decision?" Old Madam Fu asked, her face stern.
"The child will stay."
Old Madam Fu abruptly stood. "What did you say?"
Lu Wanying stepped forward, speaking softly, "Grandmother, Jingshu agreed to let the child stay for the sake of the child. I will bring the child back in a few days."
Old Madam Fu hesitated to speak.
She disliked Lu Wanying, but if the child truly belonged to Fu Jingshu, she could not refuse, for it was a descendant of the Fu family.
She glanced subconsciously at Shen Qingqing.
But Shen Qingqing was only looking at Fu Jingshu, her expression unusually calm. "Is the child yours?"
Fu Jingshu immediately shook his head. "No."
"Then why are you letting them stay?"
Fu Jingshu's lips moved, and he said with difficulty, "I have reasons I cannot avoid."
Shen Qingqing bit her lip and asked again, "Can you not tell me this reason?"
"No."
Fu Jingshu clenched his fists at his sides, his gaze fixed on her. "But believe me, I am not lying to you. I just..."
"You just had no choice."
Shen Qingqing finished his sentence for him and suddenly laughed. "Since you insist, then so be it."
After all, it was someone else's child. She had no right to stop it. They were to be married, but they weren't married yet. What right did she have to object?
Old Madam Fu sensed something amiss and quickly held Shen Qingqing back. "If they are to live here, that's fine, but I have one condition."
"Grandmother, you..."
Lu Wanying tried to speak, but Old Madam Fu glared at her fiercely, forcing her to shut up.
Old Madam Fu said coldly, "I want Chenchen and Xixi to move in."
Fu Jingshu was the first to voice his opinion. "I agree."
Lu Wanying, on the other hand, was very reluctant. She had finally managed to get her own child in, and if those two little brats came, the old woman and Jingshu would like Nuonuo even less!
Unfortunately, here, she had no right to express her opinion.
Fu Jingshu didn't object. Now it all depended on Shen Qingqing. For a moment, all eyes were on her.
Lu Wanying gritted her teeth, screaming inwardly.
Refuse!
Didn't you have the most backbone!
Shen Qingqing had no intention of agreeing, but at that moment, Old Madam Fu grabbed her wrist and looked at her pleadingly. She knew what the old lady meant. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded.
Fu Jingshu's rigid back relaxed slightly, and he immediately said, "I'll go get them."
Shen Qingqing responded coolly.
She walked ahead, Fu Jingshu following behind. It was obvious who was the passive party. Lu Wanying behind them watched, grinding her teeth.
What right did she have to make Jingshu so submissive?
No, if those two little bastards were coming, she had to speed up and bring Nuonuo here too. She absolutely couldn't let those two bastards get ahead!
She quickly bid farewell to Old Madam Fu. Old Madam Fu ignored her, and she hurried away.
When Chenchen and Xixi moved in, Old Madam Fu was the happiest. She doted on the two children and had the servants prepare a large table of their favorite dishes.
The family enjoyed a meal together harmoniously.
That night, they stayed.
Old Madam Fu was so happy that she wanted the two children to sleep with her, while Shen Qingqing and Fu Jingshu stood in the hallway, looking at each other.
Fu Jingshu's lips moved. "I..."
Shen Qingqing turned and walked away, returning to her room and slamming the door shut.
He could only stand in the hallway, looking at the closed door, rubbing his aching temples. After a long while, seeing the light from under the door extinguish, he turned and returned to his own room.
The next morning, the family went downstairs for breakfast.
After last night, the two children had become very close to Old Madam Fu, surrounding her, calling her "great-grandmother," and making her beam with joy.
Shen Qingqing and Fu Jingshu were still the same. She completely ignored him.
Just then, Lu Wanying arrived with a little girl. The girl looked like a delicate porcelain doll, very cute, dressed in a pink princess dress.
She seemed timid, hiding behind Lu Wanying and looking at them cautiously.
"Grandmother, this is my child, Nuonuo." Lu Wanying held the little girl's hand and introduced her. "Nuonuo, you should call her Great-Grandmother, and this is your Daddy."
The atmosphere fell silent.
Fu Jingshu said nothing, his gaze complex.
Old Madam Fu hesitated for a moment before speaking. She couldn't just leave the child out. "I've already had someone prepare a room. Take her up to see it."
Lu Wanying knew she couldn't rush things, so she took Nuonuo upstairs first.
The door opened again, and it was Fu Tingyi and Fang Ruo who had arrived. Fang Ruo said as soon as she entered, "I heard Wanying had a daughter with Jingshu, so I came to see. Has the child arrived yet?"
Old Madam Fu's expression soured at the sight of the couple. "She's upstairs."
The couple immediately headed upstairs.
As for the cute twins sitting by the table, Fang Ruo glanced at them and walked past as if she hadn't seen them. She loved these two grandsons, but the children were not close to her now.
She had to teach them a lesson.
Fu Jingshu took Shen Qingqing's hand on the table. "Qingqing..."
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Shen Qingqing seemed to hear a hint of subservience in his tone, yet she quickly dismissed it. Fu Jingshu was not the type to ever back down.
She withdrew her hand, ignoring him.
Fu Jingshu's lips twitched, his eyes filled with a hint of dejection, but he still said nothing.
Old Madam Fu sighed as she watched the two interact, but the problem was now in their home, and her words were useless.
Thinking this, she felt a wave of annoyance.
Soon, Fu Tingyi and his wife came down. No one knew what they had discussed, but Nuonuo was by their side, and the couple seemed to be very fond of the child.
Lu Wanying also stayed by their side. The four of them looked quite harmonious.
Shen Qingqing took a tissue to wipe her mouth. "I'm done eating. I'm going to work. Xixi, Chenchen, listen to Great-Grandmother. Mommy will be back after work."
The twins looked at her simultaneously and nodded obediently in unison, their voices ringing out together.
"Goodbye, Mommy."
Looking at the two precious children, Old Madam Fu's heart melted. "Such cute, obedient babies. After you finish eating, Great-Grandmother will have them make you fruit parfait, okay?"
"Okay," Chenchen nodded obediently.
"Thank you, Grandma," Shen Jinxi smiled brightly, like a little sun.
After breakfast, Fu Jingshu also left. Old Madam Fu sat in the living room with the two children, while Nuonuo stayed with Fu Tingyi and Fang Ruo.
Seeing Old Madam Fu laughing and chatting happily with the two adorable children, Nuonuo became a little unhappy.
Fang Ruo noticed and asked, "Why aren't you happy?"
Nuonuo looked enviously at the three grandparents and grandchildren opposite them. "Great-Grandmother doesn't seem to like me..."
Fang Ruo exchanged a glance with Fu Tingyi. They looked at Shen Jinxi, who was still laughing heartily without a care in the world. Fang Ruo cleared her throat and reprimanded, "Xixi, don't laugh so loudly. You'll scare your sister."
Shen Jinxi looked bewildered. "I wasn't laughing that loudly. The TV is louder than my laugh, so why are you only scolding me and not the TV?"
Old Madam Fu glanced at Nuonuo, who was secretly watching her. "Alright, don't make a fuss."
Fang Ruo was displeased. "Mother, why are you defending them? Nuonuo is also Jingshu's child."
Old Madam Fu remained noncommittal, only looking at Nuonuo and saying sternly, "I know you are not as you appear. Perhaps you have learned the same tricks as your mother. But those won't work on me. If you behave yourself, you can stay. If you do the same things as your mother, then you can leave together."