The mysterious CEO's endless pampering

Shen Yanran didn't know why Jiang Meiling was so angry. She had only taken a child home to take care of him for a while.

They haven't done anything shameful or disgraceful, so why are they so angry?

Shen Yanran didn't want to have an unnecessary conflict with Jiang Meiling, so she tried to explain in a calm tone: "It's a friend I used to know. You might not know even if I told you. Besides, I discussed this with Zhan Ting, and he agreed that I brought Tongtong home. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

Jiang Meiling wasn't stupid. Calling Li Zhanting at this moment was tantamount to telling him that she had arrived at the apartment.

I'm going to get upset with her again.

Moreover, Shen Yanran knew perfectly well that her relationship with her son was still strained, yet she still suggested making a phone call, which meant she wanted to complain.

She wouldn't give her that chance.

Jiang Meiling looked Shen Yanran up and down with disdain and said with a face full of disgust, "There's nothing to ask. Don't I know my son? He's usually such a lazy person, how could he let a stranger stay at home for no reason? You must have bewitched him and made him agree without thinking."

Shen Yanran was also helpless. Her mother-in-law always said that she had bewitched Li Zhanting, as if she were saying that she was not a person but a witch who could do witchcraft.

But if she really had such abilities, how could her mother have died of illness, and how could she have had such a difficult life for more than ten years afterward?

Even the person he loved at the time betrayed him...

Shen Yanran faced the situation calmly and said, "Zhan Ting is your son. Since you know him, you should know how outstanding he is. He is not someone I can sway with a few words. Besides, I don't have that ability."

Otherwise, how could her mother-in-law have come to despise her to this day?

“Aunt Yanran…” Gu Zitong tugged at Shen Yanran’s hand with some concern.

Through their conversation, he realized that the jewel-encrusted, domineering old woman was Li Zhanting's mother.

She seemed to dislike Aunt Yanran very much, and kept pressing her about their relationship.

This scene seemed familiar to him.

When his father was still alive, his grandmother would always yell at his mother whenever she came to visit.

Later, when he lived with that so-called uncle, the aunt next door also suffered from her mother-in-law's temper every day.

Does this mean that all mothers-in-law in the world dislike their daughters-in-law?

But no matter what, Aunt Yanran had only endured it all for his sake, so he couldn't remain silent. "Grandma... I'm sorry, my arrival upset you. Actually, Aunt Yanran and I..."

There's nothing he can't mention about his past experiences, as long as he can get this old woman to let go of his Aunt Yanran.

However, Jiang Meiling interrupted without any interest, saying, "What grandma? Who are you calling grandma? Do I know who you are? You just open your mouth and call me grandma. I'm warning you, I have my own grandson. Don't try to get close to me."

She had no affection for this seemingly quiet and well-behaved boy; she only cared about her grandson.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanran frowned in displeasure.

Jiang Meiling's words were a bit too much. Gu Zitong is still a child, yet Jiang Meiling showed no compassion and said such hurtful things. It was really inappropriate.

Shen Yanran patted Gu Zitong's hair and comforted her softly, "Tongtong, go back to your room and do your homework first. I want to talk to Grandma alone for a while."

Not wanting to put Shen Yanran in a difficult position, Gu Zitong agreed, "Okay."

Jiang Meiling came today specifically to cause trouble for Shen Yanran; she wasn't interested in the little boy, so she didn't stop him from leaving.

She wanted to see what tricks Shen Yanran could come up with.

Shen Yanran only spoke slowly after confirming that Gu Zitong had returned to her room: "Mom, I don't know who you heard it from or what you said that makes you have such a big opinion about Tongtong, but I will definitely stay by her side to take care of this child for a while. If you are unhappy, there is nothing I can do."

When Jiang Meiling heard Shen Yanran say this, she realized that Jiang Meiling had absolutely no intention of backing down.

She immediately asked in a gloomy voice, "Shen Yanran, you have a really big heart. Do you think this is a stray cat you picked up and just kept it? It's already eight years old. Aren't you afraid it will bully your son?"

Did Gu Zitong bully her son?

How can this be.

An eight-year-old child and an infant less than one year old—what is there to fight over between them, and how can it be said that one is bullying the other?

"Mom, aren't you overthinking this? With Aunt Chen taking care of the child, how could he possibly bully him?" Shen Yanran felt that what she was imagining was really inexplicable.

“That Aunt Chen is a human being, not a god. What if that child takes advantage of Aunt Chen’s inattention, or when she’s in the toilet, to bully my grandson? He’s so young, he can’t even speak a complete sentence.”

“The grandson you’re talking about is also my son. How could I let others bully him? Besides, Tongtong is very well-behaved and sensible. He would never do the kind of thing you’re talking about.”

"Kids these days are all so clever and cunning. Maybe their well-behaved and sensible behavior is just an act to lower your guard."

"Mom, I really don't understand what you're worried about. Tongtong has absolutely no reason to bully Ningning!"

Shen Yanran was truly baffled.

Just as Jiang Meiling was about to say something more, her phone, which was on the table, rang a few times. She subconsciously picked up the phone, looked at the message, and her displeased expression turned even more unpleasant.

She showed the contents of her hand to Shen Yanran, "Don't think that just because you don't say anything, I don't know what you've been doing."

Shen Yanran looked down and saw that it was Gu Zitong's personal information.

She never expected that Jiang Meiling would secretly have someone conduct such an investigation on a child.

Shen Yanran's face turned completely cold. "Mom, how could you let someone investigate Tongtong so casually? This is his personal privacy. What you're doing is so disrespectful!"

"Respect? You're talking to me about respect? What right do you have to talk to me about respect? Did you respect me when you married my son? You just did it first and asked me later! Besides, you brought a stranger home so casually, I had to investigate him thoroughly. What if he's your illegitimate child or something? If that got out, wouldn't our Li family be laughed at? Luckily, the investigation results weren't as serious as I thought, or you would be dead!" Jiang Meiling explained her reasons for investigating without any hesitation.

illegitimate child?

It's amazing that she even thought of that.

Shen Yanran is only 29 years old this year. If she really has a child the age of Gu Zitong, she would have gotten pregnant at least when she was 20.

At that time, she was still in college, and her only boyfriend was Gao Yufeng. The two of them had never done "that kind of thing" together, so how could she have gotten pregnant and given birth?

This is simply unbelievable.

Shen Yanran didn't want to take this argument seriously with her mother-in-law, who had such an wild imagination. She just wanted to know if her mother-in-law still objected to her staying at home.

"So, now that you've investigated and found out what Tongtong went through, don't you feel sorry for him and want to help him?" Shen Yanran always felt that people have a sense of compassion, and perhaps Jiang Meiling would change her mind.

Even an adult might not be able to handle this, but Gu Zitong persevered for a whole year. If she hadn't met her, she might be dead by now...

Jiang Meiling, however, said without any emotion, "Pitiful? His experience is indeed tragic, but what does it have to do with me? He's not my grandson. Besides, who knows how twisted a child's mind might be? Better safe than sorry. If he's jealous of my grandson's happier life and does something heinous, you'll be the culprit!"

The answer was completely different from what Shen Yanran had expected, which truly shocked her.

She clearly remembered that every year the Li family would allocate a large sum of money to do good deeds all over the world, and the establishment of charitable foundations had also helped many families overcome difficulties.

How come it became a completely different story in Jiang Meiling's mouth?

They won't even allow an eight-year-old child a place to stay.

At this point, Shen Yanran couldn't help but wonder if Jiang Meiling had some kind of paranoia. She had always suspected that Jiang Meiling had ulterior motives for marrying Li Zhanting, and now she suspected that a child was so malicious as to bully an infant.

Shen Yanran felt exhausted, feeling that no matter how she explained, it would be useless. "If you keep thinking like this, there's nothing I can do."

Jiang Meiling was losing patience. "If you can't do it, then I'll help you find a way. Get this child away as soon as possible, either to his relatives or to an orphanage. He just can't stay here. If you don't send him away, I'll find someone to do it for him."

"No, I can't let you take Tongtong away. If you continue to insist on this, then I'll have to call Zhan Ting and let him make the decision. Anyway, you've always said that this family belongs to your son, so Tongtong's fate should be decided by him."

Actually, Shen Yanran didn't want to call Li Zhanting at this time and affect his work.

But she and Jiang Meiling didn't get along, and neither of them listened to the other, so she had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

When Jiang Meiling heard that she was going to call Li Zhanting, she still had some reservations.

She knew perfectly well how much her son spoiled Shen Yanran.

Asking him to make the decision is futile; he'll definitely side with Shen Yanran.

Therefore, you cannot make this call.

“Zhan Ting is so busy. Calling him now would only delay his work. I don’t agree. If you insist on having someone else make the decision, then let Zhan Ting’s father come. If he also agrees to let the child stay, then I will no longer object.”

Jiang Meiling refused to believe that Li Zhongnan, her husband, would speak up for Shen Yanran!