Return to before death

Just like every time Yan Ran and Zong's mother had a conflict before, Zong Zhengqing remained silent and expressionless, simply standing there, letting Zong's mother say whatever she wanted, without any intention of resisting.

Yan Ran could previously explain it as filial piety, but now, thinking back, it was nothing more than cowardice.

The dissatisfaction in the matriarch's eyes intensified. She frowned and her tone changed from indifference to obvious disgust.

"Have you forgotten everything I taught you before? Even if you really did something like this, you don't even know how to cover it up?" After saying that, she glanced at Zong Zhengjing and continued with a sneer, "You can't even mediate a fight. It's quite a show to see your brother and sister-in-law arguing, isn't it?"

“No.” Zongzheng Jing clenched his fist and retorted.

The matriarch waved her hand, seemingly unwilling to pay attention.

"Fine, fine, what do you want to say to me? I knew you were stubborn and unreasonable, so I just let you have your way." She genuinely didn't want to pay attention to her two sons, and then made a move to go upstairs.

She had barely taken a step when Lan Ke knelt down in front of her.

"Get out of the way." The tone was as if the person kneeling at his feet was not a pregnant woman, but an ignorant cat or dog.

Lan Ke trembled with fear, recalling the methods Zong Zhengqing had used against them in private. She forced herself to stay alert and pretended to hug Zong's mother's leg, but was dodged. She then knelt on the ground and wept bitterly.

"Please save me! I'm pregnant with your son's child. At least for the sake of the child, I don't care. Please let Madam Zong take the child."

The matriarch watched the woman cry her heart out without expression.

"Disgusting." She finished speaking with a sneer, then bent down and slapped Lan Ke across the face. "It's not even certain whether the child she's carrying is from my main family, and besides, not just any child can enter my main family."

"Although, the previous one wasn't any better." She changed the subject, stood up, and looked at Yan Ran with undisguised meanness and disgust.

"Mother," Yan Ran couldn't help but speak, gritting her teeth and suppressing the resentment she had harbored for years.

"What? With a family background like yours, how could you have entered my clan's household if you hadn't used your looks and cunning to seduce people? All you did was give birth to Tangtang, and you couldn't even take good care of her, neglecting her to the point of having her kidnapped and murdered! What else do you want? To die or to settle things once and for all with a divorce!"

Looking at her mother-in-law's cold face, Yan Ran was speechless for a moment. She had been living like this, facing her mother-in-law's disgust and her husband's cowardice and deception, wasting away her best years. Now, even her only support, her daughter, had been completely lost.

“From the first day I arrived here, you’ve disliked me. Fine, I’ll leave. Your son can marry a lady from a respectable family, but I’m just a lowly woman. Get out of here.”

Rage surged within her, and Yan Ran gritted her teeth, suppressing her tears, before turning to leave.

The matriarch was momentarily offended by the retort, and anger flashed in her eyes. She said, "If you had known this earlier, you wouldn't be in such a miserable state today!"

Zongzheng Jing and Zongzheng Qing tried to stop Yan Ran, but she broke free. Their mother then declared, "If you go out with her, don't ever come back. I will disown you two sons!"

Zong Zhengqing hesitated for a moment, then watched Yan Ran leave, his feet rooted to the ground.

Zongzheng turned back and gave his mother a deep look before running out with Yan Ran.

Looking at the commotion, the matriarch took a few deep breaths to suppress the anger rising in her heart.

“Cowardly.” She sneered, then, thinking of Zong Zhengjing, she added, “You two brothers are truly from the same root; you’re both spineless cowards.”

Zong Zhengqing kept his head down and did not reply.

Lan Ke witnessed this scene, and after a moment of stunned silence, she hesitantly climbed forward and hugged Zong Zhengqing's feet.

"Zhengqing, aren't you going to abandon me? That's our child."

Zong Zhengqing looked at the woman at his feet, crying miserably, his gaze turning cold, and he actually laughed out loud. He leaned down and whispered a few words in Lan Ke's ear.

After saying that, Lan Ke stared wide-eyed, speechless.

Zong Zhengqing added coldly, "Who knows whose bastard this is? A woman as lowly as you, who knows who you've been having an affair with? Now you're only after money... You're dreaming too much." He lowered his eyes, his fingers pinching the woman's throat. That small piece of flesh was mercilessly pinched by the man, revealing its paleness from blood loss.

"I want you to suffer a fate worse than death." The icy voice pierced Lan Ke's heart like a sharp blade.

"No! I don't believe it! How could it not be your child? What about her? Isn't she the same? She's a slut who steals men, and that child is a bastard! A bastard! I'm carrying your child, a descendant of your clan!"

Lan Ke screamed almost frantically, his hair disheveled, making him look even more like a madman.

Zong Zhengqing's face was filled with disgust and hatred. He curled one corner of his mouth, slowly grabbed the woman's hair, and pulled her up forcefully. Seeing Lan Ke's pained face, he said, "She's not like you."

“What’s the difference? Aren’t they all bastards? Or are they still descendants of your clan?” Lan Ke shouted frantically, staring intently at the clan matriarch, trying to get a negative answer.

The matriarch, who had looked disgusted as if she had seen something dirty, finally nodded reluctantly and said, "That is a descendant of the Zong family." After saying that, she ignored Lan Ke's madness and went straight upstairs.

Zong Zhengqing kicked the woman on the ground, who refused to accept reality, with amusement.

"Now, it's just the two of us."

"No! Zhengqing!"

"You bastard!"

As Yan Ran left the Zong residence, she naturally heard what the Zong mother said. Looking back, she saw that only Zong Zhengjing had caught up with her, and she lost all hope.

Her uncle had always treated her very well, but it was no use.

Disheartened, Yan Ran shook off Zong Zhengjing, hailed a taxi, and randomly gave the destination name. When she got out of the car, she realized that she had arrived at the central square not far from the Sheng Group's company.

For some reason, Sheng Xuanling's face, which always wore a cold smile, suddenly appeared in her mind.

Seriously, why even think about that annoying guy?

Yan Ran shook her head, her gaze lingering on an elegantly decorated restaurant to the side.

Should she go in and take a look? She hesitated, lowering her head as she thought of how she had nowhere to go. After breaking with the main family, she was just an ordinary woman who had lost everything…

She walked in.

However, she didn't notice that a black car that had been quietly following her had stopped. A few minutes later, a man got out of the car. He was dressed in a suit and had only half-length black hair casually draped over his shoulders, making him look casual yet handsome.

It is Sheng Xuanling.

He leisurely followed them into the restaurant.

As she entered, she muttered to herself, "What a stupid woman."