Chapter 54: Daring Neither Anger Nor Words

Just hearing the sound of slaps landing on her own thigh, Shen Guozhong couldn’t help but lean back with a soft hiss.

Truly worthy of being the women comrades who could “hold up half the sky,” as the leader said!

His wife, Director Deng, was really going all out!

She showed no mercy even to herself!

After a brief sigh of admiration, he hurriedly spoke up to stop her.

“Why hit so hard!”

“Aren’t you just hurting yourself?”

Hearing this, Deng Yaxin shot him a glare.

“Stop the nonsense and answer my question first.”

“Who did you just say is going to be a mother?”

Understanding that she hadn’t misheard but was having trouble believing what she’d heard, Shen Guozhong explained again.

“You heard right—our youngest daughter is pregnant.”

“Doctor Zhang says it’s been a month already. She needs to rest well and mustn’t get angry.”

“Tsk, she’s being treated much more delicately than when you were pregnant with our children!”

In earlier years, pregnant women comrades not only didn’t get angry—they worked with even more enthusiasm and diligence than the men.

They competed to be first in everything, pushing themselves further and further, afraid of being overtaken by the male comrades behind them.

But look at now—with better days, even getting angry has become a luxury.

Where’s the justice in that, I ask you!

But Deng Yaxin had no mind for such thoughts at that moment. Her mind was entirely occupied by the haunting refrain: “Our youngest daughter is pregnant.”

How could she be pregnant?

Why would she be pregnant?

Her youngest daughter’s constitution was so weak—how could she have gotten pregnant after just one time?

There were plenty of people in the factory who had been married for over half a year without conceiving, so why was it different for her youngest daughter?

Her emotions surged violently, and her facial expressions shifted accordingly.

One moment flushed, the next pale—almost like a professional face-changer.

Finally, her expression settled into a dark, ashen hue.

“Never thought we’d misjudge someone like this!”

“Before, we thought that kid surnamed Li was a good one—he seemed steady, reliable, and attentive.”

“Now it’s all nonsense!”

“Look at what he’s done!”

As she spoke, she landed several more hard slaps on the thigh of the man beside her.

“With our youngest daughter’s physique, how could she endure the hardship of childbirth?”

“She’s still a child herself—how could she possibly take care of an even smaller child?”

“If anything were to happen, it would be the death of me!”

Listening to her muttering and feeling the pain in his thigh, Shen Guozhong dared neither anger nor words.

He could only endure it, waiting for the stinging sensation to slowly fade before cautiously inching away from the source of danger.

Once he had maintained a safe distance, he brought out the explanation he had used to deal with Doctor Zhang and Nurse Lan at the hospital.

“…I know this might sound presumptuous, but what else could we do?”

“That was at the Staff Hospital, not just anywhere.”

“There were many eyes and ears around—one slip and the news could leak out.”

“If we can’t plug that hole, not only our youngest daughter but our whole family could suffer.”

After finishing, he sighed again.

“We adults can manage, but what about the children?”

“Even though they’re not yet school age, they still go out to play and have fun.”

“If they hear something unpleasant, it wouldn’t just affect our family—who knows, the in-laws of our eldest and second daughters might even cause trouble over it.”

By the end of her speech, her tone carried a distinct sense of helpless resignation.

“The moment we entered the hospital, I could tell from Dr. Zhang and Nurse Lan’s expressions that something was off.”

“When the topic of pregnancy came up, I had no choice but to brazen it out and claim our youngest daughter was already married.”

“If I hadn’t, mark my words, rumors about the Shen family’s youngest daughter getting pregnant before marriage would’ve spread through the Family Compound before we even left the hospital.”

Deng Yaxin knew the reasoning made sense, yet she couldn’t shake the suffocating frustration in her chest.

“So we just have to accept this situation?”

“I haven’t even touched the fabric I’ve been saving, nor have I prepared the dowries for each of the three sisters.”

“To let our daughter bear the title of a newlywed for nothing—the more I think about it, the more it rankles.”

She punctuated her words with another frustrated punch to the sofa.

“It’s all that Li Family boy’s fault!”

“He’s five or six years older than our daughter—I refuse to believe he didn’t consider the possibility of pregnancy.”

“My guess is he did it on purpose! Deliberately to make our daughter suffer!”

After a pause, a new idea suddenly struck her.

“Well, the words are already out there.”

“Why don’t we raise our daughter ourselves, and our grandchildren too?”

“Both of us have salaries, and we have First Brother, Second Brother, Third Sister, and Fourth Brother to help out.”

“It’s just two more children—it’s not like we can’t afford to raise them.”

Hearing this outburst, Shen Guozhong initially found the logic sound.

True, both of them had incomes, and their children got along well.

It would just mean two more mouths to feed—hardly enough to disrupt their lives.

But then he remembered the Li Family boy’s background, and his resolve quietly deflated.

Right… the Li Family isn’t an ordinary household.

Forget Old Master Li’s status—just the boy’s own father holds considerable influence.

If they learned there was bloodline left outside, they’d likely move heaven and earth to claim it.

Given their family’s current standing, trying to challenge the Li Family would be naive.

He’d been too idealistic.

With this realization, Shen Guozhong patted Deng Yaxin’s shoulder reassuringly.

“What’s the point of us two debating this?”

“Isn’t it ultimately our daughter’s decision?”

“Shouldn’t we hear what she thinks first?”

Deng Yaxin could only nod in reluctant agreement.

True!

No matter how thoroughly they discussed it, the final say wasn’t theirs.

Better to first listen to their daughter’s thoughts.

If she wanted to keep the baby, they’d find a way.

If not… they could wait and see.

With this thought, Deng Yaxin moved to sit beside Shen Yi’an.

“Yi An, if you have any thoughts, just tell Mom and Dad.”

“While we can’t decide for you, as people who’ve been through life, we can at least offer some advice.”

“What do you think?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Shen Yi’an emerged from her deep contemplation.

Meeting her parents’ worried, caring gazes, her lips unconsciously twitched. “Mom, Dad, this is all very sudden. I need some time to think.”

“Can I talk to you after I’ve sorted things out?”

Deng Yaxin and Shen Guozhong nodded understandingly.

“Alright, take your time to think it through.”

“Whatever you decide, we as your parents will respect your choice.”

“Dad! Mom!” Shen Yi’an’s voice was hoarse, faintly trembling with unshed tears.

“Thank you for supporting me unconditionally!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure things out soon.”

After ending the conversation, Deng Yaxin and Shen Guozhong excused themselves from the living room, claiming they had matters to attend to.

In reality, one went to the kitchen while the other headed to their grandchildren’s room.

Soon after, voices drifted into the living room.

“Third daughter-in-law, take things at your own pace.”

“Oh, and add one more stir-fried spinach dish – your little sister loves that.”

“The chicken soup in my pot is almost ready too. We’ll have chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight…”

……

“Grandpa, where’s Little Aunt?”

“It’s Xiaoyi’s fault. Xiaoyi shouldn’t have pestered Little Aunt to make cakes for me, that’s why Little Aunt fainted.”

“What if Little Aunt doesn’t like Xiaoyi anymore? Xiaoyi really likes Little Aunt… sobbing…”

Although somewhat muffled, the conversations from both sides were clear enough for Shen Yi’an to hear everything.

Under normal circumstances, she would have gone over to tease and comfort them one by one.

But now, she completely lacked the energy for that.

Her mind was wholly absorbed by the news of her pregnancy.

Eventually finding the living room still too noisy, she got up and returned to her room.

After locking the door, she directly retreated into her Space.

Sitting by the Spirit Spring and drinking the Spirit Spring Water, her thoughts gradually settled into calm.