The villainous female supporting character beckons, and the aloof male lead kneels down to pamper he

Chapter 81 Three People Shocked

Faced with his mother's anger, Cheng Zheng pursed his lips and remained silent, then got up to clear the dishes.

"Don't move, sit down! I haven't finished speaking yet!" Gao Jie shouted angrily.

Cheng Zheng stopped what he was doing, sat down as instructed, and looked at her calmly.

Gao Jie slammed her hand on the table in agitation: "Liya took the initiative to be friendly with you, and you, on the other hand, greeted her with an icy face and barely acknowledged her. Is this how I've always taught you? Is this how we treat people in our family?"

Cheng Zheng said calmly, "As I've said before, I have no plans to get married for the time being."

"What do you mean you have no plans for now? You're 26! Almost 30! Look at the whole compound, everyone your age has kids big enough to run errands. Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring. If you don't get married and have children, you're just trying to drive me crazy!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Gao Tingting couldn't help but interject, "Mom, calm down. If you ask me, Zhou Liya isn't much to look at. She's average-looking, and she talks too smoothly and isn't sincere. She's really not suitable for my brother."

"I haven't even said anything about you yet!" Gao Jie was still angry, and immediately turned her attention to her daughter. "Your older brother is looking for a partner, what were you doing interfering? Don't think I didn't see you exchanging glances with your brother and covering for him! Liya was handpicked by your aunt. Although her family isn't as well-off as ours, and she's not the most outstanding in appearance, she's a teacher, well-educated and reasonable. With her in charge of the children's education, it will save us a lot of trouble."

"Besides, teachers have winter and summer vacations every year, giving them more time to stay home and raise their children. Tell me, how is it that she's not suitable for your older brother? You've only met her once, haven't gotten to know her well, and you're already judging her, saying she's slick and insincere. Your judgment is far from objective!"

"Hey Mom, if that's how you put it, then I'll have to argue with you," Gao Tingting said defiantly after being lectured by her mother, standing up from her seat and waving her hands as she launched into a passionate critique.

"Zhou Liya knows my brother has a younger sister, but she only buys candied hawthorns for my brother. What does she mean by that? A string of candied hawthorns only costs a few yuan, and she won't even buy some for me. This small detail is enough to show how stingy she is!"

"After we get married, she'll definitely have a tight grip on my brother's salary, and I won't be able to spend a single penny! It's not that I want to spend my brother's money, it's just that I don't like her stingy way of doing things. Choosing a sister-in-law is choosing family, and I'm part of this family too, so why can't I express my opinion?"

"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you!" Gao Jie had no way to refute her daughter's words, so she changed the subject, "Anyway, we need to find a partner for your brother now. Since you're part of the family and you have so many opinions, then you introduce someone to your brother! Let's see what kind of person you'll introduce!"

Provoked by her mother, Gao Tingting completely forgot Cheng Zheng's instructions and blurted out, "Sure, I'll introduce you. My friend Shen Qing from work is great. She's prettier than Zhou Liya, and she's also outstanding. She speaks Russian, cooks well, and is generous. The dessert I brought home last time was a gift from her..."

As soon as Gao Tingting finished speaking, the atmosphere froze instantly. Gao Jie's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at her daughter: "What did you say? Shen Qing?!"

"Yes, Shen Qing is my friend, we're really good friends!" Gao Tingting, oblivious to her mother's sudden change in expression, continued, "She injured her foot, and my older brother brought her shoes. She didn't get any chicken legs at the cafeteria, so my older brother gave her his expert treatment voucher. He even bought her blankets, pillows, and clothes... In short, I'd be happy to have Qingqing as my sister-in-law!"

"Shut up!" Gao Jie practically roared, trembling with rage. She pointed at her daughter, then at her son, "Fine, very well! You're all completely fooled by that illegitimate daughter! If that's the case, what use is I as your mother? I might as well be dead!"

After saying that, he rushed into the kitchen, Cheng Zheng followed him, and Gao Tingting reacted and rushed over as well.

In the kitchen, Gao Jie tried to grab a knife to cut her wrists, but Cheng Zheng held her tightly, preventing her from touching the knife.

"Mom! Calm down!"

"Let me go! I don't have a son like you!"

Gao Jie struggled violently, crying and screaming.

Taking advantage of the moment, Gao Tingting threw all the knives into the water vat, stood in front of it, looked at her brother and then at her mother with red, tear-filled eyes: "Mom, what are you saying? What illegitimate daughter?!"

Having come this far, Gao Jie didn't hide anything anymore: "The Shen Qing you're talking about is your father's daughter with another woman! When I was pregnant with you, your father was already sleeping with another woman! Do you understand? Do you understand?!"

What?

Shen Qing is actually her father's illegitimate daughter?!

Gao Tingting was struck dumb, standing there stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. Still unwilling to believe it, she looked at her brother and asked, "Brother, is what Mom said true?"

Cheng Zheng looked at her in silence.

The silence speaks.

Suddenly, the fragmented thoughts in Gao Tingting's mind were pieced together.

Every time she mentioned Shen Qing, her older brother would warn her to stay away from Shen Qing.

She was also told not to talk about anything related to Shen Qing in front of her mother.

So that's the truth!

Gao Tingting held her head in her hands, her face growing paler and paler. She treated her half-sister, an illegitimate child, as a friend, even wanting her to be her sister-in-law, and constantly trying to matchmake her older brother with the illegitimate daughter—good heavens…

What is she doing?!

"Why didn't you tell me sooner...?"

"Heh..." Gao Jie laughed self-deprecatingly, "What's the use of telling you earlier? Your brother knew all along, but he was still head over heels in love with that illegitimate daughter..."

Gao Tingting didn't know what to say for a moment, and stood there with a pale face.

Cheng Zheng remained silent, blocking his mother's path. His deep black eyes held a profound darkness, and no one could understand what he was thinking.

Just then, the sound of a key turning came from the front door.

Cheng Huazhang, who had just returned from a business trip, pushed open the door and came in.

Seeing the chaotic scene in the kitchen, she was stunned: "What...what happened here?"

Upon seeing her husband appear, Gao Jie's emotions were like a powder keg that had been set on fire, completely spiraling out of control.

She abruptly broke free from her son's embrace, staggered a few steps toward her husband, her bloodshot eyes fixed on him as if she wanted to tear a piece of flesh from his body.

"Cheng Huazhang! How dare you ask! It's all your fault! Your son and daughter are completely infatuated with that little bastard you had with Shen Yuehong! They don't even listen to their own mother! Are you happy now? Have you finally gotten your wish? Now you can legitimately bring that little bastard back and let her integrate into this family, right?!"

"I really never expected this! I, Gao Jie, have been proud and privileged for half my life. Everyone envies me for marrying well, having a loving husband, an outstanding son, and a sweet daughter... They all think I must have accumulated countless good deeds in my past life to have such good fortune in this one! Ha, ha... I never expected this... It's all a bubble! A lie! A huge joke!!!"

Gao Jie raised her hand and pounded her violently heaving chest, her face covered in snot and tears, her expression a twisted mixture of madness, despair, and extreme humiliation.

"Don't get agitated, let me explain! Shen Qing has nothing to do with me!" Cheng Huazhang, seeing his wife like this, felt sorry for her and tried to hug her. Gao Jie slapped his hands away and raised her hand to slap him twice. "Don't touch me! I don't believe you! Get away from me!"

Cheng Huazhang grabbed his wife's wrist, which was about to slap him again, and said helplessly, "Oh dear, Shen Qing is really not my daughter! Not my illegitimate child!"

Gao Jie didn't believe him, and slapped him hard across the face with her other hand: "Get out! Get out! Let go of me! I want a divorce!"

"Can't you let me finish what I have to say?!"

"No! I won't listen! I won't listen!!"

"Mom, why don't you listen to what Dad has to say first?" Gao Tingting couldn't stand it anymore, and Cheng Zheng chimed in, "Calm down first."

"Well, you're all protecting that little bastard! Who's your real mother here?!"

"Waaaaah... I don't want to live anymore, just let me die! My son and daughter aren't on my side, and my husband betrayed me too, waaaaah... What sins have I committed...?"

Cheng Zheng and Gao Tingting held her back, preventing her from doing anything dangerous.

Cheng Huazhang was at his wits' end watching this scene, his face still burning with pain. He covered his forehead with one hand and his face with the other, and sighed deeply. If he didn't reveal this secret soon, his own family would fall apart first!

"Shen Qing is my brother's daughter!"

Finally, he yelled those words at his wife.

The whole world seemed to have been put on pause, and everyone was stunned.

Several seconds passed before Gao Jie finally murmured, "What did you say?"

Cheng Huazhang took a deep breath and softened his tone, saying, "Shen Qing is the son of Cheng Huaiguo and Shen Yuehong. She should call me Uncle, but she doesn't know about my relationship with him yet. She only thinks I'm an old friend of her mother's. As for her relationship with Huaiguo, she knows even less, because when Huaiguo was with her mother, he used his old name, Zheng Yong. That child still thinks her biological father is named Zheng Yong."

Cheng Huaiguo and Cheng Huazhang are not biological brothers.

Cheng Huaiguo's real name was Zheng Yong. His parents were close friends with Grandpa Cheng. His parents passed away when he was very young, and before they died, they entrusted him to Grandpa Cheng. Grandpa Cheng raised him as his own son and did not allow him to change his name at first.

When he went to school, his classmates learned that he was an orphan and that his parents had died. They started to bully and mock him. So Grandpa Cheng suggested changing his name, and Zheng Yong agreed. He was called Cheng Huaiguo from then on.

Gao Jie paused for a moment, then asked, "So what's going on between my brother-in-law and Shen Yuehong? Considering Shen Qing's age, she's half a year younger than Cheng Yu. Doesn't that mean my brother-in-law was having an affair with Shen Yuehong while his wife was pregnant?"

Cheng Huazhang sighed and rubbed his forehead again.

This is also why he is unwilling to bring up the matter.

Because this matter is indeed disgraceful.

"It was one summer when I met up with a few classmates at a small bar in Yuncheng. Huaiguo was on a business trip in Yuncheng and was bored by himself, so I invited him out for drinks as well."

The tavern had accommodations upstairs, and Shen Yuehong happened to work there. That night, Huaiguo got drunk, and Shen Yuehong helped him to his room... Anyway, by some twist of fate, that thing happened.

The two got together again over the next two days.

Gao Jie asked in bewilderment, "Then why didn't you stop it back then? Your brother-in-law is already married to Zhang Mei, and Zhang Mei is only just pregnant!"

Cheng Huazhang said angrily, "I only found out about all this afterward! If I had known then, I would have given him a good beating!"

Gao Jie: "And then what happened?"