Chapter 80: There Will Be No More Children

“My poor child.” Mrs. Zhang averted her gaze, lowering her head and sobbing to hide her emotions. “You’re pregnant—why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Zhang Xiluo replied weakly. “I wanted to wait until the baby was stable before telling you. I didn’t expect…”

“Don’t apologize. You’re the one suffering.”

A dull pain still throbbed in her lower abdomen. Anxiously, she asked again, “Mom, what happened to me?”

“It’s nothing serious. You just had a miscarriage, and then you hurt your abdomen and lost some blood. With some rest, you’ll be fine,” Mrs. Zhang forced a smile, trying to comfort her.

“It’s nothing, just rest for a few days and then come home with your father,” Mr. Zhang added, his eyes filled with regret and concern. “We never should’ve left you here alone. That was my mistake.”

“Dad, don’t say that. It was my own choice.”

“Enough. No more of this.” Mr. Zhang sighed, gripping her hand tightly. “Once you’re well, you’re coming home!”

The door to the hospital room swung open. Li Mingye stood in the doorway for a few seconds before slowly stepping inside.

“What are you doing here? Get out!” Mr. Zhang turned and, recognizing him, rose in anger. “Li Mingye, look at what you’ve done to our Xiluo!”

“Dad, I’m sorry,” Li Mingye blurted reflexively.

Mr. Zhang waved him off. “You two are divorced now. I’m not your father! Leave—there’s nothing more between us.”

Li Mingye’s brows knitted together. He looked at Zhang Xiluo lying on the bed, but she turned away, refusing to acknowledge him.

“Don’t make me get rough!” Mr. Zhang, usually gentle and rarely quick to anger, was now livid, his chest heaving with rage. “Li Mingye, don’t ever come here and bother Xiluo again.”

Not wanting to provoke them further, Li Mingye turned and left.

Zhang Xiluo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with her body. She had secretly asked the doctor, but the answer was the same as her mother’s.

She thought maybe she was just under too much stress and was overthinking things, so she let it drop.

Her uncle’s situation remained unresolved. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang had rushed over as soon as they received a call from Hu Minxing.

During her hospital stay, Mrs. Zhang was constantly answering phone calls, and every time she hung up, her expression grew darker.

Not wanting Xiluo to worry, her parents concealed the gravity of her uncle’s predicament, giving only vague explanations. But Xiluo knew it must be serious.

The last time she’d seen her mother so anxious was when she herself was trying to win back Li Mingye, embroiling the Zhang and Li families in conflict.

Looking back now, she realized just how foolish she’d been—one lovesick fool chasing another, as if that could ever end well.

One afternoon, Mrs. Zhang took a call out on the balcony while Xiluo lay in bed scrolling through her phone. Li Zhan appeared in the doorway.

“Cousin-in-law.” Dressed in a white coat, Li Zhan made sure it was really her before stepping inside.

“It’s you.” Zhang Xiluo sat up when she saw him. He probably didn’t know yet that she and Li Mingye were divorced.

She respected Li Mingye’s decision; whenever he chose to make it public, she wouldn’t interfere.

“I’ve told you before, don’t call me that. Just use my name, or call me Xiluo like my friends do.”

She glanced at him and asked casually, “What brings you here?”

“I’m here for an exchange program, about a month. When I was handling paperwork, I saw your name and came to check.”

A flicker of sadness passed through Li Zhan’s eyes, which Xiluo caught. She was about to ask about it when her mother returned from the balcony.

“Zhan, what are you doing here?” Mrs. Zhang greeted him warmly, not turning him away just because he was a Li.

“He’s working here,” Xiluo answered quickly, then urged Li Zhan to go back. He took the hint and left.

Mrs. Zhang’s brows were tightly furrowed, her mind clearly elsewhere as she stared at her phone, glancing occasionally toward the door.

“Mom, you and Dad should go home. Uncle’s situation is more urgent. Li Zhan is different from the rest of the Li family—he can help me while I’m here. Once I’m discharged, I’ll go home.”

Mrs. Zhang hesitated, but in the end did not agree—she was too worried that something might happen to Xiluo again.

Just then, her phone rang again. She answered on the balcony and returned with red-rimmed eyes.

“Mom, go back.”

“Your uncle’s been arrested. The company’s projects are frozen. I have to go, but your father will stay.”

“You should both go—family matters are important. I can’t let my situation drag everyone down.” Guilt gnawed at her heart. In her previous life, her choices had destroyed her family.

“Yes, that’s the only way.” Mrs. Zhang relented at last. “You stay in the hospital and don’t go anywhere. Once you’re well enough, come home.”

She warned her again and again, hiring a nurse and bodyguard before she was willing to return to Longcheng.

Still, her parents worried, calling often to check that she was safe.

Xiluo contacted Jiang Xueting, asking her to investigate what had really happened to her uncle.

While waiting for news, Zhou Yao arrived, this time carrying a bouquet of paper flowers—a gesture that made Xiluo wary.

“Congratulations on surviving once again, Sister.”

“It’s good to have an innocent-looking face. Betraying friends, deceiving feelings, playing tricks—it all comes so much easier to people like you.” Zhang Xiluo slipped her phone under her pillow, fixing Zhou Yao with an icy stare.

Zhou Yao placed the paper flowers on the table, her tone mocking. “You can burn these, you know—offer them to your child. After all, you’ll never have another.”

Her words were light and casual, but they struck Xiluo like a bolt of lightning.

“What did you say?” Xiluo hadn’t quite caught her words, but her voice rose in alarm.

“You didn’t know?” Zhou Yao feigned surprise, quickly covering her mouth. “Don’t tell anyone I was the one who told you.”

“Well, now I know.” Xiluo forced herself to stay calm, staring her down. “This little surprise must please you even more than Su Jianhao getting his way.”

Zhou Yao paused, then smiled smugly. “So you know about me and Su Jianhao. You really are impossible—there’s nothing that escapes you.”

“I suppose Lin Yiming’s already given you Zhuo Tongtong’s recording as well? He’s got no conscience,” she said with a wounded air, complaining about Lin Yiming. “Men you haven’t slept with really can’t be trusted.”

“Zhou Yao, this was your plan all along, wasn’t it? Step by step, you got close to Li Mingye, replacing me.” It was only a guess, but Xiluo suspected Zhou Yao had known she was Qin Xiaoxiao’s sister from the very beginning.

She also understood that Li Mingye’s love for Qin Xiaoxiao ran deep—and Zhou Yao had taken advantage of that to get close to him.

In front of Xiluo, Zhou Yao didn’t bother pretending anymore. She even applauded her. “You’re smart, Sister. If you’d left sooner, none of this would have happened.”

There were no words for her shamelessness. For a moment, Xiluo actually felt sorry for Li Mingye—he had fallen so deeply for a face and a bloodline.

For someone so shrewd to be willingly deceived—he must have loved Qin Xiaoxiao beyond measure.

How could Xiluo ever compete with someone dead, or with her own stand-in? Even after giving him up, she still couldn’t escape the pain.

How much longer would this torment go on?