A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 213: Zhou Luchen owes you money?"_1

She secretly grumbled to herself, "He’s just a miser. He was so generous with the red envelopes for New Year’s; I thought he was such a big-hearted brother-in-law, but he won’t even let me hold the baby."

At that moment, the nurse came out of the bedroom and announced, "Mrs. Xie is awake."

Xie Nan quickly handed the child to Shen Jing, her gaze fixed on the bedroom door. "Do me a favor; I’ll go see how Aci is doing."

Their expressions changed at the speed of light.

As a novice, Shen Jing was stunned and looked down at the little treasure in her arms.

However, Shen Jing then handed the baby over to Xie Qinyang. "You hold her. I’ll go check on Big Sister too; she must be exhausted."

Xie Qinyang had never held a baby before and was clueless about how to cradle her properly. "Dammit, are you two insane or something? You were fighting over her just now, and as soon as Shen Ci wakes up, you both do a complete turnaround."

Xie Qinyang was the only one not vying for her, yet the baby ended up in his arms anyway.

Through the crack of the bedroom door, they saw Shen Ci and her husband kissing.

One shouldn’t peep at a couple’s affection.

Shen Jing covered her eyes, thinking it better to go to the living room and hold the baby there.

The baby, now in Xie Qinyang’s arms, cried even harder.

Annoyed, he cooed, "Don’t cry. Your Little Uncle will give you a villa. If you cry, you won’t get it."

The baby, inherently disliking the stranger Xie Qinyang, wailed even louder.

"Still crying?" Xie Qinyang looked at the little darling, his offers growing more generous as he tried to soothe her. "Then you get two villas."

Not understanding, the baby continued sobbing.

"I’ll take her."

Once back in Shen Jing’s arms, the baby settled down.

She reached out and gently poked the baby’s cheek. She’s so beautiful.

Xie Qinyang was full of jealousy. "You’re soft, you smell milky; she likes you. She disdains me for being all bony."

The nurse beside them chimed in, "Let her cry a bit more; it’ll strengthen her lungs. She was so quiet in the delivery room."

Is that so? Shen Jing thought, then gave the baby back to Xie Qinyang.

Watching the two novices clumsily but earnestly pass the infant back and forth, the nurse couldn’t help but smile, pushed the medicine cart, closed the door, and left.

No sooner had the baby reached Xie Qinyang’s hands than she started to cry, WAAH WAAH, flailing her little fists.

"Will three villas do the trick..."

The baby cried even harder, "UWAHH! UWAHH!"

"Four villas..."

"Five villas..."

"You can’t bully your Little Uncle like this! If you ask for more, Little Uncle will really be broke. Go ask your Little Aunt for an airplane, a rocket! She has lots of secret savings, the deeply hidden kind. She insists on wearing a 200-buck sweater to the temple—oh dear, imagine her falling into a river, and some rich young master hands her a credit card, telling her to buy you a big gold chain and a hefty gold bracelet to wear!"

Shen Jing shot Xie Qinyang a sidelong glance. "Too heavy, her neck will bend."

"See? She’s just stingy."

"..."

Upon discharge from the hospital, the Xie Family threw a birthday celebration, and the baby’s full-month party was also arranged. It could be said that her arrival was met with the wholehearted anticipation of both the Shen and Xie families.

They thought that Zhou Luchen, being good friends with the Xie brothers, would fly back for the occasion. Yet, he never showed up.

Xie Qinyang, scanning the guests, finally gave up hope when he spotted someone else with the surname Zhou. He sighed deeply. "My brother got married. Zhou Luchen was in Shanghai at the time, but he didn’t even come."

Even as the party neared its end, he hadn’t arrived. Only gifts from the Zhou Family came; no one from their family attended in person.

Shen Jing kept her head down and ate, observing Xie Qinyang’s dispirited and upset demeanor. "Does Zhou Luchen owe you money? You’re always talking about him, insisting you have to see him."

Only a creditor would be so incessantly obsessed with a debtor, day and night.

Xie Qinyang said, "I just miss him. Without him, my days aren’t joyful. My heart aches terribly."

Shen Jing hit the nail on the head. "You’re terrible. You just hope he’ll come back to foot your bills at the Pleasure Quarters."

Xie Qinyang blinked, made a couple of expressive sounds, and poured Shen Jing some juice. "Hey, Little Sister-in-law, don’t take his side now! We’re family by marriage here; you can’t be worrying about his money."

Shen Jing was amused into laughter. "You only ever want him to foot the bill."

Xie Qinyang, however, had noticed a quirk of Shen Jing’s. "You really are something. You can’t stand it when others speak ill of him; only you are allowed to do that. You get upset if others take advantage of him, but when you do it, it’s perfectly natural. You always instinctively protect him."

The celebratory banquet was lively, filled with wealthy merchants and magnates, most of whom Shen Jing didn’t know. She didn’t seek anyone out for conversation or business, merely nibbling lightly on a crisp cake and smiling faintly, lost in her own thoughts.

Xie Qinyang toasted her with his juice glass. "Aiyo, you’ve got Cheng Group protecting you, then there’s Blaire, and Yongxin Fund. Plus, he even broke into your room one night to apply medicine. Your heart has completely swayed, hasn’t it?" Xie Qinyang clinked her juice glass a second time. "It should sway, it absolutely should. If it didn’t, it would be a disservice to the Second Young Master, who painstakingly protected you from being bullied."

Had it swayed? No, it hadn’t.

Apart from not loving her, Zhou Luchen had never done anything to wrong her.

They had no ties left, but that didn’t mean she’d become an enemy and slander him after the breakup. He was quite an excellent person; there was nothing else for her to criticize.

Shen Jing picked up her juice and sipped lightly. "The sooner we eat, the sooner the banquet will end. I have a business trip tomorrow."

Xie Qinyang threw a wink her way, shamelessly teasing, "Is there a salary? This humble one will carry your bags for you."

Shen Jing pinched his arm. "As an uncle, you’re still so improper. You’ll be a bad influence on the child."

"Could you be gentler—"

Truly, in all of Beijing, she was the only young woman who dared to bully Young Master Xie and treat him like her personal workhorse.

It had long been rumored that Shen Jing and Second Young Master Zhou had already broken up. Whether they had or not didn’t matter—the point was that she had been with Second Young Master Zhou. Consequently, no one dared to touch or provoke her. Regardless, when dealing with the Zhou Family, it was best to behave oneself, even concerning someone they had discarded.

Gradually, Shen Jing began to live a solitary life.

Old Master Shen didn’t bring up arranging a marriage for her, so her uncles naturally didn’t intervene.

「 」

Zhou Luchen would occasionally return to the country. Sometimes he’d stop by the West District; other times, he’d stay in Shanghai for two or three days before flying back to New York.

In any case, Shen Jing hadn’t seen him.

Xie Qinyang occasionally wanted to invite Zhou Luchen out for a drink but never managed to meet up with him, casually mentioning it in front of Shen Jing now and then.

When Shen Jing even dragged him out shopping at the mall, Xie Qinyang chattered on relentlessly.

"He returned to Shanghai for the Mid-Autumn Festival to have a reunion dinner."

"On the 12th, he went back to Beijing to have dinner with that old lady in the hutong, then took a private jet out that same night. Nowadays, if I want to meet him, I have to get in a long queue."

"He was clearly in Beijing, but he practically ignored me. And I was so good to him, all for nothing."

Shen Jing, who was picking out gifts for the little baby, responded, "Does paying attention to you bring him happiness or benefits?"

"No," admitted Xie Qinyang, genuinely puzzled. "But what is he so busy with?"

After selecting several little dresses for dolls and noticing some lovely doll hair clips, thinking The baby’s hair might be long enough to use them next year, Shen Jing picked one up and said nonchalantly, "Work, life, personal matters, his female companions." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Xie Qinyang thought hard about it. "No wonder I heard people say he seems to be dating that internationally famous young model who just won a big award. Now, she’s a goddess in the international supermodel circle, with the highest appearance fees."

Shen Jing’s hand paused for a moment, then she calmly uttered an, "Oh."

Xie Qinyang realized he had gossiped too much again. He took the gifts Shen Jing had selected and asked the saleslady to ring them up.

"That’s all just baseless rumors. I haven’t seen anything with my own eyes. Probably just nonsense."