AMRWFA -Chapter 315 Rumors

“What kind of accident?” a certain madam asked curiously, looking toward the person beside her like she was enjoying gossip.

That person said mysteriously, “What other kind of accident could it be? That kind of accident, of course. Who is Xie Xiuming? He’s the kind of man who can make it onto the front cover of the ‘successful people’ magazine supplement. There are plenty of people who’d want to scheme against him. What if one day he got caught up in something like that… and just happened to run into that woman? You’ve seen her too—she’s maintained so well, looks so young. Tsk tsk tsk… who knows how much money she’s spent in a year, how many surgeries she’s had done.”

“You’re just jealous, aren’t you? Whatever money she spends is her own ability.”

“I’m jealous of that? I’m jealous she found such a good doctor. Her work is so good you can’t even tell she’s had anything done. If she looks this young now, she must’ve been even younger three years ago.”

……

As the conversation drifted further, a group of idle wealthy ladies began discussing how exactly Ruan Yaoyao maintained her looks, and who might have connections to contact her to find out her skincare secrets—what hospital she went to, which doctor she used.

Not that no one tried to bring the topic back. Someone asked—if the child really was Xie Xiuming’s, why didn’t he take the child back? He was already in his thirties, not married, no girlfriend—wasn’t he anxious at all?

Maybe that child was his only heir.

“Maybe he’s worried that if he acknowledges the child, it’ll affect future marriage alliances,” someone said casually.

That offhand remark somehow landed in the minds of certain interested listeners.

Becoming a stepmother?

Ordinarily, most of them wouldn’t be willing—but if the man was Xie Xiuming… it wasn’t entirely impossible to consider.

And the rumors drifted into the Ruan family’s ears as well.

Old Madam Ruan was shocked. She called her eldest son Ruan Shizhong over and asked what was going on—how could Ruan Yaoyao already have such a grown daughter?

Had she lost her mind?

She was over forty—did she even want her life anymore?

And her husband was already dead—how could she still give birth to a child like this? Wasn’t she afraid of being laughed at?

Ruan Shizhong: “……”

How would I know?

That child was only acknowledged back when she was already grown—there was no way to stop it now.

Of course, he still tried to defend her a bit, saying that her husband had died long ago, and the Xu family had no one who could control her. Even if she did something like this, it would only be some gossip and wouldn’t really hurt her.

But Old Madam Ruan didn’t see it that way. A woman should not serve two husbands. Since Ruan Yaoyao married into the Xu family, she was part of that family. Even if her husband had been dead for years, her son was still there—did she not fear being criticized behind her back?

Ruan Shizhong lowered his head, thinking: With my sister’s personality, would she even care?

If she cared, she wouldn’t have done this in the first place.

When he first heard the news, he was also shocked and quickly tried to find out what was happening on the Xu family side, afraid that she would be driven out by her stepsons.

Fortunately, after several days, there was no movement.

People close to Xu Lianghan and Xu Chengyan said they showed no unusual reaction either—they didn’t seem angry.

Of course, no one had directly asked them about it, so maybe they were just hiding it.

Old Madam Ruan insisted that Ruan Shizhong call her back home.

Ruan Shizhong said helplessly, “Mom, stop it. If I could call her back, Yaoyao would’ve already come back. She’s been married for so many years and still hasn’t returned.”

Old Madam Ruan changed her approach, telling him to go to the Xu family and scold her instead.

Ruan Shizhong: “……”

Mom, I only went there once, and I was already scolded terribly over my third son’s matter. Are you sure I’ll even be allowed in this time?

I might get kicked out before I even open my mouth.

If Ruan Yaoyao’s husband were still alive and she were still a young woman, Ruan Shizhong might have interfered more. But considering their age now—they were basically at the age of grandparents—he truly didn’t want to meddle anymore.

Life had already been lived like this; what was the point of interfering now? Better to just mind one’s own business.

So after being “scolded” by Old Madam Ruan, Ruan Shizhong left with a perfunctory agreement, and soon forgot about it entirely.

He didn’t go, but unexpectedly, someone else did.

And that person was none other than Xu Anzhi’s biological mother—Ruan Tingting.

When Ruan Yaoyao received a call from Ruan Tingting, saying she wanted to come over and see what her “over forty-year-old, late-life pregnancy daughter” looked like, Ruan Yaoyao sneered twice.

“Fine. I’ll be waiting at home. Come quickly.”

【Damn it!】

【She caused this mess, and I cleaned up after her, and now she still has the nerve to come here?】

【I won’t slap her a few times, and I’ll be being generous!】

Hearing Ruan Yaoyao’s inner thoughts, Yu Xiangqiao, who was about to go out, immediately canceled her plans and secretly messaged Xu Nannan asking if she wanted to come back and “eat the live gossip.”

Xu Nannan thought for a moment. “Family shame shouldn’t be spread outside,” so she didn’t call Liao Jingna and Lu Xiaoxuan. She made an excuse and rushed home instead.

Sure enough, not long after she arrived, she saw her mother Ruan Yaoyao coming downstairs.

“Why are you at home? Weren’t you going out?” Ruan Yaoyao frowned slightly when she saw her daughter. She didn’t want outsiders to see this mess.

【Sigh…】

【If it weren’t for that crazy man surnamed Leng, I wouldn’t bother dealing with this at all!】

“I finished my work, so I came back,” Xu Nannan quickly said. “I sold a few more paintings recently, Mom, I wasn’t slacking off.”

【I don’t care whether you slack off or not!】

【It’s not like I’m paying you a salary!】

Ruan Yaoyao gave her a disgusted look and told her to go do whatever she wanted elsewhere.

But Xu Nannan clearly wasn’t willing to leave—she wanted to watch the drama. Soon, Yu Xiangqiao also arrived.

Ruan Yaoyao: 【……】

【Sigh, sister, it’s not that I don’t help you—it’s just your fate. I can’t do anything about it!】

Not long after, Ruan Tingting arrived.

As soon as she entered, Ruan Yaoyao saw the label above her head—

“Female supporting character who abandoned her daughter.”

【I knew it!】

Ruan Yaoyao’s mouth twitched.

Ruan Tingting: ????

“Sis, you’re really something. At your age and you’re still giving birth!”

Ruan Tingting looked at her as if she were some rare specimen.

“Sis, how are you maintaining yourself? How did you become so young? The last time I saw you, you weren’t this young at all.”

She looked at her curiously. “Don’t tell me you really got beauty injections? Where? The effect is incredible!”

Ruan Yaoyao rolled her eyes and sent everyone else out of the room, leaving only the two sisters.

Xu Nannan and Yu Xiangqiao didn’t move, and she shot them several warning glances.

“Heh. I am pretty impressive. Even I didn’t expect I’d be so capable—just going out shopping and I pick up a child. I wonder which ‘capable’ person it was, who at such an old age still managed a late pregnancy, and not even with her own husband—and still dared to secretly give birth without aborting it. Truly impressive.”

For a moment, Ruan Tingting thought of the daughter she had “thrown away,” but to avoid guilt she straightened her back and said loudly: “Sis, so what if you gave birth? Your husband is already dead, nobody cares about you anymore. No need to talk about yourself like that. He’s been dead for so many years—can he crawl out of the grave to scold you?”

“He won’t crawl out to scold me, but your husband can—he can kill you,” Ruan Yaoyao said coldly, staring at her.

“Do you even have a brain? You still don’t understand what kind of man your husband is? He’s so cold I feel scared just looking at him. And you dared to do something like that behind his back—you really are…”