Chapter 17 Pretending to Have a Stomachache

Ruan Yaoyao found a way and lightly touched the hand of her in-law, Zhong Wenmei. “In-law, the ring on your hand is really beautiful!”

Intent on using her ability, she flipped over the top of Zhong Wenmei’s head and instantly landed on a book titled The Fake Heiress’s Group Favor Plan.

A little disappointing—she didn’t see her old man Yu Xing’s drama; instead, she saw the drama of her eldest son, Yu Yan.

【Her eldest is also a scumbag dad?】

【Oh wow, another fake heiress story? Are books about fake heiresses so popular these days?】

【Nowadays, children of wealthy families are so easy to swap?】

Looking closer, it turned out it wasn’t a swap, but…

【Yu Yan adopted the daughter of his first love. Oh, so it’s an adopted daughter. But this adopted daughter is a fish-raising expert, which made Yu Yan’s biological son look like the clingy one. Later, the adopted daughter and someone else caused his death…】

【That was a big scandal—someone even died.】

Even scarier, Ruan Yaoyao noticed a familiar term—soul-snatching.

She reflexively looked at Yu Xiangqiao: 【Again with soul-snatching?!】

【Damn! Xiangqiao almost got soul-snatched, and her in-law’s daughter-in-law was actually completely soul-snatched?!】

【No wonder her daughter-in-law ignores her own son but dotes on an adopted daughter—it was a first-love soul-snatch…】

Ruan Yaoyao was so shocked she forgot to speak—but that wasn’t important. The key was ‘soul-snatching’.

Yu Xiangqiao, trembling, quickly picked up on Ruan Yaoyao’s words and covered by saying the ring was bought by her father for her mother years ago, and so on.

Because everyone was distracted, no one noticed that Yu Xiangqiao stumbled over her words, or that she shook her head at her parents, signaling them not to speak.

Yu Xing: What the hell?

Zhong Wenmei: Is your mother-in-law’s condition a bit serious? What is going on?

Just then, Xu Lianghan came back. Yu Xiangqiao practically saw him as a lifeline and hurriedly sought his help.

As soon as Xu Lianghan entered, he heard the words “soul-snatching” but didn’t catch the rest. He thought Yu Xiangqiao was about to be soul-snatched again and nearly freaked out.

“Xiangqiao, what’s wrong? Why does your face look so pale?!”

Ruan Yaoyao’s attention was interrupted. She stepped over. “What’s wrong, Xiangqiao? You didn’t recover well from your confinement, are you feeling unwell?”

Yu Xiangqiao shook her head weakly. “Mom, I’m fine. It’s just… my stomach hurts a little…”

“Mom, Xiangqiao has a stomachache? Is she okay?” Xu Lianghan asked Ruan Yaoyao.

Ruan Yaoyao replied, “How would I know? I’m not a doctor. If she’s unwell, just call the family doctor.”

She withdrew her hand from Zhong Wenmei and grabbed Yu Xiangqiao’s hand, silently checking to see if she could glean anything.

【Nothing… nothing about her health… what’s wrong with her?】

Isn’t this supposed to be soul-snatching? Or not? Xu Lianghan wondered.

Yu Xiangqiao took the initiative: “Mom, could you and Lianghan help me back to my room? No need to call the doctor. I’ll just drink some hot water and feel better. Maybe I just twisted myself a bit and got a cramp.”

【A cramp in the stomach?】 Ruan Yaoyao was shocked and bewildered.

Still, she nodded and helped Xu Lianghan support Yu Xiangqiao back to her room.

Yu Xiangqiao boldly asked Ruan Yaoyao to pour her a glass of water, then whispered to Xu Lianghan: “It’s not me—it’s my elder sister-in-law who was soul-snatched.”

Xu Lianghan’s pupils shrank; he remembered the family doting on the adopted daughter.

Connecting the dots to his own family, he immediately understood—but because he understood, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Is life in this world even normal?

How did another case just appear?

He had been catching up on many fantasy novels recently—all supernatural stories. Looking at it this way, his world seemed very unsafe. People could get soul-snatched at any moment. Could he report this to the police?

He feared that even if he reported it, the police wouldn’t handle it. But if not them, then who? Some “fantasy department” maybe?

The problem was, after asking around, he couldn’t find any answers.

If he were ordinary, maybe it wouldn’t matter—but he’s the CEO of the Xu Group. If he can’t find out, then there’s a real problem.

Does it truly not exist, or is it because his status isn’t high enough?

Soon, the water was ready. Ruan Yaoyao handed it to Yu Xiangqiao, who apologized and, looking weak, asked Xu Lianghan to attend to his parents—she didn’t have the energy today.

“Mom, stay a bit longer with me. My parents can be left to Lianghan, you don’t have to worry.”

Ruan Yaoyao didn’t think much and obediently sat by Yu Xiangqiao’s bed. “Really no need to call a doctor? Don’t act like your younger brother—our family runs a hospital; it’s no trouble at all.”

“Mom, I know. I know my body—I really just cramped. Resting will be enough.”

“Then should I massage it for you?”

Rarely were mother-in-law and daughter-in-law this harmonious.

Yu Xiangqiao also realized that her mother-in-law was easy to get along with—if you’re thick-skinned and speak kindly, her mother-in-law would soften.

In short, her mother-in-law responds to softness, not force.

Meanwhile, Xu Lianghan went downstairs.

Yu Xing and Zhong Wenmei didn’t understand why they weren’t allowed upstairs when their daughter was like this.

If it weren’t for the fact that their daughter said it, they’d suspect something about how her in-laws treated her.

“Xiangqiao, is she okay?” Zhong Wenmei asked as soon as she saw Xu Lianghan.

“She’s fine. She just pretended to have a stomachache to keep my mom distracted,” Xu Lianghan said.

“Why keep your mom distracted? What do you mean?”

Xu Lianghan asked: “Didn’t you just hear what my mom said?”

Yu Xing and Zhong Wenmei nodded. But wasn’t their mom unwell?

Xu Lianghan explained: “No, my mom isn’t sick. She has a special ability described in novels—she can foresee things. You probably noticed, she seemed to be talking to you while secretly thinking about other things.”

The two nodded again.

Indeed, it was like she had two sides. If their daughter hadn’t warned them, they might have slipped and let the mother-in-law notice.

Zhong Wenmei asked, “What kind of illness is this? So strange.”

“It’s not an illness, it’s an ability. She thinks to herself, you didn’t hear her, right?” Xu Lianghan explained. “We tested it in a small scope with Xiangqiao. At home, only the two of us, my second brother, and you can hear it. Others, like the servants, cannot.”

After Xu Lianghan’s explanation, the elderly couple understood.

But understanding it fully was still difficult.

If they couldn’t fully understand, they just needed to remember and gradually comprehend later. For now, cooperate with their daughter and son-in-law and don’t give away any clues for the mother-in-law to notice.

So why couldn’t the in-law know?

After Xu Lianghan left, Zhong Wenmei looked puzzled and asked Yu Xing.

Yu Xing replied: “If you ask me, who do you want me to ask?”

Well, they had both forgotten to ask earlier.