Chapter 23: Fleeing the Wedding to Humiliate Her

Song Shiyu had originally felt guilty that Meng Shuyue was hospitalized because of her. However, after hearing what Su Yanyan said, his worldview was completely shattered, and the slight favorable impression he had of Meng Shuyue vanished into thin air.

With his own leg in a cast, he spoon-fed his second brother, whose hands were immobilized, all the while venting his indignation: "Second Brother, I see it clearly now. No matter whose child that is, those two shameless people from the Meng family will definitely force you to be their son-in-law. Eat up, and once your leg can run, you better escape!"

"As for that 'library goddess' you've been searching for, I think you'd be better off taking out a newspaper ad to find her."

Song Shixuan nodded repeatedly as he ate, finding his brother's words quite reasonable. He certainly didn't want his partner to be a woman as promiscuous as she was portrayed.

Seeing that both brothers were filled with detestation for Meng Shuyue, Su Yanyan’s lips slowly curled into a faint smile. She glanced at Song Shijing, who sat in silence with a grim expression, and then looked toward the two naive and easily manipulated younger brothers, offering a suggestion with a feigned air of gravity: "Shixuan, this isn't your fault. How can you just give up your promising future here and run away?"

"If you trust me, I have a plan. Not only can it help you break free from the engagement with the Meng family, but it will also allow you to get even. Are you willing to do it?"

Seeing the brothers blink at each other, unable to make up their minds, Su Yanyan waved her hand with a feigned look of helplessness. "Oh, never mind then. Meng Shuyue is truly pathetic; she doesn't even know who the father of her child is. You two could just make a sacrifice and marry her—think of it as a good deed..."

"No, no! We don't want to do any good deeds! Sister Yanyan, please, tell us what the plan is to get rid of her!"

The two brothers looked at Su Yanyan with the expressions of men ready to face death, looking at her as if she were the savior of their future.

"It’s very simple. You just need to... destroy her reputation completely."

Su Yanyan brushed back a lock of hair from her forehead, smiling with a look of pure innocence, while her eyes burned with malice and calculation.

Light and shadow shifted outside the partially open ward door. People passed by, casting flickering shadows across the floor inside.

In the hospital corridor, Mother Meng was helping Meng Shuyue, who still had an injured foot, and was trying to persuade her to go back and rest with a pained expression.

"Daughter, why are you going to see those three brothers? They haven't even come to see you."

Meng Shuyue gave her mother a sweet smile and feigned obedience. "They are being inconsiderate, but that doesn't mean we should be. Besides, didn't you say one of them broke his hand and the other his foot? Since it’s partly my fault, I should at least go and check on them."

In truth, the main reason was her own heavy heart. She was pregnant with a child by a man she had only met once, and she felt terrible that these two brothers had been dragged into this misunderstanding. It was a strange irony; she had only been with that man by the tree a few times, so how could she have become pregnant? Having helped deliver babies before, she used to think of the creation of life as something miraculous. But now that it was her turn, she felt only panic. If she had discovered it sooner and her parents hadn't known, she would have certainly ended the pregnancy. But now that they knew, they insisted she keep it and hold the Song family responsible. Even though she repeatedly emphasized that the child was not from the Song family, her parents refused to believe her.

Later, she had accidentally overheard her parents talking in the corridor. She learned that the doctor had told them she had a "fertile constitution," but one that was also fragile, making abortion dangerous. Thus, they had conspired to frame the second Song brother into becoming their son-in-law.

Her mother had cried until her voice was hoarse in a corner where she thought no one could see, "We cannot let Yueyue have a child without being married. Father of her child, I don't care what you do, you must make that Song Shixuan agree to marry Yueyue."

Her father, brows locked in a heavy frown, his eyes red from lack of sleep, had promised her, "Don't worry. Even if I have to throw away my pride, I will make the Song family honor the engagement."

Listening to their conversation outside the room, Meng Shuyue’s face was streamed with tears. She had never expected her parents, who had lived their whole lives with integrity, to abandon their principles for her sake.

Feeling deeply guilty, she had wanted to apologize to the three Song brothers and propose a deal: one of them could enter a fake engagement with her, and once the child was born, she would leave, fulfilling the obligation between the two families.

As she neared the ward, she pulled her mother's hand affectionately. "Mother, let me go in and talk to them alone. Why don't you go buy me some apples?"

Her mother was worried, but thinking that the second Song brother was there—a steady person—she assumed he wouldn't let her daughter be humiliated. She flicked her daughter's nose and said indulgently, "You, don't run around. I'll be right back. If they bully you, tell me immediately."

Meng Shuyue nodded repeatedly. Once her mother was out of sight, she took a deep breath and approached the door. Just as she stood there, she heard the voices of Su Yanyan and Song Shiyu, and her hand, poised to knock, froze.

"Shixuan, you can tell your parents that you won't register the marriage yet. Wait until Meng Shuyue gives birth, then hold the full-month celebration and the wedding banquet together. Then, when the hall is full of guests, run away from the wedding. Have people distribute flyers revealing that the child in her womb is neither yours nor the Song family's. Her reputation will be completely ruined, no one will dare marry her again, and her family won't be able to use their 'kindness' as leverage anymore."

"But we don't have proof that the child isn't ours. What do we do then?" Song Shiyu asked, scratching his head, skeptical of the plan's feasibility.

Su Yanyan handed him the newspaper she had brought, pointing to an article. "Look, this paternity testing technology has already been introduced abroad. You can get the child's blood and compare it with yours. Not only will you clear your names, but you can also humiliate Meng Shuyue at her own wedding. It’s killing two birds with one stone. See how perfect that is?"

Song Shiyu’s eyes lit up as he read about the new technology. He gave Su Yanyan a thumbs up. "That’s a brilliant idea! Let's see the Meng family try to extort us again. And Father will surely regret having wronged me..."