Qin Huairu had already tacitly accepted the outcome in her heart, but she put up a strong front.
"Yi Zhonghai, you say it so easily!"
"So if I marry you, I'm just a tool for you to continue the family line, right?"
"Have you ever thought about how much harm these actions would cause my body?"
Yi Zhonghai frowned, remaining silent.
Qin Huairu began to up her demands again: "Yi Zhonghai, listen to me!"
"I, Qin Huairu, am not the kind of woman you think I am!"
Yi Zhonghai said in a deep voice, "So you disagree?"
"If you disagree, I'll find someone else, and we'll get a divorce tomorrow!"
Yi Zhonghai suddenly became firm, which was a complete surprise to Qin Huairu.
Ever since they got married, Yi Zhonghai had always been at a disadvantage.
Qin Huairu had threatened divorce multiple times to force Yi Zhonghai to compromise.
For the sake of his family's plan to continue the lineage, Yi Zhonghai had endured Qin Huairu's "oppression" through gritted teeth.
Who would have thought that Yi Zhonghai would suddenly become so resolute!
"I agree!"
Finally, Qin Huairu compromised: "A thousand yuan it is!"
"But before we cooperate, we need to be clear about things!"
"You must give me this money in advance!"
"Otherwise, if the child is born and you don't give me the money, what will I do?"
Yi Zhonghai said coldly, "Qin Huairu, what do you take me for?"
"Am I going to haggle with you over this small sum of money?"
"As long as you live honestly with me, I will never treat you unfairly!"
Yi Zhonghai shamelessly declared his intention to honor the agreement, but Qin Huairu didn't believe him at all.
After a long and heated argument, they finally reached a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Once Qin Huairu's pregnancy was confirmed, Yi Zhonghai would immediately give her a pregnancy care fee!
Subsequently, he would provide a monthly allowance as agreed until the child was safely delivered.
At this point, the initiative was still firmly in Qin Huairu's hands.
As long as Qin Huairu's demands were not excessively unreasonable, Yi Zhonghai would likely not dare to completely fall out with her.
Qin Huairu had already had three children; if she wanted to have another, she could do so at any time!
After the "cooperation" was settled, Qin Huairu went and had her IUD removed the next day.
Once this was done, Qin Huairu only needed to have intercourse with a virile man a few times to conceive.
...
Time passed quickly, and a year went by in the blink of an eye.
During this year, Zhao Feiyan successfully gave birth to a pair of twins for Liu Kai Xuan!
The elder daughter was named Liu Xin Xue by her mother.
The younger son was named Liu Xin Hu by Liu Kai Xuan.
One afternoon, Liu Kai Xuan returned home from work and, as usual, held both little ones in his arms.
At this moment, Zhao Feiyan complained, "Husband, you can't stay silent any longer!"
"Many people in the courtyard are spreading rumors that the child in Qin Huairu's womb is yours!"
"If this continues, a major incident is bound to happen sooner or later!"
Qin Huairu was now eight months pregnant and was resting at home with her swollen belly.
After being kicked out of the house by Yi Zhonghai, the First Matriarch had never returned.
However, after Qin Huairu's pregnancy was confirmed some time ago, the First Matriarch became active again.
She frequently returned to the courtyard and chatted with the old neighbors.
Her conversations invariably revolved around Yi Zhonghai's infertility and his inability to impregnate a woman.
She insisted that the child in Qin Huairu's womb was not Yi Zhonghai's.
The women in the courtyard relished discussing such gossip.
If the child wasn't Yi Zhonghai's, then whose was it?
Coincidentally, Zhao Feiyan had given birth to twins, leading some to speculate that Liu Kai Xuan might be the father of Qin Huairu's pregnancy.
Of course, such baseless rumors did not attract much attention.
Furthermore, Liu Kai Xuan held considerable prestige in the courtyard, and spreading rumors without any evidence could lead to severe consequences if he caught the perpetrators.
The full extent of the problem erupted due to another incident.
One afternoon, while Yi Zhonghai was out doing odd jobs, Qin Huairu, despite her advanced pregnancy, went out to chat with others.
Li Xing Gai, the mother of Gou Dan, asked Qin Huairu if the child in her womb was truly Yi Zhonghai's.
Qin Huairu directly replied that it was not, and claimed that Yi Zhonghai was incapable of getting her pregnant.
When Li Xing Gai pressed further about whose child it was,
Qin Huairu "confided" to everyone that the child in her womb was Liu Kai Xuan's.
Moreover, Qin Huairu claimed that her relationship with Liu Kai Xuan had never ended.
She even stated that she would eventually "rekindle their romance," implying that Zhao Feiyan was the "unnecessary one."
Just how thick-skinned is this woman Qin Huairu?
One only needs to recall what she did on the day Liu Kai Xuan married Zhao Feiyan to understand.
On their wedding day, Liu Kai Xuan carried Zhao Feiyan into the house.
Qin Huairu, with her clothes disheveled, blocked the doorway and loudly proclaimed that she and Liu Kai Xuan had a romantic relationship.
Truly shameless to the extreme!
Qin Huairu had her own reasoning: Bang Geng had been sent to the juvenile detention center by Liu Kai Xuan.
Although Bang Geng had been released, the criminal record he acquired in juvenile detention was indelible.
Bang Geng might not yet understand what a criminal record means for his future, but Qin Huairu was acutely aware.
In this era, with such a blemish on his record, Bang Geng was essentially branded.
Finding a job in the future would be extremely difficult!
And finding a wife would be equally challenging; what girl would be willing to marry a convicted criminal with a record?
Qin Huairu felt that Liu Kai Xuan had destroyed her hopes, and therefore, she sought to retaliate against him fiercely.
By publicly claiming to be carrying Liu Kai Xuan's child, her goal was to tarnish his reputation and sow discord between Liu Kai Xuan and Zhao Feiyan.
If she could provoke Zhao Feiyan and Liu Kai Xuan into divorcing, it would also allow her to vent her anger.
Even if she couldn't cause a divorce, creating marital strife between Liu Kai Xuan and Zhao Feiyan would satisfy Qin Huairu's desire for revenge.
"Alright, Feiyan, don't worry. I'll find a way to resolve this matter!"
Liu Kai Xuan nodded and said, "I'll go over shortly and have a good talk with Qin Huairu!"
"Ah..."
Zhao Feiyan quickly interjected, "Husband, perhaps it's best to let it go!"
"Qin Huairu is pregnant now. If you hurt her and something happens, she'll definitely try to extort us!"