Han Xinrui stood and watched coldly as Mother Huo charged at Bai Qingqing.

Huo Hongtao rushed to protect Bai Qingqing, and in the scuffle, he ended up pushing his own mother to the ground.

Mother Huo landed heavily, then looked up at her son in disbelief. “Huo Hongtao, you actually hit me for Bai Qingqing!”

Huo Hongtao hadn’t expected that a slight push would send his own mother falling. Panic set in. “Mom, I… I was just afraid you’d hurt Qingqing. She’s a woman raising a child alone, isn’t that pitiful enough? Why are you going after her like this?”

As he spoke, he pointed at Han Xinrui. “Don’t let her stir things up. She just can’t stand to see Qingqing doing well. I’m only helping out my sister-in-law’s family from time to time. Don’t believe her nonsense.”

Then he turned all the blame onto Han Xinrui. “Han Xinrui, I promised Sun Zhong I’d take care of Qingqing and her child. No matter what you say, I’ll keep that promise. It doesn’t matter who you bring into this. You brought my mother here just to force me to stop helping them, right? Well, save your breath. If you really can’t accept it, then let’s get divorced.”

He didn’t hold back from threatening her.

He knew how deeply Han Xinrui cared about him. In the past, whenever he even hinted at breaking up, she would end up crying and apologizing.

She had already embarrassed him by calling the police. Now she had brought his mother into it. He had to teach her a lesson.

But Han Xinrui simply responded, calm and unbothered. “Fine! As long as you return my gold bars and money, I’ll go with you to file for divorce right away.”

She turned to Mother Huo. “You’ve seen it for yourself. My dowry, my gold bars, and even Huo Hongtao’s salary were all used to support Bai Qingqing. If we’re going to divorce, then I want everything that belongs to me returned first.”

Mother Huo had just opened her mouth to speak when she met Han Xinrui’s emotionless eyes. She froze.

Having lived with Han Xinrui for so long, she understood her personality well. That look in her eyes now—it was completely lifeless.

No, this couldn’t happen.

Hongtao’s job came from replacing Han Xinrui’s father, and her own position was inherited from her mother. If they divorced now, right after getting married, how could they show their faces in public?

Besides, she had coveted those gold bars for years and hadn’t even gotten her hands on them yet.

Suddenly, she stood up and marched toward Huo Hongtao, slapping him across the face twice. “Go get those things right now. If you don’t, I’ll cut ties with you.”

She then reached out and gently held Han Xinrui’s hand. “Xinrui, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get justice.”

Huo Hongtao looked like he wanted to say something, but when he met his mother’s cold gaze, he backed down.

Inside, he was still furious at Han Xinrui. Why did she have to make a scene like this? From now on, he had no reason to show her any kindness.

At this point, Bai Qingqing realized she couldn’t keep hiding.

She thought about her younger brother and parents. They still needed to live here, and they even hoped Huo Hongtao could help find them jobs. She couldn’t afford to fall out with his family.

She tugged on Huo Hongtao’s sleeve and whispered, “Brother Huo, that money was a loan. I’ll go get it.”

Covering her face, she ran off.

Huo Hongtao watched her run away, heart aching. He wanted to go after her, but with his mother still standing there, he stopped himself.

He turned and glared at Han Xinrui. “Are you satisfied now that this has blown up like this? I never thought you’d be this unreasonable.”

Han Xinrui stood there without a word, her expression flat.

Words like that no longer affected her.

In her past life, she had heard far worse.

Seeing her indifferent gaze, Huo Hongtao suddenly felt uneasy. Something about her has changed these past few days.

“Huo Hongtao, once your sister-in-law returns the money and gold bars, you need to apologize to her. She’s only—” he tried to reason with Han Xinrui.

She interrupted impatiently. “As long as I get my things back, I’ll do whatever you want.”

Relieved, Huo Hongtao said, “If you’d just been more sensible, none of this would’ve happened.”

Han Xinrui remained silent, her expression unchanged.

She had to hold it in, at least until she got her things back.

Half an hour later, Bai Qingqing returned with three gold bars and one thousand yuan.

She placed them on the table and said weakly, “This is all that’s left. The rest was spent on Niuniu’s medical treatment. He was born with a heart defect…”

Mother Huo’s eyes twitched as she looked at the money and gold bars. When she glanced at Bai Qingqing’s wrist and saw the gold bracelet, her expression darkened.

She clenched her teeth. She hadn’t even worn that bracelet herself, but now it was on Bai Qingqing’s wrist.

She spoke up. “If it was a loan, then write an IOU. Otherwise, this will be hard to explain later.”

Huo Hongtao reacted quickly. “Mom, how can you talk like Han Xinrui now?”

Before he could finish, she snapped, “Be quiet. If you still recognize me as your mother, then don’t say another word.”

He was still afraid of her. Gritting his teeth, he stayed silent.

Han Xinrui lowered her head and didn’t speak.

With Mother Huo dealing with Bai Qingqing, she didn’t have to do anything.

But she knew full well that this old woman wasn’t helping her out of kindness. She had been eyeing those gold bars for years.

She just wanted to keep her pride and appearance intact.

Bai Qingqing looked at Huo Hongtao with watery eyes, but he avoided her gaze. She clenched her teeth in frustration and murmured, “Aunt Huo, you know our situation. I promise I’ll repay every cent. I—”

Before she could finish, Mother Huo interrupted. “If you’ll repay it, then write the IOU.”

Seeing that she had no way out, Bai Qingqing bit her lip and went to get a pen.

Fine, she would write the IOU. She could always coax Huo Hongtao later to make it go away.

Once the IOU was written, Mother Huo nodded in satisfaction. “All right. Go look after your child now.”

Bai Qingqing covered her face and ran off again, crying.

Huo Hongtao stomped his foot, finally lost his patience, and ran after her.

Mother Huo watched her son’s back and gave Han Xinrui a look full of implication. “Xinrui, men need to be coaxed. You’re already married, yet you still haven’t won his heart. You can’t even compete with a woman who already has a child.”

As she spoke, she reached out for the gold bars and money. “I’ll hold onto these for you. You’re too soft-hearted. What if you let Huo Hongtao take them again and give them back to Bai Qingqing?”

Han Xinrui was faster. She grabbed the money and gold bars first. “Thank you, Mom. You’ve always taken Huo Hongtao’s side, so I thought you didn’t care about me. I didn’t expect you to see me as your own daughter after all.”

She tucked the money and gold bars into her pocket, then picked up the IOU. “You really thought this through. With this in hand, Bai Qingqing can’t deny a thing.”

Mother Huo had worked so hard to retrieve the money and gold bars, hoping to keep them for herself, but Han Xinrui took them back right in front of her.

“Xinrui, just let me hold onto them for you. You nearly lost everything once already. I’ll keep them safe, and when you need them later, I’ll give them to you,” Mother Huo said, no longer pretending.