After giving birth, Qiao Wanqing, exhausted, took a quick look at her healthy and adorable daughter before falling asleep.

She felt like she woke up a few times but was so tired she didn’t want to open her eyes again and fell back into a deep sleep.

She wasn’t sure how long she had slept, but when she finally opened her eyes, she heard Kouko’s excited voice: “Mommy’s awake, Mommy’s awake!”

When Qiao Wanqing opened her eyes, she saw her little son’s smiling face.

It made her feel warm all over.

She smiled back at him and tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse and she couldn’t say anything.

In the room were only Grandma Qiao and Kouko. Grandma Qiao gave her some water to help soothe her throat.

“Are you feeling very uncomfortable?” Grandma Qiao asked.

“Not too bad. It’s better than when I had Kouko,” Qiao Wanqing replied.

The first birth was painful; now, with the second, she felt more experienced and it was much easier. “How about the others?”

“Dad went to sleep. Grandma is watching the little sister!” Kouko piped up.

Qiao Wanqing smiled gently and patted his head. “Have you seen your little sister?”

Kouko made a face. “I’ve seen her.”

“Do you like your little sister?”

Koko hesitated before answering, “Just a little bit.”

“Just a little bit?” Qiao Wanqing was a bit surprised. “Can you tell Mommy why it’s only a little bit?”

” the baby’s ugly~” Koukou bluntly said.

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

She knew that newborns are red, wrinkled, and look like little old people, and aren’t very attractive.

She didn’t expect Koukou to be so concerned about appearances.

Qiao Wanqing helplessly patted Koukou’s head and said, “You were just as ugly when you were born.”

“No way!” Koukou pouted and argued, “Koukou is very handsome.”

“……” Where did that confidence come from?

Given Koukou’s usual self-love, Qiao Wanqing didn’t want to hurt his feelings by showing him his baby photos.

Otherwise, she could easily pull out a bunch of pictures from when he was born—red, wrinkled, with tiny eyes that couldn’t open properly, making her wonder if their excellent genes had somehow mutated.

However, babies change day by day, and within a couple of months, they usually turn out beautifully.

Koukou was like that too—chubby and adorable when he was little.

Also, she was surprised by Koukou’s actions when she was in pain.

She asked him, “How did you learn to send voice messages on WeChat? Who taught you?”

Qiao Wanqing’s cousin once told her that when her daughter, Xin Xin, was over two years old, her father used his phone to show her Douyin short videos.

This made Xin Xin addicted, and she needed to watch videos to eat.

If she couldn’t, she would cry and throw a tantrum.

It took a long time to wean her off.

Learning from this experience, Qiao Wanqing was wary of letting Kouko use phones or watch too much, fearing he might become addicted or damage his eyes.

So, it was impressive that Kouko could send voice messages and find his dad’s WeChat on his own.

“I learned it from Grandma,” Kouko proudly said. “I know how to do it.”

Since it was Madam Gu who taught him, Qiao Wanqing understood.

Madam Gu liked having Kouko send voice messages to Gu Jingzhi, so it made sense he knew how to do it.

Grandma Qiao brought out the food from the thermal container that the family cook had sent over for her to eat.

When Madam Gu heard that Qiao Wanqing had woken up, she brought the baby to her for a feeding.

As Kouko said, the newborn baby was not very cute.

The baby’s eyes were still shut, and there was sparse hair on the head, making it look a bit bald.

Madam Gu, ever optimistic, saw the baby nursing happily and told Grandma Qiao, “Look how cute she is, drinking so fast.”

Grandma Qiao smiled and said, “She looks just like Kouko did when he was little.”

Madam Gu felt very satisfied to have both a grandson and granddaughter.

She felt like a winner in life.

…

Qiao Wanqing was discharged from the hospital after three days and went home to rest and go through her confinement period.

The naming rights for the baby were given to Gu Jingzhi.

Initially, Gu Yanqing wanted Koukou to take the Gu family surname, while the second baby would take Qiao Wanqing’s surname.

However, Qiao Wanqing wasn’t particular about surnames, as Qiao wasn’t her original surname either—her family name was Xu.

So she agreed to have the baby follow the Gu surname.

Surnames don’t mean much anyway.

When it came to choosing a name, Gu Yanqing asked Qiao Wanqing, “How did you come up with Koukou’s nickname?”

“Ah,” Qiao Wanqing replied with some embarrassment, “It was a random choice.”

It was indeed somewhat random.

At that time, she had only recently arrived and still felt like it was a dream.

The name Gu Siqiao felt awkward to her, so she thought of giving the baby a nickname.

She remembered how on certain websites, some sensitive words were often replaced with “Koukou,” and she thought if a character’s name was Koukou, readers would go crazy.

So she chose this nickname for Koukou…

If given another chance, she definitely wouldn’t have made such a random choice.

Every time she introduced Koukou to someone and they heard his nickname, they looked puzzled.

She decided that once Koukou was older, she would start calling him by his full name and stop using the nickname all the time.

After all, for someone destined to be a domineering CEO in the future, that name doesn’t suit him well.

The baby was missing the “Wood” element in her birth chart, so Gu Jingzhi gave her a single name: Gu Zhen.

Her nickname is Zhenzhen.

In November, the weather was neither too cold nor too warm, making it perfect for the postpartum confinement period.

During this time, Chu Shishi also brought Yuan Yuan over to visit her.

Yuan Yuan envied Kouko for having a sister at such a young age.

Looking at the slightly less ugly Zhenzhen in the small crib, he said to Kouko, “I also want a little sister, but unfortunately, I can’t have one.”

Kouko didn’t understand why it was impossible.

He tilted his head and said, “My sister, I’ll give to you!”

Yuan Yuan was surprised by Kouko’s generosity and asked, “So you don’t want your sister?”

Kouko smiled and said, “Mommy will have another one, a pretty one.”

“……”

In the end, it seemed like Kouko found his own sister ugly.

Chu Shishi came over not only to visit Qiao Wanqing and Zhenzhen but also because “Let’s Rush Together” had finished its run.

After so many episodes, Jiang Yi was fully recognized and accepted by the audience.

Her performance on the show was unexpectedly impressive, and many fans hailed her as a goddess.

Her value has soared, and recently it was announced that she would star in the adaptation of the well-known novel “The Other Shore Flower” as one of the dual female leads.

It’s important to note that the female lead of this TV drama has attracted a lot of attention from the industry’s rising stars, all vying for the role.

Her sudden fame, along with the significant support behind her, shows just how influential she is.

Her rise was so abrupt that she had no fan base or previous work to build on.

The TV drama she starred in last year hasn’t even aired yet, which has led to dissatisfaction among many in the industry.

People have tried to dig into her past and background, seeking any inside information.

However, her background is solid, and those who know the details have been silenced by public relations.

Aside from knowing that she came from a modeling background, no one knows anything else about her.

Many people, envious of her rapid rise, are watching her closely, hoping to bring her down.

Any hint of scandal would be exaggerated and exploited.

Therefore, now is the best time to deal with her.

Chu Shishi didn’t act recklessly on her own.

She lacked the necessary connections in public relations, and Gu Yanze had arranged for people to keep tabs on her.

Any move she made could quickly reach Gu Yanze’s ears, with preparations already in place.

So, she needed Gu Yanqing to give her a push from behind.

Of course, this carries risks.

Gu Yanqing is a member of the Gu family. If this matter affects Gu Yanze, he would likely use it as a weapon against him, striving to gain more assets and custody rights by presenting himself as the weaker party.

If Gu Yanqing considers the impact on the Gu family’s reputation and interests, he might even act behind the scenes to harm her.

It depends on whether she has misjudged Gu Yanqing and Qiao Wanqing.

Qiao Wanqing is, of course, fully supportive of her efforts to defeat the mistress, while Gu Yanqing unconditionally supports his wife.

At 8 PM that evening.

On the otherwise calm Weibo trending topics, a new entry titled “Jiang Yi the Mistress” quietly climbed the ranks and quickly reached the top within half an hour.

The online community erupted in excitement.

Clicking on the entry, the first post was from a user named “An Enthusiastic Melon Eater.”

This user had shared various intimate videos of Jiang Yi and a married man.

The user also detailed the background of the married man, revealing him to be a high-profile businessman surnamed Gu, who was married with children.

The businessman’s wife then spoke out, describing how Jiang Yi had used fake pregnancy to force them into divorce, causing outrage among the Gu family elders and solidifying Jiang Yi’s mistress label.

Soon, Weibo was flooded with posts about Jiang Yi being a mistress and the Gu family boss.

Moreover, some of Jiang Yi’s previously hidden past, including rumors of using favors to advance her career and plastic surgery, was exposed, completely destroying her carefully cultivated goddess image.

Jiang Yi’s team was caught off guard, and they didn’t even have a chance to manage the public relations crisis.

They clearly underestimated Chu Shishi.

They thought her abilities were not enough to cause significant trouble, but they never expected her to completely reveal the scandal.

Jiang Yi’s reputation was thoroughly tarnished.

Chu Shishi was satisfied seeing that, after just one night, the entire internet was criticizing Jiang Yi, and even news notifications on phones were all about Jiang Yi being a mistress.

She felt she had finally gotten her revenge.

“Thank you,” Chu Shishi said to Qiao Wanqing.

She had been waiting for this day for over a year, and now, Jiang Yi finally got the retribution she deserved.

“Don’t mention it,” Qiao Wanqing replied. “What are your plans for the future?”

“Divorce,” Chu Shishi said. “Otherwise, I can’t drag this on for a lifetime. Maybe I can still find true love.”

There was a tinge of sadness in her words.

Chu Shishi had genuinely loved Gu Yanze, but unfortunately, Gu Yanze didn’t cherish her.

It’s one thing to not love someone, but it’s unforgivable to cheat and then force the wife to divorce for the sake of a mistress.

“Of course,” Qiao Wanqing comforted her. “You’ll definitely find a way. As for Yuan Yuan… what are you planning to do?”

Chu Shishi was still young, and it wouldn’t be easy to remarry with Yuan Yuan.

Qiao Wanqing knew Chu Shishi cared for Yuan Yuan and would likely fight for custody, but she was still worried about Yuan Yuan’s future.

After all, they had once treated Yuan Yuan in that way, and Qiao Wanqing wasn’t sure how Chu Shishi felt about Yuan Yuan or how much she was willing to sacrifice for him.

“I’ll work hard to gain custody,” Chu Shishi said with a smile. “As for the future… I’ll be a wealthy woman. I can choose whoever I want and won’t have to worry about marriage.”

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

“Don’t worry,” Chu Shishi, sensing Qiao Wanqing’s concerns, patted her shoulder and said, “My love for Yuan Yuan is no less than your love for Koukou. I’ll do for him what you would do for your children.”

Chu Shishi stayed with them for only two days before leaving.

After dealing with Jiang Yi, her next target would be Gu Yanze.

Although it’s unlikely she could make Gu Yanze leave with nothing, by portraying herself as the victim and making a fuss, the elders in the Gu family would likely side with her.

With her own family’s support, she could confidently demand more.

Once she got what she deserved, she would let that pair of betrayers slowly face their downfall.

Of course, a comeback was out of the question.

As long as she was around, she wouldn’t allow them to rise again.