A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go

Mei Wanying’s first reaction to the news that Xue Xingyao was coming was joy. Her second was suspicion that she was being bullied by the Chen family.

Otherwise, why would Ah Yao travel so far at a time like this?

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t make sense of it.

Mei Wanying had died too early in her past life. She only knew that Xue Xingyao’s marriage had been a happy and fulfilling one, not whether any unpleasantness had occurred between her and Chen Shujing.

At this point, all she could do was wait for Xue Xingyao to arrive and ask her about the situation then.

Finally, Mei Wanying looked down at her own stomach, her tone panicked. "How am I going to explain this to Ah Yao?"

She had been perfectly fine when they parted. The next time they met, she would be pregnant.

Ah Yao would be completely unprepared. She was sure to be shocked.

Mrs. Mei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Ah Yao isn’t the type to scold you. Just explain the situation clearly, and she’ll understand."

Even so, Mei Wanying still felt awkward.

’I can’t help but feel like I’ve done something wrong...’

She hadn’t breathed a word to anyone about what happened with Pei Yan that night.

And now she was pregnant. If word got out, it would scare people to death!

Mei Wanying’s belly was already quite large; it was impossible to hide.

Even when she wore loose-fitting dresses, the curve of her swollen belly was still obvious.

Xue Xingyao had finally made the difficult journey to Jiangnan, hoping to pour her heart out to her friend. But the moment she stepped out of the carriage, her eyes were immediately drawn to Mei Wanying’s pregnant belly.

Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped in shock. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Following Mei Wanying into the residence, Xue Xingyao was in a daze the entire way.

It wasn’t until she was seated in the main hall that her wandering senses began to return. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Pointing at Mei Wanying’s swollen belly, she stammered, "What... what is this?"

Mei Wanying felt a flash of embarrassment.

She pretended to be nonchalant and said, "I’m having a child for myself."

Xue Xingyao was frantic. "Who’s the father?"

’She looks quite far along. Maybe she got pregnant back in the Capital City.’

Mei Wanying didn’t say anything, and a sudden realization struck Xue Xingyao. "It’s not Pei Yan, is it?"

Seeing that Mei Wanying didn’t deny it, Xue Xingyao knew she had guessed correctly.

’If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would have imagined it in a million years. Before Ah Yin was even married, Pei Yan had gotten her pregnant!’

’He’s such a good actor, with that cold and aloof act of his, pretending to be uninterested in women.’

’Turns out he devoured Ah Yin behind everyone’s backs a long time ago. No wonder he acted that way that day.’

Xue Xingyao said through gritted teeth, "That day at the restaurant, he was about to kiss you! And I was so proud of myself, thinking I’d arrived just in time to stop him from ruining your reputation. I never thought... I never thought he’d already crossed that line long ago!"

Mei Wanying didn’t know what had happened in the restaurant; she had been drunk at the time.

She had woken up in the carriage.

’I didn’t realize something like that had happened in between.’

Naturally, she thought of Pei Yan’s visit to Jiangnan.

She hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Pei Yan had always been mercurial, acting on a whim.

Who knew what his real purpose was for suddenly coming to Jiangnan.

But after hearing what Xue Xingyao said, Mei Wanying started to understand.

’No wonder he said all that nonsensical stuff that day...’

In her past life, Mei Wanying had craved a response from Pei Yan until the day she died.

Now that there were signs of it, she couldn’t feel happy at all. Instead, she felt panicked.

’If... if he really does feel that way, he’ll definitely come to Jiangnan again.’

’When that happens, will I be able to protect my child?’

Xue Xingyao lowered her voice. "I heard from Chen Shujing that Pei Yan is in trouble again. The news is being kept under wraps, so no one on the outside knows."

Mei Wanying froze for a moment, her subconscious reaction one of relief.

’As long as he’s tied up with something, he won’t be able to come to Jiangnan.’

Xue Xingyao studied Mei Wanying’s expression. She wasn’t nervous or sad.

’She’s really different from before.’

Xue Xingyao calmed herself. "Men are all unreliable. You made the right choice."

’Ah Yin hasn’t gone back to the capital because she doesn’t want anything more to do with Pei Yan.’

’She hasn’t gone back, even with his child.’

’It seems it won’t be so easy for Pei Yan to win the beauty’s heart after all.’

Mei Wanying didn’t want to talk about Pei Yan. Whether he was alive or dead, it had nothing to do with her.

Going to the temple to pray for his well-being—she wouldn’t make such a foolish mistake a second time.

As long as Pei Yan stayed away from Jiangnan and didn’t try to take her child, she could treat him like a stranger for the rest of her life.

The moment Xue Xingyao found out she was pregnant, she wrote a letter to Mei Wanying.

But seeing her friend’s gaunt frame, pale face, and flat stomach, a terrible suspicion formed in Mei Wanying’s mind.

Not wanting to ask about the child directly, Mei Wanying asked Xue Xingyao, "Did the Chen family bully you?"

Xue Xingyao shook her head.

Mei Wanying said, "Then Chen Shujing must have bullied you."

At the mention of his name, tears suddenly streamed down Xue Xingyao’s face.

She wasn’t as strong as she had imagined. When her husband deceived her, she had desperately wanted to cry.

When her own family fell into trouble, she had wanted to cry then, too.

With everything weighing down on her, she could barely breathe. If she hadn’t come to Ah Yin’s, she felt she might have suffocated to death.

"He lied to me. There’s someone else in his heart..."

"He hid a portrait of Miss Shen, goes to pay respects to her every month, and even takes care of her younger brother..."

Sobbing, Xue Xingyao haltingly told the story of Chen Shujing and Shen Mingxiao.

She had given Chen Shujing her whole heart, believing he felt the same.

She never expected it to be a one-sided love. Chen Shujing’s heart wasn’t with her at all!

Seeing Xue Xingyao’s tears, Mei Wanying’s own eyes reddened.

She wanted to hug Xue Xingyao, but her belly was too big, so she could only hold her hand instead.

Mei Wanying didn’t ask any more questions, simply crying along with Xue Xingyao.

Mrs. Gu was about to die of anxiety.

’All this crying! You’ll cry all the good fortune away!’

’No wonder His Highness is in trouble again!’

She nudged Ding Xiang’s shoulder and shot her a look, signaling for her to go and console Mei Wanying.

Ding Xiang glared at Mrs. Gu and silently mouthed a curse, ’Damn old hag, are you ever not annoying?!’

So disrespectful to her elders! Mrs. Gu’s old face flushed red with anger.

Ding Xiang glared at her again.

’Her mistress and Miss Xue Er are as close as real sisters. With Miss Xue Er suffering such a misfortune, how could the mistress not be upset?’

’Is she supposed to bottle it all up until it makes her sick with grief? Better to cry it out.’

Ding Xiang didn’t try to stop them, just quietly handed them handkerchiefs from the side.

If Mrs. Gu hadn’t been there, and if she hadn’t been worried about being looked down upon, she probably would have started crying too.

Worried that Mei Wanying’s crying would affect the baby in her womb, Mrs. Gu let out an "Aiyo!" and forced her way between them.

"You mustn’t cry anymore! What if you cry so much you go into premature labor?"

Mrs. Gu was always interfering in her affairs, and Mei Wanying found it endlessly irritating.

Already emotionally overwhelmed, Mei Wanying finally snapped when Mrs. Gu started bothering her. "Know your place! Don’t act like you’re my mother-in-law!"

Mrs. Gu looked aggrieved. "I’m only doing this for your own good. Pregnant women shouldn’t get agitated."

’There’s that line again.’

A surge of anger rose in Mei Wanying’s heart, and a pain shot through her belly.

She clutched her stomach and let out a pained groan, shocking everyone in the room.

Xue Xingyao forgot to cry and asked uncertainly, "Is... is the baby coming?"

Ding Xiang ordered someone to fetch a doctor and a midwife.

She shot a curse at Mrs. Gu, "You and your big mouth!"

Mrs. Gu was both anxious and aggrieved.

’If Miss Mei had just listened to her, how could she possibly be going into premature labor?’