No matter how in love her father might be with Lin Huiyue now, he had spent so many years with her mother. When he saw Mo Chen's condition, Zuo Aiai was certain that he wouldn't be able to ignore her. He'd have to help with the medical bills.
Finally home, she pushed open the front door...
She was greeted with a celebratory scene. The whole Zuo family was present.
"Zuo Aiai, come see how beautiful Yunyun looks in her wedding dress! Oh, but this one is only for the engagement party. Ziyi says that the actual wedding dress must be flown in from England..." said Lin Huiyue the moment she stepped through the door.
"Really, Mrs. Zuo, you are so lucky to have such a golden phoenix. This is wonderful. The Zuo family is basking in your daughter's glory!"
The Chen family was one of the richest families in Binhai City, and they had three sons and one daughter. The eldest and second eldest sons both owned their own businesses overseas, and the youngest son, Chen Ziyi, would be the one to inherit all of their wealth. "Your Yunyun has become the third young mistress of the Chen family," said one of the wealthy wives who had come to congratulate Lin Hiuyue on the good news. "She will have a good life in the future!" By marrying Chen Ziyi, Yunyun would be able to share in the wealth of the Chen family.
The wealthy wives who lived in the neighborhood had a tendency to gossip.
On the surface, they'd been nothing but polite to Lin Huiyue, but behind her back, they judged her for being a shameless mistress. Now that they'd heard the news about Zuo Yunyun and Chen Ziyi's engagement, they all rushed to the door with gifts for Lin Huiyue, hoping to the be first to curry favor with her.
They were even willing to call her "Mrs. Zuo" now.
Zuo Aiai's face was cold as she walked into the living room. Lin Huiyue's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of her the moment she entered, and she flashed Zuo Aiai a saintly smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Zuo Aiai, you're back! How is your mother? Is she okay? She should be fine now, right?"
Zuo Aiai couldn't quite bring herself to return Lin Huiyue's smile, but she didn't want to fight with her either.
All she cared about was getting the money she needed.
"Where's my father?" she asked.
"Your father? Oh, I think someone from work came to the house to look for him. He's in the study on the second floor right now."
Lin Huiyue's daughter had become a Golden Phoenix. She was so happy that she could not stop smiling.
For once, she wasn't trying to make things difficult for Zuo Aiai. She was too distracted by Zuo Yunyun's recent success.
"Why don't you wait here? Your father didn't look too well just now."
Recalling how Lin Huiyue had treated her in such a bossy manner earlier, Zuo Aiai couldn't help but sneer, pretending not to hear.
She turned around without a word and walked up the stairs. Behind her, the rich and powerful women continued on with their chattering.
"So arrogant, even now!" one of them whispered audibly.
"That's right! I've read about her in the newspapers...she's gone from being engaged to Chen Ziyi to being dethroned from her position as the heiress to the Zuo family. It must be so embarrassing for her. I guess she can only be kept at home as a money-losing commodity in the future...Mrs. Zuo, you have to keep a close eye on that kind of girl. Don't you know that your family is going to be ruined by her conduct in the future?"
Pretending not to hear their gossip following her upstairs, Zuo Aiai bit her lower lip as she knocked on the door to the second-floor study.
Zuo Tianhao immediately opened the door. When he saw Zuo Aiai standing there, his face went livid.
"Why are you here? Didn't Lin Huiyue tell you I was busy with an important guest?"
"Dad, mom...mom's condition is back, and it's even more serious this time. I just went to the hospital with her for emergency treatment. I don't have any money on me right now, and mom's medical fees are so expensive...I can't afford to pay them. I promise I'll repay you after I earn some money in the shop...can you...?"
"You jinx! You behave the way you did today, and you still think you can take money from me? Dream on! I've raised that money-losing thing of yours for so many years and it's already enough. Now, I have something important to talk about with my guest. Go wherever you want—just not anywhere in my sight!"
Zuo Tianhao's mood was unusually bad. If he wouldn't give her the money, and if she wasn't going to accept Chen Ziyi's offer, what could she do instead?