I'm Only Doing This for Your Own Good

After speaking his mind, Xu Shuai felt much lighter in his heart!

"Alright then, let's grab something to eat first."

They went together for lunch.

By the afternoon, Shen Mengjie's mood had clearly improved, and since there were quite a few people around, Long Aotian excused himself and left early.

......

"Shen Xiu, look at the mess you've made!" The middle-aged man clutched his head, fuming with rage as he confronted Shen Mengjie's mother.

"Let me make this clear—I've already paid the money. If you don't deliver the girl to me, I won’t let this go!"

Shen Xiu wore an ingratiating smile. "Lao Wang, calm down. The girl’s been out in the world too long, and her temper’s grown wild. Just give me a few more days, and I promise I’ll make Shen Mengjie come home with you obediently!"

Two figures passed by nearby.

One of them had his hands in his pockets, his yellow bangs swaying lightly as he walked.

Hearing the commotion, he suddenly stopped.

With a flick of his hair, his melancholic gaze turned toward the two.

A confident smile played on his lips as he spoke in the purest, most velvety voice: "Were you just talking about Shen Mengjie?"

Hearing this, Wang Tianlai and Shen Xiu both turned to look at the young man before them.

With effortless grace, he flicked his hair again. "Ah, my apologies—I forgot to introduce myself. The name’s Ye Liangchen. Yes, that Ye Liangchen."

"I overheard you mention Shen Mengjie. May I ask what your relationship with her is?"

Noticing the wariness in their eyes, Ye Liangchen gave a faint smile and casually tossed his bangs. "No need for suspicion. I merely thought you might require my assistance."

Xue Shaohua revealed the earrings on both ears and flashed a confident grin. "Indeed, perhaps our help is exactly what you need!"

Wang Tianlai hadn’t spoken yet—mostly because he was still seething with frustration.

But Shen Xiu, eyeing their stylish attire and their air of unshakable confidence, narrowed her eyes and asked, "You know my daughter, Shen Mengjie?"

"We’re... somewhat acquainted," Ye Liangchen said coolly, though the memory of Shen Mengjie’s rejection still stung faintly in his heart.

As if to prove his claim, he pulled out his phone, navigated to his favorites, and pulled up a secretly taken photo of Shen Mengjie.

Shen Mengjie was undeniably mature and alluring. On those lonely nights after her rejection, Ye Liangchen had often "vented his frustrations" while staring at this very photo.

When Shen Xiu saw that this young man had candid photos of her daughter—and that Shen Mengjie was smiling so radiantly in them—she immediately grabbed Ye Liangchen’s collar.

"Was it you? Was it you who did this to my girl?"

Caught off guard by Shen Xiu’s sudden aggression, Ye Liangchen flustered for a moment before letting out a strained chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Shen Xiu snapped.

Ye Liangchen didn’t have the heart to admit he hadn’t laughed—he’d just accidentally let out a nervous fart.

"What are you talking about? What did I even do?" He tried to shake off Shen Xiu’s grip but failed, instantly feeling humiliated.

"You didn’t lay a hand on my daughter?"

Ye Liangchen paused, then struck a pose—one hand behind his back, his gaze lifting at a perfect 45-degree angle. "With my charm, if I’d wanted her, I’d have had her long ago."

Shen Xiu was about to press further, but Wang Tianlai suddenly sensed something amiss.

He grabbed Shen Xiu’s arm. "What did you mean just now? About whether he’s touched Shen Mengjie or not? Did something happen to her? Is that why you suddenly came to me?"

Realizing her slip-up, Shen Xiu tensed.

But under Wang Tianlai’s relentless questioning, her temper flared. She shoved his hand away. "Wang Tianlai, look at yourself! A 45-year-old bachelor, and you’re getting a fresh-faced college girl in her prime. You should be thanking your lucky stars instead of making demands!"

"With your circumstances, even if you could afford a wife, the best you’d get is some divorced woman with kids. And here you are, acting picky!"

"My daughter has the looks, the figure—plenty of men would line up for her if you back out."

Wang Tianlai fell silent, rendered speechless by Shen Xiu’s tirade.

After considering Shen Mengjie’s beauty and Shen Xiu’s blunt but undeniable logic—that he stood to lose nothing—he finally grumbled, "Just remember, you’ve already taken my money. You figure out how to bring Shen Mengjie to me!"

Ye Liangchen, listening to their exchange, slowly curled his lips into a smirk. "So this is the price of your betrayal. I never thought it’d come so soon."

He shot Xue Shaohua a meaningful glance, then pulled Shen Xiu aside. "Where is Shen Mengjie now?"

As he spoke, he discreetly pulled two bills from his pocket.

At the sight of money, Shen Xiu’s eyes gleamed, though she feigned hesitation. "What’s your angle?"

"I only want to help you—to make sure Shen Mengjie goes back with you willingly."

"Or... perhaps I could offer even more money. Let her marry me instead."

Hearing this, Shen Xiu began sizing up Ye Liangchen from head to toe: "You're young, but you’ve got quite the audacity."

"One hundred thousand!"

Ye Liangchen blurted out the number without hesitation.

"One hundred thousand?" The moment Shen Xiu heard this figure, her expression instantly shifted.

Her hand slowly reached out to take the two hundred yuan from Ye Liangchen’s grasp.

But Ye Liangchen smirked slyly, tightening his grip on the money: "On one condition—can you guarantee that Shen Mengjie will obediently listen to you?"

At these words!

Shen Xiu instinctively glanced at the handbag in her own hand.

"Of course I can. But you’d better have the means to come up with that hundred thousand!"

"Such a trivial amount has never been worth my attention!" With that, he released his hold.

......

"What were you two just talking about?" Wang Tianlai asked, rubbing his head.

"Nothing. Let’s head back first," Shen Xiu replied before turning to leave.

Back at the apartment Shen Mengjie rented in Pingchang,

Shen Xiu let out a sigh and pulled out a pregnancy test from her bag.

Staring at the two lines on the strip, her gaze gradually hardened with resolve.

Rewinding time...

Shen Xiu had come to the capital to find Shen Mengjie.

She stubbornly followed Shen Mengjie back to this place.

That night, she noticed Shen Mengjie wasn’t sleeping but was instead doing something in the bathroom.

After Shen Mengjie emerged, Shen Xiu wondered if she had hidden money there.

So once Shen Mengjie was sound asleep, she quietly slipped into the bathroom.

And that was when she discovered it.

Under pressure, the two of them ended up arguing.

But Shen Mengjie refused to reveal who the father of her child was.

Unwed and pregnant—yet she wasn’t holding the man accountable. It wasn’t even clear if he knew. Watching Shen Mengjie tread the same doomed path she once had,

Shen Xiu had resorted to bringing Wang Tianlai to the school to confront Shen Mengjie earlier that day.

"If you can’t stay in school, you’ll have no choice but to come back with me, right?"

"Don’t blame me... I’m doing this for your own good..."