Forced into a Secret Marriage with the Villain, We Now Have a Child - Chapter 43

Zhu Feifei worked at her family’s company. To ensure her peace of mind, her family had arranged an apartment for her near the city center. Usually, she lived alone in the 1,000-square-foot, one-bedroom flat. Life was comfortable enough, though she still occasionally ran late for her nine-to-five.

The apartment was fully furnished. While not as luxurious as the family home, it offered freedom—no one to nag her or pester her about marriage every day.

Coming home early from work, Zhu Feifei called out as she entered, “What’s for dinner? Should we go out, order in, or are you going to cook?”

She kicked off her shoes and turned. The living room was dim, illuminated only by the soft glow of the television. A man’s deep, magnetic voice sounded tragic: “Xinyue, do you truly hold no regard for our past feelings? Must you face me with a blade?”

Melancholic background music swelled as a cold female voice replied, “Since you’ve already made your choice, why bother asking me?”

The music reached its climax.

Click. Zhu Feifei flipped the light switch, flooding the room with brightness. The person on the sofa squinted. Yu Siyi was sprawled lazily on the couch, her eyes slightly red. She glanced at Zhu Feifei before turning her gaze back to the screen.

Zhu Feifei shuffled over in her slippers and saw the title The Records of Zhuang Yun written in calligraphy on the bottom right of the screen.

“Ha!” Zhu Feifei scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re crying over your own drama?”

“I was just bored and wanted to see how cringey my acting was,” Yu Siyi replied, her eyes still misty. “I probably didn’t sleep well last night; this sofa is a bit soft.”

Zhu Feifei sat down with a thud. “Are you being serious? Award-winning acting and you call it ‘cringe’?”

“This scene had a lot of NGs (No-Goods) at the time,” Yu Siyi said. “Even now, I feel like it wasn’t quite up to par.”

Zhu Feifei didn’t understand the technicalities. She handed Yu Siyi a drink, marveling at how she looked like a “salted fish”—lazy and disheveled with her hair loose—yet still managed to look like a classical beauty reclining on a couch.

“What’s for dinner? Going out?” Zhu Feifei asked.

“Going out requires makeup and changing clothes. I don’t want to. Let’s order takeout.”

Zhu Feifei sighed. “I usually go home to eat at this time…”

“Is takeout not good enough?”

“No, it’s your double standards,” Zhu Feifei grumbled. “When you lived with her, you did all the cooking. Now that you’re at my place—rent-free, I might add—you’re too lazy to even grab a meal with me.”

She continued, feeling her friend was prioritizing romance over friendship. “And you skip work whenever you want. Isn’t your manager breathing down your neck? You only have so many years of ‘youth’ to make money in this industry… you don’t cherish it at all.”

Yu Siyi’s beautiful eyes swept over her. Zhu Feifei immediately shut up. Wait, Yu Siyi is just playing at being an actress for fun, isn’t she?

“What do you want?” Zhu Feifei asked, opening a food delivery app. “Hot and sour rice noodles? I’m craving rice cakes.”

“Anything is fine.”

Zhu Feifei put her phone down and looked at her. “You’re staying here, but you didn’t tell Jian Chun. Does she really not believe you? Is that Feng Xue really that powerful?”

Yu Siyi sat up, her expression turning serious. “It’s not about power. She’s… sinister.”

“Well, it has nothing to do with me. But you two are truly miserable, running into a lunatic like Feng Xue,” Zhu Feifei said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Yu Siyi reflected on why Feng Xue only targeted the two of them. Finding no answer, she joked, “Maybe it’s because we’re both too excellent.”

“Pah!” Zhu Feifei placed the order. A wave of junk food was now en route.

At school, Jian Chun finished three sessions of evening self-study. The teaching pace was steady, leaving her with enough time for review later in the semester.

During the third session, the Study Representative approached her to ask about the track-splitting system. The student’s grades leaned toward Liberal Arts, but his family wanted him to pursue Science for better job prospects. As they talked, other students joined in the discussion.

After the bell rang, Jian Chun left the school with Jin Ziye trailing behind her, asking random questions.

“Big Sis, I’m just worried you’re not eating enough,” Jin Ziye said. “You’re so thin, the Sishì (Mother-in-law/Master’s Wife) will be worried.”

“What business is it of yours whether she worries or not?” Jian Chun asked.

“I… she… she’s my idol!” Jin Ziye blurted out. “Yu Siyi has great grades, she’s beautiful, and she’s good at everything. She’s my life goal!”

Jian Chun looked at him as if he were an idiot. When she first met him, she thought he was a “school tyrant”—the kind who rules the halls with his fists. It turns out she had overestimated him.

Back home, Jian Chun went to the storage room to organize Yu Siyi’s old high school materials. The nannies helped her carry the heavy stacks of books and notebooks up to her room. By the time they finished, it was nearly 11:00 PM.

Once alone, Jian Chun began flipping through the notebooks. She was stunned.

The notebooks were color-coded and meticulously detailed. From the first year of high school to the final graduation review, every knowledge point was recorded in beautiful handwriting, highlighted with different colors for emphasis.

How is this possible? Jian Chun wondered.

In her memory, she had borrowed Yu Siyi’s notes before, but they had been sparse—barely enough to satisfy the teachers. These detailed notebooks were nothing like what she remembered seeing in school. Had Yu Siyi been hiding her true effort, or was this some kind of silent joke?

Unable to sleep, Jian Chun checked her phone. Her chat history with Yu Siyi showed that Yu Siyi used to message her every day about mundane life things until Jian Chun got annoyed.

She realized with a pang of guilt that she had stayed in Yu Siyi’s house for security, yet it was she who had demanded the divorce. Now, Yu Siyi had moved out just to give her space.

The next morning, Jian Chun again had dark circles under her eyes. The nannies were worried.

“Madam, teaching is too exhausting. Why not change careers?” “Even if you don’t work, the Miss can provide for you.”

Jian Chun shook her head. She knew how far behind Yu Siyi she was. Giving up now meant giving up on her own life.

At school, she brought Yu Siyi’s tenth-grade physics notes to study. At lunch, she went to the Lin Family Shop with Yi Xueyang. Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Jin Ziye.

“Hey, Big Sis, where are you?”

“Eating.”

“Where? Let’s eat together!”

“Jin Ziye,” Jian Chun said suspiciously, “are you in debt? Are you trying to borrow money from me?”

Jin Ziye ran up to them, panting. “No! I just… since you’re close with the Sishì… I want to be on good terms with you.”

Jian Chun sighed. “Being on good terms won’t help your grades.”

As they were leaving the restaurant, Jian Chun’s driver, Uncle Liu, arrived carrying a large thermal container.

“Madam,” Uncle Liu said loudly enough for the surrounding crowd to hear. “Sister Li stewed this chicken soup for three hours. There’s a chicken leg in there too. If it’s not enough, I’ll buy you more food.”

The surrounding students and teachers stared. Yi Xueyang’s eyes widened, her gaze fixed on Jian Chun.

“Uncle Liu… that’s enough! I’ve already eaten,” Jian Chun hissed, trying to push him away.

But Uncle Liu stayed put, looking concerned. “Madam, your health is poor. The Miss instructed us to take good care of you. You stay up late and work your brain so much—you need the nutrition.”

He then smiled at Yi Xueyang. “You must be Madam’s friend? You should come by the house sometime!”

Jian Chun felt like her soul was leaving her body. Uncle Liu, usually a man of few words, was being incredibly talkative today. After he finally left, Jian Chun turned to face a very suspicious Yi Xueyang.

“Holy crap? You’re married?” Yi Xueyang scoffed. “And here I was, pouring my heart out to you about my dating troubles. Was I just talking to a wall?”

“I… it’s a long story,” Jian Chun muttered.

“When did you get married? You’re so young!” Yi Xueyang pressed.

“After university, I guess?”

“And when did you meet him? University?”

“High school?” Jian Chun replied tentatively.

Yi Xueyang sighed. “I shouldn’t have studied so hard. I should have focused on puppy love… Your husband’s family is rich, aren’t they?”

Jin Ziye, standing nearby, chimed in, “Yeah, extremely rich.”

“Hey kid, you know him?” Yi Xueyang asked.

“Yep!” Jin Ziye grinned, determined to make the teacher realize the truth. “It’s Yu Siyi.”

Jian Chun glared at him, nearly cursing. I thought you said you wouldn’t tell!

Yi Xueyang froze, then burst into laughter, slapping Jian Chun on the back. “Wake up! Stop daydreaming! The Goddess belongs to me!”