Forced into a Secret Marriage with the Villain, We Now Have a Child - Chapter 49.3

Jian Chun’s message to Yu Siyi felt like a stone dropped into the ocean—no ripples, no response. She sat on her bed, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, yet her mind remained frustratingly sharp. Eventually, she tossed her phone aside and lay down, lulled by the rhythmic, hypnotic breathing of little Niannian.

The next morning, Jian Chun woke up surprisingly energized despite the late night. She got Niannian ready for school and then attended to herself. Back in her student days, ten minutes was all she needed to get ready; as a teacher, she remained just as efficient.

A Celebrity on Campus

Today was a half-day for International Women’s Day, and although Yi Xueyang had convinced her to go shopping, Jian Chun’s primary desire was to crawl back into bed and sleep. However, she had already promised.

At school, the atmosphere was different. Every teacher she passed greeted her with a knowing smile and a playful glint in their eyes. “Look at our little celebrity,” one teased. “You’re famous now, Jian Chun!”

Jian Chun could only offer a forced, polite smile. “It’s just because I didn’t manage my students well enough.” “Students will be mischievous,” the teachers replied kindly. “Just be more careful next time.”

The pride the school felt for Yu Siyi—their most illustrious alumna—was deep-rooted. Having a teacher linked to her was seen as a point of honor. Students from middle school to high school flocked to catch a glimpse of the “Most Beautiful Teacher.” “So she’s the one!” “I heard she teaches Physics… that’s impressive.” “She looks even better in person than in the photos.”

The “Gentle” Revenge

Jian Chun decided to play along with the “ignorance is bliss” strategy, but she wasn’t about to let her students off easy. During her morning classes, her expression was unusually warm—especially toward the underachievers. This “excessive kindness” terrified them.

Jin Ziye, who had lost one phone only to pull out a spare, watched her with a look of schadenfreude. After class, Jian Chun stopped him. “Find out something new?” she asked. Jin Ziye’s smile vanished. “Nothing. I don’t know anything. I already gave you my phone.” Jian Chun didn’t believe him for a second.

The students’ anxiety peaked when the Physics class representative returned from the office with a look of utter despair. He wrote the assignment on the blackboard: Every student must memorize all key knowledge points taught this semester and pass an individual oral examination in the teacher’s office.

“Holy…” The classroom erupted in groans. “Is she trying to kill us?” “I thought she wasn’t angry? This is way scarier than her being mad!”

A Heart-to-Heart with Dad

During a quiet moment in the office, Jian Chun received a message from her father, Jian Fanghua. “I heard from your mother that you’re famous now. Are you two going public?” “Public with what?” Jian Chun replied defensively.

She worried he might say something shocking, so she declined his voice call, citing that she was at school. They chatted via text and short voice notes instead. Her father was still working hard at a construction site, and his gruff, simple concern touched her. It was a rare feeling of being cared for without any ulterior motives.

The Call from Yu Siyi

While Jian Chun was basking in a rare moment of peace, her phone rang. It was Yu Siyi. She hesitated. Texting was a cold, safe shield; a voice call made it much harder to hide her emotions. “What is it?” Yu Siyi’s voice sounded lazy, like a cat that had just woken up and hadn’t decided whether to purr or scratch.

“Did you see my messages from last night?” Jian Chun asked. “Mhm. I was drinking last night. I only just saw them.” Jian Chun’s mind momentarily diverted—She was drinking? Why?

Yu Siyi interrupted her thoughts. “I acted too quickly last night. I saw your photo and just… reposted it.” She admitted it so plainly that Jian Chun’s anger dissipated. “Was it a company dinner?” Jian Chun asked. “Mhm, with the film crew. By the time I realized what happened, you were already trending. Deleting it would have looked even more suspicious, so I just left it.”

Jian Chun felt the wind taken out of her sails. She had expected an argument, or perhaps an admission of a calculated move to provoke her. Instead, it was a “mistake” handled with effortless grace. “I won’t disturb you then. Go back to sleep,” Jian Chun said. “I’m not that sleepy,” Yu Siyi replied, her voice carrying a slight nasal quality from her nap. “I have to head to the set early for filming this afternoon.” “We have the afternoon off,” Jian Chun noted. “That’s nice,” Yu Siyi murmured with a hint of envy.

Before hanging up, Yu Siyi mentioned, “I heard you want to buy a kitten for Niannian? Take her to Zhu Feifei’s place. She has cats there.”

The Near-Accident

Later that afternoon, after a shopping trip where Jian Chun bought nothing and Yi Xueyang bought everything, Jian Chun picked up Niannian from kindergarten. The little girl was thrilled to see her mother on a workday.

They headed to Zhu Feifei’s house to see the cats. It turned out the “kittens” were actually two very large, very round adult cats that had once been rescues found by Jian Chun and Yu Siyi years ago. Time had turned the once-dainty strays into pampered, arrogant “bosses.”

On the drive home, the atmosphere was light until Zhu Feifei brought up Yu Siyi. “I heard from Sister Weiwei that Rong Zhen is catching feelings for real on set,” Feifei gossiped. “But don’t worry, Siyi only has eyes for you.” Jian Chun remained quiet. “You probably don’t know, but she’s been very cold to me lately.”

Startled by this revelation, Zhu Feifei jerked the steering wheel, and the car swerved sharply. Jian Chun’s heart skipped a beat as she instinctively shielded the sleeping Niannian. The car screeched to a halt at the curb. “Is it too late to say I’m sorry?” Feifei squeaked, terrified. Jian Chun was fuming. “I am never getting in a car with you again.”

That night, back home and safely tucked away, Jian Chun couldn’t shake the fear of the near-miss. Life felt incredibly fragile. As she tried to clear her head to study, her phone rang. It was Yu Siyi again. Her voice was laced with genuine worry. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Jian Chun froze. Her drifting heart finally found a place to land.