Chapter 55: The Stubborn-Tongued, Soft-Hearted Mother-in-Law!

Chapter 55: A Tough-Talking Yet Soft-Hearted Mother-in-Law!

Suddenly interrupted by such a phone call, Zhao Moqing instantly lost all her interest.

Seeing this, Zhao Moyun could only say, "Moqing, Qin Lin, let me drive you back!"

Li Jiawen had no choice but to tell her three best friends, "Shanshan, you guys go ahead and play by the sea. I'll accompany Moqing back for a bit."

She had just overheard her mother-in-law's voice through the phone, sounding furious. It looked like trouble was brewing.

Shanshan was Liu Hua's girlfriend, and she and the other two friends could only nod in agreement.

"Qin Lin, Moqing, let's go!" Zhao Moyun called out to the two of them once more.

The four of them headed to the parking lot and got into the BMW 5 Series.

As soon as they got in the car, Zhao Moyun offered a reminder, "Qin Lin, why don't you know how to keep a secret? Why did you tell that Liu Hua where to catch the fish? I take that guy for an opportunist who just wants to go catch them himself."

Qin Lin was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Then let him go catch them. If he manages to catch one, it's his own ability."

Are you kidding me? The fish came from the game; it would be a true miracle if anyone could catch one at the location he mentioned.

"You, you really are carefree." Zhao Moyun shook his head and said no more.

At the very least, this showed that Qin Lin had a good character and his sister wouldn't get the short end of the stick. That was probably the reason why the boss decided to support him in the first place.

If it were that Liu Hua, even if he managed to sell a fish, given his personality, the boss wouldn't give him a second glance after the transaction was done.

Meanwhile, after Li Jiawen and her husband left, Shanshan and the others planned to enter the Bougainvillea Sea, but Liu Hua suddenly said, "Shanshan, I have something to take care of back in the county town. You guys go ahead and enjoy the sea."

Clearly, he had no mind left for sightseeing. Now that he knew about the fish, his head was entirely filled with the urge to go catch them. With that single remark, he left on his own accord.

Shanshan's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

How on earth had she inexplicably ended up being the third wheel to her two best friends?

"Shanshan, your boyfriend seems a bit unreliable..."

"Shanshan, how could he act like this?"

These remarks made Shanshan feel even worse. Clearly, Liu Hua's behavior this time had deeply disappointed her.

Having already walked out of the resort, Liu Hua didn't forget to make a phone call: "Haozi, call Xiaolong to my shop. I've got a get-rich-quick opportunity to tell you guys about... What kind of opportunity? You know the boss of the Qinglin Resort, right? Yeah, he invited me to play at his resort earlier, and I found out how he made his fortune. There's a special kind of fish in the area where Zhongmin Lake connects with the local reservoir..."

The more Liu Hua talked, the more excited he became. A single fish was worth a staggering 650,000!

***

Zhao Moyun's car soon entered Yucheng and came to a stop at the East City Royal Garden residential compound.

Standing outside the door of Zhao Moqing's family home, Qin Lin inevitably felt a bit nervous.

Sensing his anxiety, Zhao Moqing proactively took his hand.

Zhao Moyun unlocked the door, and as the group stepped into the living room, they were immediately met with a stifling atmosphere. Chen Xiang was sitting silently on the sofa, her face livid like a volcano on the verge of eruption, and two packed suitcases stood right beside the sofa.

Seeing this scene, anyone would instantly recognize it as the prelude to a storm.

Too terrified to speak, Zhao Moyun and Li Jiawen obediently sat down on the other side, shooting Zhao Moqing a look that clearly said, "You're on your own."

Anxious, Zhao Moqing stepped forward and sat down beside Chen Xiang, asking tentatively, "Mom, why did you pack the luggage?"

"That's your luggage," Chen Xiang said coldly, the suppressed anger palpable in her tone.

How could she not be furious?

Today, she had planned to update the household registration booklet. Ever since Li Jiawen married into the family, her name hadn't been added to the registry yet. Counting on her daughter-in-law to give her a grandson, she intended to get the family registry updated.

Having happily made an appointment with a friend who worked at the police station, she was shocked to discover during the registry update process that her daughter was already married.

Thinking it was a clerical error, she checked further and found out that her daughter's husband was none other than Qin Lin.

How could she not realize then that her daughter had taken the household registration book and secretly obtained a marriage certificate with Qin Lin behind her back?

"Mom, what's going on?" asked Zhao Moqing.

Looking profoundly displeased, Chen Xiang tossed a marriage certificate onto the table. "You still have the nerve to ask me what's going on? Do you have any respect for me as your mother at all?"

Seeing the marriage certificate, both Qin Lin and Zhao Moqing instantly understood what had happened.

Puzzled, Li Jiawen picked up the marriage certificate and took a look, then gasped in disbelief, "Moqing, you and Qin Lin actually registered your marriage? And so long ago, too."

Looking at the date printed on it, Zhao Moyun found it hard to believe either.

His sister had completely disregarded their mother. That was certainly a bold move.

He would never have had the guts to do something like that!

Panicking slightly, Zhao Moqing rushed to explain, "Mom, let me explain..."

"Don't you dare..." Chen Xiang interrupted her sharply, then turned her gaze to Qin Lin. "Qin Lin, take her back with you. You've already got your marriage certificate; there's no such thing as a married daughter living indefinitely at her parents' home."

"Auntie, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong in this matter," Qin Lin said, guilt gnawing at him as he offered a heartfelt apology, alongside a solemn promise, "I can assure you that I will treat Moqing well. I will never let her be hurt or wronged."

"Mom!" Zhao Moqing knew her mother must be furious this time.

"Go!" Refusing to give Zhao Moqing a pleasant look, Chen Xiang shoved the marriage certificate right into her hand. Before Zhao Moqing could even react, Chen Xiang pulled out a bank card and pressed it into her palm as well. "There are 300,000 here. Take it and use it with Qin Lin as a down payment for an apartment, so people don't say that your father and I shortchanged our daughter."

"Mom!" Zhao Moqing was stunned by this sudden gesture, but an overwhelming wave of warmth flooded her heart, accompanied by a deep sense of guilt.

Seeing this, Qin Lin could only offer his most sincere guarantee: "Auntie, we don't need your money to buy a house. I promise I will buy an apartment of over 120 square meters and put Moqing's name on the deed."

Eagerly, Zhao Moqing tried to return the bank card to Chen Xiang. "Mom, Qin Lin is very capable now. He'll be buying a house very soon. We were wrong before, but we wouldn't dare do anything like this again."

Seeing that the two of them were sincere, Chen Xiang's anger subsided slightly. Frowning at Qin Lin, she said, "Qin Lin, I know you're a good person, but this isn't the time to let your pride get in the way. Since you pulled off this stunt, even if taking this money makes you feel humiliated, or if living in an apartment bought by Moqing makes you feel like you can't hold your head high later on, you just have to swallow it."

Seeing that their mother's anger had cooled down a bit, Zhao Moyun finally spoke up, "Mom, Qin Lin really can afford an apartment now. You don't need to worry about it."

Li Jiawen chimed in as well, "That's right, Mom. Didn't you hear about that Qinglin Resort earlier? Didn't you notice how unique the name is? Just take one character from Moqing's name and one from Qin Lin's name and put them together."

"???" Chen Xiang frowned as she looked at her son and daughter-in-law. "What are you trying to say?"

Of course she knew about the Qinglin Resort; her daughter-in-law had mentioned it frequently, and she had seen it pop up on her WeChat Moments many times. Everyone said the boss of that resort must be filthy rich, and that the Bougainvillea Sea couldn't possibly have been built without spending millions.

Zhao Moyun explained, "Mom, the Qinglin Resort is owned by Qin Lin. Its business is booming right now, and we just came back from there."

"..." Chen Xiang was visibly stunned, staring at Qin Lin in utter disbelief.

Qin Lin was that wealthy boss?

She wasn't oblivious to Qin Lin's family background, so for a moment, her brain failed to process the information.

Truth be told, she didn't dislike Qin Lin as a person; it was just that, as parents, everyone simply wanted their daughter to lead a good life.

Learning that her daughter had secretly registered her marriage with Qin Lin made her furious, but seeing her daughter's firm resolve, she had no choice but to accept it—after all, she didn't want her daughter to go through a second marriage.

Yet, the implication now was that Qin Lin had actually turned out to be exceptionally successful?

Looking at her daughter and Qin Lin, whose hands remained tightly clasped together, her anger completely evaporated. However, having single-handedly stirred up such a massive storm, she suddenly found herself at a loss for how to gracefully back down.

"Mom, we were wrong!" Zhao Moqing apologized once more, signaling Qin Lin with her eyes.

Taking the cue, Qin Lin lowered his head and offered a sincere, low-voiced apology of his own, "Auntie, we truly were wrong. Please forgive us."

Watching the couple, completely united in their apology, Chen Xiang could only put on a stern front, huffing, "Humph! If you really cared about getting my forgiveness, you wouldn't have pulled this stunt behind my back. You've already got your marriage certificate, so now go back to your own home. Qin Lin, take her away right this instant."