"I think, not long after getting married, I’ll be driven out again. But, I’m used to it. Anyway, no man would sincerely marry me, so I don’t care," Ye Lu voice carried a tinge of bitterness.

Having had the experience once, even if she were to be humiliated and kicked out again, there was nothing to feel upset about.

After all, she had lost all her self-esteem, so as the saying goes, those who are shameless are invincible, she is so thick-skinned, that even her heart doesn’t hurt anymore.

Feng Aoxue looked at her with a pained heart: "I really hope you can find a man who truly loves you, and cherishes you."

"As for me, I have long given up hope on men. I just want to work hard at what I can do, so that in the future, after I leave the Shang family, I can live a stable life with my child, watch them grow up, get married, have kids, and then be a kindly grandmother," Ye Lu’s eyes gleamed with desire.

"You’re still so young and beautiful, are you really not planning to find a man?" Feng Aoxue widened her eyes.

"No! The good ones don’t like me, and I don’t fancy the bad ones."

"Have you ever thought about the ’what if’ scenario? Like, what if Shang Jingchen doesn’t want to divorce you, what would you do?"

Ye Lu was taken aback; she had never thought about that.

"Hey, what if Shang Jingchen really wants to be a husband to you, insists on sleeping with you. What if the Shang family forces you to have a child?" Feng Aoxue asked again.

Ye Lu had never thought about this either, and it left her incredibly embarrassed.

"I haven’t thought about these things. My agreement with Old Sir Shang was to be a good daughter-in-law to the Shang family. If within three years Shang Jingchen doesn’t initiate a divorce, I can’t ask for one. If Shang Jingchen wants to...I can’t refuse, nor can I refuse to have a child, but I don’t think Shang Jingchen will be interested in me."

Feng Aoxue widened her eyes: "Seven billion really isn’t easy to earn, then you can only strive to get through these three years, pray that he doesn’t have an interest in you."

Ye Lu visited her two babies, her eyes more determined. For the sake of her children, she had no fear, not even of the dragon’s den and the tiger’s cave that was the Shang residence.

Gently, she stroked their little heads.

"Yuanyuan, Yiyi, mommy will definitely bring you out of here!" As long as the seven billion were in her hands, she could reclaim custody of her children.

Ye Yuan and Ye Yi looked at each other, both feeling that something was off with their mom.

"Mommy, what’s really happening? What’s happened?" Ye Yuan asked, looking at her with confusion.

"Nothing happened, I’ve just realized that I can’t just sit around waiting for death! You two just wait obediently, my darlings, soon we can be together again, and never be apart."

After Ye Lu left, the two children looked at each other wide-eyed.

"I think mommy is keeping something important from us," the little girl said confidently, touching her chin.

Ye Yuan’s expression was cold: "Mommy said, she would take us away from here soon, but would grandpa really let us go so easily?"

The little girl was incensed: "Clearly, grandpa has struck some deal with mommy. Damn it, that stinky old man must have done something bad. We have to figure out what mommy agreed to as soon as possible, only then can we make a plan!"

***

The beauty pageant arrived as scheduled.

Ye Lu and a bunch of contestants were nervously preparing backstage.

Ever since the photo switching incident, the contestants have been snide and sarcastic towards her, feeling frustrated, but the staff welcomed her with warm smiles.

Ye Lu was surrounded by makeup artists and fashion designers, like a star surrounded by the moon.

Her area was the liveliest in the entire makeup room, invoking envy and anger in the other contestants.