Chapter 65.2

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Chi Yin stepped forward, placing both hands on Qiao Ziman’s shoulders, gently pressing down as if to tell her to relax. Then, she turned to Chi Qilan. “What’s the matter?”

Chi Qilan’s grip on her suitcase tightened slightly, a rare hint of unease creeping into her voice. “Yin Yin, our house burned down. I have nowhere to stay… can I—”

Before she could finish, Jiang Shu’s voice rang out from behind them. “Big Sis! Sister-in-law! Don’t believe her! You both know how many properties she owns! She’s obviously here to catch me! I’m telling you, I will not surrender!”

Chi Qilan’s sharp gaze shot past them, landing directly on Jiang Shu, who was sprawled across the sofa in a leisurely manner.

Jiang Shu’s bravado faltered for a second as a drop of cold sweat trickled down her temple. But she quickly straightened up, forcing confidence into her voice. “Ha! What are you staring at? With my sister-in-law backing me up, I’m not afraid of you!”

Sister-in-law, aka Qiao Ziman, nearly choked on air.

Backing her up?

Since when?!

She was on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat herself—after all, she had just scammed her future mother-in-law out of five million!

Chi Qilan’s gaze flickered toward Qiao Ziman for a long, unreadable moment before finally turning back to Chi Yin. Her stern expression softened slightly.

“Yin Yin, I really don’t have a place to stay right now,” she said, sighing. “All my rental properties are occupied, some aren’t even renovated yet, and the last one recently had its water cut off. If you don’t believe me, look.”

She pulled out her phone, swiped her screen, and held up an official water service notice right in front of Chi Yin’s face.

Qiao Ziman stared at the screen, then at Chi Qilan, her brain short-circuiting.

Wait… isn’t this the exact same trick Yin Yin pulled before?

Like mother, like daughter.

Qiao Ziman took an instinctive step back, whispering to Chi Yin, “What do we do?“

Chi Yin squeezed her hand gently. “It’s up to you.”

Up to me?!

Just as Qiao Ziman was hesitating, a loud voice suddenly rang out from inside the house.

“Did I just hear that my in-law is—”

The sentence cut off abruptly, followed by a sharp intake of breath. Then, the volume cranked up another notch.

“Why the hell is it you?”

Qiao Ziman and Chi Yin: “???”

“Mom, you two know each other?”

Chi Qilan looked just as bewildered.

Meanwhile, He Cuizhen let out a dramatic tsk as she scanned Chi Qilan from head to toe, her expression full of undisguised irritation. “No wonder I didn’t recognize you at the fire scene—you were covered in soot. But now that I get a good look at you…”

She narrowed her eyes.

“We were neighbors as kids. Sat next to each other in school for a while too. Did you forget?”

Qiao Ziman’s jaw nearly dropped. Her mom and Yin Yin’s mom were childhood neighbors?

Chi Qilan blinked, clearly caught off guard. Before she could say anything, He Cuizhen continued, tone dripping with disdain. “Never thought I’d run into you again. You’re still just as arrogant as ever, aren’t you? Stinky Chi!“

Chi Qilan froze.

There was probably only one person in the world who would dare call her that.

Slowly crossing her arms, she leveled He Cuizhen with an icy glare. “Oh, it’s you—the loudmouthed, shameless last-place student who used to beg me to let her copy my homework?”

He Cuizhen’s eyes widened in outrage. “Is there a reason you have to say it like that?” she snapped, shooting her an unimpressed look. “And while we’re at it, what exactly are you doing at my house?”

Chi Qilan’s eyes widened. “What do you mean your house? This is my daughter’s place! Who gave you the right to act like you own it?”

He Cuizhen grinned triumphantly. “She’s my daughter now.”

Hah! Finally, she had the upper hand over this Stinky Chi. Wasn’t that just perfect?

As expected, Chi Qilan’s expression darkened immediately. Her jaw clenched as she gripped her suitcase handle tightly and stormed forward, heading straight into the house.

He Cuizhen quickly stepped in her way. “Hold it right there!”

“Move.”

“I won’t.“

The two stood nose-to-nose, neither willing to back down.

Finally snapping out of her stunned daze, Qiao Ziman rushed forward to separate them. “Mom! What are you two doing?”

Both women turned on her at the exact same time.

“You ask her!”

He Cuizhen scoffed. “My daughter was talking to me. Who gave you permission to butt in? Have some shame!”

Chi Qilan’s expression remained icy, a single brow arching upward. “She’s going to marry into my family. What’s wrong with her calling me Mom?”

Qiao Ziman: “…”

Her brain officially crashed.

She quickly pulled He Cuizhen to the side, lowering her voice. “Mom, can you not act like a little kid? That’s Yin Yin’s mother! If you two start fighting, what are we supposed to do? It’s embarrassing!”

He Cuizhen huffed, crossing her arms. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? You have plenty of nerve—why are you suddenly shy now?”

Qiao Ziman took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay patient. “Mom, I literally just scammed her out of five million a while ago. If you keep pushing her buttons, aren’t you afraid she’ll start making things difficult for me? What if it affects my relationship with Yin Yin?”

Five million.

He Cuizhen’s eyes gleamed with interest as if a new business opportunity had just presented itself. After a brief moment of mental calculations, she lifted her chin and nodded. “You’re right.”

With that, she turned back to Chi Qilan, arms crossed. “Alright, I won’t make things hard for you. You can stay—but it’ll cost you ten thousand a day. Stay as long as you like.”

Chi Qilan’s brows shot up. “Excuse me?!”

He Cuizhen didn’t even blink. “What, you think food grows on trees? Groceries cost money. Cooking costs time. Oil, salt, rice, utilities—those don’t pay for themselves. Consider the extra fees a contribution to the dowry.”

Chi Qilan’s mouth opened, then closed.

She was completely speechless for a long moment before finally hissing through gritted teeth, “You are such a money-grubbing old hag!”

“Take it or leave it.”

Chi Qilan let out a cold huff before grabbing her suitcase and striding inside, her expression sour. “Fine. Ten thousand it is.”

Qiao Ziman stood frozen in place.

What just happened?

“Mom, don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” she muttered, rushing after Chi Qilan. “Auntie, she’s just messing with you. You don’t have to pay.”

But before she could catch up, Chi Yin casually reached out and tugged her back. “It’s fine,” she said, completely unfazed. “She has plenty of money. She won’t care about this.”

Qiao Ziman turned to her, dumbfounded.

“You really are your mother’s daughter,” she muttered.