Shen Yaoyao’s heart sank the moment she saw Fu Jingshu.
Chen Xiang, however, remained composed. "Fu Jingshu, you and we were family once. Now, for the sake of the child, give Yaoyao a way out."
Everyone looked at Fu Jingshu, not daring to glare at him openly, but casting looks of disdain and scorn at Shen Qingqing.
Fu Jingshu’s gaze was cold and stern as it fell upon the mother and daughter. "If you want to see the child, first, let's do a paternity test."
The words stunned everyone.
What did that mean? Was Shen Yaoyao not the child's mother?
Faced with their questioning stares, Shen Yaoyao panicked.
She couldn't possibly undergo a paternity test, yet with everyone watching, refusing would surely make her appear guilty.
Caught in a dilemma, she looked to Chen Xiang for help.
Chen Xiang shielded her, her expression grave. "Fu Jingshu, this is too much. Yaoyao endured ten months of pregnancy and a life-threatening ordeal to give birth to the child. Now that you've raised the child and your feelings have changed, are you going to strip Yaoyao of her identity as Chenchen's biological mother?"
Fu Jingshu stated calmly, "Once the test is done, if she is the birth mother, I will not treat her poorly."
But if she wasn't…
He didn't need to elaborate on the consequences. Anyone familiar with Fu Jingshu's methods understood perfectly. He detested lies and deception the most.
The reporters chimed in.
"If she's not hiding anything, then she should do it."
"Yes, Master Fu said he won't mistreat her after confirming her identity with a test. Surely, she'll be able to see her child then."
Chen Xiang's face was ashen, and she hesitated.
Shen Yaoyao trembled behind her mother, able to feel Fu Jingshu's icy, mocking gaze and hear the reporters' words piercing her ears.
She felt dizzy, a single thought consuming her mind:
This paternity test must not happen!
As Chen Xiang was still trying to figure out a solution, a thud echoed from behind. She turned to see Shen Yaoyao collapsing to the ground, eyes shut tight, having fainted.
In a flash, Chen Xiang understood her daughter's intention. She immediately scooped her up, tears welling in her eyes.
"Yaoyao, they're forcing you to death! Your own child, and they still want a paternity test! What will the child think of you when they grow up?"
Her fainting caused a ripple of unease among the onlookers.
Shen Jinxi scoffed. "Fainting now? Of all times? It’s obvious she's trying to evade the test."
Shen Qingqing calmly released Shen Jinxi’s small hand and walked forward in her high heels. With a firm, undeniable move, she pulled Shen Yaoyao from Chen Xiang's arms.
Chen Xiang naturally resisted, but she couldn't overpower Shen Qingqing. "What are you doing?" she yelled.
"Naturally, we're going to do a paternity test," Shen Qingqing replied. She grabbed a strand of Shen Yaoyao's hair, pulling it out decisively. She noticed Shen Yaoyao’s eyelashes flutter.
She snorted inwardly, handed the hair to Fu Jingshu, and then stomped on Shen Yaoyao's face!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
This woman was too brutal!
Chen Xiang rushed forward to intervene, but Shen Qingqing grabbed her. "Shen Yaoyao, if you don't wake up soon, your face will be nearly ruined."
Shen Yaoyao remained still.
Shen Qingqing continued, "Such a beautiful face, it would be a shame to ruin it."
She applied more pressure with her foot. Lying on the ground, Shen Yaoyao felt as if her cheekbone was about to be pierced by the high heel. In pain and fear, she instinctively opened her eyes and shoved Shen Qingqing away.
"You dare ruin my face, and I'll fight you to the death!"
After shouting this, she belatedly realized the silence around her.
A moment later, someone muttered, "She was really faking it. It seems the paternity test is necessary. Why else would she feign unconsciousness?"
"I knew she wasn't a good person. Causing so much trouble, she's clearly not to be trusted!"
Shen Yaoyao gritted her teeth in anger. "She stepped on me first, why can't you all see that?"
Shen Qingqing looked down at her, a sense of satisfaction blooming as she saw Shen Yaoyao's disheveled state. Thinking of how Shen Yaoyao's actions had made Chenchen withdrawn and prone to nightmares, she longed to tear into Shen Yaoyao.
Fu Jingshu instructed all the reporters to stay; the paternity test results would be out in two hours, and they should wait patiently.
Shen Yaoyao, however, tried to sneak away multiple times but was always brought back.
Soon, the paternity test results were released.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the test confirmed that Shen Yaoyao had no blood relation to Chenchen. She was not the child's mother!
With this result, Shen Yaoyao's earlier act of a doting mother now appeared loathsome.
"She's gone mad trying to climb the social ladder!"
"Indeed. She'll even claim someone else's child. But I understand; she only recognized Chenchen because he's Master Fu's son. If he were a construction worker's child, would she still claim him?"
"Sucking up to power and wealth, her face is truly revolting!"
The reporters felt deceived, especially the men who had felt pity for her earlier. Now, facing the harsh reality, their words were filled with malice.
Shen Yaoyao's face turned pale with shame; if there were a crack in the ground, she would have crawled into it.
At this moment, Shen Jinxi added fuel to the fire. "You never treated me well, and I never understood why. Now I do. It's because you're not my mommy. From now on, I don't want to see you again."
He looked at his father with disappointment, burying his small face in his chest, radiating sadness and hurt.
Fu Jingshu patted the back of his head, his gaze towards Shen Yaoyao as indifferent as if looking at a pebble on the roadside. "From today on, you are forbidden from entering the Fu family's residence."
Not wanting his child to suffer further, he took him and turned to leave.
Shen Qingqing cast a sarcastic glance at Shen Yaoyao. "Now you understand what it means to draw water with a bamboo basket and end up with nothing."
Watching their retreating figures, Shen Yaoyao was filled with despair.
But the worst was yet to come. The Ye family learned of the incident. Faced with public opinion and reporters' interviews, the Ye family felt deeply humiliated.
Young Master Ye summoned Shen Yaoyao to the Ye residence and proposed to break off the engagement.
"Return the betrothal gifts I gave you, and we'll be even."
Shen Yaoyao clutched his hand, no longer finding him distasteful. "No, don't call off the engagement, Young Master Ye. I've already given myself to you; you must take responsibility!"
Young Master Ye flung her hand away, his former tenderness gone. "Look at yourself. How is the outside world talking about you? Your reputation is ruined. I am a young master of the Ye family, the future heir of the Ye Corporation. How could I possibly marry a vicious woman like you, stained with such disgrace?"
Shen Yaoyao was utterly desperate. "No..."
Ye Lin watched from the side and said gently, "Yaoyao, I know you're in a difficult situation now, but it's not easy for our family either. It would be bad if our family's reputation were tarnished because of you, wouldn't it?"
Wang Yi had less patience. "Why are you talking so much to her? In short, here's an ultimatum: within five days, come up with ten million yuan and pay us back. Then we'll go our separate ways!"
The couple, who had been very pleased with Shen Yaoyao before, now found her utterly unappealing.
Shen Yaoyao gritted her teeth in hatred, hating the Ye family, hating the reporters who had blown the matter out of proportion, hating Shen Qingqing. In a flash, an idea struck her. As the maid pulled her out, she suddenly shouted:
"I'm pregnant!"