Before Xie Jingheng was brought back, Xie Qingshu and Lin Zhixia had actually been on very good terms—they were best friends.

Because of that friendship, Xie Qingshu had repeatedly advised her to live a proper life with her older brother and warned her that Chen Xingyu was not a good person.

But Lin Zhixia never listened. Instead, she kept throwing herself at Chen Xingyu, acting recklessly and stubbornly.

This time, she had even gone as far as to ignore the safety of her unborn baby, all to help that man gain benefits. She insulted her mother-in-law, argued with her husband, and even made her own mother so angry she fell ill.

Thinking about all this, Xie Qingshu’s eyes turned red with anger.

“Qingshu, watch how you speak!” Mrs. Xie snapped.

Earlier, she had been furious at Lin Zhixia as well—scolding her was one thing, but how could she say such harsh things about Xiaoheng?

But just now, outside the door, she had seen through the slightly open room how the couple was sitting together peacefully. Her son was gently touching Lin Zhixia’s belly, a rare smile on his face.

And now, she was even willing to come downstairs and eat without causing trouble.

Mrs. Xie no longer wanted to argue. As long as her son was happy, that was all that mattered.

Remembering that Lin Zhixia loved the tender, boneless belly meat of fish, she quickly picked out a piece, carefully removed all the bones, and placed it in her bowl.

“Zhixia, you must be hungry. Eat up.”

The braised fish glistened with a rich soy glaze, its aroma instantly whetting the appetite. Lin Zhixia picked up her chopsticks and smiled.

“Thank you, Mom.”

Without hesitation, she quickly put the fish into her mouth.

As expected, it was exactly as delicious as she imagined—the skin slightly crispy, the meat tender and flavorful. Absolutely perfect.

She ate several mouthfuls of rice with the fish and quickly finished a large piece.

Still unsatisfied, she moved on to the braised pork, picking up several pieces and eating eagerly.

The pork was soft, rich, and melted in her mouth. It was unbelievably delicious.

Then came braised shrimp, meatballs, stewed pork ribs with potatoes, bamboo shoots… every dish was excellent.

As expected of a family with a former imperial chef in their ancestry—the cooking was flawless. Simply perfect.

While Lin Zhixia was happily eating, the Xie family at the table was stunned into silence.

Since the day she was forced into the marriage, Lin Zhixia had never once called Xie Zhenjun or Mrs. Xie “Dad” or “Mom.” Even on their wedding day, she had been cold and silent during the toast.

Over the past few days, she had even directly called Mrs. Xie by name and insulted her as a “malicious mother-in-law.”

But now… she had actually called her “Mom” and even politely said thank you.

The Xie family was completely shocked. Even Xie Qingshu, who had been full of anger toward her, froze in place.

Xie Jingheng glanced at Lin Zhixia with a complicated expression.

A thought surfaced in his mind—

Could what she said upstairs… actually be true?

Had she really changed her mind and decided to face her feelings and live properly with him?

Just as Lin Zhixia finished most of her meal and was about to wrap up her last bites of each dish, she finally realized something was wrong.

Why was everyone else not eating? Only she was?

“You all aren’t ea—”

“Lin Zhixia, are you planning something again?” Xie Qingshu glared at her suspiciously.

It wasn’t that she wanted to think badly of her, but Lin Zhixia had too many previous offenses.

She had pretended to repent more than once just for Chen Xingyu. There was no way she would believe she had truly changed.

Maybe this time she was just acting again, planning something worse behind their backs.

Bang!

Mrs. Xie slammed her hand on the table.

“Qingshu! Watch how you speak to your sister-in-law!”

“I don’t have a sister-in-law like her!” Xie Qingshu’s eyes turned red.

“She’s been so obsessed with that man she doesn’t even care about her baby! Someone like her doesn’t deserve to be my sister-in-law!”

“She’s just pretending now! She’s definitely up to something!”

“Enough!” Mrs. Xie raised her hand in anger.

“Mom!”

Lin Zhixia quickly stood up and blocked Xie Qingshu, stopping Mrs. Xie before she could strike.

“Please don’t be angry with her. She’s still young and didn’t mean it.”

Given everything the original host had done, it was understandable that Xie Qingshu was so emotional.

If it were her, she might even be worse.

“Get out of the way! Stop pretending to be kind!” Xie Qingshu snapped, stepping aside and sitting down again, still glaring at her.

“Don’t think acting gentle will fool me. I won’t believe you!”

Lin Zhixia sighed inwardly.

Changing their impression of her wouldn’t be easy.

She had to take it step by step.

“Whether you believe it or not,” she said calmly, “everything in the past wasn’t my intention.”

“I will live properly with Jingheng from now on. I will take care of our family.”

“And I will cut ties completely with Chen Xingyu. I will never see him again.”

This was not a lie. The past belonged to the original host.

As for the future, it was her true intention.

Since she was now Lin Zhixia, she would change her fate and live a good life with Xie Jingheng.

The Xie family once again fell into silence.

“Zhixia… are, are you serious?” Mrs. Xie’s voice trembled.

She even wondered if she was hallucinating from lack of sleep.

Xie Jingheng had been silently watching Lin Zhixia the whole time. Hearing her say she wanted to live properly with him made his heartbeat quicken, his ears turning faintly red.

But the next moment—

“Mom, do you actually believe her? For the past six months, she’s been obsessed with Chen Xingyu! You’ve all seen how she looked at him!”

“She would never cut him off! She’s just planning something!”

Xie Qingshu analyzed fiercely.

Xie Jingheng’s expression darkened instantly.

Even though he had never been in a relationship, he wasn’t blind.

Whenever Lin Zhixia looked at Chen Xingyu, her eyes were full of affection.

And when she looked at him…

Hmph.

Thinking of this, anger rose in his chest.

She really was lying to him.

“It’s true,” Lin Zhixia said firmly.

“I won’t say more. You’ll see it through my actions.”

Before she could finish, Xie Jingheng suddenly grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her upstairs…