Seated beside Hae-il, reading him a book, San-ha turned his head at the sound of a knock. The door to the hospital room opened, and the head nurse entered.
“Director, you should get up now. Madam is on her way.”
“Oh, is she?”
“I heard she was coming this evening, but she seems to be arriving earlier than expected.”
San-ha, who was about ten chapters away from finishing the book, stood up.
“Thank you.”
With a bow of gratitude from San-ha, the nurse quietly withdrew. San-ha went to the sofa, picked up his padded jacket, and returned to Hae-il’s side.
“Your mother is coming. I’ll come back later.”
After meticulously covering Hae-il with the sheet, San-ha left the room.
“When do we have to stay here until?” Jung-mi asked as she opened the door to the VIP lounge.
In her 50s and with a generous build, she was followed by her family. Ki-taek, slightly slender, sat in the prime seat of the sofa.
“What’s all this fuss about waiting? You know, don’t say such things in front of your sister.”
Ki-taek warned.
“Who’s going to say that in front of my brother? But we’ve been in this hospital all day. Keeping busy people waiting, what’s this all about?”
“Don’t you have any sense? Do you not realize how critical the situation is? Just keep your mouth shut, please. And where’s Ha-eun? Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
“She’s coming from Busan. On her way now.”
“She’s not causing trouble again, is she?”
“Do you think our daughter is some kind of troublemaker?”
“Well, isn’t she? Always doing as she pleases, calling the legal team’s lawyers for every little thing. Please, just be quiet. Every time Ha-eun gets into trouble, I can’t face my sister.”
Jung-mi, chided by Ki-taek, closed her mouth.
“Let’s all hope Jeong-hyeon wakes up, okay?”
He left the room, clearly distressed. As soon as the door closed, Jung-mi scoffed.
“Pray for Jeong-hyeon to wake up? Have I gone mad? I feel like dancing with joy.”
At Jung-mi’s laughter, In-pyo said,
“Mom, watch your words.”
The well-dressed man in his early 30s was Ki-taek and Jung-mi’s son.
“Did I say something wrong? If Jeong-hyeon dies, you’ll become the perfect heir of PR Group, right? Lucky, our son. How did it happen just right?”
“Really, be careful. There are many people here. What if aunt hears?”
In-pyo glanced around the spacious lounge.
“Who else is here? And those people outside are already on our side. Didn’t you hear the doctor? Jeong-hyeon’s not only in trouble with other organs, but his heart is ruptured. Even if he’s on a ventilator, it’s as good as dead. It’s risky to fly him to a hospital in the U.S., what’s there to worry about?”
“Mom, please.”
“Come on, Jeong-hyeon is eventually going, and the group will fall into our hands. Well, thinking about it, I can handle a few more hours in this stuffy hospital.”
“Mom, please speak carefully. You really lack decorum.”
Jung-mi turned her gaze to the elegant woman sitting opposite her.
“What, decorum?”
“Auntie’s words are not wrong. Please behave with discretion. Madam is grieving over her son right now.”
“Did you eat your manners? What did you say?”
“Anyone would think you’re my mother-in-law and I’m your daughter-in-law. Are you looking down on me because I only graduated high school?”
“Auntie’s right. Please, be discreet. Madam is facing a great sorrow.”
Suddenly, Jung-mi burst out laughing.
“Frankly speaking, the person who would dance with joy if Jeong-hyeon dies is you, Sophia.”
“Mom!”
“What, so startled? Did you cause Jeong-hyeon’s accident?”
“You think those are words to say to your mother-in-law?” Sophia exclaimed, visibly shocked, only to be met with more laughter from Jung-mi.
“Ah, are you upset now? I would be too. It’s natural. If Jeong-hyeon goes, your husband becomes the heir to the PR Group. And yet, you dare to act all noble?”
“Really, how vulgar.”
At that moment, Jung-mi slammed her hand on the armrest of the sofa and yelled,
“What do you mean vulgar? How dare you talk to your mother-in-law like that? And I am not like you, sly and hypocritical. I am frank and honest.”
“Frank and honest? No, you’re just rude.”
“Do you really not know to fear your mother-in-law? Is that what they taught you in your fancy household?”
Suddenly, In-pyo stepped in between the two quarreling women.
“Stop it, both of you.”
“Can’t you see this fine daughter-in-law disrespecting your mother? Can’t you see it?”
Sophia tried to retort, but In-pyo grabbed her hand.
“Stop it. There’s no use raising our voices here. Don’t you know better?”
Sophia looked upset but kept her mouth shut, and Jung-mi grew more smug now that her son was taking her side.
“But darling, you don’t think aunt has other plans for that girl, do you?”
Sophia broke the silence, asking cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, wouldn’t aunt offer her the heir position or something? Why else would she make such a contract?”
Jung-mi glared at Sophia, responding sharply,
“Why would you say such an unlucky thing? Give something to that brat?”
“But Jeong-yeol is her only bloodline.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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