You may give birth, but the child must bear the surname Feng!

Father Feng made the final decision: “If anyone dares to step out of this house tonight, don’t bother coming back!”

Immediately after, the sound of a child crying and shouting came from inside—it seemed the little one had been startled awake.

“I’ll go check on Liqin!” Second sister-in-law Sun Juan hurried to her feet and slipped back into her room.

But the noise of the crying child was actually coming from Mother Feng’s room. Mother Feng wanted to say something more, but hearing her grandson wailing nonstop, she reluctantly gave up her argument and returned to her own room.

Father Feng did the same; after his forceful declaration, he didn’t sit down again and followed her back to their room.

“Can’t you just talk to Mom nicely? Why do you have to provoke her every time?” Eldest brother Feng Jiazhao grumbled as well, standing up to leave.

“Aren’t you just the same, breaking the rules in broad daylight?” Feng Jiayou, still trembling from her father’s outburst, shot back at her brother when he complained and headed for the door.

“What do you mean, breaking the rules? How am I breaking the rules?” Feng Jiazhao felt wronged—he was trying to do the right thing, so why was she turning on him?

“Dad just said, if anyone steps out of this house, don’t come back!” Jiayou reminded him, not without a touch of irony.

“I have an appointment tonight… Didn’t Dad mean you two?” Jiazhao was dumbfounded—why was he being dragged into this? He really did have plans tonight, and now he neither dared to go out nor stay in.

“What appointment? Go back to bed!” Eldest sister-in-law Ke Yumei got up with him, thinking he was heading back to their room, only to realize he was trying to leave. At this hour, what business did he have outside? And had he not heard Father’s warning just now? If this wasn’t blatant defiance, what was? She quickly pulled her husband back to their room.

“Why are you dragging me? I really do have an appointment tonight! And anyway, Dad was talking about them, not us!”

Soon, the whole main room of the Feng house fell quiet. Only Feng Jiayou and Cheng Xueming were left, utterly stunned.

“Dad! If you won’t let us leave, where are Xueming and I supposed to sleep tonight?” Only after everyone had retreated to their respective rooms did Jiayou realize—she didn’t have a room to go to.

Her parents had just been transferred back to the city, and their work unit hadn’t arranged housing yet; the place they were staying was borrowed from a friend, with only three rooms. Her parents had one, her eldest brother and sister-in-law another, and her second brother and sister-in-law the third. There was no room set aside for the two daughters yet. Jiayou had only come back to the city after being accepted to university and was staying at the school; her younger sister, Jianmo, would only return during the winter break. With her second brother still away, Jiayou and her sister would usually squeeze in with the second sister-in-law when they came back.

During this leave of absence, Jiayou had been sharing a room with her second sister-in-law and six-year-old niece, Liqin. Her three-year-old nephew, Liwen, slept with her parents—housing was that tight.

But now, with her father's stern warning that no one was to leave the house and everyone had gone back to their rooms, what were they supposed to do? They couldn’t all squeeze into the second sister-in-law’s room, could they?

The most reasonable arrangement would be for the uninvited guest, Cheng Xueming, to go stay at a guesthouse. That had been Cheng Xueming’s plan all along. But with Father Feng’s warning, he wasn’t sure if he was included. If he left tonight, would he ever be allowed back in? Was Jiayou actually suggesting they share a room right away?

Perhaps the timing was just too unfortunate; there was no buffer at all in the middle of the night.

No answer came. In the house, only the sound of Mother Feng soothing her grandson could be heard. Her father ignored Jiayou’s question. Clearly, in his earlier outburst, Father Feng hadn’t considered this scenario. Where was the new son-in-law supposed to sleep tonight?

“I’m talking to you!” Mother Feng, having finally calmed the child, asked her husband, who was sitting on the edge of the bed smoking, “You insisted on keeping him here, so how are you going to arrange things?”

“All of this is your fault—you made me say things I can’t take back!” Father Feng realized that, with their cramped living situation, it was truly difficult to accommodate the son-in-law from out of town.

“Fine, blame me for everything. I’m the heartless one who doesn’t care about her fate—is that good enough for you?” Mother Feng was already simmering with anger. That stubborn debt collector of a daughter was difficult enough, and now, with her man arriving so deliberately, it was even worse. If Father Feng hadn’t lost his temper, Jiayou would have eloped with her man by now.

“Look at you, always in such a rush! Does rushing solve anything?” Father Feng was just as irritable.

“How can I not be anxious? You tell me, what are we supposed to do now? That stubborn girl will never agree to get rid of it!” Mother Feng slumped at the head of the bed, covering her face in frustration.

“Yumei’s always wanted a child,” Father Feng suddenly mentioned their eldest daughter-in-law, Ke Yumei, which made Mother Feng look up at him in surprise.

The eldest son and his wife had been married for over ten years without children—a sore spot for the whole Feng family. They had actually considered letting Jiayou have the child and then giving it to the eldest son and daughter-in-law to raise as their own. Yumei herself had hinted at this, both openly and indirectly.

But how could they let their unmarried daughter give birth to an illegitimate child? What would people say? Mother Feng had never directly refused Yumei, but she’d always insisted that Jiayou get rid of the pregnancy. That was her stance—she couldn’t let her daughter’s life be ruined just because Yumei couldn’t have children and wanted to adopt.

Besides, if they wanted to adopt, the second brother could always have another child and pass it on to them, or wait until Jiayou and Jianmo got married and help them have one. She would never allow her daughter’s reputation to be destroyed by an out-of-wedlock birth.

“Forget it,” Father Feng finally said. “It’s already out—what else can we do?” He’d wanted to suggest that they send Jiayou and her man back to Shaanbei, let her have the baby there, and then quietly bring the child back for Yumei to raise. But that would make everything worse.

They’d insisted on Jiayou getting an abortion to sever her ties with the man from Shaanbei. If they let them go back, what would that mean? And after the child was born, would they really be able to give it up?

Besides, it was too late—earlier, Jiayou had introduced her husband with her pregnant belly right in front of everyone in the courtyard. By now, the whole compound probably knew about the new son-in-law, and tomorrow the news would travel even further.

So, after seeing Cheng Xueming’s sense of responsibility, Father Feng resigned himself.

“So, you’re agreeing to let him marry in?” Mother Feng asked, drained.

“What choice do I have?” Father Feng replied with equal resignation. “She’s already well along, and Xiao Cheng seems like a decent man—he’s willing to take responsibility.”

“Fine! You’re the head of the family, so you decide. I don’t care anymore! But when the child is born, it goes to Yumei and takes the Feng surname.”