The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Zion was usually very mature for his age, so Mango would sometimes forget that he was just a child. Now that he looked at her with such an anticipatory gaze, she couldn't help but feel somewhat distressed. Compared to his peers, Zion had endured far too many hardships.

Then, she reached out and gently caressed Zion's face and muttered, "You've worked so hard, my dear."

Then, Zion's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

He quickly shook his head and smiled, "Not really. I am the eldest son after all, so it's my duty."

Those words made Mango's chest constrict.

"Either way, you're my son and it's my duty to care for you. I'm so sorry to have troubled you, Zion. Let Mommy and Daddy take care of everything in the future, you can relax now."

In fact, Mango couldn't wait to hold Zion in her arms.

Her son had been very sensible ever since he was a child, and her heart ached for him.

Obviously, Zion saw through Mango's intentions and he quickly stopped her. "Mommy, you're still sick. Why don't you carry me when you're better?"

"All right!"

Honestly, Mango felt like she owed Zion a great deal.

After that, Rita giggled and said, "Zion, how about we go downstairs to see Daddy? Since Mommy hasn't recovered yet, we should let Grandma and Grandpa visit her first. They might have a lot to talk about." Even now, Rita still missed Nathaniel.

She hadn't seen her father for a very long time as well!

Mango naturally knew what her daughter was thinking. Compared to her, Rita enjoyed spending time with Nathaniel much more.

Mango might have felt a little jealous before this, but she didn't really care that much anymore now that both her children were healthy and happy,

"All right Zion, take your sister downstairs. Be careful okay?"

"Okay!"

Zion nodded at Mango.

Then, Charlotte stepped forward and picked Rita up from the bed. However, she didn't put Rita down and she said with a smile, "I'll take them downstairs. Make sure you get some rest." "Alright!"

Mango smiled faintly.

Zion didn't mind the fact that Charlotte enjoyed the company of his sister. In his opinion, the more people liked Rita, the better.

"Have a good rest, Mommy. Rita and I will be heading downstairs now."

Zion replied obediently.

"Mmm, sure."

Then, Mango stroked Zion's head before the young boy happily strolled away.

Shortly after they left, Mr. and Mrs. Shen came upstairs to see Mango.

However, Nathaniel didn't follow them so Mango reckoned that he was preoccupied with Rita.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Shen's eyes filled with tears the moment she laid eyes on Mango.

"My dear, why do you always keep us in the dark with what's going on in your life? Do you think that your father and I are useless because we're old? We had to hear about you from someone else!" "It's not like that, Morn. I was just afraid that both of you would be worried, and I didn't want to agitate you since you're unwell too."

In fact, Mango was a little embarrassed by Mrs. Shen's words.

"No matter how weak I am, you can't hide these things from me. Being a woman is hard enough, let alone having to go through a miscarriage. Furthermore, how can a man like Nathaniel care for you during your confinement period? What if something goes wrong? It'll affect you for the rest of your life! Oh, why are you so silly, Mango?"

Mrs. Shen quickly went forward and grabbed Mango's hand.

When she sensed the coldness in her daughter's hand, tears instantly flowed down her face.

"Oh dear, how many days has it been? Your hands are still so cold. If you catch a chill, you'll suffer a lot in the future, and don't even think about getting pregnant again. I don't care, I'm staying here from now on and I will take full responsibility for your diet. Although what Nathaniel makes is light and nutritious, he's still a man, and there's plenty that he still doesn't know. Furthermore, you can't learn things like this from Google."

Mrs. Shen spoke as she wiped away her tears, which caused Mango much distress.

"Morn, I should be taking care of you, not the other way around. Let's put it this way, I'll have Nathaniel hire a maid so you won't have to worry about me."

"What's wrong? Do you think I'm too old for this? Think about who raised you. Who fed and clothed you since you were a baby? How dare you reject my help now?"

"Of course not, I just don't want to tire you out."

Mango hurriedly explained to Mrs. Shen.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shen hadn't said a word since he stepped inside the room. However, he sighed when he heard Mango's words, "Nathan told me that he wants to take you on a vacation after you're better, right?"

At that, Mango paused for a moment as she didn't know why he would ask that question, nor did she know how to answer him.

"Dad, what do you mean?"

"Nothing, but I feel the same way as your mother. You are our beloved little girl, so tell me, when did we ever let you suffer these kinds of hardships? I know that you love Nathaniel and you would've married him regardless, but your mother and I were very distressed when he ignored you all those years ago. Now, I thought that you two could lead a peaceful life since you're back together, but I never expected even more bad things to happen to you. Let me ask you, Mango, is this what you really want?"

After Mango heard his words, she was rendered speechless.

There were plenty of things that she didn't know about, nor could she avoid them. Moreover, all of those incidents weren't Nathaniel's fault. Frankly, Mango knew that a lot of things were out of her control ever since she married into the Ye Family.

"Dad, what are you really trying to say?"

Then, Mango asked Mr. Shen directly.

After that, Mr. Shen sighed once more and replied, "I heard that Nathan's brother Nick has come back to take control of the HY Group. So, it's a good thing for Nathan to be free of his responsibilities. How about you and Nathan look for somewhere new to start afresh? Your mother and I don't expect you to be rich, frankly, all we want is for you to be happy and healthy. Plus, we have enough money to get by on our own and I'm sure your family will be alright with Nathan's knack for entrepreneurship. If that fails, we can help you take care of your children whenever you need us to. When you're fully recovered, both of you should get as far away as possible from this place and live out the rest of your lives. You can just hop on a plane whenever you're free to come home!"

Mango finally understood what her father was saying, and she couldn't help but feel touched.

"Dad, I never wanted the money and status of the Ye Family."

"I know... It's just that the Ye Family still has a lot of unfinished business in Ocean City. Nathan has sacrificed a lot for his family, so both of you should go and live the lives that you always wanted with your children. Your mother and I never want to see you like this ever again. What's more, you didn't even tell us what happened this time, so what if something like this happens again? What if by the time we find out, you're already..."

Mr. Shen couldn't go on as he became choked with sobs.

Then, Mrs. Shen glared at him and said, "What the hell are you saying? Isn't Mango doing fine now?"

"How is this fine? She's gone through unspeakable horrors! Look at how thin she is!"

Mr. Shen immediately lost his temper at Mrs. Shen.

When Mango saw that the two of them were about to argue, she hurriedly cut in.

"Morn, Dad, stop it. I'll do as you say, okay? After I'm better, Nathan and I will go on a vacation and we'll find a suitable place to settle down. I'll invite you two to stay with me when everything's done." "Look, clearly our daughter's the most sensible one here."

Mr. Shen relaxed when he heard Mango's words.

"You two have a good talk, all right? I stick out like a sore thumb here, and I can't be of any help as well. I'll head downstairs and spend some time with the children. Tell your mother what you want to eat, okay? She's your mother, so cut the drama."

"Got it, Dad."

Then, Mango nodded with a smile.

In fact, Mr. Shen couldn't bear to part with Mango, but in the end he just sighed before leaving the room.

"Don't listen to your father. What a nosy old man."

Mrs. Shen muttered under her breath as she lovingly stroked Mango's palm, "The most important thing for a woman to have is her health. Do you know that I nearly had a heart attack when I heard what happened? That Nanny Zhang is such a despicable woman, how could such a woman like her even exist?"

"All right Morn, it's all in the past now. Furthermore, isn't she being punished? Now that she's been sent to Santell Capital, I'm sure she's not getting off lightly either."

Hence, Mango quickly tried to comfort her mother.

However, Mrs. Shen glared at her and said, "You're really quite reckless, aren't you? How could you ever think that you could deal with that alone? I heard that you knocked Nathan out and went to demand the antidote from Nanny Zhang by yourself. Gosh, Mango, do you think you're invincible?"

"No, Morn."

After listening to Mrs. Shen's words, Mango felt rather ashamed.

Nathaniel had already nagged her about this, so why did Mrs. Shen have to bring it up again?

"No? Your bravery is something to be applauded. The only reason Nathan isn't yelling at you is that he's afraid that you'll be sad over your miscarriage, but as your mother, I have to say something. Don't you think you were incredibly reckless while you did it?"

"Yeah, I was."

"Are you going to be that rash again in the future?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Right now, Mango lowered her head as she admitted her mistakes like a little child. She would go along with whatever Mrs. Shen said because she knew that her mother was only looking out for her. When Mrs. Shen saw Mango like this, she sighed and said, "It's not easy being the matriarch of the Ye Family. Since Nick is running the show, how about you take it easy now?"

"Okay, I will! Didn't I just promise dad the same thing? Later on, when Nathan is busy working, I'll focus on my art and care for the children, okay?"

"That's more like it."

Mrs. Shen finally smiled when she heard Mango's words, but the tears in her eyes still caused Mango's heart to ache.