During dinner, Claire Xu watched as Yancy Shaw thoughtfully picked out dishes for Lauren Shaw, even removing the cilantro because he knew she didn’t eat it.

His movements were unrushed, his gaze on Lauren Shaw full of indulgent gentleness.

She could see it all perfectly clearly—Yancy Shaw treated Lauren Shaw as if she were a precious treasure held carefully in his palm.

But they had only known each other for a month.

“Shengsheng, your Dr. Shen is really attentive.”

Claire Xu winked at Lauren Shaw as she spoke.

Lauren Shaw smiled softly and turned to look at Yancy Shaw. “Mm, he’s very good to me.”

“You two are laying on the affection pretty thick. Don’t you care about the rest of us at all?” Claire Xu teased.

Lauren Shaw looked toward Yancy Shaw, and just then, he happened to be looking back at her—their eyes met, and a silent smile passed between them.

“Enough. Mercy on us singles, please!” Henry Mills couldn’t watch anymore and broke in.

Did they really have to come to this dinner tonight? Why volunteer to be such a third wheel?

Yancy Shaw shot him a look, telling him to suck it up.

As they ate, a well-dressed woman stopped in front of their table.

“Lauren Shaw?”

Hearing her name, Lauren Shaw looked up at the woman.

“Well, well. I wondered why you suddenly lost interest in my son—it turns out you’ve already lined up someone else.”

Zoe Carter stood next to Lauren Shaw, putting on the airs of a mother-in-law catching her daughter-in-law cheating.

A cold gleam flashed in Lauren Shaw’s eyes.

“What are you on about? Shengsheng has nothing to do with your family anymore, so stop spouting nonsense.” Claire Xu’s voice rose as she stood up to confront Zoe Carter.

But Zoe Carter sneered. “Who would’ve thought you were this kind of woman. My poor Yu Che was always so devoted to you.”

Henry Mills was totally confused—what kind of drama was this? What exactly was the relationship between his sister-in-law and this woman?

Then Zoe Carter glanced at Yancy Shaw, who was sitting beside her. “And you—your taste really isn't any better, settling for a doctor. I always knew something was off between you two. Birds of a feather, as they say.”

The moment she insulted Yancy Shaw, Lauren Shaw slapped her chopsticks onto the table, her whole body radiating cold.

“What I do is none of your business. Who are you to criticize me or my husband?”

Lauren Shaw rarely lost her temper, but everyone had a bottom line. Now, hers was Yancy Shaw.

Zoe Carter was momentarily stunned, replaying Lauren Shaw’s words in her mind in disbelief. “Wh-what did you just say?”

Claire Xu laughed coldly and looked at Zoe Carter. “Our Shengsheng is already married. She and Dr. Shen are legal spouses. I’d advise you to give up on whatever ridiculous ideas you have.”

And she still dreamed of making Lauren Shaw her daughter-in-law? Wishful thinking.

“So the two of you were already together all along. That explains why, back at the hospital, he spoke up for you. Clearly, you were already mixed up before the engagement was broken off!” The more Zoe Carter spoke, the nastier her words became.

Lauren Shaw’s eyes only grew colder.

“Stop making things up. Want me to remind you exactly what you said last time? Do you really think everyone’s as unreasonable as your son? If you can’t keep that mouth of yours shut, the Sung family might just disappear from Ancheng.”

Lauren Shaw’s words genuinely made Zoe Carter panic. She’d always bullied the soft and feared the tough—in the past, Lauren Shaw had always been gentle with her, so Zoe Carter saw her as an easy target. She’d never expected her to show such sharpness.

And it wasn’t just her—even the silent man beside Lauren Shaw was radiating a chilling aura, making Zoe Carter’s skin crawl.

She took a step back, some of her bluster fading.

“Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because you talk like that. We’ll see who gets the last word!”

Head held high, she forced a show of composure as she strode toward the door.

Claire Xu couldn’t help but snicker. “Auntie, do you think you’re going to live forever? ‘We’ll see’? Sure.”

Zoe Carter didn’t dare look back—she just wanted to get away as quickly as possible, because the look in that man’s eyes had truly unsettled her.

Watching her flee, Claire Xu laughed, “Look at her, scared off by a few sentences.”

Lauren Shaw sat back down and glanced at Yancy Shaw, quietly worried that Zoe Carter’s words might have bothered him.

“Who was that crazy woman?” Henry Mills couldn’t help asking.

“My ex-fiancé’s mother,” Lauren Shaw answered matter-of-factly—there was no point in hiding it.

Under the table, Yancy Shaw gripped her hand tightly. “Let’s eat. Don’t let irrelevant people ruin our meal.”

There’s no controlling what other people say, so why care at all?

Still, the Sung family’s behavior was eye-opening—they really treated Lauren Shaw like a pushover, someone to be bullied.

After a moment’s thought, Lauren Shaw felt the need to clarify, “It was only after breaking off the engagement that I started seeing Yancy Shaw. There’s no truth to what she just implied.”

She’d called off the engagement the moment she learned Yvonne Sung was still entangled with his ex—none of the mess Zoe Carter suggested had ever happened.

She couldn’t let anyone misunderstand Yancy Shaw; he didn’t deserve to get dragged into this nonsense.

Claire Xu spoke up in her defense. “Yvonne Sung and his mom are something else. I’ve never seen such thick-skinned people. Her son keeps bringing women into their house, and she still has the nerve to accuse you? Shameless.”

Henry Mills finally pieced it together, remembering the man at the hospital that morning who tried to block Yancy Shaw.

“I get it now—so that guy who stopped you this morning was her son?”

The moment Henry Mills finished his sentence, Yancy Shaw shot him a warning look—he realized too late that he’d let that slip.

“He actually came to see you?” Lauren Shaw asked, surprise and clear anger on her face.

Really, like a ghost that just wouldn’t go away—he even dared trouble Yancy Shaw.

He clearly couldn’t stand the idea of letting her live her own life.

He had never cherished her when they were together, but kept pestering her afterwards—what a repulsive man.

Sensing the change in mood, Henry Mills quickly changed the subject. “Sister-in-law, I heard you’re a designer—could you do me a favor?”

Lauren Shaw turned to him. “What do you need?”

“I’d like to commission a custom evening gown from you.”

Lauren Shaw smiled. “Sure. Come by my studio when you have time and pick out a style.”

With the topic shifted, the heavy atmosphere finally eased.

After dinner, Lauren Shaw excused herself to go to the restroom.

Yancy Shaw looked at Claire Xu and spoke. “Miss Xu.”

Claire Xu paused mid-scroll on her phone, glancing up at him in surprise. “Dr. Shen, is something the matter?”

“Shengsheng is lucky to have you as her friend.”

She hadn’t expected him to say that.

“And Shengsheng is lucky to have met you, too.”

For three years, she’d tried to convince Lauren Shaw to move on, but never fully succeeded.

Only after Lauren Shaw decided to let go did she meet Yancy Shaw—someone who healed her, warmed her heart, and made sure she wasn’t hurt anymore.

She thought, maybe, this was fate after all.