That was when Yancy Shaw found her, brought her news about Yvonne Sung, and even bought her a plane ticket to Feian City.

Of course, Yancy Shaw had never shown his face during all this, so Yana Quinn didn't know him.

Yana Quinn glared at the couple before her with undisguised disgust. At this point, she couldn't be bothered with manners; she shoved them aside, her expression dark. "You just want to leech every drop of blood from me, don’t you?"

The woman matched her tone, her voice now sharp. "You can't put it like that. We raised you for over twenty years, paid for your college, sent you abroad to further your career, and now that you’ve made something of yourself, you don’t want to acknowledge us?"

She would have preferred they'd never raised her.

"Yana Quinn." A voice interrupted their argument. Zoe Carter had come to the hospital to check in on Yvonne Sung, but upon seeing Yana Quinn locked in confrontation with this middle-aged couple, she hesitated—until she remembered Yana Quinn was now engaged to Yvonne Sung. That tipped her loyalties.

The middle-aged couple eyed Zoe Carter's designer clothes and polished air; greed flickered in their eyes.

"And you are?" Zoe Carter asked, her voice laced with open contempt as she caught the calculating look the couple exchanged.

Qiao Mingfu noted her sophisticated outfit and instantly judged she came from a wealthy family. He put on a friendly face. "We’re Yana Quinn’s parents. We rushed back from overseas as soon as we heard she was getting married. You must be the in-laws, right?"

Zoe Carter stared at them, her eyes moving from disdain to disbelief as she scrutinized their shabby appearance.

"These two, are they really your parents?" she asked, pointing at them. "Didn’t you tell me your family had a successful business abroad?"

She looked them up and down—these two looked like refugees, not the picture of affluence.

"Auntie, let me explain. They aren’t—"

"What, you find us embarrassing? Ashamed to claim us as your parents? If we hadn’t sent you abroad back then, do you think you’d have what you do today?" Qiao Mingfu interrupted, cutting her off.

Zoe Carter clearly had no desire to get involved, but Qiao Mingfu wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by. He blocked her path, determined to keep talking.

"In-law, raising Yana Quinn hasn’t been easy for us. Don’t you think..."

Zoe Carter feigned ignorance and snapped, "Think what?"

Qiao Mingfu was a gambler; he could hardly care less about his daughter’s situation. Seeing Zoe Carter’s stubbornness, he dropped his façade as well.

"My daughter’s a big star now. Marrying into your family is you climbing up, not her. So let’s cut to it—give us five million, and my wife and I will never bother you again."

Yana Quinn exploded. "Are you out of your minds?!"

Unbelievable. They’d tried to sell her off overseas once already, and now they were back to squeeze profit from her again.

"Five million? Tch, you really think your daughter is that valuable?" Zoe Carter sneered.

She turned to Yana Quinn, making herself clear. "Miss Quinn, please don’t pester my son anymore. Our Sung family isn’t worthy of ‘relatives’ like yours."

With that, she stormed into the hospital, brimming with indignation.

Yana Quinn realized Zoe Carter’s attitude toward her had cooled. Clenching her fists, she glared at the couple before her.

"Happy now? Will you only be satisfied when my life is in ruins?"

Qiao Mingfu scoffed. "Won’t even give us five million? Their son can’t be serious about marrying you."

"Exactly. A mere five million is nothing to them, must mean they’re just not sincere."

Seeing the greed in their eyes made Yana Quinn feel sick.

Lately, Yvonne Sung had clearly grown distant. She’d introduced Yvonne Sung to Eva Snow, and their engagement was more a transaction than anything else—if she offered him enough benefits, he agreed to the wedding.

Eva Snow’s goal aligned with theirs, especially because she had a vendetta against Lauren Shaw.

That’s why Eva Snow agreed to help Yvonne Sung.

But things were spinning out of their control.

At this rate, her relationship with Yvonne Sung was bound to fall apart.

Now, with these two showing up and making things worse, she was at her wit’s end.

"We told you not to come back from overseas. If you’d just married there, things would’ve been perfect. When that old man died, all his assets would’ve been yours," Hu Guixiang said, successfully igniting Yana Quinn’s fury.

"Are you even my mother? That guy was ten years older than my dad! If you like him so much, why don’t you marry him? Don’t make me sick!"

The couple showed no sign of remorse at her outburst; if anything, they became even more aggressive. Yana Quinn snapped.

"Get lost! Both of you! I don’t have parents like you!" Yana Quinn shoved them aside, flagged down a cab, and left without looking back.

The husband and wife stared dumbfounded after her.

Yancy Shaw left the director’s office and headed for Yvonne Sung’s hospital room.

Yvonne Sung glared at him, eyes burning with anger, yet all he could do from his hospital bed was simmer.

"Surprised? That I could stand here, unscathed?" Yancy Shaw’s voice was icy; his gaze was dark and impenetrable.

That look made Yvonne Sung’s heart lurch. He spoke through gritted teeth. "I really underestimated you. Don’t get cocky—I won’t let you off."

Still stubborn to the end.

"You? Hah." Yancy Shaw sneered, then turned and walked out.

Yvonne Sung was livid, his face turning green with humiliation.

His pride was in tatters. Clenching his jaw, he spat out, "Shen. Yan. Cheng. We’re enemies from now on!"

—

By the time Yancy Shaw came out, Yana Quinn’s parents had already left.

Lauren Shaw glanced at him. "What’d the hospital say?"

"They told me to come back to work tomorrow."

Now that everything was cleared up, the hospital didn’t want to lose such talent.

Lauren Shaw nodded. "I just saw Yana Quinn’s parents."

She glanced thoughtfully at him, words on the tip of her tongue that she didn’t say.

Yancy Shaw knew exactly what she was thinking.

"I just had someone tip off her parents. That’s why they returned."

Lauren Shaw had suspected Yancy Shaw was involved. Still, hearing him admit it surprised her.

He was the perfect gentleman, but also calculated. Maybe his methods weren’t always spotless, but she knew he did it all for her.

Mandy Snow was right: The Yancy Shaw she knew was only part of the story—there was so much more to him.

Yet, what did it matter?

Noticing her silence, Yancy Shaw began to worry and looked at her nervously. "Shengsheng, are you mad at me?"

"No." She gave him a reassuring smile.

She wasn’t angry—just startled by how good he was at planning. From their first meeting to falling in love, she’d thought she was growing closer to him, but sometimes it felt as if she understood him less and less.

Both hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, Yancy Shaw spoke with a hint of obsession. "Shengsheng, my world used to be cold and empty. Your arrival was a ray of light. From the beginning, I decided I would protect you."

His voice was deeply earnest. "I won’t let anyone hurt you. No one."

He couldn’t control what others thought, but he would protect her in his own way.