Madam, Please Behave-Chapter 408: Don’t Tell Me You Regret It

June 17th.

Saturday.

After giving birth, An Yuanyao stayed in the hospital for another full day. Once it was confirmed that there were no postpartum complications, she was discharged.

It should’ve been a joyous occasion, but Liu Changqing was in a terrible mood—his beloved car had been damaged.

It wasn’t until he asked around that he got the full story.

In short, his mother-in-law, a total novice behind the wheel, had practiced on a manual transmission back in driving school. Now suddenly driving an automatic, she wasn’t used to it at all—and rammed the back bumper of the car, cracking it. The taillight was broken too. The car had barely been bought and already it was a mess.

Even someone like Liu Changqing, who was no longer short on money, couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

If you can’t drive, don’t act like you can!

But... it was his mother-in-law after all. And to be fair, she did have a good attitude about it. Although she tried to hide it from him at first and even planned to sneak the car out to get it fixed through her son, it wasn’t until the day An Yuanyao gave birth that he found out—from Feng Qian, as he was seeing him off.

Otherwise, she might’ve gotten away with it.

An Quancheng had also been furious when he found out what his wife had done.

But he wasn’t mad because she’d damaged their son-in-law’s car. What made him furious was the fact that she wanted to secretly get it fixed.

What a disgrace to the An family!

In a rare moment of patriarchal dominance, An Quancheng boldly told his son-in-law to pick any new car he liked—he’d foot the bill.

Liu Changqing was touched.

Then he declined.

The damage wasn’t serious. If it had been an actual accident, he might’ve considered replacing the car, but this could be fixed with a simple repair. No need to waste money.

Compared to how broke he was when he first arrived in this world, he was pretty well-off now.

Still, frugality was in his bones.

Only those who’ve truly experienced poverty understand how precious money really is.

Sometimes, Liu Changqing would dream at night—back to when he first landed in this world. His total net worth was just a few thousand bucks. He had to worry about his kids’ tuition, his family’s meals and expenses... he’d felt utterly hopeless.

That hardship had grounded him.

Even after his financial situation improved—after that shock of receiving 100,000 yuan in secret from An Yuanyao—he never let it go to his head.

Fate really is strange.

Who would’ve thought... he’d end up with An Yuanyao?

And now, they had kids together—literal products of their love.

Back home, Liu Changqing’s mother-in-law stayed behind to help. His father-in-law and brother-in-law had spent a day at the hospital before driving back to their hometown.

Having raised two kids herself, his mother-in-law clearly had way more experience caring for newborns than he or An Yuanyao did.

The moment she got home, she got straight to work.

Into the kitchen, then into the bedroom, advising her daughter on all sorts of dos and don’ts. Of course... the postpartum recovery period, or “sitting the month,” was non-negotiable.

And the moment her mom said, “You can’t bathe or wash your hair for nearly a whole month,” An Yuanyao, holding the baby, looked absolutely dumbfounded.

A whole month...

“Mom, do I really have to go a whole month without washing?”

“Of course! What if you catch a cold? It won’t just affect you—the baby will suffer too!”

“Oh my god...”

Muttering under her breath, An Yuanyao looked horrified.

In reality, postpartum recovery was important. It helped a woman’s body heal properly and also supported mental well-being, reducing the risk of postpartum depression.

That said, not bathing for a whole month was definitely extreme. But this mindset had become widely accepted—especially by women like Su Yan, who came from an older generation. You’d need more than a few words to change that kind of thinking.

Liu Changqing, for his part, had no clue how any of this worked, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

When it came to this stuff, it was best to defer to his mother-in-law.

After all, she’d been through it.

An Yuanyao, however, was clearly not okay with it. She was a very clean person by nature. The thought of going almost a month without bathing or washing her hair felt like torture.

At that moment, she looked at her husband.

The father of her children.

Her expression turned pitiful as she cast a desperate glance his way.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work.

Liu Changqing, a little guilty, avoided her gaze and turned to his stern-looking mother-in-law instead.

“Mom, I’m gonna go out and buy an old hen to make some soup.”

“Okay. Make sure you pick a good one.”

“Don’t worry. I’m great at picking chickens.”

With that, Liu Changqing left the bedroom. He asked his son for the electric scooter keys and headed out.

Since the car was in the shop, he had to make do with the electric scooter.

It had been a while since he last rode it, but he was still good at it. Back in his previous life, he rode one for years during school—those muscle memories were carved deep into his brain.

Impossible to forget.

Riding out the gate, just as he was about to turn the corner, Liu Changqing spotted a black sedan parked not far away.

His hands squeezed the brakes.

He looked again at the license plate.

Confirmed the owner.

Li Wanran.

His face darkened slightly. Liu Changqing stood there for a moment, thinking. Then, he turned the scooter around and rode straight toward the car.

He stopped next to the driver’s side window.

Feet planted, right hand gripping the handlebar, left hand raised to knock on the window.

Knock knock knock.

After about ten seconds, the window slowly rolled down.

And there was Li Wanran.

She looked different from before. Gone was her usual makeup style—she now wore thick, heavy makeup that made her seem like a different person altogether.

Liu Changqing didn’t know why she looked so off, and frankly, he didn’t care.

He glanced at her just long enough to confirm his guess, then looked away.

Staring ahead, he felt the heat pressing down.

“How did you know where I live?”

“……”

Inside the car, Li Wanran looked at Liu Changqing through the window. Although she’d seen him a few times since the divorce, every time still left her stunned.

How can a person change so much?

Back when they were married, he’d started gaining weight by year three.

Why did he slim down?

Did he only decide to fix himself after divorcing me...?

Is that how he attracted An Yuanyao...?

Is that it...?

Her lips pressed together, Li Wanran didn’t know what to say. Her thoughts were a mess, but on the outside, she still wore her usual expressionless face.

Liu Changqing clicked his tongue.

After waiting a bit, he got impatient.

“I told you before—since you were the one who gave up on the kids, don’t show up and wander around our lives like this. It’s annoying.”

“……”

“Don’t just stay quiet like I’m the one who did something wrong.”

He waited a few more seconds. Still no response. Liu Changqing thought for a moment, then turned to look at her.

His brows furrowed slightly, his face showing clear irritation.

He spoke.

“Don’t tell me you regret it now. I’m not here to collect trash.”

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