Guan Xiaolin’s matron knew that things were escalating too far. She rushed to get help, but, by the time she returned, Zhou Mingyan had dragged Guan Xiaolin down from the bed. Guan Xiaolin was sprawled flat on the floor.
Her matron was horrified as Guan Xiaolin was only wearing the thin hospital nightgown. She tried to haul Zhou Mingyan away. “What are you doing?! She just had an abortion! What if she catches a cold? Let go of her! Why are you hitting her?!”
“She deserves to be hit! Guan Xiaolin, how dare you abort my grandchild?!” Zhou Mingyan screamed fiercely.
“I’m the one carrying the child! I can do whatever I want with it! Zhou Mingyan, who do you think you are?! Acting as if you’re already my mother-in-law, barging in here, pointing fingers at me! And now you’re hitting me? I didn’t say that I would marry Jian Yi, so who gave you the right to scold me like this?! I was the one carrying the child! What counts is my decision!” Guan Xialoin was so enraged, her words seemed accompanied by flame. Zhou Mingyan was out of her mind! How dare this arrogant fool walk in here and hit her?!
“Let go! Zhou Mingyan, let go of me, you hag! Stop and think about the position you’re in! You’re just a beggarly woman pretending to be someone big! Don’t you dare act as if you’re my mother-in-law! Even if I marry Jian Yi, your family is still dependant on the Guan family. Without us, you’re nothing! Even Jian Yi is dependant on me, you and your family are all nobodies! Even if I had kept this child, I could have given it the ‘Guan’ surname if I wanted to! I can even ask Jian Yi to marry into my family and he would have to agree! You have no say in any of this!
“The only reason I treated you well was to earn your good favor, but now I don’t have to! After all, I can’t marry Jian Yi, so what makes you think that I will continue to treat you well? Or even continue pretending that I am your daughter-in-law? LET GO OF ME!”
Hearing Guan Xiaolin’s words, Zhou Mingyan was even more infuriated. She struck her even harder.
Guan Xiaolin’s hospital gown hitched upwards, exposing her belly to the cold floor.
She was extremely weak and called out to her matron, “What are you still standing there for?! Fight her off for me! Do you want her beat me to death?! Zhou Mingyan, you lunatic!”
Of course, the matron did not dare hit her. She could only try to pull Zhou Mingyan away with all her might. “Stop hitting her! Stop! You’re being irrational! Let go!”
Finally, the hospital staff arrived. A doctor hurriedly dragged Zhou Mingyan away while a nurse helped Guan Xiaolin onto the bed. They were all shocked at Guan Xiaolin’s horrible condition.
Guan Xiaolin’s forehead was covered in blood and her eyes and cheeks were swollen.
Zhou Mingyan still had not calmed down. Even while the doctor was restraining her, she pointed her long index finger at Guan Xiaolin and yelled, “She aborted my grandchild! Give me back my grandchild! Give it back!”
When the nurse came in, she had already called the police and informed the Guan family about the situation.
The police arrived first, followed by the Guan family. Not long after, Guan Youbo and Yao Huimin dashed in.
The nurse had informed them of the situation over the phone, distressing Yao Huimin.
Guan Xiaolin had just completed a surgery; she was supposed to let her body recover and rest, not involve herself in a fight. Abortion aftercare was just as important as postnatal care. It was imperative that the woman receives as much rest as possible.
Yao Huimin rushed to Guan Xiaolin’s bedside. The doctor had examined her injuries while the nurse cleaned the wounds. With the blood gone, the wound appeared less ghastly.
Yao Huimin let out a sigh of relief before her eyes fell on the blood-soaked gauze. She growled and darted in front of Zhou Mingyan. “You psychopath! This isn’t over!”
A police officer yanked Yao Huimin back. Guan Youbo pointed at Zhou Mingyan and declared, “This is not the end. I’ll see you in court!”
With the utterance of those words, the police had no choice but to bring Zhou Mingyan, Guan Youbo, and Yao Huimin down to the station.
Jian Yi, who had received a call from the station, rushed down. When Yao Huimin saw him, she grabbed onto him and started beating him.
“Is it not enough that you harmed my daughter! Now even your mom is tormenting her?! Your whole family is vile! My daughter must have been blind to have chosen you! Look how much harm you have brought upon her, you b*stard!” Yao Huimin pummelled him with all her might.
“What are you doing!” exclaimed Zhou Mingyan crossly. She was ready to throw a punch.
“What’s going on!” yelled the vexed officer, his loud booming voice ending the rain of punches.
“I’m telling you, we will sue you for assault! Just wait until we put you behind bars!” Yao Huimin threatened angrily.
“Let us get the paperwork done,” the police officed told Jian Yi.
Once everything was in order, Jian Yi left the station with Zhou Mingyan in tow. By then, both: Guan Youbo and Yao Huimin had departed for the hospital. They had received a call from the hospital saying that Guan Xiaolin was running a fever.
The surgery had left Guan Xiaolin weak, and she could not afford to contract any sort of illness, for it could render her infertile. News of the fever drained the color and life from Yao Huimin’s face, as she and Guan Youbo rushed to the hospital.
Zhou Mingyan was weeping. She had calmed a little at the station, but with the threat of the lawsuit looming over her head she broke down once more.
“Jian Yi, what should we do? That Guan Xiaolin didn’t say a word before aborting your child, and now, they want to sue me! They’re the real bullies here!” Zhou Mingyan claimed.
Jian Yi held back his near bursting anger. He could not fathom how Zhou Mingyan was still causing him so much trouble, especially when he himself was swamped with troubles of his own.
Jian Yi slammed the door which he had just opened. The sound, like a thunderclap, caused Zhou Mingye to jump.
“Why did you go see Guan Xiaolin? Why did you hit her?” snapped Jian Yi.
“I was angry! Who gave her the right to abort my grandchild?! You two were going to get married. I have always hoped for grandchildren but she made her own decision to have an abortion! Does she even see us as her family?” wailed Zhou Mingyan.
“So you went ahead and beat her up? Mom use your brain! I’m no longer the Qi family’s son-in-law, you don’t have a backdoor to escape out of anymore, and yet you still dared to hit her and cause a scene? I can’t help you if they want to sue you!” His voice grew sharper with each word; anger escaping his tight control.
“But… but last time you allowed me to go to Qilin to confront Qi Chengyue, so why can’t I do the same to Guan Xiaolin? Is the Guan family more fearsome than the Qi family? If you’re not afraid of the Qi family, why would you be scared of the Guan family?” Zhou Mingyan bewilderedly demanded. Her mind could not comprehend their changing circumstances. To her, the actions she took carried the same outcome, since the actions themselves were the same.
“The same?! When I let you confront Qi Chengyue did I let you hit her?” Jian Yi’s chest hurt with constricted exasperation. He always knew Zhou Mingyan was as dumb as a bag of rocks but at least she was obedient; she had always followed his instructions flawlessly.
Her devising her own plans came as an unexpectedly unpleasant revelation. Her shallow brain incapable of sophistication was worse than that of a swine’s.
“When it came to Qi Chengyue I had photos as proof, so the Qi family can’t do anything. Guan Xiaolin was carrying my child. If she wants the child to be with its biological father, the Guan family would become my backdoor. But, since the Guan family refused to acknowledge the child, she had no other choice apart from abortion. The only way I could have married Guan Xiaolin was if the Guan family disowns her, and why would I want to marry her then?” Erupting, he slammed his fist on the car door of his Renault sedan.
The Cayenne, smashed by Chang Lia, was gone, along with his ability to afford luxury cars. This car had come from a smuggler for half the price of the unit in the 4S showroom.
The Qi family had spread the word against him; any company in the same industry would not employ him. He had to give up his expertise and settle for a job as a petty business manager handling imports and exports in a trading company. Regardless, it came with the advantage of having a flexible schedule. He had extra time to come up with plans for his future; he had no intention of staying here forever.
Zhou Mingyan’s lips and jaw began to tremble. Her face was as pale as death. Fear finally caught up to her.
She grabbed onto Jian Yi’s arm; her grip was strong, like that of a drowning man clinging on to a piece of driftwood. “Then… then what should we do… if they… if they are serious about taking me to court? What should we do? Can our family still get a lawyer? What if… what if I get sent to prison? How long is the sentence for assault? Jian Yi, you have to save me. You have to save your mom. Please don’t let your mom go to jail.”
Jian Yi kept silent.
“I… I was too impulsive. I wanted to take revenge in your stead! I did this for you, Jian Yi. You have to help me. Ah, what should I do…” Zhou Mingyan wept noisily. “What if… what if we… we implore the Qi family? Can we go talk to Qi Chengyue and ask for her help? Despite everything, you two were still a married couple. She has to help, right?” Zhou Mingyan suggested urgently.
Jian Yi pulled his arm away and urged her into the passenger seat. “Get in the car. We’ll think of a way out when we get home.”
“Ya!” Zhou Mingyan nodded quickly. Jian Yi’s words comforted her.
Nevertheless, her wails and tears did not stop until they arrived home. “Oh, what did I do to deserve this? The Guan family is full of big bullies! Guan Xiaolin, that two-faced hypocrite! She acted so pleasantly before this, yet now she turns around and treats me like a stranger! What kind of creature is she! The Guan family looks down on us simply because we’re poor! Well, I blame your dad! If he was more capable, you and I wouldn’t have been dragged down with him. Even if we couldn’t compete with the Guan family or the Qi family, at least we wouldn’t be nobodies that they can bully however much they want! They won’t dare take me to court so easily! Even Guan Xiaolin wouldn’t dare abort the child without consent! But, due to his incompetence, you have to work so hard. You had a different starting point compared to all those other men! You worked hundreds of thousands of times harder than them to get where you are. If your dad had put in half the effort you’re putting in now, we wouldn’t be living in this dump and you wouldn’t have to plod through such a difficult life!”
Jian Yi was exasperated by her constant rambling. His heart thundered with hatred, yet he did not allow a word to slip past his teeth. He knew that if one word were to escape he would not be able to stop the torrent that would follow. If that were to happen, Zhou Mingyan would never let him hear the end of it.
At last, they arrived. Zhou Mingyan took out her key and inserted it into the keyhole. The door clicked open with the key’s light touch.
“I locked the door when I left!” Zhou Mingyan stated in a panic. “Don’t tell me there was a break-in! How can so many unfortunate things happen at the same time!”
Jian Yi did not reply. He pushed the door open and saw a pair of men’s leather shoes on the floor.
Zhou Mingyan saw it too and rejoiced. She pointed at the shoes and said, “Those are your dad’s. It seems like he’s done throwing his tantrum.”
The two of them entered and saw Jian Shifu sitting on the sofa in the living room.
“Ah, you finally thought this through and knew to come home!” Seeing Jian Shifu sitting there composedly, Zhou Mingyan brightened.
“I’m here for the divorce! What do you think you’ll achieve by clutching on to the family register!” Jian Shifu barked.
Zhou Mingyan froze. “You… you still want a divorce?”
“When I said I wanted a divorce did you think I was playing ‘house’ with you?” Jian Shifu glared at her impatiently.
“I’m not doing it! If you want a divorce, then we’ll take this to court! I’ve done my research! As long as I don’t agree, it becomes a contested divorce. We will go through court-ordered mediation, but if we still fail to come to term, you will have to wait for another six months before you can get an appeal,” Zhou Mingyan revealed. Her eyes had turned red. “Jian Shifu, you horrible man! I was so wronged to the point that I did things that might send me to jail, and, yet, you don’t care! All you want is to divorce me. Being married to you for all these years is a huge waste of time!”
Jian Shifu frowned. He turned to Jian Yi and asked, “What’s going on?”
Before Jian Yi could say anything, Zhou Mingyan started bawling again. She repeated the words she said in the car over and over again. Finally, Jian Shifu managed to get a rough idea of the situation.
“Haha,” he sneered. “Zhou Mingyan, oh Zhou Mingyan. You never change. Every time you did something wrong, you blame it on others: It’s my fault, it’s the Guan family’s fault, it’s the Qi family’s fault, it’s the whole world’s fault. All except yours. The whole world is bullying you, the whole world has wronged you. I’m not going to try talking sense into you anymore. It’s not like you’ll listen. You’ll just claim I’m bullying you, being biased against you.”
Jian Shifu stood up and shook his head in disappointment. “Hiding the family register, you want to hold on to this marriage so badly right? Fine by me. I’ll wait then. As long as we remain separate for two years, I can get my divorce! It’s about time you learned your lesson. You have gone too long with your daring! It doesn’t matter what kind of person Guan Xiaolin is, how could you hit someone who just went through an abortion?! If she becomes infertile you’re in huge trouble! Karma will come after you for all the rotten things you’ve done!”
Having said that, Jian Shifu left without a backward glance.
Zhou Mingyan was stunned for a few seconds. Then she sat down on the floor and started to pound her thighs with her fists as she wailed lustily. She howled, “Ahh! That heartless man! I might go to jail and, yet, he has the heart to say things like that! Oh, what should I do!”
Jian Yi sighed, “I still need to go to work. I’ll help you think of something. I want you to stay at home. Don’t go anywhere.”
After saying that, he left too.
…
…
Throughout the night Guan Xiaolin battled the raging fever that, thankfully, broke with the dawn. When her doctor came in to check up on her he subtly asked Yao Huimin and Guan Youbo to see him outside.
“Doctor, what’s wrong?” Yao Huimin inquired anxiously. From the doctor’s expression and the fact that they had to exit the room, she could tell it was not good news.
“Mrs. Guan, Ms. Guan’s uterus has become infected and there is a chance that she might become infertile,” the doctor revealed quietly.
“What!” Yao Huimin’s face blanched with horror. She stumbled backward but Guan Youbo quickly caught her. “But… but wasn’t she fine yesterday? During the after-surgery-check-up, wasn’t everything fine? And yesterday morning you said she was recovering well. Is it… is it because of the incident yesterday?”
The doctor did not answer her question but merely explained, “There is only a chance, but I’m notifying you now so that you can prepare yourselves mentally in case anything happens. We will need your help to convince Miss Guan to cooperate with us so her treatment can continue smoothly. Whether you tell Miss Guan the truth is completely up to you, however, for the time being, I recommend that you hold off on that first. You two are Miss Guan’s pillars of support now, so you must put up a strong front to avoid adding on to her emotional distress. Now is a crucial time for her. She is already devastated about the abortion, if she gets another emotional blow, I’m afraid…”
“I get it. We will definitely keep this a secret.” Yao Huimin nodded. In the end, she could not hold back her tears any longer. “Xiaolin is so young! How can she lose her chance to become a mother? Can a woman’s life be complete if she can’t become a mother? She still needs to find a husband. Oh! What family would want a daughter-in-law who can’t bear children?! If she becomes infertile, what will she do in the future?!”
Yao Huimin leaned onto Guan Youbo’s shoulder, sobbing. Guan Youbo shared in her fears. “Undoubtedly, we will keep it from her. She’s already devastated by the abortion. We don’t want to overwhelm her. However, Director Liu, please tell us honestly: What are her chances of being cured?”
“This…” Director Liu frowned. He admitted, “In these cases, it’s difficult to tell. I can’t give you an exact answer but do know that we will give it our all.”
Hearing that, Guan Youbo knew that tragedy was imminent.
Once Director Liu left, Guan Youbo declared, “We can’t lay a finger on the Qi family, but when it comes to Zhou Mingyan and Jian Yi who completely destroyed Xiaolin’s life, I will never let them go!”
With tears flooding her face, Yao Huimin added fiercely, “We will make them pay!”
…
…
In the evening, at the end of working hours, Qi Chengyue came to the 25th floor but soon realized Cheng Dongge was not at his desk. Suddenly, the door beside her opened with a click. Qi Chengyue turned her head nervously but realized it was only Qi Chengzhi.
“Do you need anything?” Qi Chengzhi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Even with a simple question, Qi Chengyue felt that her brother was teasing her. It was because of this, she had long come to the conclusion that her brother had been born sarcastic.
“No, I was leaving something in the secretary’s office.” Qi Chengyue casually pointed at Cheng Dongge’s desk and asked, “Why isn’t Cheng Dongge here?”
“It’s after working hours, of course, he’s not here.” Qi Chengzhi entered the elevator while Qi Chengyue followed. He shot her a glance and teased, “You sure care about him a lot!”
“Big Brother, stop talking nonsense!” Qi Chengyue refuted rudely. “I saw that he wasn’t at his desk, so I just asked. It was the only thing I could think to ask when I see you, the boss, who hasn’t left yet and he has?”
Qi Chengzhi snorted. He raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t care about these things.”
Qi Chengyue and Qi Chengzhi took the elevator down together. As the approached the front door, they saw Huang Ziyue. Unexpectedly, she was standing next to Cheng Dongge.
Huang Ziyue was wearing a white blouse paired with an asymmetrical, pink chiffon skirt. On the front, the skirt only covered her knees while at the back, it draped all the way to her ankles. She wore a pair of nude color, pointed high heels, which appeared to be from Ferragamo.
Her hands, placed in front of her, were holding a pink LadyDior.
Seeing Huang Ziyue wearing branded items from top to toe, Qi Chengyue pouted tauntingly.
Huang Ziyue and Cheng Dongge were standing face-to-face. Qi Chengyue could not tell what they were talking about. All he could see was Cheng Dongge’s deadpanned expression.
Qi Chengzhi stopped in his tracks and turned back to Qi Chengyue. Raising as eyebrow, he asked, “Why did you stop?”
“No reason!” Qi Chengyue claimed. She continued walking, but, instead of passing them by, she walked out of the other side door. While walking, she turned back to steal another glimpse at Cheng Dongge. He did not even notice her. His eyes were fixed on Huang Ziyue.
Qi Chengyue frowned. Feeling desolated, she reminded herself that Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue had three years of history together. How could she compete?
With Huang Ziyue around, of course he would not notice her.
Even so, she was curious as to why Huang Ziyue came to see him. Did she regret breaking up with Cheng Dongge?
Huang Ziyue was all dolled up; she had the aura of a goddess. Even Qi Chengyue thought her bewitching.
“At the end of the day, they still share years of history. They had even discussed their marriage. It’s not something that can be let go of so easily. Surprisingly, Cheng Dongge isn’t immune from such feelings.” Qi Chengzhi was walking beside Qi Chengyue, watching Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue from a distant. “Judging from Huang Ziyue’s manner, it seems like she’s here to rekindle their relationship. Judging by Cheng Dongge’s fondness for nostalgia, I would say she will succeed if she begs hard enough.”
“Big Brother, when have you become such a busybody, always worrying about other people’s affairs!” Qi Chengyue complained and stormed off, annoyed.
Cheng Dongge took a glance at Qi Chengyue as she passed by in front of him to get to her car. Huang Ziyue noticed this and turned her head as well, but, by that time, Qi Chengyue had disappeared into the crowd.
Qi Chengyue got in her car and slammed the door shut. She saw that Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue were still standing at the front door.
“If you want to go back to an ex, at least choose a better one! This one is rotten to the core, yet you’re still happily diving into her arms! Everyone in the company knows why Huang Ziyue broke up with you, yet you two can stand there in front of the company where everyone can see you! Everyone knows you’ve been cheated on, yet you still stand there talking to your ex-girlfriend so pleasantly! How humiliating!” Qi Chengyue clenched her teeth and ranted as she glared at the duo from her car.
Even after she said that her eyes began to sting. Her face was heating up and her vision became blurry.
She stared at Cheng Dongge and screamed, “Cheng Dongge, even you are unreliable! What hope is there for men, when even you, the most reliable of men, can’t be relied on!”
Qi Chengyue could not continue. She buried her head in the steering wheel and wept.
…
…
“Dongge is it alright if I disturb you for a while? I have something to tell you. It’s important,” Huang Ziyue murmured. “I made a reservation at Shengyue. Can we talk over dinner?”
“Sorry, I have things to attend to,” Cheng Dongge said coldly, ready to leave.
Huang Ziyue quickly grabbed his arm. “Dongge, you’re still mad at me, aren’t you? Can you please give me a chance? I just want to talk to you. Here in B City, I don’t have any friends or relatives, and I can’t trust my colleagues. I only have you. I don’t know who else to turn to. Dongge, I have a stomachful of things I need to say. Please hear me out. I really can’t find anyone else to talk to.”
Cheng Dongge clenched his teeth. His lips were pressed into a stern, thin line.
Being grabbed by her in front of the company while she went on and on was not a sight Cheng Dongge wanted to be seen in.
Furthermore, it was the time when everyone got off work. All his colleagues who passed by would steal a glance at them.
Cheng Dongge’s brows knitted tightly together. “If you want to talk, let’s find a place. No need for dinner.”
After saying that, Cheng Dongge headed straight to the parking lot. He did not even wait for her.
Huang Ziyue did not dare to ask him for much more. She was afraid he would walk away from her. Speedily, she caught up to him and kept with his pace. Unlike before, Cheng Dongge neither slowed down for her nor did he walk on the outer side of the road.
Cheng Dongge stood beside his car and scanned the parking lot until he found Qi Chengyue’s car.
Qi Chengyue’s Audi TT windows did not have a dark tint, and, through the windshield, he could see that Qi Chengyue had her face buried in the steering wheel.
Cheng Dongge’s stomach twisted. He felt the urge to go up to her and ask her what’s wrong, but Huang Ziyue had opened the passenger seat door.
Cheng Dongge marched over to the other side; his feet eating the ground. With a bang, he slammed the door shut.
Huang Ziyue was in a complete daze. She stared at him, not knowing how to react.
“The passenger seat is reserved for my lady. You sit at the back,” Cheng Dongge said with a straight face. He had said the exact same thing to Jiang Xiyao, and she had no complaints about sitting in the backseat.
Huang Ziyue’s jaw dropped. She glanced at the passenger seat again in shock. “You… have a girlfriend already?”
Cheng Dongge did not reply but opened the backseat door. With a perplexed expression, she looked at him again and then reluctantly got in the car. She has never sat in the backseat of his Touareg before. From her seat, she could only see the back of his head. Here in the back she felt extremely distanced from him.
Qi Chengyue raised her head. She opened the glove compartment and took out a box of tissues. She pulled out two sheets to wipe her tears. Once again, she glanced at the front door of Qilin, but Chang Dongge and Huang Ziyue were gone.
Biting her lips, she drove off.
Huang Ziyue sat in the backseat with a confused look on her face. She asked, “Who… is your girlfriend? Is she a colleague of yours?”
She waited for what felt like an eternity, but Cheng Dongge never said a word.
Huang Ziyue twidled her thumbs. Her fingers were icy-cold. “Dongge, you hate me, don’t you?”
Cheng Dongge took a glance at her through the rear-view mirror and said, “No.”
“I know you’re a nice guy. You only said that so that I won’t be troubled by it. You should hate me.” Huang Ziyue hung and tucked her hair.
Cheng Dongge observed her through the review mirror… He sucked in his lips.
He genuinely did not hate her.
When she lost her temper at Qi Chengyue, he was indeed furious. Strangely, he did not feel that way afterward. He could not bring himself to hate her even if he wanted to.
After all, they were together for three years. Even he felt weird treating her like that.
However, when Cheng Dongge thought back on it calmly, he realized that he started dating Huang Ziyue because her persistence touched him, so he thought they could give it a try. When they got engaged, Cheng Dongge did it simply out of a sense of responsibility. Three years brought on a sense of responsibility, prompting him to act.
Guan Xiaolin’s matron knew that things were escalating too far. She rushed to get help, but, by the time she returned, Zhou Mingyan had dragged Guan Xiaolin down from the bed. Guan Xiaolin was sprawled flat on the floor.
Her matron was horrified as Guan Xiaolin was only wearing the thin hospital nightgown. She tried to haul Zhou Mingyan away. “What are you doing?! She just had an abortion! What if she catches a cold? Let go of her! Why are you hitting her?!”
“She deserves to be hit! Guan Xiaolin, how dare you abort my grandchild?!” Zhou Mingyan screamed fiercely.
“I’m the one carrying the child! I can do whatever I want with it! Zhou Mingyan, who do you think you are?! Acting as if you’re already my mother-in-law, barging in here, pointing fingers at me! And now you’re hitting me? I didn’t say that I would marry Jian Yi, so who gave you the right to scold me like this?! I was the one carrying the child! What counts is my decision!” Guan Xialoin was so enraged, her words seemed accompanied by flame. Zhou Mingyan was out of her mind! How dare this arrogant fool walk in here and hit her?!
“Let go! Zhou Mingyan, let go of me, you hag! Stop and think about the position you’re in! You’re just a beggarly woman pretending to be someone big! Don’t you dare act as if you’re my mother-in-law! Even if I marry Jian Yi, your family is still dependant on the Guan family. Without us, you’re nothing! Even Jian Yi is dependant on me, you and your family are all nobodies! Even if I had kept this child, I could have given it the ‘Guan’ surname if I wanted to! I can even ask Jian Yi to marry into my family and he would have to agree! You have no say in any of this!
“The only reason I treated you well was to earn your good favor, but now I don’t have to! After all, I can’t marry Jian Yi, so what makes you think that I will continue to treat you well? Or even continue pretending that I am your daughter-in-law? LET GO OF ME!”
Hearing Guan Xiaolin’s words, Zhou Mingyan was even more infuriated. She struck her even harder.
Guan Xiaolin’s hospital gown hitched upwards, exposing her belly to the cold floor.
She was extremely weak and called out to her matron, “What are you still standing there for?! Fight her off for me! Do you want her beat me to death?! Zhou Mingyan, you lunatic!”
Of course, the matron did not dare hit her. She could only try to pull Zhou Mingyan away with all her might. “Stop hitting her! Stop! You’re being irrational! Let go!”
Finally, the hospital staff arrived. A doctor hurriedly dragged Zhou Mingyan away while a nurse helped Guan Xiaolin onto the bed. They were all shocked at Guan Xiaolin’s horrible condition.
Guan Xiaolin’s forehead was covered in blood and her eyes and cheeks were swollen.
Zhou Mingyan still had not calmed down. Even while the doctor was restraining her, she pointed her long index finger at Guan Xiaolin and yelled, “She aborted my grandchild! Give me back my grandchild! Give it back!”
When the nurse came in, she had already called the police and informed the Guan family about the situation.
The police arrived first, followed by the Guan family. Not long after, Guan Youbo and Yao Huimin dashed in.
The nurse had informed them of the situation over the phone, distressing Yao Huimin.
Guan Xiaolin had just completed a surgery; she was supposed to let her body recover and rest, not involve herself in a fight. Abortion aftercare was just as important as postnatal care. It was imperative that the woman receives as much rest as possible.
Yao Huimin rushed to Guan Xiaolin’s bedside. The doctor had examined her injuries while the nurse cleaned the wounds. With the blood gone, the wound appeared less ghastly.
Yao Huimin let out a sigh of relief before her eyes fell on the blood-soaked gauze. She growled and darted in front of Zhou Mingyan. “You psychopath! This isn’t over!”
A police officer yanked Yao Huimin back. Guan Youbo pointed at Zhou Mingyan and declared, “This is not the end. I’ll see you in court!”
With the utterance of those words, the police had no choice but to bring Zhou Mingyan, Guan Youbo, and Yao Huimin down to the station.
Jian Yi, who had received a call from the station, rushed down. When Yao Huimin saw him, she grabbed onto him and started beating him.
“Is it not enough that you harmed my daughter! Now even your mom is tormenting her?! Your whole family is vile! My daughter must have been blind to have chosen you! Look how much harm you have brought upon her, you b*stard!” Yao Huimin pummelled him with all her might.
“What are you doing!” exclaimed Zhou Mingyan crossly. She was ready to throw a punch.
“What’s going on!” yelled the vexed officer, his loud booming voice ending the rain of punches.
“I’m telling you, we will sue you for assault! Just wait until we put you behind bars!” Yao Huimin threatened angrily.
“Let us get the paperwork done,” the police officed told Jian Yi.
Once everything was in order, Jian Yi left the station with Zhou Mingyan in tow. By then, both: Guan Youbo and Yao Huimin had departed for the hospital. They had received a call from the hospital saying that Guan Xiaolin was running a fever.
The surgery had left Guan Xiaolin weak, and she could not afford to contract any sort of illness, for it could render her infertile. News of the fever drained the color and life from Yao Huimin’s face, as she and Guan Youbo rushed to the hospital.
Zhou Mingyan was weeping. She had calmed a little at the station, but with the threat of the lawsuit looming over her head she broke down once more.
“Jian Yi, what should we do? That Guan Xiaolin didn’t say a word before aborting your child, and now, they want to sue me! They’re the real bullies here!” Zhou Mingyan claimed.
Jian Yi held back his near bursting anger. He could not fathom how Zhou Mingyan was still causing him so much trouble, especially when he himself was swamped with troubles of his own.
Jian Yi slammed the door which he had just opened. The sound, like a thunderclap, caused Zhou Mingye to jump.
“Why did you go see Guan Xiaolin? Why did you hit her?” snapped Jian Yi.
“I was angry! Who gave her the right to abort my grandchild?! You two were going to get married. I have always hoped for grandchildren but she made her own decision to have an abortion! Does she even see us as her family?” wailed Zhou Mingyan.
“So you went ahead and beat her up? Mom use your brain! I’m no longer the Qi family’s son-in-law, you don’t have a backdoor to escape out of anymore, and yet you still dared to hit her and cause a scene? I can’t help you if they want to sue you!” His voice grew sharper with each word; anger escaping his tight control.
“But… but last time you allowed me to go to Qilin to confront Qi Chengyue, so why can’t I do the same to Guan Xiaolin? Is the Guan family more fearsome than the Qi family? If you’re not afraid of the Qi family, why would you be scared of the Guan family?” Zhou Mingyan bewilderedly demanded. Her mind could not comprehend their changing circumstances. To her, the actions she took carried the same outcome, since the actions themselves were the same.
“The same?! When I let you confront Qi Chengyue did I let you hit her?” Jian Yi’s chest hurt with constricted exasperation. He always knew Zhou Mingyan was as dumb as a bag of rocks but at least she was obedient; she had always followed his instructions flawlessly.
Her devising her own plans came as an unexpectedly unpleasant revelation. Her shallow brain incapable of sophistication was worse than that of a swine’s.
“When it came to Qi Chengyue I had photos as proof, so the Qi family can’t do anything. Guan Xiaolin was carrying my child. If she wants the child to be with its biological father, the Guan family would become my backdoor. But, since the Guan family refused to acknowledge the child, she had no other choice apart from abortion. The only way I could have married Guan Xiaolin was if the Guan family disowns her, and why would I want to marry her then?” Erupting, he slammed his fist on the car door of his Renault sedan.
The Cayenne, smashed by Chang Lia, was gone, along with his ability to afford luxury cars. This car had come from a smuggler for half the price of the unit in the 4S showroom.
The Qi family had spread the word against him; any company in the same industry would not employ him. He had to give up his expertise and settle for a job as a petty business manager handling imports and exports in a trading company. Regardless, it came with the advantage of having a flexible schedule. He had extra time to come up with plans for his future; he had no intention of staying here forever.
Zhou Mingyan’s lips and jaw began to tremble. Her face was as pale as death. Fear finally caught up to her.
She grabbed onto Jian Yi’s arm; her grip was strong, like that of a drowning man clinging on to a piece of driftwood. “Then… then what should we do… if they… if they are serious about taking me to court? What should we do? Can our family still get a lawyer? What if… what if I get sent to prison? How long is the sentence for assault? Jian Yi, you have to save me. You have to save your mom. Please don’t let your mom go to jail.”
Jian Yi kept silent.
“I… I was too impulsive. I wanted to take revenge in your stead! I did this for you, Jian Yi. You have to help me. Ah, what should I do…” Zhou Mingyan wept noisily. “What if… what if we… we implore the Qi family? Can we go talk to Qi Chengyue and ask for her help? Despite everything, you two were still a married couple. She has to help, right?” Zhou Mingyan suggested urgently.
Jian Yi pulled his arm away and urged her into the passenger seat. “Get in the car. We’ll think of a way out when we get home.”
“Ya!” Zhou Mingyan nodded quickly. Jian Yi’s words comforted her.
Nevertheless, her wails and tears did not stop until they arrived home. “Oh, what did I do to deserve this? The Guan family is full of big bullies! Guan Xiaolin, that two-faced hypocrite! She acted so pleasantly before this, yet now she turns around and treats me like a stranger! What kind of creature is she! The Guan family looks down on us simply because we’re poor! Well, I blame your dad! If he was more capable, you and I wouldn’t have been dragged down with him. Even if we couldn’t compete with the Guan family or the Qi family, at least we wouldn’t be nobodies that they can bully however much they want! They won’t dare take me to court so easily! Even Guan Xiaolin wouldn’t dare abort the child without consent! But, due to his incompetence, you have to work so hard. You had a different starting point compared to all those other men! You worked hundreds of thousands of times harder than them to get where you are. If your dad had put in half the effort you’re putting in now, we wouldn’t be living in this dump and you wouldn’t have to plod through such a difficult life!”
Jian Yi was exasperated by her constant rambling. His heart thundered with hatred, yet he did not allow a word to slip past his teeth. He knew that if one word were to escape he would not be able to stop the torrent that would follow. If that were to happen, Zhou Mingyan would never let him hear the end of it.
At last, they arrived. Zhou Mingyan took out her key and inserted it into the keyhole. The door clicked open with the key’s light touch.
“I locked the door when I left!” Zhou Mingyan stated in a panic. “Don’t tell me there was a break-in! How can so many unfortunate things happen at the same time!”
Jian Yi did not reply. He pushed the door open and saw a pair of men’s leather shoes on the floor.
Zhou Mingyan saw it too and rejoiced. She pointed at the shoes and said, “Those are your dad’s. It seems like he’s done throwing his tantrum.”
The two of them entered and saw Jian Shifu sitting on the sofa in the living room.
“Ah, you finally thought this through and knew to come home!” Seeing Jian Shifu sitting there composedly, Zhou Mingyan brightened.
“I’m here for the divorce! What do you think you’ll achieve by clutching on to the family register!” Jian Shifu barked.
Zhou Mingyan froze. “You… you still want a divorce?”
“When I said I wanted a divorce did you think I was playing ‘house’ with you?” Jian Shifu glared at her impatiently.
“I’m not doing it! If you want a divorce, then we’ll take this to court! I’ve done my research! As long as I don’t agree, it becomes a contested divorce. We will go through court-ordered mediation, but if we still fail to come to term, you will have to wait for another six months before you can get an appeal,” Zhou Mingyan revealed. Her eyes had turned red. “Jian Shifu, you horrible man! I was so wronged to the point that I did things that might send me to jail, and, yet, you don’t care! All you want is to divorce me. Being married to you for all these years is a huge waste of time!”
Jian Shifu frowned. He turned to Jian Yi and asked, “What’s going on?”
Before Jian Yi could say anything, Zhou Mingyan started bawling again. She repeated the words she said in the car over and over again. Finally, Jian Shifu managed to get a rough idea of the situation.
“Haha,” he sneered. “Zhou Mingyan, oh Zhou Mingyan. You never change. Every time you did something wrong, you blame it on others: It’s my fault, it’s the Guan family’s fault, it’s the Qi family’s fault, it’s the whole world’s fault. All except yours. The whole world is bullying you, the whole world has wronged you. I’m not going to try talking sense into you anymore. It’s not like you’ll listen. You’ll just claim I’m bullying you, being biased against you.”
Jian Shifu stood up and shook his head in disappointment. “Hiding the family register, you want to hold on to this marriage so badly right? Fine by me. I’ll wait then. As long as we remain separate for two years, I can get my divorce! It’s about time you learned your lesson. You have gone too long with your daring! It doesn’t matter what kind of person Guan Xiaolin is, how could you hit someone who just went through an abortion?! If she becomes infertile you’re in huge trouble! Karma will come after you for all the rotten things you’ve done!”
Having said that, Jian Shifu left without a backward glance.
Zhou Mingyan was stunned for a few seconds. Then she sat down on the floor and started to pound her thighs with her fists as she wailed lustily. She howled, “Ahh! That heartless man! I might go to jail and, yet, he has the heart to say things like that! Oh, what should I do!”
Jian Yi sighed, “I still need to go to work. I’ll help you think of something. I want you to stay at home. Don’t go anywhere.”
After saying that, he left too.
…
…
Throughout the night Guan Xiaolin battled the raging fever that, thankfully, broke with the dawn. When her doctor came in to check up on her he subtly asked Yao Huimin and Guan Youbo to see him outside.
“Doctor, what’s wrong?” Yao Huimin inquired anxiously. From the doctor’s expression and the fact that they had to exit the room, she could tell it was not good news.
“Mrs. Guan, Ms. Guan’s uterus has become infected and there is a chance that she might become infertile,” the doctor revealed quietly.
“What!” Yao Huimin’s face blanched with horror. She stumbled backward but Guan Youbo quickly caught her. “But… but wasn’t she fine yesterday? During the after-surgery-check-up, wasn’t everything fine? And yesterday morning you said she was recovering well. Is it… is it because of the incident yesterday?”
The doctor did not answer her question but merely explained, “There is only a chance, but I’m notifying you now so that you can prepare yourselves mentally in case anything happens. We will need your help to convince Miss Guan to cooperate with us so her treatment can continue smoothly. Whether you tell Miss Guan the truth is completely up to you, however, for the time being, I recommend that you hold off on that first. You two are Miss Guan’s pillars of support now, so you must put up a strong front to avoid adding on to her emotional distress. Now is a crucial time for her. She is already devastated about the abortion, if she gets another emotional blow, I’m afraid…”
“I get it. We will definitely keep this a secret.” Yao Huimin nodded. In the end, she could not hold back her tears any longer. “Xiaolin is so young! How can she lose her chance to become a mother? Can a woman’s life be complete if she can’t become a mother? She still needs to find a husband. Oh! What family would want a daughter-in-law who can’t bear children?! If she becomes infertile, what will she do in the future?!”
Yao Huimin leaned onto Guan Youbo’s shoulder, sobbing. Guan Youbo shared in her fears. “Undoubtedly, we will keep it from her. She’s already devastated by the abortion. We don’t want to overwhelm her. However, Director Liu, please tell us honestly: What are her chances of being cured?”
“This…” Director Liu frowned. He admitted, “In these cases, it’s difficult to tell. I can’t give you an exact answer but do know that we will give it our all.”
Hearing that, Guan Youbo knew that tragedy was imminent.
Once Director Liu left, Guan Youbo declared, “We can’t lay a finger on the Qi family, but when it comes to Zhou Mingyan and Jian Yi who completely destroyed Xiaolin’s life, I will never let them go!”
With tears flooding her face, Yao Huimin added fiercely, “We will make them pay!”
…
…
In the evening, at the end of working hours, Qi Chengyue came to the 25th floor but soon realized Cheng Dongge was not at his desk. Suddenly, the door beside her opened with a click. Qi Chengyue turned her head nervously but realized it was only Qi Chengzhi.
“Do you need anything?” Qi Chengzhi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Even with a simple question, Qi Chengyue felt that her brother was teasing her. It was because of this, she had long come to the conclusion that her brother had been born sarcastic.
“No, I was leaving something in the secretary’s office.” Qi Chengyue casually pointed at Cheng Dongge’s desk and asked, “Why isn’t Cheng Dongge here?”
“It’s after working hours, of course, he’s not here.” Qi Chengzhi entered the elevator while Qi Chengyue followed. He shot her a glance and teased, “You sure care about him a lot!”
“Big Brother, stop talking nonsense!” Qi Chengyue refuted rudely. “I saw that he wasn’t at his desk, so I just asked. It was the only thing I could think to ask when I see you, the boss, who hasn’t left yet and he has?”
Qi Chengzhi snorted. He raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t care about these things.”
Qi Chengyue and Qi Chengzhi took the elevator down together. As the approached the front door, they saw Huang Ziyue. Unexpectedly, she was standing next to Cheng Dongge.
Huang Ziyue was wearing a white blouse paired with an asymmetrical, pink chiffon skirt. On the front, the skirt only covered her knees while at the back, it draped all the way to her ankles. She wore a pair of nude color, pointed high heels, which appeared to be from Ferragamo.
Her hands, placed in front of her, were holding a pink LadyDior.
Seeing Huang Ziyue wearing branded items from top to toe, Qi Chengyue pouted tauntingly.
Huang Ziyue and Cheng Dongge were standing face-to-face. Qi Chengyue could not tell what they were talking about. All he could see was Cheng Dongge’s deadpanned expression.
Qi Chengzhi stopped in his tracks and turned back to Qi Chengyue. Raising as eyebrow, he asked, “Why did you stop?”
“No reason!” Qi Chengyue claimed. She continued walking, but, instead of passing them by, she walked out of the other side door. While walking, she turned back to steal another glimpse at Cheng Dongge. He did not even notice her. His eyes were fixed on Huang Ziyue.
Qi Chengyue frowned. Feeling desolated, she reminded herself that Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue had three years of history together. How could she compete?
With Huang Ziyue around, of course he would not notice her.
Even so, she was curious as to why Huang Ziyue came to see him. Did she regret breaking up with Cheng Dongge?
Huang Ziyue was all dolled up; she had the aura of a goddess. Even Qi Chengyue thought her bewitching.
“At the end of the day, they still share years of history. They had even discussed their marriage. It’s not something that can be let go of so easily. Surprisingly, Cheng Dongge isn’t immune from such feelings.” Qi Chengzhi was walking beside Qi Chengyue, watching Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue from a distant. “Judging from Huang Ziyue’s manner, it seems like she’s here to rekindle their relationship. Judging by Cheng Dongge’s fondness for nostalgia, I would say she will succeed if she begs hard enough.”
“Big Brother, when have you become such a busybody, always worrying about other people’s affairs!” Qi Chengyue complained and stormed off, annoyed.
Cheng Dongge took a glance at Qi Chengyue as she passed by in front of him to get to her car. Huang Ziyue noticed this and turned her head as well, but, by that time, Qi Chengyue had disappeared into the crowd.
Qi Chengyue got in her car and slammed the door shut. She saw that Cheng Dongge and Huang Ziyue were still standing at the front door.
“If you want to go back to an ex, at least choose a better one! This one is rotten to the core, yet you’re still happily diving into her arms! Everyone in the company knows why Huang Ziyue broke up with you, yet you two can stand there in front of the company where everyone can see you! Everyone knows you’ve been cheated on, yet you still stand there talking to your ex-girlfriend so pleasantly! How humiliating!” Qi Chengyue clenched her teeth and ranted as she glared at the duo from her car.
Even after she said that her eyes began to sting. Her face was heating up and her vision became blurry.
She stared at Cheng Dongge and screamed, “Cheng Dongge, even you are unreliable! What hope is there for men, when even you, the most reliable of men, can’t be relied on!”
Qi Chengyue could not continue. She buried her head in the steering wheel and wept.
…
…
“Dongge is it alright if I disturb you for a while? I have something to tell you. It’s important,” Huang Ziyue murmured. “I made a reservation at Shengyue. Can we talk over dinner?”
“Sorry, I have things to attend to,” Cheng Dongge said coldly, ready to leave.
Huang Ziyue quickly grabbed his arm. “Dongge, you’re still mad at me, aren’t you? Can you please give me a chance? I just want to talk to you. Here in B City, I don’t have any friends or relatives, and I can’t trust my colleagues. I only have you. I don’t know who else to turn to. Dongge, I have a stomachful of things I need to say. Please hear me out. I really can’t find anyone else to talk to.”
Cheng Dongge clenched his teeth. His lips were pressed into a stern, thin line.
Being grabbed by her in front of the company while she went on and on was not a sight Cheng Dongge wanted to be seen in.
Furthermore, it was the time when everyone got off work. All his colleagues who passed by would steal a glance at them.
Cheng Dongge’s brows knitted tightly together. “If you want to talk, let’s find a place. No need for dinner.”
After saying that, Cheng Dongge headed straight to the parking lot. He did not even wait for her.
Huang Ziyue did not dare to ask him for much more. She was afraid he would walk away from her. Speedily, she caught up to him and kept with his pace. Unlike before, Cheng Dongge neither slowed down for her nor did he walk on the outer side of the road.
Cheng Dongge stood beside his car and scanned the parking lot until he found Qi Chengyue’s car.
Qi Chengyue’s Audi TT windows did not have a dark tint, and, through the windshield, he could see that Qi Chengyue had her face buried in the steering wheel.
Cheng Dongge’s stomach twisted. He felt the urge to go up to her and ask her what’s wrong, but Huang Ziyue had opened the passenger seat door.
Cheng Dongge marched over to the other side; his feet eating the ground. With a bang, he slammed the door shut.
Huang Ziyue was in a complete daze. She stared at him, not knowing how to react.
“The passenger seat is reserved for my lady. You sit at the back,” Cheng Dongge said with a straight face. He had said the exact same thing to Jiang Xiyao, and she had no complaints about sitting in the backseat.
Huang Ziyue’s jaw dropped. She glanced at the passenger seat again in shock. “You… have a girlfriend already?”
Cheng Dongge did not reply but opened the backseat door. With a perplexed expression, she looked at him again and then reluctantly got in the car. She has never sat in the backseat of his Touareg before. From her seat, she could only see the back of his head. Here in the back she felt extremely distanced from him.
Qi Chengyue raised her head. She opened the glove compartment and took out a box of tissues. She pulled out two sheets to wipe her tears. Once again, she glanced at the front door of Qilin, but Chang Dongge and Huang Ziyue were gone.
Biting her lips, she drove off.
Huang Ziyue sat in the backseat with a confused look on her face. She asked, “Who… is your girlfriend? Is she a colleague of yours?”
She waited for what felt like an eternity, but Cheng Dongge never said a word.
Huang Ziyue twidled her thumbs. Her fingers were icy-cold. “Dongge, you hate me, don’t you?”
Cheng Dongge took a glance at her through the rear-view mirror and said, “No.”
“I know you’re a nice guy. You only said that so that I won’t be troubled by it. You should hate me.” Huang Ziyue hung and tucked her hair.
Cheng Dongge observed her through the review mirror… He sucked in his lips.
He genuinely did not hate her.
When she lost her temper at Qi Chengyue, he was indeed furious. Strangely, he did not feel that way afterward. He could not bring himself to hate her even if he wanted to.
After all, they were together for three years. Even he felt weird treating her like that.
However, when Cheng Dongge thought back on it calmly, he realized that he started dating Huang Ziyue because her persistence touched him, so he thought they could give it a try. When they got engaged, Cheng Dongge did it simply out of a sense of responsibility. Three years brought on a sense of responsibility, prompting him to act.
