She turned toward Lin Qingqian, her voice full of sorrow. “Qingqian, I know you hate me, but Chen Ke has only been gone for a month. I’m his fiancée, and your sister-in-law—A-Ge’s sister-in-law too. How can you be so unwilling to tolerate me? Do you really have to drive me out of the Chen family before you’ll be satisfied?”
The murmurs around them gradually grew louder.
“So the younger brother and his sister-in-law…”
“This is way too messed up…”
“That woman looks rather pitiful…”
Hearing the comments, Mu Zhenzhen cried even harder. “A-Ge, I’m a widow. My husband has only been gone for a month, and already people are bullying me like this… What’s the point of staying alive…”
She made as if to hurl herself against the pillar beside her, but Chen Ge grabbed her just in time.
“Zhenzhen, don’t do this!” Chen Ge held her tightly and looked up at Lin Qingqian, his eyes blazing with anger. “Lin Qingqian! Do you have to drive her to her death before you’ll be satisfied? Can’t you be a little more magnanimous? Zhenzhen isn’t getting in your way.”
Wen Xi could not hold back any longer.
She abruptly stood up and pointed at Mu Zhenzhen as she cursed, “Mu Zhenzhen, do you have no shame? You climbed into your younger brother-in-law’s bed, got pregnant with an illegitimate child, and now you’re pretending to be pitiful here? A ‘Zhen’ mistress is a ‘Zhen’ mistress. You want to be a whore and still build yourself a monument to chastity!”
“Wen Xi!” Chen Ge roared angrily.
“What are you yelling at your auntie for? I’m not deaf. Why are you shouting so loudly?” Wen Xi put her hands on her hips, thrust out her chest, and said furiously, “Chen Ge, she’s a ‘Zhen’ mistress, and you’re Chen Shimei. The two of you had better stay locked together for the rest of your lives and stop ruining other people’s lives.”
Provoked by Wen Xi’s few words, Chen Ge lost control of his temper and made as if to rush forward and hit her.
Gu Yu stood up at that moment and blocked Wen Xi and Lin Qingqian from view. “Second Young Master Chen, this is a public place. Watch yourself.”
Chen Ge looked at the three people before him, then at Mu Zhenzhen, who was crying in his arms with tears streaming down her face. His mind was in complete turmoil.
“A-Ge…” Mu Zhenzhen looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. “You don’t believe me either? I really didn’t… Chen Ke and I loved each other so much. How could I possibly betray him…”
She looked toward Lin Qingqian again, her voice trembling with despair. “Qingqian, if you really hate me this much, then I’ll leave… I’ll leave the Chen family, leave Haicheng, and never appear in front of you again… Will that satisfy you?”
What a masterful retreat to advance.
Watching Mu Zhenzhen’s exquisite performance, Lin Qingqian suddenly felt tired.
There was no point in entangling herself with someone like this.
She put away her phone, picked up her bag, and said to Wen Xi and Gu Yu, “Let’s go.”
“Go? Why should we go?” Wen Xi was unwilling to let it go. “We have to clear everything up today!”
“There’s no need.” Lin Qingqian shook her head. “Talking to people who can’t understand human speech is nothing but a waste of breath.”
“Lin Qingqian, you’re not allowed to leave!” Mu Zhenzhen stepped forward and grabbed her hand.
“Let go.” Lin Qingqian lowered her head and looked at the hand gripping her wrist.
“I won’t.” Mu Zhenzhen’s voice turned sharp and vicious. “Lin Qingqian, you’re so vicious. You killed my child and damaged my uterus, so that I’ll never be able to have children again. And now you think you can simply walk away, just—”
“Smack! Smack!”
Everyone froze, including Mu Zhenzhen herself.
Two loud slaps landed squarely and crisply on Mu Zhenzhen’s cheeks, leaving five bright-red fingerprints on each side.
Chen Ge instinctively raised his hand to strike back. The next second, Lin Qingqian raised her hand again and sent a resounding slap across the left side of the man’s face.
Chen Ge stared at her in shock. Mu Zhenzhen went from stunned to terrified, then trembled and hid in the man’s arms.
Lin Qingqian clenched her fist and rubbed her aching palm. With a soft “tsk,” she cast a cold glance at Chen Ge and Mu Zhenzhen. “Chen Ge, this slap is returned to you. And you”—she looked at Mu Zhenzhen—“I’ve never harmed anyone. But when someone insists on pinning that crime on me again and again, I don’t mind doing something to earn it. Two slaps as your reward. Don’t thank me!”
“Qingqing, that was so cool!” Wen Xi immediately gave her a thumbs-up, smiling with narrowed eyes. She asked in a low voice, “Shall we go?”
“Mm.” Lin Qingqian nodded.
The three of them made their way through the crowd toward the bar’s exit.
Behind them came Mu Zhenzhen’s heart-wrenching sobs, along with the onlookers’ discussion.
“Serves her right. She’s a mistress and still that arrogant.”
“The younger brother and his sister-in-law—what a mess.”
“That man looks like a decent human being. Turns out he’s no good either…”
Lin Qingqian did not look back.
When she stepped out of the bar, the night wind rushed against her face, carrying Haicheng’s distinctive dampness.
She drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“Feel better now?” Wen Xi asked with a smile.
“Mm.” Lin Qingqian nodded.
Gu Yu went to get the car while Wen Xi and Lin Qingqian stood by the roadside waiting.
“You were so cool just now.” Wen Xi linked her arm through Lin Qingqian’s. “Especially those three slaps you gave that scumbag and that green-tea bitch. You looked unbelievably cool. You should have seen Chen Ge’s face—it looked like he’d eaten shit.”
Lin Qingqian smiled but said nothing.
…
At Haicheng Airport, Lin Qingqian pushed her suitcase while Wen Xi clung to her arm, her face filled with reluctance at having to part with her best friend.
“All right, I’m not going abroad. You can come to Jingbei with Gu Shao when you have time. Don’t look so miserable. Smile a little—worrying gives you wrinkles and makes you A-Ge faster!” Seeing Wen Xi’s sorrowful expression, Lin Qingqian could not help feeling upset as well. Her nose grew sore, but she forced out a smile and teased her.
Wen Xi knew Lin Qingqian was trying to comfort her. In fact, Lin Qingqian was even more upset than she was, yet she was still pretending to be cheerful and making jokes.
“Mm. When I go to Jingbei, you have to treat me well. A grand feast, a huge villa—and preferably eight male models arranged for me.” Wen Xi said it with a smile, but as she smiled, her nose inexplicably grew terribly sore, and her eyes moistened.
Lin Qingqian stopped, then suddenly opened her arms and hugged her tightly.
Her eyes reddened slightly. “Xiaoxi, I’ll miss you. Bye-bye!”
Their flight took off from Haicheng Airport and landed at Jingbei International Airport that evening.
The night wind in Jingbei was biting. Lin Qingqian wrapped her coat more tightly around herself as she walked out of the airport.
In the cold wind, a familiar “Qingqing” called out to her and stopped her in her tracks.
She turned around and saw Lin Jiayou standing tall and elegant beneath the lights. Her eyes instantly reddened.
Like a drifting ship finally reaching the shore, she threw herself into her older brother’s warm embrace. The grievances she had been holding in for so long turned into silent tears.
“Silly girl, don’t cry.” Lin Jiayou gently patted her back, his voice indulgent. “How much hardship did you suffer out there to make you this sad?”
A deep cough, carrying a trace of laughter, sounded from behind him.
Only then did Lin Qingqian notice the black Mercedes parked behind her brother. The driver’s-side window rolled down, revealing a sharply defined profile.
“Get in first. Don’t let your girl freeze,” the man said.
His voice seemed especially clear and smooth in the cold night, like a hot spring flowing over jade.
Lin Qingqian followed Lin Jiayou into the back seat.
The heater inside the car was strong, mingling with a clean, faint scent of pine that helped her taut nerves relax somewhat.
She was utterly exhausted. Amid the low voices of her brother and the man discussing a business acquisition, she sank into a deep sleep.
She did not know how much time had passed when she felt someone gently calling her.
“We’re here.”
She opened her hazy eyes. Her vision was blurred at first, then gradually came into focus.
A beam of light streamed in through the open car door. She instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes, but through the gaps between her fingers, she met a pair of deep, fathomless eyes.