Wen Wan lowered her eyes, concealing the chill within them. In her previous life, those words would have filled her with fear and anxiety. Now, they only sounded ridiculous. The so-called “hard work” Xu Mingzhe had been doing was nothing more than fooling around with Lin Xiaoman from the department store.
“You’re right, Mother,” she replied meekly.
“Hmph. Once you married into the Xu family, you became one of us. Running back to your parents’ house all the time—what kind of behavior is that?” Zhang Cuihua slammed her teacup onto the table. “It’s been three years, and there’s still no sign of a child. Aren’t you ashamed? The neighbors are all gossiping behind our backs, saying our Xu family married a hen that can’t lay eggs!”
Wen Wan suddenly looked up, her fingernails digging deep into her palms. In her previous life, those words had haunted her sleepless nights. Now, they felt nothing but ironic.
“Mother, that’s an interesting thing to say.” She smiled softly, her voice as gentle as if discussing the weather. “If we’re talking about not laying eggs, how could I compare to you? You certainly had children.” She deliberately paused. “It’s just that Mingzhe and Mingli don’t really look much like Father. Could it be that you mistook someone else for your husband at night?”
“You—!” Zhang Cuihua’s expression changed instantly. The teacup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, shards scattering everywhere. “You little slut! What are you implying?”
Wen Wan feigned panic. “Mother, please don’t be angry. I was only joking. Westerners call it humor.” Catching sight of Xu’s father standing at the corner of the staircase, she raised her voice slightly. “Just look at Mingzhe’s double eyelids. Father has single eyelids. Genetics can be so fascinating.”
“Bullshit!” Zhang Cuihua exploded in rage and raised her hand to slap Wen Wan.
“That’s enough!”
Xu Zhiguo strode over and grabbed Zhang Cuihua’s wrist. “What kind of scene are you making?”
Wen Wan stepped back and watched the couple coldly. Xu Zhiguo had once been a handsome man, but years of heavy drinking had left his face bloated, his eye bags sagging. Zhang Cuihua, despite taking good care of herself, could not hide the harshness etched into her features.
“Old Xu, did you hear what this little slut just said?” Zhang Cuihua shrieked. “She’s saying Mingzhe and Mingli aren’t your children!”
Xu Zhiguo frowned and looked suspiciously at Wen Wan. “Did you really say that?”
“Father, I only said that the children don’t resemble you very much.” Wen Wan looked completely innocent. “Perhaps my eyes are just bad.”
Xu Zhiguo’s gaze shifted between his wife and Wen Wan before settling on Zhang Cuihua. A flicker of suspicion crossed his eyes. Wen Wan knew that once a seed of doubt was planted, a man as suspicious as Xu Zhiguo would nurture it until it grew. After all, Zhang Cuihua’s rise to her current position had never been particularly honorable.
“Everyone, shut up!” Xu Zhiguo finally roared. “Wen Wan, go back to your room! Cuihua, come to the study with me!”
Wen Wan lowered her head obediently and turned away. As she climbed the stairs, she heard fierce arguing and Zhang Cuihua’s wailing coming from the study.
Serves you right.
Instead of returning directly to her bedroom, Wen Wan used the excuse of “chatting with Mingli” and wandered around the second floor. Everything was arranged exactly as it had been in her previous life. There were plenty of valuable items stored here, and with no one around, she quietly slipped several small valuables into her spatial storage.
“Sister-in-law, were you looking for me?” Xu Mingli came down from the third floor, her face full of impatience. The young woman in her early twenties had inherited her mother’s sharp tongue and had caused Wen Wan no shortage of trouble in her previous life.
“Mother asked me to check whether you still wanted that batch of imported yarn from before,” Wen Wan improvised.
Xu Mingli’s eyes lit up immediately. “Of course I do! Mom promised to knit me a new sweater!” She leaned closer, the pungent scent of perfume overwhelming. “By the way, Sister-in-law, I heard your family just got a shipment of French perfume. I want a bottle too.”
Wen Wan sneered inwardly but kept her expression gentle. “I was in such a hurry today that I forgot to bring it. I’ll bring you one tomorrow.”
After sending Xu Mingli away, Wen Wan finally returned to her bedroom on the third floor. She locked the door behind her and let out a long breath as she leaned against it.
The room remained as luxurious as it had been before her marriage: a European-style four-poster bed, silk curtains, a rosewood vanity, and famous oil paintings hanging on the walls. Every piece had been part of her dowry from the Wen family. In her previous life, the Xu family had seized them all.
This time, she intended to take back every last thing.
Her heartbeat quickened as she began testing the limits of her storage space. The bedside lamp, the mink coat in the wardrobe, the paintings on the wall—one after another, they vanished into the space.
With this ability, emptying out the Xu family’s assets would be effortless.
Wen Wan walked to the window and gazed at the roses blooming in the garden. Xu Mingzhe had once proposed to her in that very rose garden, telling her that roses symbolized eternal love.
Looking back now, it was all a joke.
She returned to the bed and began carefully examining every corner of the room. If she was going to seek revenge, she would do it thoroughly. When she lifted the mattress, she discovered a hidden compartment.
Inside lay a black ledger.
Holding her breath, Wen Wan opened it. The pages were filled with detailed records of the Xu family’s black-market dealings and bribery over the past few years. One name appeared repeatedly, circled over and over again:
Lin Xiaoman.
Beside it were the words “Department Store” and a string of numbers.
“So that’s how it is.” Wen Wan let out a cold laugh. “Xu Mingzhe wasn’t just using my family’s money to support his mistress—he was also conducting black-market transactions through her.”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted downstairs.
Wen Wan quickly stored the ledger in her spatial space and moved to the window. A black sedan had pulled up in front of the house. Xu Mingzhe stepped out, dressed in an elegant suit, looking every bit the refined gentleman.
Wen Wan’s fingernails dug into her palms once again.
The man who had once occupied all her thoughts and dreams now looked like nothing more than a venomous snake wearing human skin.
“No rush,” she whispered to herself. “The real show is only just beginning.”
Wen Wan adjusted her expression and practiced a gentle, graceful smile in the mirror before opening the door, ready to “welcome” her beloved husband.