“I didn’t!” Zhou Yue pushed her mother away forcefully, her eyes bloodshot. “I never engaged in prostitution! Go ahead and report me if you want. Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
“You even gave birth to a bastard child, yet you dare deny it?”
Mother and daughter tangled in fight again, with Mother Zhou attributing the worst intentions to Zhou Yue. “I bet those marks on your face are from the legitimate wife of the man you seduced. That’s why he abandoned you, along with your bastard child.”
“Shut up! Are you even my mother? How could you spread such rumors about me?”
“I wish I weren’t. I don’t want a cold-blooded, shameless daughter like you. You nearly destroyed our entire family. I’m here to collect what you owe me.”
Zhou Chenglong watched the fight while munching on a steamed bun. Seeing his mother losing ground, he stuffed the remaining bun into his mouth, clapped his hands clean, and pulled Zhou Yue back. “Third Sister, no matter how wrong Mom is, you shouldn’t hit her. Besides, you’re the one who made her this angry.”
Seizing the opportunity, Mother Zhou pinned Zhou Yue down, grabbing her hair and slapping her repeatedly before kicking and punching her on the floor. “You’d better return my money. You must have made a fortune all these years in Haishi. If you don’t pay up, I’ll either send you to prison or we’ll perish together.”
Zhou Mu hid under the bed, covering her mouth tightly, not daring to make a sound. She heard her grandmother call her a bastard—a term she’d heard so many times it no longer hurt. But seeing Zhou Yue beaten until blood streamed down her face, she could no longer stay hidden…
Just as she shifted slightly, she saw Zhou Yue staring intently at her, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.
Zhou Mu felt confused for a moment. Was she telling her not to come out? Why?
But she couldn’t just watch, so she crawled out.
Seeing this, Zhou Yue—who had been crying during the fight with her mother—shook her head while tears streamed down her face. This caught Zhou Chenglong’s attention, and he followed her gaze to spot Zhou Mu emerging from under the bed.
“Is this my niece?” He released Zhou Yue and walked toward Zhou Mu. “Third Sister, she takes after you. A bit dirty, but quite cute.”
Zhou Yue shouted, “Don’t touch Mu Mu!”
“Third Sister, why would you say that? She’s my niece. Why would I hit her?” Zhou Chenglong pulled a sticky, melted fruit candy from his pants pocket. “Here, your name is Mu Mu, right? This is from your uncle.”
Zhou Mu glanced at Zhou Chenglong, then at Zhou Yue, who seemed relieved, before slowly accepting the candy. “Thank you, Uncle!”
Zhou Chenglong patted her head. “No need to be polite with your uncle.”
Zhou Mu offered the candy to Mother Zhou. “Grandma, you can have this candy. Can you please stop hitting my mom?”
“Hmph! At least you know how to read the situation. Cunning, just like your mother. You’ll grow up to be trouble too.” Mother Zhou released Zhou Yue and stood up, straightening her clothes. She glanced at the candy but didn’t take it.
Zhou Mu helped Zhou Yue up and handed her the swelling-reducing pain relief ointment the doctor had prescribed for her recently. Zhou Yue looked at her young daughter, then at the ointment in her hand, and suddenly laughed—a bitter, ironic laugh. It felt like karma…
Mother Zhou and Zhou Chenglong temporarily settled into the small room Zhou Yue rented.
“I’ll leave once you repay the money. Otherwise, you’ll have to support me. Or if you’re heartless enough to kill your own mother, go ahead—I’ll be right here waiting.”
Zhou Yue stared at her mother’s venomous gaze, a chill rising from the depths of her heart. This was her wretched family, this was the mother who wished her dead, this was her mud-like existence!
Thankfully!
Thankfully!
Thankfully!
*
Yan Songyu read the email, unable to help but admire Zhao Qi’s literary talent. His writing brimmed with humor, turning the Zhou family drama into a thrilling and spectacular tale.
Jiang Ping placed a cup of coffee before Yan Songyu and asked with a smile, “Mr. Yan seems to be in high spirits today?”
As Yan Songyu’s assistant who had always worked closely with her, Jiang Ping possessed strong capabilities. Were it not for Yan Songyu’s reluctance to let her go, she could easily have become a branch company director.
Yan Songyu took a sip of coffee and pointed at the clear sky beyond the floor-to-ceiling window. “The weather’s lovely today!”
Rui Xin Tower stood 492 meters tall with 101 floors above ground and 3 underground, located in Haishi’s most prosperous financial district. Once the city’s tallest building and now ranking third, it combined offices, hotels, and observation decks. Rui Xin’s headquarters occupied floors 50 to 83, with Yan Songyu’s office on the 83rd floor offering a near-panoramic view of Haishi.
“Indeed lovely.” Jiang Ping nodded before shifting to business matters. “Mr. Yan, about the exhibition company you asked me to contact earlier… should we continue following up?”
She didn’t state it explicitly, but news of Jiang Chengli’s car accident had spread throughout Haishi. As Yan Songyu’s trusted aide, she naturally knew about Jiang Chengli’s injured right hand. Could one still call him a painter if he could no longer hold a brush?
The art exhibition Yan Songyu had previously planned for him might now serve as stimulation rather than a pleasant surprise.
“Of course we should continue.”Noticing Jiang Ping’s surprised expression, Yan Songyu explained with coldly rational words: “Jiang Chengli’s paintings were already valuable before. Now that he can no longer paint, scarcity will drive prices higher. Wouldn’t it be a pity to cancel the exhibition?”
She currently had no plans to divorce him, but neither did she intend to support him for nothing. Of course she needed to utilize his remaining value to earn his future living expenses.
“Moreover…” Yan Songyu paused before continuing, “Among the wealthy, there’s no shortage of those who enjoy pretending to be cultured. An exhibition under the Yan Family banner—its greatest value lies not in the paintings on the walls, but in the connections.”
“Understood.”
Jiang Ping left with the signed documents, her mind screaming internally. When Yan Songyu first assigned her to contact the exhibition company, she’d assumed the couple had reconciled—that the domineering CEO was preparing to pamper her husband. Then Jiang Chengli had his accident.
She had witnessed Yan Songyu’s concern and patience toward Jiang Chengli recently, but today’s remarks left her utterly bewildered. What kind of love was this?!
“Oh, right—General Wu.” Yan Songyu tapped her forehead. She still hadn’t settled accounts with him over the secret photography. He couldn’t even cover his own tracks properly, yet dared to meddle in others’ affairs!
Yan Songyu took out her phone and dialed General Wu’s number, arranging afternoon tea for the following day.
Summer weather proved unpredictable. Heavy rain began pouring down just as Yan Songyu and Feifei arrived home, accompanied by rolling thunder that frightened Feifei into hiding in her mother’s arms.
“It’s alright, Feifei don’t be scared. Mommy’s here, Mommy’s here.”
Ring-ring—
Yan Songyu glanced at the caller ID. Jiang Ping? Had something urgent happened at the company?
Yan Songyu inwardly groaned. It was truly inconvenient without Feng Yu around. Now the overtime work had fallen to her. When Feng Yu was here, he handled all these emergencies.
“Hello, this is Yan Songyu.”
“President Yan, President Feng is in trouble!” Jiang Ping got straight to the point as soon as the call connected. “We just received a call from the staff accompanying President Feng on his business trip. He’s gone missing in Beidian Village, and the police are already there.”
“I understand. I’ll head over immediately.”
After hanging up, Yan Songyu brought Feifei to Yan Binghua’s place next door. Originally, to keep Yan Songyu within sight, Yan Binghua had bought the villa next to the Yan Family residence as her new home, just 100 meters away.
“Feifei, be good and listen to Grandpa, okay? Mommy has something to take care of.”
“Are you going to look for Uncle Feng?” Feifei had overheard the phone call.
“Yes.”
“Then Mommy, you need to be careful.”
Yan Songyu kissed Feifei’s forehead. “Mommy will. I’ll bring plenty of people with me.”
Yan Binghua seemed to want to say more but ultimately only said, “Be extremely careful!”
Yan Songyu nodded, grabbed her car keys, and left. “I’ll handle it, Dad.”
Meanwhile, Feng Yu was still desperately fleeing on the back hills of Beidian Village. Fortunately, having grown up in the countryside, he was quite familiar with wooded areas.
Suddenly, a beam of light fell on Feng Yu.
“He’s over here, quick! Don’t let him get away!”