“Xiao Qing, you’re already the mother of two children. How can you still be as willful as before? How can you just say you want a divorce and expect it to happen?”
“Xiao Qing only married into that family because of the political purge. She really has suffered. Have you thought it through? If you truly want a divorce, Aunt Lin supports you.”
Listening to Lin Huijuan and Zhong Zhihong singing the same tune, watching Zhong Yuening look at her with a face full of concern, Zhong Qing held the warm teacup in her hands and felt a wave of chills.
She had had a dream.
In the dream, she was the cannon-fodder supporting female character in a novel—the male lead’s vicious ex-wife.
And at this very moment, everything was aligning perfectly with the plot in which she abandoned her husband and children.
Once she drank the tea in her hand, she would lose consciousness and be sold by Lin Huijuan and Zhong Zhihong to a remote mountain village, where she would suffer endless torment and die miserably.
Meanwhile, Lin Huijuan’s daughter would inherit the Zhong family’s wealth and marry, in grand style, the famous young heir of Hong Kong.
Zhong Qing sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she suddenly grabbed Lin Huijuan and Zhong Zhihong’s hands.
“I knew Dad and Aunt Lin care about me the most. But you came to Hong Kong without telling me—fine. How could you not even inform me about my sister’s engagement?”
“I get it—you must have wanted to surprise me, right? I know it wasn’t easy for you to come to Hong Kong. I won’t ask for much. Just make up for the dowry that should have been mine.”
Zhong Zhihong instinctively wanted to scold her. He had gone to great lengths to transfer the family assets to Hong Kong—it certainly wasn’t to hand them over to Zhong Qing!
Zhong Yuening looked anxious, clearly wanting to say something, but held herself back because Zhong Qing was present.
Lin Huijuan remained the calmest. Smiling at Zhong Qing, she said, “Your father and I would never let you suffer. But it wasn’t easy for us to settle in Hong Kong.”
“As for the dowry, let your father and I discuss it properly. You must be tired from the journey—have some tea and rest.”
With that, Lin Huijuan pulled Zhong Yuening and Zhong Zhihong aside, whispering among themselves.
Zhong Yuening could no longer hold back. “Dad, Mom, my engagement to the young heir is just around the corner. We absolutely can’t let Zhong Qing ruin things now! What if she finds out that the heir was originally the fiancé her mother arranged for her? With her temper, will our family ever know peace again?”
Lin Huijuan lowered her voice. “If she wants money, give it to her. Yuening’s engagement is imminent. It’s better to solve this with money than let her make a scene. Besides, she won’t be able to take the money with her anyway.”
Zhong Zhihong was still hesitating.
Zhong Qing, however, didn’t care how long they deliberated. Seizing the opportunity, she swiftly and decisively switched her teacup with theirs.
When Zhong Zhihong returned holding an envelope, Zhong Qing was lifting the swapped teacup as if about to drink.
All three stared intently at her, wishing they could personally force the drugged tea down her throat.
But as she took the envelope, Zhong Qing suddenly paused and frowned. “Are you trying to send me off like a beggar?”
Zhong Zhihong immediately wanted to curse at her, but Lin Huijuan grabbed him and subtly shook her head, glancing at the teacup in Zhong Qing’s hand.
Reluctantly, Zhong Zhihong added more money, gritting his teeth. “Thirty thousand yuan. That’s enough now, right?”
Only then did Zhong Qing reluctantly accept it, smiling. “Dad really does love me. This tea is good—you should drink yours too.”
To avoid arousing suspicion, Lin Huijuan had prepared tea for everyone, though only Zhong Qing’s cup had been drugged.
Now that the money had already been handed over, if they failed to sell Zhong Qing off, it would be a huge loss.
Each of them harbored their own schemes, but in order to get Zhong Qing to drink all the tea, they unhesitatingly drank their own cups as well.
The last trace of suspicion in Zhong Qing’s heart vanished as she met their calculating gazes.
Zhong Zhihong and the others stared at her, waiting for her to collapse.
Especially Lin Huijuan.
She had personally added the drug—and even increased the dosage to be safe.
Yet as they kept watching, not only did Zhong Qing not faint, her eyes grew increasingly undisguised in their disgust.
Zhong Zhihong had personally watched her finish the tea and no longer held back.
Pointing at her nose, he rose to curse her—
But before he could finish, he swayed and fell to the floor.
Lin Huijuan rushed to help him, only to find her limbs weak as she collapsed too, her consciousness blurring.
Suddenly realizing something, she turned her head and glared fiercely at Zhong Qing.
Before she could speak, Zhong Qing stood and slapped her.
Two slaps for Lin Huijuan, two for Zhong Yuening, and three for Zhong Zhihong!
The room echoed with sharp smacks.
After delivering them in sequence, the pent-up resentment in Zhong Qing’s chest finally eased.
“Drinking the ‘tea’ you prepared yourselves—how does it taste? Sending you adulterous scum and your illegitimate daughter off to the mountains together is already me being merciful!”
Only through the dream did Zhong Qing learn that Lin Huijuan, who had claimed to be her late mother’s close friend and caretaker, had long been having an affair with Zhong Zhihong.
Zhong Yuening, born the same year as herself, was the most glaring proof.
Zhong Zhihong’s face was swollen like a pig’s head from the slaps. With the drug taking effect, his speech slurred as he stared at her in horror. “You… you!”
“You what?” Zhong Qing slapped him again, then, right in front of him, stripped the Swiss watch off his wrist.
She also removed Lin Huijuan’s gold jewelry and the jade bracelet from Zhong Yuening’s hand.
With the drug fully kicking in and watching helplessly as Zhong Qing stripped them of all their valuables, the three finally lost consciousness.
It was hard to say whether it was from the drug—or from sheer fury.
Having dealt with the immediate danger, Zhong Qing gradually calmed down.
She definitely couldn’t stay here.
Return to the Northwest?
The thought made her brow twitch as memories flooded back.
In the dream, she had been Pei Yanshen’s vicious ex-wife—the one who abandoned her husband and children.
In order to find her after she went missing, Pei Yanshen had requested a transfer, giving up a life that should have been smooth and successful. He devoted nearly all his energy to fighting human trafficking, only to ultimately find her corpse.
After that, Pei Yanshen remained single for three years in her memory.
During that time, he met his destined heroine.
They gradually fell in love, and her two children came to call the heroine “Mom.”
As for her—the vicious supporting character—she was slowly forgotten, no one caring.
And to make room for the heroine, before coming to Hong Kong, she had a huge fight with Pei Yanshen and left behind a divorce agreement before running away.