Blood bags, kidney transplants…
This wasn’t the female lead in one of Qiao Yitong’s novels, but she never would have imagined she’d actually encounter a woman like this. When this person came to her for a consultation, Qiao Yitong was completely dumbfounded. “This must be what happens after the ending of a tragic novel,” Qiao Yitong thought as she looked at the woman before her. She felt the woman looked far too haggard.
“You didn’t do this voluntarily—they’re the ones committing a crime,” Qiao Yitong said. “You should call the police.”
“It’s no use calling the police—they’ll still catch me,” said Lady Su, the Third Young Master’s wife. “I had a miscarriage, then got pregnant again, and then miscarried again. I’m afraid I’ll never be able to have a child of my own in this lifetime.”
Qiao Yitong looked at the haggard woman before her. Even if she helped Lady Su escape, such a pitiful woman would likely struggle to survive on her own.
Lady Su’s health was in poor condition; she needed proper rest and recuperation.
“I don’t love him,” Lady Su sneered. “But I have to stay here. It’s all their fault I’ve ended up like this. Didn’t he say he liked me? I’m going to make him watch.” Actually, I know it’s hard for others to truly empathize. I’m in pain, but he isn’t. He’ll just pretend to love me deeply so others will pity him and feel sorry for him. Yet it was me who went through all that.”
Lady Su had once considered ending her life, but if she died, that man would soon be with another woman—he’d only be putting on a show of deep affection.
“He… he must be seeing other women by now. Maybe he’ll bring the child to me then and tell me to treat it as my own,” said Lady Su, the Third Young Master’s wife. “But if it’s not my own, it’s not my own. When the child grows up, he’ll sooner or later find out he’s not my biological son, and he’ll surely resent me.”
“You need to secure some assets; you can’t walk away with nothing.” ” Qiao Yitong said, “Even if it’s not much, you have to take it. If you don’t know how to manage your finances, have him give you some jewelry—gold jewelry is fine too. Gold is universally accepted. Jewelry is a gift given out of affection; it’ll be hard for them to take it back.”
“I can’t bring myself to kill him,” said Lady Su, “He just makes me feel sick.”
“He is pretty disgusting,” Qiao Yitong nodded. Thinking about it carefully, she realized she had indeed never written a novel like this. She guessed this situation must have been inspired by a novel—after all, reality is always more melodramatic than fiction. “You have to think of yourself. In your current situation, it’ll be very hard to leave him. If he loses interest in you and you leave him, others will also take advantage of your misfortune.”
How tragic—so, so tragic!
This was also one of the reasons Qiao Yitong didn’t like writing tragic romance novels. When she wrote, she always tended to put herself in the female lead’s shoes, convinced that her heroine simply had to end up happy. Even in a flop of a novel, the heroine still couldn’t be allowed to end up in a terrible situation.
“I’m like a dodder vine that’s always relied on him—I can’t survive without him,” said Lady Su, “When I tell others about this, they all think I’ve gained so much—that I’m out of my league with him.”
“No, it’s not that you’re out of your league with him—he’s the one who’s out of his league with you,” Qiao Yitong said. “Don’t put yourself down—he’s the one who isn’t good enough.”
“After a while, maybe he’ll lose interest in me,” said Mrs. Su. “I can’t possibly like him—let alone love him deeply.”
“Treat him however you want,” said Qiao Yitong. “You’re already in this situation—how much worse could it get? Just act fragile in front of them—you’re not faking it; that’s just how your body is. Even if they call a doctor, it won’t change your condition. At most, the doctor will say your condition hasn’t worsened.”
Qiao Yitong supported Lady Su. What kind of “happy ending” was this marriage anyway? Lady Su shouldn’t let those people have it too easy.
“If you love him, it’ll just make you look cheap,” Qiao Yitong said.
Lady Su hadn’t expected Qiao Yitong to support her; she didn’t know if Qiao Yitong was saying that because she’d been paid a consulting fee. But she also felt that Qiao Yitong wasn’t just putting on a show of support—after all, Qiao Yitong was the heiress of the Qiao family and the wife of Murong Yuchen.
“Hmm, I’ll keep going,” said Lady Su. “I just don’t know how long this lousy body of mine will hold out.”
“You’ll hold out,” Qiao Yitong said. “Try to live a little longer—take more of those good medicines. That’s what they should be paying for in the first place.”
Lady Su, the Third Young Master’s wife, realized there was a reason Qiao Yitong’s business was thriving—Qiao Yitong was indeed quite capable.
While the Third Young Master of the Su family dared to pick on people from families less prominent than his own, he didn’t dare cause trouble for Qiao Yitong, nor did he dare go to Murong Yuchen and demand that Murong Yuchen keep Qiao Yitong in line. The Su family wasn’t as powerful as the Murong family or the Qiao family, so the Third Young Master of the Su family didn’t dare speak ill of Qiao Yitong.
If it were anyone else, the Third Young Master Su would have made sure they couldn’t continue running that counseling center. The Su family even felt it was better for the Third Young Master’s wife to have contact with Qiao Yitong, so the Third Young Master didn’t dare voice any complaints.
At least Mrs. Su wasn’t thinking about divorce, and she was taking good care of her health—that was the only way Mr. Su could look at it. If it were anyone else, Mr. Su would think there was something wrong with that person, that they weren’t treating Mrs. Su well enough.
That’s just the kind of person Mr. Su is. He doesn’t like it when Mrs. Su has friends she can confide in; he’s driven away all of her true friends, leaving her isolated and without support.
Mrs. Su used the Su family’s money to seek advice from Qiao Yitong. Young Master Su didn’t dare say anything, and the Su family even encouraged Mrs. Su to visit Qiao Yitong more often. The Su family’s intention was for Mrs. Su to elicit Qiao Yitong’s sympathy; it would be ideal if the Su family could forge connections with the Qiao and Murong families.
Mrs. Su III knew exactly what these people were up to, and she had no intention of asking Qiao Yitong to help them.
“I’m just one of her many clients,” Mrs. Su III said. “I’m not that capable. I can’t even win you people over, let alone her.”
Hearing the Third Mrs. Su’s words, the Su family members were all at a loss for words. They still wanted her to put on a better show in front of Qiao Yitong, so they emphasized, “You’re part of the Su family now, too.”
The Third Mrs. Su despised these people, and when she went to see Qiao Yitong, she had also mentioned some of their misdeeds. The Third Young Lady of the Su family was paying for this, and since she was paying, Qiao Yitong would at least listen. The Third Young Lady of the Su family wasn’t asking Qiao Yitong to help her get revenge on anyone; she just wanted to vent.
“I don’t have any friends left,” said the Third Young Lady of the Su family. “People like us get along well through financial ties.”
“Mm-hmm, that’s very good,” Qiao Yitong replied. She didn’t say they were friends; their arrangement was what was best for Mrs. Su.
Just as Mrs. Su had suspected, her husband had indeed fathered a child with another woman. He handed the child over to her to raise, saying the child was still young and that she should treat him as her own.
Mrs. Su didn’t refuse—it would have been pointless anyway.
Once the child grew a bit older and became more understanding, Mrs. Su told him the truth about his origins: that she wasn’t his biological mother, and that his real mother had been a surrogate for Mr. Su—not because she had treated him poorly.
The boy was reasonably sensible; he didn’t hold a grudge against Mrs. Su, but rather against Mr. Su. The child knew that to inherit what the Third Young Master of the Su family had to offer, he had to put on a show—and he played the part exceptionally well.
The Third Young Master’s wife simply didn’t want to get caught up in those disputes. She wasn’t surprised that the child respected his biological father; the Su family was like that—they prioritized their interests. She simply didn’t want the child to resent her in the future. She hadn’t harmed the child’s biological mother; it was the Third Young Master of the Su family who had cut them off.
Unless the Third Young Master of the Su family fell on hard times, there was no way that child would ever treat his biological father badly. Only if that child were to seize complete power might he treat the Third Young Master of the Su family even slightly poorly.
The Third Young Master’s wife chose not to dwell on it; she had already done everything she could.