Xie Ran’s eyes widened.
“What nonsense are you talking about? That villa is—”
Su Xingnuo anticipated his denial and cut him off.
“Oh, you mean you bought it for yourself. In that case, the villa counts as our marital property. It has nothing to do with this woman.”
Shen Qingya bit her lip, a flash of resentment crossing her eyes.
If Su Xingnuo demanded the villa back, she would be at a huge loss.
She looked at Xie Ran.
“Xie Ran-gege…”
Xie Ran’s face darkened, his pride stung, especially in front of the woman he loved.
He raised his chin, his tone stiff.
“So what if it was for Qingya? She’s bearing my child; that’s what she deserves. I’ll increase your allowance to 100,000. Stop making a scene here.”
Su Xingnuo crossed her arms, her voice cold.
“So you’re refusing outright? I have plenty of photos that will drive reporters crazy on my phone. Want to see?”
She took out her phone and opened the screen.
The photos showed Xie Ran and Shen Qingya together, clearly more than just acquaintances.
All of these were sent to her by Zhou Yichen.
“When did you take these?”
Xie Ran panicked, stepping forward to snatch her phone.
“Delete them immediately, Su Xingnuo! Do you have any shame? What good would exposing this do? You really want everyone to call you a rich family’s abandoned wife?”
Su Xingnuo pulled her phone back, keeping a safe distance.
“I’ve endured being a fallen rich girl. One more label—rich family’s abandoned wife—won’t matter.”
Xie Ran gritted his teeth, watching Su Xingnuo about to use her phone again.
“What exactly do you want?”
He couldn’t believe she just wanted to ruin his reputation—she loved him, so how could she be so cruel?
Su Xingnuo put her phone away, a smile curling her red lips.
“Didn’t I say it? Eight million.”
Xie Ran’s molars ground painfully.
“You really treat me like an ATM.”
Su Xingnuo tilted her lips.
“I’ll package our marriage certificate and these photos and send them to reporters. Guess how they’ll use this information?”
Xie Ran’s tone softened.
“I can’t come up with the money all at once. Give me some time.”
She understood his plan—drag it out, let him calm down, then make him pay.
Su Xingnuo pulled out a piece of paper and an ink pad.
“In that case, let’s make an IOU. Pay it within a month, or…”
Her tone turned threatening.
Xie Ran snatched the paper, staring at the printed IOU—exactly eight million.
He couldn’t believe Su Xingnuo had truly threatened him with photos and made him sign an eight-million IOU.
“You already printed this?”
Su Xingnuo didn’t deny it, just urged,
“Hurry up. My patience is limited.”
Shen Qingya clenched her fingers, unable to hide her joy. She wanted to marry Xie Ran quickly, but not with a mistress’s reputation.
Su Xingnuo was truly willing to go all out—someone with nothing left to lose feared nothing.
But Shen Qingya, being from the Shen family, could not bring disgrace to her family.
She leaned toward Xie Ran, voice soft as honey, gently stroking his chest.
“Xie Ran-gege, please persuade Xingnuo-jie not to release the photos. It’s a critical moment for the company’s IPO. If the photos leak…”
Su Xingnuo and Xie Ran were still legally married. Writing an IOU between husband and wife was just a technicality.
Xie Ran had promised she could leave the marriage with nothing but the IOU.
Once married, the money he didn’t return would be hers anyway.
Moreover, Xie Ran’s company was about to go public. After the IPO, eight million would be nothing. She would be a billionaire, the wife of Xie Shi’s CEO.
Su Xingnuo twirled a strand of hair.
“See? Miss Shen is right. Xie Ran, if you care about the company, sign it quickly.”
Xie Ran’s eyes burned with anger.
Shen Qingya’s coaxing calmed him slightly. He quickly signed, and just as he pressed his seal, Su Xingnuo snatched the IOU away.
“Su Xingnuo, you better keep your promise. If you dare expose this…”
Su Xingnuo carefully tucked away the IOU and raised her face.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise. These photos won’t be leaked.”
She had no intention of spreading them; even if she divorced, she would not want to be known as Xie Ran’s ex-wife. That would be shameful.
“Oh, the IOU states this money is separate from our marital property.”
Meaning even after divorce, Xie Ran could not refuse the debt.
Xie Ran slammed his chest, furious beyond control.
“Su Xingnuo!”
He was livid. In just over a week, the obedient Su Xingnuo he knew had transformed into this audacious woman.
“Su Xingnuo, the three years of your so-called virtue were all an act. This is your true self. You’ve deceived me for three years.”
“Who deceived whom for three years? Xie Ran, you hid another woman in your heart while marrying me.”
Su Xingnuo stared into Xie Ran’s eyes, hoping to see a flicker of guilt.
But there was none—only endless fury.
Xie Ran lost patience.
“Fine. Then let’s divorce. I’ll have my assistant bring you the divorce papers.”
He realized without threatening her with divorce, she wouldn’t know her place.
Shen Qingya clenched her fingers, suppressing her excitement. Finally, Xie Ran had mentioned divorce. Soon, she could get her marriage certificate with him.
Xie Ran’s words hung in the air. Su Xingnuo remained silent for a moment.
Xie Ran smugly tugged at his mouth corner—she wasn’t completely foolish.
“If you don’t want a divorce, then go home immediately. Your mother has been going to the hospital alone. Stop doing everything yourself. Also, Zile’s grades have dropped by over ten ranks…”
“Slap!”
A crisp slap echoed.
Xie Ran’s face bore a clear handprint.
Su Xingnuo shook her hand, slightly numb.
“These matters should be handled by the nanny and tutor, not me.”
“And if you don’t repay the money quickly, I’ll talk to the Shen family.”
Though Shen Qingya was the Shen family’s eldest daughter, she had a stepmother and half-brother. Living there couldn’t have been easy, which was why she paired with scumbag Xie Ran.
Su Xingnuo pinched her bag and turned, walking away gracefully.
Xie Ran and Shen Qingya only reacted after several seconds. Shen Qingya tenderly touched Xie Ran’s face.
“Xie Ran-gege, Xingnuo-jie didn’t do it on purpose. She cares about you. She must be scared of divorce, that’s why…”
Tears streamed down Shen Qingya’s face, her other hand tightly clutching her dress.
This Su Xingnuo… thought she could just leave Xie Ran and have nothing? How conceited.
Xie Ran clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.
“She did it on purpose. Fine, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
Enduring the burning pain on his face, he took out his phone and called his assistant.
“Yang An, draft a divorce agreement immediately.”