“Isn’t it all because of your father?” Wang Yuting said while crying. “Your Dad hasn’t been coming home. A few days ago, I heard people say that there’s a very impressive relationship analyst in Northern City. I was left with no choice either, so I went to check things out with Zhu-er. He spoke so nicely and I saw that his business was booming, so I gave him some money. He said that he needed to do some ritual and even invited a priest. Zhu-er and I sat there in a daze. We didn’t think it was anything and when we left, he gave us each a talisman and told us to put it under the pillow of the man we wanted to bring back. On the way back, I received a message from the bank to say that 30 million in my account was gone and Zhu-er also lost 10 million. Only then did we realize that something was amiss. We went to look at our purses and realized that our cards were gone. When we rushed back to look for that man, the building was already empty.”
“Boohoo… Ziao, that was Mom’s savings,” Wang Yuting said. “If your father were to find out, he would definitely lash out at me.”
Xin Ziao felt like vomiting blood. The conmen these days had a lot of tricks up their sleeves. This was obviously a trap set up for Wang Yuting and Zhao Zhu and the two of them just had to be not so smart. “Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? Why do you have to believe such things? A priest? To think you even believed that. I don’t know what’s going on in your brain. You should’ve at least told me you were going.”
Wang Yuting continued to cry. “Don’t you think I was afraid you would scold me? Besides, I was left with no choice either. You were ignoring me so I had no other choice but to do this. Also, they seemed to have very good business and I also heard they were very reliable.”
“Who did you hear that from?” Xin Ziao asked.
“Mm, I heard it from a lady when I was shopping in a mall. She was dressed in branded clothes and she said that her husband also had a mistress on the outside. She was left with no way out and someone happened to introduce this person to her, so she went to this priest and got a talisman from him. After that, her husband suddenly had a change of heart,” Wang Yuting said as she choked on tears. “Zhu-er was luckier; she didn’t get cheated of all her money. I’m only left with some gold and diamonds right now.”
Xin Ziao put his hand over his chest and pressed it for a while. “This was obviously a trap. You’ve been watching the news every day—why couldn’t you see through it? Go and file a police report right now. We must catch those crooks.”
Wang Yuting felt terrible. “If we go to the police, what if your dad finds out?”
“I’ll tell the people at the station.” Xin Ziao sighed. A bunch of things had been going on at home and at the company. On top of that, Ruan Yang was also getting married. He really wanted to curse and swear.
After filing the report, the police opened the case immediately and started the investigation.
However, they only managed to find out that those people had left Northern City immediately after they retrieved the money after half a month’s investigation. They had no idea where they went and the police put them on the wanted list.
Before even getting their money back, word of this incident somehow started spreading wildly in Northern City and everyone knew about it.
—————————
When Li Shaobin brought Ruan Yang back to the Li Household to have dinner, He Mingshan was as happy as a lark. “Say, why is Wang Yuting so stupid? Relationship analyst? To think that she would believe that. Usually, when I play mahjong with her, she seems like a pretty quick-witted person. It’s quite scary when a person starts going crazy.”
Ruan Yang peeled her melon seeds without saying a word. She could tell that He Mingshan really hated Wang Yuting. She was so happy, just like Li Shaobin, gloating over Wang Yuting’s misery.
However, when she heard He Mingshan talk about the Xin Family, she found it quite incredible. Was there something wrong with Zhao Zhu and Wang Yuting’s brains?
Grandma Li said with a sigh, “Maybe she wanted her husband back too much.”
“Yeah, but that’s not the way to do it.” He Mingshan shook her head. “Now that Xin Zhanheng knows about this, I heard he was so angry that he wanted to get a divorce. 30 million! Although Xin Zhanheng doesn’t really lack the money, who could stand such a stupid woman? Some ladies saw Wang Yuting yesterday. She’s lost a lot of weight and her eyes are also swollen. Xin Zhanheng wants to get divorced from her and he’ll definitely marry that woman in Shanghai. She’s also divorced.”
Shen Liu nodded. “No wonder Zhongchi’s friend was saying that he saw Xin Zhanheng with a woman he had never seen before at a dinner party. I heard that the woman maintained herself very well and was very charming. Also, her every action was filled with grace and elegance.”
“That must’ve been her then,” He Mingshan agreed. “If that woman didn’t have good looks, Xin Zhanheng wouldn’t have longed for her for so many years.”
“Looks like there really is no hope for Wang Yuting,” Shen Liu said. “This time, Xin Zhanheng is very conspicuously and publicly bringing this woman back in his social circle. He isn’t planning to show Wang Yuting any face at all.”
“Wang Yuting really isn’t smart,” He Mingshan said. “If that woman hadn’t divorced her ex-husband, Xin Zhanheng wouldn’t have divorced Wang Yuting either. Now that the woman is single, things definitely would’ve turned out this way.”
Li Congyang couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I think you’re just like a fly on Wang Yuting’s wall. You know everything so well. You women are really very scary.”
He Mingshan glared at him. “We have our own source of news. What do you know?”
“Mom, I think if you have nothing to do in the future, you can do some spying,” Li Shaobin teased.
Everyone laughed heartily.
…
Xin Ziao’s family was on the verge of getting a divorce. Li Shaobin could almost imagine how gloomy Xin Ziao must feel right now and that put him in a good mood. After dinner, he took Ruan Yang out for a movie.
Just as before, he wasn’t interested in the movie. He lay on Ruan Yang’s lap as he slept and Ruan Yang would run her fingers through his hair all the way until the movie ended.
When they got back to the villa, Li Shaobin parked his car in the courtyard again. After spending some time together, she could already guess what he was thinking with just a look.
Ruan Yang saw him switch the engine off and felt a little helpless. At the same time, she felt a little tickle in her heart. “Why aren’t you sick of it yet?”
Li Shaobin stared at her wide-eyed. “How could I be sick of it? I could never be sick of it.”
This time, he changed it up. He carried Ruan Yang to the driver’s seat and moved his seat back as he kissed her passionately.
While their breaths intertwined around, Ruan Yang’s heart beat faster and faster. In the midst of this, Ruan Yang said, “If you were so hardworking and innovative in your studies, I think it wouldn’t even be an issue if you wanted to do a PhD.”
“I’m not interested in getting a PhD; I’m only interested in you.” Li Shaobin’s thin lips moved from the corner of her mouth all the way to her earlobe.
The temperature in the car rose slowly. After some time, Ruan Yang faintly watched herself shuddering as she lay in the chair and slowly became limp through the rearview mirror.
She quickly looked away, blushing, as she didn’t dare to take another look.
Li Shaobin hugged her from behind and lay on her for a while without moving before saying hoarsely, “Yangyang, Yangyang, let’s register our marriage.”
Ruan Yang closed her eyes. Li Shaobin turned her over and started to kiss her cheeks and lips softly. “Yangyang, ask your parents to send your household registration booklet over, alright?”
Ruan Yang felt a layer of goosebumps surfacing and her body heated up after being grazed by him like that. After a very long time, she nodded. They would be holding their wedding banquet in another half a month anyway, so they would have to register their marriage sooner or later.
Li Shaobin’s eyes lit up. He looked so happy as though he had struck the lottery. “That’s great! I’ll call your parents later.”
“My parents sleep so early. Are you a fool? Do it tomorrow.” Ruan Yang pinched his handsome face. “Let go of me now. I don’t want to fool around with you in the car anymore.”
Li Shaobin didn’t let her go. He hugged and kissed her for a while before shifting her back to the passenger’s seat reluctantly.
Ruan Yang covered her body embarrassedly as she started looking for her clothes. After she was done getting dressed, she realized she had lost her hair clip so she reached around the floor for a very long time to look for it. Her hand reached all the way to the back of the chair and instead of finding her hair clip, she felt a fabric-like thing. She pulled it out and was stunned. It was purple women’s underwear with lace.
Li Shaobin was done buttoning up when he turned his head back and said with a grin, “Yangyang, are you not done yet? Do you want me to help you?”
After saying that, he realized something was amiss. He recalled that Ruan Yang wasn’t wearing that color of underwear earlier.
He blinked and Ruan Yang suddenly lifted her head. Her gaze was cold. “Whose is this?”
Li Shaobin became nervous. “This… this isn’t yours?”
“When have I had this color?” Ruan Yang squinted. Her gaze became so cold that it felt suffocating.
Li Shaobin gulped hard. Ruan Yang threw that piece of underwear at his face. “You better recall where this came from within three minutes. Otherwise, don’t even talk about registering our marriage. I think we should just cancel our marriage.”
After saying that, she opened the car door and got out angrily. Li Shaobin lowered his head to look at the underwear which had fallen on his thighs dumbfoundedly. His entire mind was blank.
What did Ruan Yang say just now? If he didn’t give her a clear explanation, not only would they not register their marriage, but their marriage would even be canceled.
His heart shook and he felt as though he had just taken a hard fall from the clouds to the ground. He stumbled out quickly to chase Ruan Yang, who had gone into the house. “Yangyang, I really don’t know why this thing would be in the car. I really didn’t do anything to let you down. Don’t you clearly understand what kind of a person I am?”
Ruan Yang drank a sip of water with her back facing him. The water was cold and so was she. Her hand that was holding the cup was trembling slightly. “That’s your car with some underwear that belongs to a woman other than me under your passenger’s seat. It’s very obvious that it was worn. It’s not new. You’re telling me that you don’t know. Do you think I would believe that?”