Li Jinchuan wearily rubbed his temples and pressed the answer button.
"Jinchuan, I heard An'an's toothache is quite severe. Is he feeling any better?" Jiang Jiaojiao's voice on the other end was deliberately softened, carrying a hint of worry.
"Mhm, he just fell asleep." Li Jinchuan felt tired, and his tone lacked its usual gentleness.
"That's good." Jiang Jiaojiao paused, her voice suddenly taking on a grievance. "Sister was really too heartless this time, ignoring even her own biological son. You must have been exhausted last night, right?"
Li Jinchuan frowned and didn't answer.
Thinking of Jiang Wanyi's attitude, anger flared in his heart, but even more so, he worried that Jiang Wanyi's threat of divorce was genuine.
Yet, remembering how much Jiang Wanyi loved him, Li Lechuan refused to believe she was truly willing to let him go.
"Oh, right." Jiang Jiaojiao changed the subject, asking cautiously, "Are you and Sister really going to get a divorce?"
Li Jinchuan remained silent for a few seconds. "Not for the time being."
"But Sister has already moved out." Jiang Jiaojiao's voice dropped instantly. "Jinchuan, are you reluctant to let her go?"
Li Jinchuan rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing down the irritation in his heart, and comforted her, "You're overthinking it. A divorce right now would be bad for the Li Group."
"That's true. After all, Sister is your first wife, and you've always been praised as a model couple. A sudden divorce really wouldn't look good." Jiang Jiaojiao acted understanding, but deep down she was burning with green-eyed jealousy.
Even though Jiang Wanyi had acted so ruthlessly, she couldn't understand why Li Lechuan still refused to divorce her!
She figured the fire simply hadn't been stoked hot enough yet.
"Alright, let's not talk about this. I've been taking care of An'an all night and I'm exhausted. I'm hanging up." Li Jinchuan had no heart to deal with Jiang Jiaojiao's trivial chatter. After saying a few words, he hung up the phone.
Jiang Jiaojiao stared at her phone screen, her gaze turning increasingly cold. She clenched her fists and said through grates teeth, "Jiang Wanyi, since you've moved out, don't ever think about stepping foot back into the Li Family!"
After much thought, Jiang Jiaojiao decided to head back to the Jiang Family first. Some matters had to be resolved at their root!
The next morning, Jiang Wanyi walked out of the law office holding a newly drafted complaint. She was just about to hail a cab when her mother suddenly called.
"Wanyi!" As soon as the call connected, Du Yinyue's anxious voice came through. "You need to come home right now!"
Jiang Wanyi raised an eyebrow. "Mom, what happened?"
"J-Just come back and we'll talk!" Du Yinyue's voice was flustered, and in the background, the laughter of her father Jiang Changxing and Jiang Jiaojiao could be faintly heard.
Jiang Wanyi understood in an instant.
So Jiang Jiaojiao had run back to the Jiang Family to play the victim and accuse her first!
"Is Jiang Jiaojiao there too?" Jiang Wanyi asked in a deep voice.
"Oh, just don't ask so many questions. Your dad is furious, saying that making such a fuss over a divorce shows you have no respect for his dignity whatsoever!" Du Yinyue lowered her voice.
Jiang Wanyi sighed softly. She knew her mother's temperament all too well—Du Yinyue had always treated Jiang Changxing's word as imperial edict.
In her past life, the only reason she had endured Li Lechuan and Li Cheng'an—father and son—for so long was heavily due to Du Yinyue's influence.
But in this lifetime, she saw through it all.
To hell with the traditional virtues of womanhood; they were nothing more than shackles meant to trap her!
"Fine, I'll be right back." Jiang Wanyi hung up, glanced at the complaint in her hand, and a cold smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
It was time to settle all the accounts together.
When Jiang Wanyi pushed open the front doors of the Jiang residence, the lively atmosphere in the living room instantly froze.
"Get on your knees!" The moment Jiang Changxing caught sight of Jiang Wanyi, his face darkened completely, a stark contrast to how he treated Jiang Jiaojiao.
Jiang Jiaojiao sat beside Jiang Changxing with a triumphant smile on her face, leisurely peeling an orange with her fingers.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was Jiang Changxing's actual daughter.
"You called me back just to make me kneel?" Jiang Wanyi stood in the middle of the living room, showing not the slightest intention of complying.
Furious, Jiang Changxing slammed his palm onto the coffee table and bellowed, "What kind of attitude is that?"
Du Yinyue stood off to the side, her eyes full of worry. "Wanyi, hurry up and apologize to your dad."
"Apologize?" Jiang Wanyi stood her ground without a twitch. "I wasn't aware I had done anything wrong."
"Jiang Wanyi, you've really been spoiled rotten!" Jiang Changxing was beside himself with anger. "You have a life of luxury as the young mistress of the Li Family, yet you insist on making a scene over a divorce. Where do you expect the Jiang Family to put its face?"
"You were the one crying and screaming to marry Li Lechuan back then, and now you're the one clamoring for a divorce. Have you fed all of the Jiang Family's upbringing to the dogs?"
At that opportune moment, Jiang Jiaojiao handed over a cup of tea. "Uncle, please calm down. Sister might just be confused for a moment."
Afterward, she cast a glance at Jiang Wanyi. "Sister, arguments between husband and wife are inevitable, but making a fuss over divorce at every turn just makes a laughingstock of us to outsiders. Besides, I heard An'an fell ill last night, yet you refused to return home the entire night. Doing something like that is simply bringing utter disgrace to our Jiang Family."
Jiang Wanyi watched the spectacle with cold eyes, the corners of her lips lifting. "Jiang Jiaojiao, since you care so much about my marriage, why don't you explain how you knew I was getting a divorce?"
Jiang Jiaojiao's expression stiffened, but she quickly turned a look of grievance toward Jiang Changxing. "Uncle, I just heard it from Brother Lechuan."
"Shut your mouth!" Jiang Changxing pointed straight at Jiang Wanyi. "Call Jinchuan right now to apologize, and get back to the Li Family immediately!"
"Impossible." Jiang Wanyi refused with absolute finality. "I'm actually curious, Dad—are you in such a rush for the sake of both families' interests, or is it because I hit Jiang Jiaojiao?"
For some reason, Jiang Wanyi always felt that Jiang Changxing treated Jiang Jiaojiao far too well.
At times, he treated Jiang Jiaojiao a hundred times better than he did her, his own biological daughter.
A flash of panic crossed Jiang Changxing's eyes, though he quickly masked it by pretending to be too choked with anger to speak. "Jiang Wanyi, you unfilial wretch!"
"Wanyi, don't talk to your dad like that." Du Yinyue hurried forward to grab Jiang Wanyi's arm.
"Did I say something wrong?" Jiang Wanyi sneered. "Ever since I was little, Dad only ever remembered Jiang Jiaojiao's birthday, throwing her banquets every single year, while he had to flip through a calendar just to remember the month and day of my birthday."
In the past, Jiang Wanyi had never taken these trivial matters to heart, but looking back carefully now, there were loopholes everywhere.
"And when I was six years old running a 39-degree fever, I called and begged you to take me to the hospital. What did you say?"
"You told me you were busy shopping for clothes with Jiaojiao and that I should call an ambulance myself."
"Out of all these incidents, which one did I misunderstand?"
Seeing how things were turning, Jiang Jiaojiao immediately stepped in to smooth things over. "Sister, it's not..."
"And another thing!" Jiang Wanyi gave Jiang Jiaojiao zero opportunity to interrupt. "The blue sapphire necklace Li Jinchuan gave me ended up around Jiang Jiaojiao's neck the very next day. You advised me to let her wear it for a couple of days since she liked it—even though that was the token of love between Lechuan and me."
Jiang Wanyi's barrage of questions left even Du Yinyue feeling somewhat unconfident.