Su Yan was never one to let herself be at a disadvantage, especially not in front of Jiang Jinyue. The bottle she had smashed herself caused her more pain than if she had been stabbed directly. As a proud lady of the Su family and the young mistress of the Ye family, she had been humiliated by Lu Chenhuai because of Jiang Jinyue. She had endured these past few days just for the sake of today. Since she had let her slip away three years ago, she would make sure to settle the score properly today!
In the living room, Su Yan toyed with a red braided bracelet she had stolen from Jiang Jinyue’s room, waiting for good news. Suddenly, a white Samoyed snatched the red cord from her hand and bolted outside. The dog, named Doubao, had been brought home by Su Jing originally, but it was extremely attached to Jiang Jinyue. Because of this, Su Yan hated the dog. She picked up a glass, ready to throw it, but suddenly hearing Su Jing’s voice outside, she composed her malicious expression and pretended to be sipping water.
Su Jing walked in, saw Su Yan on the sofa, and asked, "Where’s Mom? Why are you sitting here all by yourself?"
"Mom is resting upstairs." Su Yan finished the juice in her glass and stood up. "I’m leaving, brother."
Su Jing watched Su Yan leave before heading upstairs. He knew Jiang Jinyue was going to the cemetery today; she used to ask him to accompany her. But she hadn't mentioned it this year, so he had gone to the office early. It wasn't until he was about to start a meeting that he realized an important document had been left at home. He could have just asked his assistant to come get it, but he had come himself—perhaps still hoping that she would be waiting at home for him to join her.
Su Jing retrieved the document from the study, then went to knock on Jiang Jinyue’s door. There was no response. A bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was almost ten o'clock; how could she still be at home? Although she lived with the Su family, she rarely returned before ten at night and was always out by six-thirty in the morning.
As Su Jing came back downstairs, Doubao ran in from outside, the red cord still dangling from its mouth.
"Where did you find this?" Su Jing took the red cord from Doubao’s mouth, his eyes darkening. It was the only thing Yueyue’s mother had left behind, something she always cherished—how could Doubao have found it? Doubao looked at Su Jing, then toward the sofa. Su Jing’s expression shifted, and he hurried outside.
"Jiang Jinyue, you little bitch, what did you spray!" The man clutched his eyes, cursing while reaching out to grab her. "I don’t even mind that you’ve been played with by Su Jing. If you just behave and submit to me, you might suffer a little less."
A gust of wind carried a woody scent as Lu Chenhuai arrived and kicked the man to the ground. The impact overturned a small wooden table, sending a kettle and glasses of boiling water crashing onto the man, who shrieked in agony. Before he could get up, a flurry of punches rained down on his face.
"Su Jing, are you fucking crazy? Don't forget that your Su family's shipping containers are still at our docks..."
A cold metal watch pressed into the man’s throat. "Your docks? I can make sure they don't belong to the Wang family anymore!"
The man squinted through his swollen eyes for a long time before recognizing who stood before him. "Lu… Lu Chenhuai?"
Lu Chenhuai and Su Jing were both the new elite of Longcheng, equal in ability and stature. But while the Su family was merely a wealthy business family in Longcheng, the Lu family were top-tier tycoons from Yancheng. Wang Chi dared to challenge Su Jing, but he wouldn't dare offend Lu Chenhuai, because Lu Chenhuai truly had the power to make his family disappear from the list of Longcheng’s wealthy merchants.
Jiang Jinyue walked up to Wang Chi and delivered two more kicks, aiming specifically for the spots where he had been scalded. If it weren't for the lack of a knife here, she would have liked to carve a few holes in him to settle the debt for the scar on her arm.
When Su Jing drove to the hotel where Jiang Jinyue was staying, she was just walking out of the lobby with her suitcase. Seeing that she was unharmed, the heart that had been pounding in Su Jing’s throat finally began to settle. Disregarding the rain, Su Jing hurried to meet her. "Are you alright?"
Su Jing rarely lost control of his emotions. Seeing him like this, she guessed he must have realized that Su Yan had targeted her again. But Jiang Jinyue didn’t intend to spell it out. She smiled faintly, "I’m fine. My father has been gone for over a decade; I’m used to this."
Su Jing looked at her, let out a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "Our Yueyue has grown up."
The rain had eased significantly since Jiang Jinyue returned from the cemetery, but without an umbrella, one would still get soaked. Su Jing’s shoulders were already drenched, and locks of hair hung down over his forehead. Jiang Jinyue shifted the umbrella she was holding to cover half of Su Jing’s head. "Could you trouble Brother to take me to the company? It’s hard to hail a cab in the rain today."
The figures of the two walking side-by-side under the umbrella soon disappeared into the black Bentley.
Lu Chenhuai stood by the window, motionless. When Fang Zhi finished handling the business and came over to report, he also saw the scene of Jiang Jinyue and Su Jing leaving under one umbrella. He sighed silently to himself. He was clearly upset, yet he insisted on watching—wasn't he just torturing himself?
"President Lu, it's all handled. Shall we head back now?"
"She’s so stingy with herself, yet she finds a trashy little motel like this acceptable." Lu Chenhuai extinguished the cigarette he had lit but hadn't taken a single puff from. "Let's go."
Fang Zhi: "..." How was that a trashy motel? If it wasn't five-star, it was at least three.
When Su Yan returned home, she found Ye Zhan rummaging through cabinets. Since they married, Ye Zhan had never lived there. At first, he would answer her calls, but later he stopped answering altogether.
"What are you looking for?"
Ye Zhan looked back at Su Yan and asked, "Where is the card Mom gave you?"
"What card?"
"Mom gave you a card, said it was a gift for the first time you met."
"That was a gift for me!" Su Yan sat down on the sofa. "If you’re out of pocket money, go ask your mother or your sister."
"I need the money urgently. Give it to me first, and I’ll pay you back later." Ye Zhan’s tone was impatient.
"What do you need the money for?"
"I have my own uses for it, naturally."
Su Yan scrutinized Ye Zhan, then sneered, "You don't want to help Jiang Jinyue, do you?"
Ye Zhan hadn't intended to tell Su Yan, but since she guessed, he didn't deny it. "Yes. Yueyue’s company is in trouble, and I have to help her."
Su Yan had been in a decent mood, but her temper flared instantly. She stood up, pointed to the bandage still wrapped around her head, and roared, "I am your wife! You haven't asked a single thing about my injury, and now you want to borrow money from me to help Jiang Jinyue? Unless I’m dead, you won’t get a single cent from me for her!"
"I never wanted to marry you!" All of Ye Zhan’s pent-up frustration exploded at that moment. "It’s Yueyue I love!"
Su Yan let out a cold, manic laugh. "You love her even after she’s been played with by everyone? Fine. I’d love to see just how much you really love her."
Ye Zhan was startled by her expression. He spat out "crazy woman" and turned to leave.
"Don’t you want to go see your precious Yueyue?"
Ye Zhan stopped. "What did you do to her?"