"Don't say I didn't warn you. President Zhang is not some lowlife scumbag you meet out on the street. You'd better keep your dirty tricks to yourself around him. Otherwise, you'll be finished before the loan sharks even get to a guy like you! Crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant for someone of his stature. Take my advice and show a little self-awareness!"
Con artistry and deception—that was how Chen Yinuo perceived her "husband."
Besides, she didn't believe for a second that Ye Chen could ever shed those deeply rooted bad habits.
When she saw him at Yuntian Network acting all buddy-buddy with Zhang Jingshan, she naturally assumed he was trying to pull his usual con artist routine on President Zhang.
Otherwise, how could a social parasite like him ever catch the eye of someone like Zhang Jingshan?
"Yinuo, are you worried about me?" Ye Chen asked, completely oblivious to whether someone was speaking kindly or harshly, his face lighting up as he leaned in closer.
Before he knew it, Chen Yinuo hit him with a harsh reprimand: "Get away from me!"
Then she let out a cold laugh. "Worried about you? You're overthinking it. I just don't want anything happening to you before our divorce goes through, so I don't have to carry the label of a widowed spouse! Once the divorce is final, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me!"
If this were back in the past, a speech like that from Chen Yinuo might have actually sent him into a rage, ready to throw punches.
But now, guilt was the only thing he felt.
Living this life over again, he knew Chen Yinuo was all bark and bite; the main thing was that his past bastard behavior had hurt her far too deeply!
Thinking of how, in his past life, Chen Yinuo had gone so far as to sacrifice her own happiness and future—borrowing money from that bald middleman to patch the financial hole he dug, just to save him from the loan sharks—a fresh wave of heartbreak gripped Ye Chen.
Right at that moment, his phone rang shrilly.
"Hello, who is this?" Chen Yinuo answered.
"May I speak to Ms. Chen Yinuo?" a voice came from the other end.
"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" Chen Yinuo felt a vague sense of unease.
The voice on the other end said, "Hello, Ms. Chen. We are from the Yanjiang Police Station. Your younger brother, Chen Yinuo, was involved in a fight resulting in injuries and is currently being detained here. Since the family of the injured party is also at the precinct, you had better come over right away to see if a settlement can be reached. If we can't negotiate a settlement, we'll have to proceed with filing formal charges!"
What?
Yinuo was in a fight and injured someone?
And he was detained at the police station?
In a split second, Chen Yinuo felt as though she had been struck by a bolt from the blue!
Her face turned instantly deathly pale, and her delicate body went weak all over!
If Chen Yinuo ended up with a criminal record, what kind of life would he have ahead of him?
"Ms. Chen, are you still there?" the voice on the phone asked again.
"I'm here, I'm here. I'm coming, I'll be right there!"
Chen Yinuo stammered in a panic, her voice trembling and on the verge of tears, practically scared to crying.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Chen Yinuo put down the phone in a panic, Ye Chen asked urgently.
"Yinuo beat someone up and is locked up at the police station!" Chen Yinuo blurted out as a reflex.
The moment the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them.
Why was she telling this beast anything?
"It's none of your business! As long as you stay away from me and stop bothering me, I'll thank my lucky stars!"
With that, Chen Yinuo panicked and rushed to the roadside to flag down a taxi.
Seeing this, Ye Chen wanted to go with her.
After a moment's thought, however, he gave up on the idea of sharing a cab with her.
Instead, he hurriedly waved down another taxi.
"Follow the taxi ahead, license plate 2628, please!"
As for Chen Yinuo's younger brother, Chen Yinuo, Ye Chen knew the guy would gladly skin him alive, drain his blood, and hang him out to dry.
After the tragedy with Yinuo and Xiaoxiao in his past life, Chen Yinuo had cried and roared like a madman, coming at him with a knife to kill him!
If someone hadn't stopped him that day, he probably would have accepted his fate and been hacked to death by Chen Yinuo on the spot!
Even so, though Chen Yinuo had always harbored hatred and hostility toward him—and though he and Chen Yinuo had been at each other's throats like fire and water in the early days of his past life—living this life over again, all that internal hostility had completely vanished.
Because Chen Yinuo's hatred toward him stemmed entirely from the pain he had inflicted on his older sister.
And Chen Yinuo's doting affection for his daughter Ye Xiaoxiao had never once changed.
For those two reasons alone, he had no grounds whatsoever to resent Chen Yinuo; all he felt was a profound sense of indebtedness.
Yanjiang Police Station.
They arrived quickly.
After getting out of the car, Chen Yinuo noticed that Ye Chen had followed her.
But she didn't have the bandwidth to care about that now.
"Hello, Officer! I'm Chen Yinuo, Chen Yinuo's older sister. Where is Yinuo right now? Can I see him?"
Spotting an officer, Chen Yinuo rushed up, her voice trembling with panic.
"Ms. Chen, please calm down first! Chen Yinuo is in the detention cell right now. According to procedure, you aren't allowed to see him at this stage. However, you can negotiate a settlement with the injured party's family. If you can reach an agreement, Chen Yinuo can be released immediately. If not, we'll have to press charges," the officer said.
"Okay, okay, okay. We'll negotiate! Where is the negotiation? Where is the victim's family right now?" Chen Yinuo's voice broke with a sob.
"In the mediation room. Follow me," the officer said, leading the way.
Just then, Ye Chen tried to follow along, but another officer blocked his path.
Before the officer could even speak, Ye Chen spoke up first: "I'm her husband. Chen Yinuo is my brother-in-law."
Consumed by frantic anxiety, Chen Yinuo didn't care about that anymore.
Seeing that Chen Yinuo raised no objection, the officer nodded and let Ye Chen follow them.
Outside the mediation room:
"The victim's family is inside. Work it out amongst yourselves!"
At the officer's words, Chen Yinuo nodded frantically and hurried inside.
Right behind her came Ye Chen, whom she still couldn't spare the energy to deal with.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm Chen Yinuo's older sister, Chen Yinuo. It was my younger brother's ignorance that led to him hurting someone. I'm begging you to show mercy and let my brother off this once, please!"
As soon as she walked in, Chen Yinuo immediately choked up, tears streaming down her face as she bowed deeply.
It was a heartbreaking sight for Ye Chen, who stood right behind her.
"Sorry? If apologies worked, what would we need the police for? Show mercy and let your brother off the hook? Hmph, easy for you to say! Why didn't you tell your brother to show mercy and not crack my brother's head open? My brother had to get seven stitches on his head—a full seven stitches!"
There were three people on the other side: a middle-aged couple and an unruly young man with tufts of gray-dyed hair.
The middle-aged couple stayed quiet, but as the dyed-hair youth finished speaking, he pointed his hand to form the number seven with an expression of absolute rage and roared loudly.
Chapter 16: One Hundred Thousand
The moment she heard that Chen Yinuo had cracked the other guy's head open and needed a full seven stitches, Chen Yinuo's legs went weak again.
Choking back sobs, she pleaded, "It's my fault as his older sister for not disciplining him properly. Later, I'll bring him over to confess his mistake and apologize to your family. I'm begging you to show mercy and let him off this once, okay?"
"Confess and apologize? He smashed my brother's head open and a few words of apology are supposed to wrap it up? How about I smash your head open with a brick, and then I apologize to you?" the dyed-hair youth sneered relentlessly.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yinuo took him at his word and pressed on: "Would you let my brother go if you did that?"
The dyed-hair youth was instantly choked up.
After a stunned silence, he stammered, "We're upstanding citizens, we don't do things like that!"
"Alright, cut the crap. So-called settlements are just about money anyway. Name your price!"
Ye Chen could no longer hold his tongue and spoke up.
He had seen this kind of charade far too many times.
Still, since Chen Yinuo's brother was the one who struck first, they had to take the hit even knowing they were being shaken down.
"Ye Chen, this has nothing to do with you! Get lost, get out of here right now!"
Hearing Ye Chen jump in and meddle, Chen Yinuo immediately panicked.
Was she stupid? Did she not know the other side was just after money?
But in her current penniless and destitute situation, where on earth was she supposed to find money?
Her parents might still have two or three hundred thousand saved up, but that was meant for Yinuo's bridal home. Unless it was an absolute emergency, she wouldn't let her parents know about this!
That was why she was resorting to all these desperate pleas for mercy.
Yet Ye Chen had to burst out with a statement like that out of nowhere—how could she not panic?
"Who the hell are you, kid? Do you even have a right to speak here?"
The dyed-hair youth wasn't quite sure what the relationship was between the two people across from him, so he asked.
"I'm Chen Yinuo's brother-in-law. Do I have a right to speak?" Ye Chen replied.
He then turned to look at Chen Yinuo. "Yinuo, do you really think a few humble pleas are going to make them let Yinuo go?"
Faced with Ye Chen's question, Chen Yinuo was struck dumb, unable to utter a word.
Could they?
No way!
She was just hoping, just fantasizing!
How could she not know that these so-called settlements were just bought with cash?
Yet after she moved out with Ye Xiaoxiao to rent a place, she couldn't even scrape together two hundred yuan!
"So you're the kid's brother-in-law? Fine, that works. Looks like you're a sensible guy. Walking away unconditionally without a settlement is out of the question, and I'm not going to beat around the bush. You want us to drop the charges? Fine. Hand over one hundred thousand yuan! Not a single yuan less, or that punk gets a criminal record! Compared to a criminal record, one hundred thousand is cheap. You're lucky you ran into our family; anyone else would bleed you dry!"
The dyed-hair youth struck a pose of absolute unyielding stubbornness.
Upon hearing the sum of one hundred thousand, Chen Yinuo almost collapsed to the floor!
One hundred thousand.
To her right now, that was an astronomical figure!
If it were twenty or thirty thousand, she might have been able to call friends and borrow two or three thousand from each, barely scraping together enough.
But one hundred thousand? Where could she borrow that? Who would even lend it to her?
"One hundred thousand, is it? Fine, you've got it!"
Before Chen Yinuo could beg the other side to lower the price, Ye Chen agreed decisively.
With that, he tipped the brown paper bag upside down onto the table.
Bundles of ten thousand each—he picked up ten stacks and piled them together.
"Here is one hundred thousand. I expect you to drop the charges immediately and stop pursuing Chen Yinuo!"
Ye Chen looked at them.
At the sight of the money, the eyes of the middle-aged couple turned green.
As for the dyed-hair youth, his expression turned strangely complex.
He regretted not asking for more!
"I—I just remembered, one hundred thousand isn't enough. My brother's nutritional expenses, emotional—"
Before he could finish, Ye Chen interrupted him.
"There are security recordings and audio in here. If you keep talking like this, it crosses the line into extortion. At that point, it won't be about whether you're pressing charges against Chen Yinuo—it'll be us pressing charges against you! Take my advice: one hundred thousand is plenty, quit while you're ahead! Otherwise, you won't get a single cent, and Chen Yinuo's offense isn't that severe to begin with, or the police wouldn't have pushed for a settlement!"
"Under these circumstances, even if you insist on pursuing it, he'll just serve a short stint with a record and walk right out. But if that happens, you won't walk away with a single hair. So, is one hundred thousand enough now? Or do you still want to factor in nutritional fees, emotional distress fees, and lost wages?"
Ye Chen's words instantly sent the middle-aged couple into a panic.
How could they let a duck that was already in their pot fly away?
"One hundred thousand is fine, one hundred thousand it is!"
The middle-aged man, with skin deeply tanned by the sun and dressed like a working-class laborer, hurriedly chimed in.
As he spoke, he eagerly reached out and scooped the one hundred thousand yuan into his own arms.
"What about you, big guy? What do you say?" Ye Chen asked leisurely, looking at the dyed-hair youth.
The guy was clearly bluffed by Ye Chen.
His previous arrogance was completely gone. "Since my dad said it's fine, then it's fine!"
Beside them, Chen Yinuo's mind had long since gone blank.
Even after that family left, she still hadn't recovered.
Where on earth did that bastard get so much money?
No, wait—when they went to the Yuntian Network company, his hands had been empty. That brown paper bag had only appeared after he came out!
Could this money have come from President Zhang Jingshan?
But how was that possible? Why would Zhang Jingshan give him money? And in an amount reaching hundreds of thousands?
Could he have borrowed it from Zhang Jingshan? No, that still wasn't right. A lowlife gambler like Ye Chen couldn't even borrow a hundred yuan outside; there was no way he could borrow hundreds of thousands from Zhang Jingshan!
The next moment, Chen Yinuo thought of plots from movies and television dramas: had Ye Chen done some shady dirty work for Zhang Jingshan, and was this money black-market pay from him?
Or had that scumbag Ye Chen conned and swindled Zhang Jingshan out of it?
As if guessing what Chen Yinuo was thinking, Ye Chen smiled and said, "Stop racking your brain over it. The origin of this money isn't dirty, nor did I con it out of Zhang Jingshan. I picked up a steal at the Antique City this morning and happened to run into President Zhang. He bought it off me for three hundred thousand. He forgot to bring his phone and bank card out with him, so he had me go to his company to pick up the money. I never expected to run into you at his company—I really wasn't following you!"
"A steal? You managed to find something worth three hundred thousand at the Antique City?"
Coming back to her senses slightly, Chen Yinuo scoffed in disbelief.
"After taking enough falls in the past, the tides are bound to turn eventually," Ye Chen said.
"Typical of your cheap mindset, always dreaming of getting rich overnight!"
Chen Yinuo sneered. "I just hope you're telling the truth, and that you aren't pulling any of your slick tricks on someone like Zhang Jingshan. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died!"
Without giving Ye Chen a chance to reply, she abruptly changed the subject. "Since you got this kind of money from Zhang Jingshan, you should use it to pay off the loan sharks before you get hacked to death!"
"Didn't Yinuo get into trouble? Our top priority is getting him out of this mess. As for the loan sharks, don't worry, I can definitely handle it!" Ye Chen said.
Just then, an officer walked in. "Chen Yinuo has been released. You two go pick him up!"
"Oh, right! Thank you, officer, thank you!"
Unable to dwell on Ye Chen's words any longer, Chen Yinuo hurried off.
Chapter 17: The Volatile Chen Yinuo
"Sis, why is it you?"
As soon as Chen Yinuo was released from the detention cell and saw Chen Yinuo, he looked immediately astonished.
"You still have the nerve to ask? Do you have any idea what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into? Who told you to hit people? Don't you have any self-awareness of what you're capable of? If you really ended up with a criminal record, what would happen to your future? If Xiaoqian found out you have a record, would she even stay with you?!"
Chen Yinuo cried out in tearful frustration, feeling like he wouldn't meet her expectations.
Yet this kind of scolding was simply another manifestation of their deep sibling bond.
"She can stay or leave, marry or not—I couldn't care less!" Chen Yinuo retorted stubbornly like a total jerk.
"You—are you trying to drive me to death? If you aren't going to think about your own future, shouldn't you at least think about Mom and Dad? If they found out you got locked up and were going to have a criminal record, could they possibly handle it?!" Chen Yinuo scolded further.
Chen Yinuo curled his lip and fell silent.
But Chen Yinuo didn't want to drop it there. "Tell me, why did you hit someone? How many times have I told you to think twice before doing anything, to stay calm? Where did all that advice go?"
"That scumbag insulted us! He said he knew plenty of big bosses and could pull strings for you to become a mistress or a kept woman! If people hadn't held me back in the end, I wouldn't have just cracked his head open—I would have killed him right on the spot!"
Pushed to the limit, Chen Yinuo shouted out in high agitation.
The moment the words escaped his lips, however, he instantly regretted them.
Just as he feared, sure enough, hearing that immediately turned Chen Yinuo's eyes red, a mist of tears welling up instantly.
It wasn't because she herself had been insulted.
It was because her younger brother, Yinuo, had stood up to defend her!
"Sis, I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Yinuo caught sight of Ye Chen walking over.
His expression changed drastically in an instant.
It was pure anger, hostility, and hatred!
If it weren't for this guy, how could his sister Yinuo's life have turned out like this?
Not to mention the fact that this bastard periodically beat his sister, leaving her covered in bruises.
Even though Chen Yinuo had never mentioned it to him, he knew—he knew everything!
"What the hell are you doing over here? Who invited you? I'll give you three seconds to vanish from my sight before I kill you!"
With that, Chen Yinuo lunged toward Ye Chen like an enraged tiger, completely forgetting that they were still standing inside a police station.
It was the textbook picture of mortal enemies crossing paths and turning red with rage!
"That's enough! Killing this, killing that—don't you think the mess you've made is big enough? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life behind bars?"
Chen Yinuo hurriedly blocked him, shouting in distress.
"As long as I can kill this bastard and give you a chance to start your life over, I'd gladly spend the rest of my life in prison!" Chen Yinuo panted heavily.
"I heard your sister say you got arrested for hurting someone, so I followed her over. Good thing everything's fine now," Ye Chen said bitterly, refusing to let Chen Yinuo's attitude provoke his anger.
"My business has nothing to do with you! Don't put on any of your fake, hypocritical acts in front of me. Get lost, scram!" Chen Yinuo roared angrily.
Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Chen Yinuo: "Sis, are you still hanging out with this bastard? You even told him about me getting arrested?"
Chen Yinuo shook her head. "We just happened to bump into each other. The police station called right then to say you were locked up, and when he asked, it just slipped out."
At that, Chen Yinuo gritted her teeth. "Besides, if it weren't for him, you wouldn't have been released just now."
"What? So I'm supposed to believe he saved me? As if!" Chen Yinuo sneered.
"The victim's family demanded one hundred thousand yuan to settle, otherwise they wouldn't drop the charges. That one hundred thousand yuan—he's the one who paid it!"
No matter how much she hated to admit it, Chen Yinuo couldn't erase Ye Chen's contribution in this matter.
"The hell you say? This bastard forked over a hundred thousand yuan for a settlement? Sis, are you joking with me?"
It was no wonder Chen Yinuo refused to believe it.
A gambling scum like Ye Chen—he could pull out one hundred thousand yuan?
Besides, if he actually had money, wouldn't he have run straight to the gambling den? Why would he spend it on him, Chen Yinuo?