Lin Chu was even more disgusted when his fingers touched her chin. She turned away in distaste and then grabbed the gla.s.s of water from the table before splas.h.i.+ng it on his face.
The lemon slice that had been soaking in the water hit his nose and dropped to the floor, but not before landing on his s.h.i.+rt and leaving a stain on it.
Lin Chu was regretting her decision to not order a coffee. She should have ordered a scalding hot cup of coffee so that she could splash it on his face and permanently ruin it.
Lu Zhenghang"s perfectly styled hair was ruined by the water as it flopped weakly on top of his head, completely devoid of the volume from before. Water trickled off him from all directions until his face was thoroughly soaked with the hair gel-infused water. Some of it even trickled into his mouth.
Lu Zhenghang fumed. Most of his s.h.i.+rt was soaked.
"You"re delusional!" Lin Chu slammed down the gla.s.s.
Lu Zhenghang spat the gel-infused water out of his mouth. "Whether I"m delusional or not, you know the truth deep down in your heart. Jiang Changdai"s love toward Lu Zhenting made this possible. She did not wed Yan Huaiyuan on her own volition and had always resented this fact. Is there a sweeter revenge than this? Duping the Yan family into raising and loving a kid that"s not theirs for thirty years… Isn"t this utterly gratifying?"
Lu Zhenghang paused. He could not see what Lin Chu was thinking from her expression, and so did not know if she was falling for his tell-tales.
This impressed him as not many people could keep their cool in such a situation.
"Lin Chu, when I find the evidence, it"ll be too late for you to regret your decision. You can still abandon Yan Beicheng now. Otherwise, the two old Yans won"t let you go scot-free. You know how deeply they hate Jiang Changdai and the Lu family. What will they think if they found out that the kid that they had raised and mentored with love and care was none other than the offspring of the people who had killed their son?" A corner of Lu Zhenghang"s lips curled upward. "As I said, you must cherish the sound of other people referring to you as Mrs. Yan, because you won"t hear it much longer."
Lin Chu frowned with distaste before she spoke. "Lu Zhenghang, go see a doctor if you"re sick. Delusion is one of the symptoms of a mental disorder. Don"t wait, I can ask Chutian Hospital to reserve a room for you."
After this, Lin Chu left the booth and walked away.
Lu Zhenghang trailed after her as he raised his voice slightly, "It"s fine if you don"t believe what I just said. You will, someday. If you date me, I won"t even need you to divorce him. Just do that, and I"ll let him go."
Divorce? He did not need Lin Chu to divorce Yan Beicheng.
Toying with Yan Beicheng"s girl when they were still married … Now that was gratifying.
He could slowly reveal a snippet of this to Yan Beicheng and make him hurl in disgust or burn with anger.
The more Yan Beicheng loved Lin Chu, the more tortured he would be. He would experience a pain worse than death.
Lin Chu did not stop walking. Coincidentally, at this moment, a waiter was walking toward her whilst balancing a tray with a cappuccino on it. Thick froth lay on its surface.
"Is this freshly brewed?" Lin Chu asked suddenly.
The waiter was perplexed by her sudden inquiry, and so could only nod and answer in confusion, "This was ordered by table No. 10."
He said this as if he was reporting to his boss.
Lin Chu immediately s.n.a.t.c.hed the coffee and dowsed it onto Lu Zhenghang"s face. She did not bother to answer a coffee-scalded Lu Zhenghang as he shouted in outrage, "b.i.t.c.h!".
She put what was left of the coffee back on the tray, fished 100 yuan from her purse, and placed the note on it.
"a.s.sume that I bought this coffee. Use the amount left to brew another cup as my apology to the customer. I"m sorry for spilling his coffee." Lin Chu said before turning around and leaving.
Lu Zhenghang kept his eyes shut as they burned from the hot liquid. He could not find anything to use to dry himself, so he simply stood there in agony for a while. He could only open them after some time, after which he dashed toward the restroom without any regard for his dignity.
Meanwhile, Lin Chu walked toward the office as thoughts raced through her head.
It was impossible not to be swayed by Lu Zhenghang"s words. She had seen Jiang Changdai"s sickly obsessive tendencies first-hand. What if she had genuinely committed such a vulgar act of vengeance?
She did not care who Yan Beicheng was.
She had hated Jiang Changdai and the Lu family, and would continue to until the end of time, but she would not look down on Yan Beicheng because of this. There was no doubt she would continue to love him.
Lin Chu admitted to herself that she was protective and had double standards. If it was Yan Beicheng, then she would overlook all his faults and accept him with open arms.
She only feared that Yan Beicheng would not take it well or get hurt.
With her mind in a mess, she could not evaluate this matter objectively. They said that pregnancy made women foolish. Maybe this really was the case, because she could no longer sort through her thoughts the way she had easily done in the past.
A moment later, she b.u.mped into someone as she was deep in thought.
She had been walking slowly, so it was not a hard knock. Therefore, she managed to regain her balance after stumbling two steps backward.
Her back was still drenched from sweat due to the overwhelming panic she was experiencing.
She had neglected to watch her step as she thought of all this. True, she did not fall down, but what if she had?
What would happen to her child then?
Despite her lack of experience, she knew that her child could not withstand the fall.
Lin Chu badly wanted to slap herself in the face right there and then - she could not believe she had been so careless. How could she face her child and Yan Beicheng if something had really happened to her?
How could she have been so careless?
She should have been more careful, especially due to her current condition. Despite this, she had previously disregarded Yan Beicheng"s worries like water off a duck"s back.
She was so angry with herself after that mild collision. It was probably because of her conversation with Lu Zhenghang, but she was now overwhelmingly concerned about Yan Beicheng. She could not bear to see him sad or dejected.
"Who"s the one who had patronized me so self-righteously, yet sees other men behind her husband"s back?" A familiar voice called out.
Lin Chu was still in the midst of recovering from the previous shock when she raised her gaze toward the direction of the voice. To her shock, Cheng Ziming was standing in front of her.
Why was this man still alive and well? He seemed to be as resilient as a c.o.c.kroach as he appeared intermittently before Lin Chu.
Lin Chu did not want to say a single word to him, and so made an effort to quickly pa.s.s by him.
Cheng Ziming was angered by Lin Chu"s reaction - she did not even want to look him in the eye. However, he had noticed the flicker of absolute hatred in her eyes as they landed on him briefly.
Xu Jiaojiao had come out unscathed from her affair with him and was now running a diner cheerfully. Lin Yuwen did not dare pick on Xu Jiaojiao due to her relations.h.i.+p with Lin Chu while the latter was endorsed by Lin Chu as the perfect example of a character getting back on the right track.
He, on the other hand, had become the target of public hatred and numerous terrible scoldings, leading to him getting kicked out of the house and being forced back to the Cheng home. Lin Zhenghe had redacted his position at the workplace, and now he could not even work as an ordinary employee.
Naturally, he would not resign himself to work as an ordinary employee anyway. How could he, when he had once stood at the zenith of society?
He could technically work as an employee in other companies but did not want to compromise his dignity — the dignity of someone who was once the CEO of Lin Mao. He was someone who was once pursued by thousands of women every time he walked out the door!
Because he could not go back to Lin Mao or live in the bungalow he shared with Lin Yuwen. Thus, he had no choice but to return to stay with his parents in the 3-room house he had bought for them.
After living in a bungalow, a 3-room house felt tiny.
Lin Chu"s words from when they argued before the wedding had probably planted a seed of doubt in Lin Zhenghe"s mind, causing him to become wary of Cheng Ziming. Aside from his position as CEO in Lin Mao, Cheng Ziming did gain anything from his time spent with the Lin family.
Thus, he was now jobless and was not holding any of Lin Mao"s stocks. This meant that he was currently vegetating at home without any source of income. The only thing under his name was his savings as well as the investments he had made in the past.
However, he could not touch either of these. Even though they were in his name, withdrawing them meant burning all the interest he had previously built up, resulting in a financial loss. Thus, he was stuck with no consistent income.
In the beginning, his parents had tolerated him, but as time pa.s.sed, w.a.n.g Jinglin began to nag him.
At first, she only nagged once in a while out of consideration of his circ.u.mstance. She kept it short and minded her words carefully.
However, she became braver as time pa.s.sed. She complained every day, with her voice increasing in volume in tandem with her confidence; this caused her lectures to become increasingly harsh and fierce.
He did not know how w.a.n.g Jinglin had become like this. She used to be gentle and did not raise her voice no matter who she was talking to. In fact, her frailty made her seem as if she needed someone to constantly protect her.
Now she was like a b.i.t.c.h. Not the kind who cursed and spat everywhere they went, but the kind who sighed and whined every single day about everything under the sun. She would start her tirades every time he appeared as she clutched a pillow tightly in her arms.
At first, she said, "Why was Lin Yuwen so unreasonable? She kicked you out even though the two of you are still husband and wife! Does she even treat you like her husband? Now I know that she has never treated you as an equal and looked down on us from the start. Why else would she dare to do this? It"s always the wife who returns to her familial home when normal couples fight. Have you heard of a case where the husband is the one who"s driven out?"
Lin Yuwen had not contacted them at all in the past couple of days after Cheng Ziming had been forced out.
Cheng Ziming only spilled the truth after he was pestered relentlessly by his mother. The truth was that he had been fired by Lin Mao; Forget about being the CEO, he was not even an ordinary employee anymore. His earlier investments would not yet yield profits, which was to say that he was now without income.
w.a.n.g Jinglin complained while she sobbed. "Why are you only telling me this now? Does this mean that we won"t have money in the future? Lin Yuwen hasn"t contacted you at all even though such a long time has pa.s.sed. Why is that? Does she want to file for a divorce? Ziming, tell me, why have things become like this? She hasn"t shown herself in such a long time and has even fired you! Why did you only tell me this now? You"re useless. Go admit defeat to her and apologize! Can"t you just apologize to her and reconcile?"
Cheng Ziming glowered. "She didn"t look me in the eye. She didn"t treat me like her husband when she fired me without any warning. Why should I apologize to her? She"s the one who has severed the Cheng family line!"
w.a.n.g Jinglin dabbed at her tears with a tissue. "You can"t just remain at a standstill with her forever! Even though you can"t go back to Lin Mao, you can still work for other companies! Are you waiting for the family to exhaust our wealth? Do you know how much the neighbors have been talking about you ever since you"ve come back? They"re all saying that you"re a useless son-in-law who had been driven back home by the family you married into! And that you"re rotting at home without a job because you"re a b.u.m who only knows how to leech off your wife and parents! How do you want me to face them?"
They had moved out of their previous residential area and, after doing so, w.a.n.g Jinglin had gradually become vain and boastful. Or perhaps she had always been like this, but just did not have anything to boast about when they were poor.
Nevertheless, her true colors showed once she started to gain leverage.
When they were poor and their son was dating Lin Chu, Lin Chu had treated Cheng Jindong and w.a.n.g Jinglin well. w.a.n.g Jinglin had then bragged to anyone that would listen that her son"s girlfriend was so and so.
It might have been interpreted as a sign of w.a.n.g Jinglin genuinely liking Lin Chu, but now it was evident that it was just a means for her to be vain.
When they had moved to their new home, w.a.n.g Jinglin went for a walk every day, chatting with all the neighbors in the same age range as though she was on a mission to let everyone in the vicinity know that Cheng Ziming was the son-in-law of Lin Mao.
This was why the neighbors had discussed Cheng Ziming"s return behind his mother"s back.
After this, upon seeing that her son was not going to back down, w.a.n.g Jinglin had called Lin Yuwen herself.
When Cheng Ziming was together with Lin Yuwen, w.a.n.g Jinglin had been unhappy at Lin Yuwen"s dismissive att.i.tude toward them - it was as though she did not see recognize them as her in-laws. She had also felt that Lin Yuwen was arrogant toward them and looked down on them because viewed them as leeching off the Lin family. She had not said this to her face, but she talked plenty behind her back.
When it was confirmed that Lin Yuwen was sterile, w.a.n.g Jinglin had rubbed this in her face. Her meek, soft voice made the venomous words that much worse. She had put on a victimized appearance while she sobbed and said hurtful things to Lin Yuwen even though the latter had not even done anything. This was a truly disgusting display of double-standards.
Now that Lin Yuwen had kicked Cheng Ziming out, w.a.n.g Jinglin started to worry. She made her son suck up to Lin Yuwen when the wealth the Lin family had once bestowed on them started to slip between their fingers.
Despite this, Cheng Ziming was even more p.i.s.sed off. Was he merely an object whose sole purpose in her eyes was to suck up to the Lin family and ensure her luxurious lifestyle?
Lin Yuwen had picked up the call, then mocked w.a.n.g Jinglin for what it was worth before finally repeating to her what she had said to Cheng Ziming. She told her that she would not divorce Cheng Ziming, but that she would not produce his offspring either. Thus, he could never have a son with the Cheng name.
As for everything the Lin family possessed… the Chengs could forget about ever getting a piece of it.
w.a.n.g Jinglin had only liked them because of their wealth, right? Now she had lost both her daughter-in-law and the wealth she had brought with her!
It seemed as though w.a.n.g Jinglin had forgotten the mocking words she had spat at Lin Yuwen in the past. She had only become nervous now that Cheng Ziming had been kicked out, and so was now coming to apologize to her. How spineless and thick-skinned!
She had made her feel unwelcome even while she was leeching off the Lin family and now she would not get anything at all.
Before this, Lin Yuwen did not do anything in the past because she had felt guilty about not being able to fulfill her responsibilities as a daughter-in-law of the Cheng family. Although she was not willing to lower herself to make peace with w.a.n.g Jinglin, she was willing to satisfy any of her requests as long as they were not too outlandish. Lin Yuwen had also tolerated her occasional nagging when necessary.
Now the Cheng family was being unreasonably capricious, but Lin Yuwen was the one holding their lifeline. The situation had changed, and she could finally commit revenge on them and make them suffer!
That was the gist of what Lin Yuwen had said.
w.a.n.g Jinglin hung up and broke into tears.
Lin Yuwen was a lost cause, so w.a.n.g Jinglin took it upon herself to nag Cheng Ziming into finding work.
"Ziming, are you just going to wait till we exhaust everything we have while you sit there and refuse to find work?" w.a.n.g Jinglin said as the tears streamed down her face. She did not raise her voice, unlike when she spoke with Lin Yuwen, but she let her bitterness seep into her words as if someone was bullying her.
This mosquito-like nagging annoyed Cheng Ziming even more than a big argument.
If she had argued with him, he could at least yell out his frustrations, but w.a.n.g Jinglin made it impossible for him to vent his anger.
"Your father and I are both retired. How can the little pension we get sustain the three of us? The monthly maintenance fee in this area is so high. Winter"s near, so we"ll have to pay a heating fee of seven to eight thousand a month. I don"t even dare chat with anyone when you"re not going out to work, because I"m scared that someone will ask me what you"re doing. How do I respond to that? I just have to keep my head down in the area." This was what w.a.n.g Jinglin constantly went on about over the past few days.
Meanwhile, Cheng Ziming began to feel like Lin Chu was the reason behind all of this.
If Lin Chu had not stuck her head into he and Xu Jiaojiao"s relations.h.i.+p, and if someone had not exposed his and Xu Jiaojiao"s affair because they hated Lin Chu, then Lin Yuwen would not have found out about it and thus be none the wiser.
Lin Chu was the root of all his problems.
He did not understand why Lin Chu was always meddling in his affairs. Even after they had broken up and he had married Lin Yuwen, Lin Chu was there wreaking havoc.
Now she was married to Yan Beicheng, yet she was still messing with him.
Did she hate the idea of him living peacefully that much?
He had sought out Lin Chu with the purpose of asking her to compensate him. Everything was Lin Chu"s fault, so it was reasonable to ask her to compensate him.
However, he did not expect Lin Chu to walk out of the building before he called her.
His car was parked behind Lu Zhenghang"s. He did not know who the person inside the car in front of him was, so he had a.s.sumed that Lin Chu had seen him, but then she stopped in front of the car in front of him.
After this, he saw Lin Chu"s lips move. He did not hear what she said to the person inside before he got out of the car.
Unexpectedly, it was a handsome and strikingly tall man. Although he could only see the side of his face, he vaguely recognized him.
Then, he saw the two of them walk forward. Before he could even think, he was out of the car and secretly stalking them.
He followed them into the cafe. There was something going on between the two of them, so intense that they did not notice him trailing behind them.
The meeting was so scandalous that Lin Chu had sat with her back facing the wall and thus did not see him. He looked for a seat among the potted plants and sat down, positioning himself in a way that allowed him a view of the man"s face. He gradually became more familiar the longer he stared at him, and before long, Cheng Ziming finally remembered who he was: the CEO of Xing Chuang, Lu Zhenghang.
Gossip surrounding him was currently flooding the Web.
They talked at a low volume, and the cafe was playing music the whole time. Although it was not loud, the music still disrupted his attempts at eavesdropping.
Suddenly, he noticed Lu Zhenghang"s malicious expression directed at Lin Chu, and right after he saw him tilting Lin Chu"s chin up in an indecently intimate gesture. What followed was Lin Chu splas.h.i.+ng water on his face.
As Lin Chu left the cafe, Lu Zhenghang had shouted his reply, which Cheng Ziming had heard despite the music playing over his voice.
Cheng Ziming scorned Lin Chu. Lin Chu always put on a decent appearance as her mouth spouted self-righteous words. She looked down on those who traded their dignity for money, but in reality, she was exactly the type of person she pretended to abhor.
There was something going on between her and Lu Zhenghang despite her marriage to Yan Beicheng.
Now, Cheng Ziming was holding onto Lin Chu"s arm, his eyes filled with venom as he stared at her with hatred and disdain.