Chapter Twenty-Four: The Brocade Rift

Lin Tang didn't want her feud with Qiao Yuan to become a public spectacle, but Chen Kan said, "This is what you deserve." She knew he was thinking of her, so she didn't go against his wishes.

In an instant, the news that Lin Tang, the wife of the leader of the Crescent Moon Gang, had sued her husband Qiao Yuan, demanding a divorce and a huge share of their property, caused an uproar in Jiangcheng, like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil.

The rickshaw pullers, spitting as they rested on the street corner, recounted the "insider information" they had heard from who-knows-where; the storytellers in the teahouse embellished this secret of the wealthy family, making it vivid and lifelike, as if they had personally witnessed how Mrs. Qiao tearfully accused him, how Mr. Qiao flew into a rage, and how the mysteriously returned "old friend" Mr. Chen stole her away.

The sensational headlines in the tabloids were like knives scraping at one's eyes: "The ownership of the Hongkou land deed remains a mystery; Mrs. Qiao demands an exorbitant price for the divorce!" and "New love and old love are hard to reconcile; why is Mr. Qiao's backyard on fire?"

Even at the docks and casinos of the Crescent Moon Gang, the laborers and dealers who usually dared not utter a sound would exchange knowing glances.

Qiao Yuan's name, along with Lin Jintang and Chen Kan's, became a bloodthirsty vulture hovering over Jiangcheng. Everyone was waiting to see which side would be torn to pieces by this earth-shattering storm.

But amidst the overwhelming public opinion, Lin Tang remained calm. She cooperated with Chen Kan's legal team step by step, handling the complicated legal documents in the divorce proceedings, like a dove resting in a storm.

That day, Chen Kan and Lin Tang were dealing with business matters at the largest Western restaurant in Jiangcheng.

She seemed somewhat lost in thought.

This was the restaurant she and Qiao Yuan had visited before.

At that time, she had just learned to wear three-inch high heels. She almost twisted her ankle on the carpet of the spiral staircase. Qiao Yuan caught her in time, wrapped his palm around her waist, and pressed down hard as if he wanted to knead her into his bones. He said in a low voice, "Slow down, it will hurt my heart if you fall."

He sat opposite her, his fingers gripping the knife and fork like a gun handle, his ears turning red but refusing to admit he didn't know how to use it. Finally, he secretly tugged at the waiter's sleeve and asked, "Why is this thing so hard to use?" which made her laugh out loud.

Finally, he specially asked the kitchen to add a Black Forest cake, saying, "I remember you like sweet things." Cream clung to the corner of his mouth like a snowflake that hadn't been wiped clean.

She reached out to wipe it, but he suddenly grabbed her hand, kissed it lightly, and said, "Miss Lin's hand is sweeter than cake."

It turns out that she had never noticed how many sweet moments they had shared.

But this sweetness was paved with his ill-gotten gains and with Bai Mu's death.

This fills her with frustration whenever she thinks about it!

"Jintang?" Chen Kan's voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw him pointing to the dance floor in the restaurant downstairs. "Look."

The light from the crystal chandelier shattered on the dance floor. Qiao Yuan sat on a sofa in the corner, his black suit making his shoulders and back appear even broader.

He had a woman in a moon-white cheongsam leaning against him, a cigarette between his fingers. In the swirling smoke, he suddenly looked up and met Lin Tang's gaze. A smile appeared on his lips, and he even raised his wine glass and waved it at her.

The woman beside him giggled and leaned closer to him, but he didn't even spare her a glance. He just stared at Lin Tang as if watching an amusing play.

Lin Tang's fingers suddenly dug into her palm.

"Jintang, he's really something now. Not only is he keeping Cheng Qing in his house," Chen Kan said with a hint of jealousy. "He's quite the ladies' man in Jiangcheng. Yesterday he was watching a movie with Miss Zhou from the Paramount, and today he's with another socialite."

Lin Tang didn't speak. She looked down at Qiao Yuan and suddenly felt as if her heart had been squeezed, a sharp pain shooting through her.

Qiao Yuan seemed to sense something, and suddenly stood up and walked towards the stairs. His suit collar was open, revealing the white shirt underneath, and a provocative smile still lingered on his lips.

Married for many years, he always wore a black long gown. Lin Tang rarely saw him dressed like this, so she couldn't help but feel unfamiliar with him.

"Jintang." He stood in front of her, his voice tinged with laughter. "Long time no see."

Lin Tang stared into his eyes without saying a word.

"You're so eager to get a divorce?" Qiao Yuan laughed. "So it's because you've got a gigolo."

"Mr. Qiao, please have some self-respect," she said softly, turning to leave.

Qiao Yuan, however, took her arm.

"Qiao Yuan, let go."

Qiao Yuan didn't loosen his grip; instead, he tightened his hold and pulled her closer to him.

The two were locked in a stalemate.

Just then, Cheng Qing arrived. She was no longer the weak and timid little dancer she had been two months ago. She wore a brand-new lake-green brocade cheongsam with lustrous pearls adorning the collar. Her makeup was exquisite, and her eyes sparkled with undisguised pride and swagger.

As soon as she came in, she took Qiao Yuan's arm.

"Master Qiao, everyone says you're here!" Cheng Qing said sweetly, "You just married her, and you're already neglecting her?"

Then, as if she had just noticed Lin Tang, she said, "Sister Jin Tang? What a coincidence, you look great, sister?" She paused deliberately, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

Lin Tang slowly lowered her eyelashes, and when she looked up again, the hazy mist in her eyes had dissipated, leaving only a clear, icy, cold light.

"Your complexion is naturally not as good as Miss Cheng's." She turned her head. "Mr. Chen, let's go!"

Even after being divorced, she still doesn't respect me at all!

Cheng Qing's smugness froze, then was replaced by deeper shame and anger: "You! Lin Jintang, who do you think you are? You're just a discarded wife that Master Qiao doesn't want anymore, what kind of airs are you putting on! Without Master Qiao, you..."

"Leave him?" Lin Tang's inner weakness was suppressed. Facing Qiao Yuan and Cheng Qing, she was always provoked. "I will have a new beginning!" She stood up abruptly, the movement aggravating her injured leg, and a slight stinging pain made her frown.

"You..." Qiao Yuan saw her like this and subconsciously wanted to help her up, but he froze in mid-air just before he touched her, and the stinging pain in his eyes was instantly replaced by a sinister look.

"Fine, very well." Qiao Yuan took a step back, his face full of hostility. "Lin Jintang, you've really made something of yourself now. It seems you've climbed to a higher branch. Even your words are laced with daggers."

"Qiao Yuan!" Chen Kan stepped in front of Lin Tang and shouted, "This is a public place, please be mindful of your status!"

"Identity?" Qiao Yuan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and the corners of his mouth twisted into an extremely distorted arc. "My identity is not something that someone who is ignorant of his own limitations and dares to meddle in the private affairs of my Qiao family should remind me of!"

His gaze fixed on Chen Kan's face again. "Mr. Chen, do you really think you can do whatever you want in Jiangcheng with just a few pieces of paper? The rules of the Crescent Moon Gang are not for outsiders to teach!"

"Mr. Qiao..." Cheng Qing cautiously tried to take his arm again, but Qiao Yuan took a step forward, leaving her empty-handed.

Tears welled up in Lin Tang's eyes.

She realized that everything was wrong. He was always this violent, and all the kindness he showed her was just a facade. That moment of tenderness was merely a brief period of dormancy before a predator hunts, and she had naively believed it to be love and salvation.

How ridiculous!

She was nothing more than a canary carefully kept by this beast, a living sacrifice used to prove his power and mercy, a gorgeous vase he tried to whitewash his past and decorate his image.

The tears that welled up in her eyes ultimately did not fall.

Just then, Cheng Qing finally snapped out of her utter shock and screamed, "Lin Jintang! How dare you! You dare curse Master Qiao! You madman..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qiao Yuan suddenly sat up straight.

"Good! Good! Good!" He said "good" three times in a row. "Lin Jintang, remember what you said today! Remember how you look! I'm waiting! I'm waiting to see how your 'wrecked body' drags me down to hell!"

After saying that, he turned around abruptly and resolutely lunged into the boundless darkness outside the door.

Cheng Qing was shaken off and completely ignored by him. Her carefully drawn face flushed red and then turned pale, filled with shame and indignation. She could only stomp her foot in frustration and chase after him in a disheveled state.

The restaurant was deathly silent. The crystal chandelier still shone brightly, the snow-white tablecloths remained spotless, and the lingering scents of perfume, cigars, and food mixed together in the air, only to make one feel nauseous.

Chen Kan stepped forward, wanting to support Lin Tang's slightly trembling shoulders: "Jin Tang..."

Just as his fingers were about to touch her, Lin Tang gently but resolutely avoided them. She straightened her back, like a reed that had been ravaged by a storm but still refused to break.

"I'm fine." Her voice regained its previous hoarseness and calmness, even more hollow than before. "Let's go."

She took the first step.

That bizarre and fantastical world was, in her eyes, an endless inferno. And she was stepping, step by step, into the heart of that inferno.