Chapter 129 Did you divorce her? "So, did you divorce her?"...
With heavy makeup on, Shen Qinghuai noticed it was getting late and prepared to go home after get off work.
After finishing organizing the last few documents, he locked the things in the safe, picked up the key, and prepared to get up.
Just then, someone knocked on the door from the outside. A delicate and soft voice came through the door, sending shivers down his spine.
He had a terrible headache, but he held back his temper and said, "Come in."
The woman who entered the room had her hair styled in a perm, wore a cheongsam and high heels, and deliberately left her trench coat open to reveal her impressive curves. She was putting on quite a show.
She walked up to Shen Qinghuai's desk, stood there awkwardly, and asked while twisting her body with her hands on the desk, "President Shen, why is your phone always busy? I had no choice but to come here in person."
Shen Qinghuai calmly fiddled with the keys in his hand: "What's up?"
"You really have a bad memory." The woman, like a water snake, twisted to the side of the table, trying to get closer to Shen Qinghuai.
Unfortunately, Shen Qinghuai couldn't stand the scent of her perfume, so he simply got up, opened the window, and moved away from her, asking, "I remember now, you were talking about arranging a marriage for you, right? It's like this, my Tenglong isn't in the mood for dating lately, but he introduced me to a good candidate, from the Wu family. Would you consider it?"
The woman smiled and moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around Shen Qinghuai's waist from behind. Her sweet lips said coquettishly, "I don't care. No one is as tall and handsome as President Shen in my heart."
This was clearly not the first time Shen Qinghuai had been bothered by her. He didn't get angry on the spot, but instead picked up his mobile phone and called Lao Qu, the property manager of the community, saying, "Are you going to take care of your daughter or not? If you don't, I'll call the police."
Ever since Qiu Xiaoman and Chen Jianjun led police dogs to search the building last time, Lao Qu has been determined to get close to Shen Qinghuai, this rich man.
Of course, a rough-looking man like him wouldn't have the ability to marry a rich man, but luckily he has a daughter.
However, the father and daughter did not reach an agreement. Old Qu's idea was to pair Qu Tian with Shen Tenglong so that they could divide Shen Qinghuai's family property in the future. After all, Shen Qinghuai's youngest son was too young. By the time the boy grew up, Shen Qinghuai would be an old man. This power vacuum would be a good opportunity for close relatives like Shen Tenglong to seize the initiative.
Unfortunately, Qu Tian didn't want to go through such a long and complicated process. After all, her nephew was a real distant relative. She might as well just have a child with Shen Qinghuai. Anyway, she heard that his wife had been arrested. Could a big boss like him really be left alone in an empty house?
Unexpectedly, she failed to seduce him several times, but today she was still determined and came again. Unfortunately, Shen Qinghuai was in a meeting, and she waited in the meeting room for more than three hours. Finally, the meeting ended, and of course she had to come over to try to get closer to him.
Shen Qinghuai was still pretending to be serious! Furious, she snatched the cell phone and yelled at Old Qu on the other end, "Dad, I'm warning you, this is my business, it has nothing to do with you! If you dare take me away, I'll jump off the building!"
After saying that, she hung up the phone without waiting for her father to respond, and casually removed the battery from the mobile phone, looking at Shen Qinghuai with a provocative expression.
Shen Qinghuai had never seen anyone so shameless, but since she was a junior, he didn't want to ruin things, so he kindly advised, "Listen to who I'm introducing to you first, you definitely won't refuse."
Qu Tian wouldn't listen to any of this. She simply grabbed Shen Qinghuai's hand and started crying pitifully, "No, I've fallen for you. You're handsome, intelligent, and have a great personality. I fell for you instantly. To be honest, I've seen a lot in my life. There are plenty of rich guys in our university, but I didn't like any of them. They're too immature and have no sense of responsibility. Unlike you, who are mature, charming, and caring."
Shen Qinghuai frowned. Was he really that good?
Perhaps it's because he has a bigger wallet?
He could see through this calculation; otherwise, at his age, what sane young girl would be interested in him?
He couldn't help but retort, "I have five children, and my eldest daughter is only three or four years younger than you. You really want to be her stepmother?"
"She doesn't have to call me stepmother, she can call me sister too." Qu Tian seemed to be serious, and she kept giving me flirtatious glances as she spoke.
Shen Qinghuai couldn't help but scoff, "You're overthinking it. I wouldn't even look at a young girl like you. To put it bluntly, you probably can't even take care of yourself, right? I don't want to find a stepmother for my child either. Now listen to me, go back obediently, and I might introduce you to a good marriage for your father's sake. If you keep making trouble, I'll turn on you. I'm a man of my word, you can try me."
Qu Tian got angry, flung his hand away, sat down on the chair next to him, and buried her face in her hands on the table, crying: "Why do you say such hurtful things! I admit, I'm not good at taking care of people, but you're a big boss! Would you marry a wife to be a maid? Couldn't you hire a maid? You're bullying me, you're bullying me!"
Shen Qinghuai was speechless. She really was asking for trouble. He had given her plenty of face so many times, but she still insisted on pestering him.
Okay, he picked up the landline and called the bodyguards downstairs, telling them to come in and drag the person out.
Qu Tian was really unhappy now, so she waited downstairs, squatting down, and when Shen Qinghuai came down with his briefcase, she immediately followed him with red eyes, all the way to the underground parking lot.
The driver started the engine and pointed the headlights at her, but she wouldn't budge, blocking the front of the car. In the end, the bodyguards had to pull her away.
Unfortunately, as soon as the bodyguard turned around, she lunged at the hood of the car. Shen Qinghuai, unable to bear it any longer, got out of the car and said some unpleasant things.
For example, how she went off-campus to live with a rich young man while in college, and how she cheated on him, hooking up with two or three men at the same time.
For example, after the scandal comes to light...
However, Shen Qinghuai couldn't bring himself to say anything too harsh. After all, he was a middle-aged man, and arguing too much with young people would make him seem uncultured.
In short, the conversation ended abruptly with the statement, "You went to the hospital three times, and I had someone investigate each time."
As for what Qu Tian went to the hospital for, both of them knew the truth.
Qu Tian became obedient after that. She got off the hood of the car and questioned with red eyes, "You investigated me?"
“I had to investigate before introducing someone to my nephew. The conclusion is, you're not suitable.” Shen Qinghuai sighed. “Xiao Qu, I've been giving you face. I said my Tenglong doesn't want to date, not that you're bad. You insisted on making a scene, so I had to expose your past. However, for your father's sake, I'm still willing to introduce you to a good match. He's a playboy, rich, and meets your criteria. You're also willing to go all out and tolerate his womanizing for money. You two would be a perfect match. If you're willing, come to dinner with me this weekend, and I'll introduce you.”
Qu Tian remained silent this time, because she knew that she had run out of cards to play and now she could only passively accept it or completely refuse and start afresh.
However, it's best not to completely offend someone like Shen Qinghuai.
After a moment's thought, she agreed: "Tell me first, who is he?"
“Wu Cichou’s grandson.” Shen Qinghuai smiled kindly. “You know, their family is much more powerful than my Shen family. They have everything, right?”
Qu Tian was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected Shen Qinghuai to be willing to introduce her to the Wu family's grandson. That was wonderful.
She couldn't help but laugh: "I know who you're talking about."
"So what do you think?" Shen Qinghuai smiled as well. A middle-aged man like him could easily see through the other party's schemes.
He was prepared to cause trouble for the Wu family, since the Wu family had never intended to be polite to his daughter in the first place.
If a woman as daring as Qu Tian gets entangled with the Wu family, then things will get interesting.
Seemingly in response to his expectations, Qu Tian started to act coquettishly again. She clenched her hands, lowered her head, and adopted a shy posture: "Then you must be very tired, Mr. Shen. Is there anything I can bring?"
"Wu Cichou has high blood pressure, you can just buy him some health supplements." Shen Qinghuai had done all he could. He glanced at his watch; it was getting late, and he still had to deliver the cat.
Fortunately, Qu Tian was sensible this time. She said thank you and left, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
When Shen Qinghuai arrived at Liu Kun's place, he found that the caregiver was not there. He was a little surprised: "Where is the caregiver? Did she take leave?"
Liu Kun looked at the bodyguard holding a cardboard box outside the door, but didn't close the door. He took a step back to let him pass and said, "No, I fired her. I'm feeling better now and don't need a caregiver anymore."
Shen Qinghuai didn't ask any further questions, but simply introduced the cat in the box: "Xiaoman asked me to bring this back. She asked you to take care of it for two months." As he spoke, he handed Liu Kun 10,000 yuan in cash, "Buy whatever you need yourself. You can also call me if it's inconvenient."
Liu Kun hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the 10,000 yuan. Raising cats and dogs does cost money, and now is not the time to be high-minded.
But he still asked, "Shall I write a receipt?"
"No need, consider the extra as compensation for your hard work taking care of the cats and dogs." Shen Qinghuai sat down, waved his hand, and told the bodyguard to wait outside. After the door closed, he asked, "Do you have a key to Xiaoman's room? I need to get her two sets of clothes; she went to the military base."
Liu Kun was a little surprised: "You went to the army? No wonder you asked me to help take care of the cats and dogs."
"Hmm, do you have the key?"
"No, when you came over yesterday, I gave her both the master key and the spare key to her room."
"Then I'll buy her two new sets."
"Um."
"Are you sure you don't need a caregiver?"
"No need." Liu Kun was a smart man and knew that Qiu Xiaoman's room was likely hiding something, and having a caregiver around would ultimately be a hidden danger.
However, he didn't want to talk about it, lest he appear too clever and incur Shen Qinghuai's displeasure.
Men, especially successful men, are not very willing to see their juniors being smarter than themselves, especially since this junior is currently living in his daughter's house.
After Shen Qinghuai left, he called Qiu Xiaoman: "Hey, Officer Qiu, President Shen has brought the cat over. You can go about your business without worry."
Qiu Xiaoman was almost asleep, her voice a little hoarse, and she mumbled sleepily, "Um, thank you. If I have time off next week, I'll treat you to dinner when I get back."
"Okay, good night." Liu Kun hung up the phone, glanced at the calendar on the wall, and thought, "It'll be soon, nine days left."
*
The weekend arrived quickly.
Shen Qinghuai waited downstairs at the company. At nine o'clock in the morning, Yang Miaomiao arrived as expected.
She was driving a brand-new Santana, wearing sunglasses, and had a cool, edgy style.
She parked her car in front of Shen Qinghuai, rolled down the window, and tossed him a set of room keys: "Is this the only bag you have?"
"Hmm." Shen Qinghuai took the keys, looked at Yang Miaomiao whom he hadn't seen for several years, and almost didn't recognize her. He exclaimed in surprise, "Why did you cut your hair so short?"
"Is that not allowed? I'm a soldier!" Yang Miaomiao got out of the car, took the bag of clothes from his hand, tossed it into the back seat, and sat down. She noticed Shen Qinghuai was still examining the car, so she simply explained, "Don't look at it anymore. Your Xiaoman lent it to me. I didn't steal it!"
Shen Qinghuai smiled and circled around her, saying, "No, that's not what I meant. She just learned to drive, and I was just checking to see if there were any scratches."
Yang Miaomiao curled her lips in disdain: "Are you making a big deal out of it? It's only a scratch on a car worth 30,000 yuan, why are you so upset?"
Shen Qinghuai was both amused and exasperated: "Who said I felt sorry for her? I was just trying to find an excuse for her to get a better one."
Yang Miaomiao fell silent. She had prepared a whole host of sarcastic remarks, but now she had no use for them. All she could do was roll her eyes and say, "Tch, you think you're so rich? Showing off! I'm leaving!"
Helpless, Shen Qinghuai could only force a smile and say, "Okay, okay, it's my fault. Drive slowly, there are a lot of cars around right now."
After all, it was Sunday, and people with cars were out for a stroll with their families and friends.
Yang Miaomiao waved her hand and left gracefully.
Her cool yet childish demeanor made Shen Qinghuai want to laugh. Despite being in her early twenties, she was still a child at heart.
If we introduce her to Tenglong, it might just lead to a wonderful relationship.
But... this kid's never home. Isn't Tenglong supposed to be guarding the widow? Oh well.
Having given up the idea of acting as matchmaker, Shen Qinghuai went upstairs. Qu Tian finally arrived late at 10:30.
Shen Qinghuai rarely allowed himself to leave work early, so he took Qu Tian to the Wu family's house.
What a lively day! Wu Meinian's ex-husband even brought their two children over. I wonder what they're up to.
When all the guests were seated at 11:30, Shen Qinghuai realized that the Wu family was after him.
He sat down next to Shen Wanjun and heard Wu Cichou ask him about Liang Yuting. He had to put down his chopsticks and explain, "Her case hasn't been decided yet. I don't know how long she'll be in jail."
Wu Cichou squinted at him and asked, "So, did you divorce her?"
Shen Qinghuai remained silent; he didn't want to bring such a private matter into the open.
After all, it's not good to say it either way—
If he said he got divorced, people would definitely mock him for abandoning his wife when disaster struck.
If he says they haven't divorced, people will ask him, "Are you keeping a wife who's in jail waiting for the New Year?"
Since saying anything is wrong, it's better to say nothing.
As for how he and Liang Yuting should handle their relationship, that's none of anyone else's business.
However, Wu Cichou was a shrewd person and guessed it at a glance. He smiled and asked, "The formalities haven't been completed yet, have they?"
Shen Qinghuai remained silent, raised his hand to stop Wu Meinian from pouring wine, and poured himself a cup of hot water.
Wu Meinian asked curiously, "You're not drinking anymore?"
"I have a perforated stomach. Drinking Xiaoman will make me angry." Shen Qinghuai said with a smile, polite but distant.
Seeing this, Wu Meinian laughed and joked, "The old saying is true, daughters are like warm cotton-padded jackets. Xiaoman really cares about you."
Shen Qinghuai smiled and said nothing more.
Wu Cichou, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned about Shen Wanjun's attitude and mood. Seeing that Shen Wanjun remained silent, he simply asked him the same question again.
What else could Shen Wanjun say? He could only smile and toast his old boss: "I stopped worrying about the kids a long time ago. I don't know what they're thinking, and I'm too lazy to care. With this time, we old folks can go out and soak up the sun and play cards."
Wu Cichou did not clink glasses with him, but asked with a forced smile, "So, does that mean your Shen family is determined to keep a daughter-in-law in jail as gossip for others?"
Shen Wanjun knew that his old leader was angry, but he did not want to compromise. He just smiled and said, "Old Wu, you flatter me. You know me. I've always been useless, and my children are useless too. I'm used to it."
Wu Cichou sneered, picked up his wine glass, and drank it down. He didn't forget to mock his daughter, "Meinian, look at you! I told you to find someone among your classmates, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on finding someone you liked. Look at you now, it all ended in divorce. On the other hand, this classmate of yours stayed by his wife's side even when she was in jail. He's a true Casanova!"
Wu Meinian was so embarrassed that her scalp tingled. It was clearly her father who made her marry Zhu Lijun, so how did it become that she liked Zhu Lijun? Oh well, who would dare to disobey the old man? She could only force a smile and say, "Dad, why are we talking about this? Lijun and I were both at fault, so let's not talk about it."
Wu Cichou was increasingly unhappy. His daughter was incredibly stupid. Since they were divorced, she should have chosen someone better. Shen Qinghuai was a high-performing man, and countless people would be envious of him. He didn't believe that Shen Qinghuai would stay alone in an empty house waiting for a woman who was in prison.
Unfortunately, my daughter is disobedient and refuses to make any effort. I wonder if she's been corrupted by her ex-husband.
His disdain was nothing out of the ordinary to his former son-in-law, Zhu Lijun, so Zhu Lijun pretended not to notice and just kept serving food to the two children.
He and Wu Meinian have a son and a daughter. Their eldest son is eleven years old this year, and their youngest daughter is nine years old. They are both in school and have no time to deal with the grudges and feuds of their elders.
He only agreed to come today because his cousin instructed him to come and see what the Wu family's purpose was in inviting the Shen family.
Now he understood that his ex-father-in-law wanted Wu Meinian and Shen Qinghuai to be a couple.
The plan is well-thought-out, but unfortunately, Shen Qinghuai might not listen to it.
Judging from Shen Qinghuai's performance now, Zhu Lijun is even more convinced that Shen Qinghuai is not capable of being a marionette; there's no way he can do it.
That's good, to prevent the Wu family's power from expanding again.
Speaking of Shen Wanjun, he was quite a character. He worked under Wu Cichou for over a decade and never colluded with him, retiring with a clean record. His ability to feign ignorance and smooth things over was truly exceptional. His son shouldn't be fooled by someone like that.
So after the banquet, he called Captain Lu to reassure his cousin.
Captain Lu wasn't surprised at all. Holding the microphone and smoking a cigarette, he said, "So they really are after Shen Qinghuai? What else can the Wu family do besides finding people to marry into their families?"
"They also deceive their superiors and subordinates, bully the weak and fear the strong, disregard the law and discipline, abuse public power for private gain, line their own pockets, and even commit murder to cover up their crimes!" Zhu Lijun said, his back teeth aching from clenching them.
Captain Lu quickly advised, "Don't get agitated. These things all require evidence. Take it slow, and the truth will come out eventually."
“Brother, I’m not reconciled!” Zhu Lijun said with red eyes. “If I had known that my mother was killed by them, I would never have married Wu Meinian. I was completely deceived by their family for those years. Thinking about it now makes me feel disgusted. I wish I could kill myself right now in front of my mother’s grave to apologize to her.”
Captain Lu fell silent. His aunt had been too straightforward back then. She discovered that the Wu family was transferring state-owned assets, collected evidence to report them, and then she died, and even the evidence disappeared.
They didn't know about this at the time. It wasn't until five years ago, when another corrupt official who had been dismissed from office confessed to the murderer who did his dirty work, that they learned from the murderer that the victim was his aunt. Only then did they learn some of the hidden truth from back then.
Unable to bear such a humiliating disgrace, his cousin Zhu Lijun immediately found an excuse to divorce him.
Unfortunately, fighting against overwhelming odds would only lead to self-destruction. The cousin could only lie low, both to gather evidence and to raise his two children, fulfilling his responsibilities and obligations as a father.
Otherwise, what's the difference between my cousin and those cold-blooded and ruthless people in the Wu family?
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, so no matter how much resentment my cousin has towards the Wu family, he can't take it out on the child.
Thinking of this, Captain Lu could only use the child as a means of persuasion: "Jun'er, listen to your brother. Your life is precious. Even if you really want to go with your aunt, you should bring the Wu family with you. That's what makes it worthwhile, isn't it? Listen to your brother's advice and be patient. Our team will continue to grow stronger, and everything will be alright."
Zhu Lijun choked up and said, "Brother...it's my mother's death anniversary in a couple of days, you should go instead, I'm too ashamed to face her."
Captain Lu sighed silently, "Okay, I'll go." After hanging up the phone, Captain Lu got up and looked at the blue sky outside the window, unable to help but sigh.
How could the Wu family be so shameless? They killed the company's accountant, and then, in order to bribe the accountant's husband, they arranged for their daughter to marry the accountant's son.
This method of silencing her was so ingenious that the accountant's husband was sent abroad the following year, married a foreign woman, started a new family, lived in a house bought by the Wu family, and worked for the Wu family's overseas company. He was completely tied to the Wu family's ship.
Unfortunately, the truth will out.
The more people on the Wu family's boat, the easier it is to expose their true colors. After all, no one is a puppet; a combination of selfishness will only breed more selfishness and darkness.
Unequal distribution of benefits leads to infighting, competition, mutual obstruction, and sabotage...
Dogs fighting can sometimes be a natural consequence of karma.
Unfortunately, the Wu family's ship is too big; it will take a lot of effort to completely break through it.
Captain Lu stubbed out his cigarette and turned to go downstairs.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a figure running towards him on the road in front of the door. It was Qiu Xiaoman.
Hey, this young man, he's got real energy!
Before he could even lock the door, he had already dashed up to the third-floor office. His face was rosy, and there was a bead of sweat glistening on his forehead; he looked to be in good spirits.
Lu returned the salute with a smile: "Looking for me?"
"Okay!" Qiu Xiaoman had just received a call from Shen Qinghuai. She had originally planned to call Captain Lu directly, but then thought it would be better to come over in person. After all, Yang Miaomiao was in the dormitory, and it was best not to let too many people know about Captain Lu's wife's illness.
So she ran over, smiling as she put her hand down: "I have news from my adoptive mother. She's going to the mountains to find that old woman this afternoon. She'll call you back as soon as she has any results."
"She has my number?" Captain Lu was a little surprised.
Qiu Xiaoman smiled, revealing her bright white teeth: "Yes, I gave her your number. This way, it can protect your and your sister-in-law's privacy, right? You're not angry, are you?"
Captain Lu laughed: "You're quite thoughtful, young comrade. Don't be angry, thank you."
"You're welcome, I'll be going now!" Qiu Xiaoman turned and left, like a spring breeze, bright, warm, and inspiring.
At that moment, Captain Lu sincerely thought that if he could really cure his wife's illness, he would become sworn siblings with Comrade Xiao Qiu's adoptive mother.
I don't know if they'd be willing, but I don't think it's presumptuous of me.
Just as he was lost in thought, the phone rang in the office. Captain Lu had no choice but to unlock the door, go in, and pick up the receiver.
Old Lu's aged voice came from the other end: "Son, I just received news that Jun'er's father had an accident in the United States."
Captain Lu raised an eyebrow: "What happened?"
"That beast really thinks he's someone important, actually challenging that old codger Shen Wanming to a duel."
"What? Shen Wanming? Old Master Shen's younger brother?"
"Yes, Shen Wanming is not someone to be trifled with. He hired several private investigators to find out all the dirty tricks he had done and leaked them to the media. He's finished."
"Will the Wu family abandon him?"
"It definitely will. You need to work on Jun'er's mindset and tell him not to get involved in this matter and to live his own life."
"No, Dad, I'm thinking, if Jun'er's father were willing to come back and testify that my aunt was killed by the Wu family, maybe..."
"Hmm, that's one idea. I'll call Lao Shen and ask him to persuade Shen Wanming to show mercy."
"Then what?"
"Interrogate him, then hide him. Anyway, American law is a joke; money is all you need."
"Don't bring them back to China yet. It would be bad if the Wu family killed them."
"Okay, that's settled. Remember to give Jun'er some good advice."
"Okay, Dad."
A few minutes later, Lao Lu called back: "Son, no good. That old bastard Shen Wanming won't listen to reason and insists on killing Jun'er's father. Don't you have a daughter named Shen Qinghuai? Have her go and talk to Shen Qinghuai and ask him to persuade him."
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Captain Lu hung up the phone and called Qiu Xiaoman, asking her to come over.
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