19. Hostility
It seems Attorney Luo is quite familiar with my wife.
Song Qinggui's words today can be said to have torn apart the Xue family's facade of so-called wealth and status.
They were lethal enough that none of Xue Can and Xue Rao dared to utter a sound; but they were also arrogant enough that Xue Tan's face was no longer warm, but rather solemn, and the old master Xue's brows could not hide his ruthlessness.
Song Qinggui remained calm: "I've made myself clear enough, and the conditions I've proposed aren't excessive. Once the agreement is drafted, please have Dad or Attorney Luo notify me, and I'm ready to sign it at any time."
Song Qinggui politely stood up: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
“I’ll go with you.” Xue Lu also stood up.
"Stop!" Old Master Xue slammed his cane down hard.
Xue Lu seemed impatient, but Song Qinggui didn't want to put him in a difficult position: "I'll wait for you outside."
After Song Qinggui left, the people sitting in the banquet hall noticed that the atmosphere between the old man and Xue Lu was not right, and they left in twos and threes. Luo Deng and Su Yalin also nodded their goodbyes, leaving only Xue Qielu, Xue Lu and Xue Tan, the father and son.
...
As soon as Song Qinggui reached the entrance of the Xue family's old residence, he heard another "smash" from inside. It was loud enough to be heard from this far away, indicating that it was even louder than the teacup that had been smashed earlier.
Song Qinggui couldn't help but turn around and see Luo Deng and Su Yalin walking towards him.
Su Yalin took a deep breath and looked at Song Qinggui. Before today, she had only met Song Qinggui a few times, but today she really impressed her.
"You're incredibly bold."
Su Yalin said with a hint of helplessness, but this helplessness contained well-intentioned concern, which Song Qinggui could understand.
Song Qinggui smiled and said, "I don't like to drag things out. It's better to make things clear today than to have endless disputes later."
Su Yalin nodded and looked at Luo Deng: "Are you going back to the law firm? Can I give you a ride?"
"You go first." Luo waited and said, "I'll talk to Qinggui."
Su Yalin looked at Luo and the others with amusement. After a while, she finally nodded: "Okay. Let's make another appointment later."
Su Yalin drove away.
Song Qinggui and Luo stood side by side under the sycamore tree at the Xue family's old residence.
“You’ve changed a lot,” Luo said first. “You’ve become much sharper.”
"You too," Song Qinggui replied, "You've become quite the sycophant."
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.
"Please, the Xue family is my client." Luo's tone returned to the familiarity of his youth: "The client is my father."
Song Qinggui didn't speak, only a smile that seemed to indicate he had seen through the ways of the world played on his lips.
Luo looked at Song Qinggui intently. She had just said that her marriage to Xue Lu was based on self-interest, and as a friend, he still wanted to advise her against it.
"Qinggui, I hope you'll reconsider your decision to relinquish the trust and fight for child custody. Honestly, after handling so many divorce and property division cases abroad, I don't want to continue in this field after returning to China because I feel the current laws in China are unfair to women. For example, the definition and sentencing for domestic violence, and the equal inheritance rights of illegitimate and legitimate children. A client once told me something I think is very true: happy marriages may exist, but for most women, marriage is a matter of swallowing needles if they marry up, or eating shit if they marry down. Think it over again. Five hundred million US dollars is a huge sum. If you're after the Xue family's money, you should make the most of it."
Song Qinggui gave a self-deprecating laugh: "There's no difference."
"What?" Luo and the others didn't hear clearly.
Song Qinggui: "I said, whether it's a trust or custody, it makes no difference to me."
Because... Xue Lu and I will not have children.
Song Qinggui finished saying the second half of the sentence in his heart.
Luo Deng still didn't understand, his eyes showing confusion, but seeing Song Qinggui's resolute expression, he felt relieved. She had always been like this since she was little, always thinking more than she said. So, just like when they were children, Luo Deng reached out and placed his palm on Song Qinggui's head.
When they were deskmates in high school, whenever Luo noticed she was unhappy, he would do this: pressing her head down while muttering, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, why bother with such a small thing? I'll sweep away your troubles."
To others, this was just a boring game between two studious kids in the class, but Song Qinggui and Luo Deng understood that it was two lonely, unsociable people supporting each other through the muddy waters of youth.
But the moment Luo and others touched Song Qinggui's head, Song Qinggui politely stepped aside.
Luo and the others did not take their hands back; there was only a moment of surprise on their faces, followed by a deep sense of desolation.
Song Qinggui noticed the disappointment in his expression, but he didn't feel guilty about his evasiveness. He simply said, "Luo Deng, we've all grown up."
Luo slowly withdrew his hand and lowered his head, but he quickly composed himself, raised his eyes and gave a gentle smile, teasingly saying, "You've grown up, so you don't want to be friends with me anymore? I was so good to you when we were kids."
Realizing the joke Luo and the others were making, Song Qinggui relaxed: "I wasn't bad to you either. Back then, who else did I ever give a nice look to besides you?"
“That’s true.” Luo Deng admitted, “When you were a child, you killed everyone equally.”
After saying that, Luo and others took out a business card and handed it to Song Qinggui: "Contact me anytime if you need anything."
After saying that, he mentally assessed Song Qinggui's personality and quickly added, "You can contact me anytime if there's nothing else."
Before Song Qinggui could say anything, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
She looked up and saw Xue Lu.
A cold voice came from above her: "It seems that Attorney Luo is quite familiar with my wife."
Luo and the others remained expressionless: "We are indeed very familiar with each other, but today is not the time for me and Qinggui to catch up. You two should have something to say. I'll be leaving now."
Before leaving, Luo and the others made a gesture to Song Qinggui, indicating that they were making a phone call.
Song Qinggui nodded.
As soon as Luo and the others left, Xue Lu tightened his grip on Song Qinggui's body. Song Qinggui frowned and looked up at his cold eyes.
Xue Lu looked at her, hoping to hear her explanation.
For example, "Attorney Luo and I are just classmates," or "We didn't say anything important just now"...
However, Song Qinggui remained silent. Xue Lu waited for a long time but didn't hear her say a word, so he angrily let go of her hand.
Song Qinggui felt that she had probably angered him by speaking too harshly to Old Master Xue. She could understand; after all, he was a member of the Xue family and naturally had to consider the family's interests. So Song Qinggui remained silent, walking beside Xue Lu and letting him give her the cold shoulder.
Xue Lu's car was parked at the intersection of Danshan Road, and the two got in.
Song Qinggui looked at Xue Lu's face through the rearview mirror; he was still angry.
Helpless, Song Qinggui fastened his seatbelt and closed his eyes. Rather than making conversation and irritating him further, it was better to close his eyes and let him have some peace and quiet.
As soon as Song Qinggui closed her eyes, Xue Lu looked at her and gritted his teeth.
Song Qinggui... Good! Very good!
Just now at the Xue family, after everyone had left, Xue Lu was stopped by Xue Qielu.
After everyone had left and the door was closed, Old Master Xue picked up the vase on the table and smashed it at his feet.
Xue Lu did not dodge, letting the broken porcelain and water from the vase splash onto his trousers.
Old Master Xue's chest heaved: "What a fine wife you've found! She's a threat to me now! She's got quite the nerve! Are you satisfied now?! You don't like Ya Lin, such an excellent girl, someone you know so well! You don't even look at the many noble ladies in Lancheng! But you've chosen Song Qinggui, such a scheming, ambitious wild girl! Are you satisfied now?!"
Xue Lu looked at Xue Qielu quietly, but not in a humble manner.
After a long pause, he said, "Dad, if the Xue family hadn't gone too far, Qinggui wouldn't have said it to this extent."
"You're still protecting her?!" Xue Qielu raised his cane and struck her: "What's Song Qinggui's background? What's her connections? I've already treated her well enough by agreeing to let her into the Xue family and signing this agreement with her! And she's still not satisfied. It's one thing if A-Can and A-Rao say a few words to her and she gets upset and argues, but she actually dares to use the Discipline Inspection Commission and the State Taxation Bureau to pressure me. Who does she think she is?!"
Xue Lu let the cane tap his thigh, but his eyes revealed a fierce look: "Xue Can, Xue Rao, do you want to argue with Song Qinggui? Dad, it's not only the rich who have personality. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have gone to America to bail out Xue Can back then. I should have let him be beaten to death by the Detroit police."
Upon hearing this, Old Master Xue was even more furious: "Unfilial son! Unfilial son! For a woman, you've even turned your own brother down...down...unfilial son!"
Xue Tan, who had been standing by, finally couldn't stand it any longer. He helped Xue Qielu sit down and, while doing so, turned to Xue Lu and advised, "Fourteenth, say less."
After finally calming down, Xue Tan looked at the old man and couldn't help but laugh: "Dad still loves Fourteen. He broke a vase but couldn't bear to hurt him. He hit him with his cane but couldn't bear to hit him too hard."
Old Master Xue snorted coldly.
Xue Tan continued, "I think Fourteen has excellent taste; he found a good wife for our Xue family."
"You're taking her side too?!" Old Master Xue shouted.
"Dad," Xue Tan said, his voice coaxing, "I'll tell you the truth, and you may not like hearing it. In your life, you've had so many women, some with official titles, some without, you can't even count them all. But with so many women, why did you refuse to divorce your mother back then?"
Upon hearing this question, Xue Qielu fell silent.
Wen Shuangjing… He thought of his first wife, who now spent her days worshipping Buddha and had long since severed all ties with him. If it weren't for Xue Lu, whom she had raised, she probably would rather die than stay in the Xue residence.
Indeed, as Xue Tan said, Xue Qielu never lacked women in his life, all kinds of women from all walks of life, and as long as he set his sights on one, he would take the bait.
But Xue Qielu never intended to let someone else replace Wen Shuang.
It wasn't that Xue Qielu still had any feelings for Wen Shuangjing; a man who had risked his life in the business world simply didn't believe in or need love. But the reason he had decided on Wen Shuangjing as his wife was because of the backbone she possessed.
The other women Xue Qielu encountered were willing to humble themselves to the point of being insignificant for their own schemes. They were the apple of each other's eye at home, but in front of Xue Qielu, they were still just dust under his feet.
But Wen Shuangjing was different. In her eyes, Xue Qielu was a rotten bastard. He was rotten, and that had nothing to do with whether he had money or not.
Xue Qielu scoffed at Wen Shuangjing's views, believing that only women would be foolish enough to hold onto faith in love. Yet, on the other hand, Xue Qielu also approved of Wen Shuangjing.
He was one of the most successful businessmen in all of East Asia, so he knew better than anyone what a rotten thing money was. Money, like men, can only be controlled by those who dare to stand up to them.
Wen Shuangjing is capable. Therefore, among all the wives in the Xue family, only she holds shares in the Xue Group.
Give it to her, Xue Qielu is assured, she will never squander all the money she has.
As for Song Qinggui...
Xue Qielu was angry, but he really hadn't seen such a sharp-tongued woman in many years.
Only a woman like this could be worthy of his little fourteen.
Seeing the old man's eyes flicker with emotion, Xue Tan knew that the old man had taken his words to heart.
He smiled and said, "Dad, don't be so stubborn. You're actually very satisfied with your wife, Fourteenth, aren't you?"
The old man snapped out of his daze, his face showing resentment. He slammed his cane down hard and said to Xue Lu, "You've brought home such a troublesome woman, so you'd better deal with her yourself! If you ever get divorced and bring shame to the Xue family, I'll break your legs!"
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