You can like women, and you can also like men.
The farce ended in a noisy, chaotic scene with many people. Near the end, Lin Zhen'er saw Jin Chaosheng kick a small dog that had joined the fray and was whimpering. She was instantly enraged and, with all her might, pushed through the crowd and slapped him across the face.
The husband's protection, Qiao Jie's pulling, and the assistant's overt obstruction and covert shoving all faded into insignificance when the ex-mother saw her son injured. How could a human being make such a boiling water sound? She thought painfully.
By the time everything had calmed down and the surrounding area was filled with uncles and elders who had come to mediate for fear of being implicated, it was already noon.
Married for more than half a year, she had learned from her husband to be polite to these people but to keep her distance. She was eating lunch with a sense of ease under everyone's gaze, although Jin Yanzhi still had no appetite and was sitting on the sofa with a livid face, accepting those meaningless words of comfort.
But she needs to be fed; a family can't afford to fall apart if two families are already in disarray.
"Zhen'er, Zhen'er, are you there? Daddy has brought your little brother to see you."
The person in the bowl hadn't finished eating when that voice, which had been quiet for months, suddenly rang out again. The room was filled with elders of the Jin family, many of whom held sway within the company, even though they had already made the news because of their family scandals.
But now that the man has appeared with his so-called younger brother, it has undoubtedly given these people more to talk about.
Thankfully, she wasn't the same inexperienced woman who lived in constant fear anymore. The woman put down her chopsticks, got up, and quickly walked towards the door, completely ignoring the stares of those sitting on the sofa. She grabbed her biological father by the collar and dragged him outside.
Come on, let those seemingly refined but inwardly turbulent people see how they, who climbed up from the bottom, brutally confronted the tangled mess of their original families.
You shoved me in front of so many people!
I brought him to see you, and your brother even bought you strawberries!
During the struggle, the bag was torn open, and bright red fruit fell to the ground. Lin Zhen'er looked at the fruit on the ground—fruits she had loved to eat since childhood, but which she had eaten a handful of times before starting work—and suddenly sneered.
Yes, this is a strawberry, and it used to be the most expensive fruit in inland cities like Xijiang. When I was a child, I almost never ate one in my family, which was struggling financially, except at my best friend's house.
It was during the Chinese New Year when I went to visit relatives with this man. I saw him at my wealthy cousin's house. That time, there was a bowl full of strawberries. I hadn't eaten breakfast, and when my father borrowed money, I greedily ate a few extra strawberries.
She was slapped in the face by a man who couldn't borrow money from her as soon as she stepped out the door. This nightmarish youth shaped her into an adult who dared not reach out for anything she liked, always pretending not to want it, and walking away from shop windows time and time again.
Today, he arrived at the gates of the extravagantly luxurious Jin family mansion, accompanied by his chubby illegitimate son, both dressed in brand-new matching down jackets and carrying half a bag of the sweetest fruits he could remember. Who knows what new problems he might face this time?
"Madam, why don't we go inside and talk?"
The one who spoke was the assistant who had walked up to her husband before him. "Go inside and talk?" Why go inside to talk at a time like this? Lin Zhen'er ignored the voice and stomped the strawberries that had rolled all over the floor to pieces like a madwoman.
Bright red juice spilled all over the floor, splattering all over her snow-white slippers. Everyone in the room seemed stunned by the scene; no one offered any more high-sounding words of comfort, and no one even dared to come out and stop it.
"The Jin family isn't a place you can just come and go as you please. If you get out now, I can still control myself and not make a move in front of so many people."
Jin Yanzhi's voice was firm and resolute, and he held his wife's hand tighter than usual. He, who had been consumed by anger and unsure what to do, felt a sudden pang of sadness upon sensing his lover's warmth. He watched as her similar gait and back walked out of the courtyard and disappeared at the end of the path.
"Now that you're married, you're becoming more and more unruly."
First your cousin was arrested, and now he's threatening your father-in-law like this. Yanzhi, you were the most obedient child, what happened to you now that you're all grown up…”
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the people inside started to leave. The man at the very back had gray hair and, relying on his age, blurted out those words.
"Uncle, my father's matter is not so easy to let go of."
If I had truly obeyed, I wouldn't be in charge of the Jin family now. Uncle, I'm just stopping pretending, so you shouldn't either.
The elder, rebuked, remained silent, turned away angrily, and walked out. In the courtyard, a young couple nestled together, with a magnificent manor behind them and expensive greenery around them, seemed to have everything, yet at many moments, it seemed they only ever truly belonged to each other.
The atmosphere remained somber upon returning home. The woman knew in her heart that the two major cases that had weighed on her husband's mind for years, and the fact that the murderer was a close relative she had known for many years, were something that would be difficult for anyone to let go of.
So when Jiang Chengjing's message appeared on her phone a few days later, she was calmer than ever before. The photos he sent were of her and her father's standoff in the yard that day. There were pictures of him grabbing her by the collar, and of Mrs. Jin with her hair disheveled, stomping on the fruit on the ground. Every picture made her look like a madwoman.
The message contained only one simple sentence: "Be careful, there are plenty of people around you who are more terrifying than me." These photos didn't appear in the news these days; instead, they were first sent to her phone as a gesture of goodwill. But Lin Zhen'er's focus was on something else entirely. These photos weren't from surveillance cameras or taken secretly; they were from a perspective that only someone present could have.
The elders inside that day probably didn't have the leisure to take these photos; Qiao Jie and the bodyguard were also elderly members of the family. Suddenly, the image of the newly appointed assistant—his handsome face and narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes hidden behind his glasses—came to mind.
It must be him. The person licked their lips, sat at their desk for a long time to calm down, and then opened their best friend's chat window. They didn't know when it started, but they had also begun to learn from CEO Jin, investigating every business rival and enemy, becoming a well-prepared yet impassive hunter at all times.
Sure enough, the boy had the personal experience that matched the job: a graduate of a prestigious university, a scholarship recipient since middle school, good at track and field and basketball, and had studied taekwondo. Apart from his poor family background, he had almost no other shortcomings.
Bingbing's profile picture flashed repeatedly across the screen. After reporting her assistant's information, she let out a mischievous laugh. Utilizing years of unspoken understanding, she voiced the deepest unease in the heart of the person on the other side of the screen:
"Your husband isn't cheating on you with this handsome guy, is he? Oh my god, they're so adorable."
Mrs. Jin, holding her forehead, didn't know how to respond to her best friend's words. After a long silence, she simply shut down her computer. On the way home, she stared at the driver, Xiao Xie's, face with its thick eyebrows and big eyes, lost in thought. This right-hand man of Mrs. Jin was quite handsome.
Why was the chosen man the new assistant? Ability and ambition have never been what his domineering CEO values most. Perhaps it's because he prefers slimmer women? Thinking this, she glanced down at the two layers of belly fat she'd gained from late-night snacks and secretly sighed.
"Now that you're back, let's eat quickly. Xiao Li is here to play games with me today and will eat with us."
Jin Yanzhi, who was excitedly welcoming his wife, had no idea that he was already being treated as a suspect in her eyes. The braised pork ribs on the table were still steaming, and as usual, he stuffed the biggest piece of meat into his wife's bowl, but was somewhat puzzled by the glare he received.
It's that assistant again, it's that Xiao Li again. The woman, who seemed focused on eating, was actually feeling uneasy. Although she couldn't lose trust in her husband, regardless of whether it was a woman or a man opposite her, the gentle, smiling man not far away was far more appealing than Jiang Chengjing.
Besides the two men playing video games, there was another woman in the living room today, who usually goes upstairs as soon as she puts down her chopsticks. She was holding her puppy, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone, and keeping a wary eye on the people on the sofa.
The assistant seemed to be playing the game with great skill, winning repeatedly. He then casually moved closer to his husband, occasionally raising his hand for a high five, and at just the right moment, reminded the young CEO to drink water and rest his eyes.
Yeah, it's pretty cute.
Startled by the thought, the woman shook her head vigorously and, feigning exhaustion, went upstairs.
The data on the phone, which had been closed, was now being accessed again by the person taking a bath as the water level rose. Downstairs, the assistant had quickly climbed to the position of a trusted confidant of the young CEO Kim during his months abroad, thanks to his outstanding abilities.
His name appears on many lists in the group's recent projects. Sensible, intelligent, and with high emotional intelligence, he seems like a formidable figure. What unsettles her even more is that everything she's doing is just speculation. Using those unfounded sixth senses to question her downstairs spouse makes her seem utterly ridiculous.
"Why did you come so early today? Are you not feeling well?"
The man who suddenly appeared at the door startled Lin Zhen'er so much that she almost screamed, and she dropped her phone into the water.
Jin Yanzhi placed the sweet fermented rice balls he had brought in on the small table and looked suspiciously at the phone his wife had just frantically pulled from the water. With his assistant's company these past two days, his mood had improved slightly.
The news from the guys in the police station was all about how those two old guys' dirty deeds were being investigated one after another, and they would be spending the rest of their lives behind bars.
There's just something off about this woman.
"Jin... Jin Yanzhi, I have a question for you..."
Do you know that there's a group of people who like both women and men?
Lin Zhen'er's voice was somewhat hesitant.
"I know, bisexuals are no different from us heterosexuals, it's normal, it's just a different orientation."
The man tilted his head, looking at the woman who wasn't even eating her favorite snack and was staring at him nervously.
"Okay... I think so too, what's the big deal..."
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