If the Jiang family won't help, we will.
"Everyone in the family group is saying that Jin Chaosheng's wife has four children abroad and has had several publicly married boyfriends."
Was he acting voluntarily this time?
Lying in bed that night, her husband lingered his hand on her smooth back for a long time before blurting out those words out of the blue.
Lin Zhen'er was replying to work messages in the group chat, not particularly interested in this gossip. If the man beside her weren't usually so focused on work, he would never have asked this question at this moment. Besides being the daughter of a real estate tycoon, today's bride...
She also has an even more impressive title: the most famous top live streamer in Pingyang. In the domestic internet celebrity circle, she has also made headlines several times because of her relationships. Every time her ex-boyfriends break up with her, they engage in several heated online battles with her, and both of their live streams can steadily attract traffic and create new sales records.
Just today, whoever I mentioned appeared on the live streaming platform. I was worried about how to explain this "online hype" when the newlywed, dedicated bride appeared on the homepage of the live streaming platform, and the entire live streaming room was decorated to resemble a wedding scene.
The livestream assistant was shouting at the top of her lungs to get everyone to place orders, while Jin Chaosheng, standing behind them, looked completely different from anyone they had ever seen before. Although he was still wearing the suit he wore during the day, his face had been painted with a clown costume for attention-seeking purposes, and he was being dragged by two people to dance a popular head-shaking dance that was trending online.
The bride on the screen, her voice booming, shouted for the audience to give her lots of likes. She said that once they reached 3 million likes, she would ask the groom to bring everyone a new lipstick to try on. The couple remained silent despite the deafening background music. Whatever you do, as long as you're willing, you'll be happy, like the bride energetically explaining her product.
But no matter what profession you're in, if it involves being forced into criminal activity, it always looks forced and sad, like her ex-boyfriend.
“He was naughty as a child and had little ambition.”
But seeing someone do these things so reluctantly is still quite unpleasant to watch.
Mr. Jin stared at his nephew on the screen, whose lips had been smeared with a new color of lipstick. Seeing that familiar face now adorned with an exaggeratedly large sausage mouth, he turned away from his wife, somewhat displeased, and refused to look any further.
The woman who casually turned off the live stream didn't say anything; she didn't know what to say. If she suggested that the jealous woman help her ex, she was afraid the two of them would argue that night. But no matter how awful Jin Chaosheng had been in the past, she couldn't be happy for him in his current situation.
The atmosphere in the bedroom was quiet. Lin Zhen'er rubbed her eyes sleepily and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. The familiar stubble on the back of her neck tickled her skin. The warm breath from her lover traveled from behind her ear all the way into her heart. The hands wrapped around her waist made her feel safe and happy. This was the life she wanted most. With her eyes closed, she began to give thanks to the world with a blissful feeling.
The next morning, as soon as they arrived at the company building, they saw their ex's flashy yellow sports car. Lately, that young master had rarely appeared at the company because of his father's accident; his sudden appearance so soon after his wedding must have been because his stubborn but soft-hearted husband had spoken up.
They both knew why the other party had agreed to the marriage. With the father in jail and the family embroiled in the accidental death of Old Jin, the mother and son, accustomed to a comfortable life with spare money, lacked any outstanding skills or abilities.
At this point, a marriage alliance is the best lifeline. It's just a pity that the playboy's romantic escapades have made headlines several times in recent years, and he's already notorious for his womanizing. Although the real estate heiress loves to create hype and has had her share of romantic affairs, he doesn't have a better option for her.
Before noon, the documents that my husband had sent for the procedures had arrived. They clearly stated that funds would be allocated to Jin Chaosheng to film a documentary about helping farmers and education in a poor area. The amount was not large, and the place he was going to was indeed in need of assistance.
She quickly confirmed the person's name, grabbed her coat, and headed downstairs. She had promised her mother she would come home for lunch today. A delicious radish and pork rib soup and meat-filled shumai awaited her at home—that was what she couldn't wait for.
"Do you think it's not enough for him to only bring four people with him on this documentary filming trip?"
The man who had said he was in a meeting and wouldn't be coming, still arrived only ten minutes later than her. The aroma of home-cooked dishes wafted from the dining table. His nonsensical question was clearly only understandable to her. Help! The cold-faced but warm-hearted person opposite her was just too funny.
"It's okay. If it's not enough, just send me. I'll sit in the suitcase. Is that enough?"
Lin Zhen'er watched with schadenfreude as the man opposite her suppressed his anger. Because his mother-in-law was present, the man could only swallow his anger, burying his head and drinking several bowls of soup, trying to vent his frustration by eating all the radishes.
The slurping pork ribs her husband was eating were perhaps replaced by images of his own in his mind at that moment.
Surprisingly, the news that the newlywed groom was going to the mountains to shoot a film didn't seem to be opposed by his wife's family. The real estate agent unexpectedly agreed to the decision, frequently showcasing the schools and scenery of the mountains in her live streams, and after selling oranges from local farmers, she started selling apples.
Love stories in this world often have unexpected endings, just like these two marriages that were not favored by everyone, they got better and better in those silent times.
After going to the mountainous area, Jin Chaosheng returned and applied for several more loans to build dormitories, install water heaters, and buy clothes and shoes for the children there. Each time these applications were approved, they would see emails describing increasingly better school environments and the bright smiles on the faces of the villagers.
That rich kid who used to party every night in Pingyang nightclubs, whose necklace worth tens of thousands of yuan would be taken off and given to the bartender when he was drunk, seems to have suddenly grown up in just a few months. He wears the same windbreaker every day, cuts his rather long hair, and has genuinely fallen in love with that impoverished place.
"To celebrate the success of the group's first public welfare documentary, let's take my mom on a trip."
She's never been abroad, and she's hardly ever even left Pingyang. I wanted to take her out to relax.
The speaker had a gentle voice and eyes. The funding for the second and third documentaries had already been transferred, and the small team had received reinforcements and was on their way to a new location to help farmers with filming. They had almost finished their work recently and it was time for them to go out and have some fun.
After nodding, Jin Yanzhi thought back to the mushroom-picking trip that still haunted him. So, after supporting his wife's decision, he immediately suggested that they find a less crowded island for a vacation, since they couldn't take the elderly to climb wild mountains that were rarely visited by people again.
This trip was a spontaneous decision, with many visa-free islands, and the person packing was especially excited. She had never taken her mother on a trip before. In the past, their family had worked hard just to survive, and they didn't have the extra energy to dream about such a luxury as travel.
The first-class seats are comfortable and spacious, and the red wine in the glass can be refilled when it's finished. The teacher whose fingers were calloused from chalk had never experienced any of this. The mountains and seas in the book are vast, but the mother was trapped for decades by the shackles of fear of gossip in the small town.
Looking at the profile of that person gazing out the window, lost in thought, Lin Zhen'er found it hard to describe the pride and joy this moment brought her.
The life of the Jin family often made her feel as if those days of living on borrowed money were a past life. But the old lady next to her, whose face was always a little nervous, made her realize that those days were not that long ago. It seemed that their suffering had finally come to an end, so now they could lie by the pool in the villa and look at the sea view.
"I used to see photos people posted, and the sea in them was so beautiful, so transparent, like glass."
I always thought it was all too real, but now that I'm with you, I know it's all true. I never imagined I'd be living this kind of life, but now that I am, it's real. Without you as my daughter, my life would have been utterly hopeless.
They were having dinner on the beach when their mother spoke. She had been struggling earnestly with the crab claw in her hand, but suddenly her eyes welled up with tears at the affirmation she had never heard before.
For so many years, I had only heard these words in my dreams, but now they were truly ringing in my ears, leaving me at a loss for words. For so long, the mother and daughter seemed to have shared only hardship, with no other choice but to endure it together; this sweetness was all the more precious.
"You stay and have dinner with Mom, I'll go out for a bit."
Jin Yanzhi's expression was somewhat strange. Sensing that something must have happened, the woman didn't chase after them. She earnestly finished her meal with her mother, then walked on the beach for a while. When the person beside her got sleepy, she helped them back to their room and went to find her husband.
"What happened?"
The lingering smell of cigars in the living room was still there. The man propped his long legs up on the sofa; the TV was on, but he wasn't watching it. He was staring intently at his phone screen, seemingly refreshing something. Only when his wife rested her head on his shoulder did his tense expression relax slightly.
“A while ago, I asked Jiang Chengjing to take the children to her in-laws’ house to avoid the situation.”
It seems she arrived too late. Her husband has fallen in love with a foreign actress and seems serious about divorcing her; the actress is already several months pregnant. The Jiang family's fortunes have declined significantly in the past two years, and they've put immense pressure on her not to divorce him, demanding she stall for time and continue the marriage.
She could only hide in an apartment with her child, avoiding facing her in-laws. But today, news came that her mother-in-law had brought people to snatch the child away. Jiang Chengjing, who has always been competitive, couldn't bear this humiliation and swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills; he's currently in critical condition.
The news came so suddenly that it took Lin Zhen'er a long time to process the enormous amount of information. The young lady Jiang, who always held her head high like a swan, actually wanted to give up on the rest of her life.
"Has anyone from the Jiang family gone? They're still in critical condition, aren't they?"
The husband didn't speak when he heard the question, and after a long while, he let out a heavy sigh:
"A few people went there as a formality, but I think they had already realized that Jiang Chengjing was a pawn to be discarded. If they continued to argue with the man without the child, it would only cause more trouble."
They probably wish she were dead, just like Chengxu did back then.
Mentioning his old friend who passed away many years ago, the man bit his lip and choked up, unable to hold back his sobs.
"If the Jiang family won't save her, then we will."
Lin Zhen'er's voice was clear and firm as she got up and began packing her things.
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