Chapter 0051 Fall from Grace
Since that day of exercise, Ruyi has never asked to go out again, even when Chen Yan takes the initiative to ask.
He knew that Zhao Nanyue had left an indelible shadow on her. She was afraid that if she went into a public place, someone would point at her and call her a shameless mistress, or accuse her of carrying the virus.
Like some expressions of gratitude, some apologies need not be spoken aloud; they can simply be kept deep in the heart, allowed to ferment and become the driving force for action.
With six weeks left until her due date, Ruyi's body became increasingly cumbersome, and she felt uncomfortable all over. In addition, she was depressed and had a poor appetite. Her prenatal checkup showed that her weight had decreased compared to two weeks ago.
Although the doctor assessed that the fetus was developing normally through 3D ultrasound, Chen Yan was still very worried because it was the mother who was losing weight.
Back at the villa, he watched as Ruyi finished a bowl of milk and bird's nest porridge and half an orange, then helped her upstairs.
After closing the door, he told her that someone in Jingzhou had reported a high-ranking official and his close associates for suspected job-related violations, bribery, abuse of power, and embezzlement of state-owned assets. The report involved a large number of people and a huge amount of money. The report was very detailed, including information about Zhao Chonghua, the father of Zhao Nanyue, one of the core leaders of the Ministry of Supervision.
The matter has been temporarily suppressed and is under secret investigation, but the Zhao family, at the center of the vortex, is already in chaos.
While they were preoccupied with their own problems, he filed for divorce a week ago.
He made her sit on the edge of the bed, knelt on one knee, kissed the back of her hand and knee, and said happily, "I have hired a professional legal team to collect evidence of Zhao Nanyue's infidelity. If all goes well, we can get the divorce certificate in less than three months."
“I told you before that we could get a divorce in a year and a half at most, I didn’t lie to you.”
"We'll soon be able to be together openly, and we'll have our baby too. Are you happy?"
Upon hearing this news, Ruyi asked herself if she was happy. Actually, not really. She had never doubted that Chen Yan would divorce Zhao Nanyue. With his abilities, it was only a matter of time before he did.
The words Zhao Nanyue uttered to her at the baby store have become an unhealable scar on her heart. The fact that she interfered in someone else's marriage and even had a child with a married man does not disappear with the dissolution of this marriage. Even though they are divorced, from an outsider's perspective, it is highly likely that this vixen was the one who interfered. In the future, any stranger who knows the full story could spit on her, and she would be unable to refute it.
These two incidents will, unsurprisingly, become stains on her record that she can never erase for the rest of her life.
So she couldn't be happy.
She knew he loved her, but she couldn't get over this hurdle in her heart and didn't want to forgive him easily.
How should I treat him? I can't bring myself to hate him, but I'm unwilling to give up on loving him!
"I didn't mean to skip meals. I just feel a little uncomfortable here and I don't know what to do." Ruyi clutched her chest, her eyes brimming with tears.
Chen Yan didn't know what to do with her either. Time couldn't be turned back, and the past couldn't be rewritten. At this moment, the only thing he could do was to humbly kneel at the feet of his beloved with tears in his eyes and carefully and devoutly kiss each of her thin, protruding knuckles.
Seeing this, she felt a pang of pity and changed the subject, saying, "Did you report it? Won't that get you into trouble?"
Chen Yan said no, he was just someone who was pushing things along behind the scenes. There was more than one person who reported him, but a group of people. They were the direct victims of those high-ranking officials' corruption and abuse of power. Some had their futures ruined, and some had their families destroyed.
After divorcing Zhao Nanyue, all of this was no longer his concern. He devoted tremendous effort to guiding Renxin towards a new industry transformation, severing ties with the infamous, dark network of relationships of the past, being cautious in his words and actions, restraining himself and those around him, and maintaining a respectful distance from the power structure to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Seeing that things were not going well, the Zhao family decided to abandon their decades of hard work in China and flee overseas. However, it seemed that there was an invisible eye watching their every move.
As Zhao Chonghua, along with his wife and daughter, prepared to board the cruise ship for their escape, a loud gunshot rang out in the air not far away, instantly causing commotion among the passengers who were boarding in an orderly fashion.
Immediately afterwards, a group of heavily armed special police surrounded the dock, leaving no gaps. Zhao Chonghua panicked and tried to escape by jumping into the sea, but this immediately revealed his and his wife and daughter's location.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhao Chonghua, the once arrogant and corrupt official, was handcuffed with silver bracelets and pushed into a police car, looking like a drowned rat. His wife and daughter followed behind, crying and looking ashen-faced. As family members, although they did not directly wield power, they were the biggest beneficiaries of it and might be suspected of committing crimes together and concealing or covering up the proceeds of crime. They needed to be escorted back together to cooperate with the investigation.
A week later, Zhao Nanyue emerged from the detention center looking dazed. The countless scornful looks and ridicule she had endured inside had shattered her once-proud identity, and her self-esteem was crumbling.
Zhao's mother took all the blame, insisting that her daughter was unaware of the crime. She claimed her daughter was a member of the national team and an Olympic champion! How could she know her father was committing a crime and not try to stop him? Furthermore, she claimed to be an American citizen, an American, and that no one had the right to restrict her personal freedom!
The investigators scoffed: "Our country does not recognize dual citizenship, do you understand? Even if someone is a foreigner, if they commit a crime on our territory, we will pursue them no matter how far away they are."
"Furthermore, Zhao Nanyue holds a foreign identity but still uses his Chinese identity to compete and make money in China, which makes his crime even more serious!"
Although they didn't believe Zhao's mother's lies, after a thorough investigation, turning the Zhao family upside down, the police found no direct evidence that Zhao Nanyue was involved in the crime and released her.
Within two days, the national figure skating team announced that member Zhao Nanyue had amicably terminated her contract with the team for personal reasons. Upon learning of the Zhao family's downfall and that Zhao's father had committed a crime that was unforgivable to the nation, the national team leadership, knowing that the incident would soon be reported and his daughter Zhao Nanyue would inevitably fall from grace and become the target of public condemnation, had no choice but to quickly distance themselves from the team to protect themselves.
However, at Coach Zhao Nanyue's request, a peaceful termination of the contract was used, which can be considered as preserving her last bit of dignity.
The court summons for the divorce proceedings was sent to Zhao Nanyue's residence. Zhao Nanyue tore the summons to shreds. She called Chen Yan, but her heart shattered as she heard the cold, disconnected message repeatedly.
Zhao Nanyue rushed to the president's office on the top floor of Renxin's headquarters building. Few people knew her identity. She was stopped by security guards downstairs. She tried to force her way through the security checkpoint like a madwoman. The security guard looked distressed and went to the president's secretariat. The secretary then told him that it was okay, and that President Chen had told her to come up.
Zhao Nanyue rushed in. Chen Yan sat with his legs crossed in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the modern and bustling city view. Hearing the noise, he lightly pushed off with the tip of his leather shoe, and the boss chair turned 180 degrees to face Zhao Nanyue. He propped two fingers on his cheeks and looked at her with an indifferent expression.
"You did it! You heartless bastard! Aren't you afraid of having nightmares tonight?"
Chen Yan stretched, then leisurely got up, walked over to Zhao Nanyue, and said, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Lying in the mansion your father bought by swindling money from the people, bribing coaches, squeezing out opponents, and illegally entering the national team, aren't you afraid of having nightmares at night?"
Zhao Nanyue stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Chen Yan distanced himself from her with disgust and said, "The reason you've ended up in this state isn't because of me, but because of a saying: 'Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish.' Instead of coming here to condemn me, you should go to social media and repent for your sins."
"How dare you question me? Do you expect me to feel guilty or pity you? If your Zhao family hadn't used their power to force me to marry you, I might have been able to live a more carefree life for a while longer."
"Those who abuse power will suffer the consequences of that power; it's quite fair."
"Therefore, you should thank me for not being the ruthless Chen Yan I used to be, and for not giving away all the materials I had. Otherwise, do you think you'd still be standing here yelling at me?"
Over the years, he has come to understand two things: one is to be cautious in his words and deeds and stay away from power struggles; the other is to leave room for maneuver in life and to have some leverage for the future.
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