Chapter 0059 Scheming
Provoked by his serious tone, Li Jinghao lowered his voice angrily: "Don't think I don't know how rich you are? A mere ten million, for someone like you, can be easily multiplied tenfold with a simple flip..."
"Yes, but what does that have to do with you? Are you trying to blackmail me?"
"You treated me like that, and you still have the nerve to accuse me of extortion?!" Li Jinghao trembled with shame and indignation. At that moment, he truly felt humiliated by what he had experienced.
Seeing this, Chen Yan thought of Xingxing and felt a rare pity. He asked, "Just tell me a number."
Li Jinghao paused for a moment, intending to say fifty million, but he felt that was too much, so he compromised and asked for thirty million.
Chen Yan's patience ran out, and he said, "Fifteen million. Actually, I don't necessarily need your forgiveness, I just want to do things perfectly. It's icing on the cake for me, but for you, it's a rare opportunity in your life. You should know that such opportunities in life are rare and hard to come by. If you miss them, you may live in regret for the rest of your life."
"Think it over before contacting me." After saying that, Chen Yan made a move to get up, but Li Jinghao stopped him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fifteen thousand it is. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Chen Yan leisurely sat down again and said, "It's nothing. I suggest we find a quiet place to talk. Sign a letter of understanding for me, and then read it aloud. I'll record it."
"Of course, you can recite it here if you don't mind."
Li Jinghao took the letter of understanding and read it quickly. It essentially stated that Li Jinghao accepted a huge compensation from Chen Yan, and that past grudges were wiped clean. The letter was signed by Li Jinghao and Chen Yan, followed by their ID numbers.
Li Jinghao took a deep breath and made up his mind: "I don't want checks, I want cash transfers."
Chen Yan readily nodded: "No problem."
...
On an early autumn evening, accompanied by He Caiyu, Ruyi took Xingxing out for a walk. The little girl was five months old, well-fed and chubby, with long, thick, curled eyelashes and curly hair that clung to her ears. Her hair was unusually thick and black for a baby her age, making her look like a porcelain doll. Everyone who saw her exclaimed how beautiful she was.
Guanlan No. 1 boasts an extremely high green coverage rate, with lush greenery everywhere. Immersed in it, a cool breeze carries the refreshing fragrance of osmanthus, making one feel relaxed and comfortable all over.
Ruyi and her aunt took turns carrying Xingxing, walking and stopping intermittently. The five-month-old baby, aside from drinking milk and sleeping, had already developed a nascent curiosity about the world. Perched on her mother's or great-aunt's shoulder, her large, glassy black eyes would occasionally turn her head, curiously observing everything around her. Sometimes, she would be captivated by the colorful mandarin ducks on the river or a cluster of vibrant canna lilies by the roadside, and even after walking a short distance, she would still lean forward, stretching her little head, trying to see more, demonstrating her interest through her actions.
Whenever this happens, Ruyi will stop, point to those things, and patiently tell her, "That's a duck, this is a flower..." Xingxing may not understand, but she can tell the gentleness in her mother's expression and tone. It's a feeling she's been familiar with since birth. She feels enveloped in it, comfortable and at ease, and can't help but grin, waving her chubby hands and legs, and happily splashing around in the adult's arms.
A toddler, about four or five years old, was happily rocking on a rocking horse, while his nanny fed him a piece of cake every now and then. Seeing the toddler's chubby cheeks and the delicious food, Xingxing stopped waving her chubby hand, adorned with a gold bracelet, and stared intently at her.
He Caiyu coaxed her, "The star is too small, you can't eat that."
As soon as she finished speaking, a string of clear saliva dripped from the corner of Xingxing's mouth.
Ruyi gently lifted the kitten's bib and wiped away its drool. After wiping it, she couldn't help but smile. In fact, life doesn't need so many dramatic and spectacular events. Just being alive is enough to make one happy. It makes one sigh, "It's so good to be alive."
Ruyi was unaware that Chen Yan had witnessed all of her interactions with Xingxing.
The photos posted by He Caiyu don't capture the real Ruyi at all. In the photos, Ruyi is wearing a purple cardigan and jeans, her figure is slightly fuller than before, her skin shines with a pearly luster, and the setting sun gilds her dark hair with a golden glow. She looks like a sacred sculpture, breathtakingly beautiful.
The stars in my arms are so soft and sweet that I want to hold them in my arms and kiss them hard.
The man in the car not far away had a burning gaze on her, and even the slow-witted Ruyi noticed it. She glanced in Chen Yan's direction, then quickly looked away. She had initially thought he had tricked her into moving upstairs with ulterior motives, but weeks of calm had made her suspicious, leading her to believe he had wisely given up. Now it seemed he was simply trying to lower her guard, let her get used to the place, and then jump out to claim credit and assert his presence.
Chen Yan, oblivious to Ruyi's inner grumbling, opened the car door, got out, and strode towards her.
He Caiyu took Xingxing from the car at the right time, put her in the car, and then pushed it away, leaving the two young people alone.
Left alone, Ruyi was conflicted. Whether she liked it or not, she had directly or indirectly accepted Chen Yan's arrangements and couldn't show him any displeasure. Besides, her aunt was right; he was Xingxing's father. Xingxing was still young now, but when she grew up, could she really stop the father and daughter from communicating? The two were bound to have various interactions.
Was this his purpose in forcing her to have his child at all costs? How insidious.
Ruyi was extremely annoyed. Seeing the file folder in his hand, she asked warily, "What are you planning to do now?"
Chen Yan said, "There's something on the corner of your mouth."
Just as they passed the dessert shop run by the property management, Ruyi bought a glass of juice for herself and her aunt. Could it be that she accidentally spilled some on her mouth? Ruyi reached out to wipe it, but Chen Yan stopped her, took out a black and white checkered handkerchief, and gently wiped the corner of her mouth.
Ruyi quickly snatched the handkerchief and wiped it herself, but after wiping it, the handkerchief was clean and there was nothing there. This guy was clearly taking advantage of the situation, and she had been tricked again!
She irritably tossed the handkerchief back, but Chen Yan caught it nimbly, calmly stuffed it back into his pocket, and then handed the file bag to Ruyi, gesturing for her to open it and take a look.
Ruyi's curiosity was piqued, but she was also wary of his scheming, so she dismantled the device with great care.
When the first document came into view, Ruyi paused, stunned. It was a court divorce decree, stamped with a bright red official seal, proclaiming its authority. The judgment section clearly stated in black and white: "The plaintiff Chen Yan's request for divorce from the defendant Zhao Nanyue is granted." She glanced at the property division section; large Chinese characters followed by a string of Arabic numerals—lots of zeros—and her eyes widened in disbelief. This guy is really rich…
Ruyi glanced at him and sneered, "You cheating scumbag."
Since learning of his divorce from Zhao Nanyue, Chen Yan had heard, seen, and felt this phrase countless times from Ruyi's words, eyes, expressions, and various body movements. He had long since become immune to it and then urged Ruyi to look at the second document.
If the divorce decree was still within Ruyi's expectations, the second one was far beyond them. As she looked at it, her expression gradually became incredulous.
Chen Yan stared intently at every change in Ruyi's expression and eyes, carefully analyzing her. In truth, he couldn't fully believe her amnesia. She adapted well to those she should have forgotten, yet she was unusually averse to him, and her selective memory of years of learning, coupled with her ability to continue her doctoral studies without difficulty, was truly bizarre. When Cheng Jue was drinking with him, he bluntly said it was too far-fetched, like something out of a TV drama, implying that Ruyi's amnesia was fake.
He had the same suspicion, but Ruyi looked at the letter of forgiveness without any flaws in her expression. Her gaze shifted to the signature, her brows furrowed, and she asked in confusion, "Who is this Li Jinghao?" Then she said disdainfully, "What did you do to him? Why are you begging him to forgive you?" Chen Yan's shoulders relaxed, and he began to talk nonsense in a nonchalant manner, "I won't tell you, but you already know that we had a very good relationship before you lost your memory. I never hid anything from you. When you regain your memory, you'll know that I wasn't lying."
"What I mainly want to tell you is that you shouldn't be prejudiced against me because of those slightly unpleasant memories from when we first met. The only bad thing I ever did was towards Li Jinghao. Actually, I'm a kind and good person, and you used to think so too. The reason you have a bad impression of me is because I was in a car accident and injured my head, which caused memory loss."
Ruyi was speechless at his audacious words. She wanted to immediately regain her memories and settle accounts with him one by one—a good person? What kind of good person would be a good-for-nothing playboy for 17 years; driving his aunt to desperation and indirectly causing her car accident; forcing her to have a relationship with him when she was fifteen; ignoring her personal wishes and forcing them to go public, causing her to suffer bullying; planting spies to monitor her while she was studying in Jingzhou, constantly monitoring her social media, and ruining her hard-earned opportunity to study in the lab; forcing her to return to Lancheng for graduate school; proposing to her, then marrying someone else, and even colluding with his family to keep her in the dark; not only making her pregnant out of wedlock, but also forcing her to give birth, even threatening those around her to send He Caiyu abroad and imprison her!
Which of these incidents has anything to do with kindness? They're more like countless crimes! How could he even say that!
When no one is around, Ruyi will review her recent amnesia performance to see if there are any flaws. If no one around suspects anything, it means she acted well, and she can't help but feel a little proud. The amnesia trick is indeed brilliant. Imagine if she were to fully recover, Chen Yan would most likely continue his previous style, forcing her to live with him and their daughter, and thinking that everything is justified... But her "amnesia" made Chen Yan calm down and reflect on his mistakes, and he adopted a roundabout tactic. Although there is still a suspicion of deception, the form is much gentler and more patient.
Just as Ruyi was about to look at him with more respect because of his change, she was so infuriated by his blatant lying that she almost lost her composure. However, she had to hold back; she had put on such a performance for so long, how could she let it all go to waste? She hadn't even finished venting her anger yet!
Ruyi gave an "oh" and said dismissively, "Say what you will, I only trust my intuition." After saying that, she slapped the two documents into his arms, rolled her eyes at him, and went to find He Caiyu with her chin slightly raised.
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