Chapter 170: Chapter One-Hundred and Seventy: The Truth
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Since her friends had left, Shi Gao could only make her way to Lin Yu and the others.
Lin Yu had naturally stayed by her mother-in-law’s side, and the two were fawning over and heaping flattery upon Madam Shi—Xu Yun—together. Seeing that Shi Gao had come over, Lin Yu shot her a look, told Han Yuan she was taking leave from the group, and went to the restroom with Shi Gao.
Lin Yu heaved a sigh of relief when she touched up her makeup.
Shi Gao chuckled, “You must be exhausted. Accompanying a group of old ladies and listening to them talk about boring things has got to be tiring.”
Lin Yu smiled detachedly and added some powder to her nose. “Why didn’t you come forward and chat with all of us? Madam Shi seems to have a good temper.
She’s quite direct and tells it like it is. She’s very easy to get along with.”
Shi Gao sighed, “Yeah… That Xiang Yang is really lucky. If her mother-in-law were anyone else—even if, say, your mother-in-law—she probably wouldn’t be able to marry into the family!”
Lin Yu glanced at her in the mirror and remarked, “Mrs. Shi seems to like Xiang Yang very much. She treats both her daughters-in-law equally well, and Xiang
Yang and Yun Nan get along well, too.”
Shi Gao was a little disappointed to hear that and groused, “That’s why I told you Xiang Yang has some tricks up her sleeve. She’s good at deceit, and her-in-laws are none the wiser about her true nature.”
Lin Yu smiled at her in the mirror. “You can solve that easily enough. Find a suitable occasion and tell Madam Shi about it.”
Shi Gao’s eyes lit up but then dimmed. “The Xiang family must have cleaned up
all the evidence; they definitely won’t leave any evidence. Madam Shi will find nothing when she goes to verify my claims, and then they’ll say I falsely accused her.”
Lin Yu rolled her eyes at her. “What mother-in-law would bother to investigate if they heard about such a matter? ‘ Theres no smoke without fire!’ Look at my mother-in-law; when she heard Xi Cheng’s mistress was an indecent woman, she believed it without thinking twice. She didn’t send someone to investigate. She was too busy thinking up ways to get rid of that mistress.”
She continued, “I’ll let you in on a piece of advice. What mothers-in-law can’t stand the most is their son and daughter-in-law being in love because they feel their position is threatened. To them, if there’s a woman in their son’s heart who’s more important than his mother—whether she’s their son’s wife or his lover—that woman deserves to die!”
“Then, wouldn’t that woman go and explain herself to Xi Cheng?” asked Shi Gao curiously.
Lin Yu washed her hands meticulously, turned off the tap, and slowly wiped her hands dry with a tissue. “What’s there to explain? Did you expect her to explain she’s a woman of virtue and never slept around? She never did because she doesn’t even know why my mother-in-law wanted her out of Xi Cheng’s life; my mother-in-law and I never said anything bad about or accused her of anything to her face.”
“We only begged her to leave Xi Cheng—begged her to give Xi Cheng and I a chance to live better lives. That’s all; we didn’t say anything bad about her. My mother-in-law even gave her money. To a woman like her, money is the greatest insult to their love, so she left.”
Shi Gao found the whole thing unbelievable. “Then, what about Xi Cheng?” she asked. “He let her go just like that?”
Lin Yu smiled. “What do you think?”
Shi Gao didn’t say anything. Xi Cheng was always by Lin Yu’s side like a loyal dog. Only, he didn’t talk much.
Lin Yu went on to say as she applied her hand cream, “If you’re asking me, did those two love each other, the answer is, ‘of course,’ but so what? If their love was strong enough, I wouldn’t have been able to tear them apart. It’s not my fault they broke up so easily; that’s their own problem. You can’t say I’m the one responsible for breaking them up.”
Shi Gao clapped. “Lin Yu, I’m so impressed! You’re really amazing!”
Lin Yu smiled. She’s willing to befriend any woman so long as they don’t set their sights on Xi Cheng. Having more friends meant more connections, after all. Take Shi Gao, for example. She didn’t even mind that the girl wanted to be the Shi family’s eldest young madam, despite the fact that Shi Ke was already married. As long as the man Shi Gao wanted wasn’t Xi Cheng, it was none of her business; she could even provide her help.
The two left the restroom, and one of the cubicle doors opened. Fang Xi walked out, face white as a sheet. Looking at her pale visage in the mirror, Fang Xi twitched the corners of her mouth into a smile, but it wasn’t a happy smile. She turned on the tap, and warm water hit her cold hands, making her subconsciously tremble.
‘ Yeah, she’s right. No one could have torn us apart if our love was strong enough,’ Fang Xi thought. She came out of the restroom solemn and downtrodden.
Ye Kun didn’t understand why Fang Xi’s mood changed so drastically after going to the restroom. She was such a far cry from the happy and sparkling Fang Xi just moments ago that she seemed like a different person altogether.
“Are you okay? Do you feel ill?” he asked her softly.
Fang Xi didn’t seem to hear him and stared at something in the distance. She saw Lin Yu had wrapped her arm around Xi Cheng’s, smiling gently as she accepted the ladies’ compliments and praises.
“I’m not feeling well. I’ll be going home now,” Fang Xi woodenly said to Ye Kun beside her.
Ye Kun quickly reached out, touched Fang Xi’s forehead, and uttered, “Let’s go. You don’t look too good. Why are you so cold? Are you coming down with a fever? Should we go to the hospital?” Ye Kun’s figure just so happened to block the gaze directed at Fang Xi
Fang Xi moved towards the exit as she replied, “No need, let’s go home.”
“Alright, okay! Let’s go home!” Ye Kun was ecstatic. ‘She said, “Let’s go home!” As in, us, together!’ he thought gleefully.
After Xi Cheng had finished dealing with the group of women, he searched the entire exhibition but couldn’t find that familiar figure.