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-lawâs side, and the two were fawning over and heaping flattery upon Madam ShiâXu Yunâtogether. 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, âYou must be exhausted. Accompanying a group of old ladies and listening to them talk about boring things has got to be tiring.â
Lin Yu smiled detachedly and added some powder to her nose. âWhy didnât you come forward and chat with all of us? Madam Shi seems to have a good temper.
Sheâs quite direct and tells it like it is. Sheâs very easy to get along with.â
Shi Gao sighed, âYeah⦠That Xiang Yang is really lucky. If her mother-in-law were anyone elseâeven if, say, your mother-in-lawâshe probably wouldnât be able to marry into the family!â
Lin Yu glanced at her in the mirror and remarked, âMrs. 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.â
Shi Gao was a little disappointed to hear that and groused, âThatâs why I told you Xiang Yang has some tricks up her sleeve. Sheâs good at deceit, and her-in-laws are none the wiser about her true nature.â
Lin Yu smiled at her in the mirror. âYou can solve that easily enough. Find a suitable occasion and tell Madam Shi about it.â
Shi Gaoâs eyes lit up but then dimmed. âThe Xiang family must have cleaned up
all the evidence; they definitely wonât leave any evidence. Madam Shi will find nothing when she goes to verify my claims, and then theyâll say I falsely accused her.â
Lin Yu rolled her eyes at her. âWhat mother-in-law would bother to investigate if they heard about such a matter? â Theres no smoke without fire!â Look at my mother-in-law; when she heard Xi Chengâs mistress was an indecent woman, she believed it without thinking twice. She didnât send someone to investigate. She was too busy thinking up ways to get rid of that mistress.â
She continued, âIâll let you in on a piece of advice. What mothers-in-law canât stand the most is their son and daughter-in-law being in love because they feel their position is threatened. To them, if thereâs a woman in their sonâs heart whoâs more important than his motherâwhether sheâs their sonâs wife or his loverâthat woman deserves to die!â
âThen, wouldnât that woman go and explain herself to Xi Cheng?â asked Shi Gao curiously.
Lin Yu washed her hands meticulously, turned off the tap, and slowly wiped her hands dry with a tissue. âWhatâs there to explain? Did you expect her to explain sheâs a woman of virtue and never slept around? She never did because she doesnât even know why my mother-in-law wanted her out of Xi Chengâs life; my mother-in-law and I never said anything bad about or accused her of anything to her face.â
âWe only begged her to leave Xi Chengâbegged her to give Xi Cheng and I a chance to live better lives. Thatâs all; we didnât 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.â
Shi Gao found the whole thing unbelievable. âThen, what about Xi Cheng?â she asked. âHe let her go just like that?â
Lin Yu smiled. âWhat do you think?â
Shi Gao didnât say anything. Xi Cheng was always by Lin Yuâs side like a loyal dog. Only, he didnât talk much.
Lin Yu went on to say as she applied her hand cream, âIf youâre asking me, did those two love each other, the answer is, âof course,â but so what? If their love was strong enough, I wouldnât have been able to tear them apart. Itâs not my fault they broke up so easily; thatâs their own problem. You canât say Iâm the one responsible for breaking them up.â
Shi Gao clapped. âLin Yu, Iâm so impressed! Youâre really amazing!â
Lin Yu smiled. Sheâs willing to befriend any woman so long as they donât set their sights on Xi Cheng. Having more friends meant more connections, after all. Take Shi Gao, for example. She didnât even mind that the girl wanted to be the Shi familyâs eldest young madam, despite the fact that Shi Ke was already married. As long as the man Shi Gao wanted wasnât 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 wasnât a happy smile. She turned on the tap, and warm water hit her cold hands, making her subconsciously tremble.
â Yeah, sheâs right. No one could have torn us apart if our love was strong enough,â Fang Xi thought. She came out of the restroom solemn and downtrodden.
Ye Kun didnât understand why Fang Xiâs 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.
âAre you okay? Do you feel ill?â he asked her softly.
Fang Xi didnât seem to hear him and stared at something in the distance. She saw Lin Yu had wrapped her arm around Xi Chengâs, smiling gently as she accepted the ladiesâ compliments and praises.
âIâm not feeling well. Iâll be going home now,â Fang Xi woodenly said to Ye Kun beside her.
Ye Kun quickly reached out, touched Fang Xiâs forehead, and uttered, âLetâs go. You donât look too good. Why are you so cold? Are you coming down with a fever? Should we go to the hospital?â Ye Kunâs figure just so happened to block the gaze directed at Fang Xi
Fang Xi moved towards the exit as she replied, âNo need, letâs go home.â
âAlright, okay! Letâs go home!â Ye Kun was ecstatic. âShe said, âLetâs go home!â As in, us, together!â he thought gleefully.
After Xi Cheng had finished dealing with the group of women, he searched the entire exhibition but couldnât find that familiar figure.