A Heartless, Cheating Scumbag in a Female-Dominated World (Twenty)
Since things were already such a mess, she might as well let them stay that way.
As far as Jiang Xuefu was concerned, as long as she didn't go looking for trouble, trouble couldn't find her.
As long as the men could get along, Jiang Xuefu couldn't be bothered to concern herself with their relationships.
She had no intention of getting married again anyway. One taste of marriage was enough. Besides, if none of them had an official status, wasn't that another way of saying they all did?
Not long after Xie Jinhua returned from Switzerland, Xie Ning followed him back. He had already learned about Xie Jinhua and Jiang Xuefu while he was in Switzerland.
Though heartbroken, Xie Ning accepted it.
After all, he had initially regarded Jiang Xuefu as the woman his dad loved, and had even prepared himself for his dad to marry her.
But he hadn't expected that later, his feelings would grow beyond his control. He didn't know when it had started, but from some point on, that woman had filled his heart and eyes...
In short, he had wronged his dad first, so he had no right to criticize anyone.
The two still lived at the manor. Xie Ning continued going to school, while Xie Jinhua handed all the company's affairs over to Jiang Xuefu and stayed home to take care of her, returning to the hospital for checkups from time to time.
Chen Yu continued living at the apartment. As for Rong Feng, he had a place of his own, though he occasionally stayed at the apartment and sometimes returned to the Rong Family home.
The Xu Family home.
Rong Chao looked in panic at the police officers who had suddenly appeared in the house. "What are you doing?" he asked urgently.
The officer in the lead showed him his credentials. "Xu Zhu is suspected of involvement in the Xie Corporation's trade secrets, in violation of Article 219 of the Criminal Law. We're taking her back to the station to assist with the investigation."
"Xiao Chao, what's wrong?" The police had arrived so suddenly that Xu Zhu hadn't yet realized what was happening. She had just come out of the shower, wearing a bath towel and drying her wet hair with another towel.
The officers exchanged glances and repeated what they had just told Rong Chao, though this time they were holding Xu Zhu by the wrists as they spoke.
"Xiao Chao, I'll be fine. I'll be back soon." Right up until the last second before she was taken away, Xu Zhu didn't forget to comfort Rong Chao. In truth, though, she had no idea what would happen. She could only keep reassuring herself that she had dealt with that person thoroughly, and that Jiang Xuefu couldn't possibly have any evidence.
"Xu Zhu..."
Rong Chao watched helplessly as the woman was taken away on that freezing, snowbound night. He pulled out his phone and called home. "Mom, what do I do? The police suddenly took Xu Zhu away. They said something about her involvement in the Xie Corporation's trade secrets."
Mother Rong was stunned. Xu Zhu had been taken away by the police?
"Don't panic, Xiao Chao. I'll have your brother pick you up first. Mom will go find out what happened."
The investigation was quick. After all, the matter involved the Xie Corporation, so it would have been hard not to find out quickly.
Rong Feng went to the Xu Family home and brought Rong Chao back. The brothers had nothing to say to each other on the drive.
He knew perfectly well what had happened, but as a man, he would naturally stand by his wife. That meant, however, that he could only wrong his younger brother.
The car pulled up at the Rong Family home.
As soon as he got out, Rong Chao rushed inside without even stopping to put on his coat, letting snowflakes settle on his shoulders.
"Mom, did you find out? What happened?"
The sight of her younger son's pale face made Mother Rong's heart ache. She started to speak but hesitated, and her expression shifted when she saw Rong Feng come in.
"Xiao Chao, it's a long story. Why don't you go to bed first? I'll ask Xu Zhu's parents about it."
After Father Rong coaxed and persuaded him at length, Rong Chao finally agreed to go to bed first.
Before going upstairs, he remembered to take Mother Rong's hand. "Mom, you have to find a way to save Xu Zhu."
Mother Rong nodded distractedly, then turned and called Rong Feng into the study.
"Xiao Feng, you know what your brother's been through. Take pity on him and ask Jiang Xuefu not to pursue the matter with Xu Zhu anymore."
The woman, her hair half gray, sat wearily behind the desk. The lamp cast a cozy, warm yellow light, yet it draped Mother Rong in a deep twilight. Her gaze was heavy, almost pleading, as she looked at her elder son.
Rong Feng looked at her with mixed feelings, his thin lips pressed together. "Mom, I'm your son too. If my wife hadn't been lucky, she'd be the one taken away today."
"But she's fine, isn't she? You and I both know what will happen to Xu Zhu now that she's been taken in."
"She brought it on herself." Rong Feng lowered his eyes indifferently, his long lashes casting shadows over the emotions in them.
Mother Rong paused, but still refused to give up. "Xiao Feng, Xu Zhu really didn't think this through. But if something happens to her, what will become of Xiao Chao? He's already lost his memory, and his life has finally gotten back on track... Can you bear to see him suffer more?"
"My answer is the same: Xu Zhu brought this on herself. She can't blame anyone else. As for Xiao Chao, he still has the Rong Family. Whatever happens, he won't suffer too badly."
Rong Chao remained unmoved. No matter what Mother Rong said, he silenced her by saying Xu Zhu had brought it on herself.
The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice Rong Chao hiding quietly outside the study door.
Jiang Xuefu...
Rong Chao's eyes flickered as he committed the name to memory.
The next day.
Rong Chao blocked the road Jiang Xuefu had to take to work, standing directly in front of her speeding car.
After slamming on the brakes, Jiang Xuefu got out, her hair disheveled. "Rong Chao, what the fuck is wrong with you?" she shouted.
What possessed him to stop her car like that?
But Rong Chao ignored her angry curses and simply stared at her.
The woman wore a long white cashmere coat that didn't make her look bulky in the slightest. Instead, it made her appear even more graceful and slender. Her black hair danced wildly in the cold wind, a few stray strands clinging to her fair, exquisitely beautiful face, lending a touch of allure to her cool elegance.
The coat's fur collar framed her cheeks, revealing a glimpse of snow-white skin at her chin. Her lips were rosy, and perhaps because she was angry, her cheeks were tinged with color too. Set against the snowy landscape, she was breathtaking.
Beautiful as the beauty was, however, her words were not quite so lovely.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Cat got your tongue?"
Jiang Xuefu frowned at Rong Chao, who was staring blankly at her. He isn't trying to scam me by staging an accident, is he?
"I..." Rong Chao came to his senses, shaken from the spell of her beauty. A flustered blush spread across his face, and it was quite a while before he remembered what he had come for. "I want to beg you to let Xu Zhu go."
"Beg me to let Xu Zhu go? Rong Chao, you've got some nerve. Who are you to stand here and beg me? Xu Zhu's husband? Or... my ex-husband?"
Jiang Xuefu's lips curved into a mocking smile as she said "ex-husband." She had only learned later that Rong Chao had remarried a mere three months and change after their divorce.
At that speed, hadn't he practically gone straight from one marriage to the next?
She could be unfaithful, but her men had to be faithful.
But... ex-husband?
The word was like a thunderclap, exploding in Rong Chao's mind with a deafening boom.
His body jolted, and his eyes flew wide, full of disbelief.
His lips, already pale from the cold, began to tremble uncontrollably.
Memories suddenly surged in like a tide, forgotten scenes flashing rapidly before his eyes like a film.
He remembered everything. Rong Chao's face turned deathly pale in an instant.