After Zhao Min was released from the police station, Xie Qing fired her from her job as the family doctor.
She had not appeared before Su Yunian or her mother, Xie Qing, all this time.
To avoid arousing suspicion, her father, Su Jingang, had also been dutifully staying home lately.
In front of Xie Qing, he often cursed Zhao Min even in her absence, saying she was no good.
He said she had no conscience, treating her employers like that.
As for Xie Qing, he offered her every kind of comfort and showed how much he cherished her.
He kept up appearances to the fullest.
Another week passed in the blink of an eye.
Su Jingang finally could not restrain himself and went out to see Zhao Min. The people Su Yunian had sent to investigate discovered them and took plenty of photos and videos.
Using an outing for coffee with her mother as an opportunity, Su Yunian placed a stack of photos in front of Xie Qing in a VIP private room at the café.
Xie Qing stared at the photos in utter shock.
For a long time, she could not recover her senses.
She was completely at a loss.
"No! This isn't real!"
"Your dad treats me so well. He couldn't possibly betray me!"
"He couldn't possibly betray me!"
"..."
Su Yunian looked at her mother, who was on the verge of a breakdown. Even now, she still wanted to choose to believe her husband.
"Mom, wake up! If Dad really treated you so well, he wouldn't betray you. Take a good look at who the woman in those photos is. She's Zhao Min!"
"Think back to the car being tampered with. Now do you understand what happened? It's true that Zhao Min was the one who wanted to hurt you, but Dad might have secretly given her permission!"
"No! The two of them might have plotted it together! A man finds a mistress, and the mistress wants to take the wife's place, but the wife is still holding down the fort at home. With no other way, they can only get rid of the wife so the mistress has a chance to become the legal wife!"
Su Yunian's words jolted Xie Qing, who was on the verge of a breakdown, awake.
Thinking back over everything, Xie Qing suddenly realized that there had actually been signs between Su Jingang and Zhao Min long ago.
For example, on Zhao Min's birthday, Su Jingang would have everyone celebrate with her.
Zhao Min had a son and a daughter. Su Jingang said it was hard and exhausting for a woman like Zhao Min to raise two children alone, so he had her bring both children to the Su Family home, letting them live there openly and legitimately.
The Su Family home was spacious anyway, and the unused rooms were just sitting empty.
Zhao Min's daughter, Zhao Feifei, attended Su Yunian's school and was in Class 5 of their final year. Whenever Su Jingang had the chauffeur drive Su Yunian to school, he would have Zhao Feifei taken along too.
He said it was on the way anyway.
Zhao Min's son, Zhao Jinxuan, had a congenital heart condition. Su Jingang had spent no small amount of effort worrying about him, saying the child was pitiful.
All these things were enough to show that Su Jingang treated Zhao Min differently, yet Xie Qing had failed to notice any clues before.
And Su Yunian had been wholly focused on studying, so she had not noticed these problems either.
It was not that the mother and daughter were foolish, but that Zhao Min had disguised herself too well.
Living with the Su Family as their family doctor, Zhao Min had always been very obedient. She also helped with housework and cleaning, making the mother and daughter think she was beautiful and kindhearted.
On top of that, she lived alone with two children, so the mother and daughter sympathized with her deeply.
They had never imagined she was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Mom, I know you're hurting, but what you need to do now isn't cry and make a scene, or call Dad to demand the truth. The truth is already very clear.
"Zhao Min is Dad's mistress, and those two children are both Dad's offspring. You should calm down now. The two of us should gather more evidence of Dad's affair, get the family assets into our hands, and make him leave with nothing."
Xie Qing nodded.
"You're right. Crying and making a scene now would only stir the grass and startle the snake. Yunian, just focus on studying and preparing for your exams. I'll handle things at home.
"Don't worry. Your mother isn't some decorative vase who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun. Without me back then, the Su Family business would never have grown this big. Now that your dad has made it, he wants to forget his roots. Then I'll let him have a taste of what forgetting his roots brings!"
Su Yunian was relieved to see her mother like this. She had been worried that her mother would be unable to accept it for a while and might do something desperate.
She had not expected her mother to be much braver than she had imagined.
"Mom, from now on, you need to be on guard against Dad at all times. Wherever you go, try to keep your bodyguards with you."
Xie Qing gently stroked Su Yunian's head with her right hand and said softly, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Your mother knows what she's doing."
Lu Chi went to and from school every day, slogging through one boring day after another.
He did not even dare sneak out to sing karaoke or see beautiful women.
I haven't even taken the college entrance exam yet. If I start indulging myself in every way now, everyone in the Lu Family will definitely despise me.
If I get kicked out of the Lu Family then, won't things follow the original plot and play right into the fake young master Lu Jiyang's hands?
No!
However unbearable it is, I have to endure it. I'll wait until the college entrance exam is over in just over five months.
Then the seas will be wide for fish to swim, and the skies high for birds to fly!
On Saturday, Lu Chi slept in at home all morning until his mother, Pan Feng, woke him at noon.
"Chi, get up. We're going to the Haitian Grand Hotel."
Lu Chi was baffled. "Mom, why are we going to the Haitian Grand Hotel out of the blue?"
Pan Feng laughed. "Silly boy, I'm taking you to meet someone."
"Who, Mom?"
"You'll know when we get there."
The Haitian Grand Hotel.
The presidential suite.
The whole family was there.
His father, Lu Yuanqing.
His eldest sister, Lu Sangning, his third sister, Lu Yanxin, his fourth sister, Lu Xiaoyue, and his fifth sister, Lu Yunke.
Every one of them was a stunning beauty. If he had not transmigrated into a book, even Lu Chi, a minor internet celebrity who had seen countless beautiful women, would never have seen beauties of this caliber in reality.
Each had a slender figure, an exceptional bearing, and beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms.
The richest family's genes really were good.
Unfortunately, beneath those perfect genes were a bunch of love-brained fools.
Of course, the biggest fool of all, Lu Jiyang, was there too.
Even one more glance at him was disgusting.
Lu Chi glanced around and saw another beautiful woman with fair skin and long legs.
He did not know who she was.
His father, Lu Yuanqing, beckoned from a distance. "Chi, come here."
He pointed at her. "This is your second sister."
Lu Chi gave a hum of acknowledgment, followed Pan Feng over, and sat beside her.
Lu Yuanqing smiled. "Didn't I tell you before? Your second sister was holding concerts abroad in Ugly Country. She was supposed to return last week, but something delayed her, so she only came back today.
"The family prepared a welcome-home banquet for her. Come here and greet your second sister."
Then he said to Lu Qingru, "Qingru, this is your younger brother, Lu Chi. You were in Ugly Country when we brought him home, so you haven't met him."
Lu Chi walked over and went through the motions, obediently greeting her. "Hello, Second Sister!"
But Lu Qingru said impatiently, "Hah! He's just a stinking country bumpkin. I heard he threw our whole household into chaos as soon as he arrived. Why did you even bring him?!"