Lin Chu could not even stand being touched by him, so she slapped his hand aside and ignored him. When she walked past him, however, she heard Cheng Ziming say, "Aren"t you afraid I"ll tell Yan Beicheng about your past with Lu Zhenghang?"
Lin Chu paused and turned around, staring at him wordlessly before she said, "What do you want?"
Lin Chu was not afraid or guilty. There was nothing between her and Lu Zhenghang, so he could say whatever he liked.
She had made a promise with Yan Beicheng, that they would never keep any secrets from each other. That naturally meant she would tell Yan Beicheng all about her meeting with Lu Zhenghang today.
As for Lu Zhenghang"s claims-- while they were amusing and unbelievable, she was still going to tell Yan Beicheng about them. Even if it was false, they still had to be on their guards.
Seeing Cheng Ziming had somehow calmed Lin Chu down instead.
Now that she could reconsider Lu Zhenghang"s tales clearly, she could see all the holes in his story.
Yan Beicheng and Yan Huaian looked so similar, so there was no doubt that Yan Huaian was a member of the Yan Family. Yan Beicheng"s and Yan Huaian"s features were very similar, about as similar as brothers would be. On the other hand, aside from the fact that Lu Zhenghang looked somewhat similar to Yan Beicheng, he did not look anything like any other member of the Yan Family.
As for his similarities to Yan Beicheng, it was probably because of Jiang Changdai.
That was right. Lin Chu believed him when he said he was Jiang Changdai"s son.
Jiang Changdai was very fond of Lu Zhenghang, fonder than she was of Lu Weining. She looked at Lu Zhenghang as pa.s.sionately as a mother would look at her son. She was nice to Lu Weining, but her treatment of Lu Weining was not as unreserved and intimate as the way she treated Lu Zhenghang.
Jiang Changdai"s att.i.tude was precisely the reason why Lin Chu was certain that Lu Zhenghang had been fibbing.
If Jiang Changdai really had switched Lu Zhenghang and Yan Beicheng out of a desire for revenge, and if Yan Beicheng really was the son she had with her beloved Lu Zhenting, why would Jiang Changdai treat Yan Beicheng so badly ever since he was a child? Why did she never give him any motherly love? Why had she always looked at Yan Beicheng with such dislike and animosity, as though he were her enemy?
She had even been kinder to Lu Weining than she had been to Yan Beicheng.
Lu Weining was Lu Zhenting"s 1 daughter with another woman, but Yan Beicheng was her own son.
If Yan Beicheng and Lu Zhenghang really had been switched out, then Jiang Changdai should rightfully prefer Yan Beicheng.
That alone meant that Lin Chu could not believe Lu Zhenghang"s claims.
She shook her head and laughed self-deprecatingly. How could she be so easily fooled? She could not believe that Lu Zhenghang"s words got to her and even made her panic.
While Lin Chu was lost in her thoughts, she stayed silent and had even forgotten that Cheng Ziming was there.
However, Cheng Ziming mistook her silence for an acknowledgment of guilt and fear. Lin Chu had purposely misled him earlier too, so now he grinned arrogantly.
"You know about what happened between me and Lin Yuwen, right? Now I"ve been—" Cheng Ziming"s features contorted, and he could not say that he was "chased out". "Now I"ve left Lin Mao, and it"s all your fault."
"So?" Lin Chu raised her brows. She could no longer be bothered to say Cheng Ziming deserved it.
It was not like he would listen, anyway.
"I left Lin Mao, but it"s not like I"m dying to go back," said Cheng Ziming confidently. "With my abilities, I can totally start a company of my own. But your incessant meddling has ruined my perfectly faultless marriage, so how will you make it up to me? You made me this way, so don"t you think it"s only right that you fund my new company and compensate for the damage you dealt to my life?"
Lin Chu was so angry she laughed. It seemed to her that Cheng Ziming was only growing more ridiculous as he went, having such idealistic dreams even at such an age.
"How much do you want?" Lin Chu asked calmly. She wanted to see what other nonsense Cheng Ziming could spout.
"5 million," said Cheng Ziming self-a.s.suredly. He even held out an outstretched palm at Lin Chu, showing her five fingers. "Give me 5 million, and I won"t tell Yan Beicheng or anyone else about you and Lu Zhenghang. If you don"t, I"ll go straight to Yan Beicheng. Once he finds out, I wonder if he"ll still want you? After all, no man can stand a cheating wife. When that happens, you"ll be chased out of the Yan Family and left with nothing at all."
"If I give you 5 million right now, will you promise never to bother me again?" Lin Chu pursed her lips and asked cynically.
Cheng Ziming ignored the barbs in her voice, his grin growing wider. "I can"t make any promises. I might run out of money again in the future, and maybe then I"ll remember this incident. Even if you break up with Lu Zhenghang later, that doesn"t mean you don"t have a history. If Yan Beicheng finds out you betrayed him once before, you"ll have h.e.l.l to pay."
To his surprise, however, Lin Chu actually burst out laughing and looked at him like he was an idiot.
"What are you laughing at?" Cheng Ziming demanded.
Shouldn"t she be scared? Shouldn"t she panic, give him the money immediately, and threaten him to never say a word?
"I"m laughing at you because you think you"re so smart but you don"t know a thing," said Lin Chu. When she saw the security guards coming over, she heaved a sigh of relief. "You can tell anyone you want about this, and you can tell them whatever you like. Tell Beicheng or the media, as you please. Let"s see what good that does you."
"Are you really not scared?" asked Cheng Ziming through clenched teeth, disbelieving.
"Why should I be?" Lin Chu retorted, amused. "Cheng Ziming, I don"t care about what happened between you and Lin Yuwen, but I do care about my younger sister. I can"t have her going down the wrong path. As for you and Lin Yuwen, you can settle that among yourselves. You say it"s my fault, and you want me to compensate? What a joke. If you hadn"t strayed and overextended yourself, would this have happened? Even if you stuck with Xu Jiaojiao, once she gives birth to your child, you can"t keep this a secret anymore. Lin Yuwen will find out eventually, and the debt will catch up to you. So what"s the point of you threatening and blackmailing me?"
"There"s a huge difference in the outcomes!" said Cheng Ziming agitatedly. "If Xu Jiaojiao had given birth to the child, our Cheng Family would have an heir. Now, Xu Jiaojiao lost the baby and Lin Yuwen forbade me from finding another to bear my children after she found out. That"ll spell the end of the Cheng Family line! And it"s all because of you! Don"t you think you owe me some compensation?"
"I"ve never done anything to provoke you, ever," said Lin Chu impatiently. "I never wanted to get involved in your matters either, so stop trying to deceive yourself and others by saying it"s all my fault. Do you still not understand, Cheng Ziming? Right now, you"re like an ant on the floor to me. I can"t even be bothered to squash you with my finger; that"d just dirty my hand. If I stomp my foot, I could kill you without even knowing it. Do you understand? What I"m saying is that I don"t have to worry about you at all. It"s just like what you said to me when you first got together with Xu Yuwen and was worried I"d get in your way. We live in two different worlds now, and you"ll never reach the world I"m living in, so I don"t have to care about anything you do. No matter what you do, as long as you don"t involve me or the people around me, I couldn"t care less, do you hear me? So don"t overestimate yourself. You think everyone"s watching, and you think I always had my eye on you, but you"re wrong. You want me to compensate you? What a joke! Back then, you were the one who said to break it off cleanly without a mess. So go away and don"t embarra.s.s yourself in front of me anymore."
Cheng Ziming felt humiliated, and his features contorted as he pointed at Lin Chu accusingly, "Don"t talk like you"re so high and mighty! Weren"t you the one messing around and flirting with Lu Zhenghang? He touched you everywhere, and you looked so close. I saw it all! You"re every bit the a.d.u.l.tress, so how dare you accuse me!"
"Then go ahead and spread the word, if you"d like," said Lin Chu coldly, her heart full of contempt. "Either way, I won"t give you a single cent. There"s nothing between me and Lu Zhenghang, and you"re just happy to distort the truth. Even if you know it"s a lie, you"d rather repeat it to yourself, over and over, because deceiving yourself makes you feel good. Well, if it makes you happy, feel free to carry on."
With that, Lin Chu turned around to leave, but an arm appeared in front of her.
Cheng Ziming stuck an arm in front of her and said, "Then what about Xu Jiaojiao? You don"t care about her either? You know I"ve been with her, and the cat"s out of the bag now, so do you really think I don"t have any dirt on her? I collected a great deal while I was with Xu Jiaojiao too. If I release it all now, it won"t be good for you or Xu Jiaojiao. It"d probably ruin Xu Jiaojiao"s life, and she"d never be able to start over with another man. Aren"t you afraid that I"ll tell everyone about Xu Jiaojiao"s secrets while I blab about you and Lu Zhenghang?"
Right before his eyes, Lin Chu took out her phone and called Xu Jiaojiao.
"Big Sis? What"s the matter?" Xu Jiaojiao was quite surprised that Lin Chu had actually taken the initiative to call.
"I got stopped at the company door by Cheng Ziming," said Lin Chu.
Before she could even finish her sentence, Xu Jiaojiao said in a panic, "What does he want with you? Did you get hurt? Is he hara.s.sing you? Wait there, I"ll get my dad to go there right now!"
Xu Jiaojiao"s anxious outburst warmed Lin Chu"s heart. "Don"t worry, I"m right at the company"s entrance, and security has eyes on us, so he can"t do anything. It"s just that he says he has some dirt on you, and he made it sound all vague, like he has something nasty from when you two were together. Are you sure you have… that kind of thing with him?"
Cheng Ziming did not say what it was, so Lin Chu could not be sure if he was bluffing. When in doubt, she had to be careful.
Cheng Ziming made it sound so suggestive that Lin Chu"s first reaction was that it had to be something to do between a man and a woman.
"No way!" said Xu Jiaojiao immediately. Her reaction was intense; of course she would be angry at Cheng Ziming"s slander. "I was dumb, yes, but I wasn"t stupid enough to leave behind any evidence. I"m well aware what some stuff can do to me if it leaks. The man gets to shake it off after a while, but the woman"s life would be ruined."
Lin Chu glanced at Cheng Ziming before turning around and taking a few steps away. She said softly, "Are you sure? Think carefully, did you miss anything? I"m not asking if you did anything with him, but could he have gotten anything on you secretly, while you were unaware? You gotta think carefully so I can help you."
Xu Jiaojiao thought it over, frowning, before she shook her head and said, "There"s nothing, really. You gotta believe me."
"Alright." Lin Chu could not ask anymore, so she hung up and turned around to tell Cheng Ziming, "If you have anything, show me the evidence. It only counts once I"ve seen it with my own eyes, otherwise I"d never bend to just your baseless threats."
Cheng Ziming was about to say something when the security ran over.
Yan Beicheng and Wei Zilin had already instructed them to keep a close eye on Lin Chu.
When they saw Cheng Ziming block Lin Chu"s way earlier, they had already made to go over to her, but then they saw Cheng Ziming let go and the two of them just stood there talking. Although neither of them looked happy, they did not appear to wish for outside interference either.
The security guards exchanged glances, but they did not know if they should approach her. That was why they decided to watch over her from a distance.
When they saw that negotiations had broken down, they rushed over and stood around Lin Chu, protecting her.
"Miss Lin, is there anything we can help you with?" asked one of the guards as he looked at Cheng Ziming warily.
Lin Chu distanced herself from Cheng Ziming as well, smiling at the security guard. "Thanks. I"m being hara.s.sed, so could you remember this face? If you see him at the entrance, please keep him away, thanks."
"Alright, leave it to us," said the guard as he led Lin Chu back into the company.
That night after work, Yan Beicheng came to pick her up.
The two of them had agreed to meet the Princ.i.p.al at the hospital at night after work, The two of them returned to the Family Mansion for dinner, which was when they found out that Old Lady Yan had gone to visit the Princ.i.p.al during noontime, with a lunch that was the Princ.i.p.al could enjoy.
"Really, you two. How could you not tell me that something so serious had happened to the Princ.i.p.al?" Old Lady Yan nagged them as they ate dinner. "The Princ.i.p.al is practically my in-law, so it"s unacceptable that I don"t know about these things."
"We were careless. We came home too late last night, and we forgot this morning," said Yan Beicheng solemnly and perfectly apologetically. "Since you went at noon, there"s no need to go again at night. Lin Chu and I will go visit the Princ.i.p.al shortly."
"Fine." Old Lady Yan ate the noodles on her chopsticks, while Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu ate rice.
Now that she was older, it was better for her to eat things like congee or noodles for dinner. They were easier to digest and did not cause bloating.
The two elders ate well for lunch, so they ate simply for dinner. Their dinner menu usually consisted of congee or noodles and a light side dish.
Since Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were here, there were a few other good dishes on the table. Old Master Yan and Old Lady Yan only had a taste or two for fun.
Now that Aunt Zhuang had moved in as well, she was the one who had made their dishes. She was familiar with their tastes, after all. Hence, there was no increase in Aunt Chen"s workload.
Old Lady Yan looked at the pickled cuc.u.mber in front of Lin Chu and felt her mouth water. The girl was obsessed with sour foods lately.
She had no idea why Lin Chu was so fond of pickled cuc.u.mbers now. According to Aunt Chen, she had eaten an entire plate of them at midnight after returning home last night. When Aunt Chen cleared their room in the morning, she could feel the overwhelming sourness just by looking at the plate half full of vinegar.
When Lin Chu came home after work and they asked her what she wanted to eat, she said pickled cuc.u.mber again without hesitation.
Looking at the table food of vinegar, Old Lady Yan could barely open her eyes through all the sourness.
Did that mean Lin Chu would have a fat baby son?
Old Lady Yan was instantly worried. She wanted a great-granddaughter!
After all, just look at the Yan Family. Aside from the daughters-in-law, there were only big strong men with the Yan surname. The yang energy in the family was overpowering, so the only recent female member of the family who sort of had the Yan surname was Chu Xi.
Old Lady Yan was particularly fond of soft, squishy baby girls right now. Just the thought of a newborn fluffball of a baby girl was unbelievably adorable.
Even when a baby girl grew up, she would not be too mischievous. At the very least, she would not be as rowdy as a boy would. Old Lady Yan was over the moon as she imagined a great-granddaughter snuggling in her embrace and calling her great-grandma in her childish voice, either flattering her or asking her for bedtime stories.
She would dress her great-granddaughter up beautifully, like a doll. How wonderful that would be!
Old Lady Yan lingered in her imagination until she could practically sense her cuddly great-granddaughter crawling on the floor, those chubby, soft little hands pulling her pant leg, and crawling up her foot.
The sensation was almost too real to Old Lady Yan, and she instinctively looked down. As a result, she saw a d.o.g.g.y head poke out from under the dinner table, and she came face-to-face with the husky"s dumb expression.
Chu Xi"s long mouth hung open, and her tongue stuck out as she huffed and panted loudly. She even raised her head, sniffing at something.
Old Lady Yan picked up a sweet and sour rib. When Yan Beicheng saw that, he said, "Grandmother, please don"t feed it things like that. If it gets used to that, it"ll stop eating dog food. And there are human food has many types of seasonings, so they"re not good for a dog"s health in the long run.
"Come on, it"s just one piece now and then, just to please it. Look at how pitiful it looks. It"s even thinner," said Old Lady Yan as she tossed Chu Xi the rib. The raws say Lu Zhenghang, but that should be a typo