I listened with delight.
But Lu Yanchen was still a little too elegant.
I crossed my arms and stabbed him in the face. "Aunt Lin, you're truly a dung beetle wearing a mask, so shameless! You stole my mother's husband, and now you're trying to steal her son-in-law too. Is this just your nature? Do you feel bad if you don't steal or rob?"
"I don't. Your father and I may not have a marriage certificate, but I truly love him."
Lin Hui was deeply aggrieved, looking at Jiang Qing with tears in her eyes.
If she were younger, she might have had some charm, but she's old!
The result of so many cosmetic surgeries is that her face is incredibly stiff, making her expression look strange.
"Dad, don't you feel terrified looking at this face that looks like a paper figurine from a funeral parlor every day? Is she going to cry or laugh?"
Jiang Qing looked uneasy. He understood. Whether Jiang Zhi could be saved or not depended on me. "Wanwan, don't be so childish. I know I've let you and your daughter down over the years, and I'm slowly making amends. Jiang Zhi is my daughter, and I can't bear to see her go to jail. Feel free to offer any terms."
I sat down on the sofa, debating whether to take some benefits or let Jiang Zhi go to jail.
If I insisted, and Lu Yanchen didn't relent, Jiang Zhi would definitely be in jail. My hand tapped lightly on the leather armrest, and Lin Hui softened her thorns. "Wanwan, I understand you hate me, but Zhi'er is your half-sister after all. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I'll do anything to save her."
"Auntie Lin, just these words are enough. The pain you and my father have inflicted on my mother and me over the years can't be erased with just a simple apology. You can save Jiang Zhi, but I have a few conditions."
"You say."
"First, sell all the luxury bags and jewelry in your house and donate all your savings to the disaster area."
"Second, transfer all the real estate and property under Jiang Zhi's name to me."
"Third, Jiang Zhi is never allowed to work for any company under the Jiang family."
These three conditions left Lin Hui completely dumbfounded.
I had practically sidelined her and Jiang Zhi, making all her hard work for half her life go down the drain.
Although Jiang Qing hadn't given her any inheritance, she had always managed to wring a considerable amount of money from him over the years. Lin Hui stuttered, unable to utter a complete sentence, her face filled with terror. "Wanwan, you're trying to kill us, mother and daughter!"
I crossed my legs, a sneer curling up my lips. "Auntie Lin, that's true. You relied on this child to get to where you are today. Since you truly love my father, I'm sure you also despise money. I'm only asking you to return what you have, and I haven't yet calculated what you've enjoyed over the past twenty years. Auntie Lin, you haven't suffered any loss."
Lin Hui bit her lip. I'd already said so much, and she couldn't say anything else, so she resorted to bringing up Jiang Zhi. "I can agree to all of this, but Zhi'er is a member of the Jiang family after all. That's what she deserves. Why are you…"
I interrupted impatiently, "She deserves jail time, too."
"Lin Hui, understand that you're the one asking me for help today. When you ask someone for help, you should treat them with the right attitude. Based on what you and your daughter have done over the years, even if Jiang Zhi spends the rest of her life in jail, let alone a few years, it wouldn't be enough to pay for my life!"
I thought of the day I was reborn, lying in the cold bathtub. Jiang Wanwan was only twenty years old, in the prime of her life.
Why should she suffer such a blow and pain? And the perpetrators are still at large!
I absolutely will not allow this. Seeing my anger, Jiang Qing spoke up, "Wanwan, I can choose not to associate with them, but Jiang Zhi carries the blood of our Jiang family."
I glared at Jiang Qing coldly. "So you want to clean up her mess for the rest of her life? You've spoiled her to the point where she's in this situation. If you don't have the heart to teach her a lesson, even a fool like her will drool over it if you rescue her."
I rubbed my brow. "Okay, I'm tired too. I won't budge on these three conditions. You should think it over carefully. But let me be clear: we're wasting Jiang Zhi's time now. If she pleads guilty, Yan Chen won't be able to salvage her after she's convicted."
I stood up to leave, but Lin Hui stopped me. "Okay, I promise. As long as you're willing to save Zhi'er, I'll do whatever you say."
I knew what she was thinking. As long as Jiang Zhi was in my hands, she wouldn't suffer. Jiang Qing wouldn't let them go.
Little did they know what path I had planned for them. What Mom and Jiang Wanwan have endured, it will be their turn to endure from now on.
I looked at Jiang Qing, "Dad, what do you say?"
"Okay, I agree."
"Then it's settled. If you change your mind, I'll make you pay double."
I looked at Lu Yanchen, "Yanchen, is there a problem?"
Lu Yanchen looked at me gently, "My wife has spoken, so it's not a big deal."
His words made Jiang Qing breathe a sigh of relief.
"What do you plan to do?"
"It's simple. Just find the killer and make him confess, taking all the blame. He was the one who tampered with the car, after all. As for the hired killer, the police only have a clue pointing to the crime. The killer's confession clears Jiang Zhi, so there's no problem. She'd always lived a clandestine life, not a public one."
Jiang Qing saw his confident look and realized, "Is the killer with you?"
"I took him away before the police did."
No wonder he was so confident, because he held the most important trump card.
Jiang Zhi's life and death truly rested in my hands!
He spoke slowly, his voice laced with ruthless threat: "So your daughter's fate is in your hands. If you don't do as my wife says, I can't guarantee the police will find any more clues."
Jiang Qing's face darkened. "We're all family. Is it really necessary to go to this extent?"
"Father-in-law has clearly made a mistake. Wanwan, my mother-in-law, and I are family. As for the rest, I don't acknowledge them."
He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late, and Wanwan is too young to sleep. Just talk to Shen Ji about the next steps. Wanwan, let's go back to our rooms."
"Okay."
I stood up and pushed Lu Yanchen into the elevator. As the doors closed, I saw Lin Hui's face, a dark expression on her face.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have bothered in the first place!
I'm not Jiang Wanwan. Just spit out everything you've been fed all these years and get back to your own world. "Yanchen, you've already figured this out."
Lu Yanchen finally spoke: "Instead of letting Jiang Zhi go to jail, it's better to use her to gain some benefits. Of course, I won't interfere with any of your decisions."
"Are you just waiting for me to make my own decision?"
"Well, the decision isn't important. What matters is that you're happy."
This man...
He's truly captivating.
I have to admit that his words sent blood boiling.
The moment the door closed, before I could even turn on the light,
a muscular body pressed me against it.
In the darkness, behind me was the cold door, in front of me was the man's fiery body.
I could only see his outline in the streetlight outside, and my heart beat faster.
His fiery voice fell into my ears: "Baby, don't sleep in the cubicle tonight, okay?"