Chapter 213: The Parents' Betrayal! Sending the Wife to the Wolf's Den!
"Mom, you're confused! I'm already a married woman. Don't you understand what Young Master Shen wants? Do you want me to offer myself up to be Young Master Shen's mistress?"
Liu Qingyue's beautiful and delicate face immediately frozen in shock. Her voice trembled, hovering between disbelief and indignation. The air in the cramped living room felt heavy, suffocating her.
"A married woman? Qingyue, do you really want to spend your life with that good-for-nothing Han Qi?"
He Xuemei immediately retorted, her face full of fury and twisted anger. She slammed her hand on the coffee table, causing the cheap tea set to rattle.
"That good-for-nothing Han Qi will never amount to anything in his life! He is trash! Garbage! I think you should divorce him as soon as possible; he's simply not worthy of you! He is dragging our entire family into the mud!"
Liu Xingsheng, sitting in the corner, also extinguished his cigarette butt in the overflowing ashtray. The smoke swirled around his weathered face as he spoke with a gloomy, defeated expression:
"Qingyue, the biggest regret of my life was taking Han Qi as a live-in son-in-law. Look at him! What else can he do besides serving foot-washing water and washing feet? He acts like a servant, not a man!"
He stood up, pacing anxiously in the small space.
"He says he's developing a career in Jinling recently... Hmph! What kind of career can he possibly achieve? Moving bricks? Or guarding a door?"
"Qingyue, look at yourself in the mirror. You're still so young, beautiful, and graceful. You are the 'White Moonlight' of Magic City University! Even if you're a second wife, or a secret lover, you'll definitely not lack rich, handsome, and tall men pursuing you. Why hang yourself on that good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law, Han Qi?"
Liu Qingyue supported her fair forehead with her slender hand, remaining silent. Her headache was splitting.
The harsh words of her parents were like needles piercing her heart, but the most painful part was that... she couldn't entirely refute them.
The reason she had initially agreed to marry Han Qi was partly to escape her parents' nagging about marriage and the harassment of fervent suitors she disliked. And partly, it was because she pitied Han Qi.
She saw him in such a miserable state back then, wandering the streets like a stray dog. She thought that by giving him a home, he would be grateful and strive for betterment. Thus, they hit it off immediately.
But reality was cruel.
Over the past few years, she had used her connections to plan several career paths for Han Qi. She had wanted him to study management, or even just help out at their family's Liu He High-End Lighting Factory to learn the ropes.
But Han Qi had refused all of them with a strange, arrogant indifference.
It seemed he was single-minded about being a despised, good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law at home. He was content serving tea, pouring water, and washing his in-laws' feet with a smile that Liu Qingyue increasingly found servile and lacking in spine.
Is this really the man I entrusted my life to?
This made Liu Qingyue quite disappointed with Han Qi. The disappointment had accumulated day by day, layer by layer, until it became a heavy wall between them. She had even entertained thoughts of divorce countless times in the dead of night.
However, recently, Han Qi said he was going to Jinling to develop his career. He spoke with such confidence, claiming he had a "big project." This gave Liu Qingyue a bit more hope for him, a flickering candle in the dark.
Maybe... maybe he finally grew up?
But now... looking at the foreclosure notice on the table and the desperate faces of her parents, that hope seemed so distant.
Seeing Liu Qingyue's attitude soften a bit—her silence interpreted as hesitation—He Xuemei's eyes lit up. She sat closer, grabbing her daughter's hand.
"Qingyue, think more about divorcing that good-for-nothing Han Qi. He is dead weight!"
"The most pressing matter now is that our family's company needs financial support immediately. The bank won't wait. The suppliers won't wait. Go and get in touch with Young Master Shen and see if he can lend a helping hand."
He Xuemei's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, filled with greed and temptation.
"For a big shot like Young Master Shen of the Yanxia Shen Family, tens of millions of funds are just a drop in the bucket. It's pocket change to him! They can just leak out from between his fingers and save our lives."
"Qingyue, you saw it at the banquet. Young Master Shen has such a good impression of you. His eyes... a man's eyes don't lie. If you go and ask him, you'll definitely succeed."
Liu Qingyue's exquisitely beautiful face was filled with helplessness and a deep sense of powerlessness. She parted her red lips slightly, wanting to refuse, to scream about dignity and morality, but she could only let out a soft, trembling sigh.
Ask him?
She wasn't a naive little girl. She knew exactly what "asking for help" meant in the world of the ultra-rich.
She really didn't want to ask Shen Anyu for help, because she knew that for a young, beautiful woman seeking assistance from a powerful man, it would be impossible without giving something in return.
There is no free lunch in the world. And the price for "lunch" from the Shen Family... was likely her body.
She was still a married woman. Although her marriage with Han Qi was only a contractual one—Han Qi hadn't even touched her hand in three years, respecting her boundaries—she still held the title of a wife.
To ask another man for help behind her husband's back, and possibly even use her beauty as a bargaining chip... it made her feel dirty just thinking about it.
However, reality was a cold bucket of water.
At this moment, the family's Liu He High-End Lighting Factory had reached a critical juncture of life and death. The capital chain was broken. The loan sharks were circling. If no one extended a helping hand, everything would be over within a week.
Just like Han Qi a few years ago, their whole family would be out on the streets. Her father would likely be jailed for debt. Their house would be seized and auctioned off.
The business her parents and she had worked hard on for twenty years would vanish in an instant, becoming nothing but dust.
Liu Qingyue looked up.
She saw her father, Liu Xingsheng, avoiding her gaze. His eyes were filled with hesitation, pain, and a cowardly uneasiness. He knew what they were asking her to do, but he was too afraid of poverty to stop it.
She saw her mother, He Xuemei, staring at her with an anxious panic in her eager and urgent expression. It was the look of a drowning person clutching at the last straw, even if that straw was her daughter's dignity.
They are pushing me... they are pushing me into the fire.
Liu Qingyue felt a chill run down her spine. She pursed her moist red lips, biting them until they turned pale, and whispered:
"I... I can try to contact Young Master Shen. But..."
She took a deep breath, her voice trembling.
"But if Young Master Shen makes unreasonable demands, I… I will refuse immediately."
At this point, Liu Qingyue let out a laugh of self-mockery, shaking her head.
"I'm overthinking it. Perhaps I am too narcissistic. A big shot like Young Master Shen, surrounded by countless beautiful women, supermodels, and heiresses... he probably doesn't even remember a married woman like me."
"You're asking me to beg Young Master Shen for help, but he probably doesn't even remember my name."
He Xuemei breathed a huge sigh of relief when she heard Liu Qingyue agree. The tension in her shoulders vanished instantly. With a confident, almost cunning expression, she said:
"That's impossible! My daughter is the Campus Belle! You are so beautiful, have such a good figure, and are so graceful. Young Master Shen definitely won't forget you."
"Men like novelty. And you... you have a temperament that those plastic women don't have."
Liu Xingsheng also chimed in, nodding vigorously, desperate to believe it.
Under her parents' expectant, almost predatory gazes, Liu Qingyue pulled out the sleek black business card Shen Anyu had given her. The gold lettering shimmered under the dim light.
Her fingers trembled as she dialed the number.
Ding-a-ling!
The sound of the ringtone echoed in the silent room. One ring. Two rings. Three rings.
Liu Xingsheng and He Xuemei held their breath, staring intently at the phone as if it were a bomb. Their eyes were wide, veins bulging on their necks. This was the only hope for their lighting factory, and they couldn't help but be nervous.
Liu Qingyue also pursed her lips, tightening her grip on the phone until her knuckles turned white.
Click.
The call connected.
"Hello. I am Young Master Shen's housekeeper, He Ying. May I ask who you are and why you're calling this private number?"
The voice on the other end was a middle-aged woman's. It was calm, cold, and radiated an aura of extreme professionalism and distance. It wasn't Shen Anyu.
Listening to the voice on the other end, Liu Qingyue felt a sense of relief wash over her—she didn't have to face him directly yet. But simultaneously, a strange, sinking feeling of disappointment tugged at her heart.
He didn't answer.
Was the phone number Young Master Shen had given her... just for his female housekeeper? Was she just one of the many women who were filtered by his staff?
However, Liu Qingyue quickly pushed these random, shameful thoughts aside. She took a breath to steady her voice and softly, gently explained her family's identity and predicament.
"Hello, Auntie He. I am Liu Qingyue... Young Master Shen gave me this card. My family... we are encountering some difficulties with the Liu He Factory..."
She stumbled over her words, humiliating herself as she explained the bankruptcy risk to a servant.
There was a pause on the other end.
"Miss Liu. Young Master is currently busy with important matters. When Young Master is free, I will report these matters to him. However, Young Master's schedule is full for the next month. Everything needs to await Young Master's instructions."
The tone was polite but dismissive. A bureaucratic wall.
"Mm-hmm... I understand. Thank you, Ms. He. Please... please let him know."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The call ended.
After hanging up the phone, Liu Qingyue looked up slowly.
She looked at her parents, Liu Xingsheng and He Xuemei, whose faces had collapsed from anticipation into utter disappointment and gray despair.
Clearly, they had originally thought that Young Master Shen was very interested in their daughter. They thought a single phone call would bring a rain of money. But it turned out he had only left a housekeeper's phone number and hadn't given any special instructions to prioritize her.
The female housekeeper He Ying's attitude towards Liu Qingyue showed little concern. It was just business.
"It's over..."
He Xuemei slapped her thigh, the sound loud in the quiet room. She began to wail, sighing repeatedly.
"If Young Master Shen isn't interested in you, then what will we do? Our family will truly have no hope! We are going to die!"
At this point, He Xuemei paused. Her crying stopped abruptly as a new, darker idea formed in her mind.
She looked intently at Liu Qingyue, her eyes narrowing.
"Daughter... clearly, a phone call isn't enough. It's not sincere enough."
"Why don't you... why don't you put on some makeup? Dress up in that dress I bought you last year—the one with the low back. Go to Young Master Shen's Riverside Luxury Mansion yourself to ask him?"
"If you stand in front of him, looking like that... no man can refuse."
Liu Qingyue's expression changed drastically. Her face flushed red with humiliation and anger.
She stood up abruptly.
"Mom! What are you saying? I'm a married woman! Besides, even if I weren't married, what do you take me for? A delivery order sent to his doorstep? A prostitute?"
Liu Xingsheng couldn't help but speak up at this moment. His voice was hoarse but desperate.
"Qingyue! Don't be so stubborn! If you hadn't married that good-for-nothing Han Qi, you could totally pursue Young Master Shen now! Do you know how many women want to climb into his bed?"
"Even being one of Young Master Shen's women... even a nameless lover... would be a blessing that most people couldn't find even if their ancestral graves emitted green smoke!"
He pointed a shaking finger at the window, towards the city center.
"Look at Qin Ningbing! The female CEO of Renxin Hall Pharmaceutical Company. Everyone knows she is Young Master Shen's person. Because of her connection with Young Master Shen, her previously shaky position stabilized instantly. Her company is thriving! Now she's a hundred-billion-yuan female CEO, dominating the Magic City business world!"
"She chose the right path! And you? You chose Han Qi!"
"Daughter, wake up! Even being Young Master Shen's mistress is a thousand times better than being the wife of that good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law, Han Qi! Dignity is worth nothing when you are starving!"
Liu Qingyue stood there, her chest heaving.
Her beautiful and delicate face set into a mask of pain. She sat back down on the sofa, burying her face in her hands, saying nothing.
Her moral character, her education, her pride—they would absolutely not allow her to do such a thing. Especially since she was a married woman. Even if her marriage with Han Qi was only a contractual one, she had her bottom line.
But... what should she do now?
The debts. The bankruptcy. The shame.
Liu Qingyue was at her wit's end, feeling completely helpless. The image of Qin Ningbing's success flashed in her mind, contrasting with Han Qi's smiling, servile face washing her mother's feet.
Why... why is my life like this?
"Should I... should I divorce Han Qi?"
The thought, once a whisper, now roared in her mind.
...
On the other side of the city.
[Location: Riverside Luxury Mansion - Master Bedroom]
Several holographic screens floated in the air, projecting the high-definition video feed from the Liu family's living room.
Shen Anyu sat in a reclining chair, holding a glass of wine, watching the family drama unfold like a prime-time soap opera.
Through the [Nanometer Monitoring Robot] he had planted on Liu Qingyue long ago, every word, every tear, every expression of despair was captured perfectly.
He saw the parents pushing their daughter into the fire. He saw the "White Moonlight" crumbling under the pressure of reality. He saw the cracks forming in her loyalty to the protagonist.
"Heh..."
Shen Anyu swirled the wine, a wicked, possessive smile playing on his lips.
He heard Liu Qingyue's final, desperate question about divorce.
"Divorce?"
Shen Anyu chuckled low in his throat, his eyes gleaming with the light of a predator who has already trapped his prey.
"It's fine if she doesn't divorce him. I don't mind."
"In fact... isn't it more stimulating if she remains the Dragon King's wife while she comes to beg me?"
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