Chapter 52: Let the One Who Stands in My Way Die p1
Yun Lan’s hair was disheveled, frizzy and sticking up, as if she had been pulling at it. When she saw the blood on Jingya’s face, she panicked and looked around for a tissue, but the bedroom was in a mess, and she couldn’t find anything. She rushed over, her hands trembling, wanting to cover Jingya’s wound, but she was afraid of hurting her, and she was also afraid of the glaring red.
“Jingya, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Mom didn’t do it on purpose! Waaah, can you forgive Mom?” Yun Lan cried, pleading.
But Yun Jingya pushed her away fiercely, her tears falling one by one. Her shoulders were trembling, and she was still trying to persuade her. “Mom, can’t you live here?”
Yun Lan grabbed her hair, pulling and tugging, a look of distress on her face. She lowered her head and slowly sat on the ground. “You’ve all been deceived by her! She’s here to break up our family! As long as Mom gives the thing to Zhiru, we can still be a happy family! Waaah, I don’t understand why Mom is treating me like this! I’ve begged her so much! She doesn’t love me anymore, waaah.”
Yun Lan started to cry, but when she saw Zhou Wanfeng at the door, she screamed in terror, her eyes filled with fear, as if she had seen a demon. She even reached out to Jingya, her expression panicked. “Jingya, Mom is scared! Can you tell her not to come over?”
Zhou Wanfeng came in and looked down at Yun Chengbin, who was clinging to her hand. “Go and take your sister back to her room.”
Yun Chengbin went up and pulled on Yun Jingya, his hands trembling. He cried out, “Sister, come with me to stop the bleeding.” He half-pulled, half-dragged her out.
The moment the two of them left, Yun Lan screamed even louder. “Don’t go! Jingya, save me! Don’t leave me alone! I’m scared! Waaah, Mom, Dad, waaah, come and save me…” Yun Lan hid behind the curtains, trying to cover herself.
Outside the door, Yang Yijun covered her mouth, turned, and stepped into Yun Haisheng’s arms, her eyes closed, tears streaming down her face. She felt as if her heart had been fiercely stabbed, and she couldn’t breathe.
Yun Haisheng’s eyes were red. He patted Yang Yijun’s back to comfort her and also to encourage her.
Zhou Wanfeng did not approach. She looked at the trembling and crying Yun Lan with a cold gaze and said, “Yun Lan, do you think your mother loves you? Do you think she will hand over the dirt she has on Zhou Zhiru?”
“Then… then why isn’t Mom willing to give it?” Yun Lan questioned from the corner, but the moment she poked her head out, she quickly retreated. She was really afraid of Zhou Wanfeng.
“Give it to him. He’ll divorce you, and you can give him the dirt back,” Zhou Wanfeng said. The moment she finished, Yun Lan ran out from behind the curtains, a look of disbelief on her face.
“Zhiru won’t agree! He loves me! He won’t divorce me! He promised me!” Yun Lan said, pouting, on the verge of tears.
“Is that so? I hope you’re right. So just be quiet for a few days. Don’t cause any trouble. You’ll know if he loves you or not later,” Zhou Wanfeng said, as if comforting a patient.
Zhou Zhiru would come over on time every day after work. He knew very well that Yun Lan had been locked up by Yang Yijun.
Every time he came, Auntie Zhang would not open the door for him. He hadn’t expected Yang Yijun to be so ruthless. He had thought that she was usually doting and indulgent, but in the end, she had shown her true colors in the face of interests and money.
Zhou Zhiru had the driver, Old Chen, honk the horn a few more times. He looked up at the second-floor bedroom in the distance. But the master bedroom also had a separate balcony. Yun Lan probably couldn’t see him, but she should be able to hear the car horn. That was enough. It was enough for her to know that he came every day, that he was devoted to her.
The car horn did indeed attract Auntie Zhang. A harsh and pale face, with deep nasolabial folds, and old, drooping eyelids. When she looked at people, it was as if she were sizing them up from bottom to top. A long time ago, Zhou Zhiru had hated this kind of angry-looking face.
“Auntie Zhang, is Yun Lan okay?” Zhou Zhiru said, even now that they had torn off all pretenses, he still had a gentle expression and tone. He knew that saying Yun Lan was sick was just an excuse, but he didn’t expose it and just played along.
But Auntie Zhang was uncharacteristically different today. She opened the side door with a bang. “The old master and old mistress want you to come in and talk.”
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Zhiru’s eyes, but he still said “okay” and even turned to get two boxes of supplements from the car.
“Dad, Mom,” Zhou Zhiru said, putting the things on the table and greeting them with a warm smile as usual. After greeting them, he sat down opposite Yang Yijun and Yun Haisheng, a faint smile on his face. He looked around and asked with a puzzled expression, “Is Yun Lan still in bed?”
“You don’t have to call us ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom.’ We were the ones who were blind. We will bear the consequences ourselves. We will give you what you want, but we have one condition: you and Yun Lan must divorce,” Yun Haisheng said with a frown and a heavy voice. From the moment Zhou Zhiru had come in, Yang Yijun had been frowning and looking away.
She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to control herself, and that her mouth would be full of sarcasm and resentment.
None of that mattered now.
But Zhou Zhiru turned to look at Yang Yijun. “Mom, you’ve always misunderstood me. We’ve been married for so long. Have I ever done anything to wrong her? And we have Chengbin. We are a family. I’m really grateful to you and Dad for all these years. But Mom, you always use that dirt to provoke me from time to time. I know you love Yun Lan, you love Jingya and Chengbin. I love them too. Why can’t you just trust me?”
Hearing Zhou Zhiru say such things even now, Yang Yijun was so angry that her lungs felt blocked. “You love them? Do you dare to say that you made Yun Lan sign a post-nuptial agreement because you love her?”
“Mom, listen to me. You said before that Yun Lan had to ask me for money to spend. That’s not what a husband should do. After you reminded me, I immediately put all the family’s bank cards and other liquid assets in her hands. I don’t know if she told you, but Mom, you also know that I said before that I wanted to set up a team. This was funded by me personally. I needed money, and when I asked Yun Lan for it, she was hesitant and delayed, so I went to check the accounts. Mom, Yun Lan and a friend opened a beauty salon together. She invested 80%, but she didn’t ask anything and just left it all to her friend to handle.
“I took her to the address on the contract, and it was just an empty salon. Only when I asked did she tell the truth. They had already invested the second batch of money, saying it was to buy imported beauty equipment from abroad, but it was all fake. That friend was nowhere to be found, and calling the police was useless,” Zhou Zhiru said with a helpless look on his face, to Yun Haisheng and Yang Yijun. “Dad, Mom, you can ask Yun Lan if I said anything to her. When she was crying her eyes out, I even comforted her, saying it was fine, as long as she was okay.”
“It’s just that Yun Lan’s personality is too easily deceived. I can’t even protect her when I’m by her side. There are always friends who come to her, claiming to be for her own good. This time it was just money, and I can still bear it. But what if she gets into some kind of scam or fraud next time? My property is our joint property after marriage. I’m just afraid that someone will want to use this to get close to Yun Lan and deceive her. Mom, you say I want to take it all for myself? At my age, I only have Chengbin as my son. Isn’t everything I have his? Yun Lan is his mother. Yun Lan also knows my thoughts and agrees with this.”
“Zhou Wanfeng’s ideal is to go to a military academy. Of course, in terms of our relationship, I’m naturally closer to Jingya and Chengbin. Mom, that’s how it was originally. But the moment you heard that Yun Lan and I had signed a post-nuptial agreement, you thought there was a problem with me. I’ve been doing this for so many years. Whenever any of the Yun family’s relatives have a problem, I’m the first to stand up. But in the end, Mom, you’re so on guard against me. Don’t you think I’m sad?”
Zhou Zhiru spoke with sincerity and emotion, his eyes even red at the most difficult parts.
“Since you say that all your property will be left to Chengbin in the future, then now is a good opportunity to prove it. Transfer all your property and the company to him now, in the form of a gift,” Zhou Wanfeng said, walking out. Her eyes were cold. She had witnessed Zhou Zhiru’s high-level performance throughout.
No one would doubt the father-son relationship, the age-old tradition of the son inheriting the father’s business. Zhou Zhiru still wanted Yang Yijun and Yun Haisheng to believe him.
There was no family that cared more about the continuation of their lineage than the Yun family.
Zhou Wanfeng walked straight to the other side of Zhou Zhiru and sat down.
“You can have the dirt. Give all your property to Chengbin. If you want to talk about trust, then show some sincerity.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s gaze was grim as she stared at Zhou Zhiru.
The moment Zhou Zhiru saw Zhou Wanfeng, his pupils suddenly constricted. He pursed his lips and looked at Yun Haisheng and Yang Yijun, then laughed. “Alright, of course, no problem. But can I see Yun Lan now?”
Yang Yijun’s expression softened a little.
Zhou Wanfeng was one step ahead of him and refused directly. “No. Bring the relevant documents for the gift, sign them, and make sure the contract is valid. Then we’ll give you what you want. Not only will we let you see her, but we’ll also let you take her back. She’s devoted to you…”
Before she could finish, a series of banging and crashing sounds came from the second-floor bedroom, as well as Yun Lan’s hysterical shouts. “Let me out! Mom, let me out! I saw Zhiru’s car! It’s parked outside the main gate! He’s here to pick me up! Mom, let me out, waaah!”
Zhou Zhiru’s brow furrowed, and he showed a hint of worry. He quickly stood up and was about to go to the second floor to see.
Zhou Wanfeng was even faster and directly blocked his way.
She stood there, her sharp presence like a solid wall. Zhou Zhiru laughed dryly and sat back down. He naturally knew how formidable Zhou Wanfeng was. If he tried to force his way through, he would only be the one who was embarrassed in the end.
But he looked at Yang Yijun. “Mom, I didn’t expect that you, who have always doted on Yun Lan so much, would… would treat her like this. She must be very sad right now. Mom, can you go up and see her now? Yun Lan seems to be crying.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s brow was furrowed into sharp angles. Even in her past life, she had hated dealing with people like Zhou Zhiru the most. Hypocrisy was ingrained in their bones, and they were always showing off their acting skills.
“You have two days to prepare. Bring the documents here. If I don’t see you on Sunday, I’ll consider it as you giving up,” Zhou Wanfeng said, turning to look at Yang Yijun. “Actually, you don’t even have to get a divorce. Isn’t a divorce just a separation? If you send the thing to the Public Security Bureau, he’ll be in jail for at least a few years. Won’t that be a separation?”
Zhou Zhiru’s eyes were half-closed, but he was smiling. “Alright, Mom. I’ll go back and prepare. Yun Lan’s throat must be sore from shouting. Have the auntie make her some apple and pear soup to soothe her throat.”
After he left, Yang Yijun looked at Zhou Wanfeng impatiently. “If he’s willing to leave all his property to Chengbin, I think it’s fine.”
Yun Haisheng frowned and said nothing. No matter how flowery Zhou Zhiru’s words were, he felt that they were no longer a family.
“Have you still not seen through Zhou Zhiru? Back in our hometown in Dongshan, he didn’t even come back when his own mother died. In his eyes, family affection is not as important as his fame, money, and power. He doesn’t have a father himself, and he has no intention of being a father. I was a symbol of his starting a family and a career. But in the end, he didn’t get what he wanted, so he left home in disappointment.
“Yun Chengbin is a lock that binds him to you, and also his bargaining chip. The moment you talk about the father-son relationship, you’re even more moved than he is. You don’t understand him, but he understands you very well. After living together for more than ten years, he has observed you meticulously. Look, his concern for Yun Lan, don’t you think there’s a problem? I’m just standing here, and he didn’t even try? He just moved his lips and said some concerned words, and you were moved? You haven’t even seen him with the contract, so don’t jump to conclusions yet.”
Zhou Wanfeng went straight up to the second floor. Yang Yijun had verbally given up on Zhou Zhiru’s money, but in reality, she was reluctant. The moment there was a glimmer of hope, she would waver.
Zhou Zhiru had clearly seen through her psychology.
In the second-floor bedroom, Yun Jingya had originally been sitting on the floor with Yun Lan, but when she heard the sound of the car engine starting and the horn honking, she immediately got up from the floor and ran to the window to look out.
There was a separate balcony outside the glass, which was locked. She couldn’t get in.
Through the light-colored window screen, she could vaguely see Zhou Zhiru standing at the door, waving at the second floor.
Yun Lan raised her hand, and her tears fell again. She murmured, “It’s all your fault. Zhiru is here, and you won’t let me see him.”