Xinyi was slowly walking back and forth in the villa, patiently waiting for Zhiyuan to return.
Han Huizhong rolled his eyes. "Will you stop that? You are making me dizzy."
"I am getting a bad feeling, Grandpa. I think things are not as easy as they seem to be. Zhiyuan says that nothing can be proved against him, but-"
"But your heart says otherwise," he sneered. "You think too much."
"I just find it suspicious," she pursed his lips. "This incident happened just after the first quarter. Everything is progressing smoothly on our side, but these accusations pop out of nowhere."
Zizi came running towards them, panicked and terrified. "Grandpa! Xinyi!"
Han Huizhong commented. "Here is another person that makes my head dizzy."
"Grandpa, it's not the time to bully me! Read the news!"
Xinyi got a bad feeling. She immediately opened the news tab on her phone.
'Han Zhiyuan is arrested for illegal construction!"
'The worker He Jing has given his testimony. There were indeed quality problems with the construction materials.'
'The evidence of quality assurance tests given by Han Zhiyuan are all fake!'
Xinyi read the news in a daze. Her heart had almost stopped beating.
Zizi cried. "They arrested bro! I talked to Yunru and demanded his justification. But he said that there is the worker's testimony against his company, and the tests are proved to be fake. Until it's cleared out, he cannot help bro either. He has to remain in custody."
Xia Liqin collapsed on the couch. "Impossible…"
Han Guang came laughing. "Well, well. Weren't you all too confident about this? Now, look. The one you trusted the most is in jail," he sneered. "I wonder how he must be feeling right now. He sent Mingli and me to jail, but now he is behind the bars~"
Xia Liqin clenched her jaw. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Guang! Keung could play such a dirty trick on Zhiyuan…how do you even look at yourself in the mirror!?"
Zizi coldly said, "Don't rejoice so soon, Aunt. You think bro would be shaken up by something like this?"
She chuckled. "Heh. Scream all you want. You look so desperate. Just the expression I wanted to see. This is the end for Han Zhiyuan and your tiny little company."
She glanced at Xinyi. "Be ready to spend your life without your husband. He will see a long time in jail. Awee, it would be so tough raising your children without their father, right?"
Xinyi stayed silent. She looked at Han Huizhong. "Grandpa, I am going outside for a bit."
"The reporters aren't here anyway. I will be careful."
"Hm."
—
Xinyi quietly sat on a bench in a park staring at the kids playing in the sandbox and on the swing. She read the news again, and her gaze turned cold.
"Xinyi!"
She turned and saw Liao Yuan rushing towards her. "Why are you here?" He was panting. "I went to check in Han villa, but you weren't there."
"I wanted some alone time," she expressionlessly said.
He stared at her and sighed. He sat beside her. "I saw the news. What are you going to do?"
"I will figure something out."
He pressed his brows. "Xinyi, I told you this won't work. Keung has become so impatient that he has already trapped Zhiyuan. One by one, he will target all of you. Zhiyuan is like the backbone of your family. If he is in jail, it would be a playground for him to deal with you."
She glanced at him. "What do you think I am supposed to do?"
Liao Yuan hesitated. "Xinyi, are you really happy in the Han villa? Whenever I see you, you are in some or the other trouble. First, Zizi didn't like you. You had to shoulder the family business when Zhiyuan was in depression. Then Xiaosi came and wanted to take revenge on Zhiyuan. Keung and his parents were always at odds with you, and now that he is the CEO, things have just worsened. With Zhiyuan in jail, it will be an instant victory for him and do you realize how horrible your life would become in that house?"
"Am I supposed to give up on Zhiyuan and my family?"
"I am telling you to think about yourself. Ever since you married Zhiyuan, I never once saw you truly happy. Now you are stuck with this new company to win against Keung when you are pregnant. Xinyi, I don't need to tell you that you will be losing a lot of those foreign investments in the blink of an eye. The owner is in jail and is accused of illegal construction. They would pull all the money back immediately. Just give up on this and live a good life, Xinyi. I have worked with you. I have seen you how you are. You…You don't deserve to live such a troubled life."
Xinyi said nothing. She got up and faced him. "Nobody said that a married life is perfect and without troubles. I have suffered, but I had many good memories that my sadness in those times could never match up to. Life is full of ups and downs. Even if I left Zhiyuan, I might face some other problems in my life. Not that I would ever leave his side anyway in the first place."
"Things will only get difficult, Xinyi."
"I have crossed many of those difficult situations together with Zhiyuan. We will come out of this one unscathed too. Thank you for your concern, Yuan. But I would never even dream of abandoning Zhiyuan."
She passed by Yuan and left the park.
Liao Yuan stared at her back and sighed. He took out a cigarette and lit it. Even though it was a no smoking area he didn't care.
"Tsk, Tsk."
The concern in his eyes suddenly vanished, and it was replaced with a cold, dark gaze.
"No matter what I do, you just don't break down, Xinyi.. What will it take for you to leave his side once and for all? I guess jail wasn't enough huh. So, what should I do next, my dear Xinyi?"