After Eight Years Of Marriage, You're Asking Me For A Divorce - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
In the evening, Lin Sinian sat for a while under the messy floral arbor.
The rosy clouds were deep, like the carefully applied, delicate rouge on a woman’s face. Youth, beauty, and love—all were this precious and lovely rose color, such that their entire lives ultimately transformed into this beautiful yet agonizing hue.
Lin Sinian hadn’t thought about women in a long time. He wasn’t skilled at understanding them and still couldn’t empathize. Even as a Deputy Chief Prosecutor, there were things he wasn’t good at. He thought that if he couldn’t get through this challenge, it was his karma.
Someone sat down behind him. Xiao Yanxiu looked exhausted.
The wedding anniversary was different from what either of them had imagined. So was marriage.
“I’m sorry,” Lin Sinian said softly. “On our third wedding anniversary, I almost ruined it and made us a joke to outsiders.”
Xiao Yanxiu took off his tie: “What exactly happened?”
He had calmed down from his initial anger upon seeing the photo. They had been honest during their dating days that neither of them was a first-timer in relationships or sexual experience. Xiao Yanxiu didn’t mind; many people in their circle led complex private lives. He thought if this was a woman Lin Sinian had been with before they started dating, then it didn’t matter.
Lin Sinian said: “That girl was a female university student sponsored by our family. Her family couldn’t afford to send her to high school, and my father helped her because she had good grades. We met a few times, always with others present. I had just been promoted to Director of the Office then. She mentioned she wanted to study law in the future, so we chatted a bit. I gave her some advice when she filled out her university application.”
Xiao Yanxiu sounded like he was listening to a love story: “Did feelings develop over time?”
Lin Sinian rubbed his temple: “I have no interest in women. She confessed to me, and I rejected her many times. Then, she secretly switched my aspirin. I was unprepared and fell asleep. She wanted to use that photo to force me into a relationship with her.”
“This kind of situation is tricky to handle. A key factor in defining the crime of extortion in our country is whether there is a monetary motive. She wasn’t seeking money. Giving me the drug didn’t constitute robbery or sexual assault; at most, it was attempted crime. Moreover, my father was still in office then, during the critical years leading up to his retirement. There were already enough troubles, and if a student sponsored by our family were arrested, it would only create more complications. So, we eventually sent her to study abroad.”
After speaking, Lin Sinian wiped his face. He couldn’t even recall what the girl looked like. To this day, he didn’t understand why she liked him, or why she thought they could have a relationship. Had his rejection not been firm enough? What else could he have done? She was like a cloud illuminated by the setting sun, only showing a shocking rose color.
After a while, Xiao Yanxiu held both his hands: “My attitude was bad today. I should have listened to your explanation first.”
Lin Sinian said: “Axu, I didn’t want you to know because I was afraid it would change your perception of me. A prosecutor taking advantage of a poor female university student—I didn’t want you to see me that way. You always tell me I’m good, I’m good, but I’m not as good as you imagine…”
Xiao Yanxiu tightened his grip on his hands.
“It’s alright. You are good, Sinian. You’ve always been good,” Xiao Yanxiu said. “You should have told me sooner. I am your husband. We are supposed to be one. You have to trust me; I would definitely understand.”
Lin Sinian closed his eyes: “I didn’t betray you. I didn’t.” He sounded like he was chanting a mantra.
What karma was this? Xiao Yanxiu hugged him, kissing his ear and the crown of his head. Lin Sinian was trembling. He was afraid. He still shuddered thinking about so many people seeing him humiliated and beaten, and how close the reporter came to finding out. This was supposed to be their wedding anniversary. This happy marriage could not tolerate the slightest stain.
“Do you have any idea who sent the photo?” Xiao Yanxiu asked. “Did you offend someone? Is there any danger? Tell me what I can do to help, honey.”
Lin Sinian said: “I’ve already called the police. They will notify me after they catch Lu Jingyao.”
This was the second time Xiao Yanxiu heard that name.
“Lu Jingyao, the son of Lu Jiancai, Chairman of Zhonglian Petrochemical?”
“You know him?”
“I’ve dealt with Lu Jiancai twice. He’s a very capable, old-school entrepreneur.”
Lin Sinian briefly explained the two meetings: “I suspect that during Lu Jiancai’s illness, some of the company’s authority was passed to Lu Jingyao. Lu Jingyao tried to secretly resolve the environmental qualification without his father’s knowledge. Not only did he fail, but the mess grew too big to handle. He’s incompetent in both speaking and acting—at least from my perspective, he’s far from a basically qualified corporate manager. I don’t know who gave him the terrible idea to resort to this kind of dirty trick. If he thought of it himself, then Lu Jiancai created this karma by raising such a son.”
“Do you think the broken capital chain is also his doing?”
“A tiny subsidiary manufacturing company accumulating over ten million in accounts payable? That’s ridiculous. What’s their annual net profit? Let’s hope the money wasn’t lost on drugs or supporting mistresses outside, or he’s the biggest(parasite) in Zhonglian.”
The issues at Zhonglian were internal to the Lu family. Xiao Yanxiu was concerned about his husband.
“Why did he target you? Does he have any other evidence?”
“The police will search his house and personal belongings. Let’s wait for the search results. There was only one photo back then. She was timid and didn’t dare to keep too much, partly out of fear of upsetting me, and partly out of fear of our family’s power.”
“What about the people around Lu Jingyao? Could they be involved?”
Lin Sinian hadn’t had time to consider that.
Xiao Yanxiu said: “Today, this photo was only sent to my phone. If it ends up online, or given to some tabloid reporter, arresting one Lu Jingyao won’t solve the problem.”
Lin Sinian squeezed his hand back: “Axu, I won’t allow anyone to harm this home or this marriage. I was prepared when we got married. I won’t show mercy to anyone who crosses this bottom line. Trust me, I have the ability to handle this.”
Xiao Yanxiu raised an eyebrow: “So you’ve handled everything, and I don’t need to do anything?”
Lin Sinian smiled, lifted his head, and kissed him: “Just stay with me, Axu.”
His heart was still racing. He needed him, just as a woman needed rose-colored fantasies, and just as life needed sleep.
…
The police acted quickly. The call came halfway through dinner: Lu Jingyao had been detained. When the police found him, Lu Jingyao was at the Fulin Mansion negotiating financing with a financial institution. The executive, who was also present, was terrified watching the young master being arrested by the police. Lu Jingyao was forcibly dragged away, yelling and struggling, drawing attention. Some guests recognized him and used their phones to take pictures of the scene. The photos were posted online the next day, with some speculating whether Zhonglian was about to go bankrupt.
Xiao Yanxiu saw the photo the next afternoon. His secretary, Han Chengyang, knocked and entered, carrying a large brown envelope and looking serious. Xiao Yanxiu gestured for him to sit down and speak. He didn’t have many rules in his office.
Han Chengyang was casual: “The girl is Shi Mei, born in 1990. She comes from a severely impoverished county. She dropped out for half a year in junior high but still managed to get into a key high school in the city. Her family really couldn’t afford to support her, so she secretly used her cousin’s phone to apply for the aid program. Her personal information was only sent on the last day, nearly missing the deadline. Her grades were excellent. She won many high school math competition awards, was granted direct university admission, and was exempted from a year’s tuition. Police later found her personality to be introverted, not socially adept, and very deep-thinking.”
Xiao Yanxiu listened while playing with a pen, his attention seemingly not fully focused.
“Overall, she’s a test-taking genius, but her emotional intelligence isn’t great,” Han Chengyang poured himself a cup of coffee. “After Mr. Lin was threatened with the bedroom photo, he initially reported it to the police. The case was filed, but the next day, he suddenly dropped the charges. Lin Wenshan personally went to the police chief to explain the situation. The young girl took a leave of absence citing health reasons and was sent abroad six months later. She is currently studying at the University of Manchester. I checked; there is indeed a student named Shi Mei in the Department of Fundamental Mathematics.”
After a moment, Xiao Yanxiu said: “Born in ’90, she’s only 28.”
Han Chengyang smiled: “Seven years younger than her beloved Mr. Lin.”
“How did the man surnamed Lu get the photo?”
“I found that strange too. After the incident, the police should have deleted all copies and original files of the photo. Unless she shared it online at some point, leaving residual traces. Or, Lu Jingyao has a connection inside the police department.”
“What’s the situation at the police station now?”
“Lu is criminally detained and terrified. He probably didn’t expect Lin Sinian would actually call the police. He’s been clamoring to pay for bail the whole time.”
Xiao Yanxiu turned around and settled into his computer chair. He had three monitors on his desk. Before Han Chengyang came in, he was reading an experimental report on high input voltage and narrow voltage DC power path management.
“Chengyang, contact the police station again for me. I want all of Lu Jingyao’s personal electronic devices,” he said.
“Are you worried about other things besides the photo?”
Xiao Yanxiu nodded: “Also, find this girl named Shi Mei and bring her to me. Be as discreet as possible; don’t let the Lin family know about this. If it’s not convenient to bring her back, I can go see her myself.”
Han Chengyang was slightly surprised. He thought Xiao Yanxiu and Lin Sinian had a very close relationship. It seemed Xiao Yanxiu didn’t fully trust his husband either. Coming out of the office, Han Chengyang bumped into the arrogant Xiao Yanping. He greeted him and stepped aside.
Xiao Yanping closed the door: “I told you not to marry him, but you insisted he was good.”
Xiao Yanxiu’s face was stern: “He is the victim in this matter.”
“He says he’s the victim, and you believe him?” Xiao Yanping scoffed. “A Deputy Chief Prosecutor, who’s been navigating officialdom for more than a decade, a nine-hundred-year-old fox—who are you calling a little white rabbit?”
Xiao Yanxiu frowned: “What else do you know?”
Xiao Yanping said: “I overheard his conversation with his secretary, mentioning the environment and the bank. If he was the victim, why didn’t he call the police when he first received the photo? Why wait until you got the photo to report it? Did he have a deal with the man surnamed Lu? Doesn’t it make you wonder if he’s hiding other things from you? Are you truly this trusting of him?”
“I don’t fully trust him,” Xiao Yanxiu raised his voice. “You just saw Chengyang; he’s investigating this matter.”
Xiao Yanping finally breathed a sigh of relief, his expression softening.
Xiao Yanxiu tossed him a cigarette case. The brothers walked to the window to smoke.
“Aping, I know you don’t like him. But you went too far today,” Xiao Yanxiu chastised softly. “Sinian is family. We are one family, and you are part of it. Why resort to violence instead of talking it out? And let outsiders see it. It looks terrible.”
Xiao Yanping snorted: “Let’s see how long you can keep up this pretense of peace.”
“I don’t believe Sinian would harm me,” Xiao Yanxiu sounded annoyed. “If he is hiding something, he may have his reasons. Didn’t we also keep secrets from him about our past in the US? It’s hard for ordinary couples to be completely open, let alone those from prominent families. As long as he doesn’t betray this home, this marriage, a small secret doesn’t matter.”
Xiao Yanping couldn’t understand. He felt marriage should be about complete trust and love. What was the point of being wary of the person you sleep next to? Xiao Yanxiu and Lin Sinian were fundamentally the same type of people—too guarded, and they would eventually scheme against themselves.
“Maybe this is an opportunity,” Xiao Yanping said, wanting to change the subject back to work. “I heard Lu Jiancai is sick, and Lu Jingyao was arrested. If the Lu family can’t get through this, the whole empire might collapse. Brother, weren’t you also interested in the Binhai Wind Power Generation project?”
Xiao Yanxiu knew what he was getting at: “Zhonglian’s capital chain is broken. The Lu family is trying to secure financing.”
“How much money do they need?”
“1.5 billion.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard for Zhonglian, should it?”
“It wouldn’t have been, but with the heir arrested and the scandal everywhere, it’s likely difficult now,” Xiao Yanxiu said. “No rush. Let’s observe a little longer. The Lu family has deep roots; they might have other moves. A father won’t sit idly by while his son is arrested. Their massive legal team isn’t just for show. They won’t be able to swallow the Binhai Wind Power Generation project immediately.”
Xiao Yanping noticed a business card for a fund client manager on his desk: “Are you also negotiating financing? Are we short on cash?”
Xiao Yanxiu replied: “It doesn’t hurt to ask, even if we’re not short. The domestic financial market is very different from overseas. It’s always good to understand the situation.” He played with the steel pen in his hand and smiled.