The Mother-In-Law's Embrace - Chapter 2

It had been a month since the day she’d witnessed that… *incident*. Lin Wancheng occasionally felt remorse for her impulsive actions that day—

She should have found a smarter way to stop it. 

At the very least, she shouldn’t have been the one to step in. The courage and impulsiveness fueled by anger had been completely extinguished over this month of torment.

The reason?

She had caught Li Han Ye’s attention.

That day ultimately fizzled out. A sudden ringing phone call stopped Li Han Ye just as he was reaching for Lin Wancheng, his furious eyes chilling her to the bone. But upon seeing the caller ID, he stiffened, instantly suppressing the rage that had been brewing on him. 

He hastily pulled up his pants, throwing a chilling remark at Lin Wancheng – “Woman, you’ve successfully piqued my interest.” Then he hurried out, answering the call as if something terrible would happen if he didn’t. 

Every time Lin Wancheng thought about that scene, she felt both relief and fear. That phone call was her lifeline; though she didn’t know who had called, she was immensely grateful for it.

Otherwise, with this man’s ruthless nature, she probably would have suffered…

It might sound unbelievable to others, but Lin Wancheng, at 24 years old, hadn’t even seen an AV, let alone a real p3nis. And yet, she had been confronted by such an obscene sight under such terrible circumstances.

That grotesque thing left a deep shadow on Lin Wancheng, seeping into her dreams as a purple-black worm writhing and entangled around her, exuding a foul stench that woke her from sleep, sobbing and breathless.

She always considered herself strong; life’s hardships rarely made her shed tears. However, she never thought she would be terrified by a mere piece of flesh.

Did all men’s genitals look like this?

Utterly lacking in beauty, like a large, disgusting worm.

Just thinking about the day when she might be violated by something so repulsive made her panic and feel nauseous. 

Lin Wancheng instinctively thought of Manager Su’s expression that day – pain mingled with pleasure, making her seem completely different from usual. It was strange, almost surreal.

What kind of emotions had Manager Su been experiencing? Would she have felt the same disgust? It must have been incredibly painful; her tears wouldn’t stop flowing no matter how much she wiped them away…

For a month, Lin Wancheng wanted to check on Manager Su’s wellbeing, to comfort her, but every time she remembered Manager Su’s gaze at the end of that day, she would abruptly stop.

After Li Han Ye left, Lin Wancheng closed the office door and wiped tears off Manager Su’s face for what felt like hours. Paper after paper was soaked in tears, even stained with the black traces of her makeup. Neither of them spoke a word, their sobs barely audible. 

Lin Wancheng feared that speaking would only make things worse for her colleague. So, she simply sat in silence and offered quiet companionship.

After what felt like an eternity, Manager Su finally stopped crying but remained silent. She gathered herself, tidied up her appearance, putting on a composed facade once again; her clothes neat, makeup perfect, as if the entire ordeal was nothing more than Lin Wancheng’s imagination. 

Even the office, which had been in disarray, was quickly restored to order with astonishing efficiency. This left Lin Wancheng speechless.

Finally, Manager Su spoke in a hoarse voice, “You can go now, Xiao Lin. I’ll look at your design drafts later.”

Hearing this calm, almost cold response, Lin Wancheng felt surprised. She hadn’t expected the first thing she would hear after such an ordeal to be about work.

She hesitated before nodding. 

Lin Wancheng wasn’t good at offering comfort; at that moment, she was especially careful not to make things worse.

As she was about to leave the office, a weary voice called out from behind her, “Please… keep this a secret…”

Turning back, Lin Wancheng met Manager Su’s gaze and affirmed firmly, “Don’t worry, I will.”

Even without experiencing it herself, Lin Wancheng knew how devastating such an incident could be for a woman.  Once the news got out, Manager Su would face accusations and condemnation from all sides – 

Li Han Ye’s admirers would see her as someone undeserving;

The company leaders would consider her irresponsible, abusing her position to seduce the CEO of the Li corporation;

Her gossiping colleagues would think she was promiscuous and desperate, potentially leading to harassment from men.

No one would say a bad word about Li Han Ye. 

 Thankfully, Manager Su’s office was far from others, and the commotion likely hadn’t reached anyone else. Li Han Ye, with his arrogant personality, wouldn’t publicize such an embarrassing incident for himself.

Reassured by Lin Wancheng’s promise, Manager Su gave a slight nod. 

However, her eyes held a complex mix of emotions that Lin Wancheng couldn’t decipher – weariness, sadness, trust and gratitude towards Lin Wancheng, but also a hint of distant indifference, even resentment.

Resentment? 

Why?

On her way out of the office, on her way home from work, for weeks afterward, Lin Wancheng found herself constantly replaying that look in Manager Su’s eyes. She even started to doubt herself – had she done the right thing?

Her impulsive interference had humiliated someone who clearly admired Li Han Ye, exposed her own vulnerabilities in a way she hadn’t intended, and snuffed out those bittersweet, hopeful feelings of longing…

It all seemed to have made things worse.

She thought she was stopping a terrible act, but was that truly the case?  If she hadn’t acted so rashly, would Manager Su be happily with Li Han Ye now?

But those tears, those agonizing screams – they had been so real…

This tangled knot of conflicting emotions weighed heavily on Lin Wancheng’s heart. For the first time, she found herself questioning her own sense of justice.

And reality wasn’t kind to her either. After infuriating Li Han Ye, both her work and life suffered – she was transferred to be his personal secretary.