Lin Ruoxi swallowed her words at Yang Chenâs penetrating gaze.
It felt as if his words had materialized into a stone that stone penetrated a frozen spring in her heart.
She stared into his eyes for a long time before letting out a breath. With pursed lips, she told him, âYouâre truly selfish.â
âI admit that I am, which is why Iâll never agree to the divorce. I will never let you leave me. I wonât kneel and beg to you, nor would I apologize over this anymore. You have the right to remain here but youâre mine and that will never change.â
âYouâre always unreasonable towards me.â Lin Ruoxiâs jaw tightened.
âI want you to face reality,â Yang Chen said with a stern expression, âYou think mom had let you down for inviting them over to our place. You think weâre bullying you for suspecting you twice. Arenât you being too harsh? You can throw a tantrum at me and I can take it, but youâve ruined everyone elseâs mood because of your temper. Do you think itâs your privilege to do so? Why must you compete with me? Iâm your husband and sheâs your mother-in-law, weâre a family. Must you cause such a commotion?â
âYou...â Lin Ruoxi muttered, âI knew it, youâve never felt sorry towards me.â
âIâm stating the truth.â
âIt pains me because I know everything you said is the truth!â
Having said so, Lin Ruoxi ran back to her house and shut the glass door behind her.
Yang Chen watched her from the balcony, but he didnât bother to run after her.
The chilly morning breeze brushed past him and he breathed in the fresh air before jumping off the balcony.
He had no plans on being overbearing as it looked like Lin Ruoxi still couldnât accept reality.
Feeling gloomy, Yang Chen sped out to a small supermarket by the suburbs and bought a packet of low-quality cigarettes to smoke on his way home.
The taste of nicotine calmed him down.
Even though Iâm a rich person, I still canât live like one. Bad cigarettes are still my thing... and good cigarettes just donât taste the same.
Yang Chen was planning on playing games the whole day to relax, but he received a phone call from Tang Wan as soon as he got home.
âDear, where are you?â It sounded as if she was stifling a laugh.
Yang Chen chuckled bitterly, âYour tone, why does it sound like you know something?â
âDonât you know businessmen have to be well-informed? Itâs about you after all. Why? Did you argue with your wife? I heard that she moved out?â
Yang Chenâs face fell, âHow did you know? Did Qianni tell you?â
âTsk, Qianni isnât a blabbermouth, she wouldnât tell others. I went to your house when I got home, and no one was there. I called Wang Ma and she told me. Why? Were you trying to hide it from us? Didnât you know that someone like me with ulterior motives have been waiting for this day to come? Iâve always viewed Lin Ruoxi as my rival.â Tang Wan giggled.
Yang Chen laughed at her joke, âYouâll have to wait for a long time. We have to live separately for two years for the divorce to be valid.â
âHmph, I bet sheâll move back in a few days. I shouldnât even think about it.â Tang Wan chuckled, âCan you go shopping with me? You havenât been spending time with me.â
âCome on, you always say that youâre busy,â Yang Chen rolled his eyes, âWhere are you? Iâll come to pick you up.â
âIâm at home. Tangtang went to Los Angeles with Yuan Ye. She said that theyâre spending their Christmas at Disneyland. Iâm so lonely...â
Yang Chen sighed deeply, feeling old suddenly.
So thatâs where youngsters go for a date. Why havenât I thought of that? I should bring Lanlan there next time.
Yang Chen arrived at Tang Wanâs place and minutes later, she walked out with a grey sweater and a black pencil skirt.
Yang Chen always had the impulse to touch her every time he saw her. Even though she was no longer young, her appearance was well-maintained that it looked like she was still in her twenties.
âWhatâre you looking at? Start driving.â Tang Wan chided with a blushed face.
Yang Chen smirked and nodded.
Tang Wan scrunched her nose and frowned when she smelled the cigarette smoke, âWhy do I smell smoke? Did you smoke in the car?â
âMmh.â
âAre you that distressed? You havenât been smoking before this,â Tang Wan wasnât pleased, âI thought my man was special, but It turns out that youâre not mentally strong after all.â
Yang Chen forced a laugh, âYouâre ruthless...fine, Iâll quit smoking. Where do you want to go?â
Yang Chen wasnât upset since she was just worried about him.
Tang Wan thought for a moment, âItâs cold so letâs not walk on the streets. Letâs go to the mall, we can have our lunch there too.â
Yang Chen was fine with anything and drove to a high-end shopping mall located in the city centre. He was eyeing on the restaurants located on the highest floor.
Even though Tang Wan wasnât looking for anything, she couldnât stop herself from trying on clothes, bags and accessories in the stores.
If this was an ordinary day, Yang Chen wouldnât be accompanying her to a shopping mall. Heâd rather play games and sleep at home. However, he accompanied Tang Wan since he wasnât in a good mood and also because he hadnât been spending time with her recently.
Tang Wan went straight to the luxury goods, ignoring the brands like Balenciaga, Dr Martens and LancĂŽme.
With one of her hands in Yang Chenâs, Tang Wan picked up clothes and bags that were worth more than ten thousand dollars while the sales associate served her carefully.
Yang Chen didnât understand fashion, thinking that the apparels from Chanel and Gucci seemed odd. The non-luxurious brands looked far more comfortable than these apparels.
âHey, if you want to buy clothes, letâs look at the ones downstairs. These clothes are for fashion shows, thereâs no point in looking at these.â Yang Chen suggested.
Tang Wan scrutinized the details on the outfits while replying, âYou donât get it. if I donât wear branded outfits when I go for business meetings, people would think that Iâm incompetent. People nowadays care a lot about appearance.â
Yang Chen curled his lips, âTheyâre materialistic, you donât have to be like them. Why must they care about the brands, they donât represent your value.â
Yang Chen was reminded of the time when he first met Tang Wan. It seemed like she had always been willing to pay for things, like the limited-edition Land Rover she bought. That was far pricier than Lin Ruoxiâs Bentley.
âItâs fine to be materialistic. If it wasnât for materialistic women, luxurious brands wouldâve gone out of business. Your wifeâs company profit wouldnât rise so quickly if it wasnât for them.â Tang Wan chided.
âYouâre exaggerating.â Yang Chen was astonished even though he had a rough idea of Yu Lei International business scale.
Tang Wan rolled her eyes at him, âItâs obvious that you donât pay attention to the company...her new patent has been winning her collaborations with Prada, Hermes and Burberry. The profits from these products were ten to a hundred folds. Why do you think she was able to take over companies continuously.â
It dawned on him then and he sighed in response, âSheâs talented in the business field but she still needs to learn more about being a wife.â
Tang Wan giggled and Yang Chen was puzzled, âWhat are you laughing about?â
âNothing, you said sheâs talented, but I think youâre exaggerating it. Well, I admit sheâs good at it, but her accomplishment has something to do with her identity as the premierâs daughter.â Tang Wan replied.
âWhat do you mean?â Yang Chen furrowed his brows.
Tang Wan linked arms with him and spoke nonchalantly, âBusinessmen like us need to do things at the right time, at the right place and with the right people. Having the right people isnât that hard, you just need to hire that person. As for the right place, it depends on luck. If Yu Lei didnât choose the fashion industry, it mightâve not survived in this world where the fashion industry is getting more and more exclusive. The hardest part is doing things at the right time, normally it depends on the governmentâs policy. Itâs like Godâs command...as long as you do things according to the policy, you donât have to worry about business opportunities. If the policy doesnât support you, failure is guaranteed no matter how resourceful you are. As long as the policy exists, youâll always have investors.â
Yang Chen understood immediately, âAre you saying that Ning Guangyao has been helping Yu Lei with the policies? Is that why her business has been going well?â
âMmh...â Tang Wanâs expression became serious, âYou have to be careful of the Ning clan and Ning Guangyao. Even though he had never acknowledged her for the past years, if he ever confessed to Lin Ruoxi about the things he had done, Lin Ruoxi would be touched. If your wife acknowledges him as her father...it would be a disaster.â