Chapter 13

The three of them stared at Zhang Luomeng in unison. For the past two years, the two families had cut off contact, except for the superficial “plastic” friendship between Lin Wanting and Xia Xue that barely hung on.

When Qiao Yilan saw Zhang Luomeng, she quickly composed herself and shot a glance at Lin Haifeng, the kind that meant, We’ll settle this later.

Lin Wanting stepped forward. “Security guard, what’s wrong with you? How can you just let anyone in?”

The old guard turned and almost bumped right into Zhang Luomeng. He had been so focused on coming in to report that he forgot to check who was behind him.

Zhang Luomeng also stepped forward. Judging from the scene, she seemed to have guessed why she was here—Xia Xue had mentioned it briefly.

“Haifeng, Yilan, we’ve really run into trouble this time. For the sake of all the years we’ve known each other, please help us. As long as you can find my old man, I’ll get down on my knees to you!”

That was enough to shock all three of them. Zhang Luomeng had always been a strong woman, yet here she was, saying she would kneel without hesitation.

Zhang Luomeng was truly at the end of her rope and could only bite the bullet and plead with Lin Haifeng. His clothes were still damp; he took two steps forward, glanced at Qiao Yilan, and said,

“Alright, I’ll have someone look for Xia Jifeng. There’s no need to kneel for this. Even if our families are business rivals, it’s normal—we don’t have to just sit back and watch the Xia family fall.”

Lin Wanting originally wanted to retort, but since Zhang Luomeng hadn’t mentioned the matter of the shipment, she decided to keep quiet.

Zhang Luomeng saw that Lin Haifeng was at least willing to help, but Qiao Yilan still hadn’t said a word.

“My daughter Xia Xue may have offended you—please, don’t take it to heart and stoop to her level. When my husband comes back, I’ll bring him to thank you personally.”

“Alright, go home and wait for news,” Lin Haifeng replied.

After leaving, Zhang Luomeng hurried to continue searching for the shipment. She knew that if she had brought it up inside, Qiao Yilan and Lin Wanting would surely object, so she chose to prioritize finding Xia Jifeng first. Once her husband was back, she wouldn’t be running around like a headless chicken.

“Dad, how come you can show compassion to outsiders but not to Mom? Or is it because you have an illegitimate child now, so Mom and I don’t matter anymore?”

Hearing the words illegitimate child made Lin Haifeng flare up instantly. As her father, he felt deeply insulted that his own daughter would speak to him that way.

“What illegitimate child? That’s your younger brother!”

Qiao Yilan gripped the table tightly, afraid she’d collapse again. How could he say it so righteously?

She had stood by him for over twenty years—maybe without great achievements, but certainly with hard work. She decisively demanded a divorce and a split of the assets. Without her support, Lin Haifeng could never have achieved what he had today.

“Fine. Then let’s divorce. Give me my share of the property, and I won’t bother you anymore.”

It was precisely because of that half of the assets that Lin Haifeng had never filed for divorce himself.

Lin Wanting stopped Qiao Yilan. Now was not the time—she hadn’t finished her plan yet.

“Dad, can’t you just swallow your pride? Admit your mistake and give up the child outside. Mom and I can pretend nothing ever happened.”

Even with her saying this, Lin Haifeng remained unmoved. He was set on keeping the child outside and also didn’t want a divorce. In his mind, it was best to have flowers blooming at home and wildflowers blooming outside.

Qiao Yilan stared at Lin Haifeng. The tense silence was broken by the ringing of a phone—it was a message from someone Xia Jifeng had contacted through a middleman, asking Lin Haifeng for help to save his life.

Lin Haifeng hung up and rushed out (grateful for an excuse to leave). Qiao Yilan already knew the answer in her heart and sat helplessly on the sofa, realizing that none of this had ever truly belonged to her.

“Mom, how can you give up so easily? At a time like this, you absolutely must not divorce—that would just let her have her way. Listen to my plan…”

The last time she had whispered in her mother’s ear was about dealing with Xia Xue. This time she laid out another scheme. Qiao Yilan was surprised at Lin Wanting’s transformation—she was now even more calculating than people who’d been in the game for decades.

“Wanting, I don’t want you dragged into this. I’ll give you all of my share of the assets—I don’t want a thing.”

Hearing that, Lin Wanting almost broke down in tears and couldn’t hold back anymore. She hugged Qiao Yilan tightly.

“Mom!”

Just then, Gu Qingqing came in. She had waited outside respectfully while the family handled their affairs. Stepping in, she saw the touching scene between mother and daughter and couldn’t help feeling envious.

This time, Qiao Yilan and Lin Wanting were united in both directions.

Seeing Gu Qingqing enter, Qiao Yilan quickly wiped away her tears—she didn’t want anyone to see her vulnerable side.

“Wanting, let’s go home first.”

Lin Wanting only half-finished telling her mother the plan.

As for Lin Haifeng, he had only gone out to catch up with Zhang Luomeng—after all, he still wanted her money. He wasn’t running a charity.

Zhang Luomeng had just gotten home when Lin Haifeng caught up to her. “Sis, why are you walking so fast? I had to run to catch you.”

“Is there news about Jifeng?”

Lin Haifeng nodded. Not only was there news, but they also wanted money to let him go.

“I know the Xia family has some wealth. The other side contacted me through someone—they want money before they release him.”

Panicked, Zhang Luomeng didn’t even ask how much. She just went to gather all her gold, silver, and valuables to pawn.

Lin Haifeng shook his head—these people were asking for a sky-high ransom. Zhang Luomeng looked at the house and decided she’d have to sell it. She believed that once Xia Jifeng was back, they could make a comeback.

That afternoon, Xia Xue hadn’t seen Zhang Luomeng anywhere and came home looking for her. The missing shipment might finally have some leads, but instead she saw Lin Haifeng there.

Zhang Luomeng handed over the house deed to Lin Haifeng, asking him to help her sell it—she didn’t understand these things as a housewife.

Xia Xue snatched it away immediately. “Mom, are you crazy? Give him the house? Where will the younger ones live?”

Trailing behind, Wang Xing finally looked up and noticed the real issue—this meant that even if the Xia family didn’t die, they’d be skinned alive.

Wang Xing pulled Xia Xue aside. “What’s going on? Is your family going bankrupt? What about the money for our store? That won’t be affected, will it?”

All he cared about was whether the money would still be there. Xia Xue wondered what good that little bit of money would do in this situation.

Besides, the old man quite liked Wang Xing, but he clearly didn’t care about her family and only cared about the money.

“Wang Xing, I’m telling you—if you can find that shipment, it’s worth way more than that money. The question is, do you have what it takes?”

Wang Xing was speechless. The money wasn’t even in his hands. Xia Xue went back inside to confront Lin Haifeng.

“Uncle Lin, is this your setup? My mom doesn’t understand these things, but I’m not stupid. You know better than anyone about that shipment. Other than you, I can’t think of anyone else.”

Xia Xue spoke boldly. Zhang Luomeng told her to shut up—they still needed Lin Haifeng to save the man.

“If you’re going to talk like that, I’ll just leave. You can deal with the rest yourselves,” Lin Haifeng said.