Chapter 25

When Jiang Jianchun’s husband arrived at the residential compound, he saw his wife’s boss, Liao Chunxing’s elderly mother, outside with her twin grandsons.

The two children asked, “Grandma, why does Dad always send us out to buy soy sauce whenever Aunt Chun comes over?”

The old lady knew something was going on. Her son was at least consistent in his unfaithfulness, having his eyes set on just one woman. She had tried to advise him, but he wouldn’t listen. Should she expose the affair instead of helping to cover it up? She wasn’t satisfied with Jiang Jianchun either—she wasn’t even as good as the simple-minded nanny—but since her son liked her, she had no choice but to help keep things under wraps.

“Adults have important matters to discuss. You shouldn’t go around talking about it, okay?” she said.

Once a suspicion takes root, even a small trigger can magnify it. Hearing the old lady’s excuse to the children, Jiang Jianchun’s husband became certain that his wife was indeed fooling around with her boss upstairs.

His family wasn’t exactly wealthy, but they had a decent life. They owned a three-room tile-roofed house with a courtyard, and his mother helped take care of the children. His relationship with his wife was good compared to most households, and he had always accommodated Jiang Jianchun’s needs, big and small. Yet she was still having an affair outside.

Kong Nianqing rushed up the stairs in a few quick strides. As he reached the landing, he could hear moans and groans coming from inside, mingled voices of a man and a woman—sounds every man would recognize.

“You threatened that colleague. Do you think she’s retaliating? Six human traffickers were caught near my mother’s house, and now they suspect I was trying to sell my sister,” Jiang Jianchun was saying.

“What are you afraid of?” Liao Chunxing replied. “There’s no evidence pointing to you. Just don’t admit anything, and I’ll handle the rest. By the way, how do you like the effects of the medicine I’ve been taking lately? Am I not better than your husband?”

The couple had just reached the peak of their pleasure when the door was suddenly kicked open. They were in the kitchen, without even a second door to shield them. Kong Nianqing caught them red-handed. He grabbed a spatula and started hitting Liao Chunxing, catching them off guard as they fumbled to put their clothes on. Loudly, he shouted that there was adultery going on in the house, drawing neighbors from all around. To their shock, they discovered it was Jiang Jianchun, and her husband had caught her in the act with her boss, the two barely dressed.

One female neighbor slapped her own husband for staring. “You shameless man, get back home!”

Someone advised, “Nianqing, at least let them put their clothes on.”

“If they put their clothes on, will they still admit it? Call the head of the compound. I demand an explanation today!” he shouted.

This was the company housing complex. Some people went to fetch a higher-ranking official, while others continued to try to mediate. Many more flocked over to watch the commotion.

Jiang Jianchun was utterly humiliated. “Kong Nianqing, are you trying to drive me to death?”

Kong Nianqing was furious. “You threw yourself at him. Did you never consider this day would come?”

The leadership soon arrived, dispersing the crowd and closing the door to speak with Kong Nianqing privately, asking how he wanted to resolve the matter.

…

The Jiang family had just gone to bed when there was a loud, urgent knock at the door, rousing Jiang Baomin. It was the wife of a colleague from Jiang Jianchun’s workplace, asking him to come with her without explaining why.

Liu Jinyun ran out, pressing for details, but the woman wouldn’t say anything. Her anxiety grew, and as the two sons and daughters-in-law also got up, they crowded around to ask why someone from Jianchun’s workplace had come to take their father. What had happened?

Liu Jinyun didn’t know. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She started grumbling incessantly, “Ever since your sister came back, nothing has gone smoothly in this family. She wanted to be a good person and catch human traffickers, and now who knows what kind of trouble she’s brought onto your older sister.”

Jiang’s elder son interjected, “Mom, these are two different things. Dad being called away has nothing to do with Ruanyuan.”

Liu Jinyun still blamed her daughter-in-law for stirring up trouble by revealing her and Jiang Jianchun’s conversation to the police. “That was just casual talk between us. Why did you have to tell the police? What’s your motive?”

Jiang’s sister-in-law felt both aggrieved and resentful. She had even started sleeping with her son by her side and had taken leave from work. She wouldn’t let her son out of her sight until this matter was fully resolved.

She replied, “Mom, let’s not argue with anyone. We’ll find out if it’s about Ruanyuan or Jianchun when Dad gets back.”

The second son and his wife were less concerned. His wife was pregnant, the house was crowded, and with everything happening lately, she signaled to her husband. He hesitated before saying, “Mom, after all this is over, Hongmian wants to go back to her parents’ place for her confinement.”

Going back to her parents’ house to recuperate would be a blow to the Jiang family’s pride. Liu Jinyun, still fuming, lashed out at the second son, “Jiang Wanghai, I’ve raised you all these years, and now you want to play son to your father-in-law? Tell me, what have I ever done wrong to you?”

Jiang Wanghai quickly said, “No, no, I was just saying. If you don’t agree, then forget it.”

His wife got angry and went back to their room to sleep.

It was the middle of the night when Jiang Baomin finally returned with a sullen face. Liu Jinyun chased after him, asking, “Stop looking like a dead man. What’s going on? Is it about that wretched girl, Ruanyuan, or is it about Dachun? It’s probably about Jiang Ruanyuan, right?”

“What do you think?” Jiang Baomin felt humiliated just recalling the incident. He had just learned that his eldest daughter had been caught in the act of having an affair with her boss by her own husband. It was disgraceful; the whole Jiang family’s reputation was in tatters.

He slapped himself hard twice. Jiang Wangshan was startled and grabbed his father’s hand. “Dad, don’t do this. What happened?”

Looking at his most promising eldest son, who had a bright future ahead, Jiang Baomin thought about how Jiang Jianchun’s scandal could drag him down. He made a decision. “From now on, Jiang Jianchun is no longer my daughter. I’m going to place an announcement in the newspaper and sever our father-daughter relationship. I won’t let her ruin our entire family.”

“Why would you go to such lengths?” Liu Jinyun was displeased.

Jiang Baomin could barely bring himself to explain, “She… she was having an affair with Liao Chunxing, and her husband caught them in the act.”

My God, such a disgraceful scandal. Even Jiang Wanghai’s wife, who had gone back to their room, quietly came out to hear more.

Liu Jinyun quickly tried to defend Jiang Jianchun, “Dachun must have been forced! She’s the victim here. This is when her family needs to stand by her.”

“Do you know something?” Jiang Baomin angrily grabbed his wife. “Did you know about her affair and still helped her cover it up? What do you mean, ‘forced’? She went to him on her own! If we don’t sever ties, how can we face anyone? If you pity her, then divorce me and go live with her!”

Jiang Baomin was very concerned about his reputation, especially after recently being promoted to chief technician. Many people were envious, and now he couldn’t even hold his head up at the factory.

“What’s going to happen to Dachun now?” asked Liu Jinyun.

“She’s going to be fired from her job. Her husband wants a divorce, and she’ll leave with nothing.”

“What about the child?” Liu Jinyun couldn’t believe things would go this far. “Dachun is still carrying Kong’s child!”

Jiang Baomin sneered. “The dates were faked. Her husband said the child isn’t his.”

Although he said he would cut ties, this courtyard house belonged to Liu Jinyun. She brought Jiang Jianchun back, wailing and crying. Jiang Baomin then asked his wife, “In this house, only one of us can stay—me or that shameless daughter. You decide who.”

Liu Jinyun said, “Dachun is my flesh and blood. If her family doesn’t take her in, where else can she go? I won’t make her leave.”

“Fine,” Jiang Baomin packed his clothes and left.

Liu Jinyun turned to the tearful Jiang Jianchun. “How could you do something like this, carrying on an affair in someone else’s house and getting caught by your husband?”

Jiang Jianchun, unable to explain herself, bitterly replied, “Someone used a slingshot to break our window and tipped off my husband. Now we suspect it was a colleague who had a grudge against Liao Chunxing.”

“What are you going to do now? Are you really getting divorced?”

“What else can I do? Liao Chunxing said he would marry me.”

“But he’s already been dismissed from his job. You’d become a stepmother to his children—how will you manage?”

“Liao Chunxing said he’ll start a business. Since Kong Nianqing wants a divorce, I’ll just live a good life to make him regret it!”

Now, they could only hope that Jiang Ruan wouldn’t come back. If she did, everything would come out.

…

News about Jiang Jianchun’s scandal quickly spread through the neighborhood. At home, Qin Zhengqing and Miao Shufang kept their voices low, afraid to disturb their son, who was deep in thought.

Through the window, they could see their son sitting at his desk, supposedly studying, but Qin Zhengqing knew he wasn’t really focused.

Qin Yan probably knew more than the police, but he kept silent. Yesterday, he had gone to the antique shop, where his childhood friend and the young nanny who blindly followed Qin Yan worked. The incident involving Jiang Ruan’s sister being caught in the act was likely connected to him.

Qin Zhengqing sighed and prepared a medicinal bath for his son’s feet, but Qin Yan refused. Qin Zhengqing grew anxious. “Jiang Ruan said you could stand up again, and you did. I don’t know if it’s the medicinal bath or her massages, but you can’t skip the treatments.”

“Fine, I’ll do it. Dad, can you help me with something?”

Qin Zhengqing hesitated. “If it’s anything shady, I can’t help you. Think it over before you ask.”

Qin Yan let his father place his unresponsive legs in the basin, but then he was suddenly startled—he could actually feel the heat. His father had made the water way too hot!

He didn’t want his parents to know that he had regained sensation in his legs, so he gritted his teeth and endured it.

Seeing him in discomfort, Qin Zhengqing asked with concern, “Son, are you alright?”

Qin Yan shook his head and said, “Dad, do you remember Ran Xiaorong’s father? Could you look into clearing his name?”

That was something he could help with, so Qin Zhengqing agreed. “Sure, but why did you suddenly think of Ran Xiaorong?”

Qin Yan replied, “It’s complicated. Can you just trust me without asking questions?”

“Alright.” After helping his son with the foot bath, Qin Zhengqing went out to make some arrangements. With the recent policy changes and old connections still being useful, it was likely something that could be done.

Qin Yan was confident that Jiang Ruanyuan would come back. Before that happened, he needed to get to the bottom of her background.

Soon after, his childhood friend Liang Yong came by. He greeted Miao Shufang and then slipped into Qin Yan’s study to quietly report, “Brother Yan, after you told me to follow Liao Chunxing, I did, and I discovered something. Liao Chunxing guessed the wrong informant. He went to another colleague’s house, and they argued. I overheard that the colleague had connections with human traffickers, which Liao Chunxing used as leverage. Should we report this to the police?”

“Is Han Changfeng back?” Qin Yan asked.

“Yes, he’s back.”

“Then give him the information. If he can’t figure out the whole story, he has no right to acknowledge Jiang Ruan as his sister.”