Chapter 2

Compared to her husband Li Wangjin, Fang Junrong harbored deeper resentment toward her son Li Shize. She had long given up hope on Li Wangjin, but her son’s actions were something she could never come to terms with, even in death. Before Jiang Yage entered their lives, Li Shize had been impeccable in his roles—both as a son to his parents and as an elder brother to his sister. He remembered every one of her birthdays and took meticulous care of his younger sister’s needs, making him the pride of her life.  

Yet after meeting Jiang Yage, it was as if he had discarded all his identities, becoming solely Jiang Yage’s Li Shize, with his existence revolving entirely around her. He was no longer her son, nor was he Li Xinyun’s brother. Whoever stood against Jiang Yage became his greatest enemy.  

Unconsciously, the image of his icy expression surfaced in her mind—cold as December frost, chilling her to the bone.  

*”No one—absolutely no one—can harm Yage in the slightest in front of me. Not even you.”*  

*”From this day forward, we sever all ties as mother and son.”*  

…  

Every time she recalled that moment, it felt like her heart was being sliced apart again and again. But pain, when endured often enough, becomes numb.  

Fang Junrong took a deep breath, suppressing all her emotions. Before her, Li Wangjin was still rambling on about Jiang Yage’s virtues, trying to win her over.  

“Yage would be so happy if she knew about this. Have you met her? She’s such a sensible and kind girl—you’ll definitely adore her once you get to know her.”  

“I hope Xinyun will learn from her once she joins our family. That child of ours is just too willful. Did she ask you for pocket money again?”  

Fang Junrong curled her lips slightly. “Our family isn’t short on money. Should our only little princess suffer deprivation? If we’re talking about spending, a single painting you casually buy costs more than her entire year’s allowance.”  

In her past life, Li Wangjin had constantly compared Xinyun to Jiang Yage, elevating the latter while belittling the former. Xinyun wasn’t a narrow-minded girl, but after repeated disparagement, she inevitably developed resentment toward Jiang Yage.  

Li Wangjin himself was a hypocrite of the highest order—he criticized Xinyun for spending too much, yet splurged lavishly on Jiang Yage’s birthday parties and gifts every year. To him, money spent on Jiang Yage was always justified, while spending on his own daughter was a waste. Who knew what kind of *magic potion* Jiang Yage had fed him.  

At this thought, even though she no longer held any affection for him, an inexplicable fury surged in Fang Junrong’s heart, her tone turning frosty.  

“Girls should be raised with abundance. If our family can’t even afford to raise one properly, perhaps we shouldn’t adopt anyone at all—lest they come only to suffer. Or maybe you could cut back on your auction sprees.”  

Li Wangjin’s expression shifted, and he quickly placated her. “I was just joking—why take it so seriously? Xinyun is our child; of course I dote on her too.”  

As if afraid she wouldn’t believe him, he transferred a million to Xinyun’s account right in front of her as her allowance.

Fang Junrong couldn’t be bothered to keep up the pretense with him and quickly sent him away. Her top priority now was to take stock of the family assets to avoid losses during the impending divorce. The most valuable assets of the Fang family, apart from the properties and land, were the appliance company she co-founded with Li Wangjin—Airong Group—and the newly established skincare company, “Mei Fang.” Later, this skincare company was gifted by her unfilial son to Jiang Yage. Jiang Yage was said to possess inherited beauty recipes, which she used to amass a fortune and later even befriended several influential figures who became her backers.

The timing of her rebirth wasn’t too bad. Whether it was the finance, HR, or R&D departments, she had her people in place—especially Xu Weiwei, the finance manager, who was also her close friend from university. In her previous life, she had gradually handed over these trusted associates to her son, only to realize too late that her unfilial son had replaced all her confidants, leaving her without the means to fight back and resulting in total defeat.

She called her friend Xu Weiwei and scheduled a meeting for Saturday afternoon, booking a private room at her usual club, “White Crane.” Before that, she also took stock of her personal assets—sixteen prime-location shops worth over a billion alone. Adding the villas and apartments under her name, the total value was around four billion. All the properties the family had purchased were registered under her name, which was why Li Wangjin was seen as a good man by others. During their divorce, this also gave him a significant advantage in public opinion.

She let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, these properties hadn’t been given away yet. In her previous life, at her daughter Xinjun’s coming-of-age ceremony, she had divided these assets in half, gifting them to her son and daughter. Later, Xinjun’s share was coaxed away by Li Wangjin under the guise of investment.

The thought of this only deepened Fang Junrong’s hatred for Li Wangjin.

This time, she would never part with the properties or shops.

After steadying her emotions, she coldly watched as Li Wangjin enthusiastically directed the preparations for Jiang Yage’s room. He had wanted to place Jiang Yage’s room near Li Shize’s on the second floor, but she intervened and had it moved to the first floor instead.

By Saturday, after lunch, she drove to the renowned White Crane club in S City. After waiting about ten minutes, her friend Xu Weiwei arrived. Xu Weiwei had brought a laptop with her. With her short hair, she looked efficient and sharp.

As soon as they met, Xu Weiwei opened her laptop and pulled out a USB drive. “Even if you hadn’t reached out, I had something to discuss with you.”

She was a cautious person and kept important files backed up separately.

In her previous life, aside from her daughter, Xu Weiwei was the person Fang Junrong missed the most. They had been friends for over twenty years, and because of her, Xu Weiwei had been framed by Li Wangjin and sent to prison as a scapegoat. Fang Junrong had always carried a sense of guilt toward her.

“What is it?”

She was puzzled—this hadn’t happened in her previous life.

Xu Weiwei opened a file, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Over the past few years, President Li has withdrawn a considerable amount from the company’s accounts to purchase antiques and paintings. The total sum is substantial.”

Fang Junrong suddenly recalled that in her past life, Xu Weiwei had also warned her about this matter. However, she hadn’t taken it seriously at the time and even had a minor disagreement with Xu Weiwei. No wonder Xu Weiwei never brought it up again afterward.

Li Wangjin seemed to have developed an obsession with antique calligraphy and paintings ten years ago. He was particularly fond of a calligrapher named Xu Fangweng and even established an agency specifically to handle affairs related to this, sparing no expense to purchase many of his works. Strangely enough, despite buying so many pieces, Li Wangjin never held any exhibitions. Instead, he stored all these artworks in his villa.

Her expression turned serious. “How much did he spend?”

Xu Weiwei replied, “I’ve calculated it. Over the past ten years, the total expenditure in this area amounts to 3.6 billion.”

Even Fang Junrong, who had mentally prepared herself, couldn’t help but change her expression. This was undoubtedly far beyond her expectations.

Although the Li family was wealthy, 3.6 billion was no small sum. How dare he scold their daughter for being extravagant?

Xu Weiwei said solemnly, “Though I know it’s unwise to meddle in family matters, I still felt you should know about this—” It was only this year, while reorganizing the accounts, that she noticed something amiss. After hesitating for a while, she decided to inform her good friend.

Fang Junrong carefully examined the account book Xu Weiwei had prepared, her gaze freezing on one particular line.

*Red-Crowned Crane* — 150 million.  

Three years ago, Li Wangjin had spent an exorbitant sum to purchase this piece.

*Red-Crowned Crane* was considered one of the most famous works by the renowned calligrapher Xu Fangweng. Fang Junrong had once seen the authentic piece at the home of Mr. Zhang, her uncle’s superior. She was certain that Mr. Zhang would never sell this artwork. Li Wangjin had also seen the genuine piece back then when they visited together.

This meant the painting he had bought was undoubtedly a counterfeit. Spending over 100 million on a fake? Only a fool with water in their brain would do such a thing. Was Li Wangjin a fool? Clearly not.

That left only one explanation: over the years, Li Wangjin had been using this as an excuse to openly transfer company profits into his personal account. In her past life, when dividing the assets, he had gifted all those purchased artworks to their daughter, Li Xinyun. At the time, she had thought it was a gesture of affection. Little did she know, he had handed her a pile of worthless paper.

At this thought, her stomach churned, waves of nausea rising within her.

Though fairly confident in her suspicions, she still needed more evidence. Fang Junrong called Uncle Zhang, the owner of *Red-Crowned Crane* and a devoted fan of Master Xu Fangweng. Over the years, he had collected much information about Xu Fangweng and knew the whereabouts of many of his works.

She inquired about the locations of some of Xu Fangweng’s pieces and confirmed that several works on the list were undoubtedly authentic and in the possession of Uncle Zhang’s friends.

After hanging up, Fang Junrong suddenly laughed—a bitter, mocking laugh. She wasn’t sure whether she was laughing at Li Wangjin or herself. Perhaps both. She had originally thought the conflict between her and Li Wangjin began with Jiang Yage’s arrival. Yet now she realized he had been scheming to take their wealth as early as ten years ago, in a slow, imperceptible manner.

From the very beginning, they had never truly been family. To start laying the groundwork ten years ago—what remarkable patience he had.

Xu Weiwei was a smart woman. She could read between the lines from the phone call and couldn’t hide the anger on her face, though she forced herself to suppress her emotions in front of Fang Junrong. “What are you planning to do? Get a divorce?”

Knowing her friend well, she understood that Fang Junrong wouldn’t let things slide easily after discovering her husband had been scheming to seize their assets with malicious intent.

Fang Junrong said, “For him to have bought so many counterfeits smoothly over the years, he must have had someone helping him forge them.” Given Li Wangjin’s cautious nature, he wouldn’t have involved too many people—the more who knew, the higher the risk of exposure.

She paused, her slightly narrowed eyes glinting with a sharp, icy edge. “First, we find that person and have them produce more works.”

“Since he loves buying counterfeits so much, let him buy to his heart’s content!”

When they eventually divorced, all those fakes would naturally go to him—after all, she was a good person, and a noble person wouldn’t take what others cherished.