At 9 a.m. sharp, Ye Zhiqiang arrived at the teahouse, bringing only two men with him. Shu Yan’s side was equally restrained: aside from Shu Jianyang, she brought just two people as well.

After all, they were here to negotiate—not to fight.

“Yanyan,” Ye Zhiqiang began, looking at the divorce agreement Shu Yan had drafted. There wasn’t a single concession left for him. “They say even one day of marriage builds a hundred days of affection. We’ve been married for years and have two kids. Do you really have to be this ruthless?”

Shu Yan let out a cold laugh.

“Ye Zhiqiang, do you even hear yourself? Where was this talk of ‘affection’ when you were the one forcing me to divorce you? And yesterday—didn’t you send someone to try to hurt me? If I hadn’t been careful, would I even be sitting here right now? Don’t you feel even a shred of guilt saying this crap?”

She took a deep breath, trying not to explode.

“Enough. We both know exactly what kind of people we are. Drop the act. Don’t waste time with this nonsense. I’ll ask you once: do you agree to these terms? If you do, we sign and end it today. If you don’t—we’ll see each other in court. Let the law decide.”

In the early 90s, society was extremely strict about “personal conduct.” Shu Yan’s evidence was ironclad. If it went to court, there was no question she’d win.

“You really want to go to court?” Shu Yan continued calmly. “Every single photo will become public evidence. The judge, the jury, everyone will see them. I don’t care if they’re embarrassed for you. I’ll be fine.”

“Shu Yan.”

Ye Zhiqiang practically ground her name out between clenched teeth, glaring at her. He couldn’t understand it at all—how had this woman, dumb as a pig just months ago, suddenly become so sharp and forceful?

“I’m not deaf,” Shu Yan shot back, rolling her eyes.

Ye Zhiqiang took a deep breath and forced himself to speak more gently.

“For the kids’ sake, can’t you show some mercy? When I first suggested divorce, I didn’t plan to throw you out with nothing. You don’t have to go this far.”

“I’m not the one going too far. It’s you—and that vixen of yours—who went too far.” Shu Yan straightened up, fixing him with a cold stare.

According to the memories she’d inherited, Ye Zhiqiang had started using emotional abuse on the original Shu Yan six months ago, trying to force her to leave on her own. When that didn’t work, he escalated to constant fault-finding and beatings. In just two months, he’d hit her six times.

Meanwhile, Li Jiaojiao would drop by regularly to insult and humiliate her, constantly belittling her. Pushed to the edge with nowhere to go, the original Shu Yan eventually took her own life.

No matter what kind of person she had been, they had driven her to death. A life lost just like that.

Shu Yan didn’t think she was being too harsh at all.

Neither side was willing to budge, so the negotiation broke down completely. Ye Zhiqiang stormed off in a huff. There was no way he’d agree to leave with nothing. Even if it went to court, that wouldn’t happen immediately—he figured he’d have time to come up with a plan.

He wanted to drag things out.

But Shu Yan had no intention of letting this drag on. She couldn’t keep living on edge like this—and neither could the two kids.

“So what’s your plan?” Shu Jianyang asked with a frown. “If you want, I can just have someone grab him. Break an arm or a leg and he’ll listen.”

Shu Yan sighed. Don’t be fooled by this cousin’s tall, handsome, scholarly look when he sat quietly—he was absolutely ruthless when needed. That was how he’d built his current standing.

“Third Brother, we’re living in a country with laws now. That would be kidnapping, intimidation, and assault. If something goes wrong, even if we’re in the right, we’d lose all moral ground.”

After all, organized crime was still illegal. Shu Jianyang had done everything he could for her, so Shu Yan wanted to do something in return—to help him avoid unnecessary trouble.

“Then what do you suggest?”

After these few days together, Shu Jianyang no longer saw her as some ignorant country bumpkin. He was treating her like an equal.

“We need to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.”

“Kill the chicken to scare the monkey?” Shu Jianyang’s eyes narrowed. “You mean… that Li Jiaojiao?”

Shu Yan smiled faintly. Just because she hadn’t brought up Li Jiaojiao much didn’t mean she’d forgotten about her. She’d simply been too busy. Originally, she’d thought that if Ye Zhiqiang was willing to cooperate, she’d let this slide for now. But since he insisted on playing hardball, well—she’d have to apologize in advance.

She remembered the novel’s detailed background on Li Jiaojiao, who was the female lead’s mother.

In 1992, university graduates were still assigned jobs. Li Jiaojiao’s school wasn’t prestigious, but it still guaranteed her a formal position: she worked as an accountant at the city distillery. In the novel, she was shrewd enough to spot the potential in Ye Zhiqiang—despite his lack of education. After marrying him, she used her own abilities to transfer to a government office and eventually became the secretary to the municipal party secretary, thanks to her elegant handwriting and polished writing skills. By the time the novel’s heroine appeared, Li Jiaojiao was already the director of the Education Bureau, while Ye Zhiqiang had grown his construction company into one of the biggest real estate firms in Xicheng. Their daughter was truly born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

Readers of the book always assumed Ye Zhiqiang had split with his first wife before getting involved with Li Jiaojiao. In those days, people in rural areas often didn’t bother with official marriage certificates. Ye Zhiqiang could just brush it off with, “We were young and didn’t know better—it was all our parents’ idea.”

Sure, looking back from 2019, older generations’ marriages could seem informal or sloppy. People might even dismiss the lack of a marriage license as meaning they weren’t really married. And in the novel, it was made clear that Ye Zhiqiang gave his ex-wife a house and all his savings in the settlement.

But now that Shu Yan was living in the original wife’s body, she realized just how many hidden details there were. Maybe it really did all depend on your perspective.

What if she’d transmigrated into Li Jiaojiao instead? Shu Yan gave a little shudder. She didn’t want to think about that.

Anyway, she was Shu Yan now—the aging housewife about to be heartlessly dumped by a scumbag husband.

Compared to Ye Zhiqiang, Li Jiaojiao was the easier target.

Since she couldn’t afford to get too hostile with Ye Zhiqiang right now, Shu Yan decided on a subtler approach: she chose only those photos where Li Jiaojiao’s face was clear while Ye Zhiqiang was turned away or shown in profile.

She made three copies. One was sent to Li Jiaojiao’s university. One went to the distillery where she worked. The third went to her family back in her home village.

And Shu Yan didn’t use the post office—she arranged personal delivery.

At the university, the photo went right up on the bulletin board. At the factory, it was posted on the big notice wall outside. For the village, A-Fei himself delivered it. He was clever about it, too: instead of plastering the wall, he simply handed a thick stack of photos to one of the local women at the entrance of the village, asking her to pass them along to Li Jiaojiao’s parents.

“Good heavens!”

The woman who first saw the photos let out a shriek, instantly drawing a crowd. When others saw the pictures, they all lit up with excitement.

Entertainment was scarce in those days. Whenever the villagers had free time, they loved to gossip about anything and everything. If a man and a woman were seen getting even a little close, rumors would spread like wildfire until everyone believed they were having an affair.

Now there was photographic proof right in front of them. It was as good as seeing it with their own eyes.

“Isn’t this the college girl from the village? Her mom’s always bragging about how capable she is. Well, she really is capable,” one woman snarked as she craned her neck for a better look. “Auntie Guihua, don’t hog them all for yourself. There are plenty of photos—let me see too!”

“Yeah, Auntie Guihua, pass them around so everyone can get a look at what makes a ‘college student’ so special!” added a grinning young man.

Everyone was dying to see. Even if they couldn’t have someone like her, at least they could feast their eyes on the scandal.

A lively crowd formed around the photos, laughing and gossiping.

Meanwhile, Xiao Fei used the distraction to slip away quietly. He still had to deliver photos to the next village. Sister Yan had been clear: Make sure everyone in a ten-mile radius sees them.

Within an hour, word was everywhere: the Li family’s precious college girl was nothing but trouble—seducing a married man in the city. The man’s wife had even caught them in bed and mailed the shameless photos back to the village.

When Li Jiaojiao’s grandmother saw the pictures, she fainted on the spot. Her two uncles and aunts shook with rage. They all had daughters of their own—this niece’s scandal would drag all their reputations down with her. Especially the eldest aunt, whose own daughter was in the middle of marriage negotiations. Now who even knew if the engagement would hold.

Li Jiaojiao’s parents were still on their way back from the hills when they noticed everyone in the village whispering and giving them strange looks. They were puzzled at first—usually, the entire village fawned over them because they had a daughter in college. But now people seemed eager to pretend they didn’t even know them.

When they reached their house, they saw a crowd blocking the doorway. Their hearts sank. Something was very wrong.

As soon as they laid eyes on the photos, Mother Li collapsed, causing a chaotic scene. When they finally revived her, she sat wailing on the ground, slapping her thighs.

“I can’t live anymore! How can I show my face again?”

Father Li just squatted to the side smoking, silent but looking even more devastated than his wife.

Over in the city, things weren’t going any better for Li Jiaojiao.

The moment she walked into the factory, she felt everyone staring and whispering. Her coworkers—people who’d always been friendly—now treated her like poison. Even Sister Wang, who had always been kind, glared at her with bitter disappointment.

“Sister Wang, what’s going on?” Li Jiaojiao’s heart pounded. She felt a wave of dread she couldn’t shake.

Sister Wang’s face flushed red. She looked like she was trying to swallow her anger, unable to say a word.

“Jiaojiao, you… Ai!”

She let out a sigh, shaking her head in disgust.

“Li Jiaojiao, the factory director wants to see you in his office.”

The girl who delivered the message was one of the clerks assigned to the office along with Li Jiaojiao. They’d always been rivals, competing openly and in secret. That morning, she’d snuck off to show the photos to the director herself.

When Li Jiaojiao saw the photos, it felt like all the blood drained from her body. She collapsed onto the floor, shaking.

“You’ve seen it yourself,” the factory director said heavily. “After something like this, there’s no way we can keep you here. You’re a college graduate—do you know how hard your family worked to put you through school? And you go and do this? Go home and think about what you’ve done.”

Li Jiaojiao felt frozen to the bone. It was over. Completely over. Her reputation was ruined, and now she’d lost her job too.

When Ye Zhiqiang got back from the construction site, he found her sitting there in a daze. He frowned in concern.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

“Brother Qiang,” Li Jiaojiao managed to move her head just enough to look at him. Seeing him felt like grasping at the last straw. “I lost my job.”

“So what?” Ye Zhiqiang waved it off dismissively. “You think I can’t support you? Who cares about that job? It doesn’t even pay enough for you to buy a single nice dress. Perfect excuse to stay home and focus on giving me a healthy, smart son.”

Li Jiaojiao shook her head, covering her face with her hands as she broke down crying.

“Our photos got out. Everyone at the factory saw them. The school knows too. Everyone knows. How am I supposed to show my face again? I might as well just die!”

Ye Zhiqiang shot to his feet, eyes bloodshot with rage.

“I’m going to find her.”

=^_^=