Lin Hui probably never dreamed she'd be caught red-handed by Jiang Qing, especially since he'd never cared about her private life all these years.
Perhaps it was a lack of love, or perhaps arrogance.
How could a woman who loved him so deeply and was so subservient possibly have an affair?
Compared to Xu Lan, even the slightest hint of trouble, like Xu Lan suddenly wearing a new style of dress, would make Jiang Qing suspect she was trying to impress Rong Huaixu.
Even if Lin Hui went out naked, he wouldn't flinch.
Now, knowing Lin Hui had been secretly meeting with other men, Jiang Qing's expression was cold but not frantic.
I guess his anger stemmed more from her swindling him out of his money to support her lover, manipulating him at will, rather than from Lin Hui's infidelity.
As the drama was about to begin, someone had prepared some fruit in the room beforehand. I ate some sunflower seeds while enjoying the panicked expression on Lin Hui's face.
"Why are you here?"
Perhaps she was still hoping Jiang Qing hadn't caught them in the act, and she still had room to argue.
Jiang Qing, being a respectable man, didn't barge in while they were doing their business.
He strode into the room and coldly ordered, "Close the door." In wealthy families, appearances are paramount. Whether he loved Lin Hui or not, she was his woman, and it would be very unpleasant to hear about it.
Lin Hui's clothes were scattered on the carpet, and I saw a thong.
Lin Hui really is an ugly toad who's also promiscuous.
She quickly gathered up the clothes and put them on the bedside table, still trying to explain, "Honey, please let me explain, I just..." Jiang Qing calmly sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and casually pulled out a cigarette, exuding a powerful aura.
Seeing him take out a cigarette, Lin Hui knelt down to light it for him.
This was already a conditioned reflex, indicating she had done the same thing many times before.
But Jiang Qing would restrain himself from smoking in front of his mother.
This was the first time I'd ever seen them together in private.
I initially thought that after twenty years together, with Lin Hui being such a passionate woman, how could Jiang Qing not have touched her?
Now I believe it. His indifference to Lin Hui's infidelity shows he doesn't care about her at all.
The two of them together gave off the vibe of an emperor and a palace maid. The maid dared not look him in the eye, and he disdained to even glance at her.
No wonder he wasn't bothered by her surgically enhanced face; he'd never even given Lin Hui a second glance.
Jiang Qing tossed down his cigarette case. "Fine, explain. I'm listening."
Lin Hui knew she was doomed. Already kneeling, she relaxed her grip and sat up, no longer pretending.
"You know everything."
"What? Weren't you going to try and deny it?" Jiang Qing was too calm, so calm it was frightening.
I even thought he'd rush in and beat Lin Hui, or verbally abuse her.
After all, he'd hit Jiang Zhi in his anger before.
He hit her because he cared, and only caring leads to disappointment.
His calmness made Lin Hui's twenty years seem like a joke.
Lin Hui's next reaction surprised me; she suddenly ripped open her bathrobe.
"Yes, I cheated on him. These are the marks he left."
Wait, I just can't understand middle-aged love at all!
Shouldn't this supposed to be a scene of catching someone cheating, filled with roars, grief, screams, pleas for mercy, and wails?
Is Jiang Qing sick, and is Lin Hui sick too? She's even showing Jiang Qing evidence—is she insane?
Jiang Qing propped his cheek with one hand, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Your 'Guanyin Sitting on a Lotus' move was quite good."
No, he's even giving critiques!
Lin Hui's eyes reddened, and tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.
"So you're not even angry about betraying you, is that it? You don't even want to know why I betrayed you?"
How did Lin Hui become the victim?
"It doesn't matter. It's a fait accompli. You know I only care about results." Jiang Qing flicked his cigarette ash as he spoke, his face cold. "Over the years, I've treated you well, never shortchanging you and your daughter materially. Yet, in the end, you conspired with another man to kill me and seize the Jiang family business. Lin Hui, how dare you!"
"So you knew all along." Lin Hui looked at him, tears streaming down her face. "You say you've treated me well, but does that mean you want me to live a life of widowhood, using me to torment your wife for twenty years? You've never considered me your wife..."
"You dare call yourself my wife?" Jiang Qing retorted.
"Yes, I know I'm not worthy. You won't touch me, so I find other men. All you care about is the Jiang family. Don't you feel even a little bit angry?" Lin Hui roared. "If there's even the slightest disturbance on Xu Lan's side, you stay up all night smoking in the living room. For the past twenty years, I've been trying to persuade you, but how have you treated me? Every time after our tryst, I wonder if you'd be angry if you found out? Would you be as distraught as you were the day you learned Rong Huaixu was back? All these years, I've been afraid you'd find out, yet I'm also afraid you wouldn't. I want to see if you care about me even a tiny bit."
"I left so many clues. Once, when you came over unexpectedly, he hid in the bedroom. The ridiculous thing is, you never stepped inside. While you were working at your desk in the study, I was making love with him in the bedroom, and you didn't even notice!" Jiang Qing stubbed out his cigarette, toying with the wedding ring on his finger. "So, you two were having a pretty exciting time?"
Even now, his face showed no anger, indicating he truly wasn't upset at all.
"Jiang Qing, do you even have a heart? I've been so good to you, I've always treated you with utmost respect, I've always gone along with you, but why are you still thinking about that woman who doesn't love you? I always thought you'd divorce her soon, but I've waited year after year, and you're still so cold to me. If it weren't for Zhi'er, you wouldn't even glance at me again. Jiang Qing, I once truly loved you, I wanted to be devoted to you for life, but you're so indifferent to me, you've driven me to this point!"
"So you think Zhou Yuyou will marry you? You saw it today, how he treated his wife so tenderly at the airport."
Jiang Qing knew how to pierce her heart. "Even if you killed me, the first thing he'd do after getting the Jiang family would be to kick you aside. I don't love you, and he probably never loved you either."
"Those documents were indeed given to me by you!"
"Lin Hui, although I don't love you, I've never deceived or used you, and I even treated your bastard child as my own. And this is how you treat me?"
Jiang Qing casually revealed the truth, and Lin Hui felt that the man before her was utterly terrifying.
"When...when did you find out?"
"That's not important. What's important is that you know I'm a businessman. I've invested so much time and money in you all for nothing. Your lover's success is all thanks to me, isn't it? I'm going to get my revenge." Only now did a hint of fear appear on Lin Hui's face. Jiang Qing was a ruthless businessman.
If it weren't for his shrewdness, he would have already taken Xu Lan, and wouldn't have given her this opportunity.
But when he started calculating against her, Lin Hui knew perfectly well that she had better still be of some use to him, otherwise her fate would be dire.
"What...what are you going to do?" Jiang Qing tossed out a ledger. "Originally, I wanted to send you two, you adulterous couple, to jail, but then I thought that would be too lenient. This is the principal I've spent on you and your daughter over the years."
It was an astronomical sum. Lin Hui's face turned deathly pale. "I don't have the money to pay it back."
"I know you can't pay it back. Your lover's company can barely manage. Consider the increase in its market value over the years as interest. Lin Hui, you know my rules."
His words, though seemingly casual, carried immense weight.
"What do you want me to do?" Jiang Qing lowered his eyes, coldly looking at the woman kneeling on the ground, and said, word by word, "Pay him back double for what he did to me."