A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

Xie Jing stared at her quietly for two seconds.

Jiang Chu was trying hard to appear serious, but there was still a hint of hesitation and uncertainty in her eyes.

He almost laughed.

But on the surface, he cooperated with the other party, making himself appear more serious as well.

"Yes," Xie Jing nodded, "Go ahead and say it."

"To make a long story short, your daughter's friend tried to scald me to death or disfigure me. I was furious and had someone punch him a couple of times. Your daughter thought I went too far and spoke up for him, which made me even angrier. I confronted your daughter and humiliated her in front of some random people."

Jiang Chu said all of this in one breath.

She quietly observed the man in front of her.

Xie Jing didn't seem to have any emotional change, as if she was still processing what had happened.

Jiang Chu sighed, "...I know that as my father's girlfriend, I should probably act more like an elder, and be more tolerant and considerate—"

"No need," Xie Jing said calmly. "Even if you were thirty years apart, let alone three, you have no obligation to be considerate."

Jiang Chu blinked. "That's great! I was just about to say that I feel like I can't do it."

Xie Jingwan'er.

Jiang Chu smiled and took his hand, observing the man's expression to make sure he showed no displeasure, only a hint of indulgent smile in his eyes.

"So," she shook the other person's arm, "that's all there is to it?"

Xie Jing grabbed her hand in return, "No."

The man's eyes darkened. "Someone wants to hurt you. Giving him only two punches is too lenient."

-

As dusk fell, in a villa on the outskirts of Beijing, Qiao Yi stared intently at his phone screen.

A message popping up above indicates that the payment failed.

He slammed the crystal ashtray on the table to the ground.

"Oh shit!"

His chest heaved violently as he dialed another number.

It rang for a long time before the other end answered.

"Hey, Young Master Qiao, what's up? Haven't paid the deposit yet? The brothers are all waiting to get started."

"You guys go first!" Qiao Yi gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, "You'll get your money back! I had a problem with my card today, so go and tie that woman up! Break both her legs, take pictures and send them to me, I'll transfer double the money tomorrow!"

A cold laugh came from the other end of the phone. "Young Master Qiao, trying to get something for nothing? We don't do credit in this business. Our targets are always accompanied by bodyguards. Without real money, who's going to take the risk for you? We'll make our move when you transfer the deposit. One million, not a penny less. Bye."

"Feed? Hey! Fuck!"

The receiver emitted a busy tone.

Qiao Yi slammed his phone onto the sofa.

He has had a smooth life since childhood, with money and connections wherever he wanted. When has he ever suffered such humiliation?

Qiao Yi gritted his teeth and stormed out of the room, exuding a thuggish aura, and strode towards the study upstairs.

The second-floor corridor was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

He burst open the study door and looked at the couple inside.

Both men appeared to be in their thirties and were sitting in front of a computer looking at documents. Upon seeing this, they both looked up.

"What's wrong?"

The woman frowned first.

She was wearing a dark gray business suit, her hair neatly pulled back. "Are you getting more and more unruly as you get older? You don't even know how to knock on the door anymore?"

"Qiao Zheng!" Qiao Yi roared, his anger blazing. "What right do you have to freeze my card?! I know it was you who did it!"

Qiao Zheng slowly closed the document in his hand. "Because you did something wrong, and you should be punished for doing something wrong."

"Pah! Who do you think you are!" Qiao Yi slammed his hands on the desk. "I'm calling Dad right now and telling him you've been cutting my allowance and trying to embezzle the family fortune! Dad loves me the most. Wait till he gets back, he'll teach you a lesson!"

"Go ahead and try," Qiao Zheng sneered, leaning back in his chair. "Let's see if you can get through."

Qiao Yi was taken aback.

"Dad was in San Francisco at noon. I heard you caused trouble on Tianyu Group's territory and almost injured someone important. You suffered an acute cerebral infarction on the spot and are now lying in the ICU of St. Mary's Hospital. You are paralyzed on one side and can't even speak. The doctor said it would be a miracle if you woke up, and there will be no possibility for you to manage the group's affairs in the future."

"What?!"

Qiao Yi was struck dumb, frozen in place as if by lightning.

The old man had a stroke?

Paralyzed?

Wouldn't his biggest backer be completely gone?

"So, Qiao Yi, listen to me carefully."

Qiao Zheng stood up, placing his hands on the table. "Now, I am the executive director and president of Qiao's Group. I call the shots in the entire Qiao family."

"What...what do you want to do?"

Qiao Yi took a step back.

"Embezzle the family fortune? Why would I need to embezzle?" Qiao Zheng sneered. "The Qiao family's money should all be mine anyway. Look at yourself, you spent millions bribing professors to get a diploma from a lousy university, and you bullied classmates and injured teachers. Every time, wasn't Dad spending a fortune to clean up your messes? You want the Qiao family's money? Do you deserve it? Let me tell you, you won't get a single penny!"

"You! You! You've finally shown your true colors!" Qiao Yi, furious, raised his phone. "I've recorded everything. Once Dad wakes up, you're finished!"

Qiao Zheng seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Fine, then go to America, go to his bedside, and play it for him."

She glanced at her husband beside her, whose eyes were also filled with a bright smile. When he met his wife's gaze, he lowered his head slightly.

"Qiao Yi," Qiao Zheng turned his head, "I've already had the legal department process the paperwork. All the properties and sports cars under your name that were purchased with company funds are being reclaimed. Your dividends from the trust fund will be suspended indefinitely starting today. You're living off the Qiao family, yet you've brought such a huge disaster upon them. I'm already being merciful by not sending you directly to Mr. Xie to apologize."

"You're dreaming! That's something Dad gave me!"

Qiao Yi was completely oblivious to the chilling undertone of the last sentence.

He raised his fist and slammed it into Qiao Zheng's face, yelling, "You bitch! I'll beat you to death!"

However, he had taken two punches from a trained fighter during the day, and now he felt terrible all over, as if his bones were cracked, and he didn't have the strength to fight back.

Qiao Zheng easily dodged it.

Hearing the commotion, two burly bodyguards outside the study rushed in from the left and right, swiftly pinning Qiao Yi's hands behind his back and pressing him firmly to the ground.

Qiao Yi's face was pressed against the cold floor. "Qiao Zheng! Lu Ming! You adulterous couple! How dare you treat me like this! Wait until Dad wakes up..."

"If you keep causing trouble, I'll send you straight to a mental hospital on the grounds that you have schizophrenia, self-harm, and violent tendencies."

Qiao Zheng looked down at him condescendingly, "Inside, you'll 'reasonably' never get out. Don't believe me? Try it."

The shouting stopped abruptly.

Qiao Yi raised his head and met Qiao Zheng's cold eyes.

He knew his sister was greedy and ruthless, and absolutely capable of doing such a thing.

A tremendous fear instantly enveloped him.

No.

He wanted to leave the Qiao family.

"Let go of me... I can walk by myself!"

Qiao Yi swallowed hard and called out in a trembling voice.

Qiao Zheng waved his hand, and the bodyguard released him.

Qiao Yi scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush off the dust, and rushed out of the study in a disheveled state, running all the way to the villa gate.

"...Are we just going to let him go like that?"

The man in the study spoke in a low voice.

"Ignore him."

Qiao Zheng sat back down. "He doesn't have much money left in his account. His few cronies used to hang out with him, eating and drinking for free, but now that he's down on his luck, who's going to take him in? In less than three days, he'll crawl back to his old ways."

Lu Ming's eyes flashed, and he stepped forward, gently massaging Qiao Zheng's shoulders. His tone was gentle: "Don't get angry with this kind of person. It's not worth ruining your health. However... we need to hurry up with Tianyu Group. If Mr. Xie really holds a grudge, the Qiao family is finished."

"I know." Qiao Zheng rubbed his temples. "I'm thinking of preparing a generous gift. I heard that Miss Jiang is a classical dance major. I'll have Lao Liu find some good antique jewelry. I'll personally go to apologize to her."

Lu Ming nodded. "You're already so busy, and so is Xiao Yi. They really cause you trouble."

"I really didn't expect this," Qiao Zheng shook his head, "that girl is Xie Jing's girlfriend. If Assistant Wang hadn't contacted me personally, I wouldn't have believed it."

She got angry again as she spoke, "He's been like this since I was little! Now he's finally met his match! It's all because Dad spoils him! I've told him to discipline him several times when he made mistakes, but he just doesn't take it seriously!"

Lu Ming observed his wife's expression, and finally gritted his teeth, "Actually... there's something I only found out today."

"What?"

"Do you remember the year before last, when Xiao Han broke his arm while celebrating the Lunar New Year at the old house?"

This refers to their eldest son, Johan.

Qiao Zheng looked up. "How could I forget? The doctor said our eldest son almost injured his spine. But didn't Dad say that Xiao Han was being naughty and slipped off the railing?"

"It didn't slide down at all!"

Lu Ming said in a trembling voice, "I just received a video. It's your brother. He thought Xiao Han was too noisy, so he pushed the child off the top of the steps! He was laughing as the child rolled down! Our dad was down there, so he probably saw it all, but maybe he's too old to see it clearly."

"What did you say?!" Qiao Zheng suddenly stood up. "Who gave you the video?"

"I don't know," Lu Ming closed his eyes, "but... it's not hard to guess, is it?"