After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Zhao Donglai stood in the center of the living room, looking thinner than before. His old dark gray jacket hung loosely on his shoulders, and a patch of bluish stubble appeared on his chin.

He arrived early today, and pushed open the door to enter the villa when only Hou Guifen was sitting in the living room watching TV. The newly hired young security guard at the door didn't even dare to stop him.

The document he was holding was a copy of the equity change record and the application for change of legal representative of Zhao's Engineering Co., Ltd.

"This is the Zhao family's business. My brother Zhao Tianyun started from the bottom, carrying bricks on construction sites, and built up this fortune brick by brick. And you, while he was lying in the hospital with tubes in his mouth and unable to speak, and Zhao Feng was in jail, you changed the company's legal representative to yourself, replaced all the board seats with people from your family, and even transferred most of the working capital out of the account."

Zhao Donglai spoke one sentence after another, each word squeezed out from between his teeth.

He pointed to a line of numbers on the top of the document.

"Over seven million yuan is missing from the construction payments for the three Zhao family's projects since you took over. Where did this money go?"

Hou Guifen sat up straighter on the sofa, reached out and pulled down the hem of her velvet skirt that had slipped above her knees, her expression quickly shifting from initial panic to defensiveness.

Today she wore a dark green velvet loungewear dress, her hair neatly styled, looking like she had just returned from a high-class afternoon tea party, a stark contrast to Zhao Donglai's dejected and down-on-his-luck demeanor.

She cleared her throat: "Donglai, what are you saying? What do you mean by 'seizing control'? You know better than I do the Zhao family's current situation. How much does it cost to keep your brother in the hospital every day? How much does it cost to bribe officials in jail for Zhao Feng? The company's accounts weren't tight to begin with, and with three projects running simultaneously, I personally stepped in a lot of money when the project payments were tight. Did you even ask? When the legal representative was changed, the lawyer said the company needed someone to sign, but your brother can't sign in his condition, and Zhao Feng is locked up. I'm Zhao Tianyun's legal wife, if I don't sign, who will?"

Zhao Donglai looked at her, his lips twitched, but he didn't reply immediately.

He turned to the fourth page of the document and pointed to the signature column for the legal representative. Next to that column was a note that the lawyer had witnessed the event, and the date showed that it was the nineteenth day after Zhao Tianyun was admitted to the hospital.

He turned the page over and held it up to Hou Guifen, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment: "You went to change the legal representative on the nineteenth day after my brother was admitted to the hospital. You're in quite a hurry. Also, which law firm does your lawyer work for? I can't find his practice record."

Hou Guifen's eyes flickered. She stood up from the sofa, walked to the coffee table, picked up the cup of tea that had gone cold, took a sip, and used the rim of the cup to cover her momentary loss of composure.

She put down her teacup, turned to face him, crossed her arms, and raised her chin slightly: "Zhao Donglai, did you come here today to argue with me, or to ask for money? If you're short on cash, just tell me how much, and I'll help if I can. But if you're here to dredge up old grievances, then I'm sorry, I don't have time for you. I'm in charge of Zhao's now, and I call the shots."

Zhao Donglai sat down on the single sofa opposite Hou Guifen.

He calmly looked at the well-maintained woman opposite him, who was currently trying her best to maintain a respectable appearance.

"Hou Guifen, I'm here today for two things. First, regarding the Zhao family's legal representative, I'll submit an objection to the Industry and Commerce Bureau tomorrow. I don't care where your lawyer came from. But Zhao Tianyun has brothers, and Zhao Feng has an uncle. My brother is still alive in the hospital; it's not your place, an outsider, to transfer all of the Zhao family's assets to your own name. After the objection is submitted, the Industry and Commerce Bureau will freeze the approval process for the change of legal representative until Zhao Tianyun issues a handwritten authorization or a court's certificate of incapacity. You don't have either of those, so this path won't work."

Hou Guifen's expression changed.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Zhao Donglai raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Secondly. Zhao Feng is in there, and I'm his uncle. His father is in the hospital, and his mother is moving the family assets back to her parents' home. If he finds out, what do you think he'll think? He's serving three years now, and if he causes any more trouble because of the family assets, it's not impossible for him to get another year or two. If you don't care, then keep doing it."

Hou Guifen lowered her arms, letting them hang at her sides, and unconsciously ran her fingers along the side seam of her velvet dress.

She looked at Zhao Donglai's face, which had become thinner and was covered in stubble.

She paused for a moment, then spoke: "Donglai, what exactly do you want? You know the Zhao family's situation better than I do. Three projects are running simultaneously, and the bank loan is due next month. If you muddy the waters, nobody will benefit. Your brother is in the hospital, Zhao Feng is in jail, and I'm the only one left who can hold the Zhao family together. Even if you take back the legal representative, what will you use to manage it? Do you have money? Do you have a project team? Do you have connections with the banks?"

Zhao Donglai leaned back on the sofa, looking at her face, which was slightly flushed with excitement. The corners of his mouth curved up almost imperceptibly, but then he quickly closed them again.

"I'll handle the Zhao family's affairs. You have a project team, and I have the Zhao family's connections. I can talk to the banks, and I'll figure out how to handle the loan maturity. But you have to return the more than seven million yuan you transferred from the account. That money was transferred to a private account in three installments under the guise of 'management consulting fees.' You know better than I do what the account holder's name is."

"Zhao Donglai, you!"

Hou Guifen's voice suddenly rose an octave, but she lowered it back down halfway through.

She took a half step back, her knees hitting the edge of the sofa behind her, as if something had pulled away a few inches of support from her.

Looking at Zhao Donglai's calm face, which was no longer as easily angered or provoked by her words as before, she finally realized that the direction of today's conversation was no longer under her control.

She slowly sat down on the edge of the sofa, placing her hands folded on her knees.

After a silence of more than ten seconds, she spoke again, her voice filled with a weariness that suggested she had given up resisting: "I've already used some of that money. I paid for your brother's hospital expenses, the expenses Zhao Feng covered inside, and the material costs for a few projects. The rest is still in that account, and I can transfer it back. But you have to give me a guarantee that I won't get involved with the Zhao family business again, but I can't let my life fall apart like this."

As Zhao Donglai watched her sitting on the edge of the sofa, the neckline of her velvet dress slightly askew, the burning desire in his heart that had been raging for months subsided somewhat.

He spoke, his voice still deep, but the anger beneath had subsided: "You can no longer touch Zhao's accounts. The money you transferred must be deposited into the company's official account within three days. This villa you're living in is registered under Zhao Tianyun's name, so you can stay there for now, but if you do anything else, I will apply for asset preservation. As for Zhao Feng, I will visit him in prison, explain things to him about his family, and reassure him that he can stay in there peacefully. As for your matter with his father, you can discuss it yourselves after you transfer the money back. I won't interfere."

Hou Guifen sat on the sofa, not looking up, but simply nodding slightly.

Zhao Donglai put the documents into the inside pocket of his jacket, turned and took two steps toward the door, then stopped, turned his head and glanced at her: "Hou Guifen, when my brother married you, you had nothing. He brought you out of that small county town. Now he's lying in the hospital, how can you sleep at night doing this?"

Without waiting for her reply, he pushed open the door and walked out. The door closed behind him with a dull thud.