CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 WU XIAOLI’S TROUBLE

Sun Dasheng didn’t stay the night; Xiang Yiren had practically begged him to leave. Her expression was like she was seeing off a plague god. The moment the door closed, an utterly exhausted Xiang Yiren collapsed to the floor. With her hair in disarray and a lifeless look in her eyes, she murmured, "He’s practically an animal."

"No! If this goes on, I’m going to work myself to death."

The jealousy she’d felt earlier had vanished. Now, all she wanted was to find a sister to help share the burden. Otherwise, she was doomed to an early grave.

Of course, Sun Dasheng couldn’t hear her thoughts now.

Just after leaving, he received a phone call and drove to the location he was given.

「Auntie’s Café, Shanghai.」

Seeing the familiar sign, he was surprised to find it was a chain. In a corner of the cafe, a slightly flustered woman visibly relaxed the moment she saw him approach.

Sun Dasheng walked in and saw Wu Xiaoli sitting across from a young woman. As he got closer, he realized the woman was heavily pregnant.

What’s going on here?

She had been vague on the phone, only saying that she was in trouble.

He sat down beside Wu Xiaoli and glanced at the woman opposite them. She had the stereotypical face of an internet celebrity; you couldn’t say she was unattractive, just that you’d seen so many similar faces it was hard to tell them apart.

"What’s going on?" Sun Dasheng asked quietly.

"Wang Jiadong’s mistress," Wu Xiaoli stated, her face an unreadable mask. "She’s pregnant and she came to find me."

Despite her placid expression, her words were sharp and clear, summarizing the situation perfectly.

So it’s the classic drama of a pregnant mistress showing up to force out the original wife?

The pregnant woman’s eyes darted between the handsome Sun Dasheng and the expressionless Wu Xiaoli before she said bluntly, "I’m having his child. I hope you’ll step aside and let us be together."

Wu Xiaoli remained unmoved. "Go on. What are your other demands?"

She knew the woman hadn’t come all this way for a face-to-face meeting just to announce her husband was cheating. And sure enough, the woman continued, "I hope that after the divorce, you’ll leave with nothing. The house and the cars should be left for our baby."

Hearing this, Sun Dasheng was utterly dumbstruck.

Do women this shameless really exist? As the mistress, she’s sitting here in front of the legal wife, not the least bit intimidated, and dares to make a demand like that. Is she insane?

But what stunned him even more was Wu Xiaoli’s response. He never expected she would actually agree. He sat beside her in silence, trusting she had her reasons for saying what she did.

The mistress was just as shocked. She knew her demand was excessive; it was just an outrageous opening gambit to test the waters.

She never thought it would actually work!

She had just thrown it out there, and the other woman had readily agreed.

"You really mean that?" the mistress asked, her voice filled with excitement. She quickly pulled an active voice recorder from her purse. "I’ve recorded everything. These are your own words; I didn’t force you."

"It was my own choice," Wu Xiaoli confirmed with a calm nod.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!" The mistress stood up excitedly and shook Wu Xiaoli’s hand, her gratitude completely genuine.

She never expected the woman to be so foolish. If she’d known, she would have come here much sooner, instead of waiting until Wang Jiadong started ignoring her and giving her the cold shoulder. She’d assumed Wang Jiadong was avoiding her because of his wife—and who could blame her for that miscalculation? After all, the woman sitting in front of her was in a completely different league of beauty.

Before leaving, the mistress even offered a sincere blessing. "I hope you find your new partner soon, too." She flashed a smile at Sun Dasheng, assuming he was one of the reasons the wife was so willing to agree to her outrageous terms.

Wu Xiaoli just smiled and nodded.

Once the mistress had left, a still-dazed Sun Dasheng was reeling. Everything had happened too fast, with too many twists, leaving him no time to process. Now that he had a moment to think, he realized he hadn’t played any part in it at all. Why had Wu Xiaoli even called him here?

He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"Sir, your coffee," a waiter said, placing a cup on the table.

"I didn’t order this!" Sun Dasheng said.

The waiter gave a faint smile. "The lady ordered it for you in advance."

The waiter retreated, and the two of them fell back into silence.

"What exactly is going on?" Sun Dasheng finally broke the silence.

"Which part are you asking about?" Wu Xiaoli countered instead of answering.

He had so many questions. After a moment’s thought, he started with the most pressing one. "Why did you agree to her demands?"

Wu Xiaoli let out a scornful laugh, not directed at Sun Dasheng, but at the man she already considered her ex-husband, Wang Jiadong. "Because I wouldn’t get a single cent of our marital assets in a divorce anyway. In fact, I’d probably be on the hook for his debts."

Sun Dasheng was taken aback. So Wang Jiadong is still the same scheming, patient man he always was. Good heavens. Not a penny of shared assets during their marriage, only shared debt.

"Besides," Wu Xiaoli added with a meaningful glint in her eye, "even if I don’t want the house and car, it’s not like she’ll ever get her hands on them."

"Oh? How so?" All thoughts of confusion vanished, replaced by a keen interest in the gossip.

"Did you really think the self-made woman he married was simple?" Wu Xiaoli’s question was rhetorical; it was the answer itself.

Sun Dasheng nodded thoughtfully. He had to admit, while there were plenty of idiots among the rich, they were usually second or third-generation heirs. The first-generation founders who built their fortunes from scratch were rarely fools. They were all sharp as tacks.

Wu Xiaoli didn’t make him guess. "His late wife has a daughter studying abroad. All the fixed assets—the house, the cars—are in the daughter’s name. He only has the right to use them, not own them."

So that’s how it is! No wonder Wang Jiadong always seemed so off. With his cunning and his knack for getting what he wanted, he was smart enough to win over a rich widow. How could he suddenly devolve into a mindless idiot who only knew how to waste money? Now it all makes sense. A massive fortune was right in front of him, visible but untouchable. His wife’s final chess move must have completely broken his spirit, leading him to adopt a scorched-earth policy. He squandered all the cash and drove the 4S dealerships, which were basically cash cows, into the ground. He couldn’t have it, so he made sure no one else could either. His obsession with Lee Li suddenly made sense too. He wanted to conquer the goddess who was once out of his league just to prove to himself that he still had power. The less you have, the more you need to prove you have something. Humans really are strange creatures.

Wu Xiaoli’s promise was nothing more than an empty one. No wonder she handled such a tricky situation so effortlessly. The mistress would soon discover that all her scheming had been for nothing. He couldn’t help but wonder what her face would look like when she learned the truth.

With that thought, he asked, "So, why did you call me here? This whole thing clearly wasn’t the ’trouble’ you mentioned on the phone. You didn’t need my help at all."

"I missed you," Wu Xiaoli said, looking at him boldly. "Isn’t that reason enough?"

"Huh?"

Her smoldering gaze gave Sun Dasheng a strange feeling.

Could it be that she’s actually developed real feelings for me?