CHAPTER 507: CHAPTER 4: OUTCOME

Once everyone had left, Lin Xiaoguai leaned on Shen Chi, somewhat exhausted.

"What’s going on with Dong Fei? Isn’t she usually cautious and aware of the times?"

Indeed, although Dong Fei had done many malicious things, she always seemed very cautious and aware of the times to others. Because of this, Lin Xiaoguai had felt that no matter how much hatred Dong Fei held in her heart against them, given the situation, she wouldn’t dare to do anything.

But unexpectedly, she was so recklessly bold.

"Being cautious and aware of the times is one thing, but wild ambition is quite another," said Shen Chi as he cored an apple and cut it into small pieces, feeding them to Lin Xiaoguai.

Lin Xiaoguai swallowed the apple in her mouth and, not quite understanding, asked, "Then what’s the matter with Ping’an? Wasn’t it said that Wu Yuwei had her eyes on He Xiaoxiao?"

"It was an act deliberately staged to lure Ping’an into the trap," said Shen Chi calmly, "and it was for this reason that I didn’t suspect anything at first."

He paused, then with some relief, he added, "Actually, it’s also fortunate that the kid Ping’an was cautious, or it wouldn’t have been just about getting a dozen stitches in the back."

He and his elder brother initially thought the kid was impulsive, but now it seemed to them that he had done quite well, though the thought still scared him.

"And what’s with Xu Meimei? Is she mentally unstable?" Lin Xiaoguai raised another issue.

She thought that Xu Meimei’s attitudes had been too inconsistent, remembering how certain Xu Meimei initially was that the child was Shen Chi’s.

"If only she were mentally unstable," Shen Chi scoffed, "It’s just that she’s been suggesting to herself that she’s mentally unstable."

"Ah?" Lin Xiaoguai was puzzled.

Self-suggestion? What did that mean?

"A selfish mentality at work, a kind of instinctive self-protection mechanism," Shen Chi explained, seeing her still confused, "Let’s put it this way, people who do things against morals seldom really show a guilty conscience. For example, someone unfilial to their parents will always have justifications that seem righteous to outsiders—either the parents favored the siblings, or treated them poorly in the past, or they actually treat their parents well. These lies are easily seen through by others, but they themselves believe them unwaveringly. Because of that, they can live with a clear conscience. People are like that, preferring to believe in things that are favorable to themselves."

"Xu Meimei is just self-suggesting to herself. In fact, her ’awakening’ is also due to the fact that this self-suggestion has not been going on for long. If it had been ten or twenty years, not to mention a paternity test, even the appearance of those hoodlums from the past would not shake her belief."

Lin Xiaoguai’s eyes widened, as she hadn’t expected such a thing.

Seeing her incredulous expression, Shen Chi couldn’t help but laugh, "Such things are not rare, they are quite common in everyday life, but you just haven’t paid attention to them. Don’t we sometimes deceive ourselves? Not as exaggerated as Xu Meimei, of course. Certainly, Xu Meimei’s situation is a bit special, having already stepped one foot into the territory of mental illness." He had asked experts for this information.

What he didn’t say was that, according to the psychologists, if not treated in time, the consequences of being stimulated in the future were unthinkable.

Xu Meimei, married to Zhou Jincai, would certainly not lack such stimulation, and moreover, she probably also thought that her mental state was problematic.

He was waiting to see her downfall.

Elsewhere, Jiang Tao had already spread the news about today’s events, remembering how his boss had been tangled up in gossip for the past year, he had put considerable effort into it.

And at this moment, Dong Fei was almost going mad—

"You, you... what are you saying?" She asked in disbelief, her eyes wide as she looked at her husband.

Liu Shouyi closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them decisively, "Let’s get a divorce."

Liu Shaoze’s eyes widened, "Dad!?"

Liu Shouyi looked at his son and affirmed once more, "I’ll give you the divorce agreement in a few days; sign it and then we can go to the civil affairs bureau together."

His son was already twenty-eight and still had no marriage prospects. Dong Fei had been talking about arranging a blind date for him; he had nodded in agreement at that time, but now he was beginning to worry. What if she finds someone like herself for his son?

In fact, the thought of divorce had crossed his mind before; his nature couldn’t tolerate anything less than integrity. It was different with his own mother; that was an unbreakable blood connection, but what Dong Fei had done was intolerable. Yet, back then, attitudes toward divorce weren’t as lenient as they are now. He had to consider his son’s feelings and after enduring inner torment for some time, he had ultimately decided to maintain the marriage.