CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: SINCERITY MET WITH DISGUST

"Ah!" Xia Mian was soaked in cold sweat, her body quivering as she woke up.

She raised her hand to wipe her face, even feeling a chill at the corner of her eyes.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Lu Zechuan held the steering wheel with one hand, his eyelids slightly lowered, an inexplicable emotion hidden in his dark eyes.

Xia Mian murmured a faint acknowledgment, "Sorry, did I scare you?"

Lu Zechuan pressed his lips together, "I’m not that easily scared."

He should have waited a few more days before bringing Xia Mian over.

Too many things had happened in the past couple of days, and no matter how strong Xia Mian was, she was only eighteen. These past days had worn her out.

"It’s so late, and I made you come all the way here with me, I’m really sorry." Xia Mian raised a hand to rub her temples, smiling apologetically.

"No need to apologize." Lu Zechuan paused, "After all, you’ve helped me quite a bit."

Xia Mian fell silent.

By the time Lu Zechuan dropped Xia Mian off at the Song Family Villa, it was already ten at night.

Watching Xia Mian enter the house, only then did Lu Zechuan drive away.

The streetlight shone through the window onto Lu Zechuan’s face, inexplicably bringing to mind the scenes from when Xia Mian was asleep.

Xia Mian was shouting, "Help... don’t touch me..." "Don’t hit me, I’ll behave..."

What exactly did she dream of that made the girl who usually seemed so strong and stubborn cry out in such pain in her sleep, her face streaked with tears?

Lu Zechuan found Xia Mian more and more unreadable.

***

When Xia Mian walked in, Song Juan was sitting in the living room, drinking her third pot of tea.

Seeing Xia Mian come in, Song Juan finally felt relieved, "Mianmian, you’ve finally come back!"

Song Juan couldn’t help but be scared; too much had happened in the past two days.

Xia Jianguo, that scumbag, had become increasingly shameless.

If Lu Zechuan hadn’t been with Xia Mian, she really wouldn’t have been at ease letting Xia Mian go out alone.

"Drinking so much tea so late at night, don’t you want to sleep?" Xia Mian joked as she took off her coat and walked over to Song Juan.

Song Juan’s face broke into a loving smile, "I can’t sleep."

Xia Mian sat next to Song Juan, "Mom, it was indeed Xia Jianguo who instructed others to harm my grandparents. I have found someone who knows the truth. We are going to sue him."

Song Juan looked at Xia Mian in shock, momentarily unsure whether to believe that Xia Jianguo had truly done such a heinous thing or to believe that Xia Mian could still find a witness after all these years.

"Mom, you must be strong." There was a resolute look in Xia Mian’s eyes, "We not only need to drive Xia Jianguo out with nothing but also make sure he rots in jail!"

Song Juan felt her heartache, her eyes heated up, and she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

It was her poor judgment back then, leading to the death of her parents... she was to blame!

"Yes, I must make him pay!" Song Juan gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with hatred.

Previously, Song Juan might have had one last hope for Xia Jianguo, but upon learning that Xia Jianguo plotted to kill her own parents, between her and Xia Jianguo, there was only hate!

"Go rest first! Regain your strength, only then can you deal with evildoers." Xia Mian helped Song Juan up.

Song Juan nodded, feeling restless, but still silently stood up.

She was a mother; she couldn’t let her daughter always be the one fighting at the front.

That night, neither Song Juan nor Xia Mian were at peace, and neither was Xia Jianguo.

Failing to kill Song Juan made Xia Jianguo feel increasingly uneasy.

It seemed that something was slipping out of his control, and this feeling made him uneasy.

"What’s wrong with you?" Han Xi frowned, turning over and draping an arm across Xia Jianguo’s neck.

"Song Juan is on guard against me." Xia Jianguo pushed away Han Xi’s arm, sat up, grabbed a cigarette from the bedside table, and lit one, taking deep drags.

Han Xi’s alluring eyes curved, "So what? The Song Family is just her and her daughter, two women, what can they possibly do? As long as you harden your heart, you can still deal with them, right?"

Xia Jianguo said nothing, only smoking silently.

"I’m pregnant with your child, a boy." Han Xi hugged Xia Jianguo from behind again, coquettishly softening her bones, "Hasn’t your mom always wanted a grandson? I can fulfill that."

Xia Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette, his gaze flickering in the dark night.

Yes, Han Xi was pregnant, and it was a boy; he couldn’t let his son be an illegitimate child forever!

For his son’s sake, he had to resolve the mother and daughter of the Song family and clear obstacles for his son!

"You’re right." Xia Jianguo pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray, "I’ll think of another way, I won’t let them survive past this month!"

Recently, Song Juan had a lot of leverage against him.

He absolutely couldn’t let Song Juan make the first move, or else he would be utterly defeated.

Xia Jianguo couldn’t sleep, put on a jacket, and went out.

On the coffee table in the living room lay a transparent file bag, with a court subpoena inside.

In order to divorce him, Song Juan had used all of Old Song’s connections. From when she discovered his affair with Han Xi until today, just a few days, a court subpoena had already reached him!

Sitting on the lounge chair on the balcony, he took out his phone and found a friend in the media to call.

Since Song Juan insisted on making things ugly, he’d make sure she hit rock bottom!

***

Song Juan didn’t expect that when she woke up, there were already many rumors against her circulating online.

She had already found a lawyer, who had filed for divorce. Soon, her divorce case with Xia Jianguo would be heard in court.

Upon waking up, when receiving a call from Lawyer Yu, Song Juan thought it was to discuss the court case, but Lawyer Yu hesitated before speaking, "Ms. Song, there are some unfavorable rumors about you online. Can you check if these rumors are true?"

Song Juan was puzzled but still turned on her computer.

The top search result was about her.

"Song Group heiress unmarried and pregnant, seeking a scapegoat, poor President Xia’s sincere feelings wasted!"

"President Xia’s wife wants a divorce, too much!"

...

Just reading the headlines, Song Juan turned pale.

Getting pregnant before marriage was her pain, and it was precisely because of this that she knew she was being unfair to Xia Jianguo and was patient with him, not only letting him, who had nothing, into the Song family’s door but also letting her father teach him how to manage the company hands-on, arranging jobs for everyone in the Xia family, and buying houses for Xia Jianguo’s parents and sister in Beijing...

Turns out, despite all she had done, Xia Jianguo had always cared about this matter.

Since he cared, why did he pursue her in the first place?

Song Juan was trembling with anger, her hands and feet cold.

So, sincerity would never warm a heartless entity.