Chapter 191
"Marriage certificate?"
Song Jinlan froze instantly, her expression one of astonishment.
You said you have... a marriage certificate?
"Hmm." Su Yanxi nodded casually, using the most dismissive tone to deliver the harshest blow, "Is it simple? Is it easy to understand? Do you know the biggest difference between you and me?"
Song Jinlan seemed to have crashed due to excessive stress. After Su Yanxi finished her sarcastic question, she kept muttering in disbelief: "How...how could this be? How could you possibly have a marriage certificate! You should be a shameless mistress like me!"
Song Jinlan roughly snatched the marriage certificate and examined it carefully, word by word. He even repeatedly felt the official seal on the first page with his fingers, fearing that Su Yanxi might have forged it.
"Be careful, don't break it." Su Yanxi snorted, giving Song Jinlan a further warning in a cautionary tone, "This marriage certificate belongs to my husband, and he has always cherished it. If you break or wrinkle it, he will definitely not forgive you."
Song Jinlan belatedly realized she was scared. With trembling hands, she handed back the marriage certificate, her expression still one of disbelief: "You actually got married... Why? Why did you get married?"
"Why, why, why, why are you allowed to get married?"
When Song Jinlan loses control of her emotions, she repeats the same sentence or word over and over again. This is unbearable for Su Yanxi, who feels like she's being subjected to a mantra, and the more she hears it, the more her head aches.
On the one hand, he wanted to end his conversation with Song Jinlan as soon as possible, but on the other hand, he had too many tricks up his sleeve and had to use them one by one: "Why are there so many questions? Because I have been in love with my husband for seven years in a legitimate way, and getting married and registering our marriage is a natural progression and what everyone expects."
"Our marriage is approved by the whole family, so who gives you the right to question 'why'?"
Su Yanxi put her husband's marriage certificate into her arms.
“But…” Song Jinlan stared blankly, her dazed eyes filled with confusion, “If you have a marriage certificate and are married to another young master, then wouldn’t you be another young mistress?”
"Since you're already someone else's young mistress, why don't you reveal your identity instead of working so hard..."
"Is this something you can't understand?" Su Yanxi said speechlessly. "Can't you realize that not everyone in this world is happy to get something for nothing?"
"No, you don't realize it, do you? Someone like you, who is used to taking shortcuts and always uses his status and reputation to force others to acknowledge him, will never understand the beauty of being down-to-earth and taking things one step at a time."
From Xiang Mingyue to Qi Xiang'an, and now to Song Jinlan, this is not the first time Su Yanxi has used a marriage certificate to slap people in the face, nor is it the first time she has explained her motives and told them: Why, as the young mistress of a super-rich family, have I never thought of revealing my identity to reap the benefits?
The same slap in the face, the same explanation and lecture, had been given three times. Although it was amusing to see these hopeless fools' regretful expressions, Su Yanxi had to admit he was getting annoyed. He couldn't understand why his "not revealing his identity" was so perplexing, so unfathomable.
No way, right? People like Zhou Tong, Chen Yongyan, and Director He never asked why; even the spoiled Song Yanqi never asked why. Only this group of hopeless people, including Song Jinlan, always ask Su Yanxi "why"?
"For the sake of being upright, for the sake of being down-to-earth, for the sake of being true to my conscience and morality." Su Yanxi looked at Song Jinlan's empty eyes, "For the life ideals that I have worked so hard to pursue, but which you are destined never to have."
Song Jinlan's overloaded brain finally managed to function again amidst Su Yanxi's verbal attacks. Unable to stop his legs from going weak, he slowly knelt down.
"So that's how it is." Song Jinlan lowered her head, her hands supporting her on the floor, her voice muffled and hesitant. "So, so that's how it is..."
Su Yanxi couldn't help but sigh softly, pausing for a moment to give Song Jinlan time to calm down and to ease the oppressive atmosphere in the practice room.
Song Jinlan's emotions were even more unstable than those of Xiang Mingyue and Qi Xiang'an, who had also been humiliated; moreover, she was over thirty, a senior even older than Sister Tong. Su Yanxi had to slow down the speed and intensity of her "attack" so that Song Jinlan could withstand it.
He felt Song Jinlan should see a doctor—not in a derogatory way, but because he genuinely believed that Song Jinlan had developed some kind of mental health issue after the affair was exposed. Perhaps it was depression, or maybe bipolar disorder?
Once the atmosphere had calmed down enough, Su Yanxi was about to speak again and explain everything she hadn't said before Song Jinlan asked a question first.
“If she’s another family’s young mistress, then you…” Song Jinlan knelt down on both knees, took two steps forward in a comical and humble manner, and eagerly grabbed Su Yanxi’s suit trouser leg, “You must know Miss Zhou, right? She’s the Zhou family’s young lady, Miss Zhou, who punished me and made me less than an ant!”
Su Yanxi paused, swallowing back the words that were on the tip of her tongue: "Yes, we know each other. What's wrong? Things have come to this point, you're not still holding onto past grudges with her, are you?"
"No, no, no!" Song Jinlan's breathing became rapid, and she shook her head repeatedly in fear, denying it. "I... how could I dare? I just can't contact her, so I don't even know who to apologize to!"
Song Jinlan loosened her trouser leg and then grabbed Su Yanxi's legs, pleading desperately.
"Can you help me contact her? Tell her for me that I was wrong, that I really know I was wrong! I shouldn't have been a liar, and I shouldn't have tried to call the Zhou family to confront her after being discovered!"
Chapter 192
"It's all my fault. I was bewitched and went astray! I know I was wrong now. Could you please tell her to let me off the hook?"
As Song Jinlan spoke, she began to cry.
"I don't want to live like this anymore! I don't want to be an ant that can be crushed at any moment... Please contact her for me and tell her, please!"
Su Yanxi sighed again, gently bent down, and helped Song Jinlan up: "Why are you just like Yan Qi before? You're both so stubborn. In my opinion, Miss Zhou has been very kind; her act of killing half and leaving half was not to tease or play tricks on you."
"What...what is that?" Song Jinlan was stunned.
"She hopes you can realize your mistakes as soon as possible and voluntarily leave the industry to reflect on your actions without her coercion!" Su Yanxi revealed the truth. "You have lost your morals and should no longer shine on the stage of the entertainment industry, so she blocked most of your excellent film and television resources; but she did not want to force you to leave the industry through violence, but hoped that you could admit your mistakes and leave the public eye on your own initiative - therefore, she gave you a glimmer of hope."
Song Jinlan seemed to understand but not quite, and asked in a trembling voice, "Then... should I retire from the entertainment industry?"
"What, you still can't bear to give up your 'Best Actor' title and don't want to retire from the industry?" Seeing Song Jinlan's reluctance, Su Yanxi decided to unleash her remaining tricks.
The purpose of Su Yanxi's visit to Song Jinlan was to force her to leave the entertainment industry and start anew. Although Song Jinlan currently appears pitiful and pathetic, Su Yanxi cannot forgive her for burning Xiao Hai's hand, bullying and treating stylist Xiao Chen roughly, and damaging Tong Jie's self-esteem and confidence.
"You keep saying you know you're wrong, but you should at least show some results to prove it, right? If you're unwilling to take action, then I'll take out what I've gathered about your slander against me—"
"I'm leaving!"
Before Su Yanxi could finish speaking, Song Jinlan responded loudly.
"If I just quit the entertainment industry, I can get out of this predicament, right? Okay, I'll quit."
"Really?" Surprised, Su Yanxi was somewhat taken aback. "So readily? Are you really sure you want to retire from the entertainment industry, or are you just lying to me?"
"Yes, I'm retiring from the entertainment industry." Song Jinlan laughed with a sense of relief, but the smile was bitter and her face was full of exhaustion. "I came to this grand event tonight with the determination to die. Now that the theft of my clothes has been exposed, and the necklace I finally managed to borrow will be taken back; what can I hide from you, the young mistress of another family?"
"Besides these, you must have a lot of dirt on me... I have no room to struggle anymore, so I might as well just quit the industry gracefully."
Song Jinlan wiped her face, removing the tear stains that hadn't completely dried from her cheeks.
"It's good... I'm tired of my current life too. Leaving the entertainment industry is a kind of liberation for me, right?"
Song Jinlan's open-mindedness and carefree attitude surprised Su Yanxi. He had thought that he would have to confront and argue with Song Jinlan for a long time, which was why he had prepared so many "tricks".
He still had many ruthless tricks up his sleeve! For example, the necklace coincidence, evidence of inciting public opinion, and a lawyer's letter from the Ministry of Justice. Song Jinlan admitted her mistake and surrendered too quickly, leaving him with no room to use his extra tricks. He should have been able to deliver a satisfying slap in the face, but instead, Su Yanxi held back a whole host of tricks, leaving him feeling inexplicably frustrated.
It was clearly the opponent who wasn't strong enough, yet it made it seem like he had gone to great lengths.
"Alright, as long as you keep your word." Although annoyed, Su Yanxi still patted Song Jinlan's shoulder with concern. "If you don't keep your word, I'll have other ways to deal with you."
"I will find time to contact Miss Zhou and convey your apology."
In addition, Su Yanxi also needs to tell Song Yanqi to persuade his family to take Song Jinlan to see a psychiatrist.
Song Jinlan, unaware of Su Yanxi's inner thoughts, obediently nodded, her expression ashen: "Okay, I'll keep my word."
"That's it then." Su Yanxi touched her inexplicably heavy heart, took out her phone from her suit jacket, and glanced at the time. "Since you've already agreed to retire from the entertainment industry, then... I have nothing else to say. That's it."
"By the way, do you have any secretly filmed videos of my husband and me? Go back and delete them; I don't want them to be leaked."
Remembering the secretly filmed video, Song Jinlan's eyes suddenly widened, and a look of surprise appeared on her deathly pale face: "You don't want it to be leaked, and you're forced to make your relationship public, is that right?"
"Hmm." Su Yanxi was about to leave when she heard Song Jinlan's question and stopped, turning back. "Was my explanation not clear enough?"
"No, no..." Song Jinlan covered her head in fear, "I set the secretly filmed footage to be sent via scheduled email, it will be sent automatically at nine o'clock!"
"Nine o'clock—!?" Su Yanxi suddenly forgot the time she had just checked and hurriedly took out her phone to turn it on and check again.
The lock screen clearly displays the numbers: 21:14
"It's already past nine o'clock!" Su Yanxi's emotions, which he had finally managed to calm down, fluctuated again. He pressed Song Jinlan's shoulder and asked, "Can we retract it? It's only been fourteen minutes. Maybe the email hasn't been checked yet."
"Tell me, who did you send the email to?"
“I sent it to three recipients.” Song Jinlan swallowed hard. “The self-media public account ‘Eating Melon Courtyard’, the entertainment commentary KOL ‘Daily Melon Cutting’, and the public submission email address of the Xie Group.”
"What group?" Su Yanxi was confused and frowned unhappily as she asked, "I can understand the first two, but why did you send a document to the Xie Group as well?"
"Because the Xie Group's daughter is rumored to be engaged to another young master through a marriage alliance." Seeing Su Yanxi's confusion, Song Jinlan was also puzzled. "That's why I didn't consider that you and another young master might be married."
Chapter 193
Su Yanxi's mind exploded, instantly recalling the rumor Qi Xiang'an had told him as a counterattack tactic the night Qi Xiang'an was taken away by the procuratorate—
"Before you and me, other housewives had even more preferred daughters-in-law."
These words pierced Su Yanxi's heart like a sharp arrow, leaving her bewildered despite her instinct to leave as the victor. Ironically, at this crucial moment, Song Jinlan displayed an unusual air of naiveté, tilting her head and asking Su Yanxi a curious question.
"This rumor is widely circulated and is presented in a reasonable and well-founded manner, making it highly credible."
"What, as someone else's young mistress, you don't know that your husband has such rumors about him?"
9:10.
This was the first time Bie Yunzong saw after emerging from the steamy bathroom.
He stood at the bathroom doorway, facing the bedroom, for a while, drying his hair with a large towel and yawning sleepily. Once his hair was half-dry, preventing water droplets from getting everywhere, he slipped on his slippers on the absorbent rug at the bathroom doorway and came out.
He used to hate drying his hair. He would always come out with wet hair and a half-dry body, making a mess of the floor—and then his beloved wife would give him a good scolding.
He could recite the insults he used by heart, which were nothing more than "Are you an Alaskan Malamute reincarnated?" and "Dogs like to splash water everywhere when they take a bath, do you do that too?"—two harsh but not too harsh phrases.
After angrily berating someone, his wife would call the housekeeper to clean. A few times it was too late, and Su Yanxi was too embarrassed to bother the housekeeper, so she took a few tissues and squatted down to carefully wipe the floor herself.
A hardworking and conscientious wife is "beautiful"; a wife who is considerate and empathetic is also "beautiful"; and a beautiful woman who fiercely scolds someone but then secretly cleans up the floor for him is even more "beautiful".
His wife is beautiful no matter what. In Bie Yunzong's eyes, Su Yanxi is radiant, the most beautiful and perfect being.
"Ah... I miss my wife again." Feeling refreshed after his bath, Bie Yunzong collapsed onto the double bed, exhausted. "Why isn't my wife back yet? I miss her, I miss her, I miss her."
Nubi, the cat sleeping under the blankets, was pinned down by her dog dad's tall frame. She struggled to get out of the blankets and peeked out.
Bie Yunzong then noticed the cat's presence and scooped the kitten up: "Why are you hiding under the covers? Aren't you afraid of being crushed to death?"
Although the father and son often fight, scratching and pulling each other's beards, Nubi is, after all, the child raised by Bie Yunzong and his devoted wife, and Bie Yunzong is still very good to the cat. During the time Su Yanxi was filming, it was Bie Yunzong who fed the cat and cleaned its litter box.
Although Bie Yunzong would always find ways to sneak off to live with Su Yanxi, leaving Nubi at home to be cared for by the servants...
"Why isn't your mom back yet?" Bie Yunzong stroked the cat's smooth, long fur. He complained to himself, "So slow! She promised to finish early and come back soon. You brat, don't you think your mom's being a bit hypocritical?"
Nubi enjoyed the rare gentle caress from her dog dad, flicked her tail, and meowed.
"Huh? You say no?" Bie Yunzong answered himself, poking the cat's pink and fluffy nose. "You really love your mom. She's so obviously hypocritical, and you still say no? If I were the one who left early and came home late today, your mom would definitely be sulking and angry."
"He must be wondering: 'Where has my husband been fooling around again? My husband never does anything productive all day, why is he suddenly so busy? My husband's whereabouts are so strange, is he going somewhere to find a mistress and have an affair?'"
As his wife's bedmate, and as a strong man who had been hurt several times by Su Yanxi's suspicions and "cheating rumors," Bie Yunzong had perfectly imitated his wife's tone of voice!
Bie Yunzong knew Su Yanxi's thought process all too well. He used to feel wronged, thinking his wife was too hypocritical, being strict with others but lenient with herself; but after several conflicts and adjustments this year, he understood.
“Actually, I think it’s fine too. This isn’t called double standards.” Bie Yunzong gently pinched the cat’s soft face and then started to tug at Nubi’s whiskers. “He’s suspicious and he worries a lot, but essentially he cares about me too much, right? He’s suspected me of cheating time and time again because he’s really afraid of losing me.”
Su Yanxi is an absolutely upright, absolutely resilient and self-reliant person.