Xie Qian pretended not to know, and he certainly would not tell Wen Ying about it.
If Wen Ying performed well, she could rank in the top 50 of her year; if poorly, around 70th. Dropping 20 places in Rongcheng Provincial Key School meant a huge gap citywide, and even more so province-wide!
Better not to say anything for now.
Xie Qian thought this way and turned back to his uncle’s house as if nothing had happened.
During the Gaokao, Old Madam Xie worried no one would look after Xie Qian and firmly opposed him living alone, so he had no choice but to stay at Xie Yuping’s home.
Xie Yuping doted on this nephew. The house always kept an empty room for Xie Qian, so a couple of days’ stay was no trouble. For meals, Hou Zhixiu even had the nanny cook to Xie Qian’s taste. He felt quite at ease there.
Only one inconvenience: like just now, when Xie Qian spoke to Assistant Qi, he had to go to the courtyard.
In the dining room, the nanny was already setting the table. Hou Zhixiu called to Xie Qian, “Sit down quickly. Your uncle’s held up by a sudden meeting again. He rang to say we should start without him.”
No matter how big the world, the candidate came first. Xie Yuping had meetings every day at work, especially surprise ones, with no telling how long they would last.
But busy as he was, Xie Yuping never forgot it was Xie Qian’s Gaokao. Before the meeting started, he specially called home to instruct his wife to prioritise Xie Qian’s mealtimes.
Xie Qian glanced closely at Hou Zhixiu’s face. She looked perfectly natural.
He thought, Auntie probably does not know what happened during the day.
Did Uncle know?
Perhaps he did, perhaps not.
Xie Qian picked up his chopsticks.
No matter what, he had to hold out until the Gaokao ended.
…
Xie Yuping had not known about the daytime events at first.
There was no sudden meeting for Xie Yuping.
He took Xie Qian’s Gaokao very seriously and had arranged his work in advance, planning to leave early these two days to get home. Xie Jinghu was hopeless, so only Xie Yuping, as the elder brother, could look after his nephew more.
He had just driven out of the office when Old Madam Xie rang.
On the phone, she held back her anger and did not go into details, just telling him to come over quickly.
Xie Yuping guessed all the way what might have happened. When he arrived at the old lady’s place, he found her sitting on the sofa with a grim face, silent. Zou Weijun’s voice was hoarse as she called “Big Brother” and then bowed her head. Nanny Xiao Tian served him tea, her face full of indignation.
“What is going on?”
Had that beast Xie Jinghu acted up again?
Xie Yuping’s instinct was spot on. Old Madam Xie gave a brief account of the day’s events. Zou Weijun’s eyes reddened:
“Big Brother, I really cannot go on like this. My family may not be anything grand, but my parents taught me from childhood to know shame and propriety, to be a woman of good character… Now he accuses me openly of affairs with other men, says I cheated. If I stay silent without a fuss, it is as good as admitting it. Even if I can bear the disgrace, my father would not rest in peace.”
Old Madam Xie had heard those same words once already that day, and hearing them again filled her with shame and fury.
Xie Yuping, without the old lady’s prior warning, felt a rush of hot blood to his head at the sudden revelation.
What kind of beast was Xie Jinghu?!
Such accusations were not the first time.
Before, Xie Yuping had tried to get a friend to tutor Zou Weijun more, but Xie Jinghu had hopped about, reporting to Xie Yuping several times that Zou Weijun got too close to that friend and it looked bad.
The friend did owe Xie Yuping a favour, true, and helped to repay it, but he had no wish to meddle in Xie family matters. After learning of Xie Jinghu’s accusations, he quit at once and distanced himself from Zou Weijun.
Everyone in the Xie family knew Zou Weijun’s character well. Xie Jinghu cheated during marriage and now turned around to smear her!
No wonder Zou Weijun said she could not go on.
Last time it was baseless suspicion, not blown up. This time he quarrelled with Zhang Zhijun right in the company.
What Xie Jinghu said in the company, Zou Weijun overheard, so others must have too. No wall was airtight; those words would spread eventually!
What then?
Besides Zou Weijun bearing the stigma, Zhang Zhijun would face gossip and slander too.
Zhang Zhijun had a family. If the rumours reached his wife’s ears, what would she do?
Xie Yuping felt ashamed to face the Zhangs.
He itched to bash Xie Jinghu’s brains in with a stick. He took several deep breaths to regain his senses, glanced at the old lady, then turned to Zou Weijun. “Third Brother is beyond saving. None of us want you to divorce him, but we cannot save him either. If you want the divorce, I will not oppose it. The key is, how do you plan to proceed?”
Xie Jinghu would never agree to divorce.
Once divorced, “Jinhu Group” would split in two.
Besides the “Jinhu” shares, there were other joint assets under the couple. Would Xie Jinghu let go of his share?
At this point, Xie Yuping overlooked the two billion Zou Weijun took to Modu for land. That plot was demolished now, with compensation to Xie Qian and nothing to do with Xie Jinghu.
Zou Weijun glanced at the old lady before replying.
“Joint assets under the couple, whether company shares or real estate, all split equally. My half, I will transfer entirely to Xie Qian.”
Zou Weijun stated her position first. She demanded the split not for herself, but for her son Xie Qian!
As a mother herself, Old Madam Xie fully understood Zou Weijun’s feelings. She swallowed her heartache and shook her head. “What is yours, you keep. Whether to give it to Xie Qian can wait. He is still so young; owning such a fortune may not be good for him. Besides these, Weijun, do you have any other requests?”
Nanny Xiao Tian perked up her ears in the kitchen, itching to rush to the living room and applaud.
Once, twice, thrice: the Xie family had given Xie Jinghu many chances.
Everyone wanted to salvage Xie Jinghu and Zou Weijun’s marriage.
But after so many chances, Xie Jinghu never turned back. He challenged the Xie family’s bottom line again and again, finally pushing even his own mother and brother to Zou Weijun’s side.
Serves him right!
Xiao Tian cursed inwardly, not daring to miss a word, lest she overlook Zou Weijun’s next words.
After half a day’s digestion, Zou Weijun’s emotions were quite rational now. What she said was after deep thought.
When the old lady asked if she had other requests, Zou Weijun did:
“What I mean by joint assets includes what Xie Jinghu has secretly transferred to his mistresses and illegitimate children over these years. After we divorce and split, he can spend his share as he likes; I cannot and do not want to control it. But before the divorce, every penny he spends is from joint assets. He uses our joint money to keep women; I cannot get past that in my heart.”
