Xie Qian had a sharp memory, able to recall anyone he had met even once, but now, staring at the pregnant woman across the street, it took him a while to confirm her identity. It wasn’t that his memory had suddenly failed, but the woman had changed drastically!
Her once youthful, radiant face was now swollen and sallow, her slim waist, wrapped in a down jacket, appeared bulky and clumsy, the jacket’s zipper unable to close due to her large belly, stretching the sweater underneath tightly.
Though Wen Ying had never been pregnant, she knew the basics, judging by the belly, the woman was at least six or seven months along!
“You’re not seeing things, it’s her.”
The pregnant woman across the street was none other than Pan Li, unseen for so long!
Since Pan Li and Deputy Director Duan were caught in a scandal deliberately exposed by Yu Tianlin, only Xu Mei ended up suffering. For some reason, Professor Fang, despite the humiliation, chose not to divorce Director Duan. The couple made several public appearances to show their affection, and the scandal of Director Duan’s affair gradually lost its heat.
As for Pan Li, Wen Ying hadn’t heard her name in ages, assuming she had left the circle entirely. But now, it seemed Pan Li could still stir things up?
Given the timeline of her pregnancy, it was almost certainly linked to Director Duan, unless Pan Li had other men at the time.
As if to confirm Wen Ying’s suspicions, a car pulled up beside Pan Li, and out stepped Director Duan.
What a piece of gossip to witness today!
Wen Ying gently tugged Xie Qian’s sleeve, and he stayed, in no rush to leave.
He had no interest in gossip, but if Wen Ying wanted to watch, lingering a bit longer was fine.
Across the street, Director Duan was sweating profusely, the busy street filled with people and cars, too noisy to hear what he and Pan Li were saying, but their emotions were clear. Pan Li was agitated, Director Duan equally so, until something Pan Li said shifted his expression from agitation to fear, his attitude softening.
Director Duan, coaxing and pulling, nearly knelt on the street to get Pan Li into the car, which soon drove off.
Wen Ying sighed with regret, “I thought they’d make a scene right here!”
Xie Qian thought seriously, then shook his head firmly, “Pan Li is just scaring Director Duan, a little drama spices things up, but a big one could be fatal. As long as she wants to climb higher, she won’t dare make too big a fuss, at least not now, unless she realises she won’t get what she wants, then she might go all out and take Director Duan down with her.”
With such a big belly and no abortion, Pan Li clearly intended to have the child.
Not out of love, but to use the child to tie Director Duan down.
With this child, Director Duan would either divorce and marry Pan Li, giving her and the child legitimacy, or pay a hefty price to keep her quiet!
The last scandal was suppressed by Professor Fang and Director Duan’s public displays of affection, but if this blew up, even if Professor Fang wanted to play the saint, Director Duan’s rivals wouldn’t let it slide. A living child, not just photos or videos, but a real life, if Pan Li gave birth and took Director Duan to court, he’d have to pay child support, especially if a paternity test confirmed it was his. Pan Li would have him by the throat!
There’s nothing new under the sun, Pan Li’s tactics weren’t original, Xie Jinghu’s mistress had done the same.
The difference was, Pan Li’s background was worlds apart from Xie Jinghu’s mistress. Not to look down on Pan Li, but she relied on her youthful beauty to seduce a middle-aged man like Director Duan, while Xie Jinghu’s mistress had real cunning.
When trouble hit her family, she decisively dumped her boyfriend and went abroad, seamlessly marrying an overseas businessman. When he died, she turned back to her ex.
Never admitting it was for money, yet she charmed Xie Jinghu into nearly emptying his family’s wealth.
What did Pan Li have to compete with that woman abroad?
Of course, Xie Qian wasn’t praising Xie Jinghu’s mistress, he just found it odd.
Director Duan was different from Xie Jinghu. Xie Jinghu was a businessman, his moral failings only pressured by family, but Director Duan, if confirmed to have an illegitimate child, would surely lose his job. So Pan Li’s pregnancy wouldn’t make Director Duan happy, only terrified!
If he was so scared, why had Pan Li’s pregnancy reached this stage?
Xie Qian suspected Pan Li hid the pregnancy from Director Duan at first, revealing it only when the baby was too far along, a bombshell that would leave Director Duan reeling.
A mistress with a big belly, Director Duan wouldn’t have the heart for an affair, he’d be scared witless, no wonder he was so emotional just now.
Pan Li wasn’t clever, yet she precisely targeted Director Duan’s weakness. Xie Qian boldly speculated, “Someone must be advising Pan Li, the child in her belly is her best bargaining chip, Director Duan won’t die this time, but he’ll lose a layer of skin!”
Who would advise Pan Li?
She used to be entangled with Yu Wenhao, but he was now in jail.
After the scandal at Hunan TV, Pan Li’s connections in Hunan were mostly ruined, no one would risk offending Director Duan and Professor Fang to help her, unless…
“Xu Mei!”
“It’s Xu Mei.”
Wen Ying and Xie Qian said the name in unison.
Pan Li had long vanished from Wen Ying’s life, but Xu Mei was different, still quite present recently, even after losing a role with Yu Tianlin, her news exposure hadn’t dwindled.
Xu Mei had taken a new path, stirring up news to grab headlines.
Since Cao Bo proposed to Xu Mei, he became her tool for publicity.
Every month, Xu Mei would spark one or two news stories about Cao Bo.
One moment, it was Cao’s family looking down on their entertainment industry fiancée, giving Xu Mei the cold shoulder, saying Cao Bo brought her home, but the family ignored her, treating her like air. Xu Mei humbled herself, buying expensive gifts for her future mother-in-law, who accepted them but kept her cold attitude.
They even said Xu Mei was treated like a maid at Cao’s house, expected to clean up and wash dishes after family meals.
The reporter writing this seemed like an eyewitness, vividly detailing how the Cao family humiliated Xu Mei, sparking strong public backlash.
What era was this, to have such a vile family?
Xu Mei wasn’t a huge star, but she was a talent show champion, how high could the Cao family’s standards be to scorn her?
If the Cao family were ultra-wealthy, their pickiness might make sense, but reports suggested they were well-off, not so rich that Xu Mei was beneath them!
Wen Ying couldn’t imagine how the Cao family felt, she only knew Xu Mei played Cao Bo like a dog on a leash. One newspaper reported Xu Mei’s mistreatment by the Cao family, while another completely contradicted it, saying Cao Bo was set on marrying Xu Mei, his family couldn’t sway him, and his future mother-in-law was kind to Xu Mei, often shopping with her, arm in arm, like mother and daughter.
Which was true, which was false, no one knew.
Controversy bred discussion, discussion bred attention, attention bred fame. Just days ago, a newspaper reported Xu Mei meeting a romance novel queen from Taiwan, possibly starring in her new drama!
