Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Back in Wei Hao’s office.

"What’s wrong with being a stepmother? A stepmother is still a mother, isn’t she?" Gong Yu sneered. "No wonder you were so eager when your mom wanted to have another son—anyone would’ve thought you were the dad of the baby in her belly. Turns out it really is your son! If the hospital hadn’t exposed you, how long were you planning to keep lying to me?"

"Honey..." Seeing Gong Yu’s unyielding attitude, Suo Ping switched to sweet-talking. He reached out to hold her hand, concerned. "You’re still in confinement. They say bad recovery now could lead to health problems later."

"Right," Gong Yu dodged his hand and scoffed. "And by the time I finish confinement, I’d find you’d stolen my company? Even if you killed me, I’d never have guessed my husband’s mistress was his mother!"

The others in the meeting room looked at each other nervously. Such a shocking secret—now that they knew, were they now marked for silencing?

Suo Ping’s assistant stood up. "Ahem, President Gong, President Suo, should I ask the other shareholders to step out first?"

"Why should they leave? If Suo Ping dared to do it, why be afraid of people knowing?"

"Gong Yu, what exactly do you want? Haven’t I groveled enough? How much longer are you going to keep this up?"

Suo Ping slammed the table three times, his face contorted with rage, all his gentlemanly pretense gone.

"Oh?" Gong Yu crossed her arms and looked at him. "Done pretending?"

Suo Ping gritted his teeth. "You’re the one crossing lines."

Gong Yu shot back, "How am I pushing my luck? Did I force you and your mom to get together?"

"You—Gong Yu, I never thought you were this kind of person. Was your whole sweet act just fake? You’ve been deceiving me all along."

Gong Yu raised an eyebrow. "Now that you’re losing, you’re turning the tables? If I’m not mistaken, your mom’s probably packing her bags, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Suo Ping’s expression changed, and he rushed out of the office.

As Suo Ping scrambled out, Gong Yu’s face was full of disgust. Leaning back in her chair, she said impatiently, "Let’s vote."

...

Lin Tingyue and Wei Qianfeng, who had just gobbled up that drama, headed downstairs. Lin Tingyue bought them snacks to take back upstairs, with Wei Qianfeng carrying them.

"President Lin, isn’t that guy acting shady?"

Wei Qianfeng pointed at someone dressed entirely in black in broad daylight, their face completely covered, creeping around like a criminal.

Wei Qianfeng’s eyes widened, and she grew wary. "Could they be planning a robbery?"

After all, there was a bank just past this milk tea shop.

Holy crap—was this a robbery in progress?

911 needed dialing now.

Wei Qianfeng pulled out her phone, but Lin Tingyue grabbed her wrist. "Not a robber."

Wei Qianfeng: "?"

"Then..."

"That’s someone’s secret hookup."

Wei Qianfeng's mouth fell open. Before long, a woman dressed similarly approached the man, and just as the two were about to enter the bubble tea shop, they bumped into someone else.

Suo Ping was already in a foul mood. He immediately started cursing, "Who do you think you are? Can't you watch where you're going?"

The man retorted angrily, "You're the one who bumped into us first! You're the blind one here!"

Damn it all! Now even some random stranger thought they could talk back to him?

Just because Gong Yu had him cornered didn’t mean he’d tolerate this.

Suo Ping planted his hands on his hips. "Got proof?"

"You—"

The woman beside the man tugged at his sleeve, and he reluctantly backed down.

"Well, well, two cheating lovers just ran into each other."

"Does Suo Ping even know that woman is his stepmom?"

"Not at the hospital, but coming all the way here—what’s she up to? Real subtle!"

Suo Ping hadn’t known—until his feet froze mid-step, his reflexes outpacing his thoughts as he yanked off the woman’s mask.

Staring at the familiar face, Suo Ping was stunned. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

Xu Bai awkwardly replied, "I needed some air."

She had arranged to meet Yun Rui, but he said he was filming nearby and couldn’t leave, so she had to come here. She knew Wei Hao was also around, but she wanted to take the risk—only to bump right into Suo Ping.

What was Suo Ping doing here? Shouldn’t he be in the office arguing with Gong Yu?

Had he given up on the company shares?

That idiot!!!

"Liar!" Suo Ping pointed at the man beside Xu Bai. "Then who’s this guy?"

"He’s a cousin from my side."

"Since when do cousins hold hands???"

The jig was up. Xu Bai softened her voice. "A-Ping, please—"

"You’re cheating on me."

The onlookers whispered among themselves.

"Did the son just catch his mom cheating?"

"But this seems weird..."

"Right? The son’s acting strange."

Wei Qianfeng blurted out, "Because the son’s banging his mom."

The crowd: "???"

What the hell did they miss?

Suo Ping said angrily, "Let me see who this man really is!"

Suo Ping reached out to pull off the man's mask but was blocked. However, the enraged Suo Ping wasn’t about to give up and tore the mask apart, her nails scratching the man’s face.

The man panicked and covered himself.

Suo Ping sneered, "Oh, just some pretty-faced nobody, huh? What, too ashamed to show your face?"

"Ah," someone suddenly realized, "Wait, isn’t this the idol who won first place on that talent competition?"

"Are you talking about the xxx show? I knew that show was rigged from the start!"

"Yeah, can’t dance, can’t sing, and has the social skills of a rock—yet still took first place. Now it all makes sense."

"This is infuriating! He stole the spot from my favorite contestant!"

Wei Qianfeng watched as the situation grew increasingly bizarre. Lin Tingyue rubbed her temples and muttered, "This is a total circus."

And what a mess it was.

Who could’ve imagined the son being involved with his mother, while the mother was also keeping an idol?

A paparazzo who happened to be there for coffee: "Jackpot! This is gold!"

"Well, well, President Suo—what a spectacle," a man in a tailored suit spoke up from the crowd, wearing sunglasses with a smirk dripping with mockery.

Wei Qianfeng gasped. "President Lin, it’s Young Zhou."

Young Zhou?

Lin Tingyue remembered—her eldest brother dealt in black-market organs, and this Young Zhou wasn’t much better, with his own share of dirty business.

Lin Tingyue recalled how Lin Xiawan had almost fallen into his hands.

No chance. She wouldn’t let him within a mile of her sister. Lin Tingyue watched Zhou Yi warily.

But Zhou Yi made a beeline for Lin Tingyue instead. He removed his sunglasses and greeted her, "Miss Lin—your reputation precedes you."

Lin Tingyue pasted on a smile. "Hello."

"Then be a dear and give President Lin my regards."

"No problem."

Zhou Yi seemed surprised. "Miss Lin, you don’t mince words."

Lin Tingyue kept her cool. "I match my tone to the company."

Inside, she was mentally stabbing Zhou Yi’s voodoo doll.

Two-faced snakes like him were the absolute worst!

Zhou Yi chuckled. "I do enjoy conversing with sharp minds like yours, Miss Lin. I wonder if you’d be interested in that project in the east?"

...

After hours, Lin Yuhuan blinked in surprise. "Ting Yue? What’s the occasion?"

"Eldest brother, you get in first."

Lin Yuhuan got into the car, with mixed emotions. In the past, it was always him picking Ting Yue up after work. Now, Ting Yue was here to pick him up. Did this mean he ranked higher in her heart than Lin Chengyan?

Lin Chengyan: "?"

Why was he being dragged into this?

"Ting Yue, did you come to see me for something?" Lin Yuhuan asked.

Lin Tingyue repeated Zhou Yi's words verbatim. Lin Yuhuan frowned. "He really said that?"

Lin Tingyue nodded.

Lin Yuhuan said in a serious tone, "I'll handle the Zhou family. You don't need to worry about it, Ting Yue."

Last time, when Lin Tingyue mentioned the Zhou family's involvement in organ trafficking, he had secretly looked into their background. It was shockingly extensive.

The Zhou family was too dangerous. Now that Zhou Yi had suddenly appeared, who knew what they were scheming? Lin Yuhuan couldn't let Lin Tingyue take such risks. Still uneasy, he added, "Try to avoid confronting Zhou Yi."

"Okay, big brother."

Lin Yuhuan suddenly remembered something. "What were you doing when you ran into Zhou Yi today?"

"Catching up on gossip."

"Whose drama?"

"Big brother is interested?"

Lin Tingyue filled him in on Suo Ping's scandal.

Lin Yuhuan let out a relieved breath. That meant Ting Yue probably hadn't mentioned the Zhou family's organ trafficking.

If Zhou Yi found out, Lin Tingyue would definitely be in his sights. The Zhou brothers were complete psychos.

Lin Yuhuan thought he needed to act fast.

Coming back to the present, he noticed Lin Tingyue studying him. He said, "I've caught wind of the Suo family's situation too."

"It seems everyone loves a good scandal."

Lin Yuhuan chuckled. "Actually, there was some drama at HQ today too."

Lin Tingyue's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What happened?"

"Is it gossip too?"

"An employee gave our office address to both his girlfriends, and both showed up at the office."

Lin Tingyue was all ears, but...

She asked, "Big brother, how'd you hear about this?"

Lin Yuhuan replied awkwardly, "I caught it while passing by the office door."

The thought of the usually stern Lin Yuhuan standing outside the office door, seriously eavesdropping on office drama, nearly made Lin Tingyue burst out laughing.

"That employee must have been totally freaked out, hahaha."

Lin Yuhuan cleared his throat and said carefully, "This doesn't count as eavesdropping, right?"

"Of course not," Lin Tingyue said with conviction. "Big Brother, you were just supervising whether they were doing their jobs properly!"

Lin Yuhuan agreed, "Yes, that's right."

"And what happened in the end?"

"That employee got fired."

Lin Tingyue loved that.

"Big Brother is the living embodiment of justice!"

The light of justice sat up straighter and said gently, "Let's go home. Mom texted me."

"Sounds good!"