Chapter 156 - Perhaps he never should have gotten the divorce. (1)
Li WangJin had been contemplating whether he should have his son go and do the thigh-hugging. In fact, he was beginning to lean toward it. After all, Li ShiZe could only benefit if Li WangJin was doing well. He didn't have any other choices. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Who would have thought that after going around a full circle, the one that he wanted to brown nose turned out to be Fang JunRong?!
That fact had knocked the last wind out of him.
He was familiar with Gaoyuan Enterprise. They could be said to be the largest player when it came to the medicinal field. As such, what exactly had Fang JunRong done to become a major shareholder of this company? Even if she pulled her string with Zhang ZhiSu, Zhang ZhiSu alone would not have been able to make this happen.
He thougth about it long and hard and still wasn't able to figure it out. His face turned pale. Looking at the queen-like Fang JunRong standing in the middle, this was the first time he noticed the width of the distance between the two of them or the depth of the gap that laid between them. It was a gap that he would not be able to close.
These individuals whom he had tried to network with had all ignored him but they were now all fawning over Fang JunRong. This drastic contrast made him feel shameful. He even felt that everybody was looking at him for more drama.
Ever since the divorce, he had been going down and down. He wasn't even able to retain his position as the President of Ayron Corporation. Looking over at Fang JunRong, she had been going up and up and finally becoming someone that was out of his reach.
What had he done over this period of time? How did he end up where he was right now? Or, perhaps he never should have agreed to the divorce. If they had never divorced, he'd be able to share her success right now.
No, he never should have brought Wang SiXian back, or to take care of Jiang YaGe. The dream from his youth should have stayed in his youth. He should not have tried to poke at it.
It was too late to regret now. Everything was crashing like domino tiles.
He took a few steps back and never looked away from Fang JunRong. And her, on the other hand, had never once looked over at him.
With a grim smile on him, Li WangJin finally turned and left.
What was the point of staying any longer? All he would do was to bring about more insult to himself. With Fang JunRong there, who'd risk offending her to offer him a helping hand.
Zhang Bi, looking at how Li WangJin was stumbling away, frowned slightly. Unfortunately, this was not the time to go and tend to Li WangJin.
He still hadn't figured out why that even though he had been very friendly with Fang JunRong from the very beginning but she had always ignored him. In fact, she was even somewhat hostile toward him.
What was it that he had done wrong?
He couldn't figure it out but he knew that his plan tonight had foiled.
He took a deep look at Fang JunRong and walked over to Jiang DeXian. He remembered that this was the boy toy that Fang JunRong had brought with her.
This was the first time that Fang JunRong had brought a date with her since her divorce. He gathered that the two must have some sort of a relationship. Jiang DeXian, even with his outstanding look, was very good at minimizing his presence when he stood in a corner quietly.
Zhang Bi's eyes flickered and said, "You are about to fall out of favor."
His voice was gentle but his words were vicious. "But that's not surprising. Afterall, the gap between you and Zhang ZhiSu was too big. The decision is a no-brainer. With your status, you are no good other than being a boy toy."
Zhang Bi didn't necessarily think that Zhang ZhiSu and Fang JunRong had that kind of a relationship. Mostly Zhang ZhiSu was probably just trying to make Fang JunRong look good. But that would not stop him from using that to attack the boy toy.
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Chapter 157 - Perhaps he never should have gotten the divorce. (2)
Jiang DeXian glanced over at him and said, "Are you jealous?"
Zhang Bi paused then said angrily, "What are you talking about?"
Jiang DeXian said nonchalantly, "I've noticed it since you have walked in here. You and your companion had been staring at her the entire time. You have a thing for her, right? I am doing much better than you. I am at least good enough to be the boy toy. You aren't even good enough for that."
He looked up and down Zhang Bi's face and analyzed it slowly. "You can't even cover those pores on your nose with foundation. I suggest for you to try a couple boxes of Beautify Pills yourself.
"Your eyes are too small. When you narrow your eyes, you look some what cunning. You should consider having them widened. It will make you look sprier.
"By the way, you are in your thirties, right? You should consider some sort of skincare treatment as well. Else your age will begin to show. Else you won't have many more years left in your career that hinges upon your age."
Naturally, Jiang DeXian was well aware that Zhang Bi was not interested in Fang JunRong that way. But he hated Zhang Bi's style so he spared nothing in attacking him.
Zhang Bi was so angry that his liver was hurting. If only he wasn't at a venue that he couldn't just let it out, he'd for sure beat up this boy toy. No. Even beating him up wouldn't be enough. He'd poison him with 108 different types of poisons.
How dare this boy toy treat him as if he was one of his kinds, a gigolo making a living with his look? And, on top of that, criticize him all up and down. How dare him!
He had never been so insulted.
As a male supporting character in the book and one of Jiang YaGe's close male friends, his look was not half bad. But, as handsome as he was, he didn't look too good when his face was twisted.
Jiang DeXian maintained his usual smile. "It is, indeed, very ugly when a man is jealous. No wonder she isn't interested in you."
"Oh, look. She's looking for me. Talk later."
He nodded at Zhang Bi before he walked over to Fang JunRong.
Zhang Bi took a deep breath, his face darkened. "Dam it!"
His intention was to drive a wedge between the two of them and place a timed bomb next to Fang JunRong. Who'd have thought that he'd end up being aggravated so. How was it that those around Fang JunRong were all like her? With each being more abominable than the last.
He liked Fang JunRong? And to have plastic surgery for her?!
***
Fang JunRong only called Jiang DeXian over because she noticed that Zhang Bi was talking to him and worried that he was being picked on.
Jiang DeXian cleared his throat and said, "No. But I may have pissed him off."
Fang JunRong gave him a dubious look and finally gave in to her curiosity. "What did you say to him?"
Jiang DeXian said nonchalantly, "Oh, all I told him was that if he wanted to be a quality boy toy, he needs to pay more attention to skincare and perhaps a plastic surgery is in order."
It took Fang JunRong a second to process that then she almost busted out laughing.
"Not bad."
She couldn't even remember how many times she had complimented Jiang DeXian tonight.
A raise! She must give him a raise! Nobody could stop her from giving him a raise!
***
Fang JunRong had collected a lot of business cards and met a lot of people during this banquet. All these would become her network in the future. For this, she was very thankful toward Zhang ZhiSu.
The night got later and the guests began to leave after the banquet was over.
Fang JunRong, too, was about to take off. She has had some alcohol tonight but she has a chauffeur.
He JianBing left with her and complained to her half-heartedly. "You did a good job keeping that a secret. I didn't even know that."
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Chapter 158 - Perhaps he never should have gotten the divorce. (3)
Fang JunRong said, "I apologize. I will take you out to lunch in a few days."
"No, I'd rather you give me some Beautify Pills."
"Okay, I'll give you a few extra boxes."
The two chatted as they walked. Nights in this season were still somewhat cold. Fang JunRong left her jacket inside of the car and the walk from the mansion was at least a ten-minute walk to the parking lot.
"Ms. Fang," came a steady voice.
Fang JunRong turned around and saw a face that somewhat resembled that of Zhang ZhiSu. She quickly pulled up his information in her head – this was Zhang ZhiYang, a cousin of Zhang ZhiSu.
Zhang ZhiYang was a competent individual overall; otherwise, he wouldn't have been the housemaster in her previous life. Owing to his ties to Jiang YaGe, Fang JunRong had remained alert around him. Needless to say, she'd never let that show.
Zhang ZhiYang smiled at her. When he smiled, one could see his pointy canine teeth and that gave him a bit of a childish look. He may seem like a good-tempered one but, in her previous life, when he backed Zhang Yuanjia, he had sent people to look into her. All of the companies that had working relationship with her brother's business were being audited for taxes or other certifications every once so often.
Once words had gotten out, everybody found out that her brother Fang XueBo had offended Zhang ZhiYang. Nobody wanted to be dragged into it so they all stopped doing businesses with her brother's company.
As such, her brother's company started going downhill.
"It's cold out and you don't have a lot on. Why don't you take this jacket? We wouldn't want someone as pretty as you to get sick now."
Remembering what had happened in her previous life, Fang JunRong didn't want to accept his favor. She turned him down politely. "I am fine. I don't want your girlfriend to be jealous."
Zhang ZhiYang was known to be a player who had countless girlfriends. Let it be models, internet influencers, or actresses, he had them all covered. He, too, was someone who land on the most trending list every few days. She seemed to recall that the most recent scandal was about him and a singer who just debuted from a reality television show.
"It's fine, she wouldn't mind," said Zhang ZhiYang nonchalantly.
Fang JunRong frowned a little, "But I do. I don't need a scandal of having a boyfriend right now." If she had accepted the jacket from him and words got out, she didn't even want to imagine what would be said. She had no intention whatsoever to be associated with this person.
Besides, all of Zhang ZhiYang's girlfriends have been girls in their twenties. That had never changed. Now that he was being nice to her all of a sudden, she must believe that he has an ulterior motive.
He JianBing cleared her throat and said to Zhang ZhiYang, "Ahem. I am standing right here. Even if I am not as pretty as JunRong, you still shouldn't have ignored me so. I am cold too. Why don't you give me your jacket instead?"
Zhang ZhiYang smiled, handed his jacket over to He JianBing, and took off after exchanging some more pleasantries.
Even though He JianBing had accepted his jacket, she did not put it on. She just had it hanging over one of her arms.
As she walked next to Fang JunRong, she said, "You are single now. It wouldn't be a bad thing if you want to pursue another relationship but this one really isn't a good option."
He JianBing had been around the block a few times and have heard of some gossips about Zhang ZhiYang.
"This Zhang ZhiYang has always been very generous when he chased after girls. But once they started dating, he'd get tired of them quickly. That in and of itself isn't a big deal, after all, they are all consented adults. Problem is that he also likes to share intimate stories with his friends."
He JianBing had a complicated look on her. That was the real reason why she had helped her friend in turning the man down.
Fang JunRong, after hearing what He JianBing had told her, was also disgusted by the man. People like that would run into bad karma sooner or later.
Attending this banquet could go either way for her. On the positive side, she had made a point to everyone that she was no longer the pushover that she once was. Had they wanted to walk over her, they should give that a second thought first.
On the negative side, her being single right now had, doubtless, made her seem available to a lot of others out there.
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Chapter 159 - "I don't want to see you anymore. Get out of my house." (1)
Li WangJin returned home in a trance.
The house that he was currently staying in he bought from loans that he had taken out from other bosses a while ago. It didn't measure up to his previous one but it wasn't shabby either. He still needed to, after all, maintain a group of servants. He no longer wished to live with his son.
No matter how poor he was before, he never let his servants go. Being waited on hands and feet everyday gave him the illusion that he was still the high and mighty Li WangJin that he once was.
He had just arrived home and Wang SiXian immediately came up to him. She took his suit jacket from him and asked, concerned, "You drank? I have made you some soup that will help with the hangover. Wait here. Let me go get it for you.
"You shouldn't drink so much. Even if you are going to drink, you should have some warm food in your stomach first." Seeing that Li WangJin didn't look too happy, she assumed that he had a bit too much to drink and wanted to go up to hold him.
Li WangJin smacked her hands away. It hurt so much that Wang SiXian pulled back her hands immediately. She was stunned and couldn't' get out all the other tender words that she had ready.
Any other time, the way that Wang SiXian treated him like he was the center of her universe would have appeased him a lot. Today, however, he has yet to recover from his earlier shock.
In his mind, Wang SiXian was the culprit of the destruction of his dreams. Seeing her now brought up all of his current and past hatred.
If it wasn't for her, Fang JunRong and him would still be the model couple that was envied by all. This was all her fault!
He stared viciously at Wang SiXian and said, "You stay away from me!"
Wang SiXian was dumbfounded and she looked at Li WangJin in disbelief. As much as Li WangJin hasn't been treating her the same as he did before, but this was the first time he had shouted at her.
Tears started streaming down her cheeks. "What have I done wrong that you had to yell at me like that?" Even if he had a bad time outside, he shouldn't have treated her that way.
The more she thought about it, the more unjust she felt. Nobody had any respect for her. Even the servants, less and less would they listen to her. The only one that she has left was Li WangJin. The way that Li WangJin was treating her was like stomping all over her ego.
Once she started crying, her tears washed away the foundation that she had applied. Her face was a mess and part of her scars showed, making her looked even more terrifying.
Li WangJin couldn't even stand looking at her for another second. He never should have brought her home.
If that was a mistake, then it was now time to correct that mistake.
"Your being here was a mistake. If it wasn't for you, JunRong would not have divorced me."
"I have no idea how I started this relationship with you. I am guessing that it was part of your scheme all along?"
"I don't want you to be around anymore. Get out of my house."
Wang SiXian was stunned. She thought Li WangJin was just upset. She hadn't expected that he was serious this time and even wanted to throw her out. She has no house, no money, and no work experience. How would she live if she had left this place?
Let alone that her looks had been ruined.
Wang SiXian was truly sad now. She couldn't stop her tears as she mumbled to him, "You can't do this to me. I only returned to this country for you."
"You are all that I have now."
Li WangJin didn't want to see her anymore nor did he want to hear her voice. Seeing that Wang SiXian refused to leave, he coldly gave the order. "Toss her out."
He sneered and said, "If you leave voluntarily, you can bring with you everything that I bought for you in the past. If you wait to be thrown out, you won't be leaving with anything."
Wang SiXian, who had been bawling, stood motionlessly. She finally realized exactly how cruel a man could be when they no longer have feelings for you.
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Chapter 160 - "I don't want to see you anymore. Get out of my house." (2)
Wiping away her tears, she said to him, "If you don't want to see me. I will disappear from your sight and not be an eyesore for you."
"As long as it will make you happy, I will do anything."
She worried that Li WangJin would be true to his words so she had no choice but to leave on her own accord. She still maintained her character setting before she left and that was professionalism right there.
Unfortunately, that was all meaningless to Li WangJin right now. He only cared about those when he was rich; now that he was in financial ruins, he had neither the time nor the mood to care about stuff like that.
Wang SiXian returned to her room and, even though she was still crying, she was quick at packing.
She thought that she had already been with Li WangJin for months and would have a lot of stuff. Only when she started packing did she realize that most of what he had bought her were dresses and cosmetics. And not even expensive ones at that. The most expensive dress only cost several thousand yuan. The few designer brand purses were from her niece Jiang YaGe.
She had no jewelries at all.
She felt at a loss. She has always thought that Li WangJin was very nice to her. After all, he had divorced someone as outstanding as Fang JunRong for her and even stayed with her after her face was ruined.
Now that she was looking at her possessions, even with her shoes, clothes, and other miscellaneous items, they added up to less than 10,000 yuan. And she had no more than 20,000 yuan in her bank.
This wasn't the first time she was a mistress and all of the others weren't even 1/10 as rich as Li WangJin but all of them were more generous than him!
Wang SiXian felt very unjust. What was going through her head in the last few months? She should have asked him for more money.
She packed up while feeling irritated. She didn't have a lot of things so it didn't take her long to pack up. This house was new and there were a lot of valuables that she could take with her even if she had wanted to.
Li WangJin walked inside of her room in less than half an hour and looked at her coldly. His message was clear.
As unjust as Wang SiXian felt, she had no choice but to leave with her suitcase.
She was practically kicked out of there.
Seeing the front door that couldn't have closed a second sooner, she felt very sad for herself.
A cold wind blew past and she shuddered. Under the faint yellow light, her shadow looked very lonesome.
***
Fang JunRong paid Jiang DeXian after they've returned from the banquet. He had promised him 20,000 yuan but she paid him a total of 50,000 yuan.
She looked into the agency that Jiang DeXian was with – Yingce Media. It was considered one of the top companies in the entertainment circle and have quite a few film empresses and film emperors. Even though she never had any work relationship with this company but, given her status, making a call and helping him get out of his contract would not be a big deal.
She mentioned that to Jiang DeXian but he declined her offer.
"There's no need for that. My contract will be up next month. No reason to waste a favor of yours on me."
Given the situation, Fang JunRong decided to drop the subject.
Words travelled fast in their circle. The fact that she was Gaoyuan's second largest shareholder was known by all before long. She suddenly felt that everybody had been very enthusiastic toward her. In the past, when Beautify Pills was first launched, others were already enthusiastic toward her, but still somewhat reserved in their attitude. Now they couldn't wait to have ties with her.
The number of people who'd sing of praises had gone up and many others, for the sake of patronizing her, would purposefully keep her up to date on Li WangJin's current situation. Even though she never had to look into it purposefully, she would somehow be in the loop all the time. Li WangJin was in a bad shape being pressured by his debtors. With his loans plus interest, he owed at least 3.5 billion yuan. All because he was so overconfident back then and took out high interest loan in order to get his hand on cash faster.
Truth was, all he needed to do was to sell some more of Ayron's stock and he'd be able to solve his immediate problems. Unfortunately, he was reluctant to do so. With his shares, he was at least still the second shareholder of Aryon and his words would still carry some weight. If he no longer have the shares in hand, he'd be just another peon shareholder and then everyone would be able to walk over him.