Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He shifted his gaze onto the content written on the report and began perusing the information, line by line.
The room was silent, and the only sounds that could be heard were of him flipping through the pages. After reading through everything, he handed the report back to Fan Shixin and said, “Burn it.”
Fan Shixin took it from him and asked, “Young Sir, how do you plan to win Ms. An’s heart again?”
“I have my own plans and ideas,” he answered confidently.
Once Fan Shixin left the room, Jin Qingyan leaned back and picked up the photo beside him again.
He continued to stare at it for a long time.
Images of her smiling at another man, having a meal with another man, and possibly, in the future…
He dared not let his imagination run wild.
The more he thought about it, the more disgruntled he felt.
“Qingyan, you’re home.” Long Tianze strode toward him.
Jin Qingyan immediately covered the photo with his hands but to no avail, for Long Tianze had already caught sight of it.
“Whose photo is that?” Long Tianze asked.
“Don’t be nosy.”
“Show me,” said Long Tianze, extending his arm in a bid to grab the photo.
“No.”
The quick-witted Long Tianze immediately pounced on Jin Qingyan and snatched the photo away from his hands. Jin Qingyan immediately pushed him away and scorned, “Are you asking for death?”
“Yes, come kill me.” Staring at the photo, Long Tianze asked in astonishment, “Is this your ex-wife’s blind date?”
“How did you know?”
Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Long Tianze said, “I heard from Yangyang that she had gone for a matchmaking session. He’s pretty handsome. Seems like she’s embarking on a new relationship. You ought to step on it too. No, wait, how are things between you and Hu Xin, the girl working at my bar? Any progress?”
“What progress?”
“You’ve already asked her out on a date. How could there be no progress? She’s even tendered her resignation. Didn’t she quit because of you?” Long Tianze questioned, blinking his eyes.
“Nonsense. That girl met me to hand me some videos she took while she was being a hostess. It’s not what you think,” Jin Qingyan retorted.
“Videos she filmed while being a hostess? Were you involved? Is that why she blackmailed you?”
“Long Tianze, do you think I won’t break your neck if you continue to spout nonsense?” Jin Qingyan warned.
“Fine, fine, I won’t tease you anymore. What videos are those, though?”
“Some videos I need to engage in company politics. Do you think it’s possible to install some hidden surveillance cameras in your bar?”
“That’s against business ethics. My business is going to fold if news of me installing a camera in the bar gets leaked,” Long Tianze objected. He then handed the photo back to Jin Qingyan and took a seat, crossing one leg over another.
“Just don’t let anyone find out. How about I help you install the most obscure pinhole camera?” Jin Qingyan suggested.
“No, I’d like to be a moral and ethical bar owner,” Long Tianze refused.
“…”
“I came to discuss something with you, actually,” said Long Tianze, after which he explained his daughter’s kidnapping incident, as well as his plans to send the children to the exercise boot camp at the martial arts academy.
“You’re planning to enroll the three children in the boot camp? But they’re still so young,” Jin Qingyan remarked.
“Yes, I do have such plans. I’m going to pull them out from school and let them be home-schooled by a private tutor, all the way until high school. I’ll then send them back to public schools. What do you think of my suggestion?” Long Tianze answered earnestly.
Jin Qingyan expressed assent and said, “Sounds like a great idea, but don’t you think it’s a little lonely with just the three of them? Children ought to spend more time with playmates their age.”
“We’ll just have two other kids join them. Five should be enough, right?”
“I think you have a point. Seems like you’re really afraid that another abduction would happen.”
“That’s for sure. The more I think about it, the more furious I get,” Long Tianze bellowed.
“I’m angrier than you are.”
“What for? Your son wasn’t kidnapped, was he?”
Jin Qingyan turned to the side and said, “Tianze, I regret it.”
“Regret what? Getting a divorce?” Long Tianze blurted unknowingly.
Jin Qingyan took a look at the time on his watch and said, “Call Ciye over. Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
“Alright.”
Long Tianze was an avid fan of hearing the gossip about Jin Qingyan’s life. Once Ling Ciye arrived, they both sat down on the dining table and kept their ears open to hear the juicy details. “You’ve kept it in for so long. Seems like you made the decision to tell us all about it tonight,” said Ling Ciye.
“I don’t know where to begin.” He took a small sip of wine and continued in a crisp and clear voice, “Oh, right, starting from when she got wounded…”
Long Tianze and Ling Ciye remained silent throughout to listen to him attentively while eating.
After Jin Qingyan finished telling the story, Long Tianze wiped his mouth and stared at him while smiling. “I was right to call you a fool. You really are one,” Long Tianze remarked.
“Tianze, how could you call Qingyan a fool? Calling him a fool is an understatement. ‘Moron’ would suit him better,” Ling Ciye chimed in.
Jin Qingyan was speechless.
“Am I really that foolish?” he asked.
“Actually, we both did guess that it had something to do with infidelity. But after hearing your story, Qingyan, I seriously think that you were being too irrational and rash. I can understand the reason behind your despair and exasperation, as well as all the other emotions you felt at the time. However, couldn’t you also consider Ms. An’s feelings? How do you think she felt, having the man whom she loved most not trust her and even initiate a divorce? Her brains would have to be fried for her to agree to marry you again. You’d better prepare yourself to be a bachelor for the rest of your life,” Ling Ciye chastised.
“Don’t be too harsh on him. Actually, from the way I see it, you still have a chance to win her back, Qingyan,” said Long Tianze.
“Go on.”
Long Tianze chuckled and said, “It’s only been less than a few months since you two got a divorce. Although you’ve hurt her deeply, I think she still has feelings for you. Maybe, she still loves you. At this point, you have to heal the wounds and the scars you’ve left in her heart, bit by bit. As long as you do that, you’ll still have a shot.”
“But there’s something I’m puzzled about. Ms. An knows clearly that that man is her half-brother… Tell me, do you seriously think Ms. An would have been incapable of resisting and stopping her brother, who was drugged, from violating her? You were well aware of her feelings toward you at the time too. So, in a nutshell, you brought all of this upon yourself because you had been overthinking. I really feel like beating you into a pulp. You should’ve told us about it when it first happened and allowed us to help you analyze the situation. How could you bottle it up and keep it all to yourself?” he continued.
“I regret it too.”
“Women are strange creatures. They’re willing to give up everything and go through all sorts of hardship when they love you, on the condition that you show her the possibility of a future together. However, things will get tough once she gives up on you. Don’t you still have a final trump card in your hands? I think there’s still a chance for you to win her back so long as you use it to your advantage.”
A peculiar and mysterious smile formed on Jin Qingyan’s face as soon as Long Tianze finished speaking.
“What are you smiling for?”
“She still loves me. I can feel it. But I still need to work on it. Anyway, what’s meant to be mine will be mine at the end of the day. No one can take her away from me. The Major she went on a blind date with is no match to me,” he said leisurely.
Long Tianze raised his glass and said sarcastically, “You’re a new person now eh, Mr. Jin? You’ve become so much more shameless and thick-skinned. No one in S Nation can compare to you.”
Jin Qingyan clinked glasses with him. “That’s true.”
