Chapter 63 Yu Liang and his wife, who want to play matchmaker

After seeing Chen Ang and Chen Zhuo off, Yu Liang closed the door.

Zhong Yuanxin was already tidying up the teacups on the coffee table, while Xiaomi had fallen asleep on the sofa, still clutching half an unfinished cookie in her hand.

Yu Liang carried his daughter into the small bedroom, tucked her in, and turned off the light.

Returning to the living room, Zhong Yuanxin was just placing the last cup into the dish rack.

"350 million." Yu Liang stood at the kitchen entrance, leaning against the sliding door frame, his expression dazed as if he were still processing something.

Zhong Yuanxin dried her hands, turned to look at him, and chuckled.

He glared at his wife. "Look at you, so amused. Was it fun teasing me in the kitchen earlier? Your head is full of nothing but mischief all day long."

"I just wanted to see when my dense husband would realize what was going on." Zhong Yuanxin took off her apron and hung it on the hook. "Turns out you were still completely in the dark even when it was time to eat."

Yu Liang laughed, turned around, walked over to the sofa, sat down, and leaned his head back against the backrest.

"We grew up together. In high school, he helped me with my homework, and in college, he treated us to everything on the street behind Bin University."

"The night his family went bankrupt, he squatted by the side of the road and called me. His voice was trembling uncontrollably when he called me 'brother'."

"I asked him where he was and said I'd come to pick him up. He said no, he just wanted to hear a familiar voice. Do you understand that feeling? Your best brother has been stuck in the mud for seven years, and you haven't been able to help him at all."

Zhong Yuanxin walked over and sat down beside him, leaning against him without speaking; she knew her husband needed to release emotions he had been holding in for a long time.

"Now he's made a comeback. Do you know what my first reaction was? It wasn't being happy for him, it was fear. I'm afraid he's moving too fast, afraid that someone will target him."

"He told me some things on the balcony today, and that's when I thought of his father. Seven years ago, when Zhonghui Building Materials was investigated, the auditors only needed three days to dig up major problems from tax filings that originally had no issues. I think he's afraid of that too."

After sighing, Yu Liang looked up at the ceiling.

"What did he say? Why would you think that?" Zhong Yuanxin huddled closer to him and asked.

"If the tax authorities are really determined to investigate, how many companies can withstand it?" Yu Liang asked in return. "Your father is a veteran tax official, you must know."

Zhong Yuanxin understood immediately. "A small, willful exercise of power?"

Yu Liang nodded. "Something like that. I only heard bits and pieces when Chen Ang was drunk."

"Then what does this have to do with what Chen Ang said to you on the balcony?"

"Nothing major, I was just lamenting." He said calmly, then shifted his body to look at Zhong Yuanxin. "Chen Ang is preparing to file for divorce."

After a pause, he added, enunciating every word: "He's suing that woman for fraudulent child support."

Hearing this, Zhong Yuanxin was slightly stunned. She quickly sat up, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. "That child isn't Chen Ang's?"

Yu Liang nodded slowly. "That's why, knowing that Chen Ang has turned his life around and has so much money now, I'm afraid he might do something reckless."

Zhong Yuanxin didn't quite understand, her eyes full of confusion.

"Think about it. His family's tax issues weren't major back then, but there were indeed some irregularities, and that was the trigger."

"Now that Chen Ang has so many assets, if he does anything illegal, and someone targets him in the future, these will all be bullets fired at him."

Yu Liang had worked in the system for ten years; he had seen such things countless times, and had even handled cases like this more than once or twice.

Zhong Yuanxin suppressed the chill in her heart. It wasn't that she didn't know about the dark side of society, but seeing it happen to a friend made it feel much more profound.

"Did you advise him against it?"

"No need, he understands better than I do." Yu Liang shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "The day he told me Chen Zetian wasn't his own flesh and blood, I was ready to help him no matter what, even if it meant getting a disciplinary record."

Zhong Yuanxin didn't interrupt; she knew her husband would do just that.

Yu Liang continued, "But he had already arranged everything. Acquiring companies, segregating assets, establishing a chain of evidence—he even found my wife to be the financial director. He didn't let me get involved in any of it. He didn't want to put me in a difficult position."

"You two brothers—one is willing to break the rules to help the other, and the other takes on everything himself to keep the other out of it. I'm touched, honey, what should I do?"

Zhong Yuanxin's eyes inexplicably turned red, and she reached out to wrap her arms around Yu Liang's neck, nuzzling into his chest.

"You're shipping these two? What kind of bizarre dramas have you been watching while raising the kid for the last six years?" Yu Liang laughed, reaching out to embrace Zhong Yuanxin's soft body.

"What, is that not allowed? I've aspired to be a professional 'shipper' since I was a kid." Zhong Yuanxin looked up, smiling coquettishly.

Yu Liang gently patted her shoulder, looked up at the ceiling, and muttered, "He's the type of person who calculates everything, but never includes the people he values in his calculations."

The two held each other for a while before getting up, showering, and lying down in bed.

Yu Liang reached out and turned off the bedside lamp. In the darkness, Zhong Yuanxin turned her head. "I'm thinking of going to Jiangning in a couple of days to tell Qing Wan in person."

Yu Liang was silent for a moment. "Tell her what?"

"I want to tell her in person that Chen Ang is divorced and is now alone in Bin City. Plus, he was deceived and spent six years raising someone else's son—he's suffered a lot."

Zhong Yuanxin turned over, her eyes shining in the darkness.

"I don't know why they broke up back then, but I know Chen Ang has always had her in his heart." Yu Liang replied, "Just like during the seven years he was forced into marriage, have you ever heard him mention Wen Huilin's name? Have you ever seen him bring her to a gathering?"

"Right. He wouldn't even say her name." Zhong Yuanxin realized, a bit belatedly. "Anyway, I never had any dealings with that woman at all."

"I hope they can have a good ending. We can only nudge things along; after all, we don't know the full story." Yu Liang turned over and stopped talking.

Zhong Yuanxin murmured an acknowledgment and also fell silent.

After a long while, she whispered, "I hope they don't miss each other again this time."

~

After the designated driver dropped the two brothers off at Sheng Huating Residential Area, neither of them got out of the car.

Chen Ang rolled down the window, took out a cigarette, and asked Chen Zhuo if he wanted one.

Chen Zhuo shook his head and refused; he wasn't addicted to smoking, just had one occasionally.

Outside the car window, the streetlights in the residential complex flickered on and off, appearing exceptionally desolate.

"Brother, are you preparing for a divorce too?" Chen Zhuo spoke up suddenly.

"When did you find out?" Chen Ang reached his hand out the window and flicked the ash.

"Earlier, when I went to the law firm to find Lawyer Shen, I inadvertently saw some divorce documents with your name and that woman's name on them." Chen Zhuo didn't hold back.

"Yeah. Don't tell Mom and Dad yet." Chen Ang's tone was calm, and he didn't deny it.

Chen Zhuo nodded. "I know, that's just how the atmosphere is back home. If both of us brothers divorce at the same time, Mom might be okay, but Dad—with his personality, even if he goes out to buy a pack of cigarettes, he'll think people are gossiping about him."

"It's good that you can consider that. I spoke to Mom on the phone, and she said he's come to understand some things. If we hit him with this now, he'll probably just shrink back into his shell."

Chen Zhuo didn't quite understand what his brother meant. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Then what about the situation at home?"