Chapter 144: Nemesis! Broom Star!

"Mom, what nonsense are you spouting?" Shen Xi didn't believe it; she knew exactly how well Sister Shutong treated her—clothes, bags, shoes, everything had been given to her.

She even accompanied her for manicures, and the nails were set with real diamonds.

Whenever she quarreled with her brother, Sister Shutong would stand on her side and scold the brother together.

Sister Shutong demands pedigree, looks, and ability… Sure, her ability doesn't quite match Jiang Lai's, but so what?

What good is it for a girl to be so outstanding? It just makes men feel oppressed by her.

Mother Shen was furious, "What nonsense am I saying? I think you've been brainwashed by Lin Shutong. Your brother didn't win the bid this time because someone uncovered a huge financial transaction between him and Lin Shutong! They say he bribed Lin Shutong; otherwise, with his wit, could he have lost the bid?"

"That Lin Shutong is our family's nemesis! Broom Star! I'm furious, I'm furious…" Mother Shen grew angrier as she thought, and gulped down a mouthful of cold tea.

"The more I think about it, the stranger it gets. After your brother got a promotion and a raise, his first thought was to get us a new house, to buy you a large flat as a dowry, and then suddenly he stopped bringing money or anything home…"

Shen Xi frowned, "Isn't that because of Jiang Lai?"

Mother Shen immediately retorted, "Your brother has already been married to Jiang Lai for over half a year!"

Shen Xi still didn't believe it, pouting, "How could that be? Mom, who told you that? Could it be Jiang Lai spouting nonsense in front of you, trying to sow discord? I won't fall for her scheme."

"You little brat," Mother Shen raised her hand and jabbed hard at her forehead, gritting her teeth, "The evidence is solidly thrown in my face! Otherwise, would I have fainted from anger that day?"

"Your brother sends Lin Shutong three million a month! Three million!" The three fingers she held out trembled, "Since returning to the country, everything he eats, lives, wears, and uses—wasn't it all paid by his money? Over the years his life has become poorer, our family poorer, all because Lin Shutong has siphoned all his money!"

"Without money, what country are you going to? And you even hold a damn art exhibition!"

"You despicable thing! Nemesis!"

Mother Shen was so angry she was incoherent, launching indiscriminate attacks.

"I'm telling you, Shen Xi, if you keep hanging out with her, I'll break your leg!"

Seeing her mother speak so solemnly, Shen Xi was stunned again and shouted, "How could that be!"

"How is it not possible!" Mother Shen shouted back, "Look at what Jiang Lai has eaten and worn all these years—nothing is better than ours. She has no money at all; your brother's money is nowhere near her hands. Look at Lin Shutong's face and attire; she looks like a kept lover!"

"It's still your brother who is supporting her, my good son is supporting her! It drives me mad!"

"She even uses my son's money to curry favor with us? Uses your brother's money to flatter you? I've never seen such a shameless woman!" Mother Shen swore in her heart that she would retrieve that money for her son, even if it meant cooperating with Jiang Lai.

At least in recent years Jiang Lai has been doing real work for the Shen family, not just spouting pretty words.

Regret!

No wonder her husband didn't dare tell his son about the divorce and begged her never to bring it up; in the past few days he's been trying to find someone, seeing if there's any chance to salvage the divorce.

If only Jiang Lai were still in the Shen household—she's a respected research scientist, famous and wealthy, and crucially knows how to live a steady life, serve her in‑laws, care for her younger sister‑in‑law, and also take good care of her husband.

Completely ruined.

Now it's all ruined.

"Our whole family has been blinded by Lin Shutong. I think your brother was also deceived by her; how could he waste his entire fortune? How stupid is that!"

"Mom, everything you said is true?" Shen Xi had actually believed most of it; a faint anger rose in her eyes as she clenched her fist, "I'll go find Sister Shutong to get it straight! If all my brother's money went to her, I won't be done with her!"

Mother Shen didn't block her this time.

She pulled out the note Jiang Lai had left, dialed the phone number on it.

"Hello, who is this?" Jiang Lai looked at the unfamiliar number, roughly guessed who it might be, and still asked that.

"It's me."

When Mother Shen's voice came through, Jiang Lai realized she had figured it out—she wanted to team up with her to gather evidence and retrieve the money Shen Xun had spent on Lin Shutong over the years.

That's a lot, but she didn't mind giving a portion to Mother Shen.

"I have something tonight; I'll contact you tomorrow, and we can discuss when we meet."

"Good! You need to hurry!"

Facing Mother Shen's urging, Jiang Lai curled the corner of her mouth and hung up.

Ke Zhongying stood on the deck, turned her head and asked, "Who is it?"

"Shen Xun's mother."

"Oh, your vicious former mother‑in‑law." Ke Zhongying had heard Mo Yi say it many times, so she said it naturally.

"Why is she looking for you? Could it be some petty grudge, catching you to scold you?"

"To discuss cooperation." Jiang Lai leaned forward slightly; the cold wind blew, but she was well dressed, "She also wants to retrieve the money from Lin Shutong."

Ke Zhongying clapped her hands, "That's perfect; with her own mother involved, extracting evidence from Shen Xun's phone should be easy, right? Has the lawyer told you which evidence to obtain?"

Jiang Lai: "Lawyer Zhong Lü told me."

"Zhong Poqian?" Ke Zhongying chuckled, "Now that's interesting. Even if Lin Shutong has the great lawyer Gu Zhiyan, he can't beat Zhong Poqian, especially since Lawyer Gu specializes in a different field."

As they spoke, the two saw a familiar figure pass on the lower deck.

Ke Zhongying: "Gu Zhiyan? Lin Shutong?"

Is this a case of destined rivals?

Lin Shutong looked very sad, standing on the deck in a dress, feeling the cold wind, appearing on the verge of collapse.

"What's wrong with her? Could it be that Shen Xun dumped her?" Ke Zhongying wore a look of schadenfreude.

Gu Zhiyan took off his black coat and draped it over Lin Shutong.

Lin Shutong turned, her eyes raised in sorrow.

From afar, she seemed to be leaning against Gu Zhiyan's embrace.

"Yue…" Ke Zhongying made a gagging sound, "Does Gu Zhiyan not know Lin Shutong is being a homewrecker? How did he even become interested in her? Should he get his eyesight corrected? If Uncle Gu and the others found out, they'd probably break his leg."

"Uncle Gu may have gone into business, but the rest of the Gu family hasn't; the Gu family values a clean lineage and good character."

Jiang Lai's gaze fell on Gu Zhiyan and Lin Shutong, and she lifted her phone to take a photo.

"Hm? Why are you taking a picture?"

"To give Shen Xun a bit of a headache; I haven't got time to be bothered." Lately, the unknown numbers and messages on her phone were countless; she couldn't even block them all.

The key is that Shen Xun only wants to see her; he hasn't said much else, and his boundaries are well controlled, making it impossible to pin a charge on him.

When the picture was sent, Ke Zhongying asked her, "Why didn't you cancel this phone card? You already have a new phone card, yet you didn't set up unknown call blocking."