Chapter 250: If I Can't Have You, I'll Destroy You

After Shi Youxuan returned, she originally thought this matter had ended, and planned to start fresh and continue looking for new blind-date candidates for Alisha.

This time, she had to make sure Alisha clearly expressed her stance and agreed to get married.

However, what surprised Shi Youxuan was that the men who had previously lined up, scrambling to meet Alisha, suddenly vanished as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth; not a single one was to be seen.

What was going on?

It didn't take long for her to find out where the problem lay.

Rumors were flying everywhere; Alisha, who had originally been praised to the heavens, was suddenly being slandered, with claims that she liked women and was a lesbian!

When Shi Youxuan heard this, her heart sank—the person spreading these rumors was trying to destroy Alisha!

Being a lesbian might just lead to discrimination in other countries, but in L Country, the severity could lead to being burned at the stake.

Public opinion is a powerful force that can destroy a person.

This kind of matter could not be taken lightly; Shi Youxuan immediately sent people to investigate where the rumors had first started spreading.

Soon, the people she sent out replied—the rumors had first originated from the Jiao Family.

However, the mastermind was not the old lady of the Jiao Family, but Jiao Enyu.

"Jiao Enyu? Very well."

Shi Youxuan had people collect information on Jiao Enyu and the flaws and loopholes in the Jiao Family's business dealings over the years.

For people in business, especially those who had grown their business to such a large scale, it was impossible to have no dirt at all; in less than half a day, her subordinates had collected quite a bit of information.

She didn't know until she looked, and once she looked, she was shocked.

No wonder Jiao Enyu had agreed to Alisha; it turned out he had reconnected with a former lover and even had a newborn illegitimate daughter outside.

He had agreed to marry Alisha because he had his eye on her status as a widow.

He believed that since she was a widow, she would be inferior after marriage, and she wouldn't dare say anything even if he had someone else on the side.

Jiao Enyu even thought that after the marriage, he would bring his illegitimate daughter back to be raised at home, tell the outside world that Alisha had given birth to her, and then, after the woman outside got a divorce, he would dump Alisha and marry that woman!

The plan had been well-laid, but the Zhu Family had suddenly disagreed.

He was guilty and fearful, thinking his affairs had been exposed, which was why Alisha had suddenly backed out.

To protect his own reputation, Jiao Enyu had people spread rumors to smear Alisha.

Spreading other rumors wouldn't cause a sensation; in L Country, the crime of having an affair with a married man was only slightly lighter than being a lesbian.

The only thing that could overshadow his scandal was if Alisha were a lesbian.

Having figured out the ins and outs of the matter, Shi Youxuan made her move!

The next morning, photos of Jiao Enyu and that woman having a tryst at a hotel, message logs from chat software, and even a paternity test for the daughter were all printed out and distributed throughout the streets and alleys of L Country!

Come on then, let's hurt each other; let's see whose strike is more ruthless.

People's attention was immediately diverted to this big piece of gossip that had solid evidence and the truth, and the Jiao Family's business was also heavily affected.

But this was not the end; it was only just the beginning.

Soon, the Jiao Family's silk shops all over the country were reported for serious tax evasion, with conclusive evidence.

The Jiao Family was in complete chaos.

The old master of the Jiao Family was furious; if the marriage didn't work out, so be it, why smear someone else's reputation?

Now look at this, they tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.

If this matter wasn't handled well, the Jiao Family's century-old foundation might be destroyed by this unfilial descendant, Jiao Enyu.

He went to the Zhu Family in person, bringing generous gifts to visit Shi Youxuan and offer an apology.

But he was blocked and couldn't even get through the door.

Shi Youxuan sent word—the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it!

The old master returned home and told his son to go and offer a humble apology.

Jiao Enyu was unwilling, stiffening his neck as he argued with his father: "Why should I go and apologize? If anyone should apologize, it should be Shi Youxuan coming to our house to apologize."

"Her family broke the engagement first, then they invaded my privacy and caused our family to suffer heavy losses; I'm not going."

"This isn't over; if I don't tear the Zhu Family apart, I won't be surnamed Jiao..."

"Smack!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his father interrupted him with a loud slap.

This slap was very heavy; Jiao Enyu's ears were ringing, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The old lady rushed over crying to protect her son, blaming her husband for trying to beat their son to death.

If he wanted to kill someone, he should kill her first; anyway, if anything happened to her son, she wouldn't want to live either. She also said that if he hadn't tried so hard to stop their son from marrying that woman back then, they would be a happy family now.

The old man of the Jiao Family was so angry he didn't know what to do, pointing at his wife and scolding her for spoiling her son to the point of ruining him.

If that woman had been a good person back then, he wouldn't have been so dead-set against it just because she was a foreigner.

Their son was possessed by a ghost, and she was going to follow along and act foolish too?

But he couldn't continue to use force; the family was in a very unpleasant state, and the matter still had to be resolved.

When the servant came to report that Lady Qi had come to visit, Shi Youxuan actually didn't want to see her.

But Lady Qi had also brought Qi Heng along, using the excuse of bringing her son over to play with Shi Ran.

Even though she knew the old woman's intentions were not about the wine, she still had the servant lead the guests in.

Lady Qi brought many valuable gifts; upon meeting, she told her son to go play with Shi Ran, but wouldn't let Alisha leave: "Alisha, wait, I have something I want to say to you."

Alisha didn't want to pay her any mind at all, using gestures to mock her: You had better stay away from me, lest the rumors drag you in as well.

Lady Qi's face turned red and then white, and she apologized sheepishly: "I'm sorry, Alisha. I only met that cousin of mine when we were children, and then their whole family went to the United States to develop, so we didn't see each other for many years. It was only after they returned to the country that we reconnected. I truly didn't know Jiao Enyu would turn out like this; otherwise, even if I had lost my mind, I wouldn't have introduced you into a fire pit, would I?"

She regretted it so much her guts were turning green; she had originally wanted to form a marriage alliance so that two good families would become one.

As a result, instead of forming an alliance, they had formed an enmity. If she had known it would end like this, she would have stayed far away and never waded into these muddy waters!

Lady Qi spoke sincerely, but Alisha still had no expression and walked away directly.

With Shi Youxuan here, there was no need for her to step forward herself.

Lady Qi presented a gift, stating that this was a small token from her uncle-in-law, and said many nice things, requesting that Shi Youxuan let the Jiao Family off.

Shi Youxuan had never intended to wipe out the Jiao Family completely; it would be unreasonable for a century-old foundation of the Jiao Family to be destroyed by her own hands, so she proposed a condition: Jiao Enyu must issue a statement on the most influential television station in the country, declaring that the matter of Alisha being a lesbian was a rumor he had fabricated, with the purpose of covering up his own mistakes.

As long as the statement was issued, she would immediately stop the economic sanctions against the Jiao Family; otherwise, they could just wait to fight until the fish died and the net broke!

Lady Qi agreed readily, and one day later, Jiao Enyu indeed went on television to apologize to Alisha, clearing her name.

On the surface, this matter had passed, but Shi Youxuan and Alisha were held in resentment by Jiao Enyu, who was just waiting for a suitable opportunity to take revenge.