Chapter 363: Harm Others, Benefit No One—But It Feels Good

"Xiao Ye, I just tried calling you, but couldn't get through. Hao Jian told me something."

"Hao Jian said that a few days ago, Pengcheng Baisi resumed its contract manufacturing for Pengcheng Red Bull, but Cao Yuanmao disappeared."

"After asking around for several days, Hao Jian found out that Cao Yuanmao got an official letter from his unit, bought a plane ticket, and went to the provincial capital of Dongshan."

"I knew about Chen Juming's trademark squatting on Fenghua, and now I connect it with Cao Yuanmao extorting the naming rights for Fenghua."

Jin Peng interrupted Li Ye's good moment and quickly explained his purpose today, along with why he hadn't been able to call.

In 1984, phone calls often didn't go through—it was normal. Even the Spring Festival Gala had a skit mocking how no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't get through.

After listening to Jin Peng's account, Li Ye thought for a moment and said: "Jin Peng, are you certain it's Chen Juming pulling strings against us?"

"At the very least, she's involved," Jin Peng said. "I sent Ma Qianshan personally to the provincial capital, and we confirmed Cao Yuanmao and Chen Juming were colluding. A few days ago, they even applied for marriage registration in the provincial capital."

"International marriages are complicated—they require applications at specific agencies—so Ma Qianshan didn't have to work too hard to find out."

Li Ye looked at Ma Qianshan and asked: "And then? What did you do?"

If Jin Peng and Ma Qianshan had done nothing, Li Ye figured they wouldn't have come to report to him.

Sure enough, after hearing the question, Ma Qianshan sheepishly replied: "We haven't done much yet. Mainly, Jin Peng said Mu Weimin's last operation was too crude, so we wanted you, Brother Xiao Ye, to review whether this plan is refined enough."

"You have a plan? Tell me about it."

Li Ye was genuinely pleased—his subordinates were no longer acting on impulse alone; they were learning to plan ahead.

But after hearing Jin Peng and Ma Qianshan's plan, Li Ye fell silent for a long time.

Ma Qianshan grew tense—this plan was his idea. If Li Ye got angry and yelled, he'd bear it alone; Jin Peng wouldn't shield him.

Finally, Li Ye clicked his tongue twice and said: "This plan is truly self-damaging and harms others without benefiting yourself—but damn, it's satisfying."

"Phew."

Jin Peng and Ma Qianshan both exhaled and nodded in agreement.

Why must we always benefit ourselves?

Just being satisfied is enough.

Jingcheng.

In a guest room at the Jingcheng Hotel, Chen Juming stood by the window, gazing far toward the southwest.

That was the direction of the Lighthouse Embassy—the dream destination for countless mainlanders seeking to escape.

Even just the chance to queue for an appointment drew fierce competition, though most ended up with a visa denial.

Now, Chen Juming had that queueing chance—and an extremely high approval rate.

All of this was because of what lay behind her in the bathroom.

After submitting their marriage application in the provincial capital, Chen's father used a small portion of the ten thousand U. . dollars to secure their marriage certificate quickly and smoothly.

Then, after twenty years of restraint, Chen Juming was suddenly freed from her chains, succumbing to Cao Yuanmao's fiery passion.

So what if he's ugly? What matters is capability.

How powerful was ten thousand U. . dollars in mainland China in 1984?

Without exaggeration, if Chen's father managed it well, he could easily climb two more rungs on the ladder.

When Chen Juming moved into the luxurious guest room at the Jingcheng Hotel, her last trace of regret shattered completely.

In her twenty-some years of life, Chen Juming had never before felt the power of vanity—but her still-aching legs left her helpless against Cao Yuanmao's frenzy, as if she'd been seized by a gorilla.

"Jieming, what are you daydreaming about?"

As Chen Juming stared out the window, someone wrapped their arms around her waist from behind.

"Oh, I'm thinking about the visa application—I'm heading over soon, and I'm a bit nervous."

"Don't be nervous. Just follow what I told you, and you'll pass easily."

"Mm, I hope so!"

Right now, Chen Juming only wanted to leave this place as fast as possible. If she couldn't escape, she'd lose everything.

After all, people in the 1980s placed great value on virginity.

The Lighthouse Embassy and the Jingcheng Hotel weren't far apart—less than the starting fare of a taxi—but Cao Yuanmao still hired the most expensive one to take Chen Juming there.

After several days of careful observation, Cao Yuanmao understood Chen Juming's nature: she loved vanity and showing off. Spend money wisely, and he could do whatever he wanted to her afterward.

When the fashionably dressed Chen Juming and Cao Yuanmao arrived at the visa office, everyone there stared at them with strange glances—admiration, envy, contempt, all mixed together.

Their appearances were clearly mismatched, but they fit the "rich husband, beautiful wife" stereotype. When Chen Juming casually mentioned that Cao Yuanmao held Lighthouse citizenship, the crowd's expressions shifted dramatically—admiration spiked by over ten percentage points.

"Don't be nervous when you go in. If the visa officer asks why you want to go to the Lighthouse, besides saying it's because of marriage, mention you want to learn their advanced systems and reform the backwardness and ignorance of the mainland—and remember the points I had you memorize."

As he escorted Chen Juming inside, Cao Yuanmao leaned close to her ear and whispered last-minute coaching.

But before he finished, he suddenly felt his ear being yanked—pain so sharp he thought it might be torn off.

"Who? What are you doing? Help! Someone!"

Cao Yuanmao shouted loudly, but when he saw who was twisting his ear, he froze.

He was utterly stunned.

A large, sturdy woman glared at him with bloodshot eyes, her fury seeming ready to burst forth.

"Sent-down youth, you actually came back? You actually found another wife? You actually abandoned your parents?"

Everyone around was stunned—including Chen Juming.

Because Cao Yuanmao had told her he had no parents—so how could this "abandoned parents" thing be happening?

"I don't know you! Let go! Let go! Or I'll call the police!"

Cao Yuanmao, snapping out of shock, struggled to pry the woman's strong hands off his ear while shouting warnings.

Chen Juming, seeing this, rushed over to help, trying to pull the woman's grip away.

The result? It came off easily.

The sturdy woman released Cao Yuanmao's ear and immediately grabbed Chen Juming's hair.

"You seductress! You've bewitched my sent-down youth, made him forget his parents—and me!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Poor Chen Juming had been raised as a delicate young lady—she had no chance against a laboring woman. She was dragged to the ground and slapped several times in an instant.

"Yuanmao, Yuanmao, help me!"

Chen Juming cried out to her husband—but she saw Cao Yuanmao had already run over ten meters away.

Her heart turned cold.

She was a top graduate who had studied abroad—her intelligence was certainly high. She instantly realized Cao Yuanmao had lied to her.

But Cao Yuanmao didn't escape either.

Two elderly white-haired people blocked him—one grabbed each arm and held him tight, no matter how hard he struggled.

"Sent-down youth, we don't ask you to recognize us—but you owe us at least some word! You've been gone five years without a trace—your mother's eyes are nearly wept blind."

"You don't have to acknowledge me as your mother, but you can't deny Xiao Hua—you two were married before heaven and earth—you can't be heartless."

"We never registered—it was feudal superstition, it doesn't count!"

Chen Juming felt the world spin—she no longer felt the pain on her body.

"He has parents? And a wife? Then what am I?"

Even if Cao Yuanmao desperately defended himself, in Chen Juming's mind, a marriage before heaven and earth was real.

For a while, chaos erupted—everyone watched the spectacle; no one cared for Chen Juming.

After what felt like forever, someone helped her up—her gaze blank, like a walking corpse.

Chen Juming tried to leave, but someone blocked her path.

"Hello, comrade. I'm Pan Xiaoqing, a reporter from the Jingcheng Youth Daily. How did you meet this Cao sent-down youth?"

Chen Juming slowly shook her head: "I don't know Cao the sent-down youth. I only know Cao Yuanmao."

Pan Xiaoqing said: "Cao the sent-down youth is Cao Yuanmao. He was adopted by foster parents as a child. Five years ago, he went abroad through his uncle in the Lighthouse—and vanished without a trace."

Chen Juming's eyes flickered—her mind finally cleared.

She immediately countered: "How do you know all this? Reporters aren't the household registration office—how could you know so clearly?"

But Pan Xiaoqing was prepared: "Cao's foster parents once appealed to several newspapers for help."

"Later, we received a tip that Cao the sent-down youth entered Pengcheng under a new name. Then we traced his application for an international marriage."

Hearing Pan Xiaoqing's explanation, Chen Juming erupted with righteous fury: "Why would you care so much? So many missing people go untraced—why are you so invested in Cao Yuanmao?"

If you don't provoke others, why would they target you?

If Cao Yuanmao hadn't been so arrogant, wouldn't Officer Xiao Zhang have just shrugged and never dug into Cao the sent-down youth's past?

Pan Xiaoqing looked puzzled: "Comrade, you're the victim here—we're helping you."

Looking at the righteous Pan Xiaoqing, Chen Juming suddenly felt overwhelming bitterness.

Not long ago, she herself had helped her cousin abandon Li Dayong.

"You know I'm the victim—then please leave me alone?"

Pan Xiaoqing ultimately didn't press Chen Juming further.

Chen Juming staggered back to her guest room at the Jingcheng Hotel, locked herself inside for two days, ignoring Cao Yuanmao's pounding on the door.

She thought: how had she, a promising overseas student, ended up like this?

It seemed... it all started going wrong after she squatted the Fenghua trademark.

Only on the third afternoon, nearly starved, did Chen Juming finally emerge.

Before Cao Yuanmao lay a pile of newspapers—he was grinding his teeth in silent rage.

Chen Juming reached out, snatched a few papers, and read them—then sneered.

The newspapers from two days ago carried reports of Cao Yuanmao abandoning his foster parents—multiple papers ran the story together.

And today's newspaper prominently featured a notice from Pengcheng Baishi stating that Cao Yuanmao was no longer an employee of their company.

Seeing the mockery on Chen Juming's face, Cao Yuanmao said coldly: "Don't ask anything. You have two choices now: either come with me to Lighthouse, or file for divorce tomorrow."

"My uncle owns shops and property in Lighthouse, and I'm his only heir—you'll never want for food or clothing as long as you stay with me."

Looking at Cao Yuanmao, who had suddenly become a different person, Chen Juming was stunned—she knew this mask was his true face, long hidden.

"If I go to Lighthouse like this, will your uncle even recognize me?"

Cao Yuanmao snapped impatiently: "He's nearly dead—does it even matter if he recognizes you? Just take good care of me."

Chen Juming's eyes flickered repeatedly, a hidden flame of revenge stirring within.

"Fine, I'll go with you."

(End of chapter)

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