Chapter 32: I Am Your Husband

Shen Chutang had a can of cola in her pocket, a bag of chips tucked under her arm, half a bag of tangerines in hand, and was holding a handful of sunflower seeds as the chief gently coaxed her out of the police station.

“I’ll be going now,” she said.

The chief gave her a kindly smile. “Alright, just go ahead bravely.”

Don’t look back!

The young officers behind them were puzzled—how was it that their usually stern boss was suddenly beaming with such joy?

The chief patted one of their shoulders with deep meaning. “You’re still young. There are a lot of twists and turns in this business you don’t understand yet.”

Not far away, a car was parked. Inside, Zhang Chuan looked in astonishment at the young woman in the distance. Was this how detainees were treated after being caught?

“President Lu, are we still going to the police station?” he asked.

Lu Beiqin was also surprised, though his face betrayed nothing. “You, get out of the car.”

Zhang Chuan didn’t dare hesitate and quickly got out. Curiosity about the girl’s identity overwhelmed him. Could she be the one rumored to have married Lu Beiqin? She was strikingly beautiful, but so young—surely his boss wouldn’t stoop so low as to target a minor?

Lu Beiqin slid into the driver’s seat, removed his expensive tie clip, tossing it aside, and then drove over to Shen Chutang. He got out and opened the passenger door.

“Get in. I’ll take you home.”

Shen Chutang looked up at him in surprise, a fleeting delight on her face. “Why are you here?”

Lu Beiqin lied with practiced ease, “I saw the news about you, so I took time off to come see you.”

Shen Chutang climbed into the car and, without hesitation, dumped her newly acquired snacks on his seat. “Help yourself to whatever you like.”

Lu Beiqin asked, “What happened, exactly?”

Shen Chutang grinned. “They said I was innocent, so of course they had to let me go.”

She animatedly recounted how Liu Shuhua and the other two had put on a whole act of theft themselves. “With brains like theirs, they still tried to frame me—hmph!”

Lu Beiqin frowned slightly. “I’m sorry you had to face all this alone.”

Shen Chutang was taken aback; she hadn’t expected Lu Beiqin to apologize.

“It’s fine, they didn’t really do anything to me,” she replied.

After all, to Shen Chutang, those three were hardly a threat.

At a red light, Lu Beiqin stepped on the brake. His strikingly handsome face grew serious as he looked at her. “If anything like this happens again, you can call me. Strictly speaking, I’m your husband now, am I not?”

Shen Chutang’s cheeks flushed. “Okay.”

…

Barely half an hour later, a deluge of news reports flooded the internet.

It was all a misunderstanding: the eldest daughter of the Shen family had been wrongfully arrested. Shen Meili, Liu Shuhua, and Shen Chutang had been taken in for questioning over filing a false report. Shen Meili had staged the theft of jewelry worth millions, while Shen Chutang had been brought in for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

The comment section exploded.

“Oh my god, just how much does the Shen family dislike their eldest daughter? They even called the cops on her for theft. No matter how much you guard against outsiders, you can’t guard against your own family framing you!”

“And the second Miss Shen studied abroad and still has such a vicious heart!”

“Disgusting—wasting public resources!”

The comments were filled with outrage. Shen Xuejun, livid, smashed a cup on the sofa.

The evidence of Shen Tingting assaulting an officer was incontrovertible; she’d have to be detained for ten days. Shen Meili and Liu Shuhua, for filing a false report, not only faced fines but would be detained for five days.

Inside the detention center, Shen Meili stood with her hands on her hips, shouting angrily. “Do you even know who I am? How dare you detain me! Get your chief in here!”

“Ma’am, please cooperate,” said an officer.

“Cooperate, my foot! My husband is—”

Before she could finish, she saw Jiang Gaocheng walk in with a lawyer. Elation flashed across her face. “Dear, you’re finally here! Tell the lawyers to sue them all—they dared detain me; they must be out of their minds!”

The lawyer handed her a document. “Ms. Shen, Mr. Jiang has signed the divorce papers. If everything looks correct, please sign as well.”

A loud buzzing filled Shen Meili’s ears and her face changed color. “Jiang Gaocheng, you’re divorcing me over something this trivial?”

Jiang Gaocheng’s face was stern. “Trivial? You really never learn. Do you think your aging looks still count for anything? Today, we’re getting divorced, no matter what!”

He’d received reliable information: Shen Meili had offended someone truly powerful. He still didn’t know how Shen Chutang, that little nobody, had gotten involved with such a big shot, but there was no way he’d risk offending that person for the sake of this old shrew. Better to find himself a younger, prettier woman.

Shen Meili felt as if the sky had collapsed. She sat on the ground, crying and wailing, unable to believe that her entire life had been ruined by a mere slip of a girl.