Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Mr. Li slammed his palm on the tabletop.

“You need something?” Chu Lui turned around. An unpleasant stench filled the house with the bunch of irrelevant people.

“Chu Lui, why did you watch my company go bust without doing anything? What is your motive?” Mr. Li stood up angrily. He had aged by almost a few decades as he watched his whole life’s work go bust. It would be different if his son-in-law had lent them a helping hand.

“You did it on purpose. You must have. You did such an unscrupulous thing because you wanted to divorce Manni. Are you still a human?”

“Chu Lui, you are crazy.” Mrs. Li couldn’t contain herself any longer after she heard what her husband had said. She raised her hand and tried to reach Chu Lui’s face. Being slapped in the face would only happen once for Chu Lui. It didn’t mean a second time would occur. He wouldn’t be such an easy target this time around.

Chu Lui reached out and blocked Mrs. Li’s hand. On the account of her advanced age, he had no wish to retaliate; and he didn’t want to dirty his hands.

He lay his ice-cold eyes on Li Manni, and his lack of emotion caused her to shudder. She rested her hand on her stomach and told herself that everything was fine. It would be fine. She had the baby. That’s right. She still had the baby—the Chu’s bloodline.

She thought Chu Lui would at least say something to her, but there was nothing. He merely turned around and headed up the stairs.

His departing silhouette projected despair of those in the house.

“Look at him.” Mrs. Li gestured at his back. She was so angry that she was beginning to have chest pains.

“Okay.” Mr. Li cut Mrs. Li off. “Can you stop it? We are depending on someone else for a place to live. What else do you want to do?”

“Depend on someone for a place to live?” Mrs. Li sneered. “This is my daughter’s house. What can he do if I want to live here for the rest of my life?”

Li Manni stood up. She couldn’t be bothered with the embarrassing details of her parents’ fight.

She went back to her room. The wedding portrait taken four years ago was hanging inside. Its color had faded, and it didn’t look as bright and nice as it used to be. If the colors of a photograph could fade, what about relationships? Some color remained on the portrait, but her marriage was no more.

Chu Lui went back to his parents’ house. He couldn’t be bothered with that family living in his home. Just a few days more. Everything would be over in a few more days.

“Dad, Mom, I have something to tell you.”

Chu Lui sat between his parents. His expression was especially somber as was his feelings which were heavy. Chu Jiang and Song Wan couldn’t help but feel the anxiety building up within them. Had something really gone wrong?

“Speak.” Chu Jiang straightened his back. He had anticipated what his son was going to say. “If you don’t tell us a valid reason, I won’t permit you to get a divorce.”

Song Wan suddenly tensed up, but she didn’t know why. She glanced at Chu Jiang, and her palms were sweaty. Chu Jiang gripped her hands. It was the same for both of them. Both of their palms were sweaty.

An ineffable tension, an ineffable suppression, and an ineffable fear.

“Dad, Mom, I’m getting a divorce with Manni,” Chu Lui told them again. He was divorcing Li Manni, and it was final. However, why was he so set on crushing the Li family was because he wasn’t letting any of them off easily. He could ruin them and break them up, but that wouldn’t cure him or allow him to have his own biological child. He could tear them apart, but they would still survive their ordeal.

Chu Jiang stared at Chu Lui, his eyes unblinking.

“Reason?”

He said that word. Yes, he wanted a reason. If it was for the right reason, he would give his blessing for Chu Lui to have his divorce even if that meant offending many others. Regardless, he would still permit his son. However, if Chu Lui didn’t have suitable reasoning, he wouldn’t allow the divorce to happen even if he had to disown his own son.

Chu Lui’s lips pursed into a very tight line.

“Dad, Mom, you don’t agree with the divorce because of the baby in Li Manni’s stomach?”

No one responded because it was the truth. If it wasn’t for that baby, Song Wan wouldn’t have to spend so much time to prepare soup and food and be scoffed at by Mrs. Li. She was doing all that—tolerating Mrs. Li—all because of her son and her unborn grandchild.

Chu Lui could taste the bitterness in his mouth. He found it hard to speak out about some things now that he would be baring all his wounds and his embarrassment out in broad daylight. It would be tough and bloody.

“Dad, Mom, the baby in Li Manni’s stomach is not mine.”

Clank. Song Wan dropped her cup on the table. It shattered into pieces like her heart. This mustn’t be. It couldn’t be possible. She was in disbelief.

Li Manni was not that kind of person. Besides, she had enjoyed being Mrs. Chu so why would she commit adultery? Song Wan wasn’t being boastful of her son. Chu Lui’s net worth was a famous topic in the business industry. Even though he was married, many women were still attracted to him like a moth attracted to fire. Many tried to flock around him. They were so persistent that their attempts followed one after another in succession. No matter how stupid Li Manni was, she wouldn’t have left her capable son for another man.

On the other hand, she knew her son wasn’t a saint either, but he had his own principles. He wasn’t one to trump-up charges against a person unless he had irrefutable proof.

... Which only meant that he was speaking the truth right now. All that he was telling them was a fact.

“Are you sure?” Chu Jiang asked his son. His expression wasn’t looking very good. No, he actually looked worse than his son. Being made a cuckold wasn’t only Chu Lui’s humiliation. It was the entire Chu family’s shame.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Chu Lui opened his eyes. No one could see the suppression in his dark eyes or the pain and bitterness in his dark eyes.

“Can it be a mistake?” Song Wan was still in disbelief. The baby was merely a month old in Li Manni’s stomach. She was harboring the thought and holding on hoping that the baby might be Ah Lui’s. She wouldn’t be able to bear it. Her grandchild would be born in a few months, and she would be able to cuddle him. Alas, it was not meant to be. It would be a cold day in hell when she would carry her own grandchild.

“No.” Chu Lui held his mother’s hands tightly. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

Song Wan felt an ache in her heart. As she patted her son’s hand, she realized that the saddest person in the room wasn’t Chu Jiang or her. It was their son, Chu Lui. He had been arrogant since young. As a child and when he reached adulthood, everything had been smooth sailing for him. He was intelligent and had good grades. They never had to worry about him. Even when he had taken control of the company, he had excelled in it. However, why had it been so tough for him in terms of being in a relationship?

“We’re fine. Your father and I can afford to wait for a few more years.” Song Wan consoled her son, but anyone could see the tears in her eyes. She was heartbroken. After all, they had been expecting a soon-to-be-born grandchild. Now, there was nothing. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t sad at all.

There was no outward reaction from Chu Jiang. Compared to Song Wan’s sensuality, he was clearly more logical.