Chapter 23#

Phoenix Man (9)#

The corners of Qiao Yi’s lips lifted slightly. “Since I’m asking for your help, Mr. Yu, naturally I won’t have you work for nothing. How about this—if you’re willing, free up your time tomorrow from 2:00 to 5:00 PM for me.”

This time slot was during Wang Cheng’s work hours, and ordinarily nothing unexpected would lead him to seek out Yu Zhao. It was perfect for discussing matters.

Besides, taking gifts makes one’s hands soft, and eating makes one’s mouth short. Compared with moving people through emotion, he preferred moving them through money.

Yu Zhao wanted to say something more, but distracted by his mother lying in the operating room, he opened his mouth, then found some words hard to utter.

Qiao Yi waved at him. “Alright, you head back. As for me, it’s time I went home too.”

He rolled up his window, stared straight ahead, and said, “Driver, please go.”

Having spent quite a bit of time with Yu Zhao, Qiao Yi returned home almost two hours later than usual. Wang Cheng asked, “Where did you go? Why are you back so late? I called and you didn’t answer. Your parents said they didn’t see you either.”

He knew Qiao Yi had been going to driving school every day lately, but driving practice wouldn’t take that long.

“Traffic jam, then I grabbed a bite outside.” Qiao Yi glanced at the beautifully arranged fruit platter on the table. “You bought so many cherries today. What’s the happy occasion?”

From the original owner’s memories, Wang Cheng had grown up poor and was thrifty with spending—unless he was in a good mood, he would splurge on expensive fruits he normally couldn’t bear to buy.

If he wasn’t mistaken, when he walked in, Wang Cheng had been humming a tune. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood.

“No special occasion. I just went to see a movie with an old classmate after work. The movie was pretty good, and on the way back I saw fresh fruit, so I bought some. You love these, after all. Bought them especially for you.”

His direct superior was a close uncle of Qiao Yi’s, and some people there also knew Qiao Yi. The circle was small, so he didn’t plan to make up lies about being at home.

Besides, he hadn’t lied. Yu Zhao was indeed his old classmate. Though he’d concealed part of the truth, it was still the truth. He said this without any guilt—open and honest.

Qiao Yi couldn’t help taking a closer look at Wang Cheng. If he hadn’t seen Wang Cheng on the way back, he might have actually believed this nonsense. He really couldn’t understand how the other could be so composed and unashamed.

But then again, he supposed those who keep the home flag flying while having colorful pennants outside mostly have strong hearts. If they can’t even fool themselves, how could they fool others?

It was just acting—who couldn’t do that? Qiao Yi sighed, flopping onto the sofa as if exhausted. “You’re happy enough, but I’m not. The company assigned me a business trip.”

Wang Cheng’s ears perked up. Qiao Yi going on a trip was great news for him.

He’d finally made some progress with Yu Zhao, and now was the time to strike while the iron was hot. But with Qiao Yi around, he couldn’t spend much time with Yu Zhao.

Still, he couldn’t let any joy show on his face. He turned around, his smile replaced by exaggerated disappointment. “So sudden? We’ve only been married a short while. You’ve been practicing driving every day, so we’ve hardly had any time together. And your department manager—he should be more considerate of his employees.”

He had to admit, Wang Cheng was an outstanding actor. Clearly he wasn’t home and was enjoying his affair on the side, yet when it came to Qiao Yi, it became Qiao Yi’s fault.

Qiao Yi wasn’t pleased either. “Listen to yourself. I’m practicing driving to make things convenient for both of us. Our commutes aren’t in the same direction. I can’t ask you to drive me every day. And as for the business trip, it’s not like I have a choice.”

Wang Cheng softened his tone and conceded. “Right, right, right. It’s my fault. So how many days will this trip take?”

Qiao Yi said, “Probably ten days to half a month. Something about an event. I won’t be back before the first of next month.”

Wang Cheng exclaimed dramatically, “That long?”

Qiao Yi looked up at him. “What? I feel like you sound pretty happy I’m going away.”

Wang Cheng hastily replied, “Not at all. I’m unhappy, of course. But I just thought—a longer trip is better than a day or two. I once had a business trip that was nonstop; I’d barely get back before I had to leave again. It wore me out. Just think of it as a nice little vacation. We don’t have kids yet, so buy whatever you want.”

“There’s a line from something: ‘In life, the most important thing is to be happy.’”

Feeling he hadn’t performed perfectly, Wang Cheng added, “When are you leaving? Want me to see you off?”

Qiao Yi straightened up. “My flight is around six tomorrow. I’ll leave straight from the company, so no need to trouble you.”

Indeed, he preferred sitting upright. Slouching on the sofa made him feel like he was falling apart.

Wang Cheng said solicitously, “Why be so formal between husband and wife? But it’s pretty rushed—not enough time to prepare. It’s getting late, so you go take a shower. I’ll pack your luggage. You rest early.”

His behavior could easily be described as that of a model husband. If every time he cheated, he treated his spouse better out of guilt, it was understandable why the deceived original owner had sunk deeper into the quagmire.

Qiao Yi loosened his tie. He didn’t want to seem too distant. “Then help me get my suitcase and documents, and prepare a few thousand in cash and some cards. I’ll handle the rest myself—otherwise I won’t be able to find anything.”

Since Wang Cheng was so eager to show off, why stop him?

The next day at 3 PM, Qiao Yi met with Yu Zhao. Beside him was the suitcase Wang Cheng had packed for him the day before.

Yu Zhao, doing this sort of thing for the first time, looked a bit nervous. He’d agreed to Qiao Yi yesterday on impulse, but after thinking it over, he didn’t regret it. His mother’s condition had been critical, and if he hadn’t gotten there in time to sign the surgery consent form, her condition might have been delayed.

But pretending nothing had happened and acting as someone else’s fake lover—that was a bit too much for him. He steeled himself. “Mr. Qiao, I really want to help, but I feel like if I see Wang Cheng now, I’ll want to punch him in the face. If I have to play nice and affectionate with him, I’m afraid I’ll blow it and ruin your plans.”

He took out his phone and placed it in front of Qiao Yi. “Here are the chat records between Wang Cheng and me. They should serve as evidence of his cheating, right? If you need it in court, I’ll be willing to testify.”

“Mr. Yu, I think you misunderstand. Though TV dramas love showing cheaters leaving with nothing, China’s marriage law doesn’t stipulate that. The court may consider the cheating party at fault and slightly favor the other side in child custody and property division.”

To get a smooth divorce without letting Wang Cheng take advantage, Qiao Yi had thoroughly studied domestic marriage law these past few days.

“Because the government encourages marriage and childbirth, the latest revision of the marriage law makes divorce harder. Even if his adultery goes to court, the court will generally try to reconcile rather than separate them.”

He could pressure Wang Cheng with his current job, but with Wang Cheng’s education and ability, he definitely wouldn’t give up a larger share of the property just for a job.

Besides, Wang Cheng’s father was the kind of rural bully who had no qualms about being shameless for profit. If things weren’t handled properly, he’d surely come making a scene. To achieve his goal, Qiao Yi had to act decisively and quickly.

“Then… what do I do?” Yu Zhao had never even been in a relationship in his twenty-plus years, let alone dealt with a divorce.

Qiao Yi glanced at his suitcase. “I’m going on a business trip today.”

The business trip was real; he hadn’t lied to Wang Cheng.

“You mean…?”

“Your mother is sick and needs surgery. That takes a lot of money, right?”

“It’s not too bad. I bought medical insurance for her, so part is covered. I also had some savings I was planning to use for a business, but now I’ll use it for the surgery.” He wouldn’t borrow money from others until he was at the end of his rope. At worst, life would be harder, as long as his mother survived.

“In this situation, I want you to keep this quiet. For your mother’s surgery expenses, I want you to inflate the amount and then borrow the money from Wang Cheng.”

“What?” Yu Zhao could barely contain his shock. He wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him.

“I’ve done my research. If it’s just adultery, and the other party doesn’t agree to divorce, it would take at least a year. But if I catch him transferring marital assets, it will take at most one month.” This country valued the protection of private property very highly.

For other money, Wang Cheng could argue that Qiao Yi knew about it. But would a wife ever lend a large sum to her husband’s lover’s mother for surgery? Of course not.

Qiao Yi smiled again. “To marry me, Wang Cheng barely had any personal savings. So if he wants to borrow money, he’ll have to touch the joint marital assets.”

To get more, Wang Cheng had indeed contributed some money. All his savings—about a hundred thousand yuan—had gone into the car he now drove.

The remaining savings and other valuables were mostly brought by Qiao Yi. Since Qiao Yi hadn’t bothered to have them notarized, they had now become marital property.

But to lend out a large sum without his wife finding out, Wang Cheng would definitely choose to hide assets.

When a person loses his head for “true love,” he’s capable of anything.