Chapter 7

On Christmas Eve, Lim Toby ignores Mrs. Lim's threats to stay out all night again, and Lydia ｗａs too lazy to bother. Lim Edith laughed with mockery while biting into a slice of bread, "Now do you understand? When a man doesn't love you, it's useless to play any tricks. He will come back as usual if he wants to, or not if he doesn't." "That makes sense, I can kind of see through it." Lydia smiled blandly and looked at her, "So Edith you need to look away too, Master Ron already has someone he loves. You'll just end up like me if you keep going on like this, it's really too worthless." "You ......!" Lim Edith gasped. Regarding Lim Edith's pursuit of a certain rich young man, friends and family have been watching and have counseled her quite a bit. Although Lydia didn't like to get into the Lim Edith business, she had more or less heard Mrs. Lim mention the man Ron, and rumor had it that Ron had been deeply in love with a woman all these years, and loved her with all her heart. How could someone as brash and arrogant as Lim Edith be in their good graces? Mrs. Lim's presence duly calmed the flames at the table, and the two men lowered their heads to eat their respective meals. Mrs. Lim sat down and asked as she buttered the slices of bread and surveyed Lydia, "Lim Toby didn't come home again last night?" "Yes." Lydia thoughtfully poured her a glass of milk. "The bastard!" Mrs.Lim cursed. "Mom, Ｔｏｂｙ　ｉｓ going to be a father soon, of course, ｈｅ wantｓ to be around ｈｉｓ son more." Lim Edith spat out with a leathery smile, immediately earning a glare from Mrs. Lim. Lydia was unconcerned, looking down at the clock and getting up from her chair, "Mom, I'm going to work first." After a long day of work, Lydia came to her mother's room in the neurology department to help her wipe and change. Over the years, caring for her mother was another must-do task after work every day, and fortunately, she lived in the hospital where she worked, so it was quite easy to care for her. Lydia sighed sadly as she wiped her mother's palms with a towel, "Mom, when are you going to open your eyes and talk to Lydia? Look how big your Lydia has grown." Lydia was eighteen years old when her mother had the accident and hadn't even graduated from college yet, and now five years later, she's more than a big girl, she's a wife. The attending doctor said to her with a difficult face, "Doctor Cheng, hurry up and find a way to pay them more than the 40,000 medical bills you owe the hospital, or I'll have a hard time doing it." "I know, I'll think of something." Lydia looked apologetic, "Doctor Huang, please help me with a few more days. I know it's hard for you, but I really can't raise so much money for a while." Her mother's medical bills had accumulated bit by bit over the years, and even if she had three heads, she would not have been able to pay such expensive medical bills. If not for the help of The Lim Family, her mother would have been gone long ago. That's why she's dead set against divorcing Lim Toby; losing her status as Ｔｏｂｙ＇ｓ　ｗｉｆｅ would give her mother no way to live. "Mr. Shen, remember to use these medicinal waters to scrub the patient's hands and feet so that the skin will improve. Nowadays, with the hot weather, dry temperatures, and the patient not being able to get out of bed for a long time, he will more or less have symptoms of dry and cracked skin ......." Lydia is very sensitive to Mr. Shen's words these days． She couldn't help but turn her head to look at the door of the ward. Unexpectedly, she saw him, the man who had taken her innocence. Shen Ron, who was outside the ward, also happened to see her, stopped in his tracks, hesitated for three seconds, and then stepped in. His gaze fell on the sleeping patient in the hospital bed, and after a careful glance around, he asked Lydia, "Your relatives?" "It's my mother," Lydia replied with an expressionless face. "Oh, it's going to be okay." "Mr. Shen, did I mention that I don't really want to see you." Lydia hadn't really let go of what had happened that night so far, was annoyed by the money thing, and was certainly not in a good mood when she saw Shen Ron. To her, playing one-night stands is shameful and embarrassing, so asking her to treat one-night stand men as friends and peaceful is simply not an option. "Weren't you the one who said we should all forget about that night together?" Shen Ron looked innocent. "I can't get over it alright?" Throwing that down without a good word, Lydia turned and walked quickly out of the ward. Right out of the hospital, Lydia gets a call on the phone from Mrs. Lim, telling her that she has a family gathering tonight and to wait at the hospital for Lim Toby to come and pick her up. While waiting for Lim Toby to pick her up, Lydia sａｗ the newest Bentley slowly pulling out of the hospital parking lot, and the gorgeous man in the driver's seat ｗａs none other than Shen Ron, the last person she expected to see. She instinctively looked away, deliberately ignoring his presence. Shen Ron saw her like that and didn't give her any more trouble, and took a deep step on the gas plus left quickly. Half an hour later, Lim Toby's assistant finally arrived late. Lydia scanned the back seat and didn't see Lim Toby insight as the assistant politely said, "Young lady, the president said he had to come back later and asked me to pick you up." Lydia forced down the loss in her heart and nodded to sit in the carriage. The party was set at the Star Hyatt Hotel and when Lydia arrived, Mrs. Lim and Lim Edith were already in the private room with some people Lydia knew and didn't know. She recognized basically all of The Lim Family's relatives, and as for the ones she hadn't seen, they would be the guests at this house party, right? She thought. Just one thing that kinda puzzled her was that most of the relatives on the other side displayed a surprised look when they saw her as if she was some kind of strange beast. "Lydia, come here." Mrs.Lim waved at her and Lydia dutifully walked over, allowing Mrs.Lim to pull herself over to some people. "Lydia, this is your cousin's aunt." Mrs. Lim introduced herself with a smile as she pointed in front of a noblewoman who was at most fifty years old. "Auntie." She called meekly. "This is Lydia, Toby's wife." "Oh Lydia, what a beautiful girl, Toby is so blessed." The noblewoman finished ogling Lydia and praising her, asking, "How old are you? What school did you graduate from? Do you usually go to the office to help Toby?" "Twenty-three years old, medical school graduate, currently working in a hospital," Lydia answered with a straight face. "A doctor, huh? A very good profession, nice!" "Thank you, Auntie." "This is Shen Belle, the aunt's daughter, whom you must call a cousin by age." Mrs.Lim said again, pointing to the beautiful woman next to the noblewoman. "Cousin." Lydia smiled lightly, the cousin's shout was a little awkward, the woman in front of her didn't look any older than her. Shen Belle scowled at Lydia, a look of wonder on her face, followed by a look of discomfort, a heated smile, and a wave of her hand, "Better call me Belle, calling me sister sounds too old." "What are you talking about, when the generations are there, you have to call them as they are." The noblewoman said with a smile. "Mom, I don't want to be a sister!" Shen Belle pouted, shaking her mother's arm with both hands, causing the crowd to burst into laughter. Mrs.Lim pulled Lydia's hand and Lydia was busy following. "This is Aunties son Shen Ron, you have to call him cousin." Finally, Mrs. Lin added with a smile, "Your cousin is an excellent person who graduated from a famous American university. He was in charge of the development of big projects right after he joined Shen's and has achieved great results, he is an absolute elite type of person. '' Lim Toby is simply one heaven and one earth compared to him!" "Lim Toby is excellent too." Mrs. Shen smiled with deliberate modesty. From the moment she saw Shen Ron, Lydia was stunned, how could it be him? Just now, she hadn't even noticed the man's presence because of the crowd, so it was no wonder she was stunned to see it suddenly. Cousin? She's going to call him her cousin? She's having a one-night stand with a man she's supposed to call her cousin? Isn't this the legendary incest? Shen Ron was not at all surprised, and at the moment was looking at her with a smirking look on his face, clearly enjoying this reaction of hers. "Brother, you said there would be a surprise tonight, is she it?" Shen Belle asked softly as she leaned over to Shen Ron's ear. "That's right." "It's so similar!" Shen Belle mentally tsked, sizing up Lydia again. Seeing Cheng Lydia still staring at Shen Ron, she smiled and joked, "Look, our cousin-in-law is also attracted to big brother." Lydia snapped back to her senses then and was busy withdrawing her gaze from Shen Ron, calling out uncomfortably, "Cousin." "Good boy, cousin will make up your red packet next time." Shen Ron smiled indifferently. Lydia's face, little by little, heated up. Mrs. Lim next introduced her to several other relatives, all of whom she mechanically dealt with and greeted, without remembering any of them. Her heart, the moment she met Shen Ron, was in turmoil. Would The Lim Family be so angry that they would strangle her if they knew she was spending that night with Shen Ron? "That was the Ron Edith had her heart set on just now," whispered Mrs. Lim, suddenly in her ear. Lydia looked up at Mrs. Lim in surprise, who? Who was the Ron that Lim Edith had been thinking of, Shen Ron, weren't they related, and wasn't Lim Edith going to call Shen Ron her uncle? All this time she only knew that the man Lim Edith liked was named Ron, but she didn't want it to be this Shen Ron in front of her. Lydia peeked over at Lim Edith and sure enough, she found her gazing at Shen Ron, who was sitting diagonally across the room, with a fascinated look on her face, not avoiding it in the slightest. Looks like she really likes this guy! "To fall in love with a cousin you're related to by blood Toby is embarrassing, to say the least." Mrs.Lim added. "It's long overdue for our families to get together, and I'm to blame for being so busy that I haven't had time to arrange it in the past two months back home. If your family Lim Toby hadn't suggested a get-together, I wouldn't have thought of it until now." Mrs. Shen said with a smile to The Lim Family relatives. "It's not too late." Mrs.Lim flattered outwardly but was extremely unhappy in her heart. It was said that Mrs. Shen had always been arrogant and it really wasn't ordinary arrogance. "Well have to deal with each other more often in the future." "Yes, yes, yes. ......." "May I ask if we can serve the food now?" The waiter asked Mrs. Shen dress fully. "Toby hasn't arrived yet, has he?" Mrs. Shen scanned the crowd and waved her hand at the waiter, "Just wait a little longer." "Where has Toby been? Why isn't he here yet?" Someone in the crowd asked. Mrs. Lim had called Lim Toby privately several times to urge him on, but he was late in showing up, she smiled at the group somewhat apologetically, "Toby is busy at work, but he should be here soon." As soon as Mrs. Lim's words left her mouth, the door to the private room was suddenly opened and Lim Toby stepped in with Feng Ann on his arm. Once inside, he smiled and greeted the group, "Sorry Im late." The room, which had been bustling with activity, suddenly fell silent as all eyes fell on Lim Toby and Feng Ann by the door, and then on Lydia, obviously wondering why Lim Toby was not with Lydia but had brought another woman with him. "Toby, what did you bring her here for?" Mrs.Lim scolded him lowly in exasperation. Lim Toby gave her a small smile and wrapped his arms around Feng Ann's thin waist, "Mom, Ann is the mother of my children, who will I bring if not her?" "You ...... you!" Mrs.Lim was shaking with anger and pointed her index finger at Feng Ann, "Get out of here!" Mrs.Lim was really pissed off, she felt something was wrong when Lim Toby offered to get together with The Shen Family and she didn't realize there was something fishy going on! "Auntie, don't be angry, I'll just go." Feng Ann sadly flooded with tears and turned around to leave. Although she was ready to be kicked out, she still felt scared to see Mrs. Lim so ａｎｇｒｙ. She swept a quick glance across the round table at Shen Ron, the only one who didn't know what Lim Toby was really up to on this occasion. She's willing to put up with the spectacle of being scorned by everyone as long as she can be with Lim Toby. Lim Toby held her tightly by the waist and rushed to the group, "Mom, while my relatives and friends are here, I am now officially announcing that I am divorcing Cheng Lydia!" The private room was in an uproar. Those who just thought that Lim Toby must be very happy to have such a gentle and quiet wife as Cheng Lydia are now all dumbfounded. Mrs.Lim was already too angry to speak. Although it was not the first time Lydia had heard Lim Toby mention divorce, it was the first time she had done so in front of so many people, and she had never been more embarrassed and humiliated. She sat motionless in her chair with her eyes downcast. Finally, ｓｈｅ understｏｏd the real purpose of Lim Toby's get-together, and it's hard to believe he's so ＇well-intentioned＇. She could feel that Ron was looking at her. Was he laughing at her in his heart too? Laughed at her for having such scum of a husband? He had laughed at her that way on Christmas Day. Lim Toby stepped over and flung the divorce papers in his hand in front of Cheng Lydia, the wind from the paper curling up ruffled her hair at the corners of her forehead, she closed her eyes and raised her hand to tear the divorce papers to shreds. "I'm not getting a divorce." She raised a stubborn, arrogant smile at Lim Toby. Did he embarrass her in front of so many people? Naturally, she couldn't just let him go free so easily. If he can be heartless, she can be unrighteous! "You're crazy!" Lim Toby resisted the urge to ｓｌａｐ her. Lydia sneered at him, "I think you're the one whos crazy, even if you like acting, you have to look at the occasion and the place, right?" "Continue your drama, I'm out of here!" Throwing that down, Lydia turned around and walked quickly towards the door of the private room. Cheng Lydia ｗａs not a weak person and hardly sheds a tear in front of people during the week, no matter how much Lim Toby treats her and hurts her. But today, she cried and cried alone. The wind blowing head-on hit my face like a knife. It wasn't much colder in early autumn, but she felt as if her whole body was in the depths of winter, cold to the bone. As a husband, Lim Toby left her alone with the kidnappers, brought home a mistress, set her up with a strange man, and today embarrassed her in front of so many elders and relatives. How can one be so desperate if one is not a snake at heart? When she thought of how full of joy and emotion she had felt when she first married him three years ago, Lydia felt just ridiculous. The bright flashy lights formed a long column of lights in her eyes, blurring her vision, and she wiped a hand haphazardly at her tears and just kept walking and walking, with no purpose, yet unable to stop at all, because she didn't know what she could do if she stopped. It wasn't until a figure appeared in front of her that she braked abruptly. The figure was not Lim Toby, and certainly not any member of The Lim Family, but the kidnapper who had abducted her. "Where are you heading in such a hurry?" The kidnapper smiled at her with a mouthful of big slatted teeth, and when he saw the tears on her face, he immediately added, "I just have one word for you today, you can't leave without giving　ｍｅ the money." "I don't have any money." Lydia steadied herself and turned to him coldly. "No money? What did you promise me in the first place? Do you want to renege?" The kidnapper said and reached out his palm to grab her wrist, Lydia avoided it but didn't dodge it. She was a weak girl, how could she be a match for this tall kidnapper? "What do you want in public?" The kidnapper snapped her wrist and sneered as he threatened, "Either pay back the money or accompany 　ｍｅ to find a place to have fun ......." The kidnapper said as he brought his mouth up to her face, while still deliberately saying, "Good girl, my dear wife, stop it, I know I'm wrong, let's talk about it at home." Lydia struggled furiously, thinking that someone passing by could help call the police or something, but everyone thought it was a couple having a falling out, and no one would bother with such nonsense. Being dragged by her kidnapper in the crook of her arm, she was anxious and angry, but she didn't know what to do when she suddenly felt another silhouette wavering in front of her, followed by the kidnapper falling to the ground with an ouch and wailing, while she fell into the arms of another person. For a moment she thought it was Lim Toby who had come to her rescue, for as far as she could remember, he was the only one with such a nice scent, such a generous embrace. When she looked up, what met her eyelids was a handsome face more aesthetically pleasing than Lim Tobys, the man she had once had a night with, the man she should have called her cousin. "Who are you? Who the hell are you to meddle in our business?" The kidnapper didn't expect anyone to rush up to stop him and glared at Shen Ron indignantly. "I'm her cousin, is that status enough?" Shen Ron raised his fine jaw at him, his gaze sullen and cold. Cousin ....... Lydia is really squirmy about the name-calling. Upon hearing that it was a relative of Lydias and such a cold, tall man, the kidnapper's tone softened, but still, didn't show any weakness, "She owes me money and has been putting it off for quite some time." Shen Ron looks down at Lydia in his arms and asks the kidnapper, "How much is owed?" "Two hundred thousand." "Two hundred thousand and you've made my cousin cry． Ｙou ｄｏ　not want to see the sun tomorrow，　ｒｉｇｈｔ?" "......" The kidnapper felt he was being teased, and as he tried to get up and counterattack in annoyance, Shen Ron pulled a business card out of his pocket and tossed it to him, "Pick up your check from Shen's finance department tomorrow morning at ten. " The kidnapper picked up the business card with a suspicious look and carefully examined it, then looked up at Shen Ron again, the president of Shen Group? Really? Whether it was true or not, he couldn't believe that there was someone in the world who would be so quick to offer 200,000 without even asking why? "How do I know if you're lying to me for fun?" He voiced his heartfelt suspicions. Shen Ron raised an eyebrow at him and sneered, "Do you have any choice but to trust me now?" That's true! The kidnapper got up from the ground and took off in a huff. After the kidnappers left, Lydia broke away from Shen Ron's arm around her and corrected herself faintly, "It's a cousin-in-law, not a cousin." Shen Ron scowled at her face, still hanging, and let out a laugh, "I thought the first thing you would do is cry bitterly and thank me for sａｖｉｎｇ you or cower and hide in my arms and beg for hugs and comfort, which is how a woman should behave." "Thanks are due, but hugs are not." Lydia looked away. "Tell me, how did you end up owing him so much money?" Shen Ron's casual question triggered a fresh splash of tears to well up from within Cheng Lydia's eyes. She obviously didn't want to cry in front of him, but she still didn't control herself. Shen Ron saw the tears on her face, his heart softened, and he couldn't help but raise his hand and wipe the tears from her face with his fingertips. The action is very light, very soft as if she is his treasure in the palm of his hand, the heart's love. Looking at her, it was as if he saw Yang June again, his wife who would never smile at him or cry at him again. If it was his June instead, he would never have let her be so upset. Cheng Lydia doesn't understand how she got into Shen Ron's car and how she followed him to this strange place. Glancing around at the scene outside the car window, she noticed that this was the eastern bank of the river road, where the lights along the river were bright and countless couples were holding hands and walking against the wind. She also didn't understand why Shen Ron had brought her here, how could she fit into a place like this where couples gathered at this point? "Where should I send you?" Shen Ron had his hands on the steering wheel and didn't turn off the engine. "Please take me home." She said there was nowhere else for her to go but The Lim Family. "Which family? The Lim Family?" "Hmm." "I thought you'd never go back." Shen Ron spoke with mockery. "Ｉ　ａｍ　ｓｔｉｌｌ Lim Tobys wife." Cheng Lydia was annoyed by the mockery that permeated his tone. "I really don't understand what's left to hold on to in a marriage like this." Shen Ron restarted the car. "Stop the car!" Lydia yelled in annoyance. The car re-stopped and Lydia pushed the door open and stepped out with one foot, leaning down to stare at him as she flung the door shut. "Mr.Shen, you're not qualified to make any judgments on my life without having come this far. Thank you for the two hundred thousand, I will definitely pay it back as soon as possible." With that, she turned and walked away, walking stubbornly and forlornly. Shen Ron raised an eyebrow at her back and lost his smile as he stepped deep on the accelerator and the car quickly crossed over her in the direction of home.