Chapter 9: The Abandoned First Wife 2

Of all things in life, the one thing Li Tian'er despised most was a man who carried on affairs behind his partner's back.

Only yesterday, she had still believed that Tang Songyuan cherished Li Ya deeply. She had gone through an intense internal struggle just to agree to a separation, and had even felt overwhelmingly guilty, desperately wishing she could find some way to compensate Tang Songyuan.

To think the truth was such a clichéd, melodramatic mess!

Li Ya's terminal illness had probably been brought on entirely by the anger and grief caused by Tang Songyuan and his mistress. If Li Ya were to die of her illness, outsiders would likely praise Tang Songyuan as a model husband, having stayed faithfully by his sick wife's side until the very end of her journey.

How utterly ridiculous! Men were always so skilled at putting on one face in public and another in private. An older man like Tang Songyuan was a master actor; he practically deserved an Academy Award for Best Performance.

No! She could not let that despicable pair off so easily.

Li Tian'er wandered around the villa, upstairs and down, then headed out to the garage and sat inside the Bentley for two full minutes. In the end, she resolved not to let Tang Songyuan off the hook lightly.

Even though she had no desire to live with Tang Songyuan, she refused to let the scumbag get a divorce just because he wanted one. The scumbag had to be punished; she was determined not to let Tang Songyuan enjoy a happy life with his mistress.

Step one...

She pulled open the desk drawer, took out a brand-new notebook, and after a brief moment of contemplation, Li Tian'er began drafting her action plan.

Ever since marrying Tang Songyuan, Li Ya had been a full-time housewife. Frugal and industrious, she never cared for styling her hair or dressing up. Virtually all the clothes in her wardrobe had been bought for her by Tang Songyuan.

When buying clothes for women, men simply relied on the salesclerks' recommendations, rarely considering coordination or personal style—let alone realizing that a woman's attire required a seamless harmony from the inside out. Thus, while Li Ya's facial features and figure were flawless, her fashion sense was enough to make anyone speechless.

Step one: A complete physical makeover.

Step two...

Tang Songyuan claimed he was leaving with nothing, having driven away the other luxury car from the garage. But he had a company and a career; he undoubtedly had savings as well. He might even own other real estate.

Tang Songyuan had left both the villa and the Bentley to Li Ya, but how was Li Ya supposed to afford the upkeep for a house and a car?

Even though the house was mortgage-free, the monthly utility bills and property management fees were no small expenses. Furthermore, Li Ya could never afford the annual insurance premiums, dealership maintenance fees, and fuel costs for the Bentley.

Step two: Audit all marital property, and demand the return of everything the mistress had taken.

Step three...

Li Tian'er held her pen against her cheek, hesitating for a moment. She was weighing whether it would be better to start her own business or to take over Tang Songyuan's company completely. Joining Tang Songyuan's firm would give her a position of power to keep him under constant surveillance, leaving him no time to spend with other women.

Step three: Join Tang Songyuan's company. She wrote it down, only to cross it out immediately. Her original intention was not to entangle herself with Tang Songyuan, but to draw a sharp blade and exact revenge on the scumbag. Rather than joining Tang Songyuan's company and facing him day in and day out, it would be far better to become his competitor—driving him to distraction so he would have neither the peace of mind to carry on extramarital affairs nor the mood to dally with his various mistresses.

Step three: Establish her own company, poach Tang Songyuan's business clients, and ultimately swallow up his company whole! Then, kick him to the curb once and for all, reducing him to a penniless man with neither a home nor a fortune!

Tang Songyuan's company was called Songyuan Industrial. Li Tian'er tapped her fingers on the desk like playing the piano, a flash of inspiration striking her mind as she immediately wrote down: "Liya Industrial."

"Perfect! Time to put the plan into action."

She never hesitated once she made up her decision. She immediately drove out, setting her phone's GPS for the city's most expensive beauty and hair salon to get a makeover and a facial. By the time she finished the entire routine and returned home, it was already eleven-thirty at night.

Li Tian'er did not feel tired in the least; instead, her heart thrummed with excitement and thrill. She felt that only from this moment onward had she truly begun her new life as Li Ya.

Li Ya, you are so beautiful! You deserve better than everything else!

Li Tian'er looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes filled with delight. She was extremely satisfied with her new image.

The phone resting on the living room table began to ring persistently. Mother Li's profile picture bounced across the screen.

The old woman was probably calling to hit her up for money again. Li Tian'er did not want to answer, but neither did she want to abruptly hang up on Mother Li. She pressed the mute button and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window.

After two unanswered calls, Mother Li had no choice but to hang up and dial Tang Songyuan instead. Tang Songyuan answered and informed her that Li Ya had already been discharged, that the hospital had misdiagnosed her, and that Li Ya was currently in good health.

Mother Li immediately burst into joyful laughter. She had genuinely been worried about her daughter's illness. Her son was useless and knew only how to squander money, while her own early retirement pension barely covered household expenses. Her daughter was her lucky star, her entire world. Realizing from the sound of Tang Songyuan's voice that he did not seem to be at home, Mother Li asked if Li Ya was home alone. Tang Songyuan paused for a moment. "Yes, she's home alone. I probably won't be able to return for a while."

"Oh, then go on with your work. I'll head over right now to keep her company."

With her son-in-law away from home, going to stay with her daughter for a few days was entirely justified. Mother Li had long wanted to freeload in the grand villa, but had never found the opportunity.

Just as Mother Li was getting ready to head out, her younger son, Li Xuan, returned home accompanied by a young woman. Unwilling to let her son run wild with a young girl, she had no choice but to stay seated in the living room to keep watch, occasionally knocking on her son's bedroom door until she finally annoyed him enough to make him come out.

"Mom isn't saying you shouldn't date, but look at that girl—she's much too young. If anything happens, won't you ruin your own life? You'd better find a proper person to date..."

"I know, stop nagging. Haven't you gone to ask my sister for that two hundred thousand yet? They've already hounded me several times. If I don't give them the money soon, they won't hang out with me anymore."

Li Xuan spoke with a look of resentment, leaving Mother Li too cowed to utter a word. By the time she watched her son send the young girl off, it was already the middle of the night, and she felt it was simply too late to head out.

Early the next morning, Mother Li eagerly rang the doorbell, but waited for a long time without her daughter opening the door. When she called again, Li Ya finally answered.

Hearing that her daughter was not at home felt like having a basin of cold water poured over Mother Li's head.

"Even if you're not sick, you shouldn't be running around everywhere. Where are you? I'll come find you."

She refused to go back home without seeing her daughter today. She had no desire to look at her son's sour face ever again.

Li Tian'er sat in a cafe, gazing out at the bright, clear weather outside, feeling an immense sense of well-being. Her aversion toward Mother Li was not as intense as before. Since wandering the streets alone was boring, having Mother Li tag along to keep her company actually sounded rather nice. Along the way, she could also fish for some information regarding Tang Songyuan's assets. Sometimes, old women had much more reliable sources of news.

Li Tian'er dragged Mother Li along to eat street snacks, browse shopping malls, and even catch a blockbuster movie on a giant IMAX screen. Mother Li had not enjoyed such carefree leisure in ages; her mouth was split in a wide grin from ear to ear as she spilled everything she knew about Tang Songyuan to Li Tian'er.

"I remember he owns quite a few commercial storefronts. It seems the entire South City Auto Mall belongs to him. His family has been wealthy, buying up land and doing business ever since his grandfather's generation..."