Having been held by the throat by An Qiuyan for so long, Shen Mingjue finally understood.
If his identity were exposed, he would undoubtedly lose everything.
But how well would An Qiuyan fare?
Her reputation was already in tatters. If she left him, the young master of the Shen family, what man would possibly fancy her, a worn-out shoe that had been trampled on by others?
Therefore, she absolutely wouldn't dare to expose him.
With this realization, Shen Mingjue became even more audacious.
He grabbed An Qiuyan by her hair, "I hate it the most when people threaten me. If you behave yourself, this young master, out of our past affections, might still spare you some money to spend. If you dare to threaten this young master again, I'll make sure you can neither live nor die. Try me if you don't believe me!"
"You, you—"
An Qiuyan, caught in his grip, was so furious her whole body trembled.
Indeed, just as Shen Mingjue feared the exposure of his background, she also feared that once Shen Mingjue lost everything, she would be cast out and gain nothing.
Both sides had their reservations. Although they hated each other deeply, they could only get along in a faltering manner.
The Jian family villa.
Dad Jian and Mom Jian had been following the news about Jiang Ling for the past few days.
They sat on the sofa watching television. Dad Jian poured a cup of honey lemon water and handed it to Mom Jian, "For losing weight and beauty, a cup every day!"
Mom Jian pouted, "We're an old couple, why lose weight?"
"For beauty! Look how haggard you've become arguing with Ah Zhou recently!"
Mom Jian's expression changed. She quickly took out a mirror from her bag and examined herself meticulously, not overlooking any detail around her eyes and brows.
Women are vain, and the older they get, the more they fear their looks fading.
Mom Jian cared a lot about her appearance, afraid of becoming a plain housewife due to any oversight.
In her opinion, a woman, regardless of her age, should always be beautiful, even if she were to die that day, she should leave the world looking her best.
Dad Jian chuckled, "Why be so afraid? You already have a son and grandchildren. No one will dislike you even if you grow old."
Mom Jian shot him a glare, "A woman's beauty is for her admirer, I dress up to please myself, not for anyone else. Even when I'm old, I'll be the most beautiful, most elegant old lady!"
Dad Jian smiled and changed the subject, "Now that Jiang Ling's identity has been exposed, what are your plans?"
Mom Jian's face stiffened, "What plans? Her identity is exposed, what does that have to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Dad Jian was amused, "It's come to this, and you still won't budge?"
"Budge on what?"
Ever since Jiang Ling's background was revealed during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mom Jian had been engaged in an internal struggle, agonizing over it repeatedly, but unable to convince herself.
"Why won't you budge? Where is she not good enough for him?"
Dad Jian couldn't understand his wife. Previously, she had disliked Jiang Ling's family background, thinking she wasn't good enough for Jian Zhou and insisting on someone of equal standing.
Now that she knew the girl possessed a fortune in the hundreds of billions, and her qualifications were perfectly matched for their younger daughter, there was no reason for her to object to Jian Zhou and Jiang Ling being together.
Mom Jian said, "I opposed their relationship back then, I can't go back on my word."
"Did you promise someone else, that you can't go back on your word?"
Dad Jian was made dizzy by her words. He really wanted to pry open her skull and see what was inside.
Mom Jian, however, stubbornly insisted, "This isn't about family background, the key is, I don't have a good impression of her, and I can't accept it!"