Fan Chen looked at the reactions of the two men, full of confusion and curiosity, one could say his heart itched, "What’s going on? What’s going on?"
Why on earth couldn’t Huang Jing go back when her elderly father fell ill? Could it be that something had happened at home?
Shen Lan was curious as well, but she didn’t show it as much as Fan Chen; she simply looked at Huang Jing.
Xia Ke briefly explained Huang Lei’s manipulations, leaving the two men quite shocked.
Fan Chen had seen his fair share of malicious and selfish people, but there were truly few who could compare to this one.
Fan Chen also supported Xia Ke’s suggestion, "Now that we know she has this thought, whether she said it casually or really has this intention..."
"In any case, since she already has this thought, we can’t pretend nothing’s happened."
"We never know when she’ll make her move, and if she really succeeds in her schemes, we’ll be the ones in trouble," Fan Chen shook his head continuously.
"It’s just unbelievable how someone can be this wicked."
Fan Chen reiterated several times that he really couldn’t fathom it, he just couldn’t imagine it.
Shen Lan knew that Huang Jing’s family background was quite awful, but she didn’t expect it to be this terrible.
"Don’t go back, just call them more often. They’ll understand if you’re busy with work," Shen Lan knew that even he couldn’t make a change.
If there’s no way to change things, then all you can do is stay away and live a good life for yourself.
Hearing their comforting words, Huang Jing laughed, "Do I appear to be such a weak person in your eyes?"
"Don’t worry, I’m not so foolish as to fall into their trap."
"Actually, I think my parents are the ones who are most worried; I’m concerned about being a suspect, but they’re worried about losing their lives."
For Huang Lixin and his wife, they were very much looking forward to their retirement. Once they retire, their pensions would be substantial.
As long as they don’t take care of Huang Lei, their lives will indeed be lush, allowing for spontaneous deep travel without much thought.
"Forget it, how to handle the matter, how to resolve it, that’s their business."
"I’ll act as if I don’t know."
"After all, they’re a family of three."
"No matter how they quarrel, it’s just an internal conflict."
Huang Jing knew deep down that Huang Lixin would never soften; she heard that even when he fell ill, Huang Lei was still fixated on going abroad to study.
Now that they’re supposed to die, would Huang Lixin still care about the fact that she’s his daughter?
"Sometimes I think, to have such a daughter, it’s enough to want to die," Huang Jing couldn’t help but lament.
"Though they really are quite biased towards Huang Lei, they did educate her."
No parent wishes for their child to grow up to be ungrateful, to plot against them for money, to wish for their death.
Xia Ke felt uneasy. Huang Lixin and his wife’s favoritism had already led her to various rejections of marriage.
Then she met Ho Zhen who gave her confidence in marriage, only for him to do something that completely broke Huang Jing’s view of marriage, making it much more pessimistic.
And now with Huang Lei scheming against her parents, unreliable men, and children you can’t count on, the two most important pillars of marriage have utterly shattered Huang Jing’s hope in it.
Xia Ke’s own expectations for marriage were originally very low, practically nil, but after meeting Fan Chen, she realized that being with different people leads to different experiences.
Although she can’t be sure if she and Fan Chen will make it to the end, she’s now truly willing to try, not wanting to have regrets.
She’s willing to embrace a brand new future, to change her own fate. Yet now, those who once advised her are the ones who’ve lost faith in marriage and children.
"Xiao Jing, you mustn’t lose heart. We just haven’t met the right person. Once we do, you’ll see that love and marriage are indeed worth looking forward to," Xia Ke insisted.
"As for children, I still believe that as long as I can educate my child well, they won’t necessarily turn out to be exceptional, but at least they won’t become ungrateful."
"As for Huang Lei, she has become what she is simply because she is a selfish person, someone who schemes."
"If we don’t indulge our children, could they turn out like that?"
"You see, you’ve turned out fine," Xia Ke was genuinely not demanding with children; all she wanted was for them to be healthy and have the right values.
She surely didn’t expect her children to surpass them. Xia Ke didn’t have such high hopes.
Though he couldn’t compare to Shen Lan, Fan Chen was also considered talented in the company.
"Of course, I’m not bad," Huang Jing smiled bitterly. She was like someone who had changed her core; if it were still the original person, who knows how many wrong choices she would have made.
"Alright, let’s eat and then go back to work." Huang Jing, having agreed on a time to leave work with Xia Ke, said their farewells.
Even though Huang Lei’s actions had really surprised Huang Jing, she didn’t care about them in the slightest.
It was better to focus on work than worry about such things. As someone who was about to shoulder a heavy debt, all she could do was work hard and vie for a higher bonus; there was nothing else for her to consider.
Huang Lixin hadn’t been in good spirits these days; although he had awakened and the doctors said his health wasn’t bad, they also mentioned that even if he recovered well, he wouldn’t be able to function like a normal person.
Upon hearing this, Huang Lixin understood that he had to step back. No matter how hard he tried to recover, it wouldn’t be fast enough.
The doctors didn’t completely write off his chances, saying that with extra effort, he should be able to return to normal.
But Huang Lixin knew himself well; he doubted he could endure the harshness of recovery.
Since that was the case, he didn’t feel like persevering. Though he would try to improve, not wanting to be bedridden, he also didn’t want to push himself too hard and make life difficult for himself.
Another reason for his change of heart was that he didn’t know what he was striving for anymore.
On Huang Jing’s end, she was capable of taking good care of herself.
As for Huang Lei, no matter how well he treated her, she remained cold-hearted, so he thought there was no point in trying too hard.
Once Huang Lixin had figured this out, he asked Zhang Xiaoya to go to his workplace and share his thoughts.
The company had begun discussing what to do about Huang Lixin’s job as soon as they learned of his illness.
But they couldn’t just bluntly tell Huang Lixin that his health was failing and that he would be unable to perform his job efficiently, that he might as well retire early.
They were afraid to speak up, worrying that if they fell ill in the future, their colleagues might do the same to them.
But to their surprise, Huang Lixin himself initiated the subject, and with the matter coming from him, it became much easier to handle.