There was another thing Bai Wenxi was too shy to say: Just like you, if I get to know you better, I'll surely fall in love with you~~~
She secretly curled her lips and ate the spicy hot pot bite by bite. Despite sweating all over, she could savor this spicy flavor to her heart's content, and her taste buds finally got the long - awaited great satisfaction.
Jiang Beihuai watched her enjoying the food with a smile. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you want to visit my hometown?"
Bai Wenxi really wanted to drop everything and say yes right away. But the danger on Moon Island had ignited her fury. She couldn't rest easy until she dealt with Yao Chunmei.
She felt really sorry. "Beihuai, I'd love to go with you, but I have to sort out things here first. We'll settle scores one by one. She owes my family a debt!"
Jiang Beihuai had actually expected her answer, but when he really heard her refusal, he couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Bai Wenxi chewed slowly and swallowed the food in her mouth with difficulty. Jiang Beihuai's dejected look was so obvious that she felt like a heartless woman who was deceiving her husband's feelings.
It took her a while to come up with a proper compensation. "Beihuai, as soon as things with Yao Chunmei are over, I'll not only go to your hometown with you, but also ask Feifei to invite your old friends for a gathering. Your birthday is coming soon. How about having a nostalgic birthday party there?"
Jiang Beihuai was clearly interested in the promised birthday party. His expression brightened up immediately. "How are you going to confront Yao Chunmei? She's quite ruthless. I'm worried about your safety."
Bai Wenxi knew that directly questioning her would lead nowhere and might even backfire. So she planned to start with Bai Yunxi.
After all, their father was also Bai Yunxi's biological father. She couldn't just blindly protect Yao Chunmei, could she?
But thinking that she couldn't punish Yao Chunmei for the time being, Bai Wenxi gritted her teeth in hatred. "Let her enjoy herself for a while. Evil will surely be punished. I don't believe she can get away with it."
Actually, Yao Chunmei had a hard time these days. The tough situation had thrown her into a panic, which was why she came up with the bad idea of sending someone to attack Bai Wenxi on Moon Island.
After learning that the killer had failed, she avoided Bai Wenxi nervously. Knowing that she had alerted the enemy, she simply pretended to be stupid.
But those who wanted to gain benefits from Yao Chunmei wouldn't give up. Since the first threat got no response, they sent her a copy of the video to blackmail her.
Bai Yunxi had been in a slump these days, drowning her sorrows in alcohol all day long.
Although the Zhang family was wealthy, Zhang Fuwen was not valued in the family business at all, and she was also sidelined.
Zhang Fuwen always failed in business, but he was generous with his mistress.
Every time Bai Yunxi questioned him, he would bring up Bai Wenxi. "Awen was so good to me, but I married you instead of her. Isn't it because I counted on the help your mother promised?"
Drunk, he beat Bai Yunxi mercilessly. The tenderness of the past was long gone. Bai Yunxi had thought about divorce countless times.
But the marriage with the Zhang family was what she and her mother had begged for. She didn't want others to know that she was being abused, which meant her mother wouldn't support her in getting a divorce.
Waking up from another hangover, Bai Yunxi fumbled in the dark for a long time before finally grabbing her vibrating phone.
Without even looking at the caller ID, she roared hoarsely, "Who's disturbing my sleep so early in the morning?"
On the other end of the phone was Yao Chunmei's cold contempt. "You stupid girl, don't you know what time it is? It's not early morning anymore."
One could tell that she was suppressing her anger. "Looking like a drunkard every day, even if I were a man, I wouldn't like you."
Bai Yunxi wiped the tears off her face and suddenly got up to pull open the curtain. The blinding sunlight shone directly into the room through the glass window. The floor was littered with messy clothes.
"Mom, just tell me what you want. Stop the sarcasm."
Yao Chunmei was too lazy to waste words on her daughter. The main purpose of this call was money. "Transfer one million yuan to me."
The light - hearted request seemed so natural that Bai Yunxi was amused by this unreasonable order and burst out laughing.
"Mom, do you think I'm a money - printing machine? You can ask for as much as you want."
She impatiently opened a new can of beer and took a big gulp. "I have no money."
This simple sentence almost drove Yao Chunmei crazy. She wished she could climb through the phone line and knock this daughter of hers dead.
"Did I go through so much trouble to marry you into the Zhang family just to hear you say 'I have no money'?"
Yao Chunmei issued a cold ultimatum. "I don't care how you do it. Just get the money for me."
Bai Yunxi was really annoyed by her mother's persistence. "You're so extravagant. I just gave you money not long ago. Why do you ask me for it again?"
Unfortunately, Yao Chunmei wouldn't tell her the truth, because she always had to maintain an authoritative and serious image in front of her daughter.
She would never let her know that she had kept a young man as a lover and was being blackmailed with a video.
She could only use her toughness to cover up her uneasiness. "Anyway, don't ask so many questions. Get the money for me as soon as possible."
Looking at the mess in front of her, Bai Yunxi couldn't help crying and laughing at the same time. "How can I get it? Fuwen doesn't listen to me at all."
"You know my mother - in - law. Has she ever given me a good look since I married into the family? I'm already thankful if she doesn't make trouble for me. I won't ask her for money."
All Yao Chunmei could think about at this moment was getting money. She got angry when she heard her daughter's excuses. "Isn't it just because you're useless? You can't handle your mother - in - law, and you can't keep your man under control."
The mother who had always doted on her since childhood was now belittling her like this. Bai Yunxi bit her lower lip tightly in grievance. "If you're so capable, don't ask me for it. Go ask Bai Wenxi."
Blood oozed from the wound on her lip. "She's made the Star Art Museum a great success. She must have a lot of money."
Yao Chunmei had actually thought about this, but thinking that she had just sent someone to kill Bai Wenxi, asking her for money now would be self - defeating.
"Don't talk nonsense. Do you think Bai Wenxi can escape? But I'm not bothering to ask her for money now. I have my own biological daughter. Why should I ask that step - daughter of mine?"
Yao Chunmei didn't think her request was unreasonable at all. She hung up the phone in a hurry.
Sitting there in a daze for a while, listening to the busy tone on the phone, Bai Yunxi suddenly exploded. She smashed the furniture around her to pieces in a fit of rage.
She angrily tugged at her hair and staggered into the bathroom. The clear mirror reflected the pale and gaunt face of a woman.
Her once bright and charming big eyes were now sunken. Her dull eyes stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
Bai Yunxi let out a bitter laugh. "Why have I become like this? Who did this to me!"
She covered her head with both hands and howled in pain. Alcohol had corroded her sanity, and her chaotic lifestyle had made it impossible for her to think normally.
"Humph, it's Bai Wenxi! That bitch ruined my life. If she hadn't broken off the engagement with Zhang Fuwen, I wouldn't have been deceived into marrying this brute!"
The high - end hair dryer was violently thrown at the mirror. Looking at her broken reflection in the mirror, Bai Yunxi swore hatefully, "Bai Wenxi, I'll never let you have a good life!"