Meeting

Mo Tingting stared blankly at Mo Xuan. Back when their grandmother was on the brink of death, he had indeed called her.

Mo Tingting's original sin was her stupidity, and if she was pitiful, it was also because of that stupidity.

She never thought for herself; she simply followed whatever her family did. When Mo Jinpeng targeted Mo Xuan, her parents not only turned a blind eye but even fueled the fire in the matter of Su Yanran.

Mo Qingqing never openly took a stance, choosing instead to watch from the sidelines, but she continued to treat Mo Jinpeng as usual while ignoring Mo Xuan.

Mo Yingying always believed that since they were both her brothers, she would naturally favor the one closer to her.

As for Mo Tingting herself... she never once considered that Mo Xuan was also her brother. She simply mirrored the attitudes of others.

To put it kindly, she was a follower; to put it bluntly, she was a brainless fool.

"If you're done, step aside. Whether the Mo Family lives or dies is none of my concern," Mo Xuan said as he opened the car door. "Don’t worry, when Chairman Mo and Mrs. Qin reach retirement age, I’ll still pay the legally required alimony. But... that’s assuming they’re still alive by then."

Mo Tingting wanted to say more, but a single glance from Luo Muqi silenced her. In the end, she could only watch as Mo Xuan drove away with Luo Muqi.

Standing there, she let out a long sigh and called Qin Ni to inform her that Mo Xuan wouldn’t be helping.

Qin Ni, on the other end of the line, wasn’t angry. In fact, she had already expected this outcome. She had often wondered if Mo Xuan had enlisted the Luo Family’s help to exact revenge on them.

But when she looked back at the problems within her own company, she realized there were no external factors at play. The issues stemmed from the hidden dangers of bringing her illegitimate son into the company and the betrayal by her eldest daughter.

Mo Qingqing had shown no mercy. Now backed by the Ye Family, she openly sacrificed Mo Corporation for her own gain, walking away with a fortune. But what could Qin Ni do?

Whether through legal means or emotional appeals, nothing would make a difference to Mo Qingqing, who seemed impervious to everything.

Looking around at the mess her family had become, Qin Ni let out a bitter laugh. Even the family photo on her desk, once used to showcase her commitment to family in front of her subordinates, now felt painfully ironic.

In that photo, the late Mr. Mo sat in the center, with Qin Ni and Mo Changshan on either side, surrounded by their four children—excluding Mo Xuan.

Not only was Mo Xuan absent, but so was their grandmother. Yet, at the time, Qin Ni hadn’t found anything amiss. To her, and to everyone else, Mo Xuan and their grandmother had long been excluded from the family.

Now, Qin's Jewelry was beyond saving. Mo Qingqing had warned her, but Qin Ni had been stubborn. The discovery of fake gold in their jewelry line was a death blow—not just for a mid-tier brand like hers, but even for major brands.

And the betrayal by her illegitimate son had delayed the production of a key batch of products, resulting in not only a breach of contract but also hefty compensation to the other party.

Her parents had passed away in recent years, and now the last remnants of their family’s legacy had been completely squandered under her watch.

The police had discovered that Jiang Sifeng had been in contact with his father, Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng had never truly loved Qin Ni; he had only been after her money, and getting her pregnant had been part of his plan.

This entire scheme had been orchestrated by the father and son to extort a fortune from her. But if she hadn’t been so indulgent, or if she had sacrificed Jiang Sifeng when the jewelry scandal broke, none of this would have happened.

In truth, she had considered it. At the time, she had even thought of bringing Mo Xuan back. But her family was already embroiled in turmoil, and on the day their grandmother passed away, Mo Xuan had torn apart the façade she and her husband had maintained for so many years.

She had regretted it then, but she hadn’t had the energy to care for Jiang Sifeng and had considered letting his father take him. But Jiang Feng had vanished without a trace. Looking at her illegitimate son, who was still young and frail, she had gritted her teeth and decided to keep him.

She had spent a considerable sum to bribe an orphanage, making the Mo Family believe he was an orphan. He lived separately, with Qin Ni paying for his care. While Mo Changshan and the late Mr. Mo had initially been suspicious, the orphanage’s documentation had put their doubts to rest.

She had never imagined that what she thought was a flawless plan would be uncovered not only by the Luo Family but also by her own eldest daughter.

She had always believed she had fooled Mo Changshan, but in reality, her husband had his own secrets—ones that were even more egregious than hers...

Jiang Sifeng was still at large, and Mo Jinpeng was on the run. Qin Ni picked up her phone, about to make a call, but when she caught a glimpse of her blurred reflection on the screen, she felt for the first time that her life wasn’t just a failure—it was a complete joke.

Just then, the hospital called. Reluctantly, Qin Ni answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Mo. Your husband is still in the ICU, and the funds are running low..."

"Transfer him to a regular room," Qin Ni replied coldly. "I’ll come by later to settle the bill."

A day in the ICU wasn’t cheap, and the Mo Family could no longer afford such expenses. Besides, Qin Ni wished he would just die. If it weren’t for the fear of legal consequences, she might have even considered pulling the plug herself.

But as his lawful wife, and with only the useless Mo Tingting left in the family, the burden inevitably fell on her.

She also had to go out to meet someone—Mo Jinpeng’s birth mother.

Most of their cars had been sold, leaving only a BMW. Driving to the hospital, she found Li Yuzhen, who had been under medical parole since Mo Jinpeng’s incident.

As an accomplice, Li Yuzhen was still receiving treatment in the hospital, though she hadn’t fully recovered.

Seeing the woman before her, Qin Ni felt nothing but contempt. Li Yuzhen wasn’t as beautiful as she was, nor had she ever enjoyed the same level of success. Yet, Mo Changshan had been so devoted to her that he had even sacrificed his own son?

"I know what you’re here to ask," Li Yuzhen said, her face pale but calm as she faced Qin Ni. "I didn’t mean to kill your son. It was just an accident. He was crying, and the person I arranged to handle him was too rough. He covered his mouth, and that’s how he died."

"Our due dates were close, and I was also in the hospital at the time. When he found out, he was angry, but for Mo Jinpeng’s sake, he let it go."

If it weren’t for the female officer guarding her, Qin Ni would have lunged at Li Yuzhen and slapped her.

"Don’t hate me so much. I just wanted a comfortable life with someone like him, and he only kept me around because I was willing to be his mistress," Li Yuzhen said indifferently. "As for Mo Jinpeng, I never really cared. I just went along with it. After all, wasn’t that your job?"

Qin Ni felt as if she’d been slapped. This woman had used her as a pawn, making her raise her son, and now she spoke so casually about it?

"You think I’m vile, inhuman? Well, I’m not you, and I’m not Mo Changshan. If I hadn’t done this, my family would have married me off to an old man," Li Yuzhen said with a bitter laugh. "Life is life. Better to make the best of it. At least Mo Changshan had some genuine feelings for me, and he had money."

"As for Mo Jinpeng, I admit I indulged him too much. Even when he committed crimes, I bear some responsibility. I’ll take the blame for that. But he’s the one who chose to stab someone. What could I do?" Li Yuzhen’s expression darkened as she spoke of Mo Jinpeng. "When he got into gambling, I couldn’t stop him, but I couldn’t let anything happen to him either. So, I did what I had to do."

"He’s your son!" Qin Ni, who had raised Mo Jinpeng for so many years, couldn’t help but shout, even though she now wished him dead. Hearing his birth mother’s attitude infuriated her. "I raised him, and it’s because of you, his real mother, that he turned out this way!"

"Enough! Your younger son, without your guidance, turned out far more successful than Mo Jinpeng. If you were so capable, he wouldn’t have listened to me!" Li Yuzhen sneered. "I’m not educated, and I don’t know how to raise children. But you do, and look how that turned out."

Qin Ni was utterly enraged. Ignoring the police, she tried to attack Li Yuzhen but was quickly restrained by the female officer.

“I’m someone who went straight from the hospital to here, so I don’t have much hope left,” Li Yuzhen said with a firm tone, though a faint trace of despair and helplessness flickered in her eyes. “There’s no point arguing with me. If you want to blame someone, you can’t pin it all on me alone.”

“If it weren’t for Mo Changshan’s indulgence, would you and I have ended up in this situation today?”