When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 216: Chapter 91: Top Star of the ’60s Cultural Troupe (30)

”I can’t go on living! Being bullied like this by someone younger... how can I ever show my face in public again...”

Huo Xunchang froze, stunned. He understood every word she said, but put together, they sounded so surreal.

His expression changed slightly. ”So, the house smells this fragrant to cover up the stench you brought home?”

’Now that she mentioned it, I can actually detect a strange odor beneath the heavy scent of floral water!’

Tong Yuxiang stiffened. She regretted blurting everything out in her tearful appeal for his support, having momentarily forgotten his true nature. They had shared a bed for over twenty years. How could she forget? Beneath the righteous and just veneer of the great factory director was a thoroughly selfish and despicable man.

He had abandoned the wife of his humble beginnings for her because she was gentle, attentive, and cultured. By that same token, he would surely cast her aside now that she had been sullied by filth and publicly disgraced him. He would discard their years of affection without a shred of sentimentality.

”I...” she said hurriedly, ”Ningning was holding me at the time, so I only got a little on my clothes. I just changed and threw them away.”

”But it was still utterly disgusting,” she added, forcing herself to say it as she tried to salvage the situation. She then changed the subject. ”What I’m really angry about is Tianhao’s wife! How could she lay hands on me in front of everyone!”

Huo Xunchang lowered his gaze, his whole body exuding a chill.

”What exactly happened? How is Tianhao still alive?”

From the moment Tong Yuxiang met Huo Xunchang, she’d seen him as her ticket to a better life. She’d successfully won him over and taken her place as his wife. Ever since, she had treated Huo Tianhao and his mother as formidable rivals, constantly plotting against them.

She had been more relieved than ever since Huo Tianhao’s ”death.”

But now, seeing Huo Xunchang react to the news of his son’s return from the dead with not a shred of joy—only impatience and disgust—a profound chill washed over her. It was a moment of grim foreboding, a weariness born from the realization that if it could happen to them, it could happen to her.

The feeling was fleeting. She obediently recounted the entire incident to Huo Xunchang from beginning to end, though she glossed over her own part in the conversation.

As she spoke, the chill emanating from Huo Xunchang grew more intense.

He had watched Huo Tianhao grow up and knew exactly what kind of person the boy was: a vicious wolf. Once that wolf was fully grown, his own comfortable life would be shattered to pieces.

The more glorious his life was now, the more miserable it would become later.

When Huo Tianhao’s birth mother was alive, the boy had shown some restraint. But Huo Xunchang had clearly felt his son’s gaze growing more ferocious after she passed away.

It was this fear that had driven Huo Xunchang to plot all of this. Just as others said, he wasn’t short on sons.

But Huo Tianhao hadn’t died. Now he would surely come seeking revenge!

The bond between father and son? Neither of them gave it a second thought.

Huo Xunchang narrowed his eyes in thought. ’As the factory director, my diligent work over the past two years has been seen by everyone. My correct decisions have led the Zhaoyang Clothing Factory to become more and more successful.’

’As long as I show concern for Huo Tianhao and solidify my image as a loving father, then aside from that blood-stained letter of disownment he produced, there’s no way he can attack me.’

”I’m going out,” Huo Xunchang said upon reaching this conclusion. He stood up and strode outside.

Tong Yuxiang sighed softly, a little dazed. She still hadn’t recovered from the shock of her husband’s heartlessness.

But she didn’t dwell on it for long. She quickly began formulating a counter-plan. There was no way she was going to let money be taken from her own savings account.

When Huo Tianhao and Xia Zhaoyun returned from their meal, they were blocked at the door by Huo Xunchang.

Huo Xunchang’s eyes, somewhat cloudy and weary, looked at Huo Tianhao with excitement. He nodded repeatedly, his voice trembling. ”Good, good, good. This is wonderful. Tianhao, you came back alive...”

Huo Tianhao and Xia Zhaoyun exchanged a look of weary resignation.

It was just one drama after another, day in and day out. And the crowd of onlookers was already gathering.

A corner of Huo Tianhao’s mouth lifted in a smirk. He stepped forward and said to Huo Xunchang in a low voice, ”Director Huo, I advise you to drop the act. Just do as I said. Spit out every benefit you got from the factory by claiming to be the family of a martyr, and acknowledge the letter of disownment.”

”Otherwise, I’ll expose you for what you really are. Believe it or not.”

”If I wasn’t confident, do you think I would have let myself be tricked by your letter of disownment into sacrificing my life to pave your way?”

”No one is perfect. Are you sure you’ve hidden all your tracks?”

He spoke with such certainty that for a moment, he actually managed to intimidate Huo Xunchang.

”You people care about saving face and want to use filial piety to pressure me. But I’m thick-skinned, and the wife I found is thick-skinned too. We really aren’t afraid of the scheming and plotting of you so-called intellectuals.”