Chapter 259

Chapter 259: Now You Remember I'm Your Mother? Qin Li's face was dark with storm clouds. He said to Qin Yan in a low voice, "Come with me to the study." With that, Qin Li didn't even glance at Qin Yan again, turning directly and walking upstairs toward the study. Qin Yan placed both hands on Chen Yuanyuan's shoulders. "Yuanyuan, wait for me." Wu Shuhua watched coldly from the side. Before leaving, Qin Yan shot a serious, icy glare at his stepmother Wu Shuhua. "Auntie, this matter started because of me. Don't make things difficult for Yuanyuan anymore. I'll take full responsibility." Wu Shuhua's face turned ashen, but she said nothing. Qin Yan looked at Chen Yuanyuan's face with heartache. "It's swollen." Chen Yuanyuan's eyes were brimming with tears, and the sight made Qin Yan's heart ache with every beat. He called for a servant to bring swelling medicine and pressed it into Chen Yuanyuan's hand. "Apply some medicine first." Chen Yuanyuan gave a soft "Mm." Qin Yan still wasn't reassured. He called over Aunt Zhao, the servant who had watched him grow up and had always been kind to him, and instructed her to take good care of Chen Yuanyuan. "Taking care" really meant keeping watch over Chen Yuanyuan—mainly out of fear that Wu Shuhua might strike again. Only after doing all this did Qin Yan head to the study. Chen Yuanyuan took the medicine back to her room. Wu Shuhua followed her in, and Aunt Zhao went in as well. As Chen Yuanyuan applied the medicine, Wu Shuhua sneered and mocked her from the side. "Chen Yuanyuan, are all the men in the world dead that you have to seduce your own brother? Are you that desperate for a man?" Wu Shuhua's tone was vicious, her words utterly outrageous. Chen Yuanyuan wept, crying with grievance—it was Qin Yan who had forced his love on her first. Wu Shuhua was her biological mother, and without even understanding the situation, she immediately accused her of seducing her own brother? "I seduced my brother?" Chen Yuanyuan let out a cold laugh. "Is that the kind of person I am in your eyes?" Wu Shuhua pulled a stack of photos from her bag and slapped them hard onto the table in front of Chen Yuanyuan. "Take a good look at what these are!" Chen Yuanyuan's gaze dropped, and when she saw the photos, her brows knitted together. They were photos of her and Qin Yan on dates outside. Going to the movie theater together, the amusement park, the concert hall, art exhibitions, various restaurants... These photos were clearly taken secretly. Chen Yuanyuan picked up the photos and examined them carefully. Judging by the scenes in the photos, the earliest ones were from over a month ago. At that time, Zhang Yuewei had approached her, asking her to help pursue Qin Yan. She had refused. Chen Yuanyuan's brows furrowed deeply, and her first suspicion fell on Zhang Yuewei. "Who gave you these photos?" Chen Yuanyuan asked. "Don't worry about who gave them to me!" Wu Shuhua snapped harshly. "Look at the shameful things you've done, and you still say you didn't seduce your own brother? The evidence is right here!" The photos included ones of them embracing, holding hands, and even kissing. Chen Yuanyuan gathered up the photos, wiped her tears, and looked coldly at Wu Shuhua. "If mutual consent counts as seduction, then when you got together with President Zhang of Shengtian, did you seduce him first too? At least I'm single—but you? You're a married woman." Hearing this, Wu Shuhua exploded with rage. She raised her hand to slap Chen Yuanyuan again, but Aunt Zhao, the servant standing nearby, stopped her. Wu Shuhua shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Chen Yuanyuan, I'm your mother! How dare you speak to me like that? Do you have any respect for your elder at all?" Chen Yuanyuan's eyes glinted with cold light, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. "Now you remember I'm your mother? When you were saying all those awful things to me just now, why didn't you remember you were my mother? Beating and scolding your own biological daughter without even getting the facts straight—you really are a wonderful mother." Qin Yan stayed in the study for half an hour. The father and son argued fiercely. Sounds of things crashing and banging came from inside—Qin Li smashing objects in his fury. Half an hour later, Qin Yan opened the study door and walked out. There was a broken patch of skin on his temple, blood seeping from the wound. He'd been hit by a teacup Qin Li had thrown. The moment he left the study, Qin Yan went straight to Chen Yuanyuan's room. Wu Shuhua was already gone. Aunt Zhao was still keeping watch by Chen Yuanyuan's side. Seeing him arrive, Aunt Zhao nodded at him, silently slipped out of the room, and closed the door behind her. "What happened to your forehead?" Chen Yuanyuan asked with concern, hurrying over to examine Qin Yan's wound. Qin Yan reached out and gently touched the side of Chen Yuanyuan's face that had been slapped, his eyes tender with worry. "It's nothing, just a small scratch. Does your face still hurt?" "It doesn't hurt anymore." Chen Yuanyuan lowered her gaze. "Did you apply the medicine?" Chen Yuanyuan gave a slight nod. "Mm, I did." Qin Yan said softly, "Yuanyuan, move out for now. If you don't want to stay at my place, I can buy you a separate villa." Chen Yuanyuan's eyelashes trembled, and she asked in a low voice, "What did Uncle Qin say?" "He wants us to break up. I refused, and he was so angry he threatened to sever ties with me as father and son." Chen Yuanyuan hadn't expected things to escalate this far. It had reached the point of severing the father-son relationship. It seemed Qin Yan must have said plenty of things in the study that Qin Li didn't want to hear, provoking his anger. Chen Yuanyuan pondered for a moment, then said, "I'll move out tonight." "Mm." Chen Yuanyuan added, "I'll stay with you." Qin Yan was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Alright, I'll go make the arrangements." "Will they get divorced?" Chen Yuanyuan's eyes were filled with melancholy. "They've been married for so long, their interests are too deeply intertwined. Even if they do divorce, it'll be troublesome—it won't happen that quickly." Qin Yan gently stroked Chen Yuanyuan's head and said, "My dad has agreed to the divorce." Chen Yuanyuan suddenly looked up, her eyes full of shock. "Really?" "Yeah." Qin Yan nodded. "After all, I'm his only son. But he set some conditions." "What conditions?" Qin Yan said, "First, for the property division in the divorce, I have to compensate him for the half that goes to Aunt Wu. Second, the fact that he keeps a mistress and Aunt Wu's affair can't be made public. Third, you and I can't announce our relationship too soon—we have to wait at least a year after their divorce is finalized." "Except for the first condition, the others are easy to satisfy," Chen Yuanyuan said. "Did you agree?" "I agreed." Chen Yuanyuan frowned, worried. "How are you going to cover the first condition? Half of Uncle Qin's assets going to my mom is a huge sum. Can you manage it?" Qin Yan gently pulled her into his arms. "I can handle it, Yuanyuan. Trust me, I can take care of this."