Zhao Xiaotang furrowed her brows as she looked at Li Yun’er and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Li Yun’er smirked mischievously and said, "Since the scandal is already out, why not confirm it and force Zhang Yang to take action, wouldn’t that solve everything?"
Zhao Xiaotang’s expression changed, "Are you suggesting I admit Zhang Yang is my secret lover?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel-fire.net
"Exactly, this way, the Guo Family’s second son will either shift his focus to Zhang Yang or disdain you enough to call off the engagement. Wouldn’t that achieve your goal? It’s just a matter of bearing some infamy."
"But this little loss of face shouldn’t bother you, right?"
I have to admit, Li Yun’er’s proposal somewhat tempted Zhao Xiaotang, but on second thought, it seemed a bit unethical.
Would doing this without Zhang Yang’s consent anger him?
Seeing Zhao Xiaotang’s hesitation, Li Yun’er immediately said, "At worst, you can hold a press conference afterwards to clear things up."
"The engagement is already off. Whether it’s your Zhao Family or the Guo Family, there’s no way to mend the relationship."
Thinking about it, Zhao Xiaotang found it reasonable and figured she could apologize to Zhang Yang later.
But Zhao Xiaotang still looked warily at Li Yun’er, "Why are you helping me? What’s your motive?"
"What motive could I have? I just hope your Zhao Family won’t trouble me," Li Yun’er said with a helpless expression.
Zhao Xiaotang wasn’t entirely convinced, but she couldn’t figure out what other motive Li Yun’er might have.
As for Li Yun’er’s suggestion, Zhao Xiaotang only said she would think it over.
Li Yun’er didn’t press further and, after watching Zhao Xiaotang leave, took out her phone.
She sent the photos she had just taken to the paparazzi. In the photos were Zhang Yang, with his left arm around Shen Mange and his right arm holding Xia Xue.
These were the photos Li Yun’er had risked taking earlier. With these, the public uproar should intensify.
This way, whether it’s Xia Xue or Shen Mange, they would all be seriously affected. Tomorrow’s stage would undoubtedly belong to her, Li Yun’er.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang and Shen Mange were unaware that a storm of public opinion was brewing.
Zhang Yang felt awkward at that moment, whereas the skeptical gazes of Shen Mange and Xia Xue were fixed on him and Chen Yun.
Chen Yun felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, wishing she could find a place to hide.
The paparazzi’s photos showed Zhang Yang with Zhao Xiaotang.
But Xia Xue knew Zhang Yang had been with Chen Yun then.
Although Xia Xue and Shen Mange hadn’t voiced their suspicions, their looks made Zhang Yang uncomfortable and Chen Yun’s face flush with embarrassment.
Finally, Chen Yun couldn’t hold back any longer and addressed Xia Xue, "Little Xue, I’m sorry, it’s Aunt Yun’s fault."
"It has nothing to do with Zhang Yang. I was the one who wanted to be with him."
After saying this, Chen Yun stood up, unable to face staying there any longer.
Xia Xue hurriedly held Chen Yun back and said apologetically, "Aunt Yun, we’re all the same here. If we’re being honest, we have no right to ask you to go."
Now that she thought about it, there had been many obvious signs, but she hadn’t realized them then.
Hearing Xia Xue’s words, Chen Yun felt even more embarrassed.
"I’m different from you. You’re only a few years apart from Zhang Yang, and you’re his cousin."
"But I... I’m his future mother-in-law."
"And yet, I’ve shamelessly done such things. I... I really can’t face you all."
Although Chen Yun had foreseen the day their relationship would be exposed, she hadn’t anticipated it coming so soon.
Xia Xue had come to terms with it. After all, Zhang Yang had more than a few women around him, and they were all in the same boat.
Xia Xue hadn’t spoken to Chen Yun, "You’ve already divorced my uncle, so you’re no longer Xiao Man’s mother."
"You don’t have any direct blood relation to us, and you’re only eleven or twelve years older."
"So there’s no need to feel guilty. It’s not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s Zhang Yang, who loves to flirt."
"Shen Mange, don’t you agree?" Xia Xue turned to ask.
Shen Mange awkwardly replied, "I don’t know if that’s right or not. Either way, I don’t mind these things because I don’t really have aspirations for marriage."
"At least Zhang Yang makes me feel comfortable, so I don’t plan on leaving him, nor do I want to monopolize him. As for what you all think, I have no idea."
"But I do agree with Xia Xue on one thing. We might have started at different times, but we have no right to blame each other."
"I haven’t met the legitimate girlfriend you mentioned, but I’ve heard of her."
"We’ll see what happens in the future. If the day of parting comes, I’ll wish you all the best."
No one expected Shen Mange to be this nonchalant, and her words had a profound impact on Xia Xue and Chen Yun.
They were entangled in each other’s affairs, bearing guilt and feelings of betrayal.
After hearing Shen Mange, they felt a lot more relieved.
Zhang Yang gave Shen Mange a thumbs-up, as her words made a lot of sense.
However, Zhang Yang wasn’t the type to back down. There were things he had never said before, but now he wanted to take the opportunity to express his stance.
"If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me, Zhang Yang, and not any of you."
"It’s my good fortune in this life to have so many beloved confidants like you."
"Even if I end up a cat or a dog, an animal in my next life, I’ll accept it."
"But as long as you don’t want to leave me in this life, I won’t let go."
"Even though Xiao Man isn’t aware of these things yet, once I find her, I plan to be honest with her."
"But rest assured, Xiao Man is quite understanding."
Seeing Zhang Yang say this, Shen Mange sighed with relief; if it were truly the case, that would be perfect.
She’s not particularly greedy, just borrowing Zhang Yang occasionally would suffice.
But judging from the astonished looks of Xia Xue and Chen Yun, it seemed things might not be as simple as Zhang Yang described.
Xia Xue let out a bitter laugh, "Xiao Man has been independent and strong-willed since she was little, a very tenacious girl. I advise you not to be overly optimistic. If it’s possible, it might be better for all of us to keep it from her."
Chen Yun nodded in agreement, and Zhang Yang, seeing this, felt a bit guilty too.
"Let’s discuss this later," Zhang Yang said with an embarrassed smile.
At this point, Xia Xue suddenly asked Chen Yun, "Aunt Yun, when did your relationship with Zhang Yang start?"
"I mean, when did you two start sleeping together?"