Chapter 57

Qiao Zhenzhen ran straight to the school gate and slipped into the back seat of Qin Jing's car. Qin Jing slammed her foot on the gas and they set off.
"Mom, isn't the lawyer coming?" she asked.
Qin Jing drove calmly. "The lawyer's already there. We'll talk at home; once we've agreed, we'll go to the civil affairs office."
Qiao Zhenzhen nodded. "That's fine, that way Qiao Jian won't start yelling and embarrassing himself."
Qin Jing didn't correct her use of Qiao Jian's name; she simply nodded in agreement.
By the time the mother and daughter hurried home, Qiao Jian and both lawyers were already in the living room. The moment Qiao Zhenzhen stepped inside she felt that after only a few days away the house was different, though she couldn't immediately say what had changed.
"There's no lady of the house anymore; it's just the maid keeping things tidy. It feels soulless," Qin Jing remarked, striking at the heart of it.
Qiao Zhenzhen realized she was right. The house did feel colder, from the smallest ornaments to the larger displays, nothing was as carefully arranged as before. After all, a paid maid could never care as much as a wife who loved the home.
Someone like that, once lost, might never be found again. Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at Qiao Jian sitting on the sofa with a grim face and genuinely felt sorry for him.
Qiao Jian himself didn't look regretful. When they returned he snorted coldly, "I have a lot to handle at the company. Sign quickly."
Qin Jing and Qiao Zhenzhen exchanged a look, sat down on the sofa opposite him, and both lawyers approached.
"To state this in advance: Zhenzhen is already eighteen. She can decide for herself who she wants to live with," Qin Jing began.
Qiao Zhenzhen immediately declared, "I'll live with my mother."
"Mr. Qiao, you have no objection to this, correct?" Qin Jing's lawyer asked.
Qiao Jian said flatly, "No."
"Then please present the compiled list of assets so we can proceed with property division," Qin Jing's lawyer said, looking toward Qiao Jian's counsel. "Since the assets were accumulated during the marriage and, with no consideration for the child, we propose a fifty–fifty split. Any objections?"
Qiao Jian's lawyer nodded. "No objections."
He finished speaking, glanced at Qiao Jian, and Qiao Jian placed the organized asset list on the table.
Qin Jing pulled a printed A4 sheet from her bag. "I haven't handled the finances for years; I only took a monthly allowance. There's over four million on this card, from investments and savings. The rest of the assets are marital property."
Qiao Jian's lawyer nodded, effectively acknowledging her assets. But when her attorney glanced over Qiao Jian's list, he couldn't help but frown: "Mr. Qiao, as far as I know your company has been doing well these past years; the asset list you provided doesn't seem to match your income."
Qin Jing paused, took the list and saw only this one house and a few million in savings. She laughed angrily: "Qiao Jian, what is going on here?"
"What do you mean what is going on? You're not at the office, how would you know how hard I work every day? Over the years I took on huge debts to grow the company; the little stock and property I have are tied up paying those debts and still aren't enough. If you want a share, you'll have to take the debts too," Qiao Jian squinted. "But I'll warn you: if you insist on dividing things, we may end up insolvent."
Qiao Zhenzhen frowned, a flash of disgust crossing her eyes.
Qin Jing sneered, "You've really got your schemes down to a science."
"You're the one who wants a divorce over some trivial thing, and you won't even show a bit of mercy, so why should I?" Qiao Jian sneered back, playing up the role of the wronged man to perfection.
Qin Jing's lawyer said helplessly, "Mr. Qiao Zhenzhen, if you say you have enormous debts, then that's what we're dealing with."
"Sorry, we do. And if you want proof, we've prepared it." Qiao Jian's lawyer immediately produced a stack of documents, clearly they'd come prepared.
Qin Jing's lawyer skimmed them: "Who can guarantee they're genuine?"
"You can file a lawsuit, but whoever brings the claim bears the burden of proof, you'll have to prove the debts are fake," Qiao Jian's lawyer shot back.
Qin Jing's lawyer was exasperated. Qiao Jian gave a light laugh, visibly pleased. "These things drain time and energy, and without solid evidence the court may not even take the case. Better to sign quickly and save us all the trouble."
"Who says I don't have evidence?" Qin Jing asked suddenly.
Qiao Jian frowned.
Qin Jing leaned back on the sofa and produced a photocopy of a contract. "This is the guarantee agreement you signed with the Chi family."
Qiao Jian's expression instantly soured.
"It lists your assets in detail. The contract was signed just a few days ago, and the terms specify these assets exclude debts. In other words, if you actually have debts, they must have been incurred within these past few days and there should be large cash movements in your accounts. If there aren't, it proves your debt claims are false," Qin Jing said calmly.
At that moment everything became clear, no wonder Chi Cheng wanted him to sign the guarantee, no wonder the contract signing went so smoothly... Qiao Jian's breathing quickened, his eyes reddening. "You set me up..."
"I don't know what you're talking about. Follow this list, liquidate or transfer the items, but it has to be split strictly 50/50, not a cent less," Qin Jing laughed. "If you have no objections, we'll sign now. I'm busy and don't want to drag this out."
"Impossible! Nearly half of that is public funds, I can't give you that!" Qiao Jian gritted his teeth.
Qin Jing seemed to have expected his objection and remained unruffled. "That may not be up to you, the list is the fact. If you refuse, I'll take it to court; sooner or later you'll get what's due, within a year or so. And I'm warning you: don't deny this list in court. You've already signed contracts; denying them would amount to fraud, and the damages could cost you a small fortune."
"Qin! Jing!" Qiao Jian suddenly stood up.
Qin Jing's lawyer also rose immediately, stepping between them and his client. "Mr. Qiao, I suggest you calm down. This is serious; I believe both sides have recordings. If you do anything irrational, it will reflect poorly in court."
"Yes, Mr. Qiao, please stay calm." Qiao Jian's lawyer hurriedly urged as well.
Qiao Jian huffed and glared at Qin Jing, then slowly calmed. "How did you get my guarantee agreement?"
"Old man Chi is friends with my father. When he heard I was getting a divorce, of course he was happy to help me," Qin Jing said coolly.
Qiao Jian frowned, stared at her for a long moment, then gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll sign."
Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at him in surprise; she hadn't expected him to give in so quickly.
When both lawyers saw they had reached an agreement, they immediately began drafting the divorce settlement. Once the details were finalized and printed, each read through it. Qin Jing considered for a moment and said, "Give all the Qiao family shares to him, I don't want them. Just compensate me half the liquid assets."
Qiao Jian sneered, "As if I'd be grateful for your handout."
"You don't want them?" Qin Jing asked, her tone deceptively polite.
Qiao Jian's face went dark.
Of course he wanted them.
They tweaked a few details, signed the agreement, and then went together to the civil affairs bureau.
After leaving the bureau, Qin Jing went to drive while Qiao Zhenzhen waited at the door. When she turned, she locked eyes with Qiao Jian, his face sullen.
"After all these years of raising you, I never expected you’d become such an ungrateful wretch," he said with no expression.
"Don't pretend I'm the one who missed out, as if you're heartbroken," Qiao Zhenzhen said, looking at him with an unprecedented calm. "Long ago you resented that I wasn't a boy, you wanted someone to carry on the Qiao name. You never loved me; you put on a performance to fool yourself. After doing it so long it looked like genuine care, but in reality you treated me as a prop to show off your fatherly love in public, you never truly cared for me."
Long, long ago, she had preferred the easygoing father, who agreed to everything and seemed indifferent, over the nagging, disciplinarian mother. Later she realized that only someone who truly didn't care would act so unconcerned; only because he found things inconvenient would he refuse to judge right from wrong and simply solve everything with money. Sometimes she felt brushed off but allowed herself to believe he just didn't know how to show it.
And later, when he had a son, she finally understood that there is no such thing as a man born incapable of being a father, he simply didn't want to be hers.
Faced with her accusations, Qiao Jian paused and frowned. "I don't understand what you're saying. All I know is you're never satisfied, just like your mother."
Qiao Zhenzhen smiled and, not wanting to argue, didn’t bother to defend herself. When she saw Qin Jing’s car arrive, she turned and left without looking back.
Qiao Jian watched their car shrink into the distance. He was angry and resentful, yet for some reason it felt as if something had been hollowed out from a corner of him.
In the car, Qiao Zhenzhen finally couldn’t help asking, “Mom, why did Qiao Jian agree to the divorce so readily?”
“Because he was clinging to a sliver of luck,” Qin Jing said idly as she turned the wheel. “He thinks I might have only accidentally gotten hold of his guarantee contract, not that I’d coerced him into signing it. He still hopes to preserve the partnership with the Chi Corporation.”
“Tsk, how greedy,” Qiao Zhenzhen said. “You were too soft just now, you actually sold him the shares at a discount. How much extra will he end up taking?”
Qin Jing smiled. “It’s not softness, it’s leaving a way out. If we hadn’t discounted the shares, we’d have taken everything he owns. When he realizes the project can’t go on in a few days, he might go mad. I left him part of the money, a chance to make a comeback. I don’t want him driven to desperation and then lashing out at us.”
“Mom, you’re amazing!” Qiao Zhenzhen cheered, raising her hand.
Qin Jing snorted. “All this fuss and it’s almost time for you to get out of school. Are you going to your grandfather’s or to class?”
“To Grandpa’s! Shen Shen isn’t at school, studying by myself is too boring.”
Qin Jing paused. “Why isn’t he at school?”
Qiao Zhenzhen pressed her lips together and recounted the day’s events. Qin Jing’s brow tightened; after a moment she said, “If he really wants to sever parental ties, let the lawyers handle it. You leave the rest alone.”
“Okay,” Qiao Zhenzhen agreed, then remembered something. “So do we need to do paternity tests? I pulled those two guys’ hairs and left them at school, can you send them to be tested?”
Qin Jing stared. “…You got into a fight?”
“No, I just pulled a bit of hair,” Qiao Zhenzhen said evasively.
Qin Jing gave her a sideways look, then punched the accelerator. Bored, Qiao Zhenzhen fished a magazine out of the back seat and flipped through it, then came across a photo of Old Master Chi.
Not to mention, he was old and handsome, and oddly familiar.