Lin Mei had initially thought that Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue would only relent after seeing the evidence. To her surprise, they were already advising her to break up with Chen Qi. "Dad, Mom, I'll talk to Chen Qi and make things clear," she said.
Lin Zhengde asked, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"
Under the current circumstances, Chen Qi was unwilling to part ways with Lin Mei. Only with concrete evidence could they completely silence him.
Lin Mei knew why Lin Zhengde was asking. Chen Qi was like a persistent leech; unless they slapped him hard with undeniable proof, he wouldn't admit anything.
"I didn't see it with my own eyes, but there's video and photos as proof." Now, even if she showed Chen Qi the video, she wouldn't have to worry.
Lin Zhengde and Xiao Yue could probably guess what kind of video Lin Mei was referring to. Both of them felt a renewed sense of disappointment and disgust towards Chen Qi. Xiao Yue even exclaimed, "Truly, you can know a person's face but not their heart. After all these years, I never realized he was such a morally corrupt person."
"Hua Mei, you've truly been wronged," Xiao Yue said, her heart aching more with every word. She pulled Lin Mei closer, holding her hand tightly.
There were no lingering grudges between family members. Although Lin Mei had been questioned by them before, she didn't hold it against her parents. Now, with their support, she felt more confident in breaking up with Chen Qi.
The next day was Monday. Lin Mei arrived at the bank early and encountered Chen Qi in the parking lot. As soon as Chen Qi saw her, he walked over to talk to her. "After work today, let's go visit your dad at the hospital together. My parents will also be arriving this afternoon."
Chen Qi's parents had heard about Lin Zhengde's hospitalization and wanted to come and visit their in-laws. Chen Qi had bought them high-speed train tickets, and they would arrive by noon.
"There's no need," Lin Mei said, completely unmoved. She told Chen Qi directly, "My decision to break up won't change."
Upon hearing the word "break up," Chen Qi's face immediately darkened. He could no longer maintain his gentle demeanor. "If you keep this up, do you believe I won't tell your parents about the sordid things you and Ming Zhou have done!"
Lin Mei looked at him coldly. Did he think he could still threaten her? Her parents now knew Chen Qi's true character, so even if she and Ming Zhou had something going on, her parents wouldn't blame her.
"Before you do that, why don't you take a good look at what you've done?"
Lin Mei took out her phone, found the video, and sent it to Chen Qi. When Chen Qi saw the video thumbnail on WeChat, panic immediately flashed across his face.
He naturally recognized the video. He had recorded it when he was with Jiang Chubì, and there was a copy saved in his iCloud. "Where did you get this?"
"If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it in the first place," Lin Mei replied, not answering Chen Qi's question. "If you continue to pester me, I'll post the video on the bank's internal network. If you're not afraid of losing face, we can both go down in flames."
Lin Mei no longer cared what others said about her. She wasn't the one who had cheated, so why should she endure humiliation for the sake of reputation?
Chen Qi hadn't anticipated that Lin Mei would have such a trump card. If it were a video of him with someone else, it would be one thing, but the protagonist was Jiang Chubì. If it truly spread, and Xing Zheng heard about it, he would be finished!
Even though the outside world rumored that Jiang Chubì and Xing Zheng each pursued their own interests, and he had seen Xing Zheng dating different women, as a man, Chen Qi understood the principle of "only officials are allowed to set fires, while common people are forbidden to light lamps."
When men said they each pursued their own interests, it meant they didn't want to be controlled by their women. If they wanted to go out and play, it was fine, but if their women also went out to play, that was absolutely unacceptable.
Chen Qi moved to snatch Lin Mei's phone. Lin Mei didn't struggle with him. "It's no use if you take my phone; I've made backups."
"Lin Mei, what the hell do you want? Haven't I treated you well enough?" Chen Qi yelled at her impatiently. "Do you think Ming Zhou will want you if you break up with me? With his family background, how could he possibly let someone like you into his home!"
"I want to break up," Lin Mei said calmly to Chen Qi. "As long as you don't harass me anymore, I won't release the video publicly."
Chen Qi retorted, "After all this, you just want to dump me! You've truly fed your conscience to the dogs. If I hadn't taken you to the hospital back then, you would have died on the roadside!"
Lin Mei replied, "The 1.2 million yuan was my payment to you."
Chen Qi scoffed, "You think that little money can get rid of me?"
As Chen Qi and Lin Mei were in a stalemate, a figure suddenly approached. "Lin Mei, is that really you?"
Lin Mei found the voice extremely familiar. She turned her head and saw Xie Qinjia. "What a coincidence, are you here for business?"
"I'm accompanying a friend to the bank to handle some procedures. You are..." Xie Qinjia looked at Chen Qi opposite her.
She had seen Lin Mei and Chen Qi arguing from a distance earlier and had also overheard Chen Qi's unreasonable words. Lin Mei had helped Xie Qinjia before, and now that she was in trouble, Xie Qinjia naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
As the saying goes, family matters should not be aired in public. Lin Mei didn't know how to introduce Chen Qi to Xie Qinjia. While she was in a dilemma, Chen Qi introduced himself to Xie Qinjia. "Hello, I'm Lin Mei's boyfriend, Chen Qi. And you are..."
"Is that so?" Xie Qinjia, who was usually friendly, showed a hint of disdain when dealing with Chen Qi. Xie Qinjia then asked Lin Mei, "Is what he said true?"
Lin Mei replied, "We were just breaking up, so no longer."
"Are you busy? Come have a cup of coffee with me," Xie Qinjia invited Lin Mei to chat. Lin Mei was supposed to go out for work at Shuangmu that morning, so after clocking in at the bank, she accompanied Xie Qinjia for coffee.
Xie Qinjia was very warm towards Lin Mei, paying for all the coffee. Lin Mei felt a bit awkward and said she would treat her to a meal next time. Xie Qinjia smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite with me!"
"That man just now... was he really your ex-boyfriend?" Xie Qinjia thought about Chen Qi. She felt he didn't match Lin Mei's temperament at all. While he was a talented young man, his words didn't sound like they came from a person of good character. How could such a person be worthy of Lin Mei?
"Yes, we dated for almost six years." Lin Mei said with self-deprecation, "My judgment wasn't very good when I was young." Xie Qinjia's praise made her feel very comforted. "Thank you."
Xie Qinjia continued, "Are you free tonight? I'll introduce you to some outstanding young people."
Lin Mei immediately understood Xie Qinjia's intention – she wanted to set her up with someone. Lin Mei politely declined, "My father is hospitalized and will be undergoing surgery soon. I have to go to the hospital after work."
Xie Qinjia asked, "What's wrong? Is it serious? Has the hospital arrangement been made? I can have someone arrange it for you."
Lin Mei quickly explained the situation to Xie Qinjia. After listening, Xie Qinjia finally relaxed and didn't forget to remind her, "If you have any problems, remember to contact me anytime." Lin Mei replied, "Okay, thank you."
Xie Qinjia was about to say something else to Lin Mei when she suddenly saw a child across the way. She waved and called out, "Yang Shuo!"