Finishing the last step, Su He finally put down her paintbrush with a sigh of relief.
"Is it this late already? No wonder my neck is so stiff." She stretched, looking at the clock on the wall. It was already nine in the evening.
Fortunately, her efforts were not in vain.
Su He stood up and admired the portrait for a long time. The old man in the painting wore a Tang suit. His face, weathered by time, was etched with wrinkles, yet it still hinted at the youthful demeanor of his past. His eyes were bright and piercing, and the corners of his lips were turned up slightly, conveying both sternness and kindness.
This was Old Master Lu, Lu Chengfeng. He was the only one in the Lu family who had ever smiled at her.
A large part of the reason Su He had held off on mentioning divorce was because of him.
Old Master Lu's health was poor and he couldn't tolerate shock. For the past few years, he had spent most of his time in bed, and had received multiple critical illness notices. If it weren't for the need to bring him good luck, Su He wouldn't have been married off to Lu Jingyang by the Su family.
Of course, with Su Chenghai's influence, he had originally intended to marry her off to Lu Yanbei. However, the Lu family was not foolish; why would they let her ruin the successor to the Lu family? Moreover, Lu Yanbei wasn't in the country at the time. He only appeared after she and Lu Jingyang had registered their marriage. It seemed he had deliberately stayed away to escape this ordeal.
But it was strange, ever since Su He entered the Lu family, Old Master Lu's health immediately improved, becoming more spirited with each passing day. Half a year later, he became full of life, able to eat two large bowls of rice at a meal.
Therefore, Old Master Lu regarded her as a lucky charm and doted on her immensely.
Alas, a forced marriage is not sweet.
This marriage would have to be dissolved sooner or later.
With a sigh, Su He carefully took down the painting, intending to find a place to have it framed the next day and present it to the old master personally on his birthday.
Su He suffered from night blindness and couldn't ride a bike at night, so she flagged down a taxi on the road.
"Where to?" the driver greeted her enthusiastically.
"Number 43 Beihua Street," Su He gave the address.
"Oh, that's a high-end residential area. The property prices there aren't cheap," the driver said with a smile, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
Su He replied faintly, "I'm renting."
The driver met her emotionless gaze and felt a sense of being seen through, prompting him to wisely fall silent.
Ten minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of the residential complex.
Su He paid the fare and got out with the paper bag containing the portrait. As she walked to the foot of Building Six, she saw a crowd of people gathered around, pointing and murmuring, unsure what had happened.
"Oh, Xiao Su, you're finally back!" Aunt Zhang, a neighbor from downstairs, saw her and waved.
"What's going on?" Su He asked, confused.
"Someone so inconsiderate, who knows who, splashed paint on your front door. There's also writing on the wall saying 'debts must be repaid' and some threats. Did you offend someone?" Aunt Zhang had a loud voice, and with her shouting, everyone turned to look at Su He.
"So it's her! So young, doing what she shouldn't, going into loan sharking."
"The houses here aren't cheap. I was wondering how there could be such a young owner. So she borrowed money to buy it!"
"Didn't you say before she was being kept?"
"This is much worse than being kept! She might get attacked!"
"Oh dear, it's so scary! Thinking that those people could come to collect debts anytime makes me tremble with fear!"
"What are you doing? If you don't have money, don't buy! You've even splashed paint near my doorstep, what bad luck!"
"How can we have neighbors like this!"
The neighbors' whispered gossip made Su He's scalp tingle.
She hadn't borrowed any loan shark money at all!
And these people, judging her without knowing the facts, were too much.
Angrily, she took the elevator upstairs. Upon seeing the large characters written in red paint on the wall and door, she felt completely disheartened.
This door wasn't cheap; it had cost her ten thousand yuan!
With it now splattered with paint, cleaning it would be so troublesome. And the wall, to restore it to its original state, would require the entire wall to be stripped and repainted, another considerable expense.
Who had she offended to deserve such treatment!
Furious, Su He immediately called the property management. "My front door has been splashed with paint. I request to view the nearby surveillance footage."
"Ms. Su, we are truly sorry. The system is currently undergoing upgrades, and the surveillance equipment is under maintenance and temporarily non-operational." The property management's response made Su He even more distraught.
With no help from property management, Su He had no choice but to call the police.
However, before she could dial, an unknown call came in.
Su He hesitated for a moment and answered.
The voice on the other end had been altered, making it unclear. "You've surely seen the masterpiece on your door, haven't you? We'll give you three days to repay the money you borrowed, or next time it won't be as simple as splashing paint."
Su He calmly moved the phone further away and pressed the record button. "Do you know that this behavior is illegal? Also, I don't even know who you are, when did I owe you money?"
"Your name is Su He, right? Your ID number is 420xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx..." The caller slowly recited a string of numbers that matched her personal information. "A month ago, you borrowed thirty thousand yuan from our boss, signed a contract, and affixed your fingerprint. Don't think you can deny it!"
Su He was so angry she almost laughed. "Not only damaging property, but also blackmail! Alright, you wait. I'm calling the police right now!"
Su He hung up after speaking.
Aunt Zhang asked with concern, "Was it really a mistake on their part?"
"It's possible someone used my personal information to take out a loan from them." Su He frowned. She had seen such news on television many times but never expected it to happen to her.
Soon after, she reported it to the police and briefly explained the situation. The police responded quickly, arriving at the scene within five minutes. After taking photos and evidence, they asked her some related questions and took a statement. Although the immediate issue was dealt with, the paint on the door couldn't be cleaned immediately.
Su He used her key to open the door, and got paint on her clothes.
She was immediately struck by a sense of helplessness.
Changing into old clothes, Su He spent a full two hours cleaning the paint off the floor in front of her door. As for the walls and the door, she was powerless and could only find professionals to deal with it.
After collapsing in the bathroom for a while, Su He gradually calmed down.
This matter was not that simple.
She had no past grievances or recent feuds; who would go out of their way to harm her? The only person she had conflict with was Lu Jingyang. Because of the divorce, he had been scolded by his grandfather, and he might be taking his anger out on her.
Recalling her experience at the hotel that day, she couldn't help but suspect that this was all Lu Jingyang's doing, with the aim of forcing her to divorce him.
The more Su He thought about it, the more convinced she became.
To confirm her suspicion, Su He made a phone call.
"What, have you figured it out?" The call was answered quickly. Without her speaking, Lu Jingyang's attitude revealed everything. "Su He, you were the one who acted unjustly first, so don't blame me for being unrighteous!"
Su He was initially very angry and wanted to scold him fiercely. But then she thought, it wasn't worth it. What good would it do to curse back? Would it restore everything to its original state?
It might even backfire on her.
Su He took a deep breath. "Do you want a divorce that badly? Fine, I'll grant it to you!"