Volume One, Chapter 13: Have You Been Deceiving Me All Along?

Tan Qiutong harbored many doubts but still half-believed the results when someone checked the balance on the bank card. She recognized the card number—it was the same card she had once used to give Xu Qing his allowance. The password remained unchanged; it was her own birthday.

The inquiry results arrived quickly, revealing an astonishing sum of five million in the account.

Shock overwhelmed Tan Qiutong’s heart.

On the day of their divorce, she had intended to give Xu Qing five million, but he had refused the amount, choosing instead to leave empty-handed.

In other words, the money currently in the account was not the compensation she had given him.

So where had Xu Qing gotten this money?

Could it really be, as that young lady had suggested, that she had been utterly blind?

Regret crept in, but her pride forbade her from showing any emotion.

Tan Qiutong refused to believe she didn’t truly understand Xu Qing, or that she didn’t even know how much money he had.

She had simply assumed he was penniless and living off her, which was why she sent him money without ever questioning whether he had any funds of his own.

“Finished checking? If so, take the card and get lost!” Xu Qing’s voice was cold.

He didn’t want to see Tan Qiutong at all now.

This woman, whom he had loved wrongly for three years, only grew more irritating the more he looked at her.

Tan Qiutong had made the call to check the card’s balance.

The factory was so quiet one could hear a pin drop, so naturally, the conversation was overheard by Li Yuqin, who stood nearby.

Coming back to her senses from her shock, Li Yuqin tried to snatch the bank card from Tan Qiutong’s hand, speaking excitedly, “We only owe her two million. We can’t let her take it all!”

But Tan Qiutong held on tightly, her voice cold as ice: “Get lost! I don’t want to hurt you!”

Seeing the two women fighting over the bank card, Xu Qing couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth in surprise.

Hadn’t his former mother-in-law said that his ex-wife was the most beautiful CEO in Bi City?

If she was willing to pay him five million as divorce compensation, surely she wouldn’t be fighting over a bank card with her new mother-in-law...

However, Tan Qiutong wasn’t clinging to the money for its own sake.

She simply couldn’t understand why Xu Qing suddenly had money after leaving her.

She wanted to confirm whether the money truly belonged to Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, have you been deceiving me all these years?” Tan Qiutong suddenly asked.

“What have I lied to you about?” Xu Qing countered.

For three years, he had loved Tan Qiutong deeply, a misguided love that had even changed him.

He had been honest enough with her, except for a few things he couldn’t share.

He kept those secrets to protect her and the Tan family.

For her sake, he was willing to give up everything, even supreme power.

Tan Qiutong frowned. “You never told me you had so much money.”

Xu Qing laughed aloud at her words. “Who told you this money is mine?”

Tan Qiutong’s brow furrowed deeper. “But isn’t this your card?”

At that moment, Lin Xia, standing nearby, grew curious. “It’s not your money? Then where did your five million come from?”

She didn’t look down on Xu Qing for lacking money or think less of him, but she was genuinely curious about where this sudden five million had come from.

Xu Qing looked at her, his gaze softening slightly as he smiled and asked, “Lin Xia, what is my current position?”

Lin Xia hesitated, then replied, “Our company’s salesman... Does that have anything to do with the money?”

Tan Qiutong was puzzled as well. Was Xu Qing avoiding the question by changing the subject?

Could this money be dirty money obtained through illicit means?

Before Tan Qiutong’s imagination could run wild, Xu Qing pulled out a contract and handed it to Lin Xia.

“Didn’t I tell you this morning that I was going to secure a big deal?” Xu Qing said with a smile.

Lin Xia could hardly believe her ears, her hands trembling as she took the contract.

After reading it, tears of joy spilled down her cheeks. She quickly pulled her mother aside. “Mom, our group is saved! We’re not going bankrupt!”

“Really?” Li Yuqin asked, stunned.

Lin Xia handed her the contract. Li Yuqin rubbed her eyes and checked repeatedly to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

She could hardly believe it was true.

Tan Qiutong was naturally an icy beauty, but seeing her former close friend and her mother so excited stirred emotions within her.

She clicked her high heels briskly and stepped forward, squeezing beside Lin Xia to glance at the contract.

Once she confirmed it wasn’t a dream, her expression twisted slightly. “Xu Qing... have you been lying to me all along?”

Xu Qing shrugged, looking indifferent. “Why would I lie to you? We have nothing to do with each other now. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to.”

He was now a salesman for Lin Corporation, and bringing in orders was his job.

Tan Qiutong wanted to ask him to give her that contract so they could remarry, even take him to the Bai family’s networking events.

If the Deepwater Bay project landed in their Tan Group’s hands, she could show Xu Qing the world.

But her pride forbade her from saying these things. She could only watch the man who once loved her deeply walk toward her former best friend.

Xu Qing no longer paid her any attention. Instead, he pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Lin Xia, smiling gently. “Don’t cry anymore. The Wen family’s order is urgent. Save your tears for after the work’s done.”

That gentleness had once belonged only to Tan Qiutong.

Her heart clenched as if someone had driven a knife deep into it.

Lin Xia accepted the tissue, wiped away her tears, and smiled again. “You’re right, we need to focus on work first!”

Seeing her rallying and calling the staff to leave, Tan Qiutong grew anxious.

“You can’t do this!”

She gritted her teeth. “You can’t be ungrateful!”

Their group was in desperate need of building materials, but no supplier was willing to provide them—only Lin Corporation could relieve their urgent crisis.

Tan Qiutong couldn’t bring herself to beg Lin Xia. She merely believed Lin Xia should help her, just as she had helped Lin Xia before.

Lin Xia hesitated. Despite how much Tan Qiutong had hurt her, they had once been good friends, and the Tan family had indeed helped Lin Corporation before.

Even if it had been Lin Xia who once begged Tan Qiutong, humbling herself and enduring many humiliations.

But she also knew that if Tan Group failed to complete this project, the Tan family would face serious trouble, and Tan Qiutong might be pushed out to bear all the blame.

After much hesitation, Lin Xia finally nodded in agreement.

Tan Qiutong nodded in return, saying nothing more.

She turned and left swiftly without looking back, unwilling to be the source of their amusement.

After Tan Qiutong left, Lin Xia looked cautiously at Xu Qing. “Xu Qing... you won’t blame me, will you?”