Chapter 25: Who Matters More

“Zhang Xiluo, looking for your father?” The voice on the other end of the line belonged to a young woman, sharp and bitter, brimming with hatred as if she wanted to devour her.
“Who are you?” Zhang Xiluo’s expression grew stern, her grip on the phone tightening as a sense of foreboding swept over her. “Why are you holding my father’s phone?”
“You can’t even recognize my voice?” The woman ground her teeth viciously. “If you want to find your father, come alone. I’ll send you the address.”
“What have you done to my father?” Zhang Xiluo shouted, but the call had already been ended.
Clutching her phone, Zhang Xiluo tried hard to recall the voice. Such hatred—there had to be a reason.
Who could it be…
“Zhang Xiluo, what’s going on?” Li Mingye stopped the car, took Zhang Xiluo’s phone, and dialed back. The call was immediately rejected.
“I don’t know.” Zhang Xiluo shook her head, utterly at a loss, but she knew she couldn’t let Li Mingye get involved.
She took her phone back and saw the address. Her heart sank, and she quickly turned off the screen.
At that moment, Li Mingye’s phone rang—it was Zhou Yao.
“Mr. Li, where are you? The doctor needs to speak with you.” Zhou Yao’s voice was gentle, tinged with weakness and cautiousness.
“I’ll be back soon.”
After Li Mingye spoke, Zhang Xiluo laughed. “I told you Zhou Yao needed you, but you wouldn’t listen. Now I’ve twisted my ankle because of it.”
She wasn’t bitter, simply complaining.
“My house is in chaos right now. Don’t add to my troubles. Get out and call a car for yourself.”
“Add to your troubles?” Li Mingye’s face darkened. He’d helped her out of goodwill, and not only did she not appreciate it, she turned it back on him.
Ungrateful woman!
“Yes.” Zhang Xiluo nodded seriously. “Let’s each mind our own business and not cause trouble for one another. Let’s just pretend we’re already divorced.”
Li Mingye sneered, opened the car door, and said, “Remember your words. Don’t come begging to me!”
If begging him could help, she’d done it in her past life. Did it work? No. He’d always treated her with nothing but coldness and disdain.
In this life, she would never humble herself before him again.
Zhang Xiluo said nothing, endured the pain, and crawled from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. She floored the accelerator and left, paying no attention to Li Mingye’s dark expression.
Luckily, it was only her left foot that was injured—she could still drive, barely.
She first drove back to Qingyuan. The yard was pitch black, and not a single light was on in the house.
Zhang Xiluo could hardly stand. As soon as she got out of the car, she fell to the ground, scraping her palm.
A wave of grievance surged in her chest. All because of that damned man!

“Had too much to drink?” Ouyang Chen appeared out of nowhere and, seeing Zhang Xiluo lying on the ground, bent over to examine her closely.
“I fell. Help me up, would you?”
Ouyang Chen helped her to her feet. She thanked him and hopped toward the house.
“Where are your shoes?” Ouyang Chen followed, supporting her and unlocking the door.
“I lost them.”
She turned on the lights and searched every room, but her father was nowhere to be found.
Zhang Xiluo was about to leave when Ouyang Chen stopped her, handing her a pair of shoes from the rack.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Thank you. I’ll treat you to dinner another day.” Zhang Xiluo hopped out the door, opened the car, and climbed in.
Ouyang Chen pulled her out, sternly warning her that it was dangerous.
She knew it was dangerous, but she had to go!
“It won’t happen again. I have something to do, let me go.”
Ouyang Chen scooped her up and placed her in the passenger seat. “I’ll drive you.”
“No! Get out.” Zhang Xiluo refused, and Ouyang Chen sensed something was off.
“You don’t trust me?” Ouyang Chen untied the towel from his arm and wiped sweat from his brow. “You can either tell me, or you can sit here all night.”
“I don’t trust you. You’re too quick to talk.” Zhang Xiluo was blunt. She remembered him tattling before, and besides, they weren’t close.
The fewer people who knew about this, the better.
Ouyang Chen’s gaze flickered, his expression uneasy. “You hold grudges, don’t you?”
Of course. If he hadn’t told Li’s mother, she might already be divorced from Li Mingye.
“Fine, you win.”
Ouyang Chen got out, carried her back to the driver’s seat, and watched her drive away.

“You finally came!” The woman saw Zhang Xiluo and became excited. “Do you remember me, Zhang Xiluo?”
Zhang Xiluo recognized her—it was Mu Leyu, Li Mingye’s junior from university. Her face was only half intact; the other half was marred by burn scars.
Like Zhang Xiluo, she loved Li Mingye deeply.
But she was the illegitimate daughter of the Mu family, destined never to win against Zhang Xiluo.
On Zhang Xiluo and Li Mingye’s wedding day, Mu Leyu planned to create chaos at the ceremony but was discovered by the Mu family and dragged away.

A few days later, a fire broke out at her residence, and she was presumed burned to death.
“Where is my father?” Zhang Xiluo was shocked—a dead woman resurrected. “You want me, not my father. He has nothing to do with this.”
“That’s right. I want you.” Mu Leyu pulled out a knife and dropped it to the floor. “You stole my Ming brother and ruined my face.”
“If you destroy your face like mine, I’ll tell you where your father is.”
“Alright.” Zhang Xiluo nodded without hesitation. The only thing she cared about was her loved ones. Disfigurement meant nothing to her.
“Li Mingye has a new lover now. Has your heart died?” Mu Leyu hated her to the bone—she wouldn’t rest until she saw Zhang Xiluo suffer.
Zhang Xiluo hopped over to pick up the knife, endured the pain, and stood up. “I don’t love him anymore. Whoever he’s with is no concern of mine.”
“Nonsense! I saw you two at the hotel. You were at it all night.”
Zhang Xiluo was stunned, her face flushing red, but she feigned indifference. “Adults fighting in bed—it’s normal. Physical needs.”
“You ruined everything for me.” Mu Leyu seethed.
That day, she’d sneaked in to drug Li Mingye, thinking he was especially fond of Zhou Yao. Driven by jealousy, she tried to have someone violate Zhou Yao, but Li Mingye saved her.
“I thought he’d sleep with that college girl… He really is different with her.” Mu Leyu’s jealousy was palpable as she clenched her fists.
She could see it—Zhou Yao was Li Mingye’s true love. Why couldn’t he realize it himself?
“Why don’t you go after his father?” Zhang Xiluo couldn’t understand—Mu Leyu knew everything and still came after her.
She was just a cast-off wife!
That damned man—his debts, and she had to pay for them.
“What’s the use of catching him? I found a better way, one that’ll make you suffer and torment that college girl as well.” Mu Leyu’s face twisted with malice as she laughed. “I want to see whether Li Mingye cares more for you or his new lover.”
“You mean…” Zhang Xiluo suddenly realized—there was no such thing as coincidence; this was a deliberate plot!
“You’ve gone too far!” Zhang Xiluo was furious. She had never realized Mu Leyu was so cunning.
Mu Leyu pressed closer, gripping Zhang Xiluo’s hand, holding the knife to her face. “Back to the point—if you want to know where your father is, destroy half your face.”
“Stop! Let her go!”
A shout rang out, and Mu Leyu’s body trembled.