Chapter 51: Be Obedient at Home Part 3

In this day and age, in a society governed by the rule of law, how could something like this still happen? She didn’t dare imagine the dilemmas those girls would face in their futures, or the nightmares they would repeatedly fall into.

Ren Sanliu thought that perhaps she would never encounter something so nauseating and heartbreaking again in her lifetime. In this vulgar world overflowing with materialism, she had never been anyone’s white glove. Though the temptations of profit often dangled before her, if it meant sacrificing her conscience and violating her morals, she would rather do without.

The coercive power of morality had no physical form, yet it penetrated deeper into people’s hearts than the law, commanding reverence.

Xiang Yu put the letter back into the envelope, took her coat, and slipped it into the hidden pocket in the lining. Through the fabric of her clothes, she pinched the letter again.

“Is there anything else?”

Ren Sanliu hesitated for a moment, but that hesitation was quickly seen through by Xiang Yu’s profound, perceptive gaze.

“Zong Lan, a director at Fok Group, she knows about Fang Jianke’s affairs too. When I went to see her, she instructed her female assistant to tell me that Fang Jianke had plenty of ‘good goods’ in hand. But at the time, I didn’t realize that ‘good goods’ referred to left-behind children, so I… I privately asked a few trustworthy acquaintances to look into it…”

“Ren Sanliu—” Xiang Yu’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“Let me finish first. I didn’t not want to tell you. I even thought about going to the police at the time, but… I had no evidence. Just a few ambiguous words, and there was nothing I could do. Besides… you don’t know Zong Lan. She’s very cautious. When her female assistant told me these things, she not only turned off the dashcam, but every sentence she said avoided any responsibility. Plus… Zong Lan and Fang Jianke already had a conflict over that plot of land, so I couldn’t be sure… if she did it on purpose…”

“Whether she did it intentionally or really knew something, you shouldn’t have investigated on your own!”

Xiang Yu’s voice suddenly rose, and her eyes widened as she stared at Ren Sanliu. In the space lit only by a small nightlight, Ren Sanliu actually felt a little afraid of her, because her brows furrowed tightly, and her face paled in an instant.

“Ren Sanliu… can’t you think about me before you act?”

“You keep playing the hero time and again—what good does it do you?”

Xiang Yu pushed herself up from where she leaned against the headboard. Her tone wasn’t gentle at all—not like when they had been entwined in bed moments before. It was even fierce. This reminded Ren Sanliu of the time Xiang Yu had cursed someone out at the police bureau. Ren Sanliu thought… if they weren’t in this kind of relationship now, Xiang Yu would probably point her finger at her face right then and demand that she leave the bedroom immediately.

Ren Sanliu’s gaze swept over the condoms on the floor that hadn’t yet been thrown into the trash, and she suddenly shifted, wanting to crawl over to Xiang Yu’s side and get out of bed.

But as soon as she leaned toward the side, Xiang Yu grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to clean up the trash.”

Xiang Yu turned her head, following Ren Sanliu’s line of sight, and only then noticed the condoms on the floor and the face towel she had tossed inside one of them.

“What was I just talking to you about? Trying to change the subject again?” Xiang Yu realized it was hard to keep the barbs out of her words right now, but it wasn’t from anger—it was a fear from having nearly lost her. “I’m telling you, my temper isn’t good either. If you want to test it, I don’t mind losing it once.”

Ren Sanliu said nothing. The hand Xiang Yu gripped on her arm hurt a little.

But that pain didn’t last or intensify, because Xiang Yu let go. She threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, bent down, and picked up the condoms and face towel from the floor.

She wasn’t wearing pants. The white T-shirt was her own, and its length didn’t cover much—it stopped at her waistband. But her legs were beautifully shaped, straight and slender, and from years of exercise, the muscle lines that showed when she walked… were also stunning.

By the time Xiang Yu had thrown away what was in her hand and returned, her mood had clearly softened. She stood by the bed, looking at the person sitting up straight with legs crossed diagonally on it, and spoke.

“What did you find out?”

“I only asked around once, and after that, I didn’t investigate anymore,” Ren Sanliu told the truth.

“It’s not that you didn’t want to investigate. You found out you couldn’t uncover anything, right?”

“No choice. I’m just a lawyer—and the disobedient kind at that. The big shots upstairs use me purely because I do good work. As for those deeper things that touch on their real internal dealings, I don’t have the clearance.”

As Ren Sanliu said this, her eyes stayed fixed on Xiang Yu, filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration.

Xiang Yu was stunned for a moment, suddenly realizing… over all this time, aside from when Ren Sanliu had brought her clothes at the police bureau and asked if she was okay, she hadn’t said anything else. She had thought that as long as Ren Sanliu wasn’t in mortal danger, the rest didn’t matter.

But in reality, she had oversimplified it all. She hadn’t worked in those cutthroat, scheming corporate environments, but things at the police bureau weren’t simpler than the outside world. Every place had its dark corners, and behind every interest involving the upper echelons were countless tangled networks of relationships. For those truly internal matters, it wasn’t just that Ren Sanliu lacked clearance—she did too.

Now, Ren Sanliu had turned down Fang Jianke’s case, putting her not only at odds with him but offending the people above. Though she had switched to representing the other side to balance the interests, she was still in a career crisis. There had been room to maneuver before, but then Fang Jianke had played her—digging up her past and splashing filth all over her. She couldn’t fight back, and her hard-earned achievements were now disregarded because of it.

Xiang Yu believed Ren Sanliu wouldn’t care about such external things, but not caring didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Her efforts were real, the hardships she endured were real, and just because of people who knew nothing, tapping away on keyboards, everything she had was stripped away so easily.

But this besieged situation was something Ren Sanliu could have avoided. If not for her, she wouldn’t have offended the higher-ups, gotten dragged into the public opinion storm, or had her ‘old accounts’ exposed.

She had bet her future and sacrificed her privacy, only to end up… finding nothing. Her powerlessness wasn’t for any other reason—it was because even after paying so much, she still couldn’t help her.

The little mermaid had her scales plucked off, and the heartache and helplessness pierced Xiang Yu too.

“It would be strange if you had found anything… after all… I’ve been watching him for so long and haven’t found a thing either.”

Xiang Yu sat down, looking at Ren Sanliu. Her fingers gently brushed the bruise on her forehead, trailed along her temple, and landed on the small black mole at the corner of her left eye. Then, she reached around to Ren Sanliu’s back, placing her palm on her shoulder.

“I get it. Leave the rest to me. You focus on your lawsuit. If I need anything… I’ll ask you.”

With that, Xiang Yu pulled Ren Sanliu into her arms.

Ren Sanliu leaned her full weight into Xiang Yu’s embrace and softly said,

“Okay.”

She turned off the nightlight by the bed.

Ren Sanliu turned her head, resting her face in the hollow of Xiang Yu’s shoulder. She gazed at Xiang Yu’s face, pure and beautiful in the light filtering through the curtain gap, resisting the urge to touch it.

“Can’t sleep?” Xiang Yu asked her.

“I have a few more things to say. You don’t need to respond—just listen until I’m done.”

Ren Sanliu didn’t know why, but her fingers clutched Xiang Yu’s collar tightly, and her heart tightened with it.

“I’ve always been reclusive and indifferent. In all those years of growing up before, I never dared hope for a shoulder to rely on. Even though I love you, I didn’t dare fully entrust myself to you without reservation.”

“I was always on guard, always prepared, forever planning for the worst.”

“I’m shrewd, but also despicable—taking advantage of your love without fear. It was only in the years after our breakup that I gradually understood those past events. You were always accommodating me. You knew my flaws all along but chose to tolerate them instead of demanding I change. I could never, and would absolutely never, meet another person who loves me the way you do.”

“What I want to say is… I want to tell you that even if my cold, thin personality doesn’t change—and even if it does, it might not change much—that doesn’t affect how I love you. From the moment I realized you liked me, I was moved. And later, when we reunited and lived together every day, that feeling only grew stronger. I know… you feel the same. People who give their true hearts can sense it.”

“Lifetime is so long. I want a home, but it has to have you in it—otherwise, it means nothing to me.”

“Xiang Yu… can you give me that?”

Xiang Yu’s eyelids burned, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. She had never doubted Ren Sanliu’s love for her. It was just that they had been too young back then, unable to pull away from the sudden collapse of that incident. Ren Sanliu had been too broken, shattered to the point where only abandoning everything could save her.

“I’m sorry… for all the times I hurt you in the past…”

And for my countless middle-ground principles.

Ren Sanliu kissed away the tear at the corner of her eye.