“`
Two paths lay before Shen Mingshan.
One was to sign the divorce agreement swiftly and part ways with dignity.
The other was to go through the court proceedings, aiming to get as much property as possible.
But the second path came with the risk of Wang Xueru truly exposing his affairs with numerous women during their marriage, and in this era of short videos, such information could spread at an astonishing rate. If it really came to light, he could be ruined both financially and reputationally.
At that point, his company, to avoid negative publicity, would most likely fire him, and companies within the same industry wouldn’t hire him either.
Besides, having achieved the position of Marketing Director, he had numerous rivals within the company. If these scandals were exposed, his adversaries would certainly kick him while he was down, with unimaginable consequences.
Thus, although Wang Xueru seemed to have given him two options, in reality, there was only one viable path.
Shen Mingshan found a lawyer friend in his contacts. The last time he was caught having an affair, Wang Xueru had suggested divorce, and Shen Mingshan had prepared for the worst by consulting a lawyer. However, after assessing the situation, he felt the cost of divorce was too high, so he fought desperately to win her back.
As a first-time offender and considering the child’s well-being, Wang Xueru ultimately chose to forgive him.
But Shen Mingshan had referred a few other cases to the lawyer, and over time, they had become acquainted.
“Lawyer Liu, sorry for disturbing you so late.”
“I would like to consult you about the divorce…”
Shen Mingshan laid out his predicament and sought Lawyer Liu’s opinion.
After listening, the lawyer slowly said, “If you plan to give the daughter’s custody to your wife and she indeed has evidence of your infidelity, then the judge is very likely to support her demand for a larger share of the property. It’s hard to estimate the amount, but based on past cases, it could be around sixty to seventy percent.”
“Not competing for custody given your current situation is an advantage, after all, your wife is a full-time housewife without a job. If custody were granted to you, you would have some advantage in the division of property.”
“But as you fear, that’s the legal aspect of the verdict. If your wife does expose your infidelity on social platforms, the consequences are unpredictable. It might not cause any ripples, or it could lead to a storm that completely crushes you under its waves.”
“So, ultimately, the decision is yours to make.”
Lawyer Liu had outlined the two possibilities plainly.
Shen Mingshan thanked him and then hung up the phone.
He took a bottle of red wine from the liquor cabinet, drank it silently, and then signed his name on the divorce agreement.
As the saying goes, “As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood.” As long as he kept his job with an annual salary of several hundred thousand, he could quickly recover.
After completing this, he sent a message to Li Manshu: I’m divorced, left with nothing, and temporarily moving in with you.
Wanhe New Town.
Li Manshu was lying in bed, applying a face mask while browsing Kuaiyin.
She had bought this apartment with the money from her divorce settlement. It wasn’t large, only 55 square meters, but it was enough for her alone.
Suddenly, a message from Shen Mingshan popped up on Kuaiyin. She frowned upon reading it.
Divorced, and left with nothing!
That meant starting from scratch with nothing at all!
Her gaze turned cold, and then she simply ignored the message. It was reasonable to be asleep at this hour.
She continued scrolling through Kuaiyin. Because she had been house hunting lately, she often came across content related to houses—for instance, videos about buying houses or home decoration.
This time, she stumbled upon a video tagged with Star Cloud Bay.
Her scrolling fingers halted. The first two minutes of the video were about a weight loss vlog, then suddenly there was a shift: “Finished today’s workout; might as well show off the new place…”
Then the grand reveal started, and unbelievably, the video showed someone taking possession of a property in Star Cloud Bay!
That was Li Manshu’s dream home. Even though she knew she couldn’t afford it when she was looking for a house, she still checked out some layouts and videos of properties for sale in Star Cloud Bay online.
This video featured the largest layout in Star Cloud Bay that she had seen online, a whopping 688 square meters!
However, this layout was never listed for sale, so there were no real-life videos on the housing app, just the layout plan. This was the first time she saw the real thing.
As she watched each room, she became increasingly exhilarated. The narrator was seeking viewers’ opinions on how to decorate the place, so Li Manshu earnestly considered her options and left her suggestions in the comment section.
Besides that, she followed the vlogger, who went by the nickname “Mr. Yang Losing Weight,” and sent him a private message expressing her wish to get to know him. She included her contact information.
Although his face wasn’t shown in the video, the weight loss vlog revealed his thick thighs, clearly those of a man.
“`
The man who owned a 688-square-meter mansion in Star Cloud Bay must definitely be a billionaire big shot. If one could get to know such a tycoon, wouldn’t that present an opportunity to rise to great heights?
It was naturally a time to take initiative.
After sending her contact details, Li Manshu felt it wasn’t enough, so she chose another photo from her phone’s album, a retouched and rather sexy one, and sent it to the other party.
Li Manshu’s greatest pride was her appearance and figure. Already blessed with good features, combined with the powerful beauty filters, it was impossible to tell that she was a woman who had given birth.
After sending the photo, Li Manshu clicked into the comments section of the video. There were already over two hundred messages, and seeing the comments, she subconsciously frowned.
Because ninety percent of the comments were from fawning admirers, and most of them were women.
[“Can you take a detailed picture of the maid’s room? I want to know what my future work environment will look like.”]
[“Brother, are you short of a maid? I can offer bed-warming services.”]
[“Choose me, master. I’m a 36D!”]
[“The one above is obviously fake. I’m a natural 38E!”]
[“Brother, I feel like your home lacks nothing but me!”]
[“Uncle, pick me, I’m 18 this year, younger than all of them!”]
[…]
Li Manshu randomly clicked on a few profiles, and two of them turned out to be minor internet celebrities with tens of thousands of followers, both looking good in videos and having nice figures.
It’s so competitive!
In these times, there were simply too many women wanting a shortcut.
Li Manshu originally had a glimmer of hope, but after seeing the comments, she immediately lost heart.
For wealthy men of this level, beautiful women were not a scarce resource but an excess one!
Besides, as a divorced woman who had given birth, she had no competitive edge.
However, should the person indeed get in touch with her, Li Manshu would never admit to having had a child.
Sigh, she didn’t know what kind of woman would be the wife of a super-rich man, or what kind of lavish life they must lead!
Li Manshu dreamed silently, but couldn’t sketch out any concrete image, as she had never interacted with people of that social stratum.
But one thing was certain, no more looking at price tags when shopping…
The next day.
Yang Hao opened his eyes before seven o’clock.
He instinctively reached for the mobile phone on his bedside table, then saw the deposit alert from ICBC, one hundred thousand yuan.
It meant he had only lost one kilogram yesterday.
Actually, this was normal; during weight loss, one usually loses more in the first two or three days, mostly so-called water weight, then the pace slows down.
But this hundred thousand was crucial for Yang Hao, as after buying the apartment in Fenghua Residential Area yesterday, there was hardly any money left in his bank account.
It was quite embarrassing to own a mansion worth over forty million but not have the money to buy furniture and appliances.
Although this hundred thousand yuan was not nearly enough to decorate the forty million mansion, having money in the account provided some peace of mind.
After checking the deposit message from ICBC, he opened Kuaiyin, and then he was stunned.
The message count had surged to 99+!
And his follower count had skyrocketed by 150,000 overnight!
He quickly opened the video he had posted before going to bed last night, and the likes had reached an astonishing 350,000!!
What the heck!!
This… is making a fortune!!!