After the Divorce, I Unlocked a Perfect Life

"Don’t tell me they refused the loan?"

"Nephew, that’s enough," Li Rongjun whispered.

"I’m not saying much. Aren’t we just having a normal conversation?"

"Fine, you’re clever. I’d like to see just who gets the last laugh."

Li Hengyuan lit another cigarette, trying to hide his awkwardness by fiddling with his phone.

BZZT BZZT BZZT—

Just then, Li Hengyuan’s phone started buzzing.

"It’s Brother Zhang calling."

"Didn’t you just call him? Did he find something out this quickly?" Cui Jialing said.

"Usually, the results only come back this fast if there’s an obvious problem. Let me see what’s going on."

With that, Li Hengyuan answered the phone.

"Brother Zhang, did you find something?"

"Li Hengyuan, are you out of your goddamn mind? You asked me to investigate *him*?"

"Huh?"

Li Hengyuan grew tense from being yelled at. "What’s wrong?"

"Did you drink yourself stupid, or did a donkey kick you in the head? A company that big, is that something I can investigate? Damn it, you almost got me killed."

The man on the other end hung up before Li Hengyuan could say another word.

The private room fell silent again, with only the sound of Lin Jiang slurping his noodles.

That one question—"A company that big, is that something I can investigate?"—made them realize Lin Jiang’s business was far bigger than they had imagined.

The average person didn’t have the authority to investigate his company.

And Li Hengyuan, it turned out, was just such an "average person."

This outcome was exactly what Lin Jiang had expected.

A company the size of Berkeley wasn’t something someone at Li Hengyuan’s level could investigate.

"Go on, keep looking. See if you can find anyone else," Lin Jiang said with a chuckle. "Don’t stop now."

Li Hengyuan sat awkwardly in his chair. "You... Your business is actually quite big..."

"Whether it’s big or small has nothing to do with you. You just keep investigating. No need to be polite. We wouldn’t want me to make some terrible mistake, after all."

"I..."

Li Hengyuan wanted to say something, but he was at a loss for words.

"I’m finished. You keep looking for people to run your checks. Don’t hold back on my account. Just let me know when you find something."

With that, Lin Jiang stood up. "Tongtong, are you two finished eating?"

"We’re finished too."

"Let’s go."

"I’m leaving as well. You all take your time," Li Xiaoping said as she stood up.

"Sister."

Li Rongjun stood up, wanting to ease the tension, but Li Hengyuan had gone too far, and he didn’t know how to smooth things over.

He, too, was fuming and wanted to just storm out.

"Eldest Brother, Second Sister, I’m going to settle the bill. If you all want to keep eating, feel free to finish before you go."

With that, Li Rongjun also left with Meng Hongqin.

Cui Jialing looked at Li Hengyuan, her expression grim as she said:

"Eldest Brother, you’d better behave yourself. You can’t afford to provoke our Second Brother anymore."

...

After leaving the hot pot restaurant, the two families went their separate ways home.

Lin Jiang wasn’t affected in the slightest. He took Li Yueting and Xu Yingjun to go pick fruit.

Li Xiaoping, on the other hand, was furious.

But her anger only lasted a short while. Her son was wealthy now and their lives had improved, so there was no need to stay angry with them.

The next morning, Lin Jiang decided not to leave and planned to stay one more day.

He didn’t go out that day, staying home to help Li Xiaoping with chores.

Although he had topped up his ’maternal love meter’ with a hefty sum of money the day he returned, the balance was zero by today, and he received quite an earful.

Li Xiaoping spent the entire day packing things up at home. She picked all the ripe fruit from the trees and gathered a lot of vegetables from the garden for Lin Jiang.

"Mom, I don’t really cook for myself, so I won’t take these vegetables."

"These vegetables are for Jingxian. She lives on her own and can definitely use them. You can take them to her when you get back."

"Uh... alright then."

That evening, dinner was at Li Rongjun’s house. No one else was invited. The two men drank quite a bit, and the atmosphere was excellent.

The next morning, after everything was loaded into the car, Lin Jiang prepared to head back to Zhonghai.

During breakfast, both Li Rongjun and Meng Hongqin came over.

Knowing Lin Jiang was leaving, Meng Hongqin had slaughtered two old hens for him and also brought a case of eggs.

"Thanks, Auntie. For this case of eggs alone, I have to find you a high-quality old man. Stop living this hard life with my uncle."

"Hurry up and introduce me to one. Whether your aunt can live the good life is all up to you," Meng Hongqin played along with a smile.

"I’ll get right on it when I get back."

Li Rongjun laughed and swore good-naturedly, then helped Lin Jiang load everything into the car.

Just before leaving, Lin Jiang took out a bank card. "Mom, I put some money in this card. Spend it however you like, don’t try to save it."

"You already transferred me tens of thousands, and I haven’t even spent it all yet. You should keep it and spend it on yourself."

"It’s not that much, just take it."

Li Xiaoping accepted the bank card with a gratified smile. There was no need for such formalities between mother and son.

"If you get tired of staying here, come find me in Zhonghai. You can stay at my place for a few days."

"I know. You just focus on your business in Zhonghai. I’m in good health, you don’t need to worry about me."

"Okay, I’m off then."

"Don’t just focus on business. You’re not getting any younger. That Jingxian girl is really nice. Honestly, you two should just get together. It would save me from having to worry about you, and I could even help with the kids while I’m still young."

"Alright, alright, I’ll get on it."

Since home wasn’t too far—just over 200 kilometers—they could see each other whenever they wanted, so the parting between mother and son wasn’t overly sentimental.

Still, Li Xiaoping stood at her doorstep for a long time, only turning to go back inside reluctantly after Lin Jiang’s taillights had disappeared from view.

"Brother, are you thirsty? Have some water."

Li Yueting handed him a bottle of mineral water.