He Xiaoyu didn't believe a single word Li Mu said.

Shaking her head bitterly, she said in a low voice, “When she's finally done torturing you, she’ll ask you to remarry her. She’s revenging you right now. And when she's done, it’ll be over for us.”

Li Mu sighed and said nothing more. He knew what He Xiaoyu said was right. His fate was all in Lin Wan’s hands. Unless she took the initiative to let go of him, he would never be able to escape from her.

“Li Mu, are you really afraid of her? Or are you just using it as an excuse? I want to hear the truth!”

He Xiaoyu bowed her head, and her expression became forlorn.

Li Mu knew that she began to suspect him. She had a point. He was a strong and healthy man. So it made no sense for him to act so lowly and obey his ex-wife.

The way he kept giving in was indeed puzzling. He was constantly submissive towards Lin Wan. But he honestly did not know why either. Was it out of love? Or was it out of fear?

But there was one thing he was very sure of. He was indeed afraid of her. He wasn’t faking this at all. Ever since he knew Lin Wan's real identity, he became more and more afraid of her.

This was all because of Mrs. Hong. She was always telling him stories. Fearing that he didn’t believe her, she would show him photos and videos of the Lin Family's “great achievements!”

Those horrifying and gruesome scenes were really horrible, not to mention that the lives of both his parents and his unborn child were all in their hands, including his very own life! How could he not be afraid?

Actually, Mrs. Hong had shown mercy and didn't tell him about the eerie and spooky parts of those stories. Those were completely beyond his knowledge and would surely frighten him even more.

“Xiaoyu, I'm not lying to you. I'm really afraid of her. If you know her real identity, you will be afraid of her, too. Remember how you once said that we were not on the same page with her? Now I know. Not only are we not on the same page, in fact, we are completely different people in two different worlds!”

He Xiaoyu looked at him in surprise. She believed what Li Mu said. It’s just that his words were a little too sensational. They were different people in two different worlds? Could it mean that Lin Wan was a ghost?

“Li Mu, what nonsense are you saying?”

“I'm not saying nonsense. Let's put it this way. Our lives are all about firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and the daily essentials! But her life is all about knives, guns, spears, swords, axes, hooks and spikes. All these are weapons! We’re not in the same boat at all. What’s wrong with the God? Why did He make me and her cross paths? This is so unfair!”

“Li Mu, what exactly is her true identity? Can you reveal some of it to me?” He Xiaoyu asked curiously.

“I can't. I know you well. I'm worried you won't be able to stop yourself from starting a huge fight with her. Here’s what I can tell you. You’re not her opponent at all. Those schemes of yours are completely useless to her. She won't be scared at all! On the contrary, if she wants to kill the two of us, it's not more difficult than trampling two ants to death!”

“You're exaggerating it, aren't you?”

He Xiaoyu thought what Li Mu said was unbelievable. She believed that Lin Wan was not an ordinary person, but definitely not to that extent. Killing people for her was not more difficult than trampling two ants to death? Was she that awful?

However, judging by his expression, He Xiaoyu knew that Li Mu was not joking at all. He must know some secrets in order for him to speak to her like this. In fact, those secrets must be very shocking and terrifying.

“Xiaoyu, I'm telling you the truth. If I didn't have to worry about my parents and my child, I'd probably ask you to elope with me. We can find a place where no one knows us and live our lives anonymously and cautiously for the rest of our lives.”

He Xiaoyu was taken aback. She had never thought of eloping. Her love for Li Mu was sincere and passionate. And she was willing to be with him through thick and thin till death do them part. But she would never accept eloping for love.

The marriage she envisioned was an open and honorable marriage. She wanted to be showered with the blessings and applause of her friends and relatives. She did not want to be married to Li Mu in secret.

Thankfully Li Mu was just whining and didn’t really plan to elope. Otherwise, He Xiaoyu really didn't know how to answer what he said.

“Stop talking nonsense and focus on your driving!” He Xiaoyu deliberately changed the subject.

Li Mu agreed and returned his attention to his driving. After a while, he asked awkwardly, “Xiaoyu, can you lend me some money?”

“Sure. How much do you need? I'll transfer it to your bank account!”

“Don't transfer it to my bank account. My pay card was confiscated by Lin Wan. I won't be able to spend it if you do so. Just send me some money on V-chat. Just a small amount will do!”

“Aren't the two of you divorced? Why does she still ask for your pay card? You're not obliged to financially support her, are you?”

“She got herself a new job and doesn’t need my financial support. But she asked me to pay her some living expenses and my son's nutrition expenses. I have no other choice but to give her my pay card.”

He Xiaoyu was furious. Lin Wan was being too much. How could she bully him like that?

It didn’t surprise her that Lin Wan was looking for a job. After divorcing Li Mu, Lin Wan lost her only source of income. Hence inevitably she had to go out to work, which He Xiaoyu understood.

After all, she didn't know Lin Wan well enough to know that the latter didn't even need to go to work. She was doing this to mentally insult her ex-husband.

However, He Xiaoyu obviously could not accept how Lin Wan confiscated Li Mu's pay card. First of all, she didn’t have the right to ask for living expenses from Li Mu. She was the one who forced him to stay at home. If she didn't like how he was staying there for free, she should let him go!

As for the child’s nutrition expenses, He Xiaoyu thought this was acceptable. Conflicts between adults should not involve children. Hence he should pay for the child’s nutrition expenses. But he couldn't just give all his money away!

He Xiaoyu guessed why Lin Wan was doing this. She thought Lin Wan must had been alerted by Li Mu’s escape and was taking precautions.

Actually, she was wrong about what Lin Wan was really up to.

Lin Wan didn't even think that much about it. She just thought that it was only normal for a man to be the financial provider in the family. And she didn't want her husband to be a sponger even if she was filthy rich!

She would never like that kind of man. The only aim she had in mind was to help Li Mu save some face for himself. Plus, she didn’t want Li Mu’s spirits to be worn out.

Before their divorce, Lin Wan was always in control of the family's finances. She had never used her family’s money to sustain her own family with Li Mu throughout their marriage period.

Lin Wan wasn’t being stingy. She could share everything with her husband, including handing over the Lin Family to him. She just did not want her husband to develop the habit of being good for nothing. She was worried that he would start to be lazier and lazier if he could reap without sowing.

But of course, another reason she asked for his pay card was due to her resentment towards him. She didn’t need to exploit Li Mu to the point where he was practically cent-less now! Lin Wan was trying to teach her ex-husband a lesson. Let’s see if he had the courage to escape from her anymore in the future!

Without saying a word, He Xiaoyu fished out Li Mu’s phone. After a few clicks or so, she said, “I’ve linked my credit card to your V-Chat and ZhifuPay. Feel free to spend as much as you like!”

She also instructed Li Mu, “Li Mu, remember to constantly ask her for money. It doesn’t matter how much. But you must remember to ask for it. Keep that in mind! Or she’ll start to get suspicious.”

“Alright. Don’t worry. I know what to do!”

......

They arrived at Shanyang Group and hurried to the conference hall after registration.

Li Mu glanced at his mobile phone. It was 9:50, ten minutes before the official meeting. Fortunately, he wasn’t late and did not leave a bad impression on the users.

When he walked into the conference hall, he found that all the seats were almost taken. Although there were still seven or eight empty seats on the podium, Li Mu knew that those seats were reserved for the Bureau. The manufacturers' representatives were not qualified to sit there.

There were no more empty seats in the first few rows. So Li Mu and the others had to move to the back and found a few scattered empty seats in the last row. At this point, they couldn’t possibly sit together. So they took their seats respectively and waited for the meeting to start.

Li Mu looked around and found several bottles of mineral water on top of each table, which were obviously prepared for the guests. Thirsty, he unscrewed a bottle of water and downed most of it in one gulp.

Before he could put down the water bottle, a woman sitting in the front row turned around and said sadly, “Mr. Li, have you become proud ever since your promotion? How could you ignore me just like that? How boastful of you!”

Li Mu almost choked on his mouthful of water and froze. He didn’t notice her at all, nor did he expected to see her here.

But he reacted quickly and immediately got up to extend his hand towards the woman. “Sorry, I was late. Hence I was busy looking for a seat. I didn't mean to ignore you. Nice to meet you!”

The woman shook his hand gently and said unforgivingly, “Humph, liar. You've obviously forgotten me. Yet you dare to say you're not ignoring me. Well. Tell me then. Who am I?”

“You must be kidding. You are the Commercial Director of the Central Shina Region of Weihua Group. Shen Xingyue, an old classmate of mine. How could I not remember you? Do you still insist that I have a bad memory?”

Shen Xingyue giggled gently, revealing two charming dimples. She glanced at Li Mu and suddenly lowered her voice, “Li Mu, I heard you’re divorced?”

Li Mu was taken aback by the sudden question and didn’t know how to respond her.

He Xiaoyu who was sitting at the side coughed and said nonchalantly, “Miss Shen, this is not your concern. Please take your seat and stop chatting during the meeting!”

Shen Xingyue gave her a disdainful look and said with a smile, “Your name is He Xiaoyu, right? I remember you. You were my junior and was two years younger than me. I was in the same class with Li Mu. Isn't it alright for me to care for an old classmate of mine?”

“Since when were the both of you classmates? You were just his course mate. Okay?”

“We were both classmates and course mates. Ask Li Mu yourself. How many times have we been in lectures together? We were desk mates all along. Right, Li Mu?”

“Yes. Yes. We were desk mates.” After saying that, he started singing a song that started with the phrase ‘desk mates.’

A sharp pain came from under his ribs. And Li Mu looked at He Xiaoyu painfully, “Xiaoyu, my injury is not completely healed yet. Don't do this to me.”