A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 12

On the way to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, Shi Tian asked the staff member next to him, “Is it convenient to borrow a phone to make a call? Mine was stolen abroad.”

The two staff members looked at each other. One of them took a phone from his pocket and handed it over. “Sure, but you’ll need to use the speakerphone.”

Shi Tian nodded and said thank you.

He had originally planned to call Ji Yuanlin, but first, he couldn’t remember Ji Yuanlin’s number, and second, Ji Yuanlin’s phone was likely turned off anyway.

After thinking for a moment, he typed in another number.

As the call went out, a ringtone suddenly filled the car: “I can’t fly out no matter what, this flowery world, it turns out I am that one, drunken butterfly—”

Shi Tian: “…I’m sorry.”

Just as he was about to hang up, the call was answered. His father’s loud voice came through the speaker: “I don’t want a credit card! Call again and I’ll block you!”

“Dad,” Shi Tian said, “it’s me.”

“Son?”

His father paused on the other end, then sounded delighted. “Why the sudden call? Are you two back in the country?”

Hearing his father’s voice sounding as energetic as usual, the heavy weight in Shi Tian’s heart finally lifted.

It seemed the two elders hadn’t heard about what had happened over the last two days.

“Are you and Mom still at Aunt’s house?” Shi Tian asked. “Are Ji Yuanlin’s parents with you?”

“No, we’re staying at your aunt’s for a week before we leave. The school is doing training for new teachers, so his parents went back yesterday,” his father said. “Oh, I’ve got to go. Your mom is already posing under the tree. I’m going to take a photo. Bye, son—”

After reminding Shi Tian a few more times to eat on time and not forget because of work, his father hurriedly hung up.

Returning the phone to the staff member, Shi Tian leaned his head against the car window, staring blankly at the crowds outside.

Since he was a child, there were very few things in this world that could defeat him.

If he failed an exam, he would organize his mistakes and try again. If a business venture failed, he would take the lessons learned, change the business model, and start over. If the company faced financing difficulties, he would borrow from the bank to handle the immediate crisis, then find every way to deal with investors.

No matter how difficult the situation, as long as he had a little time, he could handle it all.

Shi Tian suddenly realized that the only two times in his life he had been this helpless, it seemed to be for the exact same reason.

To hell with love.

As the car entered the gates of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, he saw Ji Yuanlin’s pure white Quattroporte in the parking lot. The tires and hood, usually kept in perfect condition, were covered in rainwater and mud. It was clear that Ji Yuanlin must have gone home first after returning to the country before rushing over here.

Following the officers into a private interrogation room, Shi Tian sat down and repeated his request to everyone in the room: he wanted to speak with Ji Yuanlin face-to-face.

The clerk sitting opposite him looked troubled. “Mr. Shi, this—”

“Mr. Shi,” another investigator cut in, “since this dispute involves individual partnership debts, we don’t have the authority to let you and Mr. Ji communicate face-to-face without approval from superiors.”

“What’s the difference between talking here or talking privately after we go home?” Shi Tian’s tone was surprisingly calm. “We are legal spouses, and neither of us is currently under any compulsory measures. From the perspective of protecting joint marital property, I have the right to an equal exchange of information with him before receiving a court notice.”

The staff members present looked conflicted. What Mr. Shi said was indeed correct; besides being business partners, they had the legal status of spouses standing between them.

The clerk called a colleague from outside and whispered a few words. That staff member hurried out of the room. A few minutes later, the staff member knocked and entered with new information.

“Mr. Shi, Mr. Ji submitted all materials for the investigation half an hour ago and has been cleared to leave,” the staff member said. “His lawyer told us that Mr. Ji will not meet with you privately before the case goes to court.”

Shi Tian: “…”

Hiring a lawyer immediately after an investigation was exactly Ji Yuanlin’s style.

However, the speed this time was far too fast.

He suddenly realized an important point.

Ji Yuanlin must have contacted a legal team during the trip back, or perhaps even before leaving the country, to prepare for the upcoming civil lawsuit.

Ji Yuanlin couldn’t control when the Bureau would intervene, but he could decide when the company’s financial problems were exposed. Once the Bureau or tax authorities stepped in, he could immediately produce prepared materials to quickly clear himself of responsibility.

If Shi Tian had known Ji Yuanlin’s plan in advance, he could have prepared a complete response. But now, the company building had been occupied by enforcement authorities. Trying to access past financial and financing records would be harder than climbing to heaven.

He had completely lost the initiative and could only passively accept whatever Ji Yuanlin forced upon him.

Thinking of this, Shi Tian actually grew calm.

Since he couldn’t clear his name immediately or produce enough evidence to turn the tables, the only thing he needed—and the only thing he could do—was buy time.

Sitting up straight in his chair, Shi Tian spoke calmly. “The company’s finance department is already cooperating with the investigation. I have nothing more to say for now.”

“Since my husband believes the full responsibility lies with me, then let his lawyer file a civil lawsuit.”

By the time Shi Tian finished all the investigation procedures and left the Bureau, it was nearly evening.

The Maserati in the parking lot was long gone. Only Assistant Chen, who had been notified in advance, was waiting outside the gate in his own Audi.

Shi Tian opened the back door and sat inside. Assistant Chen asked softly, “President Shi, where are we going? Back to Dijing?”

Dijing Manor was a high-end neighborhood in the city center. He and Ji Yuanlin had bought a three-story villa there two years ago. They had lived there until the wedding; now it was their marital home.

“No.” Leaning against the seat, Shi Tian rubbed his temples tiredly. “Find a hotel. I’ll make do for one night.”

As the Audi entered the evening traffic, Shi Tian noticed an unopened phone box and a SIM card on the passenger seat. He hadn’t told Assistant Chen to do this, but the assistant had thoughtfully prepared everything for him as usual.

Inserting the SIM card into the slot, Shi Tian said to the young assistant driving, “Xiao Chen, starting tomorrow, you don’t need to follow me anymore.”

“…President Shi?”

Assistant Chen froze, not understanding what Shi Tian meant.

“I’m on good terms with the bosses of several listed companies. I’ll introduce you tomorrow. You can work for them; the salary will be higher than at Fengyu.” Shi Tian sighed. “You’ve worked hard following me these past few years.”

“No way!”

Assistant Chen slammed on the brakes and turned around hurriedly. “You need me right now. Whatever you need, just say it. I’m not going anywhere.”

He had seen how well President Shi treated his staff. If he just walked away now, he would be a total ungrateful jerk.

Hearing this, President Shi pursed his lips and didn’t say anything more. He just looked down at his newly turned-on phone.

He opened a web browser, wanting to find something to distract himself. He found that the daily top news was always the same few categories; after scrolling for a while, he felt bored.

He didn’t even understand what he was thinking. Even though he didn’t plan to, his fingers involuntarily typed two words into the search bar.

— Cheng Xi. This was the name of the boy Lao Cui had told him.

Scrolling down the page and staring at the bright smile of the boy in the photos, he felt the name and face looked somewhat familiar.

The latest news was a solo interview with Cheng Xi about the upcoming Filoni Autumn show in Paris.

Female host: “As the only Asian model selected for this year’s Filoni show, do you have anything to say to the audience?”

Cheng Xi showed a small snaggletooth to the camera. ” I’m very happy to be invited by the Filoni organizers. I won’t let everyone down.”

The host asked a few more questions about the fashion show. At the end of the interview, she noticed the diamond ring on Cheng Xi’s middle finger and asked in surprise, “Wow, is that a couple’s ring?”

Cheng Xi lowered his eyes, smiling shyly. “Um… yes.”

“He is also coming to Paris next month to see my show. I’ll formally introduce him to everyone then!”

The progress bar reached the end. Shi Tian stared at the close-up of the diamond ring. His knuckles gripping the phone turned white.

The replicated starry sky, the interlocking half-arcs, the brilliant facets—

This was the birthday gift Ji Yuanlin had given him two years ago: a pair of symmetrical couple’s rings.

After the successful proposal last month, his husband had told him to take the ring off and replace it with the wedding band on his ring finger.

And now, this little object that held all their memories was being worn on the finger of a new lover.

In the evening, a light rain began to fall.

After finishing a full day of shooting for a fashion magazine cover, Cheng Xi suddenly received a text from his agent, telling him to return to the company immediately.

Though he didn’t know what happened, he sent a message to Ji Yuanlin after getting into the car: “A-Lin, something came up at work. I don’t think we can have dinner tonight.”

A-Lin didn’t reply to his message. He understood and didn’t call to bother him.

After all, A-Lin had just returned from abroad and had a lot of mess to deal with. The chance of them eating out tonight wasn’t high to begin with.

When the car arrived at the company, Cheng Xi saw his agent, Sister Mei, at the entrance.

As soon as he stepped out, Sister Mei grabbed his arm without a word and pulled him toward the building.

Cheng Xi had never seen his agent so anxious. He was confused. “Sister Mei… what happened?”

The expression on Sister Mei’s face was very ugly. “I don’t know how to say it. Go explain it to the boss yourself.”

They took the elevator to the top floor, and Sister Mei led Cheng Xi directly into the office of the CEO of Taikoo Entertainment.

Taikoo Entertainment was one of the top modeling agencies in the industry. The current boss was Adam, a highly respected former artist director.

When he saw Cheng Xi, Adam’s face was dark. He slammed a photo onto the desk.

Staring at the photo of himself and Ji Yuanlin kissing outside a car, Cheng Xi’s heart skipped a beat. “Godfather, let me explain…”

Adam cut him off sharply. “How many times have I told you not to mess around outside? If someone with bad intentions uses this, you’ll be in big trouble!”

Being yelled at, a cold sweat broke out on Cheng Xi’s forehead. “Godfather, no one else knows about this. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

He thought quickly. He had only sent that screenshot to the executives at Fengyu. There was only one possibility: someone inside Fengyu had sent this image to his agency.

“Handle it my ass!”

Adam pointed a finger at him, looking completely disappointed. “Danofe’s PR team personally sent someone to negotiate with me. They want an explanation immediately, or they will terminate your contract.”

Cheng Xi was stunned. “…Danofe?”

He didn’t expect that the party who handed over the evidence of his affair to his company was actually the brand that had just signed him.

“Besides the photo, they sent us other materials,” Sister Mei added coldly. “The other person in the photo is currently facing a series of debt disputes and financial issues with his business. Danofe is worried that once your scandal is exposed, it will damage the brand image of the S260 series.”

“Given the size of this contract, do you know how much the penalty fee would be if negative news breaks?” Sister Mei questioned him. “Losing money is the least of it. Their PR team also said that before signing the contract, you claimed to be single. If we knew there was a risk and didn’t tell them, they will resolve this through legal channels.”

“Forget it, what’s the use of telling him this now.”

Adam covered his forehead, his brow deeply furrowed. “We heard Danofe signed you, and several other new brands are currently in talks with us. Nothing can go wrong right now.”

Hearing the boss and the agent, Cheng Xi panicked. His delicate face turned pale. “Godfather… what do I do now?”

Looking at the boy’s helpless face, Adam thought for a while and spoke slowly. “There is one way.”

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