The Female Lead Insists on Being My Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Stealing the Wife in a Stand-in Novel (Part 16)

Seeing Shen Chuli walking over, Chen Suihe hurriedly swallowed the ice cream in her mouth. She had just scooped a few more spoonfuls and was about to shove them in when her wrist was caught.

The spoon piled high with ice cream was taken away. Chen Suihe leaned in with a fawning smile, but her eyes remained fixed piteously on the spoon in the other woman’s hand. Shen Chuli moved the spoon back and forth, and a certain someone’s head followed it like a compass needle.

“It’s going to melt. What a waste.”

Looking at the melting ice cream, Chen Suihe looked at Shen Chuli with puppy-dog eyes, trying to make her soften her heart and give it back. But Shen Chuli was exceptionally cold-hearted. Despite Chen Suihe’s attempts to act shamelessly, she still cleaned up all the snacks on the floor.

The living room returned to its usual tidy state. At this moment, Chen Suihe realized: a storm was coming!

“Ouch,” she cried out with feigned frailty, beginning her accusation: “My body… feels so uncomfortable.”

The “Preemptive Strike” move had been thoroughly mastered by Chen Suihe. She edged closer to Shen Chuli, and seeing that she was being ignored, she took the initiative to pull open Shen Chuli’s arm and dive into her embrace, clinging to her and acting spoiled.

“I was wrong, okay? Don’t be angry, please?”

Chen Suihe always had Shen Chuli wrapped around her finger; a few soft words and a bit of acting spoiled were invincible. Looking into those misty eyes, Shen Chuli sighed in surrender. She knew the girl was only admitting fault verbally and would do it again next time, but she couldn’t bring herself to keep a cold face any longer.

“I’m not saying you can’t eat; everything in this house belongs to you,” Shen Chuli adjusted her in her arms, holding her a bit tighter. “But for the sake of your health, eat fewer cold drinks next time, okay?”

The theory was sound, but when a craving hit, who could refuse? Chen Suihe hesitated, not daring to give a guarantee. After a moment of silent confrontation, Shen Chuli waved the white flag, retreating her bottom line once more: “Then eat them under my supervision, is that okay?”

Actually, that wasn’t ideal either. But after thinking it over, Chen Suihe nodded with a look of feigned grievance.

Shen Chuli’s embrace seemed to have some kind of magic; once held, one didn’t want to get down. After yawning in her arms, sleepiness washed over her. Chen Suihe closed her eyes while being held. The crisp sound of the keyboard nearby became a hypnotic white noise.

Shen Chuli held the girl with one hand while the other flew across the keyboard. The evidence in her hands had already been submitted. Because of the gravity of the case, the law enforcement’s review and processing were very swift.

Before the internet could even sense it, an official report in blue and white was posted by a verified official Weibo account. Those few brief sentences summarized only the tip of the iceberg of the crimes committed by Xu Hao and his circle. A few strokes of a pen represented the entirety of some people’s short lives.

When the notice was first released, many people thought it was fake—some prank by a bold user. Some even went to the comments to advise the blogger not to do things that damaged the dignity of law enforcement agencies. Who knew that after clicking and looking closely, they would find it was no joke; it was the official account itself.

The public was in an uproar.

Xu Hao had been on the trending searches a while back, so many netizens recognized the name, but “The Garden” was something many were hearing for the first time. Previously, public opinion had been monitored, and posts were deleted as soon as they appeared, preventing the spread of “The Garden” from covering all areas.

Now that Xu Hao was stamped for imprisonment, Father Xu was in the ICU with an uncertain fate, the old butler was missing, and the “water army” companies monitoring public opinion couldn’t even pay their wages. Not “throwing oil” back at their former employers was already their greatest professional integrity at this moment.

However, none of these factors hindered the public’s rage after reading the long and depressing investigation report. In an instant, the Xu Group became a “rat crossing the street”—not only was the high-level management cursed, but even some low-level employees were harassed. Many employees couldn’t stand the overwhelming malicious insults and handed in their resignations. In just a few days, the Xu Group had become a hollow shell of a company.

Immediately after, a former head of the Xu Group’s accounting department “added oil to the fire,” reporting the company’s accounting issues under their real name and citing loopholes used for tax evasion. Where there is one, there are two. In the business world, “sending charcoal in the snow” is rare, but “adding fuel to the fire” is common. Partners began accusing the Xu Group of “yin-yang contracts,” back-door dealings, and embezzlement.

The once industry-leading Xu Group was suddenly empty.

On the day of Xu Hao’s public trial, Shen Chuli specifically asked Chen Suihe’s counselor for a day off in advance to pick her up. Along the way, Chen Suihe asked many times what she was going to do, but Shen Chuli never answered directly. Instead, she pinched the girl’s cheek and said with a smile that she would know tomorrow.

Chen Suihe was kept in suspense, scratching her head in anxiety.

Finally, the next day arrived. Shen Chuli took her to the courthouse for the trial, where people were already waiting at the entrance.

“Suihe.” Li Meng, wearing a mask, walked over to greet them when she saw them arrive. But this time she wasn’t alone; she was accompanied by several former “colleagues” from the Garden, now her friends.

Seeing Li Meng, Chen Suihe had a faint suspicion, but she didn’t dare confirm it. The Xu family might not have been “all-powerful,” but they were certainly wealthy and influential. Otherwise, how could they have imprisoned living people without causing a ripple?

She turned her head to look at Shen Chuli, her eyes filled with both hope and fear. She hoped it was what she thought, yet feared it wasn’t and that her hopes would be dashed.

Shen Chuli stepped forward and put her arm around the girl’s shoulder: “Let’s go in. Watch him receive the punishment he deserves with your own eyes.”

“Okay!” Chen Suihe nodded vigorously.

The gallery was not empty; it was densely packed. After all, this was the trial of the most talked-about “Second Generation” heir lately; any passerby with time had come. There were few seats left when Chen Suihe and the others entered.

They sat in a secluded corner. As the judge struck the gavel, the courtroom fell silent instantly. The judge read out Xu Hao’s crimes. He stood below with his head bowed, his emotions unreadable.

“Additionally suspected of drug use and trafficking…”

Catching the keywords, Chen Suihe looked at Shen Chuli in confusion. Before Shen Chuli could speak, Li Meng jumped in to take credit: “These rich kids play very hard. I simply took some from another one and fed it to him.”

“You didn’t touch it, did you?” Chen Suihe looked at her with extreme nervousness. She only felt relieved when Li Meng shook her head.

The trial continued. The internet was already exploding with rage. Many netizens who couldn’t be there in person watched the online broadcast. Without the atmosphere of the scene, these self-proclaimed “Sherlocks” watched Xu Hao’s attitude through a magnifying glass.

“Report! He’s picking at his hands; he has no remorse at all!”

“Report!! He had a mocking smirk! Even if it was just for a second! (Screenshot.JPG)”

“Report!!! His tears fell instantly only because he intentionally bashed his knee hard!”

Xu Hao’s behavior was infinitely magnified and studied. The final conclusion: his tears were merely crocodile tears. He feared the punishment, but possessed not a shred of remorse.

He wasn’t the only one; the other heirs being tried alongside him were the same. Because there were no electronic devices inside, they had no way of knowing the news outside; they were all still dreaming the beautiful dream of their families spending money to get them out.

Little did they know, “pulling up the radish brings the mud.” The impact and nature of “The Garden” incident were too severe. Furthermore, Father Xu had filled the Garden with surveillance cameras, and every video was archived—the earliest dating back to the Garden’s inception! Based on these recordings, many officials and wealthy businessmen fell one after another. Their fathers couldn’t even save themselves, let alone them.

Xu Hao’s sentence was pronounced in court. The moment the gavel struck, he knew no one was coming to save him. Not just him, but those other heirs too. These “Second Generations” were experts at following the wind; once inside, they wouldn’t reflect on themselves, they would only blame Xu Hao for dragging them into this.

With shackles on his hands and feet, Xu Hao was led into the dormitory by a prison guard with heavy steps. Someone was already waiting there for his arrival.

Shen Chuli accompanied Chen Suihe out of the courthouse. The sunlight outside was exceptionally piercing and hot. But Chen Suihe didn’t mind. That was a temperature one could only feel while being alive.

“Thank you.” She turned and dove into Shen Chuli’s arms. Aside from thank you, she couldn’t think of a better word to express her feelings.

If, back then, Shen Chuli hadn’t kicked open that door; if Shen Chuli hadn’t pulled her away from that cage; if Shen Chuli hadn’t actively taken her for treatment and travel…

“I… actually really like you,” Chen Suihe murmured in her arms, taking advantage of her low voice. “I want you to be in my future.”

The crowd from the trial filtered out, everyone feeling the punishment for Xu Hao was too light. The noisy crowd drowned out Chen Suihe’s confession, but fortunately, Shen Chuli was currently holding her favorite person and had personally sent the scum who bullied her lover to prison.

Should I take the chance to ask for a reward? While Chen Suihe was confessing quietly, Shen Chuli was thinking about how to take a mile after being given an inch.

Xu Hao was inside, but it seemed to have no impact on Chen Suihe’s life. She continued as before, going to classes every day, rushing to grab limited spicy chicken with her roommates, and frequently forgetting to reply to Shen Chuli’s messages—only to “Counter-Accuse” before the woman came to catch her. Those filthy matters seemed like they had happened a long time ago, like a past life.

Li Meng and her old friends, through their own hard work, opened a dessert shop in the university town, right across the street from Chen Suihe’s university. The prices were low, but the taste was delicious, and the staff were very warm, offering mysterious discounts from time to time. Thus, it attracted many cash-strapped students and even showed a trend toward becoming an “internet famous” shop.

Because it was close, Chen Suihe often ran over to find her. Through active rehabilitation, she could now slowly speak a whole sentence, though speaking fast was still a struggle.

Seeing Chen Suihe arrive, Li Meng excitedly pulled her aside to share the latest news: “Did you know? Xu Hao was beaten inside. Someone didn’t hold back and shattered his patella with one kick!”

Hearing that name suddenly, Chen Suihe actually didn’t react for a moment. She hadn’t thought about those things for too long; she had already balled up those memories and tossed them into an unknown corner.

“And then?” she asked in confusion.

Seeing her indifferent look, Li Meng was puzzled: “Aren’t you excited? Aren’t you happy?”

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