Chapter 76 - 073 Don’t judge a book by its cover
The scene instantly erupted into chaos.
Bigamy?
On second thought, it made sense. Ji Lanyi had only been missing for a short while, and Yun Shen was already in such a hurry to marry a new bride, which seemed exceedingly cold-hearted and inconstant.
Even though Ji Lanyi was missing, she was his wife, married through a proper ceremony, and now he was about to marry Bai Ran—wasn’t that bigamy?
For a moment, everyone looked at Yun Shen with a mocking and scornful gaze.
Yun Shen’s expression didn’t change at all, still as clear and elegant as ever, "Good, I shall cooperate with the investigation."
He turned to the guests below, raising his voice, "I’m truly sorry that such an incident occurred at today’s wedding, but we cannot keep the police waiting. I will hold a media briefing later to explain the ins and outs of the matter to the public. I promise here and now that I, Yun Shen, would never engage in any illegal activities. All this must be a misunderstanding."
His voice was firm and resonant, his demeanor authoritative and stern—however, those who had regained their senses sneered internally.
A misunderstanding? That could only be if he had already divorced Ji Lanyi; otherwise, a charge of bigamy was inevitable.
Yun Shen turned to glance at Liang Yu, seated in the first row. Liang Yu nodded, stepped aside, and made a phone call.
"Officer, let’s go," Yun Shen said cooperatively, and the police, who initially bore little goodwill towards him, didn’t say anything further and turned to leave the church.
Before leaving, Yun Shen looked at Yun Shu, signaling her to be at ease. Throughout the entire event, he hadn’t glanced once at his bride-to-be.
Bai Ran stood alone on the stage, looking somewhat pitiful. She squinted slightly as she watched Yun Shen’s retreating figure.
Yun Ya came to her side and said with a light chuckle, "Aunt Bai, don’t worry. Dad will be fine."
Bai Ran lowered her eyes to look at Yun Ya. The girl’s smile was sweet and pure, her eyes gently shimmering like the sunlit ripples on a lake’s surface.
"Hope so."
It wasn’t long before Yun Shen returned. Stepping into the living room, Bai Ran and Yun Shu were seated opposite each other as if a galaxy stretched between them, and the atmosphere became tense instantly.
Upon seeing Yun Shen, Bai Ran immediately greeted him with a beaming smile, "How did it go? Is everything sorted out?"
Yun Shen simply hummed, "You’ll need to join me for the media briefing tomorrow morning."
Bai Ran readily agreed, "Okay."
She was the picture of a good wife, leaving no room for fault, causing Yun Shu to snort coldly and turn to Yun Shen, "Shenshen, there must be someone behind this trying to bring you down. You must expose the real culprit."
Yun Shen nodded indifferently, "I’m tired, I will go upstairs to rest." With that, he bypassed them both and went upstairs.
Bai Ran glanced at Yun Shu, "Mom, after such a tiring day, you should also rest early. I’ll go check on Brother Shen."
That address as ’Mom’ thoroughly disgusted Yun Shu, and yet she had no retort. With a pallid face, she turned and walked away.
Bai Ran curled her lips, ’Old witch, let’s see you compete with me."
—
That night, Kang Jinse found it impossible to sleep.
Ning Qinghua, that old bastard, had actually played a game of deceit with her, and then stopped answering her calls.
It drove her mad.
She had no choice but to swallow this loss. Just thinking about today’s events made her heart twist in agony.
Something crossed her mind, and her eyes gleamed.
"Heaven never seals off all the exits; Bai Ran, just you wait..."
——
Early the next morning, Yun Shen attended a media press conference with Bai Ran.
The man exuded an imposing aura, outstanding and unparalleled, while the woman was charming and sexy, elegant and graceful. The two of them standing together made a very pleasing picture.
"I deeply regret what happened at the wedding yesterday. As for the crime of bigamy, that is absolutely unfounded," Yun Shen said solemnly, facing the cameras.
"But as far as I’m aware, Miss Ji disappeared only five months ago, and you remarried since. Unless you had agreed to divorce Miss Ji a long time ago, how do you explain this?" The reporter’s sharp question sounded exceptionally clear in the venue.
Yun Shen’s gaze met the reporter who asked the question, and that deep look momentarily overwhelmed the female reporter. He pursed his lips, his complexion suddenly dimming: "Actually, as early as two years ago, her and I had already divorced, but we didn’t announce it for the sake of our child. I never expected it would lead to so many misunderstandings, and I once again deeply apologize."
The media was stunned; it was explosive news.
So, Yun Shen and Ji Lanyi had secretly divorced two years ago, which indeed didn’t constitute bigamy.
"Why did you and Miss Ji divorce? Was it your fault? There were rumors about an improper relationship between you and Miss Kang Jinse. Is this the main reason you two divorced?" Implicit in the question was the inquiry about whether his extramarital affair had caused the marriage to break down; these reporters were adept at poking at people’s weak spots from the smallest of details.
A flicker of pain crossed Yun Shen’s eyes; he closed his eyes deeply, as if there was an unspeakable hardship that could not be voiced. In the eyes of the reporters, they excitedly widened their own, certain that there was a scoop to be had.
Yun Ya sat in front of the TV, watching Yun Shen’s pained expression on screen, and felt her heart gradually sink.
She had guessed what Yun Shen was about to say next.
Harsh, so harsh... Yun Shen, you’ve got guts.
Her teeth clenching tightly against her inner lip, she restrained the surging anger and hatred churning in her heart.
This was all just a play directed and acted out by Yun Shen himself, simply to free himself from public scrutiny and to take a stand on the moral high ground, so that even if he usurped the Ji Family’s wealth, he would do so without guilt.
"I didn’t want to talk about this matter originally. As a man, I have my pride, but now I can’t let my family, my wife, suffer from public gossips anymore, I must come forward to clarify everything."
"Four years ago, one night, I returned home from the company and found my wife and the butler... they... were together." He seemed unable to continue speaking, turned his head away, and a grown man’s eyes even reddened, proving just how shocked, heartbroken, and furious he had been at the time...
His wife cheating on him was something no man could tolerate; in that moment, many men at the scene began to sympathize with Yun Shen.
"Miss Ji is known as the top socialite of Jiangzhou, elegant and intelligent, how could she be involved with a butler? Anyway, Miss Ji has disappeared, and your words are the only source. How can we take only your word for it?" A reporter raised doubts.
The others concurred. Indeed, anyone else could make such claims—involved with a butler, it sounded like some old creep. Unless Ji Lanyi was blind...
"That butler was a childhood friend of Lanyi, deeply in love with her, even willing to give up opportunities to study abroad to stay in the Ji Family as a mere butler for her sake..."
Yun Ya felt her blood run cold with anger, wanting nothing more than to break through the screen and tear off Yun Shen’s hypocritical mask.
Even as much as she hated Ji Lanyi, she was still her biological mother. Despite the hatred, she would never stoop to insult her.
Ji Lanyi, look at this. This is the man you loved without reservation, who trampled your dignity and pride into the mud without a shred of remorse and is now coldly mocking your depravity.
If you were alive, seeing all this, would you go mad?
I have never so intensely wished that you were dead.
"Tsk tsk, who would have thought the so-called top socialite would turn out to be such a promiscuous woman in private? Truly, appearances can be deceiving..." The gentle yet mocking voice of a woman suddenly came up from behind.
Yun Ya’s gaze turned frosty in an instant, as if a chill had penetrated deep into the bone, freezing the heart inch by inch.