Jiangg Ning wasn’t much of a drinker. She typically wouldn’t touch alcohol unless it was a necessary occasion, but she didn’t want to be rude to Ms. Qin, so she just held onto the glass.
"Alright, since everyone is here, I’ll get started..."
Qin Ting took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she uttered the words with some difficulty.
"I’m... getting a divorce!"
The moment the words left her mouth, all the women stared at her in unison, their eyes wide with bewildered shock.
Jiangg Ning was no exception.
She had always been quite envious of Ms. Qin’s wonderful husband. He was not only capable but also very down-to-earth and polite—the kind of man who was hard to dislike. They had been married for over a decade, and from what she knew, they were deeply in love and had never had any issues.
Whenever she had come to Ms. Qin’s home for dinner in the past, the couple had always treated each other with the utmost respect at the table.
They seemed so devoted to one another, like a couple that would never argue.
"How could that be..."
"Aren’t you and my brother getting along just fine?" the petite girl in the orange mini-skirt asked from the corner.
Gao Min was so stunned she was speechless. Her round eyes were fixed on Qin Ting, and she remained frozen for a long moment, unable to snap out of it.
It was as if she’d been turned to stone.
Just as everyone began chiming in with questions, Qin Ting waved a dismissive hand. "I’ve been planning this divorce for over six months," she said calmly. "It’s not a sudden decision, and my mind is made up."
"What happened? Did you two have a fight?"
"No." Qin Ting picked up her wine glass, hugged her knees, and tilted her head back, downing the shimmering liquid in one gulp. With her brows tightly furrowed, she said, "He had an affair."
Jiangg Ning was taken aback. ’Ms. Qin’s husband always seemed like such a good man,’ she thought silently. ’I can’t believe he’d cheat.’
’Marriage is just one messy thing after another.’
Jiangg Ning had seen this kind of thing happen before but had never been so close to it. She felt like a teenager on the couch watching a soap opera for middle-aged people—it all felt a bit strange, but she couldn’t help but be curious.
"I first found a clue about six months ago. I’d never suspected a thing before that. After he came back from a business trip, I checked his phone and noticed a few text messages were gone. I had transferred him money on June 26th, so there should have been a bank notification, but several days’ worth of messages were missing. Normal people don’t delete texts for no reason unless there’s something they want to hide. They probably got tired of deleting them one by one and just wiped a whole batch at once."
"After that, I became extra vigilant and started digging into other things."
Qin Ting tossed her hair back and said in a heavy voice, "The more I looked, the more clues I found. Eventually, I confirmed it. He was cheating. And several of his business trips were actually with that woman."
As she spoke, Gao Min’s expression flickered, and for some reason, it turned indescribably sour.
"My brother must have been seduced by some vixen! He’s definitely not that kind of person."
"That’s right. Maybe you should try talking it over with him. After all, you’ve been married for more than a decade."
"What’s there to talk about? I despise betrayal. Ms. Qin, you can’t forgive him."
The women went back and forth, nearly breaking into an argument as their opposing opinions clashed.
Jiangg Ning, caught in the middle, didn’t dare say a word. ’Who am I? Where am I? Why did I even come here?!’ she thought.
"I’d love to talk things over, but he’s already started transferring assets," Qin Ting said with a bitter laugh. "I really put my trust in the wrong man. Isn’t that right, Minmin?"
"Oh... absolutely! Ms. Qin, you can’t give in."
"Minmin’s right," Qin Ting said, standing up. She took two steps over and sat down beside her. Jiangg Ning was on Gao Min’s other side, effectively trapping her. Qin Ting continued, "Tell me, why are there such shameless sluts in the world who insist on destroying other people’s families?"
"..."
"Shouldn’t a person like that be stripped naked, dragged by the hair, and paraded down the street for everyone to stare at?"
"..."
As Qin Ting spoke, the corners of her mouth curled into a smile, as if she were a bit tipsy. She reached out, pinching Gao Min’s chin and tilting it up slightly. "Minmin, you really are pretty. But I just can’t figure it out. Why did you have to destroy someone else’s family? I treated you like such a good friend."
It happened in an instant. She raised her hand high, her expression turning dark and vicious in a flash.
SLAP—
Jiangg Ning and the other women were stunned.
The next second, the two women were at each other’s throats, viciously tearing at hair, pulling at clothes, and screaming a torrent of vile insults.
Jiangg Ning quickly scrambled aside, watching, completely dumbfounded, as the fight erupted out of nowhere.
Everyone there now understood who had destroyed Ms. Qin’s family. They also realized the true reason she had gathered them all here.
"Wh-what should we do?"
"What do you think? We help! I’ve had it with that two-faced bitch for a while now."
"Get her, girls!"
The terrace descended into chaos. Curses, shouts, and screams filled the air as glasses from the table went CRASHING to the ground, shattering into pieces. Jiangg Ning backed away a few steps. She didn’t want any part of this—besides, she couldn’t fight.
...
It was late at night by the time Jiangg Ning got home. She was dead tired.
Her younger sister was still awake, talking on the phone with someone. The moment Jiangg Ning walked in, she quickly ended the call. "Okay, that’s all for now. Let’s talk later. Bye!"
And she hung up.
"Sis, what kept you out so late?" Jiangg Yao asked, sitting up and tucking a pillow behind her back. For some reason, her cheeks were a little flushed.
"Don’t even get me started. Tonight was a real eye-opener."
"What happened? Tell me about it... And what’s that smell? You reek of alcohol. Have you been drinking?"