Chapter 16 Wife in Humble Circumstances (16)

After reaching a temporary agreement with Xi Muqian, Su Li took Yaya with her to Shanghai.

The headquarters of CE Group were still stationed in Shanghai, and there were more opportunities for development there.

As for that prescription, it was nothing more than an interlude; Su Li did not plan to pursue that area in the future.

The original Su Li simply wanted to live life on her own terms, free from anyone's control, genuinely following her heart's desires.

Originally, Su Li was fond of literature, but in university, her major was forcibly switched to finance, the same as Chen Jin's.

Although she performed well, it was not what she aspired to.

So, after securing a stable livelihood, Su Li thought about trying her hand at literary creation, thereby fulfilling one of the original Su Li's regrets.

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Here, Su Li's life was developing smoothly, but back in Su City, the Su and Chen families were not having it so easy.

Su Li's parents had intended to seek her out, but after her divorce, she did not inform them of her whereabouts. A few days later, when Su Li took Yaya to Shanghai and changed her phone number, her parents couldn't find her at all when they tried to make contact.

They didn't even know if their daughter had any close friends and were completely at a loss about where to start looking, so they could only passively wait for Su Li to call home.

But it seemed they were in for a long wait....

Chen Jin's parents were in a tough spot too.

Chen Jin could no longer delay work matters and had to leave Doudou in Su City with his parents to care for him.

He took a few assistants and headed to Shanghai, and of course, Liu Yin was among them.

Before, Su Li always took care of the children, managing their food, clothing, and learning, making sure everything was in perfect order.

The elder Chens would occasionally take their grandson for a day or two, never finding it too tiring.

Especially Mrs. Chen, most of the responsibility for taking care of Doudou fell on her.

But now, spending all day running around after a child, Mrs. Chen, who was not very robust, soon became overwhelmed with exhaustion.

Especially with boys being naturally mischievous, climbing and causing a ruckus...

Talking nonstop all day long, always asking what this is for and what that does... And they love to run around; even taking a bath at night doesn't calm them down.

Actually, Doudou was quite a well-behaved little boy, but even so, he still had the nature of a child.

Sometimes, when you don't give in to him... he would start to cry loudly.

After a whole day like this, the Chen couple was fairly worn out, and when it was time for bed, they felt as though their bodies had fallen apart.

Accustomed to a life of comfort, they found this sudden change hard to bear and reluctantly called their son to complain.

But all they got from Chen Jin was, "Is it really so hard to take care of a child?"

"Before, Su Li used to manage two of them every day...."

By that time, Chen Jin had already forgotten the fact that he had almost been driven to despair by taking care of just Doudou for a morning.

"Old man, why don't we send Doudou to the Su family tomorrow? After all, they are his maternal grandparents; they should at least offer some help," Mrs. Chen said, massaging her sore shoulder blade while her eyes flickered with a sly plan.

"That's out of the question," Father Chen immediately refused without a second thought, "Doudou bears the Chen surname; sending him to the Su family... that's out of line..."

"I don't care. If we're not sending him to the Su family, then you take Doudou tomorrow... I'm going to the beauty salon with the ladies. It's been several days, and I've developed several more wrinkles...."

"Nonsense, since when do men take care of children? That's women's work," Father Chen said, dismissal uncompromising as he didn't even lift an eyelid to his wife's persistence.

"Alright, stop fussing... I'll spend extra time watching Doudou tomorrow."

It seemed that the matter was thus settled, but Mrs. Chen couldn't shake off her dissatisfaction.

Her resentment towards Su Li grew increasingly severe.

If it hadn't been for her demanding a divorce, would she need to be suffering here?

Having barely raised her son, she now had to take care of her grandson—Mrs. Chen became angrier the more she thought about it. She only refrained from complaining in front of Father Chen.

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Chen Jin felt that ever since the divorce from Su Li, everything he did seemed to go less smoothly.

His mood was irritable every day, and work progress was anything but smooth.

The so-called butterfly effect—a minor change leading to significantly different outcomes.

In his previous life, Chen Jin had been like a fish in water, quickly rising to prominence in his career.

He and Liu Yin had grown increasingly close... becoming golden partners in the business world.

At any banquet, reception, art exhibition... Liu Yin, growing ever more assertive, was the one he brought along.

People only heard of Liu Yin's name, with no idea who Chen Jin's wife was...

But in this life, all it took was Su Li timely exiting the picture to bring about such drastic changes.

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Once Liu Yin arrived in Shanghai, it didn't take long for her to learn about Chen Jin's divorce.

At this moment, she felt a sense of wish fulfillment; no longer did she have to watch him with furtive glances.

However, Liu Yin found that the distance between them had widened.

These days, the irritable Chen Jin had neither the energy nor the inclination to show any special consideration for Liu Yin at work.

Liu Yin, whose business skills were not particularly solid, found herself naturally suppressed and ostracized in the midst of genuinely elite colleagues.

Over time, she was gradually pushed out of the core circle.

She was, at least, someone Chen Jin had brought from Su City, so people were not excessively harsh, merely letting her fade into the background.

As a result, Liu Yin became even more determined to secure her grip on Chen Jin.

When her menstruation was a week overdue this month, Liu Yin smiled.

Hiding in the bathroom, she used a pregnancy test and saw the unmistakable double lines.

In the afternoon, Liu Yin slammed her leave request on her team leader's desk, asserting, "I need to take the afternoon off."

Without a glance, the team leader denied her, "It's the busiest time for the project. Without a special reason, no one is allowed to take time off. Otherwise, you can pack your things and leave—the company has no room for idlers. Even if Mr. Chen were here, I would say the same."

Liu Yin, infuriated, snatched back her leave request, "You're tough, but I'll have Mr. Chen speak to you about this."

After Liu Yin left, the others quietly began to discuss.

"Everyone knows she's sweet on Mr. Chen, and he seems to take care of her too, but it's never been inappropriate... How dare she so blatantly use Mr. Chen to pressure us?"

"What gives her such confidence?"

The team leader, hearing the murmurs, flashed a look and said indifferently, "Get back to work now."

The once buzzing crowd dispersed in haste.

The team leader pondered for a moment, gaze deep, watching through the glass window as Liu Yin walked out of the company with her purse in hand. Then, looking through the folder, the team leader found a document and took it towards Vice President Cao's office.