Campus Ace Girl

The old madam was worried at heart, just forcing a smile.

Of course Lin Hua wouldn’t pull a long face at the old madam because of King Jingyao either; she was a dignified person herself and couldn’t bring herself to do something like that.

The old madam could see her temperament and let out a light sigh. She didn’t say anything more, just took care of her.

On the other side, King Jingyao wasn’t idle either. How could he possibly sit still? The moment he closed his eyes he would see Lin Hua lying on the operating table, eyes tightly shut, face twisted in pain. After going back, how could he possibly sleep?

He entrusted Xiao Yue to the Bo Family to look after, and went to the detention center himself to see that girl surnamed Yin.

The girl surnamed Yin had always been fearless, but after causing such a huge disaster she completely collapsed, curling up in the corner, hugging herself tight. Her family had gotten some news too—she’d heard that Madam Wang had lost the baby... When she heard this, it was like being struck by lightning; there was no way she could stay calm anymore—

A child... Mr. Wang would never let her go, never let her father go either. She was finished, her whole family was finished.

So when she saw King Jingyao come over, the girl surnamed Yin had messy hair and a vacant gaze. She tilted her head up at King Jingyao and said blankly, "I’m still young, I don’t want to die yet."

King Jingyao held a cigarette between his fingers and sat down on the chair in front of her, quietly staring at her for a long time before rasping, "I’m just going to ask you a few questions, who said anything about taking your life?"

The young girl’s eyes lit up a little. After a moment she said anxiously, "Really, Mr. Wang, I didn’t mean to hit her. I was turning and she had the right of way, but she acted like she couldn’t even see the intersection and just rushed through! I was scared too, I didn’t want it to happen... There was so much blood, I never thought she was your wife... Boo-hoo, I really tried my best, I didn’t run away either, I just... I just... boo-hoo, I’m really unlucky too."

By the end she was wailing out loud... She was still only a kid after all; after causing such a huge accident, she was terrified.

King Jingyao watched her while smoking, and Wang Jingchuan at the side gave a light cough. "Enough crying, you’re making Mr. Wang’s head spin."

As he spoke, he even rather tenderly pulled out a tissue and handed it to the little girl.

The little girl looked up, staring pitifully at Secretary-General Wang. That little look of hers made Wang Jingchuan’s delicate frame give a shudder. "I’ve got a wife, you know."

The young girl started sobbing again. "I’m not interested in old geezers... I just want you to put in a word for me, I don’t want to die."

"Who said you’re going to die?" King Jingyao’s voice was cool.

After he spoke, he went quiet for a moment, then asked softly, "Did she say anything?"

"When I opened the car door she’d already passed out, there was so much blood." The girl surnamed Yin murmured, "But her eyes were open... she wasn’t moving at all, like she was really sad."

She pressed her lips together and cautiously looked at King Jingyao. "Did someone make her sad?"

That question was one King Jingyao couldn’t answer. When he left, he only instructed the people there, "Let her go. It’s all Lin Hua’s responsibility, it has nothing to do with her."

The person in charge was stunned.

Wang Jingchuan immediately said, "What are you standing there for, hurry up and handle it."

The man went to handle it at once, while the girl surnamed Yin stayed dazed for a long time before pinching her own arm hard, muttering, "I didn’t mishear, right? They’re really letting me go?"

The person in charge came over with a form for her to sign. "Don’t doubt it, Mr. Wang has always been fair. All right, sign here and you can leave."

The girl surnamed Yin scribbled a signature and immediately ran out to catch up with King Jingyao. At this moment, King Jingyao was just about to get into the car. Secretary-General Wang saw her and shot her a look. "Why are you sticking to him like taffy after he’s just let you off?"

Honestly, the thing Mr. Wang hated most right now was young girls. That one in the General Office had already been dealt with by the old madam; for the next year or so, there probably wouldn’t be even a female mosquito around him.

Besides, Mr. Wang was an old geezer himself.

After he said that, the girl surnamed Yin shrank back a little, then said in a very small voice, "I just wanted to say thank you. And if possible, I’d like to go see her."

This actually surprised Wang Jingchuan.

Good grief, this girl’s got some nerve, huh—he lets her off and she still wants to go visit the patient?

He deliberately tried to scare her. "Aren’t you afraid Mr. Wang will change his mind?"

"I’m not. Mr. Wang and Madam Wang are both good people." The girl pressed her lips together and pleaded, "Please let me go see her."

This wasn’t something Secretary-General Wang could decide, so he turned around, leaned close to the rear window and said a few words to King Jingyao. Only then did he turn back. "You can go, but the madam herself has to agree."

He paused for a beat. "The old madam is there too. You’ll have to get past her first."

The little girl didn’t understand. After a while she said, "Mr. Wang isn’t staying there with them?"

Her voice got even smaller. "I just thought Mr. Wang was a good husband..."

She muttered under her breath, "Did he do something to let his wife down or what."

King Jingyao’s ears were sharp; he heard it and immediately flew into a rage. "Jingchuan, this girl’s got a filthy mouth. Better to throw her back in there."

When Wang Jingchuan heard that, he immediately started pleading like his life depended on it. "All right, all right, go now. If you keep talking, Mr. Wang really won’t let you off."

He was a smart man, so he added, "Some things—if they’re not meant to be said, you can’t let a single word slip, understand?"

Just now he’d been smiling and very approachable, but when he said those two sentences his expression was actually quite scary. The little girl only half understood, but she was still frightened and nodded woodenly. "I won’t tell anyone."

Secretary-General Wang gave her another look before opening the car door and getting in. The driver stepped on the gas and drove off...

...

In the car, King Jingyao let out a long breath and asked the secretary-general beside him, "Jingchuan, do I really look that philandering?"

"How could that be!" Wang Jingchuan said softly, "You’re just fooling around, that’s all. In your heart you’re perfectly clear—exactly which women you can touch and which you can’t, you’re crystal clear about that."

King Jingyao glared at him viciously. "Jingchuan, are you complimenting me or mocking me?"

Wang Jingchuan coaxed him with a few words, but King Jingyao remained weighed down with worry...

The matter he’d hidden from Lin Hua was bound to come out in the end. He didn’t know what she would think once she knew—would she hate him to death!

Sure enough, Lin Hua found out about it the very next day. Mainly because after losing a child there’s always bleeding that won’t stop; there was no way she could be completely in the dark. She asked, and the nurse looked very embarrassed. In the end it was the old lady who told her.

The old lady was deeply grieved. After speaking, she sighed. "You and Jingyao will still have children. You’re still young."

Lin Hua had kept silent all along. After a long time, she finally gave a hoarse, soundless smile.

The old lady knew how heartbroken she was. She had the nurse leave, then stayed in the ward herself for a while longer before speaking softly: "I know how you feel. If you want to cry, just cry it out. You’ve been a wronged Mrs. Wang for a long time. At a time like this, don’t think about maintaining appearances. You’re just an ordinary woman and mother."

As she spoke, Lin Hua leaned against the pillow, tears silently streaming down.

The old lady sighed again, then quietly walked out, leaving the space to her.

The moment the old lady closed the door, a heart‑wrenching, soul‑tearing wail burst out from the ward... The old lady’s heart shattered.

She knew all too well how much Lin Hua loved children. Otherwise she wouldn’t have fought with her for years over Xiao Yue’s education. Lin Hua’s temperament was stubborn; perhaps she wasn’t suited to life in the Bo Family. But Lin Hua was a good mother—on that point, better than her.

The old lady had been strong-willed all her life, rarely thinking much of anyone. Seeing Lin Hua this devastated, she too could only sigh, quietly keeping watch by the door—

When King Jingyao rushed over, he saw the old lady silently standing guard at the door, saying nothing. His heart twisted.

The old lady was pushing eighty, yet still worrying herself sick over his affairs. Thinking about it, when had she ever bowed her head this low?

He was heartsick beyond measure and said in a low voice, "Mom, I’ve wronged you."

The old lady faced the wall and still didn’t turn around. She only said faintly, "Save those words for your wife. She’s the one who’s heartbroken right now. Can’t you hear her crying?"

Of course King Jingyao could hear it; each sob made his heart clench.

The old lady went on: "Even though she doesn’t want to see anyone right now, you’re her husband. At a time like this, even if there were blades and flames in front of you, you’d still have to go in to comfort her. Let alone when... it’s just one word: divorce."

King Jingyao’s body jolted.

The old lady finally turned to look at her son and said softly, "You’ve been through this before... The previous one didn’t stop talking to you about it either, did she? Now that it’s Lin Hua’s turn, will you let go or not? Whatever you decide, I’ll respect it. Only one thing..."

The old lady paused for a long time before continuing: "If there’s no turning back for the two of you, let her take Xiao Yue."

King Jingyao shuddered again; this was something he had absolutely not expected.

The old lady gave a bleak smile. "Don’t talk to me about anything else. This is what you owe her... Think for yourself—with your status, once she divorces you, what road is left for her? In the future, she’ll probably have only this one child, Xiao Yue. If you don’t give him to her, are you really willing to watch her all alone? You still have your parents, that sister Anxi, and countless subordinates. But Lin Hua—she really will have nothing."

Hearing this, Wang Jingchuan, standing to the side, was also frozen stiff in shock. He couldn’t believe when the old lady had become so enlightened.

King Jingyao wiped his face and said in anguish, "Old lady, why force me like this!"

"How am I forcing you! I just don’t want to see the two of you living together and making each other miserable. If she does divorce you, I’ll still take care of her. As long as your father and I are alive, we’ll look after her for a day. Once we’re gone, there’ll probably be no one left to care about her... At that point, you can bully her however you like—down in our graves we won’t see it. Which is fine; not seeing it keeps things clean." After the old lady finished, she waved her hand: "Go see your wife. She’s cried herself into a tear‑soaked mess; don’t let her cry herself into bad health."

King Jingyao pressed his lips together, answered "okay," and pushed the door open to go in.

Secretary-General Wang looked at the door, then at the old lady.

Once she saw her son had gone in, the old lady wiped away a tear and said, "I had someone stew chicken soup. Go see if it’s been delivered yet."

Wang Jingchuan didn’t move.

The old lady hobbled over with her cane. "Your master doesn’t listen to me, and now you don’t either, is that it? Jingchuan, you’ve let that bastard rub off on you."

Even after being hit, Wang Jingchuan wasn’t angry. He only asked softly, "Why did you have to put things so harshly just now, Old Madam? Mr. Wang doesn’t have that kind of intention."

The old lady shot him a glare and let out a cold laugh. "He truly doesn’t have that intention! But Jingchuan, you’ve followed him for so many years—don’t you know what a damned temper he has? Once his wife says a few nasty words, Mr. Wang’s face can’t take it. Once he can’t bear it, his mouth runs faster than his brain and he’ll blurt out agreement. Now that I’ve put Xiao Yue in front of him, even if he acts on impulse, he’ll think twice: if he divorces, he’ll lose both wife and son. Heh... at his age, where’s he going to find some young girl to bear him another son?"

In his heart, Wang Jingchuan gave the old lady a thumbs-up, but outwardly he kept a straight face. "You truly are thorough in your thinking."

He buttered her up like this, and the old lady only gave him a look, then said nothing more.

*

In the ward, King Jingyao closed the door.

Lin Hua was still crying, though no longer as heart‑rending as before. She knew, after all, that he had come in.

King Jingyao walked over step by step to the bedside, reached out to hold her, and said softly, "Don’t cry anymore. When you cry like this, my heart’s all in pieces."

Lin Hua was forced to lie against his shoulder, separated from his body heat by only a thin layer of shirt fabric.

She wanted to move away, but he wouldn’t let her, pressing her into his arms with a hint of forcefulness...