“Mm, hello?” she said.

The voice on the other end sounded rough and hoarse. Yu Yaoyao surely was getting intimate with Shen Yichong. Yu Xinjie seethed in rage hearing her voice.

“Yu Yaoyao, how can you be so shameless?!” she yelled in the phone, “You deceive the reporter and the public acting as though you are so heartbroken, while you are clearly in bed! How can you—”

Her words were interrupted by Yu Yaoyao. “You call me by name, little sister, you are so cold-hearted,” she said, “As your elder sister, I am so disappointed.” Yu Yaoyao sounded very calm; she spoke in a low voice that made her sound very helpless. It could make anyone feel protective of her. “Do you not even want me to be with your brother-in-law? Discrediting my wifely duties, why are you being so harsh?”

Yu Xinjie gritted her teeth. She had never once considered Yu Yaoyao her elder sister. She had always despised Yu Yaoyao and her dead mother. It was because of them that she had always been shamed as an illegitimate child. She shouldn’t have had to transfer to new schools six times over. She never even had a friend for the longest time. It was all because of them.

She hated her and her dead mother more than anything in her life. She wanted to snatch everything away from Yu Yaoyao, her father, her love, her wealthy lifestyle, everything! If she wasn’t able to take everything away from her, she would make sure she destroyed everything that was dear to her. She had always resented calling her ‘sister’. Every time she uttered it, she felt disgusted with herself, but she bore it all for the sake of money and leeching Yu Yaoyao empty.

“Yu Yaoyao!” Yu Xinjie thundered, “Do you really think you can slander me and mummy so easily?” Many years ago, Yu Yaoyao’s mother had called her mother homewrecker who ruined her family. She will get her revenge. “Are you so stupid enough to think that I won’t have a backup plan of my own? In your card, nearly half of the expenditure has gone straight to Chen Jiao’s bank account. I didn’t want to expose all of your ugliness, but you leave me no choice. Which do you think sounds logical: You spending money to buy a house for your mother and opening a beauty salon for her livelihood, or you spending so much money on a minor pretty faced actor, Chen Jiao?” Yu Xinjie smiled smugly.

“This is the last warning. Behave,” said Yu Xinjie, “Clarify to the public that your interview and statements were all lies. Issue a public apology to me and mummy. Maybe then we will forgive you. Otherwise, you will soon see headlines on mismanaging your husband funds to support a pretty faced actor. It will be quite a scandal. I don’t think you will be able to recover your reputation after that.”

She heard a loud cry from the other end of the phone. Yu Xinjie was overjoyed. “Are you scared?” she asked happily, “Come out and apologize, and then I will consider not telling the reporters.” Yu Xinjie knew she indeed had a firm hold on Yu Yaoyao no matter how bold she thought she could be. “You said you had a recording of me asking for money. It won’t do you much good, because money has never been wired to my account from yours, but money from your account has been directly wired to Chen Jiao’s account multiple times, that’s where your name will be tainted.”

Yu Xinjie had been gripped in a moment of panic when she saw the headline a while before, but now, gathering her thoughts and laying her cards on the table against Yu Yaoyao, she felt invincible. She had been saving Chen Jiao for the last, but the situation had become dire. She had to use him. She had paved her path carefully. If Shen Yichong somehow went out of the picture, she had done enough favors for Chen Jiao that she could rely on his mountain of wealth. She would make him stay with her somehow.

“Don’t be hasty and impulsive, sister,” she said with a mocking emphasis on the last word, “You have responsibilities. Don’t be reckless.”

Yu Xinjie felt relieved and proud that she had won. Even though her and mother’s name had been tarnished a little, it wasn’t something she couldn’t fix. Meanwhile, even a little damage to her image will cause Yu Yaoyao massive loss. Being a public figure, she has a reputation to maintain. She will have to cave in, eventually. Yu Xinjie felt smug and happy. She was about to comfort her mother when a frantic voice came from the phone.

“Xinjie, when did I ever send Chen Jiao any money?” asked Yu Yaoyao, “Don’t tell me you… you changed the password on the card, so you transferred it to him?!”

Yu Xinjie chuckled. “Yes,” she said, “Are you surprised? Did you not expect it?” Yu Xinjie was panicking for nothing. This was a piece of cake. “I lied to you about needing money. After you gave me the card, I wired money to Chen Jiao from your account, from your name. If brother-in-law finds out about this, will he still protect you? Will he still love you? Will anyone ever trust you?”

“Hey, honey…,” said the voice from the other end, addressing someone else.

Yu Xinjie’s smile froze on her face. Was Shen Yichong by her side right now listening to everything? She had been sure that the speaker wasn’t enabled on the phone. Was he listening close to her ear?

Yu Yaoyao’s soft voice rang again, addressing Shen Yichong by her side. “What should I do, honey? I was always unable to remember why or when I had transferred money to Chen Jiao,” she said, “It was her who framed me. I have never even spoken to Chen Jiao beyond a few words. She lied to me. She framed me, you heard her.”

Yu Xinjie tried to backtrack on her words. “Brother-in-law!” she said hurriedly, “my sister liked Chen Jiao so I helped her transfer money. She instigated it!”

A man’s low voice rang out from the other end shattering her hopes to pieces. “All bank accounts that Chen Jiao had was under Guangxin when the company opened it for him,” he said, “Whenever I made a payment, it was transferred to Chen Jiao. Now I know why.” Yu Xinjie was at a loss for words.

“Thank you, Xinjie,” said Yu Yaoyao, “You have explained things so clearly. I have recorded them.”

Her hand trembled as she heard Yu Yaoyao click the replay button. She heard her own voice in the recording being played.

“Sister,” said Yu Yaoyao, “Are you surprised?” Yu Yaoyao threw her question back to her. Her voice was calm and steady now. “Why do you always try to make trouble for me? Tsk tsk. You really don’t stop, do you? Are you in that much of a hurry to destroy yourself?’

Yu Xinjie’s phone fell to the ground.