Chapter 1417 Jump Out of a Sinking s.h.i.+p

The next few days felt like all h.e.l.l had broken loose for Mao Qiuyue and her family. It wasn't only her increasingly stinky reputation that they needed to worry about. They were also forced to scramble like headless chickens to save their company, Mao Textiles. This time, it wasn't only Lin Yehan who was putting pressure on their company. Various forces were working together to sabotage them.

Jin Corporation was the most notable one. And it wasn't just Jin Liwei who made the command either. Insiders knew that even the legendary business genius, Sir Lu Jianhong, came out of retirement once again to express his rage about what happened to who the old man called his "eldest great-grandbaby". One of these elite business leaders was enough to shake the entire domestic industry to its core. What more when they combined their powers? Any ent.i.ty that they targeted would definitely be obliterated. And that was precisely what was happening to the Maos.

In addition, Iris Long's Eve Holdings was also flexing its fast-growing influence in the business industry by joining in the fray. The company might still be far from Jin Corporation regarding wealth, power and prestige, but it wasn't significant either. Coupled with Iris Long's popularity and her fierce fans, the Black Stars, Eve Holdings was proving extremely dangerous to Mao Textiles.

Other hidden forces were also targeting Mao Textiles. They weren't as easy to identify as Jin Corporation, Eve Holdings, and Lin Yehan's work, but it was clear to spectators that all these forces were pus.h.i.+ng Mao Textiles to the brink. A few days after what Mao Qiuyue did to her husband's illegitimate son, Mao Textiles was forced into its last dying breath.

Inside his in-laws' home, Long Hui watched his wife and parents-in-law panicking in despair as if it was the end of the world. And in some way, it was indeed the end of the world but only for them.

He felt numb. Even when his wife, Mao Qiuyue, started to slap, hit, and scratch him, he stood there like a cold, unfeeling statue.

"Useless! You're a useless husband! I regret marrying you!"

Mao Qiuyue looked like a completely different person. She was the kind of person obsessed with her looks. On a typical day, she would take hours to get ready.

But today, she looked like a total wreck. She wore no makeup. Her hair was a dry, stringy mess. Her skin was dull, and her face was swollen due to stress and lack of sleep.

Long Hui felt disgusted just by looking at her. However, he didn't retaliate and let her vent by hitting him. His father-in-law's hair turned white almost overnight. He looked old and tiredand extremely furious at Long Hui. Even his mother-in-law, who was usually the most sensible among them, didn't bother trying to be nice to him. So what was the use of being nice when they were about to lose everything?

While the Mao family was busy blaming Long Hui for everything happening to them, the chairman's a.s.sistant arrived.

"What?!" Father Mao barked. The poor a.s.sistant looked resentful but answered, "Chairman, the company has received a formal letter from the authorities informing us that they require Mao Textiles to undergo investigations into claims of bribery, tax evasion, embezzlement within the board of directors, and labour law violations."

Father Mao's face turned ashen.

"There must be a mistake!" Mother Mao denied the allegations.

The a.s.sistant pursed his lips and just directly handed the formal letter from the authorities to Father Mao. He also included an additional note.

"Chairman, this is my letter of resignation. I quit!"

Then he left without turning back.

"This can't be happening," Father Mao muttered as he read the formal letter. His complexion worsened after reading it. "We're ruined!"

He caught sight of Long Hui and threw a punch at his son-in-law's face. "All because of you! This is all your fault! All your fault! You're a scourge to my family! I regret ever agreeing to support a worthless good-for-nothing like you! I even married my daughter to you!"

Mao Qiuyue joined his father and beat up her husband. Mother Mao only watched on the sidelines. She might not be helping them beat up her son-in-law, but she wasn't moving to stop them either.

When the father and daughter got tired, Long Hui was in a sorry state. He had a black eye, and many parts of his face were already swelling. His usual handsome appearance was nowhere to be found. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow the author on Instagram: @arriacross]

"Are you done?" he asked in a cold voice while struggling to stand on his own two feet. "How dare you use that tone with me?!" Father Mao was enraged. He looked like he wanted to have another go with his son-in-law.

Long Hui sneered and wiped the blood from his nose and split lip. "You say that you regret helping me. Well, I also regret accepting your help!"

"What did you say?!" Father Mao moved to punch him again, but Long Hui dodged this time. The older man stumbled and almost fell down to the floor. She glared at her husband. "How dare you treat my father like this?! He's your father-in-law!"

"Not for long."

Everyone stiffened. "What the h.e.l.l do you mean by that?!" Mao Qiuyue demanded.

Long Hui looked at her straight in the eyes. He no longer bothered to hide his disgust for her. "I'm divorcing you, Mao Qiuyue. My biggest regret is ever marrying a repulsive woman like you. Do you know that I have to stop myself from vomiting every time I bed you?"

His words angered Father Mao and Mother Mao, while Mao Qiuyue started wailing. Mother Mao no longer held herself back and pounced on Long Hui to attack him. Unfortunately, Long Hui was done being their punching bag. He deftly dodged his mother-in-law. Then he addressed his crying wife, "You keep on blaming me, but this is your fault. None of this would have happened if you didn't touch my son. I have already told you many times that I'll never give up on my son. If you only listened to me, we wouldn't have reached this point. Mao Qiuyue, the moment you targeted my son was also the moment that I gave up on you!"

Like what the chairman's a.s.sistant did earlier, Long Hui also turned his back and walked away without turning back. He ignored the furious shouts and curses behind him. He jumped into his car and drove away in a heartbeat. A few minutes later, his phone rang. It was his mother. At first, he didn't want to answer, but his mother was persistent and kept on calling. In the end, he still picked up the call.

"I'm divorcing Mao Qiuyue," he told her directly. "You can't change my mind, Mother."

Zheng Suyin fell silent. Then she said, "Alright. Then divorce her."

Long Hui was taken aback at her acceptance of his decision. "You're not going to persuade me to change my mind?"

"The Maos are already a sinking s.h.i.+p. It's best to jump out of it and save yourself from drowning with them. You made the best decision, son."

Zheng Suyin's words were apathetic. It was as if she didn't share any friends.h.i.+p with Mother Mao. She and Mother Mao had been the ones who actively paired up her son with Mao Qiuyue at the beginning. But now, she was totally unsympathetic to the Mao family's plight. Long Hui became calmer after listening to his mother. He felt better about his decision to divorce his wife. "Don't worry about divorcing Mao Qiuyue, son. If she refuses to sign the papers, I'll help you 'persuade' her until she has no choice but to agree with the divorce. I'm an experienced divorce after all. I learned a few tricks when your father divorced me to marry that s.l.u.t, Wei Lan."

He could sense his mother's grudge against his father and Wei Lan. He also felt indignant on behalf of his mother. Because if it weren't for Wei Lan stealing his father from his mother, then Long Hui's position as the legitimate heir would have been more secure and stable than now. As the legitimate wife, his mother would have provided him with a stronger support system.

Alas, n.o.body could change the past. They all had to live with the present and fight to make a better future for themselves.

"I understand, Mother. Thank you."

After the phone call with his mother, Long Hui called his lawyer and the PR team he had previously hired to help him with the public apology. They made a plan.

Later, he walked to a police station accompanied by his lawyer to report his in-laws for physical a.s.sault. He didn't clean up or do any first aid on his injuries for maximum effect. Even his s.h.i.+rt remained torn and bloodied.

Just like his mother, he also learned a trick or two after getting into constant trouble. He fished a recording pen from his pocket and presented it to the police.

It contained a clear audio recording of how his wife and in-laws verbally and physically abused him and blamed him for all the trouble that Maos and their company were currently experiencing.

The audio recording was unedited to avoid drawing suspicion to himself. He didn't trust any professional claiming that they could edit the recording and make it look as if it was untouched.

As a result, the audio recording still contained all the unpleasant insults he threw at his own wife about him being disgusted while bedding her. Despite this, he still handed the full audio recording to the police. He would go down, but Mao Qiuyue and her parents would go down deeper than him.