Inextricable - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Summer in July was hot, especially in a small southern city like Huaicheng.
Xu Xingxing was standing in the restaurant’s reception room, talking to her good friend Chen Wanwan.
“Wang Chunsheng cheated?” Chen Wanwan asked in surprise.
“Well, with a part-time college student that he met in a bar,” said Xu Xingxing indifferently.
Chen Wanwan scolded angrily, “Scumbag! And an old pervert… But, what part-time jobs do college students do in bars?”
Xu Xingxing replied, “She’s a dancer.”
“Oh… no wonder….” Of course he cheated then.
Xu Xingxing was stunned. “Huh?”
“No… no…it’s nothing, some men just have a strong taste. What are you going to do?” Chen Wanwan asked.
“We have already gotten divorced,” stated Xu Xingxing.
When Chen Wanwan heard this, she was left surprised. Since Xu Xingxing has a soft and waxy personality, she never thought Xu Xingxing would have taken such a decision.
“Thanks to you, Wang Chunsheng grew to become a big businessman. Don’t be soft-hearted when it comes to the division of your property. Although you don’t have children, you have to ask for more alimony.”
Someone finally supported her decision to divorce, and this allowed Xu Xingxing to relax a little.
She responded, “Okay.”
Chen Wanwan then asked, “Have you thought about your future?”
“My future? No, Wanwan… I don’t know what to do,” Xu Xingxing said.
Divorce itself was a lot to stress over, she simply hadn’t had any time to think about her future.
“Xingxing, how about coming to Xiacheng? Our company recently signed a new contract with a German company. The translation department has been expanded, so we have a lot of work. You can join our translation department,” suggested Chen Wanwan.
Xiacheng is a coastal city, and it is where Xu Xingxing attended college. She and Chen Wanwan also met there. They were classmates who learned German together. After spending four years in the same dormitory, their relationship grew deeper.
After graduation, upon her return to Huaicheng, her hometown, Xu Xingxing married Wang Chunsheng, her university senior and a resident of the same city. He started a business after graduation, the initial venture capital for which was earned by Xu Xingxing by working in tutoring institutions day and night. In the past two years, because of the couple’s hard work, the company had risen to become a successful business.
Chen Wanwan stayed in Xiacheng after graduation and found a job, eventually getting married and becoming a mother of a son.
After Xu Xingxing ended her call with Chen Wanwan, she returned to the hall where her grandmother’s birthday was being celebrated. Today is her grandmother’s 80th birthday, and the Xu family was celebrating the old lady’s birthday at Yihaige, a five-star restaurant in Huaicheng. Xu Xingxing pushed open the door of the hall, and while standing at the entrance she heard the voice of Xu Mingyi, the youngest daughter of her second uncle’s family.
“It’s not like you don’t know her, she is conservative and old-fashioned, dressing tightly all day long. The old ladies who square dance on the street are more open than her, no wonder it’s hard for Wang Chunsheng to endure it.”
Xu Xingxing felt suffocated on hearing this, and she glanced sideways, only to see her image in the mirror at the entrance. She was wearing a long red dress, which covered her from the neckline to the ankles. Furthermore, she had only painted her eyebrows and put on lipstick. Her face was indeed too plain and dull. In this aspect, she could not fully blame Xu Mingyi.
“I really need to change,” thought Xu Xingxing.
Xu Xingxing went inside.
“Why are you late?” asked her grandmother, Mrs. Xu.
“My friend called to ask about the current situation, so it took some time,” replied Xu Xingxing.
Mrs. Xu then said, “Have you reconsidered about what has happened with Chunsheng? Men are just having some fun by playing outside. You are simply overreacting. Don’t you know that a twice-married man is a treasure, and a twice-married woman is a piece of old grass? How are you going to live your life after your divorce?”
Many of the Xu family’s relatives hold jobs in Wang Chunsheng’s company. If she and Wang Chunsheng got a divorce, they would no longer have happy days in the company, so they were very displeased with Xu Xingxing’s decision.
“She is already an old grass,” Xu Mingyi was amused by the old lady and smiled mockingly.
Xu Xingxing looked at Mrs. Xu, then at Xu Mingyi, and told them, “I got divorced and have gotten two houses and two cars in the division, and I still have two million in alimony. I can live well for the rest of my life.”
Everyone was shocked on hearing this.
“You can really brag,” said Xu Mingyi, hiding her jealousy.
Old lady Xu, who was standing next to her, grabbed her and scolded, “How did you just speak to your sister?”
Xu Xingxing ignored them and asked, “Where are my mother and Xingyuan?” She didn’t see the two of them when she entered the hall, so they should have left.
Her mother, Lin Meihui, had a personality softer than hers, but her brother, Xu Xingyuan, had an aggressive temperament. The two of them must have left earlier because of these so-called relatives.
Xu Xingxing didn’t plan to stay either. She got up, took out a thousand yuan from her wallet, and said, “This is the money for our portion of the meal tonight. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go first.”
Xu Xingxing’s family lived in the older part of the city, which consisted of old buildings and dilapidated roads. Although she has a driver’s license, she usually traveled with a driver before, so she was a bit nervous right now.
After driving for a while, she came to a small intersection not far from home. Xu Xingxing stopped the car and waited quietly for the red light. The road was deserted because it was too late.
While Xu Xingxing was waiting, she thought about what she had heard today. Chen Wanwan said that men have strong tastes, Xu Mingyi said that she was too conservative, and even when she had learned that Wang Chunsheng was cheating, he had told her that she was too rigid and didn’t know how to enjoy married life. The old lady had also piled on by saying that a twice-married woman was a piece of old grass, and even if she went looking for a one-night stand, no man would take up the offer.
Xu Xingxing smiled coldly. At this time, the red light turned green, and Xu Xingxing stepped on the accelerator and drove forward. Unfortunately, this small intersection was on a slight slope, and she could not control the car properly. She didn’t even have time to think when her car slammed into the car beside hers.
“Damn,” Xu Xingxing said in a panic.
After she braked, she quickly opened the door and got out of the car. Seeing the car she slammed into was a Maserati in Bordeaux red, her panic increased.
This car seems to be expensive. No…I’m going to lose money.
No one got out of the car, so she walked to it and knocked on the window of the driver’s seat.
The window rolled down to reveal the profile of a man. A pair of deep, light-brown colored eyes looked at her. He was a very handsome man, with a fair complexion. Xu Xingxing could see the man’s hair color clearly, and it was the currently popular granny gray.
“H…hello. “I… I hit your car. Please look at it. How can I compensate you? I don’t know how much it will cost to repair it…” Xu Xingxing’s voice was not stable, and she was already sweating because she had never faced this kind of thing before.
The man continued to look at her and didn’t talk. This frightened Xu Xingxing even more.
Huai Jing was looking at the woman in front of him carefully. He thought, ‘Even though this woman wears plain clothes from head to toe, she is elegant and has a polite personality.’
“I…I’m very sorry. H-How much does it cost to repair?” Xu Xingxing asked again.
“I don’t want money,” Huai Jing said lightly.
Xu Xingxing looked surprised, and asked, “What do you mean?”
Huai Jing could see that Xu Xingxing was very frightened. Deciding to tease her a bit, he leaned over, looked into her eyes and said, “I want you.”
Xu Xingxing froze in place after hearing his words, and could not utter a single word in response.
The man smiled wickedly. “I want you. Can I have you?”
After seeing Xu Xingxing’s pale face, Huai Jing laughed to himself. He just wanted to tease her, but just when he was about to speak, the woman in front of him suddenly raised her head.
“Okay,” Xu Xingxing agreed tremblingly.
This time, it was Huai Jing whose eyes widened gradually.
End of chapter 1