Even though Ru Yin Yue was reluctant to let Mom Si into her apartment, she didn't have much of a choice. It would be too impolite to refuse an old lady. Besides, Mom Si did notify her beforehand that she would be visiting her home later, promising to divulge more information regarding Zhou Ni Yao.
Not that Ru Yin Yue was interested in anything about Zhou Ni Yao. The further she stayed away from that fake green tea, the better.
Mom Si looked around the apartment curiously. Given her lack of financial resources, Ru Yin Yue had settled for renting a small, two-room apartment with a single bathroom and kitchen. There was only one bedroom, and no study. That was why she squeezed her old, second-hand piano into the tiny living room. In exchange, she didn't have any television or DVD players, but she never watched much television anyway.
These days, it was easier to stream shows online, and Ru Yin Yue preferred listening to music from her computer than catching up on episodes.
At first, Ru Yin Yue thought Mom Si was simply astonished by how poor people lived and was wondering how she could stay in such a tiny apartment with minimal furnishings. But Mom Si continued to look around, staring at the closed door that led to her bedroom.
"Um…"
"Oh, sorry." Mom Si turned back with a smile. "I was just wondering…do you live here alone?"
"Yes." Ru Yin Yue nodded. She suddenly remembered the sensitivity of the "secret" that Mom Si wanted to share, that she couldn't in the Si Villa. "So you don't have to worry about any roommates walking in the middle of our conversation."
"No, I'm not worried about that." Mom Si chuckled. "I'm sorry, I should have been clearer. I wasn't asking about your roommates. I was wondering if you have a child."
"Huh? A child?" Ru Yin Yue gaped at her. "Why would I have a child?"
"I…don't know. I was expecting you to be pregnant eight years ago, before you left. Maybe you got pregnant with Zha Nan's child, but decided to go abroad when he chose Zhou Ni Yao instead, and then secretly gave birth overseas. Then you singlehandedly raised your child, and then brought him or her back here when you returned to see your mother. Then, when Zha Nan finds out that you have borne him a child, he might warm up to you. Your child might even help to mend your relationship with him. Isn't that sort of thing very common?"
"Very common?" Ru Yin Yue repeated incredulously. She shook her head, bemused. "Auntie, I think you have read too many CEO romance stories. That sort of thing doesn't happen in real life. They tend to exaggerate single parenthood and portray romance unrealistically. Besides, even if I did have a child, I wouldn't tell you. The Si family will want to take custody of him or her, correct? As a mother, I would never let anyone take my child away from me."
"Nobody will take your child from you," Mom Si assured her. "In fact, that would be the perfect reason for you to marry into the Si family. If Zha Nan got you pregnant, he must take responsibility!"
"You can't force him to marry a woman he doesn't love."
"Even so, he cannot just forget his responsibility." Mom Si looked around. "Where is my grandchild? At least let me see him or her. Don't worry, I won't take him or her away from you."
"There is no child." Ru Yin Yue smiled wryly. "I never got pregnant. The chances of getting pregnant from a single…night of intimacy are very low. Like I said, you have been reading too many CEO novels. I'm not denying that it never happens, but statistically, it simply isn't that common. I can assure you that I do not have a child."
"Ah." Mom Si looked disappointed. She had evidently been scheming to make use of a child to potentially force Zha Nan to marry Yin Yue, but if such a child didn't exist, then it couldn't be helped. She should have known that reality wouldn't be so convenient.
"Enough of that, auntie. You visited me for something more important, right?" Ru Yin Yue was aware of the power and influence of the Si family. There was no way Mom Si wouldn't have investigated her background already. She must have known that Ru Yin Yue had never gotten pregnant and had never given birth to a child. She wouldn't come all this way here for a stupid joke.
"Yes. Please, Yin Yue. You are the only one who can help Zha Nan now." Mom Si reached out across the table to clasp her hands.
"Help him? What do you mean?" Ru Yin Yue frowned, her heart skipping a beat. Was Si Zha Nan in some sort of trouble? If he was, she couldn't imagine herself being able to help. After all, he was the CEO of Si Corporation and had resources far beyond anything she possessed. If there was anything that troubled him, how could a poor musician like her with no connections, no money or background help the heir of the prestigious Si family?
"We cannot allow him to marry that stinky demoness Zhou Ni Yao." Mom Si took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She withdrew her hands and reached into her purse. "The information I was telling you about this morning…I couldn't share it at home because I don't want the maids to overhear. If by any chance, the servants or the staff at home learn about this…the face of the Si family will be completely thrown. Knowing them, they would gossip and spread the news. While we do have a stringent screening process…alas, you know how human nature is. Inevitably at least one of them will have loose lips or sell the news to tabloids out of greed."
"What sort of information is this?" Ru Yin Yue was growing nervous. If this was something that the Si family couldn't even trust their maids and household staff with, then why was Mom Si sharing this with her? As flattered as she was by the older woman's trust in her, she wasn't very pleased about being dragged into the Si family's affairs.
She wanted nothing to do with them.
Nonetheless, she was curious about what sort of information this was. Despite knowing that curiosity killed the cat, she allowed that to win out. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, wasting her entire time speculating on just what this juicy information was.
In the end, Ru Yin Yue was just like other girls. She wasn't able to resist the allure of gossip. Not that she planned on breaking Mom Si's trust and spreading the information to others, but just the pleasure of knowing something nobody else did was…intoxicating. She was a normal girl, after all.
"Look at this." Mom Si produced several photographs from her purse, as well as a medical document. Ru Yin Yue's attention was drawn to the photographs first, the visual images being eye-catching and the explicit contents standing out to her vividly. She reached out to take one of the photographs, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Zhou Ni Yao was inside the photograph, completely naked. That wasn't all – she was in bed with another man, their naked bodies entwined and their faces in the throes of ecstasy. What was worse was that the man was clearly not Si Zha Nan. It was a handsome man that Ru Yin Yue didn't recognize, but found familiar. Perhaps a celebrity from somewhere?
"And she claimed that she loves Si Zha Nan?" Ru Yin Yue whispered, shocked.
"Exactly!" Mom Si slammed a fist against the photographs, all of which showed the same debauchery, none of the pornographic photos featuring Si Zha Nan despite Zhou Ni Yao being inside each and every one of them. "Now you know why I can't allow her to marry Zha Nan?!"
"I'm actually curious…how did you get these photographs to begin with?" Ru Yin Yue tore her eyes from the explicit pictures and frowned. As unlikely as it was, there was a possibility that Mom Si was setting Zhou Ni Yao up with photoshop. "I find it hard to believe that these two would…you know, do it while someone else is taking photographs of them. How did they not even notice that they were being photographed?"
"I had a professional tail them," Mom Si explained. "At first, I heard rumors that Zhou Ni Yao was having an affair outside, so I hired a private investigator to follow her. He took these photographs from another building, actually, one that was opposite the hotel. I'm not sure about the technical details, but his camera has a zoom-in function that allowed him to magnify the images. He captured these photographs through the windows of the hotel. I guess, since they were pretty high up, the stinky demoness and her lover didn't bother to close the curtains, so the private investigator was able to capture everything."
Ru Yin Yue nodded, accepting the explanation. That made more sense than Mom Si conveniently having the photographs at hand just to move the plot of the story along and prove beyond a doubt that Zhou Ni Yao was a green tea bitch.
"Does Zha Nan know about this yet? Have you told him?"
"He doesn't know about this yet. You know how Zha Nan is. He is a very stubborn person who will never accept reality. No matter what evidence I give him, he will never believe me. He will only believe Zhou Ni Yao. If I show these to him, he'll just claim that they are fabricated. I'm also worried about the psychological impact…if he sees these photographs now, he'll be psychologically devastated. I'm worried that he might do…something stupid."
"That is not for you or me to decide." Ru Yin Yue was stern. "You must tell him the truth. Whether he believes it or not after that is up to him. There is no wisdom in hiding the truth from him."
"But…" Mom Si protested weakly.
"Auntie, I know Zha Nan will be hurt when he sees this. I know you don't want to hurt him. But hiding the truth from him will only hurt him more. You understand, don't you? If you don't tell him now, what happens if he finds out later? What if he learns that you knew about this beforehand but didn't tell him? Wouldn't he be hurt worse? Not just Ni Yao, but even his mother was hiding secrets from him. If you want him to trust you, you cannot hide it from him."
"…I will think about it." Mom Si wiped at her eyes, almost weeping. "But now you know why I am so against this marriage. I don't want Zha Nan to be ruined by this…this stinky demoness. Worse…Zhou Ni Yao has other men outside."
She pushed the medical document toward Ru Yin Yue. Now she saw that it was the result of pregnancy test, along with DNA testing.
"Here is the evidence that Zhou Ni Yao is pregnant. And considering how often she sleeps with that other man, I'm afraid that the child in her belly…doesn't belong to Zha Nan. Hmph! How can I allow such a woman to marry into the Si family?! I would rather die!"
"That's why you must tell him the truth." Ru Yin Yue was exasperated. She saw no reason why Mom Si wouldn't just tell Si Zha Nan everything. Probably just so more drama could be created for no fucking reason. She was getting tired of this Si family drama bullshit.
"I will think about it. But…I also want you to consider marrying Zha Nan in that woman's place. Only then will he be able to forget about her and move on. I want you to be there to support him psychologically."
"That's…" Ru Yin Yue shook her head. "Zha Nan loves Ni Yao so much. He will never forget her. Not only that, he will hate me for breaking them up."
"I know this is not fair to you, but this is the last chance I have to break them up. If nothing happened last night, Zhou Ni Yao will inevitably become my daughter-in-law, the young mistress of the Si family. I am sorry for involving you in this, but there is no other option!"
"No." Ru Yin Yue's voice was firm. "There are other options, but you just refuse to entertain them."