I'm back in 1990

Chapter 589: A Life Destroyed by One's Own Hands

The world depicted by Sijiucai (a pseudonym) can be found in "1990 I'm Back".

After leaving the teahouse, Huang Erhe dragged his heavy legs back home.

Fan Yingrong was in the living room, eating sunflower seeds and watching TV. When she saw Huang Erhe return, she glanced at him, then continued watching the TV, casually asking, "You're back!"

Huang Erhe replied in a muffled voice, "Mm!"

Then he asked, "Where's Maowa?"

Fan Yingrong gestured towards the downstairs area with her lip: "She's playing with the kids downstairs!"

While changing his shoes, Huang Erhe casually remarked, "My mom said she misses Maowa and wants to send someone to pick him up and take him to Hong Kong to stay with her for a while."

Fan Yingrong, without a second thought, lit up immediately upon hearing Huang Erhe's words. She stopped watching TV and hurriedly asked, "Really?"

"Yes!" Huang Erhe nodded. "Someone will come to pick him up in the next couple of days."

Upon hearing this, Fan Yingrong stopped watching TV and immediately ran to the balcony, calling for Maowa to come back downstairs.

After Fan Yingrong returned to the living room, Huang Erhe told her something else: "I have to go on a business trip tomorrow, it will probably last about ten days!"

Fan Yingrong didn't react at all. In her heart, nothing was more important than her son going to Hong Kong. As long as she could use her son to control her mother-in-law, what did it matter whether her husband went on a business trip or not?

Seeing that Fan Yingrong didn't care about him at all, Huang Erhe's heart turned cold.

Two days later, Huang Xiaochuan sent someone to pick up Maowa and take him to Hong Kong.

Two days later, a neatly dressed, refined middle-aged man and a young woman knocked on Huang Erhe's door.

After opening the door, Fan Yingrong realized she didn't recognize the two people and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Ms. Fan Yingrong, is that right? Hello! I am Attorney Chen Mingyuan, here on behalf of Mr. Huang Erhe to discuss divorce matters with you. This is my lawyer's license and power of attorney."

"Divorce?" Fan Yingrong jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. It finally dawned on her—sending their son to Hong Kong, going on a business trip—he wanted a divorce! "Where's Huang Erhe? Where is he? Tell him to get out here and talk to me!"

Ignoring her agitation, Chen Mingyuan said, "Mr. Huang Erhe currently does not wish to meet with you and has entrusted me with handling your divorce case." After saying that, he gestured to his assistant to hand a stack of documents to Fan Yingrong.

"This is a draft divorce agreement. Please take a look. The main contents include the division of property, custody of children, and child support. Based on the relevant evidence provided by Mr. Huang Erhe and some information we have, the terms of the agreement have fully considered your rights, but also reflect Mr. Huang Erhe's core demand, that he has custody of the children."

Fan Yingrong's heart skipped a beat for no reason, but she still shouted defiantly, "Evidence? What evidence?"

When she saw the bolded line on the agreement that Huang Erhe would have custody of their child, Huang Zedie, she completely exploded: "Bullshit! Maowa is my son! What right does he have to take my son away?"

Chen Mingyuan adjusted his glasses: "Mrs. Huang, please calm down. First of all, the joint property you and Mr. Huang Erhe acquired during your marriage has been clearly divided in accordance with the law in the agreement. Your savings, stock dividends, and the ownership of this house are clearly stated to belong to you in the agreement. These assets are considerable and enough to ensure your future well-being."

He paused, his tone becoming even sharper: "Regarding custody, Mr. Huang Erhe, as the child's father, has the full financial capacity and willingness to raise the child. More importantly, we have evidence that your personal actions may have an adverse impact on the child's growth, including but not limited to your malicious slander and inappropriate remarks against family members, as well as your anonymous whistleblower letter against Mr. Huang Xiaochuan, which contained false information. These actions will be important factors for the court to consider when determining custody. We have reason to believe that Mr. Huang Erhe raising the child is more in line with the child's physical and mental health and long-term interests."

"A letter?" Fan Yingrong's face turned deathly pale instantly, as if all the strength had been drained from her body. Her biggest secret had been exposed so bluntly, and her last reliance and confidence collapsed in an instant.

But she still wanted to argue: "What evidence do you have?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mingyuan's lips curled up, and he almost burst out laughing. Wasn't this just admitting his guilt without being asked?

However, he still answered Fan Yingrong's question: "The chain of evidence is complete and irrefutable, including the typing shop owner's identification and the news report. Mrs. Huang, I still suggest you carefully read the terms of the agreement. This agreement is the maximum benefit Mr. Huang Erhe has fought for for you out of extreme disappointment in you, considering your past as husband and wife and for the sake of your child. If you choose to sue, then I can tell you that based on your wrongdoing of maliciously damaging others' reputation and destroying family relationships, the outcome may be even more unfavorable to you. Not only will the property division be reduced, but you will have no chance of winning custody. At that time, the relevant evidence will be made public in court. Have you considered this consequence?"

Chen Mingyuan's words struck Fan Yingrong like a hammer blow. A lawsuit? Publicly displaying evidence? She couldn't bear the humiliation!

She collapsed to the ground.

The following days were agonizing for Fan Yingrong. Huang Erhe was determined to divorce her and never showed up again. Fan Yingrong went to his workplace hoping for the best, but the people there said that Huang Erhe had taken a long leave of absence.

She could only call her parents' home and cry. When her father heard what his daughter had done, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot. He had never seen anyone so stupid as a pig. And now he had, and it turned out to be his own daughter.

She ruined a perfectly good hand. The younger brother of Asia's richest man—that's something so many people would kill for! She had originally hoped to use this relationship to elevate the Fan family's status, but now, it's all over!

Enraged, Mr. Fan roared, "Is your brain filled with mush? Reporting your brother-in-law? How could you do something like that? Now look what's happened, Erhe wants a divorce, and you still have the nerve to call us? You've completely disgraced your mother and me. Don't ever come to our house again. Your mother and I don't have a daughter like you. If we'd known it would turn out like this, we might as well have raised a pig!"

Her family's attitude extinguished Fan Yingrong's last shred of hope and reliance. For the first time, she realized that she was nothing in the face of absolute wealth and power. Now she would not only lose her husband and son, but her family would also abandon her.

Although the agreement granted her the house she currently lives in and a considerable amount of savings, it also meant that she had completely lost a powerful backer.

Furthermore, the agreement stipulates that any future financial support provided by the Huang family to Huang Erhe and his children (i.e., Huang Zedi) (including but not limited to stock dividends, interest, gifts, etc.) will be subject to a strict trust to ensure that the funds are used only for the reasonable expenses of Huang Erhe and Huang Zedi's living and education, and Fan Yingrong has no right to interfere.

Most importantly, the agreement explicitly states that Fan Yingrong voluntarily waives any rights claims or demands against Mr. Huang Xiaochuan and his affiliated companies (including but not limited to Dadao Group and all its subsidiaries, affiliated funds, and holding companies). This completely eliminates any possibility for her to use her status as the "former sister-in-law" of Asia's richest man to curry favor or extort money.

Under immense mental pressure and financial panic, and with her lawyer's constant "reminders" (informing her of the risks of litigation and the consequences of making evidence public), Fan Yingrong's psychological defenses completely collapsed. She locked herself in her empty house, with the curtains tightly drawn.

She began to frantically recall the shock she felt when she first saw the garden called "Lake Hermitage," and the secret joy she felt deep inside, thinking she had finally been accepted by the Huang family. All of this had been destroyed by her own hands!

She regretted being jealous! She was jealous of her sister-in-law Jiang Rong's "aloofness," jealous of her sister-in-law Yu Xiang's "good fortune," jealous of her cousins ​​Zeng Hong and Zeng Xia's better houses than her own, and jealous of her brother-in-law's generosity towards the Yu family. Endless jealousy twisted her heart, making her unable to see that what she had was actually much better than most people in the world.

She regretted her greed! Always wanting more, always wanting better, always comparing herself to others, she forgot that she had no right to compare. Her greed made her look like a clown, testing the waters time and time again, only to finally kick a hornet's nest.

She regretted her foolishness! How could she think that an anonymous letter could bring misfortune to her brother-in-law, allow her to "vent her anger," or even "gain some benefits"? What utter ignorance and arrogance! She underestimated her brother-in-law's power and overestimated her own abilities. Her stupidity not only harmed herself but also dragged Maowa down with her!

She regretted writing that letter! This was the root of all her remorse. That letter, filled with malice and lies, was the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely exposing her despicable nature and severing all possibilities of a peaceful future for her with the Huang family, her son, and herself. She hated herself for being so impulsive and so vicious!

She began to suffer from insomnia night after night, her tears long since dried, leaving only an empty despair. Looking at the haggard, sunken-eyed woman in the mirror, she could no longer find a trace of the carefully crafted "official's wife" or "wealthy daughter-in-law" she once was. She had lost her marriage, her son, the support of her family, her comfortable life, and most importantly, her dignity and future. All of this was her own fault.

When Chen Mingyuan came to her door again and placed the final version of the divorce agreement in front of her, Fan Yingrong's hands trembled like leaves in the wind.

Seeing that Fan Yingrong was still hesitating, Chen Mingyuan urged, "Ms. Fan, please sign quickly. This is the best option for your current situation. Continuing to argue will only harm you, your child, and Mr. Huang Erhe. By signing, you can at least retain the property stipulated in the agreement and live a peaceful life."

"Living a peaceful life"—Fan Yingrong chewed on these four words, feeling utterly ironic. No husband, no son, rejected by her own family, abandoned by her social circle, stuck in this cold house with a sum of money that would eventually run out—what kind of peace was this? This was the life sentence she had sentenced herself to!

Overwhelmed by immense regret and despair, she could no longer hold on. She collapsed onto the coffee table, sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking violently. Her cries were piercing and desperate, filled with endless remorse and self-loathing. She wept for everything she had lost, for the life she had destroyed with her own hands.

She cried for a long time, until her voice was hoarse, before she shakily picked up the pen. The pen tip hovered over the signature area, as if it weighed a ton. Finally, gritting her teeth and filled with regret, she signed her name on the agreement that would determine her fate.